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About a year and a half back, I wrote this entry in my journal. Essentially saying that we should find a way to mount a camera on every police officer. Today, I saw this on Popular Mechanics. The long and the short of it is that Taser Inc. has been reading my journal. That, or they just have someone who thinks like I do. Either way, they are trying to make the idea of a cop "head-cam" a reality. This just seems full of Win to me. Evidence collection will be better; an officer taking a statement will have a good record to work with; if an officer goes too far, there will be a record; if some dumbass screams abuse, the officer will have a record of the encounter to exonerate himself.

The only piece of the puzzle which I expect to be lacking at inception, is going to be public access to the stored video. Excepting where it would compromise an on-going investigation, or violate the privacy of a citizen or the officer, I would want the video to be publicly accessible. After all, if there is nothing for them to worry about, then there is nothing to hide, right?

I have been loosely keeping an eye on the developing case over the children of the FLDS sect in Texas. In case you missed it, Child Protective Services in the State of Texas removed approximately 400 children from the YFZ Ranch in Texas, which is a private community for members of the FLDS church. The reason for the seizure is related to the FLDS's practice of polygamy and marriage of underage girls to older men. Tied to the seizure is the implicit claim that the children were in immediate danger of harm.

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the State has failed to demonstrate that the children are in immediate danger of harm (Source) and that the children must be returned to their parents. The parents are being required to sign an agreement which requires them to stay in state and notify the state of any trips greater than 100 miles.

While I don't agree with the FLDS teachings, I can't help but agree with this ruling. From the get-go it has bothered me that a community's children were seized by the state. Yes, the FLDS sect's belief system encourages and teaches underage marriage. But to seize every child in a community based on a belief system smacks of a First Amendment violation. Also, looking at the requirements placed on the parents, they seem reasonable enough, based on the assumption that there is an ongoing investigation into possible abuse.

In all, I think I feel much more comfortable with the way this has worked out now. However, I am still bothered by the fact that the state was able to engage in such a seizure and that no one will face any repercussions for the decision. I'd just be happy with some sort of official censure of those involved in the seizure, just so that there is a permanent legal record that this was wrong.

I would like to suggest this article for your reading pleasure. It's a nice commentary on the War on Drugs. The guy being interviewed is a veteran police officer and a writer, and he makes some damn good points about the failure of modern prohibition and the police in general.

If you missed it, the California Supreme Court recently stuck down the ban on same sex marriage in California.

This, of course, has been greeted by howls from the right as a case of "judicial activism". This has brought me back around to a problem I have. What the fuck is "judicial activism"? So far, the best definition I come up with for it is: a ruling I don't agree with.

Now, I would agree with complaints if judges were inventing laws out of whole cloth and tossing people in jail with them; that isn't happening. At most, they have been interpreting the rights of the people in a very open way. Which is what this country was supposed to do. Ideally, the legitimate role of government is to protect the rights of the people. When those rights are threatened, the government is supposed to step in and restore those rights. If the judicial system invalidating laws which violate the rights of the people is Judicial Activism, I'm all for it.

This is a test, it is only a test. If this had been an actual journal post there would have been vitriolic ranting and swearing.

Ok, so I was just tired of seeing the old post title.