Look Out Old Draco Is Back

Former NFL receiver Chad  Johnson AKA Chad Ochocinco AKA Chad Johnson was sentenced to 30 days in jail for  apparently slapping his attorney on the butt for helping him avoid jail time with a plea deal in a Florida courtroom. However, when everyone in the court room started laughing the judge took offense, accused Mr. Johnson of not taking the proceedings seriously, nullified the plea agreement and sent Mr. Johnson off to jail for 30 days.

 Apparently last August, Johnson pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge after he allegedly head-butted his then-wife during an argument, then in May Johnson was arrested for failing to meet with his probation officer, which led to his courtroom appearance this June.

Now, I do not advocate domestic violence nor do I think it should be taken lightly and certainly avoiding one’s probation officer is not an action that I would recommend…but wouldn’t a nation that already spends over 40 thousand dollars apiece per year on the incarceration of over 2.2 million citizens be doing itself and its fiscal health a favor by trying to help keep citizens out of jail rather than in? .

It is said that Draco was the first legislator of Athens in Ancient Greece…and that he replaced the prevailing system of oral law and blood feud with a written code to be enforced only by a court. Unfortunately Draco’s laws were particularly harsh and often unfair. However, under Draco’s laws The death penalty was the punishment for even minor offences and when asked about this he supposedly replied “that he considered these lesser crimes to deserve it, and he had no greater punishment for more important ones.” So death was the order of the day.

But I certainly don’t advocate the death penalty for our prison overflow. It’s too expensive for one thing, cruel and unusual for another and too Draconian even for the 21st century…But Why do we need so many prisons and prisoners in the United States in the first place? Why is punishment becoming our national pastime? Isn’t this too draconian too…especially for the U.S. (of all countries) here in the 21st century?

And now that we have the NSA listening in on anything and everything and  anybody and everybody where are we going to go from here?

Why not just fine people who break laws…nice big hefty fines? Let’s just send them home so they can go back to work and then garnish their paychecks. Make them take out a nice hefty government loan at a lofty percentage rate…like we do with our law abiding students…or force them to use a high interest government credit card…like most of us do with our regular bank credit cards… or make them pay a special criminal tax rate…or something along those lines.

We could fine the NFL for not teaching Chad Whatshisname the meaning of respect while cavorting around NFL endzones in disrespect of NFL law. How about garnishing one of Dick Cheney’s hefty paychecks for bringing back the draconian practice of water boarding? Or a special tax on President Bush for not finding that evidence that sent us to war for 10 years and 3 trillion dollars. Or taxing President Obama at an especially high rate for all of those draconian killer drones that he likes to use so much.

I’m just saying…couldn’t we use the money more than we can use the prisoners? Let’s start fining our lawbreakers and wrongdoers and use the money to pay down our debts. The Schadenfreude that comes from our draconian application of punishment for our criminals may make us feel good but it doesn’t pay any bills…it just creates a great big pile of new ones…which I believe will just bury us all in the end…which I suppose would probably make Draco proud.

Come On In! The Water’s Great!

I remember back in the 80′s when occasionally a barge out of New York would dump some garbage off the coast of New Jersey and the beaches would be littered with debris and then closed until all of the hazardous materials or waste could be cleaned up or would wash back out to sea.

And as a long time resident of Ocean County, NJ I can also remember how the Toms River Chemical Company AKA Ciba-Geigy Corp., built and operated a 10 mile pipeline from Toms River to Ortley Beach which they used to dump toxic chemical wastes into the ocean for over 25 years.

All of this was of course investigated by various state and federal regulatory and legislative agencies and after exhaustive (and expensive) study it was eventually revealed that the private companies… and the government agencies… knew exactly what was going on from the get go.

