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2022 | Fall Issue

Seven Deadly Sins

When government goes bad, it ruins lives.

This issue of Sword&Scales highlights several situations where government behaved badly because nefarious impulses proved far too strong. In keeping with our eerie seasonal theme, we’ve even labeled each circumstance in accordance with its corresponding sin: greed, pride, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy, and sloth.

— Steven D. Anderson, President & CEO, Pacific Legal Foundation

what’s inside

GREED: Michigan Officials Steal Families’ Homes to Pad their Budgets

Christina M. Martin

The House of Diamond Lake was estimated to be worth between $3 million and $4 million. It was nestled on the shore with other multimillion-dollar houses in the postcard-perfect Michigan setting. “Diamond is a very appropriate name for this beautiful lake,” one visitor to the area reports on TripAdvisor. “The water is crystal clear and sparkles when the sunlight dances on its surface. Water sports and fishing are a constant presence. You will see sailboats whenever the wind picks up a bit.” It’s no wonder Cass County officials were so excited.

PRIDE: The EPA Sees Itself as a ‘Clean Water’ Savior. But its Mistakes Are Destroying Lives.

Joseph Kast

Paige Gilliard

We all have a slightly distorted idea about who we are and how other people see us.

LUST: This Montana City Treats Massage Therapists Like Sex Workers

Brittany Hunter

Daniel Woislaw

Occasionally, Theresa Vondra gets a client who has the wrong idea about her massage business.

WRATH: California Fines Doctor Millions for Protecting People from 20-Foot Drop

Joshua P. Thompson

The 12 Gods of Ancient Greece were vengeful and petty.

GLUTTONY: Louisiana Legislators Demand Meatpacking Monopoly

Anastasia Boden

It was the late 1860s, and the city of New Orleans had a gruesome problem: Animal intestines clogged the city’s water pipes.

ENVY: Education Officials Spread Poisonous Myth that Asian Students Are ‘Test-Taking Robots’

Erin Wilcox

“I walked into Stuyvesant High School and I thought I was in Chinatown,” Milady Baez, then-deputy chancellor of the Department of Education in New York City, complained to colleagues at a 2018 meeting.

SLOTH: California Takes Three Years to Approve Wheelchair-Friendly Home for Stroke Victim

Oliver J. Dunford

They were trapped. David Tibbitts’ debilitating stroke in 2018 left him confined to a wheelchair. Stephanie, his wife, was having trouble moving David around the narrow hallways of their cramped 1930s-era home on the California coast.
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Stories of liberty and justice

Sword&Scales is a quarterly magazine with in-depth stories about liberty, equality, and justice. Published by Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm with a winning record at the Supreme Court, Sword&Scales features narratives from history, courtroom showdowns, and the real experiences of people fighting for their rights.

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