Year: 2009

Prison for Old People

Should an 87-year-old go to prison? John Eligon and Benjamin Weiser write about this in the New York Times. I don’t think so. What good does it serve? Punishment, of course. But aren’t there better and cheaper ways to punish? I certainly don’t want to pay to keep people who are no threat to me…
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More Prison, Less Crime?

If you look at this chart, it’s not hard to think that the great crime drop was caused by locking up all the criminals. A student brought this up in class. In the 1990s, it looks pretty convincing: But just looking at the 1990s misses the big picture. Here’s the same data going back to…
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Why Police Officers Hate the Department

People often fail to understand just how dysfunctional a big-city police department can be (and some have told me small town PDs are worse). Justin “H.L.” Fenton reports in the Sun: Sgt. Carrie Everett… spoke to a reporter after she was administratively charged in connection with an incident in which a murder suspect committed suicide…
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Shut yer mouth, dude!

Why is it so hard for some people to just shut up? Some people are using this video as anti-cop propaganda. I see an officer acting in an incredibly professional and even patient manner. He’s doing his job. He follows the rules. He tells his name and badge number when asked. A little skateboarder calls…
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Best Cookbook Ever

Seriously. My wife’s cookbook is officially out today. Co-authored with Tamara Reynolds. Forking F-ing Fantastic!Go buy it. Seriously. Come on… I don’t ask much of you.

“Running only leads to more running”

A Chicago Tribunepiece on why the Fenger High School students fight. It doesn’t really answer the question. But then again it’s not like there is a good answer. What it comes down to seems to be the belief that kids from the projects are “invading” another neighborhood (with seemingly very similar socioeconomic characteristics) where the…
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Prohibition Deaths vs. Prohibition Deaths

Pete Guither at Drug WarRant has an interesting post, here stolen in its entirety: Robert Almonte, executive director, Texas Narcotic Officers Association and El Paso police deputy chief (retired), had a different view of the war on drugs than most of the learned participants in the recent conference in El Paso (surprise, surprise): ‘War on…
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Personally Dissed by the Drug Czar

And by the President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police! Mr. Kerlinkowske, Mr Laine, nice to meet you. At an October 3rd address at the 2009 International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference, Czar Kerlikowske said (via stop the drug war): But I must underscore how important your help on this issue…
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Got Milk

A unique form of assaulting a police officer. From the New York Times. That’s in Brussels … Belgium … between France and the Netherlands.

Mass. Decrim Has No Effect On Schools

So say some Massachusetts school officials–the same ones who say decriminalization “sends a terrible message to kids.” The story by John Hilliard is here (via the Agitator). This really is no surprise, but it’s important for a few reasons. Prohibitionists seem to care more about “the message” than about actual drug use and drug harms.…
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