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from the unreasonable-searches-and-seizures dept.
Via Common Dreams, the American Civil Liberties Union reports
[December 3], a three-judge panel at the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a 2011 Florida law mandating that all applicants for the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program submit to suspicion-less drug tests violates the Constitution's protection against unreasonable government searches.
[...]The 11th Circuit panel's order rejects arguments made by attorneys for the State of Florida that government has the authority to require people to submit to invasive searches of their bodily fluids without suspicion of wrongdoing, stating "the warrantless, suspicionless urinalysis drug testing of every Florida TANF applicant as a mandatory requirement for receiving Temporary Cash Assistance offends the Fourth Amendment."
[...]A 2012 review of the TANF mandatory urinalysis program found that the state of Florida spent more money reimbursing individuals for drug tests than the state saved on screening out the extremely small percentage.
(Score: 2) by hoochiecoochieman on Friday December 05 2014, @06:39PM
From my personal experience, I know that not all politicians are dishonest. There are very good and valuable people in politics.
But politics is an activity that attracts lots of dishonest people. They want to control resources and can bullshit their way into positions of power. But that's not different from any human activity involving money and power. Management positions in private companies are full of dishonest people. And they make a huge lot more money than politicians. And they're a lot less accountable than politicians.
The thing that scares the crooks the most is that their work is scrutinised by the people that elected them. So, to avoid dishonesty in politics, common people must be involved and active. That's the reason that the "politics is dishonest" meme is so widespread. It appeals to the laziness of the common guy. Instead of demanding more from his elected officials, he will just drop his arms and use the meme as an excuse for inaction. That's exactly what every crook wants. To drive honest people away from politics, so he can rule free.
Stop being a lazy naysayer and get involved. I warn you, it's hard work, and you will be subject to a lot of temptations. If you are honest, you'll give a lot more than you take. But you can sleep at night, because you know the world is a tiny, tiny bit better, because of you.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke