A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
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A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
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December 21, 2004British National IDHaving survived the juicy Blunkett scandal, Great Britain looks likely to proceed with a national ID card scheme
It will still take a few years before Britons have them
I have blogged in favor of a national ID, but it continues to be unmentionable in everyday politics. If the British go ahead with it, and Great Britain doesn't degenerate into an Orwellian state, I suspect that Americans may warm to the idea. Posted by rickheller at December 21, 2004 10:31 AM Comments
Britain has already degenerated into an Orwellian state, where criminals are protected from their victims, and those that defend themselves are given harsher sentences than those breaking the law. Posted by: John at December 22, 2004 01:19 AMYou're referring to cases where property owners have used firearms against intruders, and been punished for it. From a US perspective, that does seem upside down. However, overall, I think the British still feel pretty free. Posted by: rickheller at December 22, 2004 11:29 AM"Britain has already degenerated into an Orwellian state, where criminals are protected from their victims, and those that defend themselves are given harsher sentences than those breaking the law." According to an article in last week's Economist, that is not true. There were only two people that were charged after using force against an intruder; one had his charges dismissed and the other was acquitted. Conservatives have introduced legislation that would make use of force against intruders punishable ONLY where the force is highly disproportionate (ie, you shot the guy and then kept shooting or something). The take of that magazine (which is sort of middle of the road I think)is that the present law was not really as bad as its critics said. The Economist is a pretty moderate magazine so I would tend to accept its view on this. And, anyway, I think calling it an Orwellian state suggests that you haven't read Orwell. Posted by: MWS at December 22, 2004 11:55 AM |
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