Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Reversing the Burden of Proof

Posted

In the United States, when it comes to criminal law, the burden of proof is on the accuser. What that means is, to use a common colloquialism, you are innocent until proven guilty. In defending yourself against criminal accusations, the burden is on the accuser (the government) to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the crime for which you are charged. You don’t have to prove anything (although it doesn’t hurt to do so). Not only does the accuser have to prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt, but twelve individuals all have to agree unanimously that he has done so.

If you, as the accused, have raised a reasonable doubt in the mind of just 1/12th (8.3 percent) of the jury, you go free. This hearkens back to the founders’ doctrine that it was better to let a guilty man go free than to ever take away the freedom of an innocent man.

Unfortunately, this doctrine isn’t always applied anymore.

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states clearly how criminal trials are to be handled in the United States:

Read more . . .

Internet Explorer 8 Released; Off on a Tangent Ends IE 6 Support

Posted

Microsoft announced today that it has released a new version of its flagship web browser, Windows Internet Explorer (IE). IE version 8 brings many upgrades, most importantly continued security improvements and much improved web standards compliance. IE 8 is available for Windows 5.1 (XP) and Windows 6.0 (Vista) for free download from Microsoft’s web site.

If you still use Internet Explorer on one of these two supported operating systems, I strongly recommend you upgrade as soon as possible to IE 8. For the best web experience, I recommend switching to one of the excellent, free alternative browsers—Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, or Opera.

If you are still using Internet Explorer version 6, please pay attention to the following important Off on a Tangent Support Notice:

Read more . . .

A Better AIG Bonus Plan

Posted

While none of us should be surprised that that the American International Group (AIG) has squandered the 112 billion dollars that the U.S. government has ‘invested’ in the business’s unconstitutional nationalization, we’re now faced with a dilemma: what to do now.

The answer is surprisingly simple. There are about 306 million people populating the United States, and we’re all AIG shareholders now whether we ever wanted to be or not. It seems to me that we, as the owners of the business, are entitled to a portion of its largess. It’s a simple matter of math:

112,000,000,000 / 306,000,000 = $366.01 per person.

Now that’s a bonus plan! It’s also ‘change we can believe in’. You hear me, President Obama (D)? If you’re going to continue spending taxpayer dollars on ‘fixing’ the economy, do it by returning that money to the people who actually earned it.

Are You Really Surprised?

Posted

The title says it all: Are you really surprised?

Insurance ‘giant’ American International Group (AIG) received a Federal Reserve ‘bailout’ in September of last year which was, in reality, a nationalization of the business. You, I, and every other taxpaying American are now the proud owners of 79.9 percent percent of AIG—whether we wanted to invest in it or not. In October of 2008, AIG received another ‘bailout’ out of our pockets, and the grand total has reached a whopping $112,000,000,000.00. And what did we get?

The now 80 percent federally-owned AIG—which posted a loss of nearly 62 billion dollars during the last three months of 2008—has blithely gone about its business, sending executives on retreats and paying them bonuses. The massive federal investment has not saved the company from its problems, however, and it’s very likely that their next quarterly report will be just as bad as the last one.

Many are angry that, after a nationalization of the business and a massive taxpayer investment, AIG seems to continue doing the very things that got it into the mess in the first place. I’m angry too, but I can’t figure out why anybody is surprised. I’ve been saying from the beginning that these bailouts are counterproductive, that they reward bad behavior, and that they encourage the perpetrators to continue on their same path and cause broader economic harm. When a company fails, it fails. ‘Saving’ the business with federal dollars simply prolongs the inevitable and makes the process more painful.

So here’s an idea: Now that the federal government owns AIG, the federal government runs the show. Simply bite the bullet and shut it down through Chapter 7 liquidation. No more bailouts, buyouts, or bonuses. Sometimes you have to do something painful in the short term for a long term gain, and an end to these bailouts and corporate welfare programs is the only way to turn the economy around any time soon. With every bailout, stimulus plan, and government ‘investment’ (read: nationalization) we further undermine any possible economic recovery.

Target Mouse!

Posted

Mouse Traps in TargetSo I was in my friendly neighborhood Target store this afternoon and, while Melissa was looking to buy things and I was just looking around awkwardly, I happened to spy these d-Con mouse traps on a shelf.

I’m not sure if these mouse traps were placed there by a prankster, or if the Reston Target has indeed had a mouse problem on the third shelf of the picture frame aisle. Either way, I thought it was pretty funny.

As I mentioned to Melissa, it’s possible they’re trying to replace ‘Target Dog‘ with a new ‘Target Mouse’ . . . though, after going through a d-Con trap, it would probably be more like ‘Target Mouse Carcass’. With that kind of branding, you can’t lose!

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.