Three Strikes and You’re In - For Life

What is wrong with this picture? The United States, the land of the free, has less than 5% of the world’s total population, but 25% of the world’s prison population. Since 1980, the number of persons incarcerated has grown from roughly 500,000 to over 2,200,000. In addition, over 5,000,000 more individuals are under supervision of the criminal justice system--that is, awaiting trial or on probation or parole. China, by comparison has over 1,300,000,000 people, but only 300,000 are incarcerated. Of course, we should realize that in China many criminals end up with a bullet in their brain. Nevertheless, that figure is impressive.

In addition to the 2,200,000 people behind bars, the largest prison system in the world employs about the same number of other individuals in policing, corrections, and the court system. For comparative purposes, one might consider the 1,700,000 citizens working in higher education and the 600,000 administering public welfare programs.

Most of the “criminals” we sentence to prison are poor people who commit nonviolent crimes. In California, the top three charges for those entering prison are: possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, and robbery.

On Thursday of last week, our local newspaper carried a columnist’s report on a criminal named Frank. It seems he stole a bicycle from a garage and sold it for $6 to buy a drug fix. He was given one strike and two years probation for that offense. While on probation, he stole another bicycle for a fix, and this time he got strike two and four years in prison. While in prison, he managed to get caught buying another fix from the outside, his third strike and is now in prison for 25 years to life. The estimated cost of his incarceration for “Three Strikes” is over one million dollars. That is good for the prison/industrial system but a poor bargain for the taxpayer.

As is true with any big business enterprise, the prison/industrial complex is an interweaving of private business and government interests. The building and maintenance of prisons involves investment houses, construction companies, architects, and support services. Thus, the expansion of the prison system leads to more profit for all these groups. Meanwhile, the prison/industrial complex has convinced the public that it exists to fight crime.

Like any industry, the prison economy needs raw materials--in this case, prisoners. The prison/industrial complex can grow only if more and more people are locked up.”Three Strikes” and mandatory minimums (harsh, fixed sentences without parole) are two examples of the legal superstructure quickly being put in place to guarantee the prison population will continue to grow.

But after twelve years of living with the effect of “Three Strikes,” Californians are reconsidering whether to lock up third-time offenders for the rest of their lives This is because a recent study indicates that 60% of the state’s 7800 “third strike” inmates are in prison for a nonviolent or nonserious third strike. At an average annual cost of $36,000 each to keep them in prison, the taxpayers are having second thoughts. If being in this country illegally were to be declared a felony, think of the impact that would have on the prison population.

Just two months ago, California Corrections Secretary Roderick Hickman resigned from his post because of opposition to prison reform by the powerful prison guards union and a lack of support from the governor and the state legislature. (The average prison guard salary in California for 2006 is over $73,000 annually, and with overtime pay some are earning in excess of $100,000 a year. Guards are required to have only a high school education and some prison guard training. Contrast that pay with the average salary of California teachers in 2006: a little over $54,000. California teachers are required to have five years of college.)

What Hickman was attempting to do was to divert some parole violators to drug treatment centers, halfway houses, and electronic monitoring instead of returning them to prison. This would have reduced the need to build more prison cells and to hire additional prison guards. Now we learn that his replacement Jeanne Woodford has also resigned after only two months on the job because Governor Schwarzenegger, in order to win the backing of the powerful prison guards union for the next election for the governorship, has given union officials veto power over key corrections posts, thereby thwarting future reform efforts.

While treatment programs are not cheap, prisons cost a lot more. The average cost of building a jail cell in California is about $100,000 and the cost of housing a prisoner, as mentioned previously, is over $36,000 a year. As prisoners age, the cost of medical treatment can run many thousands of dollars more. Another way of looking at it is that it costs almost as much as a typical American house to build the cell and each year almost as much as an Ivy League education to keep the inmates there.

Apparently, it is thought in some quarters that it is more important to protect the jobs of prison guards and the rest of the prison/industrial sector than it is to try to improve the lives of the inmates while saving taxpayer dollars.

UPDATE: California taxpayers are now saving money through the provisions of Proposition 36, which allows those convicted of drug possession for the first and second time to receive treatment for substance abuse instead of incarceration. In the past five years, about $600 million has been spent to fund the treatment of people who would otherwise be incarcerated. Although this sounds like a large sum, it is estimated that the program has saved Californians $4 for every $1 they invest in the drug treatment program.

