Gdanning
11mo ago
And it probably maximizes the tradeoff you mentioned better than driver's licences do.
I don't see how you can know that, nor is it likely to be true, given that the insurance company doesn't particularly care about either one.
Well, I am not sure it actually matters if a PD or DA is a Marxist. But if he really "cheers whenever someone white suffers," a DA might treat a defendant differently depending on the defendant's race or the race of the victim. Given the enormous discretion DAs have in the criminal justice system, that could be a problem. It would be less of a problem for a PD, because PDs have little power. Either way, if you are truly concerned, you should make a report to your state's bar assn or other atty disciplinary body.
Gdanning
11mo ago
they've just been hired as a da/pd.
It seems to me that it might make a huge difference whether he has been hired as a PD or a DA. I can guarantee you that there were more Marxists in the criminal defense bar 40 years ago than there are now.
Gdanning
11mo ago
The level of competence that maximizes insurance company profits is not necessarily going to be the same as the level of competence which best* satisfies the tradeoff between public safety and the individuals' interest in being able to drive.
*There can of course be a variety of best tradeoffs, since "best" depends on how one weighs the competing interests. But insurance companies do not directly take either of those factors into account when deciding whether to insure someone.
Gdanning
1yr ago
There are a couple of problems with this question.
Everyone of us know how riots, revolts and political radicalism are born
Those are very distinct phenomena. Conflating them is highly problematic.
a segment of the population, resented or alienated by material means
This is not very clear, but if it is meant to refer to economic deprivation, it has been clear for decades that economic deprivation is a poor predictor of participation in political violence; at best, the relationship is highly contingent. Eg:
There does appear to be an inverted “U” relationship between terrorism and the factors of education and wealth, although that relationship might be contested in terms of measurement validity. Some of this complexity probably stems from the conflation of the revolutions/rebellion literature and the terrorism literature, because much of the former focused on peasant rebellions or the role of the “masses” in fomenting revolution. More-recent demographic research has revealed that individual participants in terrorist groups and in terrorist violence are both more educated and more financially well off than was previously believed—although this was no surprise to scholars who studied anarchist and other social revolutionary terrorist groups in the 1970s. However, the emerging picture of foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq suggests that they fit the old model of the undereducated, unemployed, alienated terrorist far better than the new model. This contrast, too, might be better understood by distinguishing types of terrorism.
Gdanning
1yr ago
Although the phenomenon might have been more severe in those places, it happened in Chicago, Washington, DC, the SF Bay Area, and Phoenix. But not in Pittsburgh or Houston
Gdanning
1yr ago
- What those men want is for that specific woman to fall for their seduction.
- Regardless, there is a huge difference between desire for a particular person, and desire in general. For one thing, those men will eventually get over their desire for that particular woman; people who are attracted to children, or to animals, or whatever, are not going to simply get over that. And, even someone who is so aroused by a particular woman that they want to rape her, are not aroused by rape, per se; they are aroused by that particular woman. In contrast, someone who is into animals is into animals, per se.
Gdanning
1yr ago
Is your suggestion that the majority, or even a large minority of people have failed to resist their sexual urges and are rapists?
I don't think very many people have much desire to commit rape. Even if that is something that many people sometimes fantasize about, it is not central to sexual attraction for very many people. And, the very source you link to says: "They [i.e., child abusers] differ from rapists with respect to thought processes and affect, and often describe their offending behaviors as uncontrollable, stable and internal; whereas rapists attribute their offenses to external, unstable and controllable causes." Which is pretty much exactly what I said.
And, btw, this is what the cited study from 1995 says:
As predicted, extrafamilial child molesters were more likely than all other comparison groups to endorse beliefs regarding the appropriateness of sexual contact with children. These findings support and extend the research by Stermac and Segal (1989) by demonstrating that a higher endorsement of cognitive distortions is found among these molesters prior to treatment. Interestingly, incestuous molesters did not differ from the other groups on this variable, suggesting that cognitive distortions play a more important role for extrafamilial than incestuous molesters. Extrafamilial molesters, who had victimized more children than incestuous molesters, appear to have a greater need to minimize and justify their behavior. Whether these distorted beliefs are the cause or effect of molesting has yet to be determined.
Not particularly compelling evidence for your claim that differences in views of the morality of child sexual abuse is a causal factor.
And, more importantly, the study says nothing about the group we are discussing, which is people who are attracted to children but who do not wish to act on that attraction.
Gdanning
1yr ago
None of this accords very well with what we know about sex drives, and about the behavior of many people with sexual proclivities that society deems immoral. How many people actually have the will power to resist their sexual urges, especially when, as for many of the people in question, they are solely attracted to underage persons? And, how many gay youth attempted suicide back when homosexuality was considered beyond the pale? Why did that mayor commit suicide the other day after he was outed as a transvestite? Odd behavior for people who don't think their behavior is immoral. And, I note that you provide no evidence for any of your claims.
Child predators do not behave like this. The typical profile of a child predator
This avoids the issue, which is the distinction between people who are attracted to children but do not want to act on that attraction, and people who who are attracted to children, think that is fine, and act on their attraction. And the first group has at least two subgroups: a) People who have acted on that attraction but want to stop; and b) People (usually younger) who have not yet acted on that attraction and don't want to start.
You have no idea which group is most numerous. More importantly, even if you are correct and the "it's perfectly fine" group is typical, that says nothing about how we should treat the other groups.
