James, much of our current culture eats it's young.

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I thought that when the boomers came into power that Pot would have been legalized. I think as more states have a let it be used for medical reasons , That will be the backdoor way in.

Drug inforcement is a big cash cow. Why would the MAN give that up? Ive heard that some police departments are fully funded by confiscating everything a person owns when they have a bust.

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Old James

Romney has stated that he will cut...

I somehow don't see Romney pledging to improve the funding...

I Like this Future you are seeing. Oh Yeah. Sweet.

I dig The Zeitgeist Movement and The Venus Project. I don't see how Humanity can get to The New World with Communist/Socialist/DEMLibs in charge. They Muck Up Everything.

Money Men need to Stay In Charge until The Revolution takes hold. Won't happen with The Libber Way. Too much Altruistic/Egalitarian Sentiment. A Sure Fire System of Total Fail.

TotalFailureOfEarthAsSunBurnsAndBoilsItAwayFourthAngel

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ES you make some good points. I know here in NY state kids can quit school when they are 16 with out parents consent. Change that stupid law is one thing that should be done.
Some schools shoot there own foot also though. I never see a superintendent take a pay cut, Or lose any benefits. It allways the teacher who takes the hit.

I do kind of disgree with your incarcerations statement. I do think that minor drug offenses are way over punished, But If its a major felony than they should be in jail. But then foster homes are no picnic for most of these kids either.

The current high incarceration rate also has a lot do with the ridiculous war on drugs that the government has been losing for decades and which costs a fortune.

It's time to take a more realistic and pragmatic approach to drug use. Prohibition didn't work in the 1920s and doesn't work now.

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Reality Internet Personality

ES you make some good points. I know here in NY state kids can quit school when they are 16 with out parents consent. Change that stupid law is one thing that should be done.
Some schools shoot there own foot also though. I never see a superintendent take a pay cut, Or lose any benefits. It allways the teacher who takes the hit.

I do kind of disgree with your incarcerations statement. I do think that minor drug offenses are way over punished, But If its a major felony than they should be in jail. But then foster homes are no picnic for most of these kids either.

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Old James

Interesting. So it seems school is the issue. But WHY do so many drop out of free available high school education? What allows or forces a child to drop out?

A child growing up in poverty is growing up without good nutrition, a substandard school (not all public schools are equal). They are more likely to be surrounded by crime, drug and alcohol abuse and untreated mental illness. The Headstart Programwas created to try and tackle the causes early and help break the cycle of poverty. It has had some success. Unfortunately Romney has stated that he will cut this program.

Remember, there are children in these welfare families. When you raise a child in poverty without the nicer things in life (for example two parents, in some cases because of the ridiculous incarceration rates both parents are in jail) they are more likely to continue down the path their parents took. Schools are horribly underfunded in these areas (I somehow don't see Romney pledging to improve the funding of the public education system).

The social safety net you are so against is more complicated than you seem to think. If you cut it, what will happen to the children in these families? How are families meant to go to work for minimum wage and pay childcare costs? have you ever sat down and worked out the numbers? What will eventually happen to the crime rate when the funding of the HeadStart program is cut?

If you really want to know what causes these kids to drop out spend some time talking to a teacher from one of these areas and they will tell you about all the obstacles these kids face everyday. Things that would break your heart.

If you want to see an example of some some the worst things that children can go through, go watch the movie "Precious". Then ask your self how amazing would someone have to be to be able to overcome that start in life.

It happens. I've know kids it has happened to..and plenty of other things you wouldn't believe.

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Reality Internet Personality

I dont like either canadate. I hope the debates can shed some light on who I might vote for, But I doubt it.

James. follow the money. Big bucks are involved and I am not talking about campaign contributions.

Thats just it, One guy promised us the moon and cant deliver, The other guy is making the same claim to get elected.


One party needs to pull there heads out of there butts And quit claiming that the carbon cap will be good for us and create jobs. All I see in that is a lot of long term pain.

Yes, I agree we need to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels. So why not make a national goal like we did with the Moon program. I would bet that would create jobs.

And the other party which seems to have its head firmly up there collective keysters, Should either throw out and disavow themselves of the teaidiots. Or start another party.

Im disgusted with the way poltics is.

