As I’m sure you know, Senator Ted Kennedy died earlier this week. However you feel about his politics, it’s hard to dispute the impact the Kennedy’s have had on American politics. It’s a family history that is rife with tragedy. I have no desire to make this blog political. I will say that I do have a special affection for the speech Robert Kennedy gave in Indianapolis the night MLK was assassinated – it’s one of the best, if not the best speech I’ve ever heard. In any case, I wish all the best to the Kennedy’s and their family. All things have a beginning and ending. Perhaps the sun has set on their political dynasty. In honor of the former lawmaker, several of our must reads are law related. Without further ado, here are some things you should read:
1. Mexico legalizes drug possession @ The NY Times – This is an interesting approach. Amsterdam’s approach is a little bit different, allowing drugs only in controlled areas and environments. This is broader, and includes “harder drugs,” including small amounts of cocaine and heroin. Drugs are a major problem in Mexico. I wonder what affect this will have. I have often heard it theorized that legalizing marijuana would save us a lot of money in the legal system, as well as adding lots of tax revenue to the country. Amsterdam has extremely low incidents of violent crime, but lots of pick pockets and petty crimes. We’ll see if a “small amount” of heroin has the same affect on people in Mexico that marijuana has in Amsterdam.
2. CSI Fraud: Researchers Craft Fake DNA evidence @ Ars Technica – I don’t know if this scares you, but it scares me. Being wrongfully accused of a crime is scary. Being wrongfully accused of a crime where they have DNA evidence against you is downright terrifying. Also scary is the new difficulty prosecutors will have in getting convictions. DNA evidence won’t be the overwhelming, automatic conviction that it has been historically.
3. Man Executed for Arson Murders, Experts Say Fire Wasn’t Arson @ PoliGazette – Staying with the theme, check out this story about a man that was executed for arson…but now no one thinks it’s arson. Best argument against the death penalty I’ve heard is – what if you’re wrong? There’s not really a good comeback for that. I agree that there are bad people that can’t coexist with the good people, but you’d better be pretty careful if you’re going to execute those bad people.
4. How Much is Your Time Really Worth @ Weakonomics – This is a good post about how to decide whether to hire someone. I especially like that he suggests considering the cost of acquiring the skills to do the job. This is a great suggestion because once you know how to do something, you can do it again in the future at no additional cost. Plus, you could now potentially be hired to do whatever you were going to hire someone else for. The only thing I would add – it’s not just the absolute cost or value of your time that matters – it also matters how much you value the luxury of not doing something. I park my car instead of using valet because I don’t value someone parking my car enough to require the extra expenditure. If it were very painful for me to walk, or if I were wearing a tuxedo and it was raining really hard (no umbrella), or insert exigent circumstance here – I might value having someone park my car more highly.
Understanding the Federal Budget @ Get Rich Slowly – Very nice, simple post on how the Federal Budget works. Check it out and be educated. Thanks for reading.
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