TanyaJLaird's recent activity
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Comment on Fifth American tourist arrested at Turks and Caicos airport after ammo allegedly found in luggage in ~travel
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Comment on Fifth American tourist arrested at Turks and Caicos airport after ammo allegedly found in luggage in ~travel
TanyaJLaird Link ParentI could absolutely see accidentally carrying a few bullets. Note, they weren't arrested for having guns, they were arrested for having bullets. What you're missing is that people bring more than...I could absolutely see accidentally carrying a few bullets. Note, they weren't arrested for having guns, they were arrested for having bullets.
What you're missing is that people bring more than just big suitcases. They also bring purses and backpacks that serve dual duty. I myself when traveling bring the exact same backpack I wear on a daily basis.
I've accidentally left contraban in my backpack on several occasions. Mostly just a can of soda that I forgot about and didn't see at the bottom of my bag. I don't own a firearm, so I've never left a gun or ammo in my bag.
However, if someone did regularly carry a gun in their bag or purse, this would be an easy mistake to make. If you own a firearm, you're primarily concerned about keeping track of the gun itself. The gun is what's dangerous. The gun is what you need to make sure you don't try to take to the airport. I could easily see someone focusing on that and accidently leaving a few bullets in a side pocket.
If someone is a gun owner and regularly carries it, a few forgotten bullets in a bag seems like a very easy mistake to make.
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
TanyaJLaird Link ParentBy "identify" I more mean having an environment that encourages such kids to come out and seek help in a safe manner. I don't think this is the kind of thing you can identify on brain scan or...By "identify" I more mean having an environment that encourages such kids to come out and seek help in a safe manner. I don't think this is the kind of thing you can identify on brain scan or blood test. I agree that any such screening of the populace would be little better than phrenology.
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
TanyaJLaird Link ParentI am skeptical of us ever being able to change a pedophile's orientation through therapy. A century of failed attempts at LGBT conversion therapy suggest that sexual attraction of all forms is...I am skeptical of us ever being able to change a pedophile's orientation through therapy. A century of failed attempts at LGBT conversion therapy suggest that sexual attraction of all forms is indelibly written into the brain.
Instead, what we could do is identify pedophiles at a young age. Then, offer them medications or surgery that completely eliminates their sex drive - chemical or physical castration. It's not the ideal solution, but it would likely at least be a viable solution. You suppress their hormone levels to near zero, give them some calcium supplements to balance out the bone density issues, and you kill their sex drive. As a precaution, prohibit them from working in careers involving children or childcare. But otherwise let them live lives of peaceful celibacy.
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
TanyaJLaird Link ParentIt really is a bad thing that we can't discuss rationally, "what to do with pedophiles" beyond knee-jerk "hang them all!" reactions. From the stories I've read of psychologists working with...It really is a bad thing that we can't discuss rationally, "what to do with pedophiles" beyond knee-jerk "hang them all!" reactions. From the stories I've read of psychologists working with pedophiles, their attraction seems to develop at the same time as anyone else's. Just imagine the horror of being a 12-14 year old feeling your first feelings of sexual attraction. But to your horror, those feelings are being directed towards infants. And this is in a society where even teenagers know exactly what those feelings imply. It wouldn't surprise me at all if a substantial portion of people with these feelings, perhaps even a majority, simply commit suicide before they even finish high school. If I woke up with those feelings tomorrow, in all honesty, I would probably just throw myself off a bridge.
And honestly, I don't even know what is to be done for such people. Pedophilia is NOT like homosexuality. Sure, they're both sexual orientation the same way heterosexuality is, but there is simply no way to just accept and integrated open pedophiles into society. This is not simply an unusual act between consenting adults, it is an attraction that fundamentally cannot ever be allowed to be satisfied.
Like, imagine if we lived in a world that actually did operate like the Old Testament Sodom and Gomorrah. In this universe, God exists and he REALLY hates gay sex. In this world, if one person in a city has gay sex, God instantly smites the entire city. And this is reliable, repeatable, and observable. This is something you can verify scientifically. Two gay dudes get it on == meteor on top of the city.
In that world, there would be no way we could tolerate homosexuality, as to do so would mean immediate death for everyone. Thankfully, we don't live in that world for homosexuality, but we practically do for pedophilia.