Gdanning
1yr ago
It seems to me that, in practice, those are used as synonyms. Would the use of the new term make it more likely that people like those in the link would get help? I don't know for sure, but if the answer is "yes," then that seems like a good argument for using the new term. Assuming, of course, that our goal is to reduce the incidence of child abuse, rather than simply to identify targets for vilification.
Gdanning
1yr ago
Presumably, to facilitate distinguishing those who commit sex offenses against children and those who are sexually attracted to children but refrain from acting on that attraction and wish to continue refraining therefrom. However much the former should be hated (though I seem to recall something about hating the sin but loving the sinner), it is not clear to me why the latter should be hated.
Gdanning
1yr ago
Probably because this is not one of the limited powers allotted to them, and therefore none of their business.
We are talking about a state government, not the federal government.
Gdanning
1yr ago
and now you're no longer saying that
No, I am saying the exact same thing that I have said all along: That your claim, that every person who has sleep apnea is given the mandates you list, seems to be incorrect. We only know that they are imposed on some people.
The issue that I have not addressed is whether the mandates are sound policy.
Per this article, "At his later arraignment in Ventura County Court, Alnaji's bail amount was reduced to $50,000, and he was ordered to surrender his passports, Fox News Digital has learned."
Gdanning
1yr ago
Enhancements are offered for "hate crime" and "elderly victim"
But only if those are alleged, which they do not seem to be. Plus, the elderly victim enhancement applies only to "crime[s] enumerated in Penal Code sections 667.9-667.10", and neither battery nor manslaughter is listed there.
Gdanning
1yr ago
Yeah, but that is what I meant by a default amount. I don't know that judges are even bound by law at that stage. As a practical matter, they can do what they want, because that issue is probably never litigated; the arraignment occurs very soon after arrest -- within 48 hours of arrest if the defendant remains in custody -- that any challenge to the bail amount will be a challenge to the amount set at the arraignment.
Gdanning
1yr ago
I'm not disputing that. As I said, "Whether that danger is high enough to merit driving restrictions of the kinds that the state has imposed on your friend is a different issue, of course."
Gdanning
1yr ago
The schedule also calls for an additional $50k for the allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury.
That being said:
- Under CA law, bail decisions must be individualized. The schedule is at best a recommendation.
- I don't see any evidence that he has yet been arraigned, which is when the judge sets bail. The $1 million bail might be some sort of default amount, pending arraignment.
- Bail is going to be higher for someone with substantial assets.
Gdanning
1yr ago
There's no reason why sleep apnea should be considered grounds for license revocation
And my point is that you don't know that. A quick search online turns up many studies that show a substantial increase in the risk of car accidents from those suffering from sleep apnea. Moreover, this study notes that "Characteristics that may predict crash in drivers with OSA include BMI, apnea plus hypopnea index, oxygen saturation, and possibly daytime sleepiness."
So, there does seem to be some evidence that people with sleep apnea are more dangerous drivers, especially if they have additional risk factors . And it sounds as if the state probably looks for additional factors before imposing conditions.
Whether that danger is high enough to merit driving restrictions of the kinds that the state has imposed on your friend is a different issue, of course.
Gdanning
1yr ago
Sounds like it's required if the state deems it so for your case
Yes, that was my point. "For your case," not in every case, as you seemed to claim. And, honestly, would you have written if she had had one of the other conditions listed on that web page, such as narcolepsy, or epilepsy, or a heart condition which can cause fainting? Isn't the issue the degree to which her particular condition increases the risks of causing an accident, which at this point we don't know?
Gdanning
1yr ago
Apparently Maryland requires that if you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea:
- you report it to the DMV 2.you have to use a CPAP machine
- your CPAP machine has to send data to the state showing that you're using it regularly for 70% of each night
So, since this set off my bullshit detector, I looked at the state's webpage which lists a number of conditions which must be reported, and says that subsequently, the state
>may send you several forms to complete. They also may send you a form for your physician to complete. After you return the forms, the DW&S Division then will make a decision about whether your situation should be referred for an opinion from the Medical Advisory Board (MAB). The MAB is a group of doctors who works with the MVA in analyzing customers’ driving abilities. If the MAB is involved, they (the MAB) may ask you for more information, or to attend a meeting.
So, clearly, neither #2 nor #3 above are "required."
Gdanning
1yr ago
Sure, but they are much more specific to the issue of civilian casualties, which I think is helpful.
Gdanning
1yr ago
So, you're actually going to comment? Will you unambiguously state, for the record, that your belief is that in this situation, UK law clearly and unambiguously says that Mr. So-and-So has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his arrest?
I have already said that. Again, that is what it means to say that I believe that the courts have established a bright-line rule.
your belief is that all their lawyers will tell them that they have to refrain from doing so because of legal risk?
- You are misunderstanding the role of their lawyers. If my understanding of the law is correct, the lawyers will tell them that, if they name him, they will be in violation of the law. But they will not tell them that they "have to" refrain from doing so, because that is ultimately a decision that the publishers must make, and which rests on considerations other than mere liability. An obvious one is the extent of damages that the plaintiff might win, which might be very low. Or they might be very high. I have no idea. Other factors are of course the standard elements that go into decisions about what to publish.
- But, I do expect the lawyers to say what I have repeatedly said: There is bright-line rule, so if you publish the name of an arrestee before charges are filed, and the person sues, you will lose.
This is the thing that you have utterly failed to establish and that I have consistently challenged. Even try
Well, I have presented evidence in the form of legal opinions from two UK lawyers. You, on the other hand, have simply presented your personal opinion.
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