No More Room in the End

I read Jason Robinet's "American Prisons on the rise" and I agree he has his facts correct related to the number of persons incarcerated. There are over 2 million adults locked up in local jails, and in State and Federal prisons in the United States. No country in the world incarcerates more of it's citizens than the U.S.
However, I diagree with Jason's logic that the reason there is a rise in the inmate population in the U.S. is due to the failures of the State's prison system. The rise in the inmate population is the result of a social failure. There are many reasons why persons commit crimes and end up in jail. If all the experts in the field of criminal justice knew the answer we would have eliminated jails years ago. But that is not the case. In fact the exact opposite is true. If you look at the Bureau of Justice Statistic's (Department of Justice) regarding adults incarcerated, there has never been a year when the jail/prison population across the U.S. was ever reduced from one year to the next. I agree jails in and of themselves do not work. They were never designed to "correct" but rather punish.
People end up in jail due to a lack of an education, they came from a dysfunctional family, they were subjected to abject poverty, they are addicts/alcoholics, or (my favorite) they simply just did not think they could ever be caught. It was never a jail's mission to rehabilitate or correct the behavior or thinking of these people. The jail/prison's mission was simple. Keep these persons in jail safely, treat them humanely and do not let them escape. Once jails became crowded the critics first reaction was to point their fingers at the jails. Why? Jails are merely the repository of those who can not/will not obey the laws of the land.
So how do we keep people out of jail? We need to treat the problem not the symptom. In otherwords, we need to work on ensuring there are no dropouts, kids grow up in a wholesome environment, we treat alcoholics/addicts before they go to prison, and we place rehabilitate programs inside the jails so they can "save" those who want to be helped. In otherwords, its a community problem that we all need to help with. Additionally, about 50% of the men in the Texas prison system have violated their probation/parole. These supervisory systems need to be be structured to make their clients (ex-inmates) successful. Most are currently set up to make the probationer/parolee fail.
This is a problem that we can not build ourselves out of. More jails are not the answer. Besides, jails are expensive to build and operate. The Travis Co. Sheriff's Office is currently building a 1,336 jail bed facility for a cost of about $70 million. That's about $53,000 per bed! (Note: My father retired in March after serving as the Jail Administrator of the Travis County Sheriff's Office for 11 years. He spend a total of 28 years working in the TCSO jail system.)

Obama

After watching a number of his television broadcasts and reading numerous interviews, I believe President-Elect Obama is well suited for, and will be a capable President. His words give great strength and comfort. In several interviews he was asked if bank executives should forgo their bonuses. President-Elect Obama said, "I think they should." President-Elect Obama says that, "That's an example of taking responsibility. I think that if you are already worth tens of millions of dollars, and you are having to lay off workers, the least you can do is say, 'I'm willing to make some sacrifice as well, because I recognize that there are people who are a lot less well off, who are going through some pretty tough times.'" I have to agree with his statement, because I grew up watching and hearing my parents talk about how their tax dollars pay for plenty of things while the rich in many cases are given huge loopholes and in some instances pay far less in taxes than the average middle class citizen. Thus the saying, the rich get richer. We need to try something...this is part of the change, and hope, he spoke about during his campaign. Will it work? I don't know. I personally think his plans and the teams of people he is putting together will have a good shot at making it all work. Just look at their resumes. These are all very bright folks.
In a different interview he was asked if he could change something about the sports industry what would it be. His response was very simple and it showed that he is like any average American. He thinks there should be college football playoffs. It may seem silly to think that this is the guy who is going to run our nation. Why would you want to even ask questions like these at times such as now,but I don't mind them. It shows you what kind of person he really is. You have to ask those serious AND personal questions. He has said he never wants to not know what is happening in middle American on Main Street. He stays grounded and focused at the same time. He is the right person for these troubled times. With him does come hope and hope is a good thing because it moves people to action. And right now, we need everyone doing all they can. We are all in this together.

"America Sucks in Education"

I read 5o Stars' "America Sucks in Education" and though it was well written and a lot of thought put into it. I agree that our education system does indeed suck. I had no idea that the number was so high for people with out a high school diploma. It does make sense that his Asian friends would pick on him, because they are so smart on how to educate their children. A big issue in America with teaching kids is that, if a student is not the best at a certain subject, his or her parent or teacher will tell them that this subject just isn't for him or her. They will say that some people just don't understand things like others. Well if you keep telling your child that they are not good at something or anything then they start to believe you. No one is born less smart or less dumb. We are all equal and just pick up certain things quicker then others. Of course on the eastern side of the world if you are not so good at a certain subject this is what you will hear " You're not getting this? Well you better keep trying and study a little harder.". They are told that the harder you try, the more rewarding it is.
The education system is not fixing anything so far. They are starting to force college on them at an earlier age now, but what is that going to do? Are they still getting the right education they need? My little nephew is 7 and his vocabulary words are: friend, teacher, library, dinosaur etc. He is 7! I don't remember learning those words until about 3rd or 2nd grade. Maybe it's a good thing he is learning those words now, but what I am trying to say it that America still doesn't have it down right. You can't force education on these kids so young. You still have to make it fun and entertaining to them. They have a lot of growing up to do still.

I think we sould vote

Many people give number of excuses on why they don't vote. "My vote didn't count last time, so why should I vote this year?", "My vote doesn't count, so why does it matter?", and my personal favorite "I don't like any of the candidates running, so I'm not voting.". Wow! Are those really the excuses people come up with? No your vote didn't really count last time, but you should still vote. No your vote still doesn't count this time, but you should still vote. Really no one is going to love the candidates that are running, but you're suppose to pick the one you believe has more of what you are looking for as a President. So that you can know in the back of your mind that you did do something good for you country by voting for the best candidate you belive will help you and your family out.