Honestly, I think the best bet would be to try and identify pedophiles as early as possible, right when their feelings first materialize. Then, put them on hormone suppressors, effectively chemical castration, that completely eliminates their sex drive. Then they can just live lives of peaceful celibacy. Finding a way to change their orientation and allowing them to experience normal adult attraction would be more ideal. But after all the cruel and failed attempts at conversion therapy for gay people, I just don't see how that would ever work. The best we can likely do is to just completely eliminate the sex drive of these people all together and let them live in peace. Maybe as a precaution we don't let them work as teachers or child caregivers, but otherwise they should be completely free from restriction or harsh judgment.
But to do that, we really do need to start talking about this topic like adults. Knee-jerk reactions like "hang them all!" just results in pedophiles staying in the closet and not ever seeking help. Instead of getting medication or surgery that would completely nuke their sex drive, they try to fight their attractions through shear force of will. And well, we see how that turns out.
We will still always need harsh criminal penalties for the sexual abuse of children. A pedophile shouldn't be able to plead insanity citing their attraction. A pedophile raping a child is not the same ethically as say, a schizophrenic person killing someone because the voices ordered them to. The schizophrenic is completely out of touch with the world and has no ability to discern truth from fiction. The pedophile is fully aware of reality, and they know full well the harm they harm they are causing. So acts of pedophilia always need to remain extremely illegal.
But we should remove the stigma from someone simply having these feelings. Hell, we should talk about them in sex ed. We should literally tell 5th graders, "look, hopefully none of you develop these feelings. But if you do, here is what can be done about it. We can't change them, but we can give you drugs that will kill your libido and allow you to live a peaceful life without hurting anyone."
It sounds like sympathy for the devil, but I actually do have quite a lot of sympathy for pedophiles, at least the ones that haven't acted on their impulses. We can never offer them the same acceptance we do other forms of attraction, but we can at least offer them sympathy and not shame, and get them the help that they need.
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
TanyaJLaird Link ParentWell, I wrote it from a US perspective, and I specifically discussed monarchs on US territory. It's not worth declaring war on Britain to remove King Charles. Too many innocent people would have...Well, I wrote it from a US perspective, and I specifically discussed monarchs on US territory. It's not worth declaring war on Britain to remove King Charles. Too many innocent people would have to lose their lives before we were able to get to him. And plus it would mean war in general. But if we had a law that said, "it is a capital offense for a monarch to step foot on US territory," well that would be a pretty infamous and well-known law. If a monarch still chose to come here anyway, well they would know what they're getting themselves into. And also in that case, there's no going to war to capture someone, as they're already on US soil.
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
TanyaJLaird Link ParentWell you have to draw the line somewhere. I'm not a fan of inherited wealth in general. But at least wealth doesn't intrinsically have formal power associated with it from birth. I would treat any...Well you have to draw the line somewhere. I'm not a fan of inherited wealth in general. But at least wealth doesn't intrinsically have formal power associated with it from birth. I would treat any aristocrat the same as a monarch if that aristocratic title gave them any legally-protected advantages. For example, traditionally such titles carried the right to vote in higher assemblies, special exemptions from taxes, etc. Legally-protected inherited privileges of any kind are an abomination.
If you inherit a ton of money, but have no formal legal status, you still have to compete for political influence among other people who have a lot of money. You still have to have some connection to society at large, some relevance to the present-day world if you want to turn inherited wealth into power. But old-style aristocracy? Where aristocrats have formal titles that get passed down and carry special legal status and privileges? That's just as bad as the monarchs.
I would be in favor of very high inheritance taxes, maybe 100% above say, 100x the median national income. While inheriting large amounts of money is something we should strongly discourage, it's not a crime against humanity. But yeah, if there are aristocrats with formal titles that still obtain any degree of inherited political power, I would put them right there on the gallows next to the monarch. Give them all a chance to abandon their titles or face the consequences. Monarchs and aristocrats have no place in the 21st century. They're anachronisms still hanging on, clinging to the rim of the dustbin of history.
But monarchs especially are there own unique form of evil. The very idea that one would claim they are inherently, by birth, better and deserve special legal status is abominable.
