Download PDF The Nonsense Factory The Making and Breaking of the American Legal System Bruce Cannon Gibney 9780316475266 Books

Product details Hardcover 544 pages Publisher Hachette Books (May 14, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 0316475262

The Nonsense Factory The Making and Breaking of the American Legal System Bruce Cannon Gibney 9780316475266 Books Reviews

• This insightful and fair-minded book explores the history and foundations of our legal system and the serious systemic problems that have come to dominate our justice system, often creating grave injustices. I found the book pretty engaging and easy to follow. It provides a good analysis of the challenges that exist and offers some ideas for solutions, although there isn't really an in depth game plan for how we as a people might successfully push forward reforms that would improve the delivery of justice in our society. I think anyone seeking to address injustices in society would benefit from this overview of the roots of how the system that purports to support justice and an orderly society has been corrupted and manipulated in ways that are degrading our society.
• I currently serve as a mediator in my state’s court system and also have worked as an expert in local, state and federal courts so I had a semi-professional interest in this book. I found that the comments and criticisms leveled by the author to be valid despite his openly hostile bias favoring the left side of the political spectrum. This bias, which often grows tedious, manifests itself by him selecting examples ridiculing centrists or rightward individuals but it doesn’t in any way invalidate his comments. For example, he persistently lashes out with venomous hatred of Antonin Scalia and others including the current swing SCOTUS Justices Roberts and Gorsuch. Meanwhile, his only comment on RGB is something like she’s a superstar – a true phenom. He’s clearly star struck by her.
  
  As I noted above, while the bias of this book is nakedly on display with the author openly proud of his persistent Silicon Valley/San Francisco style virtue signaling, I think this an important book for all to read since it brings to light much of what we who labor within the beast either know or sense. Here are some of many examples which should signal to all that something’s beyond rotten within our legal system.
  
  Nobody even knows how many laws there are or what they all are. The DoJ in 1982 tried to document all of them and despite what was supposedly a valiant effort, failed to create a complete compilation. Since the early ’80s, the number of laws has proliferated at the federal level. That’s bad enough. Now add in the laws of all 50 states and the roughly 20,000 municipalities and you have, as a result, all of us being unindicted felons. If the government wishes to ‘get you’ it can by simply documenting what you thought were innocent actions and finding a law you violated from among this swamp of do’s and don’ts. For example, in MA, starting but not finishing the National Anthem is a crime.
  
  It gets worse. Consider the above are only laws passed by the legislature bodies. In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of laws (regulations) passed by unelected bureaucrats as part of the deep or administrative state’s taking power from the Constitutionally defined areas of government. Scared yet? Get this. Nobody knows how many federal government agencies there are. Right now, deep state administrative personnel who most don’t even know exist are creating laws which can land you in gray rock prison for an indefinite period of time.
  
  At this point, I’ve not even scratched 1% of this book’s contents which is why I think it mandatory reading for anybody who considers themselves a responsible citizen. I wholly disagree with the author’s suggested remedies because I think the outcome will be worse than what we have now and that’s saying something. However, this isn’t an area where either the author or I both of who are, more or less, part of the system, should have the only opinions. This is a well-written light read if a bit long but clearly the author shortened the book to the minimum length needed to get his message across. It’s a book everybody should read. If you fail to even try, you’re simply an irresponsible citizen – I see it as that important which is why, despite my many disagreements with the author’s positions, I rate this at a full five stars.