Quote from bigarrow:
The lock em up and through away the key crowd and the I don't care what Europe does crowd doesn't understand the question. Nobody is saying criminals shouldn't be punished. What we are asking is why do we have this problem with crime and our prison population that other countries do not have. Why do other nations have the same or lower crime rates as ours without having to lock up as many people as we do? Is there anything we can learn from them? What can we do to make our country safe and at the same time have fewer prisoners? Are our drug laws working? Are our gun laws working? Time to think outside the norm if we are going to improve our country folks.
Quote from AAAintheBeltway:
Here's a new idea. How about securing our southern border and immediately deporting any illegal alien who is convicted of a crime? That would knock about 30% off our prison population.
Quote from achilles28:
Legalize drugs.
That would slash incarceration rates by 30-40%, right there.
Illegal drugs enrich criminal mafias/gangs/cartels while incentivizing violent crime for broke junkies.
Make drugs legal and cheap and the gangs/cartels dry up (no money to be made) as do drug-related violent crimes.
The War on Drugs is just another manufactured threat to take your rights, your property (asset forfeiture seizure is big business - guess who keeps the proceeds?), your money (the new prison economy is worth 40 Billion for correctional related services alone), and justify cushy Government jobs/pensions for all the parasites that make a living sucking off drug laws (judges, lawyers, police, FBI, DEA, prison guards, parole offices, blah blah).
Follow the money.
Quote from cdcolvin:
Here's another thought:
Amendment 28 â The right of the taxpayer to have accountability for his money and the right of the legal resident to be free from harm; individuals dwelling illegally in the United States shall not be entitled to any tax payer funded government service or entitlement, nor shall they be afforded protection under the fourth amendment.
Quote from bigarrow:
That would be about the dumbest thing we could do. Guess what would be next? We suspend the 4th amendment for people suspected of helping illegal aliens, then for people who might of hired them, then for restaurants who served them then next would be your 4th amendment rights that would be suspended. Would you really trust the government to pick and chose who has protection under the constitution? I wouldn't. No thanks I vote for a more reasoned approach to this problem.
Quote from bigarrow:
That would be about the dumbest thing we could do. Guess what would be next? We suspend the 4th amendment for people suspected of helping illegal aliens, then for people who might of hired them, then for restaurants who served them then next would be your 4th amendment rights that would be suspended. Would you really trust the government to pick and chose who has protection under the constitution? I wouldn't. No thanks I vote for a more reasoned approach to this problem.
Quote from cdcolvin:
Flame on!
Awe gee. Sorry for being so intolerant. But the last time I looked, illegal meant unlawful, illegal, against the law, etc. OK so.... they broke the law by entering our country illegally. Now, let's take it to the next step. They broke the law, they entered the country willingly and illegally. 28th Amendment is in force. They made a choice. Do you know what the 4th amendment says?
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Hmmmm, they already broke the law. They're here illegally. Many are in our prisons (my tax dollars supporting them). Well, if they're already here illegally, could they be transporting illegal substances too? How about drugs? How about illegal weapons. Or what about a little thing called............ a bomb? So what's so wrong about taking a defensive posture? Mohammed Atta and his other henchmen were illegal aliens. Oh! Right! Like you said...
"We suspend the 4th amendment for people suspected of helping illegal aliens" In this case it's called probable cause. Unfortunately, you didn't define helping. Is that helping as in assisting with health matters (at the helper's own cost), or providing food (at the helpers own cost)? Or does that mean giving aid and comfort without consideration to their repatriation to their own country?
Oh BTW, this isn't a suspension of anyone's 4th amendment rights. It doesn't say anything about suspending those rights. It simply states if they are an illegal resident, they just don't enjoy the protection under that right. The choice is theirs. Come here illegally if you choose to, but don't call the ACLU if you can't get on the public dole, and if a cop should happen to pull you over, ascertain that you're not a legal resident and escore you to the local INS office.
Flame off!