Friday, June 03, 2005

Stalinist USA?

If you thought the Anti-Social Behaviour Legislation rather dubious, check out this proposed US legislation: http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=28

Put simply, if you happen to witness certain drug offenses taking place, or even just learn that they took place, you would be required to report the situation to law enforcement within 24 hours. Being caught in the act of failing to do so will result in a mandatory 2 year sentence.

It doesn't matter one jot if you happen to think the drug laws illegitimate in the first place. In you go. It is hard to imagine how most of the population shouldn't, by rights, be banged up as a result of this law. How many of us can honestly say that we don't turn a blind eye to this sort of thing at least twice a week? And how does this kind of neighbour on neighbour snitching differ from the behaviour that underpinned the Soviet state?

Urggh. Republicans (of the non-libertarian persuasion) really can be just as infuriating too.

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