So it comes as no surprise but with also a bit of skepticism when I read today that “local and state governments have announced that ocean and beach water quality tests this winter and spring have shown good results, with few exceptions”…despite the fact that various contractors have had to remove more than 40,000 cubic yards of debris from bays and other waterways so far. (That’s more than 2,600 dump trucks holding 15 cubic yards apiece)

Also more than 70 vessels and vehicles have been removed from waterways, and over 5.1 billion gallons of either partially treated or untreated sewage was carried into the bays and oceans, streams and rivers of NJ by Hurricane Sandy…and that’s according to a Princeton based research group…and that’s not even including the fertilizers and chemicals and who-knows-what-all…plus entire homes and small communities, that were carried into our lagoons and waterways also.

And of course no environmental report would be a good report without the caveat that the long-term impact of  things like raw sewage, fertilizer and chemicals (and most of whatever was in the basements of every home on the barrier islands), that washed into the water during Sandy… is unclear.

But according to the DEP, last week all ocean beaches passed water quality tests. However, along with that good news the DEP also added that debris may still be found in the ocean and bays and people who spot it should immediately contact a lifeguard and that it would always be a good idea to have a heightened sense of awareness when swimming this season at the Jersey Shore

So after all is said and done  it is summertime, so don’t be shy. Come and enjoy the sun and the fun and the boardwalks and the beaches. Just tread carefully, keep your eyes open when entering the surf, and  trust your own senses…and just because we are all older and wiser now and perhaps a bit more jaded… always remember to take everything you hear from a government agency… with a grain of salt water.

The Best Defense…?

In 2012, the U.S. approved a defense budget of 645.7 billion dollars. That amount also included funding for the Pentagon, the Department of Energy-administered nuclear weapons activities, and the war in Afghanistan.

According to the Center For Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, That total was greater than the next 15 countries combined which include China, United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, India, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Iran (23.9 billion), Italy, Israel, Canada.

In that group only Iran could be considered a definite adversary and we out spend them by over 600 billion dollars…And though China is often cited as the country’s next great military adversary, U.S. military spending currently doubles that of all of the countries in Asia combined.

and in total the United States consumes over 40 percent of total global military spending.

So my question is simply this, At what point does a country’s defensive spending become offensive?

And Justice For…

The United States with only about 5% of the world’s population has over 24% of the world’s prisoners. One of the basic principles that our nation was founded on and what many of our founding fathers thought was the most fundamental principal necessary for a free and democratic society to function properly was the rule of law…but only if it were applied equally to everyone, with no one, not even kings or royals or presidents or wealthy citizens, exempt from the nations laws.

Today the U.S. has almost 2.5 million prisoners in its jails and over 7 million citizens who are in some way either incarcerated or on parole or under probation for having broken the law…but what is it that most often sends people to prison in the U.S.? Here is an approximate breakdown.

Drug offenses…approximately 1.2 million

Public-order crimes…approximately 850 thousand

Violent crimes…approximately 200 thousand

Property crimes…approximately 150 thousand

Illegal government Wiretapping…approximately none

Creation of global torture network…approximately none

Fraudulent home foreclosures…approximately none

Inadvertent drone strikes…approximately none

Wall Street banking scandals…approximately… Bernard Madoff

In the United States approximately 1.5 million of our 2.5 million prisoners are either Hispanic or African American, comprising 60% of the prison population even though those 2 groups represent only 25% of the U.S. population.

If you would like to avoid the rule of law and stay out of jail in the United States today then you should do your best to be white, then wealthy and then a politician…on the other hand if you are poor, an immigrant or a person of color then the rule of law not only pertains to you but, in a prison system that is now mostly run for profit, is counting on you to be available for incarceration.

And even more sadly…those are the facts ma’am…just the facts.

Tanks… A Lot

Congress just can’t get any more irrelevant. Once again both parties, despite having absolutely nothing to agree upon when it comes to getting things done that the American people need done,  have found something to agree upon by coming together to spend nearly a half-billion dollars in taxpayer money to build improved versions of the 70-ton Abrams tank.

And even though recently sequestered programs that serve real people are in dire need of refunding, Congress has decided to once again make a bipartisan effort to spend an extra $436 million on a weapon that their experts…namely the military… say is not needed.