Majority of people forget the fact that we as Americans are spoiled. So many lives were lost for us to have so many freedoms as we do now. Voting has been a major priority since our Founding Fathers wrote out the Amendments of the Constitution. Amendment 15 is: Protecting voting rights. Amendment 19 is: Women given right to vote. Amendment 23 is: Gives people in the District of Columbia the right to vote for President. Amendment 26 is: Sets 18 as the voting age. So as far back as 1870 to 1970; a hundred years later there are still issues or concerns about people voting. In some countries women are just recently able to vote. We abuse this freedom as if it's no big deal if we didn't vote this time around. We sure don't abuse the 1st Amendment or the 7th Amendment. We come up with so many excuses on why we don't vote, when we just need to say that we aren't involved in our government and we are ashamed of that. We are ashamed that we are the number one country people come to, to start a new life, have freedom, have a voice, yet our own citizens are lazy to get up and vote for the right presidential candidate. I am ashamed we are like this.

If you beleive gas prices are too high, your paying too much taxes or the intrest rate on your house is too high why don't you ask questions. Ask yourself why is it like this? What is our President doing to help our economy and our gorvernment? Then ask yourself what can I do to help get some of these questions answered? Start by becoming involved. Read the paper, watch the news, surf the internet; study the presidential candidates. When election day comes you will be completly satisfied and happy on your decisioin, because now you are a voice to be heard.

White Independant Voters

I read David Paul Kuhn's article, Obama Leads Among White Independents. The article discusses the positions/opinions related to a variety of issues that may influence white independent voters once they punch their voting ballots come November 4. The Gallup poll Kuhn references in his article speaks to a myriad of issues and the importance of these votes.

Some people believe the votes of independents will turn the tide to the eventual winner of this presidential race. Obama's lead, 45% to 43%, is significant for a couple of reasons, notes Kuhn. No democratic nominee has ever won the presidential election with a majority of white independent votes. The other is that there are more persons registered as democrats than republicans thus these votes become vital. The majority of independents seem to be moderate voters which means they could wander into right or left field depending on the circumstances. And the current circumstances, the economic downturn, has given Obama his current lead among these voters.

Prior to the economic woes we are now feeling, McCain had a 16 point lead among this bloc. Now the economy has a bigger impact on the middle class and thoughts are turning away from Iraq and foreign policy although the poll indicates independents believe McCain would do a much better job than Obama. In fact they believe McCain, overall, would make a better president.

When polled about the economy 82% of the independents believe it is the number one priority right now compared to 65% of republicans. Thus it appears independents are basing their responses to the poll to the current economic situation. Kuhn states if there were a terrorist event or an issue of national security, these voters would turn to McCain and away from Obama. This is a powerful observation if one looks at the 2004 election where the republicans used fear to get the votes they needed to win the election from Kerry. Hopefully the voters have learned from their previous mistakes and will not believe the lies being told by McCain and his "hatchet women"...I mean running mate.

Kuhn does a good job of merely reporting the facts and numbers and doesn't "say" what they mean or how he feels. One could assume this bloc of voters is fickle. It is also puzzling to believe these voters feel so confident about these candidates on one subject matter and feel they are weak in others of the same importance.

Religion and the Economy

I read David Van Biema's article, Foreclosures:Did God Want You to Get That Mortgage?, in TIME.
Biema's introduces us to the Pastor's who are preaching the Prosperity gospel which basically says you can save your soul and be prosperous now. You don't have to wait for your rewards until you get to the pearly gates. These pastors, like Joel Osteen of Houston, says you will get back ten fold (in dollars) what you give now (to theses pastors and their churches).
Biema lets us know that some people believe this is an encouraging message and that it has inspired the poor to do better...get better jobs...and obtain more wealth now. That these are the things that are important and that God wants you to be happy and happiness comes with wealth. Others like Rick Warren, who wrote The Purpose Driven Life, whose books have outsold Osteen's 7 to 1, that these teachings are "baloney".
What does all of this have to do with the economy? Biema believes a number of the congregations of these Prosperity gospel churches have taken on mortgage's they could not afford and a great number of them are now in foreclosure.
This brings up a number of interesting questions and only time, of course, will answer these questions. Once a large number of the members of these churches lose their homes, will they blame the pastor or believe God has abandoned them? Or will they believe it is the fat cats of Wall Street that has crushed their dreams and God will provide again. If it is the latter, they will remain with the church and continue to give their hard earned money to these greedy self-serving pastors in the hopes that "God wants me to be wealthy...he will provide once more." Biema believes the flocks will stay because it is easier to believe they will be provided for, than to think they have to wait until they are having their interview with Saint Peter to be rewarded for being a good Christian.
Biema doesn't take a position in this matter but merely lets the reader know what is happening in these churches and the preachings (read message) to their congregations and the link between those teachings and the affects during this current financial crisis. I found the article to very very interesting and informative.
The Bible speaks about money thousands of times, as Biema mentions in an attached article, but these Prosperity gospel churches stay away from a sermon on the true rewards of being a Christian which has nothing to do with monetary rewards.

Maxed-Out Moms

I found this article at TIME called "Maxed-out Moms: The battleground voting bloc" about the mothers of the American society deciding on whom to vote for, in the upcoming presidental election . The general topic is about how mothers have so much to do and so little time to do everything, yet they can still have time to sit down and figure out who they want to vote for as president. When I was reading this, I was very happy to hear that even after all the pressure of mom "duties" they still want to have an opinion on the election. As I was reading along I realized that these mothers actually don't know a whole lot about whats going on with the elections at all. Women are purely picking someone, based on their gender, because they are the same. Being a "mother". It is just truly interesting to read how so many average women who don't have college experience feel about the election. I can only say that I comend the mothers that are in schoool, raise their children, and want to be involved with our government.