children in the justice system, inhumane prisons, gas taxes and other thoughts...

I've been busy...but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking...

during my absence there was a rather bone-chilling story about an 8 year old boy that supposedly shot and killed his father and a family friend. and then the tape of the police interrogation (they love to call it an interview...but I don't give a shit what the supreme court says, whenever cops are asking you questions, it is an interrogation). with it, suddenly people began to question whether or not this kid actually did it...or if he was just nudged into admitting it by the circumstances (and even then, it was not a very convincing admission). so the pundits (many of which are simply failed members of the criminal justice community) came out and declared that the questioning was not done properly and likely would be inadmissible. then my favorite comment one morning on good morning america - the outrageous claim that children would never be questioned that way in a child sex case. as one that has dealt with said child sex cases...I officially declare bullshit. I assure you, whatever their intentions, whatever their desires, suggestive questioning of children is the norm. kids may have difficulty deciphering fiction from reality...but they are not idiots. they know what adults expect them to say and will often give them that, especially to make an uncomfortable situation end. so next time you see that tape and you feel even the tiniest tinge of outrage - remember that there are plenty of innocent people sitting in prison because of it...and don't believe for a second that it is as rare as they try to tell you...

speaking of prison, this last trial was a month-long seminar on the horrors of american prisons. anyone who sat through it could not help but come away questioning what in god's name we are doing under the claim of justice. inmate after inmate took the stand to testify and one thing became clear - treat a man like an animal, and he will inevitably act like an animal...tell a man that society deems him worthless, and he will inevitably treat society as if it is worthless. but something else became clear...that with all the horrible things that these men had done in their lives, all the mistakes they had made, they were still human. they still felt pride, fear, sadness, regret, desire...they were uncomfortably just like you and me in many regards. and yet we throw them into a system that is eerily similar to the dog farm which got michael vick demonized...but since the prisoners are four-legged creatures it is somehow ok. one man on the jury broke down after just half a day of testimony because his son had been in prison and he had heard the horror stories, he had seen the broken man his son had become. we've turned the criminal justice system into a factory...making sure that if you weren't a danger to society when you went in, you most certainly are when you come out. and we should all be embarrassed.

tom brokaw (thank god he's leaving...although I am in no way excited about david gregory taking over) wanted to know why obama wouldn't tax the living shit out of gasoline to keep it up at $4/gallon where, as brokaw claimed, "people were ready to pay that" in order to prod them into smaller and more efficient vehicles rather than the monsters brokaw seems to think they are rushing out to buy now that gas has dipped (although if you ask your local dealer, they would kill for a rush on any vehicle at the moment). once again, I must call bullshit. sure, some people were "ready to pay" 4 bucks for a gallon of gas...but they are the same assholes that will keep driving behemoths because they can afford it anyways. the vast majority of people were only "ready" because they had no other choice. and this is the problem with the gas tax - it is vital, it pays for infrastrucure programs that otherwise would not have any funds - but it also is one of the most regressive taxes we have, slamming those that cannot afford it the hardest. ironically, the same bunch that was complaining about "raising anybody's taxes" in an economic environment like we have (i.e. keep the highest tax brackets with artificially low rates) are the same ones that have no problem with taxes on the poor.

it was nice to see some history sneak into obama's discourse with brokaw. he kindly pointed out that the american economy was strongest and grew the most when tax rates evened the playing field the most. of course he also started to hedge on one of his most basic campaign promises with the bush tax cuts...but I'm trying to hold my tongue until he actually does something.

americans, as most humans I suspect, have an uncanny ability to shrug off that which does not happen in our back yard. all this talk about bush "keeping us safe" has to make one shudder. afterall, terrorist attacks have skyrocketed since the boy king destroyed america after 9/11...but as long as it doesn't happen in an american city, we quickly forget it. (of course it helps if americans are killed - see india).

after centuries of europeans artificially constructing borders in other lands, is it really any wonder that there is so much built up hatred and violence in certain parts of the world? afterall...how much death and destruction did it take before europe sort of figured out where to draw the lines?

yes, the american auto industry has been horribly managed and driven into the ground by braindead MBA grads who forgot everything that henry ford showed them about running a business. and yes, those same assholes should be left to their fate. but how is that at all the fault of the assembly line workers? of the dealership employees? of the delivery person? of the retired couple? and so we learn the problem with destroying the safety net and leaving it to companies to provide...when those companies fail, we end up having to prop them up to avoid bread lines anyways.

just like health care...an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment. but who can afford prevention? so please stop using me as a statistic, as an example of those that "choose" not to have adequate health care because they are young and relatively healthy. if I actually had a choice...if it was remotely affordable, I would kill to have health care that let me actually see a doctor when I needed. I would absolutely choose to have the ability to get sick and not become homeless because of it. in a heartbeat. to claim otherwise is simply false. so please stop.

this holiday season many people are opting to forego the usual spending spree and just be happy with time spent near those they hold dear. sometimes it is amazing what it takes to properly set our priorities.

godspeed mr. santo.

it is dumping in taos...you know where to find me...