The Sponsors of the bill to fund the tanks, who are also two of Congress’ most vocal advocates for cutting the federal budget, say that their support for what seems like obviously unnecessary spending  is all about national security,  even though the military says it’s not!

But actually the spending is all about General Dynamics, a major defense contractor that produces the tanks for the military and spent close to $11 million last year on lobbying…Congress of course…and they most probably use some of that money they get for producing the unneeded tanks on their lobbying for more…

And even though the Army would rather take a pause in their tank production so that they could spend the money on research-and-development work for a new and improved model…they of course need Congress’…and General Dynamics…permission first.

And to top it all off the  Defense Department has to spend around $115 billion over the next half decade just to keep tanks in tip-top condition by keeping them clean and rust-proof while in storage, otherwise they may fall apart while left locked up….because…they don’t need any more tanks!

How about this for an all around solution to our defense spending, gun control and 2nd amendment problems? Take the 4500 unused tanks that are already in storage and trade them to the NRA for a few thousand guns apiece.

That way we get rid of the tanks, round up the guns and give American militiamen, when the time finally does come for taking on the federal government,  something that they can really defend their rights with…tank you very much.

Of the People, By the People… and For Whom?

Well Congress has done it again! They have proven that they live in a world without end when it comes to their own personal needs and wants and desires. We now have the government that many of our founding fathers feared the most…a government of the Congress, by the Congress and for the Congress… and the way things are going…this one shall not pass from the Earth until they’ve blown the doors off the planet and found themselves a new one to live on.

This week, and with a remarkable alacrity and speed before unbeknownst to this political body, Congress undid one of their cannot be undone sequestration cuts. And what was it that required such a dire reversal of funding cuts that it took Democrats and Republicans less than 24 hours to get together, write a bill, agree to it and get it signed?

Did they restore money to 3.8 million jobless workers who have seen their unemployment benefits sequestered?

Did they restore federal Head Start program funding for about 1 million disadvantaged pre-school children across the country, now sequestered from such programs?

Did they restore federal funding for the Meals on Wheels program so that many under-fed and starving senior citizens can get their sequestered meals back?

Did they restore funds to  140,000 low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities who have seen their  housing assistance sequestered?

Did they restore the $9.9 billion sequestered from Medicare to help suffering seniors pay their bills, or the 350 million dollars sequestered from the federal court system to help free the log jam in our legal system or maybe the 1.5 billion dollars sequestered from medical research in the country because they realize how important health research really is?

Did they even restore the $42.7 billion to discretionary defense spending because they became suddenly worried about the safety of Americans in light of the recent and horrific bombings?

Nope.

They restored funding that had been cut from the nation’s air traffic control system because flight delays were becoming a big problem in America… so what better way to restore our free flowing friendly skies then by exhibiting the same extreme and congenial bi-partisanship that Americans have so come to expect from their political leaders these days and pass a bill to get it done… and all within one day.

Then Congress went to the airport so they could begin their vacation.

Hopefully they never come back… And that would be a sequestration worth voting for.

It Can Be Done

On Monday April 29th on the six month anniversary of Super storm Sandy’s devastation of the east coast and particularly the New Jersey shore, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that presidential politics were the last thing on his mind as he toured storm-devastated areas with President Obama last fall.

According to Governor Christie “The president has kept every promise he’s made. I think he’s done a good job. He kept his word. Everything the president promised me they’d do, they’ve done. I don’t have any complaint this morning on the issue of disaster relief.”

The storm destroyed about 360,000 homes and/or apartment units here in New Jersey, and some areas along the shore are still devastated and may not be repaired for years to come and the Governor went on to say that even though he and President Obama have fundamentally different views on governing, they were still able to work together to do what needed to be done for a devastated region. And the fact that they disagree on many things politically did not come into play when something this important needed to get done.

Wow! So it can be done. Political opponents elected by the people to serve the people can work together to help use the power of the government to help solve the people’s problems.

