Friday, February 29, 2008

One In One Hundred

In this country we don't like to think about prisons. I mean REALLY think about prisons. We like to talk about things like being tough on crime, debts to society, laws named after legitimately wronged little girls and mandatory sentencing. We don't, however, like to talk about the reality of the people we have sitting in cells.

We dance around the subject. It doesn't come up in polite conversation. People can speak passionately about how the incarcerated should be treated harshly while never really attempting to identify with the realities of being incarcerated. Many seem to feel entitled to remain ignorant about the issues at hand because they have never really broken the law so it shouldn't have to affect them...but is that really true?

I challenge you to find someone who hasn't been peripherally exposed to someone who has been incarcerated. Given the results of The Pew Center study I linked to in the title, I suspect you would have a hard time finding anyone who isn't exposed to someone impacted by a friend or family member in a prison or jail right now. For every 100 people in this country, 1 of them is incarcerated at this very moment. If you really let that number sink in, the magnitude is staggering.

A few fun facts for you:
  • Approximately 2.3 million individuals are currently incarcerated in the US. That is only slightly less than the entire population of the state of Nevada (2.5 million)
  • The US incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world. We also incarcerate a higher percentage of our population than any other nation in the world. Our inmate population is larger than the 26 largest European inmate populations...combined.
  • There are currently 1 million more individuals incarcerated than actively serving in the US military.
  • 1 in 9 black men between the ages of 18-34 is currently incarcerated.
  • 1 out of every 8.3 California State Employees works for the Department of Corrections.
  • For every $1.06 that the state of Oregon spends on corrections, $1.00 is spent on higher education.
  • 9.3% of the general fund for the state of Florida was spent on corrections.
  • 67% of former prisoners are rearrested within 3 years of their release. 52% are re-incarcerated.
  • Of the 33 prisons in the state of California, all of them are exceeding 100% of their designed capacity. 16 have populations in excess of 200% of their designed capacity. Many have bunk beds in hallways, gyms, recreation rooms, office spaces and some have even place mattresses in prison chapels to accommodate the population.

Is it really possible to believe that we are not all affected by the prison system in this nation? We all pay for it. We know the friends and family members of those directly impacted by an incarcerated loved one. We live with the inhabitants when they are released. It is time to start addressing the issues associated with how we handle the people who violate our laws. We need to discuss and debate it. We need our politicians to be able to confront it realistically without the threat of being labeled soft on crime.

What is our main goal in incarcerating such a large percentage of our population?

If the goal is to protect society, I suggest that we are failing. A early look at the 2007 crime rates seem to indicate that states such as New York and California who have substantially reduced their prison populations in 2007, have experienced similar if not better reductions in crime rates than states such as Florida. Florida's prison population increased 5% in in 2007 due to lengthening of prison stays and a zero tolerance policy in regard to probation violations.

If our goal is to reform offenders, again I say we have failed with our current system. Recidivism rates over 50% show how sadly we are addressing the concept of reform. It is understandable, however. Given the current inmate population levels states are struggling to feed and house them, leaving little in the budget for programs that offer new opportunities for prisoners upon release.

If the goal is simply to punish, I am left with one question. How much are you willing to pay for the sense of satisfaction of incarcerating non-violent offenders? The vast majority of the incarcerated are serving time for non-violent offences, often drug offences. Is this really the best of use of state and federal resources...let alone of these people's lives?

We are failing and it is costing us dearly, both financially and socially. In a democracy, when we see weaknesses and failures in our system we have a responsibility to address them. We must learn about them and hold our elected officials responsible for failing to acknowledge them. By ignoring the flaws in our criminal justice system we risk personally falling victim to them.

Now I admit that I am over-simplifying a very complex problem. This is a real problem, however, and we are ignoring it. We can not afford to remain entitled to our ignorance.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Disappearing Moon

Eclipse

I camped out on Mulholland tonight to watch the eclipse. It was definitely a gamble as it had been cloudy and gray all day and it was supposed to rain for most of the rest of the week. We were, however, supposed to be given a reprieve in the form of a small window of partly cloudy skies tonight. In a stroke of luck, that window of time arrived right as the moon was rising and the clouds didn't start rolling back in until the eclipse started waning.

I found a great little spot off of Mulholland where I not only had a perfect view of the moon's path across the sky, but I also had an amazing view of downtown, the Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood sign and a clear shot to the ocean while the light lasted. It doesn't get more LA great than that.

I've never seen an eclipse before...what a fun show. I do know that the moon is round, but I never knew it could look quite so orb shaped from earth. It was very cool. There was a nice little group of folks taking pictures. A good time was had by all, at least until security showed up to run us out. Turns out the park closed at 6, but just like the luck of the perfectly timed break in the weather he didn't show up until the eclipse was almost over and the clouds were just starting to roll back in.

