Brainwashing is sorcery
I know it isn&#x27;t the main thrust of the piece, but I think the author nailed the real way that laws are used.<p>&gt; The key difference is that such “flexible offenses” tend to be defined more in terms of how someone important doesn’t like an outcome, and less in terms of what specifically someone did to induce that resulting dislike.<p>There are so many crimes that anyone can be charged at any time. The reality of prosecution (in the USA, but moreso in the soviet union and other places) is that often prosecutors first decide <i>who</i> needs to be charged with a crime, and secondly <i>what</i> crime to charge. And there are enough laws that there is always something to charge.<p>This is also how the Soviet Union--which ostensibly had free speech and assembly--operated. Anyone who was problematic would find themselves guilty of obscure tax violations or other nonsense.<p>The book &#x27;3 felonies per day&#x27; is focused on this problem.<p>I happen to think this is one of the most under-stated problems of our society, and it&#x27;s difficult to fix because the people charged often <i>did</i> do something bad--just not illegal.<p>As an example: the recent news of a journalist charged with hacking that gov website comes to mind.