Instead of resorting to stupid tricks like sequestrations and filibusters our politicians need to do the jobs they were democratically elected by the people to do. They were all elected to represent the people and to work with all of the other representatives of the people regardless of their political affiliations or motivations.

Instead most, if not all, cavort about like elementary school kids who think the others among them have cooties…remember those childish days? Like anyone who is hired to do a job, if you refuse to work or refuse to get along with your co-workers then you should be fired…or at the very least sequestered to a playpen or day care center.

Give Governor Christie and President Obama credit for working together and showing that it can be done and for not being afraid to say so… but why must we always suffer from a disaster before our politicians will work civilly together and in our best interests?

Will we have to be invaded by aliens (the kind from outer space) before all of  our politicians decide to  work together (as they were elected to do)  to solve problems that will help our country and our citizens?

Because these days, space invaders or not, there really is no point in reelecting anyone who won’t…is there?

A Highway Is A Wonderful Thing

A highway is indeed a wonderful thing…All those rules and regulations laid out in neat white stripes and signs and speed limits, yet,  even though the individual  might wish to dare a little more for speed or to stray outside the legal boundaries…by some small miracle we all obey them…  and we manage to do this while each driving our own 2-ton machine, at maddening speeds and side by side with all the others…but still we can each feel the freedom of the open road before us.

And whenever someone does break the rules they must do it right there in front of us for all to witness; whether moving too fast or weaving in and out of traffic or cruising too slowly or not bothering to use the proper signals…their infractions are their truest confessionals.

If we so choose we can curse or yell or damn them to hell from inside the privacy of our own fortress of solitude or we can use the universal language of the common  car horn to communicate our  cacophonous epithets…and who better than a seasoned and experienced veteran of the steering wheel knows how to make that horn sing with righteous outrage?

And so we cruise these freeways by the thousand millions aware that it is among the most dangerous things that we can do…but even so we stay within  the lines and obey the rules… and if and when we do have, what we almost always call, an “accident”, we know that it is most probably because someone, perhaps even ourselves, wasn’t obeying those rules or was driving without the manners that a civilization requires, or without the sobering seriousness that any life lived so intimately and dangerously among others demands.

Yet even though 211 million of us expect to do it safely each time we take the wheel we also realize that having 10 million accidents a year is so far about the best our social order can do…

but still off we go to do it again, and again… and always inside the lines and at the legal limits…and in accordance with the rules of the road…

Yes a highway is a wonderful and most curious thing.

More Guns Does Equal More Crime

       I read a very interesting article in The New York Times this past weekend. As most of us know, following the Newtown, Connecticut shooting the National Rifle Association called for a renewed effort to place more armed police officers in the public schools to…you know…make them safer…because more guns equal more safety which consequently also saves more lives.

Even the White House jumped on board and has since proposed an increased police presence in the public schools.

And the NRA is always happy to site previous instances where a gun wielding principal or resource officer has helped to stop or thwart a student or intruder who was attempting to do harm.

However, as those of us who have worked in the public schools know, and as many NRA officials and gun advocates also like to point out when citing their statistics, there aren’t that many horrific acts of violence that do take place in the public schools and are in need of thwarting.

So, what has been the impact so far of an increased police presence in our public schools?

There has been an increase in arrests and misdemeanor charges for what most teachers have always seen as essentially non violent behaviors… like scuffles, truancy and even cursing. As a result more students are finding themselves in court and in fact in Texas, where I am assuming there has already been a police presence in the public schools for quite some time, over 100,000 tickets are written each year by police officers in schools…which of course leads to fines and police records etc. where none would have been incurred before.

Experts have noted that it’s not necessarily the policemen’s or resource officers fault,  it’s just that hanging around kids all day who behave…like kids…can be, as any veteran teacher will tell you, enough to drive you over the edge of sanity. And I have known many teachers who would have arrested the better part of their  school’s student population each and every day, if only their most fervent dream had come true and they had somehow been deputized and allowed to carry a gun and wear a badge.

