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On open law

2017-04-05 21:45:27.737115+00 by Dan Lyke 5 comments

Letter from 15 senior government officials to Congress about Edicts of Government. (PDF).

And, yes, as someone who's thought at various times "hey, I've got a wood shop, it'd be kinda cool to build some kids toys for local fundraising auctions, I wonder what the rules on that are...", and maybe I'm fine with skirting some of the lab testing rules, but paying a hundred bucks just to be able to read the guidelines on safe toy design? That sucks.

[ related topics: Children and growing up Politics Bay Area moron Graphic Design Woodworking ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: On open law made: 2017-04-06 00:31:01.09552+00 by: Bunny

This can't possibly stand, can it? It's so obviously ludicrous. AFAIK, you can still purchase entire volumes of the CFR, so why would this Edict even be contemplated. You'll keep us advised as to the results of this letter, right?

As for the homemade toys, didn't I read that the ruling making such cottage enterprises prohibitively expensive had been reversed or revised?

#Comment Re: On open law made: 2017-04-06 11:08:37.143766+00 by: DaveP

And yet "ignorance of the law is no excuse."

I remember reading at least one dystopian sf novel as a kid that talked about laws that you couldn't read and everyone broke unintentionally. Similarly, "Three Felonies A Day."

If the keep making new laws, soon everybody will be a criminal!

#Comment Re: On open law made: 2017-04-06 16:15:12.05738+00 by: Dan Lyke

Carl Malamud is working hard on opening up the law, but, for instance, he just had a judicial decision handed to him which resulted in his pulling down his mirror of the Georgia law. And many cities have bought their municipal code from a company which copyrights it.

#Comment Re: On open law made: 2017-04-06 16:24:36.792089+00 by: Dan Lyke

Looks like the relief for small manufacturers is at https://www.saferproducts.gov/SmallBatchManufacturers/ , but last time I checked the rules for toys book was about $100 from whatever standards organization that was. I could guess at what the rules are that apply to small toys (ie: it's pretty easy to suss out minimum part sizes and dimensions of protruberances and such), but it's one of those things that feels philosophically wrong.

#Comment Re: On open law made: 2017-04-06 20:53:49.201615+00 by: Bunny

I agree. But everyone is so litigious nowadays, I hold my breath every time I cook something as a gift. I used to give chicken soup to my neighbor, but now I'm afraid. What if there were a small bone in there and she choked on it? As for small toys, not only do you have to worry about the size of the parts, but also what you use for finish that a little kid might chew on. Everything you buy for kids comes with a disclaimer that it's for kids three years old and older. I'm all for protecting the children, but first kill the lawyers. Who said that, Shakespeare?

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