Your (And Their) Government Hard At Work

There are often little stories that I plan to post on, but then I see them mentioned at the Reason website. So why not just link them instead, since they have a similar take?

Here's an amazing story about 16 people banned from the England due to their political views. Their beliefs are so troublesome they might cause unnacceptable tension if allowed to speak them in the U.K. (or if they merely stand around, I guess). Let this be a lesson to anyone planning to pop in over there--in fact, the Home Secretary said the list of names is being published to let foreigners get an idea what's acceptable and not acceptable in Great Britain. I think we get the idea better than she knows.

Then there's the tale of a woman who was arrested for producing and distributing child pornography. Her offense--dropping off some film at WalMart that showed her three-year-old granddaughter in and out of a bath.

Fifteen months later, the District Attorney's finally been overruled--by a special prosecutor, not a judge--and the charges dropped. Curses, says the DA:

What made [the photos] offensive was their graphic nature. A little girl with her bare butt showing, kind of looking over her shoulder. It's a difficult distinction to make. What's a cute butt and what's pornographic? I think what [the grandmother] did was stupid and in very poor judgment. It was an interesting case and I think we did the right thing.

He's seconded by the original prosecutor who okayed the charges:

There was no legitimate purpose for those photographs. I would never pose my daughter or my step-daughter like that. It kind of boils down to a gut feeling. If it feels wrong, it probably is.

So there you have it. Offend the gut of some local attorney and your life is ruined.

Or maybe you can just use a digital camera.