All men are created equal. Full stop. While solving the inequities of wealth is a much more difficult task, monarchies and formal aristocracies are the low-hanging fruit of true equality. If we can't even accept the idea that no human being should have a special status that is explicitly written into law, what hope do we have at solving other problems of unjustified power, such as that from inherited wealth? Solving racism and racial injustice is a hard problem to solve, with all the subtleties and balance involved. But simply not having people that have special legal status bestowed and inherited from birth? That's an easy one.
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
TanyaJLaird LinkOk, here's my most unusual political view. It's a bit extreme. I consider myself a militant anti-monarchist. I don't care how depowered, constitutional, or benevolent a king or a queen is. I am...Ok, here's my most unusual political view. It's a bit extreme.
I consider myself a militant anti-monarchist. I don't care how depowered, constitutional, or benevolent a king or a queen is. I am ideologically opposed to the very existence of monarchies in any form. Want to keep a symbolic head of state around and have them dress fancy and live in a gilded palace? Fine. But they should be elected to regular terms just like everyone else. No one has a right to power by birth. NO ONE. There are few things more repugnant and evil than one claiming the right, by birth, to have any kind of power over an entire nation of people. The French had the absolute right approach to dealing with monarchs. Every last one of them deserves that fate. They should all have to surrender their crowns or be treated the same. I consider being a monarch to be nothing less than a crime against humanity. I don't care if you're an absolute monarch like the Sun King or the constitutional and symbolic King of Denmark, you are still a monster.
If I had my way, being a monarch of any kind on US territory would be a capital offense. No king, queen, or emperor should be able to set foot on US soil without literally losing their head. I'm still OK with the US, as a practical matter, trading and interacting diplomatically with countries that have yet to shake of their monarchical chains. But no king should ever cross the US border. No state dinners or other high honors should be given to them. Anyone who dares claim the right to rule over others, by right of birth, should be arrested, tried for crimes against humanity, and hanged like we did the defendants at Nuremberg.
Anyone who claims the right by birth to rule over others is an enemy of all mankind. Every last one of them deserves the same fate as Louis XVI. In fact, they deserve far worse.
If this post makes me lose any chance of getting an audience in front of a monarch some day, good. All I would want to do is spit in their face. Being a monarch is a crime against humanity.
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Comment on What was it like choosing your own name? in ~lgbt
TanyaJLaird LinkI approached things pretty analytically. (Perhaps I'm too much of an engineer.) I had a few requirements. First, I wanted a name that was fairly typical of someone my age. I really didn't want a...I approached things pretty analytically. (Perhaps I'm too much of an engineer.) I had a few requirements.
First, I wanted a name that was fairly typical of someone my age. I really didn't want a name that stood out much. Sometimes trans people will pick a name that is popular at the time they transition, and they end up with a name that is more typical of someone 20-30 years younger than they are. Fine if you want to do that, whatever makes you happy. But I wanted a name I could have been born with.
Second, my family handled things pretty well. And I come from a big Catholic family. And we were all named after saints (first and middle names.) So I wanted to pick a saint's name to maintain the pattern with my siblings. (I know this is a pretty unusual requirement.)
I also if possible wanted to keep my initials the same, as I have a long-running email address that uses them.
So, putting all that together, I settled on "Tanya." It's a short form of Tatiana, so it checks all the boxes. Plus I just liked the name.
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Comment on Bike brands start to adopt C-V2X to warn cyclists about cars in ~transport
TanyaJLaird Link ParentEvery e-bike sold has to be sold with a governor on it. Everyone who relies on a bicycle or e-bike is subject to mechanically enforced speed limits. People who rely on public transit lose a great...Every e-bike sold has to be sold with a governor on it. Everyone who relies on a bicycle or e-bike is subject to mechanically enforced speed limits. People who rely on public transit lose a great deal more freedom of their schedule than GPS governors on cars would impose.
Having my, and everyone else's main form of transportation centrally controlled by some system somewhere that is potentially subject to all of those things isn't something I, or probably most people would be ok with signing up for.
I really need to push back on this. We already accept centralized control for anyone under a certain income level. Anyone who has to rely on public transit has a far greater level of control placed on them. Why are those wealthy enough to afford a car worthy of not having a single restriction placed on their movement? And we're just talking about something that forces car owners to comply with the law. Also, system outages and cyber attacks can already ruin your car commute. Toll systems are subject to this. And imagine if all the stoplights in a city stop working at once. And if someone can hack your GPS governor, why can't they just hack your engine and brick your entire car?
