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Re:A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what? by AnthonyMouse on Saturday November 16, 2013 @07:57PM (#6747087)
"Driving is a privilege, not a right" is just something MADD made up to justify unusual penalties. You could just as well say "fire is a privilege, not a right" and claim that arsonists should be prohibited from heating their homes in the winter. As a policy it doesn't make any sense.
Re:A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what? by reginaldjcooper on Sunday November 17, 2013 @12:01AM (#6747666)
It's weird you chose that strawman because actually people do need a permit to operate large fires in public and I am pretty sure a convicted arsonist would be denied this privilege.
Re:A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what? by AnthonyMouse on Sunday November 17, 2013 @01:45PM (#6750180)
An analogy is not a straw man. Moreover, I can identify at least two problems with your rebuttal.

First, the existence of a bad policy somewhere does not excuse the existence of similar bad policies everywhere. You can't justify the penalties under the CFAA by comparing to the penalties for crack cocaine possession, because they are both excessive.

Second, you'll notice that your discovery (if such a prohibition for arsonists indeed exists) breaks the analogy with a prohibition on driving for those convicted of a DUI, because it isn't a prohibition on all fire, when it is a prohibition on all driving. Which makes your argument the straw man, because a prohibition on large public fires is a minor inconvenience, whereas a prohibition on burning fuel to heat one's residence, like a prohibition on driving whatsoever, is a life-altering situation that may require you to find a new job and residence while doing very little to combat the evil in question supposedly justifying the restrictions.

Re:A living death: Sentenced to die behind bars for what? by infinite8s on Tuesday November 19, 2013 @02:36PM (#6763799)
In most states you are only required to have a license to drive on public roads. You are free to drive recklessly on your own private property.