Usa Thread

[Steve]

HH, I know the culture in America is what ever happens to a convicted criminal in prison is deserved. Trust me, I have NO sympathy for a child molester, serial killer or the like to be routinely raped and brutalized. I won't lose a bit of sleep. But the fairness part of me says, someone should be able to do their time without consequence.

Its not the molester or serial killer that tugs at my new, liberal strain, its the non violent criminals. Should a guy who steals a car be subject to being brutalized in that manner? I dont like car theives as much as the next guy but there are guys in county jail for simple offenses, regular 9-5 guys, being brutalized. And its hell. I've heard some crazy, crazy stories. First hand accounts. The juvenile prisons are just as bad in many instances. You've seen the size of HS students nowadays. Huge. There are 16 and 17 year olds well over 6' and 200lbs who brutalize younger and/or smaller boys.

 

LA is a sick place for jails. Even in LA city lock up awaiting the judge in a matter where you are eventually proven to be innocent because of a clerical error (almost happened to me), you can be brutalized. LA has a private firm handling paying of tickets. This firm kept saying I had an outstanding bill and I had receipts to show otherwise and when one person would say it was clear, several months later it would pop up again. If I was stopped I'd be taken down to the jail and if it was a Friday night or Saturday night, I'd have to wait till Monday morning to clear it up. Do you know what city lock up is like on a weekend. EVERYONE is thrown into the same cell. From guys on a suspended license to rapists, all awaiting processing till Monday morning. I know guys who have told me they've seen guys raped whlle in there. The only thing they try to do is separate ethnicities. Keeping blacks and latinos in the same cell is asking for a blood bath. Other than that you're on your own. God help you if you're white or non black or latino. You're a target for both groups. I'm no better. I have no gang affiliation, east coast accent so open game. A black LA gangbanger would beat my ass for want of nothing better to do.

 

The solution isn't necessarily more jails but why are we jailing folks that we don't need to. Drug offenses. Not dealers but personal use stuff constitute a ton of the prisoners. I recommended on here a while back that you simply get house arrest with a ankle bracelet. Let the person keep their day job and contribute to society. It gets turned on at say 7pm for 12 hours and you leave at 7am to get to work. Saving tons of money for jails and the person is contributing to society with their jobs. Same for DUIs, etc. Let them do community service on the weekends. With all the cutbacks tons of things to do from cleaning parks, picking up trash on the freeways or whatever.

 

I forgot the study but the sharp rise in prisoners over the last 30 years was attributed not to more crime being done but the industry that builds prisons, unions that guard them as well as private jails and tougher sentencing for things that were otherwise misdemeanors and got off on a warning or a fine.

[Steve]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/rich-kids-ineligible-college-scholarships-103500285.html

 

Should rich kids be ineligible for college scholarships?

 

Hip-hop mogul Diddy is worth $500 million, and his son just landed a full-ride, merit-based scholarship to UCLA. Where's the justice?

Among the graduating high school class of 2012 is one Justin Combs, who finished his senior year with an impressive 3.75 GPA and an equally impressive record on the football field. UCLA rewarded Justin's accomplishments with a full, $54,000 merit-based scholarship and a spot in the school's storied football program. The twist: Justin is the son of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, recently named the wealthiest man in hip-hop by Forbes. With California's state schools facing deep cuts, UCLA's decision to offer Justin a chunk of its scarce resources is being widely criticized. Should the Combs clan give back the money? Or should the size of Justin's dad's bank account even matter?

 

Justin shouldn't keep this money: Here's the bottom line, says Dennis Romero in LA Weekly: "The son of a guy worth nearly half a billion dollars" doesn't need a free ride to college, especially to "a school where student tuition and fees have nearly tripled in the last 10 years." I mean, this is a kid who poses in front of "a $300,000-plus Maybach," likely the car his dad got him on his 16th birthday. Now that's "a free ride that could pay for half dozen full-ride scholarships to UCLA."

