Private prisons in the US - Not a good idea

So, lately I've been hearing about how many people the US has in prison.  It's more than any other western country, and the only ones worse than us (by % of the population in jail) are places like... actually, according to this chart, no one beats us. We have a lot of causes adding to this phenomenon, from racism to the war on drugs.  The vast majority of people in jails are non violent offenders, who would have probably done community service in the good old days.

But I think one of the main causes of this is the fact that there are corporations who benefit directly from incarcerating more people.  And they lose money if fewer people are jailed.  Guess who spends a lot of money lobbying states and counties (and increasingly, the US Congress) for stricter sentencing laws?  It's not surprising that at a time when state and local governments are struggling to collect enough in taxes to maintain roads and schools, they would happily turn over the prison system to private companies.  However, often the contracts they enter into with these companies are risky and expensive for states.  Here's a good article about the current situation:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/private-prisons-buying-state-prisons_n_1272143.html

Obviously, I think this is wrong and not very humane.  These companies save money by overcrowding prisoners, denying healthcare to ill inmates, and farming them out for labor.  And they pay their employees less, often don't provide benefits and don't provide enough training for workers to protect themselves and inmates.

What do you think?

Clothing Sources

On Friday I did something I wasn't planning to do anymore after the plant collapse in Bangladesh.  I thoughtlessly purchased a $5 t-shirt at Walmart.

I really think the people of Bangladesh will continue to suffer until we in the western world require basic information about where the clothes are made.  My husband has the idea of creating a clearinghouse that would list each factory making a product, and gives basic information regarding working conditions, worker pay and benefits.  We definitely need some way to make better decisions about which clothes to buy.  I don't believe that companies like Walmart will change their practices without pressure from consumers.  But the people living in third-world countries need us to step up and demand fair treatment for them.  

The wages in Bangladesh would still be low compared to the US or Europe.  But they should be required to provide safe working environments and a reasonable-length workday.  Maybe 8 hours would be too short, but 12 should be the max.  And workers should have some protection if they are injured on the job. Some of those factories are very dangerous for workers.  

It's going to take some demands from us in America to change things for the people in countries who make our clothes and other consumer goods.  We have to be willing to pay a little more, and let corporations make a little less profit.  But we can still have cheap clothes even as we pay people a living wage in their country and don't expect them to risk life and limb to work.

Tell me what you think.

Update: After posting this, I decided to look into the company that made the items I bought, and send them an email if necessary.  It turns out that JMS, the company that made my $5 t shirt has an extensive fair trade policy and has zero tolerance for worker abuse or harassment, including the right to organize.  You can read more about this policy at: http://www.hanesbrandscsr.com/california-transparency-act.html.  So I learned that if I search out the information, I might still be able to find providers who sell good products at a reasonable price!

War in Syria?

Let's hope not.  But it is kind of concerning now that more evidence is accumulating that Syria used chemical weapons against the rebels there.  And if we can help people in Libya overthrow Qaddafi  why can't we help people in Syria overthrow Assad?

I really like the idea of people taking back their country from an authoritarian regime.  People deserve to have some say over the kind of government they have, even if they choose one that we don't like that much (Muslim Brotherhood, for example).  If we really stand for democracy, how can we think people will believe us if it's only governments that give us what we want (Exxon, BP, etc).  Let's take a risk and let people see for themselves if choosing an Islamic group is a bad choice.  As long as the people can still vote them out of office, we should take that risk.

Explosion in West, TX

So, I know this was a few days ago now, but there were other things occupying my mind.  Like getting my character in world of warcraft up to level 85 finally.  My first level 85.  But back to Texas.  So many more people died and were injured here than in Boston.  Yet it certainly didn't have the same emotional pull for many people.  But even for a plant explosion, it seems to me like this explosion hurt a lot more people than usual.  Why would you put a nursing home next to a fertilizer plant?  Even if it never explodes, don't the fumes leak out sometimes?  I would think they must.

In addition to the people who were killed or injured (some of whom are still missing), so many homes and buildings were destroyed.  It really looks like a war zone.  Here's a link to a good story and a lot of pictures.

