dkSez : : : : : : Don Kahle's blog

No grand jury today, but I wonder.

As databases begin to replace human memories, who among us doesn’t leave a string of pearls, dots to be connected, in case the government ever wants us for something? What does liberty mean when we require another’s consent to enjoy it?

“Reckless” falls between “knowingly” and “accidental.” And then there’s “with extreme indifference to the value of human life” which can be ordered as a side dish when choosing from the menu of charges available.

Can we deputize the newspaper carriers across the city, give them a special tip line to call, and an orchestrated program to let authorities know that “all is well” without waking the rest of us?

Low-hanging fruit always looks the most attractive, but how often do we look at this from the fruit’s perspective? I got that opportunity today.

When dealing with our questions, they are similarly, as if reflexively, formal. To be told “yessir” when he’s the one with square shoulders, square jaws, and a firearm on his belt — it’s a stange reversal.

Here’s the helpful hint I learned yesterday.

In this way, the jail operates exactly like Saturday Market. Anyone can get a booth/cell, but only after you’ve been coming back reliably time after time do you accumulate enough points to know for sure you’re in where you want to be.

I’ve always figgered as a thin white hetero male with an average amount of money and an honest face, society was already doing more than its share for protecting me.

The parts often overlapped, but still he kept up. What’s more, he was able to match inflection and cadence, mimicking the mood and intent of each speaker. He was a living babelfish, making people who are different see their underlying sameness.