However, when properly trained and taught how to work with students and young adults and schooled in adolescent psychology and mediation techniques, life in the public schools returns to normal because, well…the policemen start to interact with the students more like…teachers… and life in the public schools gets back to normal.

And, even though one horrific act of violence is always one too many, walking the halls every day trying to prevent it can be a pretty boring job…especially when you are a gun toting officer of the law who is probably not used to such boredom…and then of course one would have to be in the right place at the right time anyway. (I think that my high school alone had over 50 different entrances and exits…not counting windows.)

So until we can come up with a way to prevent violence before it happens rather than try to be there to stop it when it does, it looks like more guns will equal more crime and parents will have to just make sure to add their lawyer’s number to their child’s speed dial and keep a bailout fund in the cookie jar next to the milk money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pseudoe-Fed

Today I went to the pharmacy to buy my weekly supply of Claritin-D which as you may remember from a previous blog of mine, contains pseudoephedrine. Pseudoephedrine is a common decongestant and is used to treat stuffy nose and sinuses caused by the common cold, hay fever, or sinus infection.

However, because pseudoephedrine can be misused in the making of methamphetamine, it is considered a dangerous substance. And even though the misuse of it is uncommon (according to the internet) the United States federal government has seen fit to regulate it so that I and others like me cannot get our hands on more than one Claritin-D tablet per day.

And when it comes to pseudoephedrine the US government sure doesn’t fool around because all sellers of these “controlled” substances must maintain a “log book” which is to be used to record each sale and the following information is required to be documented:

• Identity of each product sold, by name
• Quantity sold
• Name and Address of each purchaser
• Date and Time of the sale

Every prospective purchaser must present a valid identification card with photo, or an acceptable document issued by a State or Federal Government, and sign the log book.

But the good news is that today, instead of having to go through the lengthy process of filling out the paperwork and showing my driver’s license and then signing on the dotted line the pharmacist simply took her scanner and clicked on the Claritin product code then pointed the scanner at the back of my driver’s license and presto!

And what’s on the back of my driver’s license in that long black bar anyway? The mark of the beast?

Everything that’s on the front, except the picture, is on that magnetic strip. Your name, address, height, weight, eye color, birth date, sex, license number and expiration date is all stored on that magnetic stripe.

And we use these  magnetic stripes to keep track of all sorts of objects and people; they are used to keep track of rental cars, airline luggage, nuclear waste, registered mail, express mail and parcels, and tickets that allow the holder to enter sports arenas, cinemas, theatres, fairgrounds, and transportation.

And we’ve been using these scanners and barcodes now for  over 40 years and the government has applied this amazing and simple technology in continuing efforts to try to reduce crime, illegal immigration, underage drinking…and anything they can possibly thing of including suspected minority voting fraud for crying out loud!

So why not…of all things… guns? Barcode on the gun, barcode on the bullets, barcode on your license…the seller takes his scanning “gun” (how appropriate is that?) and bing bang boom, point and shoot here, point and shoot there and all of the necessary info is immediately recorded and logged into a database…and they’ve even got a barcode that looks like a target! (It’s both cool and fun!)

How easy is that? And we’re already doing it now for just about everything you can think of especially wherever the government thinks it might make some impact in providing safety and security for the American people.

We could even have used an electronic marker known as a taggant  to trace the gunpowder used in the bombs at the recent Boston Marathon that would have  identified  the point of manufacturer, and chain of custody…

In fact, explosives manufacturers are already required to place tracing elements known as identification taggants  in plastic explosives but…you guessed it… not in gunpowder, thanks to lobbying efforts by the NRA and large gun manufacturing groups because…wait for it… they are worried about being sued over the improper use of their ammunition or explosives!

If only guns and ammunition were considered by Congress to be as dangerous as allergy medication, movie line jumpers and minority voters, then we’d see some gun safety legislation…You Betcha!