Is there anything that more red tape won't fix?

The N&O is mournful; it's just so sad that the State has to enact a new law (S729) to prevent people from doing a "wrong thing [that] is blindingly, glaring apparent." So, after making laws for 3000 years, what wrong thing has everybody missed until now? In the words of the N&O, it's selling "a load of aluminum or copper or cast iron that obviously belongs to someone else."

Now, you probably thought that it had already long been illegal to traffic in stolen goods. And you probably also thought that "obviously" meant ... um, at least "easy to prove in court." Ah, but you'd be wrong. Senator Bob Rucho (R-Etard) and his pals believe some stolen goods are being bought and sold, but prosecutors just can't prove it. So, they have to DO something, don't they? So, they want to add extra red tape to every transaction, so they can punish people even when it cannot be proven they were knowingly buying stolen goods! And, even when they're NOT buying stolen goods, but merely failed get a permit.

Pretty soon everything you want to do will require a permit. Do you have a permit to ask for a permit?