Yup. It starts bad and gets worse, and worse.

Speaking of corrosive effects on the integrity of policing... then there's this whole vat of acid:
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

(granted, there's quite a lot of healthcare problems caused by not having enough doctors in the system right now...)

My last personal encounter with healthcare IT was clinic staff apologising that they couldn't update my details correctly because they'd changed the codes and "Dr." was not in the system.

It's almost like they're actively _trying_ to bring about the End Times, or something.

Much as I understand some things can and should be a national priority, I'd definitely like to see regional priorities being set by people whose responsibility it is to understand what best serves the needs of their communities. Not priorities set by those with enough political influence.

The current coalition appear to be singing from the Project 2025 songbook a lot, and seem to be hellbent on eroding the country's democratic norms, services and processes across the board.

General election next year, though.

* concerning

(serves me right for not proofreading)

Mmhm. $30m for health services, $6m for advertising to educate people about meth harm. Because apparently we don't already know it's bad or something.

Also unsure if those numbers overlap. I hope they don't.

Playing fast and loose with this kind of thing has a corrosive effect on the integrity of policing. This is ironically happening at the same time as officers are getting in trouble for simulating breath tests to pump up their performance numbers.

Corruption always starts small.

Do we really want to open ourselves to the kind of everyday corruption that civil asset forfeiture directly into police coffers with little regulation promotes overseas?

For all that I applaud genuine efforts to reduce the harm caused by methamphetamine abuse... the Proceeds of Crime Fund is kept separate from standard Police operating budgets for a very good reason: it is a check against corrupt policing.

It appears to be a dorble.

There is much to be said for a winter swathed in Extra Blanket. Especially when one's insulation leaves something to be desired.

Garden of the now:

[Alt text: a screenshot of my BlueSky bio with "filthy enabler" highlighted in a red rectangle]

Yes, I got sloppy this time :-(