THE FIVE-FOLD ROLE OF GOVERNMENT DURING PANDEMIC (COVID-19)
A. SERVE SUSTENANCE
1. Provide food, water and comfort;
2. Make sure that no citizen perishes because of anger or destitution
3. Search for the homeless, the poor and all those without means during “normal” times and fend for them;
4. Ensure that no-one is starved or vulnerable to the diseases;
5. Ensure every citizen has shelter during the pandemic.
B. SECURE SAFETY & SECURITY
1. Protect the citizens from all forms of harm, including harm from the coronavirus;
2. Invoke any relevant laws, policies or emergency powers in order to limit freedoms for the limited purpose of protecting the citizens;
3. Secure the weak, the vulnerable and victims from those who will take advantage of the pandemic to defraud others, harm others or gain benefits on account of other people’s miseries;
4. Ensure there is peace and order in the country, during and after the pandemic;
5. Enforce laws, procure order and stop those who may disobey the law.
C. STOP THE PANDEMIC
1. Define the problem – Covid-19 – what it is;
2. Educate and inform the citizens regarding the problem – Covid-19 – how it is acquired, transmitted; how it is prevented; and what civic, moral, legal and commonsensical duties citizens have in responding to the pandemic;
3. Reduce the impact of the pandemic at hand, i.e. Covid-19 – identify essential services and workers, supply them with materials, equip hospitals with beds, equipment, PPEs, medicines, and all necessities;
4. Manage the sick, the dead and those recovering, as well as provide for or facilitate for the decent burial of the dead victims of the pandemic;
5. Finally end the pandemic by finding a permanent cure or antidote – through research, cooperation with other governments, and if possible, by any means necessary!
D. SURRENDER TAXATION
1. Waive or give people a break from taxation completely (for poor countries);
2. Minimize or waive taxation for certain afflicted sectors (for the rich countries)
3. Stop all non-essential services and workers from working (staying at home declarations);
4. Hire more essential workers, including recalling retirees and upgrading students to join the workforce;
5. Pay people who are staying at home, and pay essential workers a “Risk Bonus” up and above their normal salaries.
E. SEAMLESS ECONOMIC TRANSITION
1. Try to avoid a depression at all cost - mobilize entire nation to offer free and pro bono services, volunteer their skills and abilities, donate time and energy, as well as care for everything;
2. Manage the ensuing recession (stimulate the economy through stimulus packages and etc.);
3. Enact pandemic and post-pandemic legislation that puts the citizens back to work immediately after the pandemic;
4. Enact pandemic and post-pandemic legislation that encourage business creation;
5. Minimize the overall impact of the pandemic on the economy of the country through a smooth transition to the economy pre-pandemic or close thereto. DO NO PREMATURELY DECLARE THE PANDEMIC IS OVER WHEN IT IS NOT - that will kill more people and do more damages to economies! This calls for wise political judgment!
CHARLES mwewa's quotes on law & morality
“Laws are like people’s undergarments; with good laws on, your comfort is secured though you may not realize it, and without them, shame is the end, though you may not know.”
“Justice and law rarely leave it each other. However, justice must always be a step ahead.”
“Good laws are indispensable to good government; if the laws are bad, the good-willingness of the governors will not compensate.”
“Law must be made indiscriminately, enforced impartially, and interpreted with divinity!”
“If law is absent or weak, the devil in angels becomes a monster!”
“Law must be a weapon – but for good and not revenge.”
“Law is ultimately subservient to human dignity.”
“Any government or public official who either debases law or uses it to disenfranchise others, has administered ricin into his own soul.”
“Law must be just to be law.”
“A decision-maker who makes a decision before hearing and weighing evidence objectively, has infected her own mind with poison ivy.”
“Law is important – it can make a land fruitful or impotent.”
“Law must constantly be reviewed to ensure that it does not defame the very ideals it purports to affirm.”
“Law can be insipid, dumb or even stupid, but it can bite.”
“Do not be proud to be a law-man, be happy to search and implement justice.”
“To judge law, you must first judge yourself.”
“For the most part, Justice is the person who sits in the bench to judge – if he lacks morality, you are presumed guilty.”
“There is only one thing that is above the law, good evidence is.”
“We continue to obey the law, even after we are dead!”
“The only one who does not need law, is love.”
“If you love the law, you probably hate evil.”
“If you can bend the law, you can land into a ditch.”
“No matter how justifiable it is, to condemn the innocent and to acquit the guilt, is shame to the law.”
“Those who govern over other people, must govern by law.”
“Good people respect the law; bad people disobey good laws.”
“The law of the land must be strong in going to war against poverty, battling daily with corruption, and preaching democracy indefinitely.”
“Those who make the law are not experts in the law – they must be beneath it.”
“A good law must be immortal, invincible, incorruptible, and without guile.”
“Law must not only defend the poor; it must bring them prosperity – because a good law must bring balance.”
“If the law of the land fails to order society, either it is a useless law or those who enforce it are duplicitous.”
“The first inherent nature of a good law is that it does not discriminate.”
10 Tips for Presenting Your Case in Court
There are certain tricks of the trade to presenting your case in court. Following are 10 tips to help you in your efforts in presenting your case:
1. Observe other trials.
Before you have your day in court, you might want to go to the court in which your case will be heard and observe the judge and the proceedings. This will give you a better idea of what to expect procedurally and what the judge's courtroom is like and make you somewhat more relaxed for your own trial. Observing other trials will give you information on how to act and how to dress appropriately for that particular courtroom.
2. Be prepared. Do your homework.
Know what to expect. Interview all of your witnesses and make arrangements for them to be available to testify. Have all of your exhibits ready. Have necessary copies of all documents that you will provide to opposing counsel and the judge. Prepare a trial notebook that will guide you throughout the case.
3. Be polite, courteous, and respectful to all parties.
This includes the judge, jurors, court personnel, your witnesses, opposing counsel, opposing party, and opposing witnesses. This cannot be overemphasized. It is a good idea to refrain from being overly argumentative with opposing counsel and from making too many objections in open court. You can be certain that the jury and the judge will observe every move you make while you are in front of them.
4. Tell a good story.
Develop a believable and consistent theme for your case. You should present your case in a manner that is convincing and compelling. If your case involves complicated issues, you should attempt to present those issues in lay terms.
5. Show the judge; don't tell.
Don't just stand up in court in front of the jury or the judge and tell them about your case. Use movement, inflection, props, visual aids, exhibits, videos, and anything else to keep the judge and jury interested and attentive.
6. Admit and dismiss/impeach your bad facts.
Be prepared to do damage control when the other side brings up the flaws in your case. Bring up your bad facts on your own, discuss them, deal with them, and move on.
7. Present admissible evidence that establishes each and every element of your claims and any defenses you might have.
Make sure that the evidence you plan to use to prove your case is admissible in court. Do your own research on admissibility of evidence. The rules of evidence may be complicated.
8. Respect and pay attention to the judge/jury.
If you are in front of a jury or judge, you should always be respectful and pay attention to their reactions. This is the body or person who will render a decision on your behalf. In addition to presenting the law and facts of your case, you should also be aware of when further demonstration or explanation is required.
9. Never ask a question in open court to which you don't already know the answer.
This is true even if you are questioning your own witness.
10. Make proper objections and use opportunities to approach the bench in court.
Although objections and approaching the bench both cause disruptions in the flow of court proceedings, you need to balance these against making an important point, getting clarification, and making a proper record for appeal.