These honestly seem like quite fantastical scenarios, scenarios that already apply to today's computer-rich cars.
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Comment on Bike brands start to adopt C-V2X to warn cyclists about cars in ~transport
TanyaJLaird Link ParentAlso, if cars reliably know their location to that level of precision...why are we not using GPS speed governors? Whenever I've heard this suggested, people always bring up the limited accuracy of...Also, if cars reliably know their location to that level of precision...why are we not using GPS speed governors?
Whenever I've heard this suggested, people always bring up the limited accuracy of GPS. They endlessly recant stories of when GPS led them astray. But conventional consumer-level GPS isn't the be-and-end-all of location-determination technology. There are a lot of other options out there.
If a car can broadcast its position precise enough to be useful as a means of safely avoiding it, the car knows its position precise enough to have a speed governor installed.
Cars should simply not be able to exceed the posted speed limit. If the speed limits in an area are too low, enforcing them mechanically will encourage people to contact their lawmakers and force them to raise the speed limits on the roads.
And for the unicorn-rare hypothetical scenario of "what if I need to rush my loved one to the hospital?" There's an easy solution for that. Have a big red button on the dash. Have it literally under a pain of glass you have to break to access. When activated, it disables the governor for 24 hours. It also sends a signal to local law enforcement. Activating it without a legitimate emergency will be a misdemeanor criminal offense. If you activate it, you'll have to go in front of a judge and explain what the emergency was. If you had a legit emergency, no problem. If you didn't, well I hope you like taking the bus, as your driving privileges are revoked for a year and your car now belongs to the state.
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Comment on I understand climate scientists’ despair – but stubborn optimism may be our only hope in ~enviro
TanyaJLaird Link ParentHere's a narrative we could start pushing that would put the fear of God in them. We need to legally define "ecocide" as a crime against humanity right up there with genocide. Sure, it would be...Here's a narrative we could start pushing that would put the fear of God in them.
We need to legally define "ecocide" as a crime against humanity right up there with genocide. Sure, it would be difficult to actually determine who is culpable enough to be guilty of such a heinous crime, but the same applies to crimes like genocide. How involved does an individual need to be before they can be charged with genocide or ethnic cleansing? It's not like we haven't written laws for hard-to-define concepts before.
The people who have fought tooth and nail to keep fossil fuels going, the people who funded disinformation campaigns, all knowing full well what that would lead to? These people deserve the Nuremberg treatment. They have committed crimes against humanity. And they should be dealt with as such.
This is the kind of rage we should be feeling. We should be telling ourselves, "someone needs to hang for this." Because that is the magnitude of the crime we are dealing with.
We need to add ecocide to the list of crimes against humanity.
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Comment on A big new facility built to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere opened up in Iceland. It's a stepping stone to bigger plans in the US. in ~enviro
TanyaJLaird Link ParentI mean, what's the alternative? We get out the dynamite and start blowing up pipelines and oil refineries? We run adds encouraging mass shooters to target oil companies instead of elementary...I mean, what's the alternative? We get out the dynamite and start blowing up pipelines and oil refineries? We run adds encouraging mass shooters to target oil companies instead of elementary schools? We just start taking old-timey mob justice on oil executives? Outside the political process and civil protest, there really aren't many options available outside of violence. If that's the alternative you want to go for, good luck. I mean we may very well end up at that point. If governments don't act, it's only a matter of time til people start taking more direct action. But I'll operate under the assumption we can handle things peacefully.
Though, I do lean in the more pessimistic direction myself, based primarily on the observed progress we've seen so far. And as dark as it sounds, I would actually discourage young people today from going into the oil industry. On the current track, we're looking at a +3C world by the end of the century. It is not an exaggeration to say that that would literally kill billions.
Imagine what a world like that would be like politically. Imagine the rage and thirst for revenge the people then would feel. I don't think that it's at all unreasonable that we'll end up adding "ecocide" to the list of crimes against humanity, right up there with genocide. I think the people currently running the oil companies will be dead before things get that bad. But a person just graduating high school today might live long enough to see that day. They might end up like those old Nazi camp guards that were tried in their 90s for crimes committed in their teenage years. But I could totally see any survivors of the fossil fuel companies being brought up on charges of ecocide, in a trial held on a barge, floating above where The Hague used to be. Those joining the fossil fuel sector today may legitimately find themselves one day facing charges for crimes against humanity.
