by TChris

When it comes to criminal behavior, the motto of some seems to be: "Never forgive and never forget." Presidents and Governors are vested with the power to grant pardons because people who have lived exemplary lives for many years shouldn't bear a disproportionate burden because of a single mistake. Felony convictions and minor drug convictions prevent people from holding some jobs. Some convictions prevent people from being bonded, denying them the opportunity to seek other jobs. In some states, felony convictions take away the right to vote. Felony and domestic abuse convictions also take away the right to possess a firearm for hunting or protection. There's nothing wrong with granting a pardon to someone who demonstrates that a lawless act was an aberration in an otherwise law-abiding life, particularly when the conviction causes a needless hardship.

The fact that former South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow handed out 214 pardons is not, in itself, worthy of complaint. Executives are given that authority with the expectation that they will be exercise it wisely and mercifully.

Airports will be on extra high security this holiday weekend. If you're flying, this sounds like a good tip from FAA Administrator Marion Blakey:

One of the first things I go to is my PDA, or telephone, because now we have a brand new service, www.faa.gov/wireless , and you can go on and actually pick up what the story is at your airport before you go," she said on NBC. "Are you running into any ground delays? Is there weather to be aware of? In fact, you can go to your specific airline and see what's the story on the flight. It lets you schedule, you're more in control and it really does give you a way of understanding the situation rather than just getting there and saying, 'What's going on.'"...The same information is available on the regular FAA Internet site for people not using a wireless device such as a personal digital assistant or cell phone.

The Government plans to spend $145 million this year on anti-drug ads. A new study shows they don't work. They may even prompt some kids to start experimenting with drugs.

The study was done by Texas State University at San Marcos psychology professors and sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project. From the news article:

Researchers Harvey Ginsburg and Maria Czyzewska, of the Department of Psychology at Texas State, said 53 college students were asked to watch several of the commercials and give detailed descriptions of the thoughts the ads generated.

Three of every four students reported the ads sparked thoughts that ran counter to the ads' message, the study showed. "For example, in response to ads linking drug use to the war on terror, the most frequent unanticipated thoughts were that marijuana should be legalized, the war on drugs has been ineffective, and that marijuana users should grow their own," said Czyzewska.

A Government sponsored study in 2002 also found that kids don't respond to the anti-drug ads:

The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case in which a 15 year old student was convicted and spent 100 days in juvenile hall for writing a violent poem. Sample phrases:

"For I can be the next kid to bring guns to kill students at school." Another reads: "For I am Dark, Destructive & Dangerous."

What's at stake?

The case weighs free speech rights against the government's responsibility to provide safety in schools after campus shootings nationwide....This is a classic case of a person expressing himself and trying to communicate his feelings through a poem," attorney Michael Kresser told the court, which gave no clear indication whether it would overturn the conviction. Chief Justice Ronald George and other justices wondered aloud whether George T.'s statements were protected speech because they were presented as verses in a poem.

What law was George T. convicted of?

The law in question, usually invoked in domestic violence cases, carries a maximum one-year term for criminal threats that convey an "immediate prospect of execution." The lower courts found that this threat met that definition, a decision the boy's attorney argued was unfounded.

We side with the student. For one thing, where's the immediacy?

Update: Avedon Carol of Sideshow astutely comments on the War on Kids.

The Guardian has several interesting articles on Abu Hamza al-Masri, the Muslim cleric in London charged by Indictment in the U.S. One article questions whether Mr. Hamza is a terrorist at all--or just a talker seeking martyrdom.

US and European authorities have fumed at Britain's failure to lock up Mr Hamza. But sources in Britain still believe him to be a rhetoric-filled windbag, not an al-Qaida commander. Some now fear that high-profile arrest and the media spotlight will turn him into a willing martyr.

The article also confirms what we suggested yesterday, that it was James Ujaama who brought the Government its case against Hamza by providing information in exchange for a light sentence of his own. The Guardian points out that almost all of the evidence gathered by the U.S. is "supergrass"--meaning it comes from terror suspects in U.S. custody. From the Guardian:

It was the arrest and trial of an American Muslim convert called James Ujaama that opened a chink in the cleric's armour and gave the FBI and other US agencies the evidence they felt they needed to nail Mr Hamza.

Say hello to BrownWatch--news for people of color.

by TChris

Off duty police officers sometimes work security at concerts or athletic events to earn a little extra cash, but a couple of officers in San Francisco are in trouble for pursuing movie careers in their off hours.

Two San Francisco police officers have come under investigation after their departments discovered they had starred in a pornographic movie entitled "Bus Stop Whores" that is circulating on the Internet. The officers, Kelly Francisco of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department and Darryl Watts of the city's police department, play a prostitute and a john in the film, whose teaser is, "These girls won't ride a bus today!" according to local news reports.

by TChris

The death toll for American soldiers in Iraq since the start of the war has reached 800.

How many more?

The 8th Edition of the Rocky Mountain Blogger Roundup is now available at Freedom Sight. Lots of good entries. And, last reminder, the third annual Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash is Friday night at the Denver Press Club. Details here.

by TChris

A few days ago, TalkLeft argued that it isn't "unpatriotic" (as some on the right have suggested) to dissent from an unjust war. Gen. Anthony Zinni, former commander of the U.S. Central Command, agrees:

"We've lost 799 kids and another 4,500 are injured and seriously maimed. We've spent $200 billion so far. Where are we for all that?"

"Some people are calling me unpatriotic for saying these things," Gen. Zinni concluded. "I think it's unpatriotic not to ask these questions."

Nor is it unpatriotic to recognize that the war has made the world less safe.

Confirming the assessment that the "world is far less safe" as a consequence of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq last year, the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) stated this week that the occupation "has become a potent global recruitment pretext for al Qaeda, which now has more than 18,000 militants ready to strike western targets."

True patriots care enough about their country to tell the truths that must be told -- even at risk to their careers.

Two profiles in courage stand out in the expose of the Iraqi prison disaster. They are Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba -- who investigated reports of the abuses of the Iraqi prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison -- and Army Spc. Joseph Darby, the military policeman who alerted Army authorities by turning over a disc of photographs showing the shocking mistreatment of the prisoners.

A new report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics finds that 1 of every 75 men in the U.S. are in prison or jail.

The cause: Mandatory minimums, three-strikes, truth in sentencing laws. The effect:

The prison system just grows like a weed in the yard," said Vincent Schiraldi, executive director of the Justice Policy Institute, which pushes for a more lenient system. Without reforms, he said, prison populations will continue to grow "almost as if they are on autopilot, regardless of their high costs and disappointing crime-control impact."

America. Prison nation.

by TChris

It's amazing that a school district couldn't arrive at this conclusion without the help of a panel appointed by the district superintendent.

Security officers in the Kent School District, the target of complaints over the discipline of black students, should no longer handcuff students or carry firearms, batons, tasers or pepper spray, a panel has recommended.

The recommendation came after the Seattle chapter of the NAACP filed several claims against the district alleging that teachers and security guards used excessive force to discipline black students.

The panel found that when security officers were called because a student hadn't followed directions, there was "little justification for physical confrontation" between the officer and the student.

It doesn't appear that the handcuffing will end soon. The superintendent complains that the recommendations included "no suggestions for alternatives to handcuffs." Here's one: don't use them.