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The U.S. has the highest prison population per capita than any country in the world. Most of the prison population is from the least fortunate classes in our society. Below is some staggering information from a study conducted by The Pew Charitable Trusts about our prison system found at http://www.pewpublicsafety.org/research.aspx. You can come to your own conclusions about our criminal justice system and how it feeds a cottage industry to our detriment. novamradio.com Sheldon Drobny was the co-founder of Nova M radio and Air America Radio. He has supported many philanthropic causes and is currently involved in purchasing radio stations for liberal talk radio with his new company, Nova M Radio, Inc. Mr. Drobny specializes in business and tax matters and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court as a non-attorney. Less than 200 non-attorneys have been admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court since its inception in 1942. Mr. Drobny received a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting from Roosevelt University in Chicago and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, an honorary fraternity recognizing acadamic achievement in colleges of business administration.
Undergraduate degree in political science and philosophy: summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa; with postgraduate work in political economics. Postgraduate degree is a juris doctorate. I am a voracious reader and, although I make no claim to expertise, have self studied in logic, linguistics, theology, theoretical physics, macroeconomics, technical and fundamental market analysis, world history, and many other subjects, which I believed at the time helped explain the world around me.
THESE NUMBERS ARE LOW Compared to recent studies that I have read, the numbers from this study are awfully low. First, this article denotes the number of people in "prison," which is a term of art in the profession, referring only to those people serving sentences of over one year in state or federal instituions. The remainder of persons confined consists of inmates in county jails either awaiting trial or serving sentences of one year or less. The total number of incarcerated human beings in the United States supposedly exceeds 2 million (not counting those under house arrest). Additionally, the United States has more people incarcerated than any other country in the world, period. One does not need to add the qualification "per capita." And yes, while the abuse of these wonderful animals is a serious crime, there is no crime more serious than locking up a human being in an eight by ten cell in a system where rape, racism, and police brutality has become so institutionalized that the only escape is to voluntarily choose solitary confinement. Vick has still to face the state court charges based upon the same conduct, which of course violates the Constitution's ban on double jeopardy, but which ban has consistently been held to not apply since the state and federal governments are two distinct jurisdictions. Perhaps that is why the Founding Fathers were so wise as to limit the federal government's police powers so that it would never have jurisdiction over an activity like fighting dogs. Surprise! Their dog is bigger than Vick's dog, and this never would have happened to a white superstar. by
W.M.L. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 283 comments)
on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 4:08:42 PM
Editor of Common Sense Political Thought, mostly Republican (but not always), mostly conservative (but again, not always), always interesting.
Mr Vick was sentenced . . . . . . to just a couple of months longer than his less-responsible accomplices, which seems reasonable: the head bad guy gets the longest sentence. Because of the length of the sentence, Mr Vick will lose three NFL seasons: 2007, 2008, and he won't be released until October of 2009, well past training camp and into the regular season. But, quite frankly, he deserved it, for criminal stupidity if nothing else. he started this enterprise during his rookie season; as the first draft choice, he commanded millions in his rookie contract. In 2005, he signed what was then the highest contract in the NFL. I don't know how much money people can make in dog fighting, but it sure isn't the $131 million of his now-lost contract. I don't see the sentence as excessive at all. He got less than half of the legal maximum of five years, and was well within the sentencing guidelines. It's difficult to argue that someone who was sentenced within the guidelines was sentenced unjustly. by
Dana Pico (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 142 comments)
on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 7:39:40 PM
Host of "American Voices" radio-Wednesdays 7-8PM Eastern & Co-Host of popular "Strait & Kall"radio programming- Thursdays 8-9PM Eastern, airing on WNJC1360 in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania radio market(live internet stream www.wnjc1360.com);
Dog eat Dog and all that stuff. While I cannot literally speak for the animal kingdom, I would anticipate that the dogs that were abused, tortured and killed by Vic and his fellow degenerates could not have cared less about there skin color, heritage, or social status. Nor would they have cared about Vics "professional" sports salary. Racism? Gimmeabreak! Vic was damn lucky to only get what he got, and if there is any real justice (there isn't) he will run into a gigantic sadistic bubba in prison who is also a genuine dog lover. Lets see how Vic likes being someones prison female canine. Dog eat dog and all of that stuff. by
James Strait (39 articles, 0 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 191 comments)
on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 8:25:59 PM
Editor of Common Sense Political Thought, mostly Republican (but not always), mostly conservative (but again, not always), always interesting.
Mr Vick is a professional athlete . . . . . . and it's rather unlikely that he would be the rape victim in prison. But even though we know that homosexual rape does occur in prisons, that doesn't mean we ought to wish it on anyone. by
Dana Pico (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 142 comments)
on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 5:34:46 AM
i am a former teacher of 30 years with a history and political science major.I started getting politically active when Ronnie Regan ended my social security hopes for teahers
vick got what he deserved their is nothing lower then a dog murder,other then a child rapist.dogs are loving creatures who only want the companionship of their masters.It takes a truly hateful person to causually slaughter an innocent animal for fun and profit.This same kind of person with no conscience could in later years turn with no trouble to people.Do prisons have to be reformed,definitely yes.The conservative idea of punishment over reform is evil and unchristian.training skills should be taught in all prisons and education.Still saying all this, black,white ,yellow a person torturing a dog deserves his sentence. by
liberalsrock (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 113 comments)
on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 7:48:11 AM
Mike Folkerth is the author of "The Biggest Lie Ever Believed" and is not your run-of-the-mill author of finance and economics.
Just right So a white person would not have been sentenced huh? Mike Vick was a hero to millions of Americans including children. His enormous influence may well have added severity to his punishment, and perhaps justifiably. Any white, yellow, green, or orange person of the same stature would have gotten the same. And O.J. got a FAIR trial because he had money? by
Mike Folkerth (120 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 566 comments)
on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 11:42:45 AM
Terry is a former professional actor who later developed an independent career as a computer consultant. He has appeared on stage professionally, as well as television and film. He spent time as a radio announcer and commentator. He has written poetry, theatrical performance pieces, radio commentary, and a science fiction series for Irish national radio. An American, he has resided for some time in the Republic of Ireland and at this stage sees himself as an expatriate, although he remains highl...
I'm unclear as to your point I fail to see how Vick's sentence is evidence of racism winning out over justice. First of all, is the sentence somehow unjust? Personally, I think not. It's not even all that unkind, as much as I tend myself to oppose lengthy jail sentences (and I don't think his is particularly lengthy). Now, if you wish to point out that equivalent white offenders would get off lighter, then you'd have a point about the racism inherent in the system. But even then, I don't see it as racism winning over justice in Vick's case, but rather it would be evidence of racism winning over justice in those other hypothetical cases. (I don't assume that such cases are hypothetical in reality, it's just that I don't know of any.) However, even then, it wouldn't necessarily signify racism, because society's attitudes may be evolving. So you'd have to show how other, white offenders got off lightly both before and after Vick's sentence. Furthermore, you'd have to eliminate the possibility that a public figure might be used to set a strong example, because of all the publicity, which in itself would have nothing to do with race. Personally, I think absolutely nothing about his case has anything to do with race. I'm saddened that an organization like the NAACP would decide to open its collective mouth at all on this, because I think it just damages their credibility. There must come a point when at least some people are viewed purely and merely as individuals. Those who insist on continually perceiving people in terms of groups, regardless of which side of the coin they may fall on, perpetuate things like racism more than anything that could be benefitted by specific comments. I think this article does exactly that. by
Terry (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 32 comments)
on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 11:36:23 PM
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