The Conscience of Abe’s Turn freedom of speech, defense, and life

Via Fox News, the TSA in Missouri detained, harassed, and almost arrested Steve Bierfeldt, because he was carrying some cash from merchandise sales for a political organization:

Even though I’m not a lawyer, here are a couple thoughts, off the top of my head, based on my research:  read more »

The Marijuana Policy Project reports on a study examining what happens when we over-inflate the risks of using drugs. The study, recently published in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, notes that when the kids finally learn the truth, “intentions to engage in threatened behavior may be amplified.”

Of course, this is old news, or at least it should be. Telling someone not to do something just makes them want to do it more, and then lying to them about the dangers just encourages them to ignore you. No kidding? Maybe next we can commission a study to prove that water is wet.  read more »

When I referred to Helena-West Helena, Arkansas as a “police state,” because of the 24-hour-a-day curfew it had imposed on all its citizens, and because of the current mandate of the police force there to question citizens while they’re taking a walk or to pull them over for driving down the street, I noticed the usual spate of comments. Many people who read the post sympathized with my position. At least one reader took the attitude: don’t be such a wimp; if they have crime like that, they deserve a police state. The most interesting opinion, however, is what I want to talk about here, that maybe Helena-West Helena isn’t a police state.

The argument is basically this: Citizens there are being hassled by the cops. That’s good to report, but we shouldn’t whine about it being a “police state,” because that only undermines our case. Real police states are totalitarian. Real police states don’t just hassle people who break the curfew; they arrest curfew-breakers. Real police states have soldiers, not cops, patrolling the streets, armed with machine guns. Real police states outlaw free speech. The very fact that the ACLU is complaining proves that it’s not a police state. And in a real police state, situations like the one in Helena-West Helena aren’t repaired. Helena-West Helena is not a police state.

I admit, this argument makes sense to me. It’s very convincing. I can sympathize with that point of view. Except…  read more »