[dean]

CS, have you ever considered a career change? The judicial system could use a lot more people like you. I just wonder how many people go into that profession and get beaten down by the system.

[acockasian]

 

 

LA is a sick place for jails.

 

I forgot the study but the sharp rise in prisoners over the last 30 years was attributed not to more crime being done but the industry that builds prisons, unions that guard them as well as private jails and tougher sentencing for things that were otherwise misdemeanors and got off on a warning or a fine.

 

Not just LA....it is pretty brutal in the north part of the state as well.

 

The three strikes and you're out laws ended discretion in the court system so that is a big part of problem. At least in California the biggest single political contributions of any union were made by the prison guards union. Tons of people have retired at 50 on pensions for life quite close to US$100,000 per year.

 

Given the benefits virtually ever state employee has the future is really far worse than Greece.

[Steve]

I already have a job as a layabout, LOS visitor. Thanks though for the compliment. I can only tell you that I grew up seeing a lot of guys go to jail (a byproduct of my neighborhood). They deserved it mostly (although a few I know to be innocent and had bad public defenders or copped a plea because they'd surely lose a jury trial but that's a subject for another post).

 

 

One friend of my brothers was to use the street term a 'cell block bitch'. Slightly built, couldn't fight, he was joyriding in a car a friend of his took from a neighbor who was on vacation and meant to return it but was reported stolen from someone who saw it missing late at night. The owner plead to exonerate them but the judge said it was reported stolen so that was that.

 

Anyway, he was no criminal. Bad decision yes. No more than any suburban kid or two had done. He came back from prison no use to anyone. Eventually got addicted to hard drugs probably to try and forget his ordeal.

 

He was one of several cases I've seen. Probation case if there ever was one but DA's in urban areas have to get convictions for re-election and tell their Assistant DA's to prosecute these days.

 

Stories like those scared the living hell out of me when I was a kid. Kept me out of trouble and some could argue then it did some good but really? I was a fairly good kid anyway. Other than the occasional broken window from stick ball or fight with some kid picking on me.

 

I honestly would consider suicide rather than spend sevearal years hard time in a state prison. I'm too 'pretty' and 'good looking' for serious jail time..lol.

 

Its nearly impossible to do your time quietly. Some cases (ex law enforcement, child molesters, etc.) can get solitary confinement. Depending on the prison system. Because such people are a target to EVERYONE. Its open season and a case can be made by a lawyer that its a death sentence to let them into general population.

 

The problem is you're in your 6x9 cell 23 hours a day, an hour for exercise outside in what is like a dog kennel run. I've heard that time can literally drive you batty. No contact with anyone can leave you nuts. Still I'd take that over general population.

 

Drug law reform has to be at the top of the list. Addicts steal to feed their habit. Male addicts at least. Female on drugs can trade their bodies for drugs and so they don't have to steal. Men can't. Some can but there aren't enough customers for that. Especially in the inner city where they'll likely get beaten for prostituting their bodies than anything else so they steal. First from their own friends and family then after that from stores, homes, etc.

 

They make up a large portion of the prison population. They need addiction treatment not jail time. Oh, and drugs are readily available in prison as well. That's an underground economy in itself.

 

Casual users shouldn't go to jail. Legalize pot. Treat pot in your car as the same as an open can of beer. A fine. DUI status. Treat personal use possssion of harder drugs as a misdemeanor.

 

If a person is a working member of society, we should be trying to keep them working. Why lock someone up, give them a permement criminal record which basically says you can never get a job again.

 

I would allow records to be expunged if no criminal activity for non violent offenses after say 3-5 years. That tells me the person has turned their life around. A person with a criminal record in their early 20s can not get a job ever again with the sophisticated ways employers can find out these days.

 

In the old days you had to leave the state, now its all linked by computer.

 

During the '80s one of the worst byproducts of the Reagan years was the shutting down of tons of state hospitals. Its the root of a lot of our homeless problems now.