Mistaken Identity

Do you have a story that you think would make an interesting movie? I think I do. A few years ago, a wealthy friend of mine, who had made his fortune in the buying and selling of commercial properties, brought his new lady friend to my home and introduced her to my wife and me as his “new honey.” He told us all about her: she was the widow of a famous army general who had died just two years previously; she was a gynecologist at one of local hospitals and she, like he, had made a fortune in property development. She was dressed very professionally and wore what appeared to be expensive jewelry. She had poise, was well-spoken, and apparently was a highly-cultured individual.

As the weeks went by, my friend and his “new honey” continued to date and had gotten quite serious. Occasionally, after dining out at an upscale restaurant, he would drop her off in front of the hospital so that she could go to work. She said that she would take a cab home. He observed her as she walked into the entrance of the hospital and disappeared. And several times, he had dropped her off in front of her expensive downtown high-rise condo, but she always had some excuse for not inviting him in.

After a while my friend, showing great respect for the business acumen of his “new honey” sought her advice in regard to property investments; and heeding her advice he invested in two or three commercial properties.

Meanwhile, my friend's son had become suspicious of the lady. For instance, she had extra-long fingernails, and he didn’t think a gynecologist would wear nails that long. There were some other minor details that he didn’t think added up.

Consequently, the son started to tail the woman. He drove in a separate car to the hospital and parked near the entrance. After his father had dropped off the woman in front of the hospital, she walked through the entrance of the building as his father drove off. But then a strange thing happened. She walked a few paces into the hospital, waited a few minutes and turned around and walked out. There, awaiting her at the curb, was a girlfriend in a car to pick her up.

My friend’s son tailed the car and found out where “the honey” lived. It was a dinky little apartment in a seedy part of town. Without going into too much detail, it turned out that she worked at a dry cleaning establishment, and that all she had said and done was a sham. But she was obviously very good at it, for she had deceived a very perspicacious businessman.

It is unfortunate that this story ends as it does, because my friend said that she unwittingly was very good at something else. By following her advice, he ultimately had made a lot of money on her recommended investments.

I’m Dubya, the Decider

I’m Dubya, the Decider.
A divider, not a uniter.
Sorry about Iraq,
No troops are comin' back, and
Rummy,
You did a heck of a job!

I’m Dubya, the Decider.
Not much of an expediter.
Sorry about Katrina:
Turned the 9th Ward into a marina, but
Brownie,
You did a heck of a job!

I’m Dubya, the Decider.
Gave Iraqi contracts
To a fly-by-nighter.
Misplaced nine billion bucks.
But aw, shucks,
Bremer,
You did a heck of a job!

I’m Dubya, the Decider.
You could have been righter
About WMD, I mean.
But Tennent, although there‘s no applause,
Here’s a Medal of Freedom, because
George,
You did a heck of a job!

I’m Dubya, the Decider.
Sorry about Plame,
But I’m not to blame.
For what you did to that dame and yes,
Scooter,
You did a heck of a job!

I’m Dubya, the Decider
Made Rove my guider
And if he gets indicted,
Sure, I’ll be slighted, but
Karl,
You did a heck of a job!

I’m Not Superstitious - Knock on Wood

I have just finished reading an article about triskaidekaphobia, the superstitious fear of the number thirteen. For those of you who suffer from that phobia, relax - the next Friday the 13th doesn’t occur this year until the second week of October.

Do you realize, in this scientific age of the 21st century, that triskaidekaphobia has even been institutionalized in building constuction by architects The Otis elevator company reports that up to 85% of the high rise buildings in the world don’t have a 13th floor. This in spite of the fact that fire officials, citing safety issues, have repeatedly requested that building developers and architects stop the practice of not calling the 13th floor by its actual number. Someone on a burning building's designated 14th floor (actually the 13th floor) who calls firefighters for a rescue from the 14th floor, could find the rescue attempt directed at the real 14th floor (designated as the 15th floor), one flight up. But commercial realty brokers report that it is difficult to lease a 13th floor because, even if the corporate employees are not superstitious, some of their clients may be.

In France it is impossible to find a house numbered 13. One cannot find Room 13 in any French hotel. And not many British hotels will have that number marked on a door.

Realtors report that houses with the number 13 in their house number are harder to sell, and that for that reason some city councils have started to omit 13’s from their house numbers.

Where did this irrational fear of the number 13 originate? In Norse mythology, 12 gods were once summoned to a banquet at Valhalla, the favorite home of top god Odin. Loki, the god of evil and turmoil, crashed the party, making it a party of 13. As the legend goes, Loki impaled Balder with a spear of mistletoe. Balder, a favored god, died trying to evict the uninvited Loki.

