Future Posts and the Direction of this Blog

When I first started this blog in the spring of 2009, I envisioned an eclectic blog in which I would comment on law, economics, and other subjects that I liked, especially music. (I am pretty hardcore in my belief that music started to go downhill after the death of Henry Purcell in 1695, although I have my doubts that too many people will jump off that same cliff.)

Two things have happened since then. First, I launched my Krugman-in-Wonderland blog late last year in order to concentrate generally on economic subjects and specifically on Paul Krugman's missives from the New York Times and elsewhere.

Second, the Tonya Craft trial and aftermath happened, and things have not been the same since then. Because the trial involved people where I used to live (and where I still have family), and because it was about a false accusation, all of my anger about what has been happening in U.S. "justice" for many years was channeled into that one case. It did not take long for me to see that Tonya was innocent of these charges, and when it became absolutely clear that the witnesses against her, along with the prosecutors, were lying with impunity, I believed that I had no choice but to attack and take no prisoners. I still believe that.

Since Tonya's acquittal, I have heard from many people who have faced similar issues, and right now, Maricopa County, Arizona, has become a favorite target. Think of the DA's office there as being full of Chris Arnts and Len Gregors. Think of the police force being full of Tim Deals and Steven Keiths. Think of the LMJC on steroids, and that is what is happening there.

This only is the tip of the entire morass in this country. When the Supreme Court upheld the immunity given to prosecutors, police, and judges, it created a huge moral hazard that has been very predictable in its outcome. People who face no consequences for lying are going to be tempted to cut corners. Over time, like an embezzler who takes a little bit of this and that until he or she becomes a full-blown robber, prosecutors have found that lies here and there enhance their conviction rates, and even when the lies are discovered, nothing happens.

Judges like Brian Outhouse then ally themselves with prosecutors, and engage in breathtaking amounts of misconduct. (Just Outhouse's ex parte meetings with prosecutors -- none of which were reported to the defense, as the law requires -- were enough to demonstrate that he is nothing but a lawbreaker in black robes and is not fit to be a judge or even a lawyer.)

Thus, we should not be surprised when liars and bullies self-select into the above professions. Yes, there are honorable police, prosecutors, and judges, but because the law protects the wrongdoers, none of us should be surprised when wrongdoers rule.

So, given that I never can begin to cover all of the prosecutorial, police, and judicial misconduct in this country (the supply is greater than I can ever cover in this tiny blog), I am going to concentrate on the subject of misconduct. True, I will make a lot of enemies in the process and, no doubt, will be the target of someone in the future who believes that all of us should bow down and worship these Children of Satan. (If Jesus said in John 8 that liars "are of their father, the Devil," then when Chris Arnt lied in his closing arguments to the jury, he simply was telling the jurors his paternal lineage.)

Nonetheless, someone has to speak out, even if speaking out is costly. So, I will do it. Likewise, I will confine my economic arguments to KIW, although I reserve the right to have a musical interlude, once in a while.