 

People say they got a free ride. No normal person wants to spend their life in a state hospital. No matter if they get 3 squares a day and a cot. Get them diagnosed and treat them. We waste so much money on other shit that could be diverted to that.

 

We have money its just spent incorrectly and wasted. Lotto money that is suppposed to go to education gets diverted to other things and thats why we see tuition prices go up and schools lacking funds in part.

 

Okay, I'll get off my soap box. This could be a great country again if we just stopped all the bullshit. Start spending money on ourselves. Infrastructure. Cutting the rediculous that both parties can agree on. etc.

 

Sorry, I love this country but both parties and the groups that control them aren't about making us great again. Only money and power.

[Steve]

There is fail (all of us have failed) but there is an EPIC fail. Like this guy:

 

http://screen.yahoo.com/hulk-impersonator-it-s-not-easy-being-green-29511772.html?pb_list=23dce613-c500-43f0-9134-70e58b73187a

A Hulk wannabe paints himself green only to find out later that the color could be permanent

[Steve]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/iowa-father-tries-forcibly-remove-son-game-poor-103115475.html

Iowa father tries to forcibly remove son from game for poor gradesman named Benjamin I.H. Doyle was charged with a trespass violation after he ran onto the soccer field at Longfellow Elementary School and attempted to forcibly remove his son from the ongoing City High soccer game.

Police officers on the scene rapidly removed Doyle from the field and questioned him about the incident. When asked why he ran onto the field, Doyle — who is listed as a database administrator for the University of Iowa's Hospital Information Systems — said that his son's grades were too poor for him to be allowed to play soccer.

 

Dad picked the wrong occasion to do it. lol. Wait till after the game and bust his ass like any dad would do. If I saw my dad on the sidelines knowing I shouldn't be playing I'd probably have the worst game of my life knowing what's gonna happen.

[Steve]

Jailing honor students?

 

http://news.yahoo.com/video/houston11news-15750765/honor-student-placed-in-jail-for-tardiness-and-truancy-at-school-29458964.html

[Steve]

Another epic fail. My fear of lizards has been replaced as my number one fear. Being the butt of jokes from being caught on youtube doing something stupid is now number one. Or something else.

 

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/news-26797925/colorado-college-student-shot-while-trespassing-29473431.html#crsl=%252Fvideo%252Fnews-26797925%252Fpope-s-butler-accused-of-being-a-spy-29478665.html

[kamui]

I agree that most countries have skeletons in their closets. German and Japan just happen to be the most recent as far as the U.S. is concerned. Interesting that Japanese tourists who seem to LOVE Hawaii actually take tours of the Pearl Harbor Memorial. I found them to be quite solem and respectful, almost mute while walking around. I wonder how many Germans tour Poland these days?

 

If I were dictator I'd spare the fools. No prisoners. LOL However, I must say that we don't have too many choir boys in the State pens. My beef is with the libtard judges that force 1st class medical treatment for the prisoners. OMG...kidney transplant for a guy on Death Row? Pleeeeeeeeeease. Get a fucking life, your honor. Congigal visits. Yeah...further fuck up the gene pool. (Maybe after submitting to castration-which wouldn't be a bad idea regarding all inmates.)

 

HH

 

For years the German-Poland relationship was very complicated. But it is getting better now. I just had been invited to Krakow (definitely one of the most beautiful cities in Europe) and it was extremely pleasant to work with the Polish.

 

By the way, after the fall of the Iron Curtain many Polish went to work in West Europe (Germany, GB, e.g.), but now Poland is doing so well that most of them returned home.

 

 

In regard to US jails my information is of course limited, but it seems that in some prisons they even stopped serving food 3 times a day for financial reasons. Another major problem seems to be that more and more people get really old in prison and that the prisons can't/ won't take care of them. The same seems to apply the growing number of people with mental illnesses.