At Christianity's Last Supper, the disastrous dinner for 13, 12 apostles plus Jesus Christ, included Judas Iscariot -- the 13th apostle to arrive and the first to leave. Iscariot ultimately betrayed Christ and gave rise to the pox on dinners of 13. Biblical interpretations vary, but some say the next day, a Friday, Christ was crucified.

As irony would have it, when the two hijacked commercial aircraft plunged into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 2001, many of those workers who escaped were rescued from the 13th floor of both the North and South towers. For those survivors, 13 was their lucky number.

Are You a Blogging Addict?

Blogging Addiction Disorder (BAD), which consists of spending too much time on blogging, is just another type of addiction that has invaded the human psyche. It is an obsessive addiction to blogging. Like all addictions, such as alcoholism, smoking, gambling, pornography, and so on, BAD is a pathological disorder in which individuals turn to blogging in an attempt to change mood, overcome anxiety, deal with depression, reduce isolation or loneliness, or to distract themselves from overwhelming problems.

There are two types of addiction: positive and negative. If you are devoted to a hobby and try to spend as much time as possible pursuing it--this could be an outlet for learning, creativity, and self-expression. Thus, in this case it is a positive addiction. But in a truly pathological or negative addiction, the bad outweighs the good, resulting in serious disturbances in one’s ability to function in the real world.

How does one know when he or she is suffering from Blogging Addiction Disorder(BAD)?

1. Do you feel preoccupied with blogging?
2. Do you feel a need to spend more time in blogging to achieve satisfaction?
3. Do you feel irritable, restless, or depressed when you are not blogging?
4. Do you blog to escape problems or to relieve feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or depression?
5. Does blogging interfere with your personal life and career?
6. Have you changed your lifestyle in order to blog?
7. Have you decreased your physical activity in order to blog?
8. Are you sleep deprived in order to engage in more blogging?
9. Are you neglecting family and friends in order to blog?
10.When you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, do you check your e-mail to see whether other bloggers have posted or whether you have new messages from fellow bloggers?

If you said yes to one question you may have a slight case of BAD. If you said yes to two questions, there is a good chance you do have a siginificant problem with BAD. If you answered yes to three or more questions, you are demonstrating a pattern of behavior which would suggest that you have a serious problem with BAD.

On a lighter note, people who answer “YES” to any one of these questions about BAD should immediately request help from a professional counselor.

1. On a plane trip, do you put your laptop on your lap and store your child in the overhead compartment so you can blog?
2. Does it take you more than three minutes to scroll from top to bottom of “Blogs I Like”?
3. Is there a permanent impression of your derriere in your computer chair from long hours of blogging, but you haven’t noticed?
4 It is ten o’clock at night and your attractive young wife has just stepped out of a bubble bath, all perfumed up, attired in her sexiest lingerie, and growls in a sexy voice, “Hey, Big Boy, don’t you want to come to bed early?” Your answer is, “Sorry, I would love to, Babybunkins, but I am right in the middle of writing my next blog post, and I can't stop just now.” This response suggests that you suffer from one of the most severe cases of BAD.
5. To allow more time for blogging, have you installed a mini-fridge, microwave, and port-a-potty in your computer room?
6. Does your significant other tell you that you can’t bring your laptop to bed in order to continue blogging?
7. Do you tell your kids that they can’t use the computer for their homework so that you can continue blogging?
8. Do your kids start referring to you as “that person in front of the monitor?”
9. Do you take your laptop into the bathroom and continue blogging while sitting on the john?
10.Have you bought your significant other a computer so that you can blog with him or her?
11. Did your significant other leave you last week, and you are still blogging and don’t know it?
12. Did your significant other leave you last week, and you are still blogging and don’t care?

It's important to learn how to control your blogging so that it doesn't control you. In severe cases, talk therapy to get to the root of the problem is crucial. Setting definite time limits also works. If you are currently spending five hours a day blogging and wish to reduce the number of hours to three, try to reduce the time limit in increments of one-half hour every other day over the period of a week. Use a clock or timer to remind you when to stop each time. And be sure to stop! Who said that the withdrawal from any addiction is easy? Behavior can change, but the allure of blogging - with its promise of anonymity and instant intimacy - will never change.

DISCLAIMER: Since I am not a psychologist with a specialty dealing with addictive behaviors, this post is not likely to appear in their journal titled "Psychology of Addictive Behaviors". My purpose in this post is to identify some of the behaviors of bloggers and to devise a questionnaire based on a format used to identify addictive behaviors in other areas of human activity. Please treat my post as a semi-serious, semi-humorous study of possible blogging addiction.