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Comment on A big new facility built to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere opened up in Iceland. It's a stepping stone to bigger plans in the US. in ~enviro
TanyaJLaird Link ParentCarbon capture is going to be needed on a massive scale if we ever want to stop using fossil fuels. Because even if we stop burning gasoline and diesel tomorrow, massive demand will remain for...Carbon capture is going to be needed on a massive scale if we ever want to stop using fossil fuels. Because even if we stop burning gasoline and diesel tomorrow, massive demand will remain for oil. It will remain in the form of plastics and other synthetic materials. There's a lot you can do with these materials that you simply can't do with anything else. I'm glad we no longer live in a world of cloth IV lines.
Now, oil boosters like to cite this fact as a reason we shouldn't seriously consider banning drilling for oil. Whenever someone proposes it, some edge lord will say, "but actually, what about plastic? We need oil for plastic."
The truth is we don't. We've had a century to perfect organic chemistry. And we've become VERY good at manipulating hydrocarbon chains. We can produce all the synthetic materials we need from atmospheric carbon.
In fact, this is a quite scalable way of paying for mass-scale carbon sequestration. Pass a law saying, "in 2030, 1% of plastic must be derived from atmospheric carbon." Then, slowly raise that number to 100%. Once all the plastic is atmospherically derived, give up on the flawed idea of plastic recycling. Instead, encourage placing it in big landfills. You now have now found a way to pay for mass scale carbon capture and storage. This will likely drive the price of plastic up a bit, but we can make due with more expensive plastic. There are some cases we use it for where it is irreplaceable. But there are many others where it's used not because it's the best choice, but simply because it's the cheapest choice.
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Comment on Visa Onchain Analytics Dashboard in ~finance
TanyaJLaird Link ParentAgain. What's the point? If you want a payment method that doesn't do chargebacks, just issue a special version of a card that doesn't have that as an option. This all just seems like the work of...Again. What's the point? If you want a payment method that doesn't do chargebacks, just issue a special version of a card that doesn't have that as an option. This all just seems like the work of a bunch of uncreative lazy executives chasing the latest fad they heard. Next they'll be trying to shoehorn AI into it. Just children chasing after shiny toys.
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Comment on Visa Onchain Analytics Dashboard in ~finance
TanyaJLaird Link ParentSure, crypto has those advantages as a retailer or service provider. But what exactly is the point of involving Visa at that point?Sure, crypto has those advantages as a retailer or service provider. But what exactly is the point of involving Visa at that point?
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Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets
TanyaJLaird LinkWe adopted a couple of kittens two weeks ago. I present Frodo and Sam. They're a pair of brothers from the same litter, adopted as bonded pair. We'll come down in the morning and find them...We adopted a couple of kittens two weeks ago. I present Frodo and Sam. They're a pair of brothers from the same litter, adopted as bonded pair. We'll come down in the morning and find them literally just lying on top of each other.
We knew we wanted a naming pair. We considered some from mythology. Maybe Phobos and Deimos, Romulus and Remus. But those seemed weird to use on a daily basis. We also considered Ignorance and Want, which would also seems to capture the spirit of cats. But considering how close these two brothers are, we decided on Sam and Frodo.
These are also names that keep on giving. They can be referred to collectively as "the hobbits." And if they ever get into trouble, we can complain about "the tricksy hobbitses." Steal a chair? "They stole it from me!"
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Comment on Visa Onchain Analytics Dashboard in ~finance
TanyaJLaird LinkJesus wept! This is truly the cursed timeline. Visa and crypto. All the inefficiencies of the blockchain and all the centralization, tracking, and lack of control over your money that the big...Jesus wept! This is truly the cursed timeline. Visa and crypto. All the inefficiencies of the blockchain and all the centralization, tracking, and lack of control over your money that the big banks bring. Truly the worst of all possible worlds.
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Comment on California junk fee ban could upend restaurant industry in ~food
TanyaJLaird Link ParentI invite others to reply as well, but I can elaborate on my thoughts there. I obviously don't mean that people show up to restaurants dressed like members of Louis XIV's court. It's more a change...I invite others to reply as well, but I can elaborate on my thoughts there.