Sometimes I feel like we get a little jaded about industrial accidents where people get killed or injured, because they seem to happen with a certain regularity.  There were 8 agencies that had some oversight of this fertilizer plant, but no one had inspected it completely for like 20+ years?  And even when it was inspected, no one said it had any serious issues.  People always say there are too many regulations in this country that are suffocating business, but when I look around me, that's not what I see.  I see banks who acted irresponsibly, that are not only too big to fail (ie, we have to bail them out), but now are too big to jail for breaking laws (there are cases of clear fraud, at the very least, that would land you or me in federal prison for a long time).  I see BP and Exxon destroying the environment, and not being fined enough to cover the costs of cleanup (and dealing with human health impacts which may appear later) or enough to deter them from unsafe practices in the future.  I see industrial farming allowed to pollute the water and air around them without being subject to the same environmental laws as any other industry.  If our laws are confusing and overly complicated, they seem to also be ineffective.  How to fix?  That's always the tough question.  But I think a good place to start is to enforce (with serious consequences) walls between regulators and the industries they regulate.  There is a lot of corruption out there, and it's killing us.

On losing weight

This theme will probably come up every once in a while, as I am going through the process so many have struggled with of losing weight and getting more healthy.  In my case, it started with a diagnosis requiring surgery on my spine.  But the doctor said I had to be a certain weight to have the surgery.  Let's just say about 60 pounds less than where I was.  This was in December.  So I talked to the good folks @sanford here in Fargo, and got on their medical weight loss program.

It's been really hard.  I had a pretty severe addiction to mountain dew.  And I had never really dieted before.  And it has been a long time since I weighed so little.  But I have reached my goal now of losing 60 pounds (I might keep dieting for a bit now, since it's going so well).  It's really weird for me.  People notice I've lost weight.  All my clothes are falling off.  I can move around a lot easier now.  Certainly my other medical conditions have improved.  I still get hungry sometimes and wish I could just eat whatever I want.  I suppose that might not ever go away.  But for the first time in... ever, I'm starting to wonder if I could be normal-sized.  What would that even mean?  Could I live that way?  I have always felt a certain pride in not conforming to society's expectation of women to be thin and perfectly coiffed all the time.  Would being normal-sized mean giving into that pressure?  Or can I do it for me and that's all it is?  Still working on that one.  I would love to hear from others who have struggled with body image issues and have either learned something or are also struggling with it now.

Before

After

The Boston Bombers are no longer a threat!

This has been such a strange week.  Such horrific injuries and deaths on Monday.  Stories of bravery and heroism from civilians and law enforcement both.  Then the stories of the shoot-out with MIT police, robbing of a convenience store.  One bomber dead, one missing.  Chechen refugees killing marathon runners.  Are we safe now that the last is in custody?

I am not sure how I feel about all this.  Of course, my sympathies lie with my people, the ones who were innocent and the law enforcement people.  My understanding is that during the whole police event with the shootouts and the long house-by-house search, no other civilians were wounded.  That took a lot of careful policing.

I am just so sad today.  There was a lot of hate spewed by people that were hurting, and some politicians and "journalists" that weren't directly affected.  I find myself wondering when we will stop killing each other.  We've been fighting over gun control lately in this country, and I keep hearing people say that changing gun laws only limits the rights of law-abiding citizens.  That is true.  But what are we supposed to do?  Just arm ourselves to the teeth and wait for some "suspicious-looking" person to wander into our bailiwick?  I want to help bring more peace to this world; to the world I inhabit.  But the events of the past several months have really made me wonder how to even start.

Why do we seem so intent on killing each other?  Why do we bully people who appear weaker than us?  Why don't I lose sleep every night over the people being killed and hurt all over the world who deserve justice and help?  Any ideas?

Hello.  Since this is my inaugural post, I should explain a bit about what I want it to be about.  I have a a lot of thoughts about the current state of affairs for humanity, and I guess I have some ideas I want to share with others.  My hope is that as I pour my thoughts and hopes out here, others will respond, share, and comment.   

One of the things I believe is that it's not enough to tell you what I want or think about something.  We won't make any progress as a species until we learn to listen and hear each other.  There are always things we don't know.  So please always be willing to share your thoughts.  However, please be respectful towards others.  I strongly believe that blanket statements about a group of people do not help clarify the situation.  I am trying to do better at treating others according to the "platinum rule:" Treat others as they want to be treated.  To me, that's an improvement over the golden rule.  Not everyone reacts to things the same way as I do, and I want to honor that.