Found this interesting commentary on a link at SurvivalBlog.com. It is entitled "Criminalizing everyone", by Brian Walsh. It is a very interesting piece about the over-criminalization that is present in the USA. The basic problem is that the power of the Feds is so far-reaching and intrusive that you can commit crimes without any idea you are doing so.
Try this example:
"By March 2004, federal prosecutors were well on their way to turning 66-year-old retiree George Norris into an inmate in a federal penitentiary - based on his home-based business of cultivating, importing and selling orchids." He didn't fill out some papers correctly on some of the orchids he imported. HE SPENT TWO YEARS IN PRISON!
Or try this one:
"Krister Evertson, another victim of overcriminalization, told Congress, "What I have experienced in these past years is something that should scare you and all Americans." He's right. Evertson, a small-time entrepreneur and inventor, faced two separate federal prosecutions stemming from his work trying to develop clean-energy fuel cells.
The feds prosecuted Mr. Evertson the first time for failing to put a federally mandated sticker on an otherwise lawful UPS package in which he shipped some of his supplies. A jury acquitted him, so the feds brought new charges. This time they claimed he technically had "abandoned" his fuel-cell materials - something he had no intention of doing - while defending himself against the first charges. Mr. Evertson, too, spent almost two years in federal prison."
The truly scary thing is that if the federal, state, or even local government wanted you in prison, they could do so anytime they wanted. There are so many laws on the books that you have absolutely no idea if you are breaking a law or not! As the government gets even more powerful your freedom gets more and more diminished.
Unfortunately, I don't see this trend reversing.
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