I obviously don't mean that people show up to restaurants dressed like members of Louis XIV's court. It's more a change in behavior and demeanor that I've observed among many people. People who are otherwise very casual and informal will suddenly adopt an out-of-character stiff and formal demeanor. They'll change the tone of their voice. They'll start being very formal with please, thank you, making formal requests, enunciating their words very rigidly, etc. And they won't act this way when encountering say, cashiers at a grocery store. They will only act in this faux-aristocratic manner when being served at a restaurant. They'll act casually with every service-sector worker that they don't control the wage of. But when working with a tipped employee, they'll adopt a formal demeanor.
In the world of old money, whether British, American, others, a culture developed to regulate the social interactions between the wealthy and "the help" or the common folk and "their betters." The help was supposed to adopt an attitude of polite unquestioning supplication. The wealthy were supposed to act with detached, polite, and disinterested benevolence. This class divide was built into the very architecture of buildings. See the dumbwaiter.
There is a long tradition, a culture that developed of how the rich and their staff were to interact. And middle class people were never wealthy enough to afford those kind of servants. Tipped waitstaff represent to the middle class the one time that they will get to experience a brief taste of that power over others. And it continues to this day.
Perhaps this could be viewed as a uniquely American phenomenon. A broader theme of American culture is an attempt to democratize experiences and goods that were once the exclusive purview of the wealthy. And for many, a sit down restaurant represents just that. It's where anyone, for a modest price, can get to experience complete power and control over someone else's paycheck. It's where people of even modest means can get a taste of the power the old aristocrats held over their servants. In a way, there's a weird democratic spirit to the whole thing. It's something that could only exist in America, with our weird cultural contradictions between the democratic tradition and worship of the wealthy.
At the end of the day, people go to sit down restaurants for more than just the food. Counter service places can give the same exact food for substantially lower cost. They instead go for the experience of having a nice evening out in a setting different from home. But for some, part of the appeal of the experience is that they get to, for a brief moment, have power over others.
If you're in the US, I suggest you listen for it. Observe the people you know when they go into restaurants. See if any of them subtly adopt the affectations of old money aristocrats (or at least the cultural stereotype of that group.) Then see if they adopt those same affectations when dealing with non-tipped service sector workers. What I have observed is that many people who are casual in normal settings and when addressing non-tipped workers will suddenly adopt an elitist and formal demeanor when being served by tipped waitstaff.
When you really start to notice it, it become quite disturbing. Even people who themselves have worked shit jobs and have been abused by those above them will suddenly take on a superior demeanor when dealing with waitstaff. It is not enough that servers provide good service, but they must act like servants, servile peons on a lower social status than whoever happens to walk in the door with a dollar in their pocket.
Really, I find the whole thing vile. This kind of behavior has no place in a free and democratic society. It's one of the reasons I find tipping such a horrid practice. I'm in the US, and I realize servers do rely on tips. So I of course do tip when I go out to eat; it's not the servers' fault this broken system exists. But I do believe tipping culture needs to be excised from our society. It's a stain on the national soul. I would support banning tipping or taxing it so heavily that it would hardly ever be done.
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Comment on California junk fee ban could upend restaurant industry in ~food
TanyaJLaird Link ParentCome on, that's an easy problem to solve. You pass them both simultaneously. You don't repeal the sales tax and a year later pass an income tax. You pass both of them with a single law. The same...I understand that sales tax is regressive, so replacing it with a progressive tax would be better. The issue is that politicians have an easier time repealing taxes than they do creating new ones.
Come on, that's an easy problem to solve. You pass them both simultaneously. You don't repeal the sales tax and a year later pass an income tax. You pass both of them with a single law. The same bill repeals the sales tax, imposes an income tax, and establishes a means of revenue dispersal. Optionally, write the bill as a ballot initiative to give voters the final say on the whole package.
I agree that gun owners should be expected to keep track of every bullet. Some mandatory fines and firearms safety training make a lot of sense. However, the people in this article are facing mandatory minimum 12 YEAR jail sentences. When you were in the military, would they have thrown you in Leavenworth for a decade for misplacing a couple of rounds?
That's the real problem here. We punish people all the time for things that can be minor lapses in judgment. Speeding tickets come to mind. But there's a reason we don't give decade-long prison sentences for casual speeding.