National Criminal Justice Commission Act (S.714)

This Senate Bill is designed to overhaul the current American penal system. Since its introduction in March 2009, the bill has garnered the bi-partisan support of 35 Senators and a broad array of organizations from across the political spectrum, including Human Rights Watch, American Jail Association, Prison Fellowship, American Society of Criminology, the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association, and many other stakeholders.

If S.714 is passed into law, the National Criminal Justice Commission will be created. This commission will be comprised of experts from a diverse range of relevant fields, including criminal justice, law enforcement, public heath, national security, prison administration, social services, prisoner reentry, and victims' rights. Commissioners will be tasked with proposing tangible, wide-ranging recommendations for changes in oversight, policies, practices, and laws designed to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the interests of justice.

So why is this law neccessary? Here are eight reasons why:

1. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration on the planet. We currently have roughly 5% of the world's population, yet our country contains 25% of the world's reported inmates. More than 2.3 million Americans are now serving time in prison. Another 5 million are on probation or parole.



2. During the past 20 years, our prison population has skyrocketed. More and more people have been incarcerated for non-violent acts driven by mental health related issues and/or drug dependence.



3. Despite the economic crisis, the cost of our current penal system continues to grow exponentially. Many of those incarcerated are repeat offenders. Thus, true rehabilitation could ease this financial burden on the taxpayer.



4. We currently lock up people who do not necessarily belong in prison, using valuable corrections resources that could be used against serious perpetuators of violent crime.



5. Transnational criminal activity has increased in the United States and resources need to be devoted to fighting this problem.



6. The incarceration of illegal drug users has done nothing to curb drug usage. This is a multi-billion dollar industry that has been largely unscathed. Despite the billions spent to combat the illegal drug industry, these drugs still reach our streets.
   
   
7. Incarceration of for drug crimes has had a disproportionate impact on minority communities, despite virtually identical levels of drug use across racial and ethnic lines.



8. It is extremely difficult for released inmates to become fully functioning members of society since post-incarceration re-entry programs either do not exist or are haphazard. This leads to repeat offenders and an undermining of public safety. Furthermore, the euphemism for prisons across the country is Department of Corrections. If we are to imply that prison corrects problems, then we need to ensure that rehabilitation has occurred when prisoners have completed their sentence.

What can you do to help? This bill is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If a Senator from your state serves on this committee, write to him/her and ask for support for this important initiative.

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I'm upset with the Indianapolis Colts

Many of this blog's readers do not understand nor follow American football (I'm not talking about soccer). They have one of the greatest players in American football history (Peyton Manning) and have been a model of success for the past decade or so.

This season, which only has one game remaining, they had gone through 14 games (there are 16 in a season) undefeated. They had not lost a single game. Yesterday, they were leading the New York Jets and then decided to substitute most of their best players. They lost. Their reason? They wanted to rest their best players for the playoffs and a chance to win the Super Bowl.

I have a serious problem with this logic. Only two teams in the history of American football have ever gone through a regular season undefeated. The 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went on to win the Super Bowl, and the 2006 New England Patriots, who lost the Super Bowl. Thus, the Colts had a chance to do something rarely done. Yet, they decided to forgo that opportunity for a chance to win the Super Bowl. Every year, someone wins the Super Bowl. Rarely does a team go undefeated. In short, the Colts passed on a chance to be one of the greatest teams in history to help their chances of being the best team this year.

I don't understand this logic. I thought the object of sports was to win. I thought the object was to win every game. The Colts logic was flawed! While I am not saying I won't root for them, I am saying that I won't be sad if they lose in the playoffs or Super Bowl. Not that it really matters...as it's just a game anyway! :-)

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Snails!

Ever wanted to know more about snails? Me either! But one of my former students loves the creatures!

She loves them so much that she has created a web page devoted to snails! Feel free to support her and her new project...publicizing snails! Her website is here! Happy reading!

Cheers,

Nomadic Richard

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‘This Is It’

Yesterday afternoon, I managed to watch ‘This Is It’ in Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall. I was eagerly anticipating the show, and had been since the previous weekend, when I had purchased tickets. As I entered the theatre listening to some of Michael Jackson’s classics I was filled with a sense of nostalgia. The man was, quite simply, the most talented artist to ever grace the stage. Being a child of the mid-70s, I am old enough to remember many of Michael’s albums getting love on the radio stations. Sitting there yesterday watching the man do his thing during rehearsals just took me back.

As a documentary, ‘This Is It’ falls short. It doesn’t document anything. It’s a collection of videos showing various rehearsals for the O2 Arena shows. As my boy Ed said (yeah, I’m giving you a shot out in my blog), “It was more concert than movie.” However, maybe that’s all it had to be. Maybe the film just needed to let us watch MJ, the man, operate in his element.

Whether you loved Michael Jackson or hated him, he was no ordinary human being. This film allowed the extraordinary person he was to shine through. There were several times during this movie where I just sat back and thought to myself, “Wow!” The first such occurrence happened when I saw Michael dance. He had hand selected a group of extraordinary dancers to have on stage. These dancers were all young, extremely buff, and all can flat out dance. What I found amazing was that even at 50, MJ not only could hang with these guys, but in a lot of instances, he was just flat out better. Extraordinary!

The second time I sat back in amazement was during rehearsal for one particular segment involving laser lights. MJ stopped the set, and made a recommendation. Once this recommendation was incorporated into the scene, the scene improved markedly. Seeing MJ slightly adjust what a musician was doing was expected. He was a musical genius. Seeing him dance, while maybe surprising given his age, was not unexpected. Realizing how well MJ understood the nuances and theatrics of live entertainment was a revelation. I seriously doubt that any artist will ever again possess the same combination of talents possessed by MJ. He was a brilliant choreographer, song writer, musician, dancer, performer, and understood the theater of his trade.

At the end of the film, I found myself wishing for two things. First, I really wished that people had just left him alone during his life. Admittedly, MJ was eccentric. Yet this eccentricity never merited the treatment he received from the press and society in general. If instead of thinking MJ was a freak, we had appreciated his genius, to how much more of this genius would we have had the privilege of being exposed? Secondly, I was really sad that the film was over and wishing it would continue. I wanted to Condite those 2+ hours and appreciate MJ some more! MJ’s Delphian song “Gone Too Soon” gracing the airwaves as the credits played would have summed up my melancholy feelings at the realization that a great man is no longer among the living.

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