Badoleth

A podcast by lawyers Barro and White joins the universal Lawyers Chorus trying to shut Sammy’s stupid mouth. They bring up a crucially important point about the Professional Criminal genotype.

Semiquote:

I must admit it’s my fault, because I’m always out there saying don’t go on Twitter and talk about crimes, don’t go on the news and talk about crimes. But I can’t find anywhere where I specifically said “Don’t Substack about your federal crime.” That’s an obvious loophole and I should have filled it.

Exact quote:

Clients like Sam require a certain level of specificity in avoiding dumb things, that the rest of us don’t require.

This is a pretty good shibboleth or quick test for the Professional Criminal.

Normal people can generalize about a moral rule. Don’t steal, don’t kill, don’t cheat. We may break the rule in extreme situations, when desperate or angry, but we don’t spend all day seeking the precise exception to every rule and then cheerfully slithering through the exception.

Dogs vs cats.

Dogs know what’s right. When a dog knows how things are supposed to work around here, he will follow the principle. He will defend our territory whether it’s fenced or not.

Cats are Pro Criminals. Every square inch of every prohibited place must be specified and prohibited repeatedly, with no learning and no adaptation. Physical barriers (ie prison walls) are the only real solution.