The two scariest words the government uses as an excuse to infringe on our rights are “common sense.” They use these words whenever they want to extend their reach over the citizenry without being able to justify a proposed action on its merits. The latest example? Martha Coakley’s “common-sense step” to allow wiretapping of all people accused of murder or other violent crimes (“Bill seeks end to strict limit on targets of wiretap law,” Metro, Jan. 28).
The justification? Violent street gangs apparently don’t fall under the definition of organized crime in the current statute, making it more difficult for the police to close cases involving them. To many of us the solution would be obvious: Just change the definition of organized crime in the statute to include organized street gangs. Considering gangs’ proliferation, and the existence in many communities of police units specifically set up to combat them, this shouldn’t be a big leap.
Comments
Well darn Art, what is the matter with you?
It was only "common sense" to hang all those witches in Salem!
Fortunately for this country, that sickness did not get out of hand like it did in Europe during the Inquisition.
But hey, maybe if we did what Marsha wants, we could get the drug gangs blabbering and have wiretaps all over the place. Who knows what criminals could be turned up in the process? It is all just "common sense".