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Old James

I dont like either canadate. I hope the debates can shed some light on who I might vote for, But I doubt it.

James. follow the money. Big bucks are involved and I am not talking about campaign contributions.

Betreger--please cite specific examples of these "big bucks" (non-campaign contributions) you mention. Thanks

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I dont like either canadate. I hope the debates can shed some light on who I might vote for, But I doubt it.

James. follow the money. Big bucks are involved and I am not talking about campaign contributions.

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I dont like either canadate. I hope the debates can shed some light on who I might vote for, But I doubt it.

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Old James

As a nation we either re-elect him or vote him out. Personally I think at best he has done a poor job and will vote the other way. As a citizen of the USA I will abide by whichever choice the people, ill informed as they may be, make.

Bob, noble sentiments, I guess you like subsidizing the top 10% and watching the median continue to drop, as it has for the last 30 years or so.

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As a nation we either re-elect him or vote him out. Personally I think at best he has done a poor job and will vote the other way. As a citizen of the USA I will abide by whichever choice the people, ill informed as they may be, make.

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Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

You know, another way of looking at incarceration rates is that maybe we still have more individual freedom here in the U.S.

That's a most interesting perspective you have there Guy the Great.
More people are in prison because of the "freedoms" Americans enjoy. WOW

Robert, I believe Guy has been taking lessons in logic from ID.

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You know, another way of looking at incarceration rates is that maybe we still have more individual freedom here in the U.S.

That's a most interesting perspective you have there Guy the Great.
More people are in prison because of the "freedoms" Americans enjoy. WOW

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Gary, can the State of California afford that? California already spends more on incarceration than education.

No it can't. And it just today cut back on education more. However, the tough on crime ballot propositions get voted in with the backing of the prison guard union money buying the sleaze ads.

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Gary, can the State of California afford that? California already spends more on incarceration than education.

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Shame, so much time being wasted, slacking, by posting to S@H, when the bipartisan solution was suggested just a few posts back. With all Guys' sincere lub lub lub for ya, SLACK ON, SETI Slackers! :)

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8808005

Residents were seen running out to pick up the cash, even running into the street in front of police vehicles.

For a couple of twenty dollar bills ...
Obstruction of Justice, Destruction of Evidence ... each $1000 fine and a year.

Some people make good life choices.

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Complex answer based on research: Black men and Hispanic men are more often poor because of institutional racism. They are less likely to be able to access a good lawyer, there is an inbuilt prejudice in the system, they are more likely to be falsely accussed. They are more likely to end up in crime because it is harder for them to get a job, good education etc etc etc. All the lovely things that go with prejudice and racism.

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~waltonj/404_rr/mass%20imprisonment.pdf

Although growth in the U.S. prison population over the past twenty-five years has been widely discussed, few studies examine changes in inequality in imprisonment. We study penal inequality by estimating lifetime risks of imprisonment for black and white men at different levels of education. Combining administrative, survey, and census data, we estimate that among men born between 1965 and 1969, 3 percent of whites and 20 percent of blacks had served time in prison by their early thirties. The risks of incarceration are highly stratified by education. Among black men born during this period, 30 percent of those without college education and nearly 60 percent of high school dropouts went to prison by 1999. The novel pervasiveness of imprisonment indicates the emergence of incarceration as a new stage in the life course of young low skill black men.

Interesting. So it seems school is the issue. But WHY do so many drop out of free available high school education? What allows or forces a child to drop out?

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We will send our deserving criminals (only those convicted) up to Toronto and Ottawa so that you can hug them. This will help our northern neighbor score full marks in the area of diversity. How many do each of you want to harbor in your house. Or perhaps you could get your lord mayor to request a transfer of a few hundred thousand of these felons as a humanitarian gesture. What do you say Laddies ?? Maybe they can loot the Eaton Center or the Banff Springs hotel with impunity or they could go on a frosty skate on the Rideau Canal.

Ignorance isn't something you should be proud of William.

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/press/LLGSFP.PR

An estimated 28.5 percent of black men, 16.0 percent of Hispanic men and 4.4 percent of white men can be expected to serve a state or federal prison term.

WHY?

Gary, it has been obvious that something has been broken for a long time. If a viable answer were to come up I wonder if our society has the fortitude to use it.

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