Crime
December 12, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
45 years ago, in the wake of Watergate, Stewart Alsop wrote a brilliant column in which he distinguished between the crazy-brave and the phony-tough. Alsop was addressing the question of how reasonably intelligent people in Nixon’s circle could have approved, or failed to scotch, wild schemes including but not limited to the Watergate break in. Alsop’s thesis was that the crazy-brave Gordon Liddy intimidated phony tough guys like John Mitchell,
»
December 9, 2018 — John Hinderaker
In the United States, burglars generally try to break into homes that are unoccupied. We tend to take this fact for granted, but it isn’t true everywhere. There are advantages to breaking into residences when the owners are home: you can force them to tell you where valuables and drugs are kept, rather than having to search. And if a woman is present you may choose to assault her. This
»
December 6, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Earlier this week, pedophile Jeffrey Epstein bought his way out of a lawsuit that would have given some of his victims the opportunity to testify about his predatory and criminal conduct. Victims never got that opportunity when Epstein faced criminal charges, because Alex Acosta — then the lead prosecutor, now the Secretary of Labor — let Epstein off with a ridiculously lenient sentence. Despite having committed hideous sex offenses with
»
December 6, 2018 — Steven Hayward
We and many others frequently criticize the major media for their biased reporting on gun issues, and above all for the scarcity of coverage of citizens who defend themselves with their lawfully-owned weapons. So we should acknowledge the major media when they report a story like this one in the Washington Post (aka, the Bezos Bulletin) that I will pick up in the middle: An escaped inmate kicked down a sleeping
»
December 6, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The City Council of Washington, D.C. has approved a measure decriminalizing fare evasion in its public transportation system. In D.C., “fare-jumping” will become a civil offense punishable only by a $50 fine. The legislation was originally introduced by dumb-as-a-rock anti-Semite Trayon White. It passed by a vote of 10-2. Fare-jumping is, of course, a form of theft. And not an innocuous form. The local transit authority loses more than $25
»
December 4, 2018 — John Hinderaker
Here in America, we can’t seem to deport even the most vicious of criminals–not so they will stay deported, anyway. In Denmark, the Telegraph reports, people are fed up. I don’t think the article is available online to non-subscribers, so I will quote it: Foreign criminals awaiting deportation from Denmark will be banished to a deserted island, the government has announced. Rejected asylum seekers who have committed crimes will be
»
November 26, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post states: “While [President] Trump has blasted Democrats as ‘an angry left-wing mob’ and the ‘party of crime,’ researchers have identified just one fatal attack in 2018 that may have been motivated by left-wing ideologies.” By contrast, “researchers say at least 20 people have died this year in suspected right-wing attacks.” These counts may be accurate, though I’m not prepared to take the word of the Washington Post
»
November 25, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Fox News reports on the arrest of a man suspected of killing a woman just hours after being released from state prison. David Bohart, 34, had been released from the Tucson state prison complex after serving a three-year stint for possession or use of dangerous drugs, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections. He had served two previous terms in prison on convictions for forgery and possession or use of
»
November 25, 2018 — John Hinderaker
I hope it’s been repelled, anyway. At least for now. The federal government closed the border between Tijuana and San Diego for several hours today, as thousands of migrants tried to enter the country illegally. Invaders threw rocks at Border Patrol agents and rushed the border fence, after which the Border Patrol used tear gas to disperse the invaders. Here’s moment right before shot bang. You can see some rocks
»
November 24, 2018 — John Hinderaker
Liberals constantly assert, without citing any data, that the U.S. is alone among civilized nations in suffering the phenomenon of mass shootings. Like so many claims, it suits the Left’s narrative while being entirely untrue. John Lott explains: People have been acting for a long time like the United States is the world’s hotbed of mass public shootings. Following a 2015 mass shooting during his administration, President Barack Obama declared:
»
November 2, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
I wrote here about Jason Pye’s attack on those who oppose leniency legislation for federal drug felons. One of my arguments addressed his claim that we shouldn’t fear that leniency legislation will cause dangerous felons to be released from prison early. Why is this not a valid concern? Because, says Pye, decisions about releasing felons will use “risk and needs assessment to determine [a prisoner’s] risk of reoffending.” I countered
»
November 2, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
I’ve been on jury duty this week. This partially explains my lack of production on Power Line. The case we heard involved pretty serious criminal charges. I think the defense lawyer would have opted to strike me from the panel had he been aware of my hard line blogging about various criminal justice matters. However, my writings never came up during voir dire, and both parties seemed fine with having
»
October 31, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Jason Pye of Freedom Works has a column in the Hill defending the First Step Act. . .sort of. It’s mostly an attack on those who oppose this leniency legislation. Pye calls opponents “reactionaries” and accuses us of dishonesty and fear-mongering. But name-calling is no substitute for argument, and when Pye gets around to actually arguing, he consistently hides the ball. Pye writes: Opponents claim that violent crime is rising
»
October 27, 2018 — John Hinderaker
Can we learn any lessons from the horrific Pittsburgh synagogue murders? Maybe. Improved security at places of worship may be necessary (and no, calling for better security is not “blaming the victim.”) Attorney General Jeff Sessions has filed federal hate crime charges against Robert Bowers. This strikes me as symbolic and pointless. Murder is a state crime and state and local authorities are perfectly capable of prosecuting and punishing it.
»
October 26, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Inevitably, Democrats and their partners in the mainstream media want to focus on the political leanings of the man suspected of sending packages to leading leftists. However, Daniel Horowitz contends that the real story here is “jailbreak,” i.e., the failure to put criminals behind bars and keep them there. I agree that this is a key element of the story. The suspect apparently has a lengthy rap sheet that included
»
October 10, 2018 — Steven Hayward
We reported here last year about research showing that a favorite Obama policy initiative known as “Ban the Box” (that is, prohibit employers from inquiring about a person’s criminal history on employment applications) was having the opposite effect, and was increasing discrimination against blacks. Two women economists writing in the Quarterly Journal of Economics concluded: Our results support the concern that BTB policies encourage racial discrimination: the black-white gap in
»
September 11, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
For the past 20 years, Kenneth Starr has avoided the limelight. And why not? As the independent counsel who investigate Whitewater and other Clinton-related scandals, he received enough attention to last several lifetimes. Now, however, Starr has written a book about those days. It’s called Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation. The contempt in question was that of Bill and Hillary Clinton. The two manifested it differently, though. According
»