You can check out all of my eclipse pictures here. (I really need a better lense)

Truthfully, the cold was worth braving just for the shots I got of downtown.

Los Angeles By Night

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

It's Funny 'cause it's a Little True

Clever post by Sean Carmen of 23/6

Democratic Primaries Threatened by Outbreak of Democracy

Democratic party leaders voiced concern today about the Democratic primary process, which they said was "gravely threatened" by recent developments.

Speaking on background, party leaders said those developments included a close contest that might not be decided until the convention this summer and that, in the meantime, threatened to ignite vast public interest in the campaign, drive record numbers of voters to the polls, and produce the most inclusive Democratic primary contest in a generation.

"It's a complete disaster," one party insider said. "Absolutely the last thing we wanted."

Party leaders said they had hoped their nominee would be selected in the first few primaries, thereby making the primaries a carefully scripted marketing campaign leading up to a televised coronation of the nominee at the summer convention.

"We wanted Iowa and New Hampshire to decide this thing," one party operative said. "Maybe Michigan and Nevada, if it had to come to that.

"Yes, we scheduled primaries in every state," this source said, "but we didn't expect they would actually count for anything."

Even more worrisome, party insiders confided, is the prospect that the establishment candidate will not win the nomination, but will instead be defeated by a challenger on the basis of, of all things, the popular vote in the 50 states.

"We thought we had protections in place to prevent the Democratic candidate from being selected democratically," one party official said. "But it's all going terribly wrong."

...Read the rest

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Longing for Inspiration

I have a secret to tell...I never quite know what to make of it when I hear people speak of John F. Kennedy. It is clear that people were inspired and driven by his passion and and eloquence, however, I have often chalked that up in my head as more a sign of the times than a sign of the man. As a life-long Democrat I always knew enough to never say it out loud, though...until today that is.

It was a different era. People trusted and believed in their political leaders more than they do today. It was a passionate time full of dramatic challenges on the civil rights front and miraculous achievements in the space race. It just seems like a time in history where people were looking to be inspired. I can see how it might have just been the right guy in the right place at the right time. I have always had a hard time imagining how a president or candidate can sincerely inspire a large portion of the United States...at least not in the world of today.

Now don't get me wrong, I know my history. I recognize the skills and the fortitude that Kennedy clearly possessed...I just couldn't seem to shake the feeling that he lucked into his gilded legacy. You must remember that I have never lived in a world where presidents don't disappoint.

I was born weeks before Nixon resigned. My first remembered president, Reagan, I recall as much for shredded documents as I do for tearing down walls. The first president I voted for, Clinton...well I don't really need to go any farther there do I? And finally G. W. Bush...the first president to make me feel truly hopeless and helpless about my ability to make the country a better place.

So where does that leave me today? That is the strange part of this story. A week ago I confidently settled on my pick for a candidate. Two days ago I cast a vote. On the evening of February 5 as I watched election returns and speeches on cable news. As I watched, I was inspired and it stunned me. I listened to a candidate speak and it gave me chills. I believed what I was being told, things could change, we really do have it in us.

I believe we are at a time in our history where we are capable of great change...Lord knows we have seen great challenge over the last 7 years. Perhaps it is possible for a nation to aspire to be more. Perhaps it is possible for a president to inspire...and maybe it doesn't matter if it has more to do with the individual or with the time in history. Maybe it really is all about us as a nation, not the candidate...and maybe that's how it should be. We should choose the right candidate to harness and guide our potential as it stands today.

I am cautiously inspired and I kind of like it.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

I Voted


Have you?

I tried to vote this morning but the line was too long and I had to leave and come back over lunch. I still had to wait in quite a line to check in and again for a Democrat booth to become available

What a great problem to have!

Monday, February 04, 2008

I don't know what to believe in anymore

I was cooking dinner the other night - rice with a honey vinager sauce, some steamed vegetables...a normal dinner around my house. As I was making the sauce I noticed a fly circling the kitchen and occasionaly making a dive for the vinegar. It struck me as strange given that there was honey out as well, but that fly just kept going for the vinegar.

I though for a moment and then did what anyone would have done in the situation. I put out one bowl of honey, another bowl of vinegar and left town for the weekend. What's that you say? You don't know anyone who would do that? Now you're just messing with my head.

So I returned home tonight and to my surprise I found three little flies floating atop of my bowl of balsamic vinigar and an untouched bowl of honey.

There you have it...You catch more flies with vinegar than you do with honey.

Now I suppose you are going to tell me that you don't know anyone who would have taken a picture and blogged about it either. Yeah right.

You really don't want to know why I took this picture...