Two Ohio thugs noted a woman leaving a store and reportedly shoplifting, and instead of arranging to arrest her, they shot her dead.

If she had stolen something necessary for her life, or for her children's life, I would have said that the poor have a right to steal necessities like that. But that point was not applicable if she was stealing alcoholic drinks. She did not have a right to steal alcoholic drinks.

But that does not mean it was a grave crime either.

Meanwhile, even though her petty theft was apparently unjustified, it was no justification for killing her.

I disagree with the article's assumption: that we non-pregnant members of society are less worthy of rights that are those members who are pregnant. Reproducing is not a special virtue, especially now in the days when overpopulation is likely to kill enough people to reduce the population drastically through suffering.

But that detail doesn't affect the overall moral conclusion much. Pregnant or not, mother or not, the thugs killed that woman because they saw an opportunity, and that morally makes them murderers.

The idea of choosing officials by lot, as ancient Athens chose some officials, may be interesting.

But the officials chosen this way were usually members of a panel. No one of them had a large amount of power individually. That reduces the possible downside from random choice.

Also, the system assumes that these officials would be chosen from people who would be basically civic-minded. In the US today, many of the potential lottery choices would be fascists inclined to use their positions to threaten sabotage. We could not expect that to work.

*The NLRB has brought 100 cases against [Starbucks] over anti-union activities — but it cannot punish the company.*

Firefighters are suing to prevent the UK government from putting any refugees in the isolated barge in Portland, claiming it is a firetrap.

The UK government will warn London cops that evictions by London landlords are likely to be illegal, and perhaps even criminal. Cops have been told to refuse to support the eviction, and arrest landlords who try certain illegal methods.

Hooray!