Blacks, Crimes, and Sentencing

We have the NFL National Anthem protests about police injustice. That seems to also include minority sentencing. There is no doubt that blacks get longer sentences than whites. Pointing to racism is the usual reaction, but is that the reason? I am sure that could be some of the cause, but I suspect that's not the global reason.

We know that blacks and other minorities make up a large portion of the gang activity in US cities. I suspect that a gang member will get more prison time for possession of cocaine than someone who isn't in a gang.

We also know that crack cocaine is more widely used by blacks than whites. Crack often gets a longer sentence than other drugs because it's one of the most addictive drugs on the streets. A person can get addicted from a single use. A crack addict once told me he would sell his mom for a rock. He surely didn't mind stealing from his mother.

The Beginning of The End of America

There has been a movement since the 1930's to change America. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Democratic Party used the Great Depression to begin a progressive takeover of the country. This takeover came in the form of higher taxes and price controls.

Today, we see the Democratic Party, the ideological left, using the same tactics. Progressives, despite the name, believes capitalism is the root of all evil. They believe government should either own or place tight controls on all businesses, no matter if it's large or small. Some might liken their goals and tactics closer to those of Karl Marx. In either case, the result is always failure.

Interacting With Police

Today, we hear over and over how police single out blacks for abuse. I am sure there are many times when this is the case because we find racism everywhere. There are other forms of prejudices that are rampant. Because of past violence, there is sometimes prejudices against bikers. Bikers have often been stopped simply because of their mode of transportation and appearance. The LGBT community also faces discrimination by police.

A World of Followers

I think I finally understand the world around me – or at least why it is traveling in its current direction. It was a simple post on Facebook that made me become aware of the entire picture. The graphic to the left apparently circulated enough that Snopes saw fit to add it to its long list of internet myths. When it came to my attention I was shocked that any single individual could believe that Facebook legal staff could pass laws.

Each day there is something new about which people become outraged. Some of it is fact, some a blend of fact and fiction, and some obvious mistruths. We have Alex Jones who has a huge following. There are those who accept everything he says as gospel. There are the Art Bell followers who do the same. I'm not here to say what is and what isn't truth from either of those. All that interest me is why do others believe almost 100%.

People love a conspiracy. People love a good mystery novel. I'm sure science can point to an area of the brain that is stimulated by such things. But I think there is more to it than simple mind stimulation. There are the people who are skeptical of everything – to a fault. There are those who often look at events with cold logic.

NSA spying—The modern Panopticon

A panopticon was a prison design created by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The design was circular and allowed for prisoners to be in view at all times. His design allowed for the eliminations of bars and locks. Bentham saw this form of imprisonment as mind on mind control. New prisons of today sometimes use the panopticon design.

There was an outcry about Bentham's design because the prisoner never had privacy. Today we monitor prisoners 24/7 using CCTV cameras. Some still argue that watching people 24 hours a day is not healthy and possibly abuse. Today's prisons go even farther by placing RFIDs on prisoners so that if one wanders into an area off limits an alarm will activate.

Today we are living in a panopticon world. We have the NSA doing 24/7 surveillance of our communications. This isn't something new. It has come to light the NSA monitored notables such as Martin Luther King and Mohamed Ali. They weren't spied on because it was believed they were potential terrorists – it was simply because they spoke openly about their political beliefs.

The Perils of Laws and Perceptions

I wrote this in response to an article about new tobacco taxes and the reasons for them. A respondent stated there were no conspiracies behind most things done by government. It has often been said that money is the root of all evil—coupled with the desire for power and you have the answer to most of the world's problems.



You are right, there are no conspiracies. If we follow the money we always find the force behind many of the things you mentioned(drug and alcohol laws). Statistics are padded and ignored to bring about the results wanted. A statistician will tell you he or she can support any belief.  Even when we ourselves look at raw numbers we can't be sure of the truth. I have looked deeply into  DUI statistics. They will tell us how many people are killed each year in alcohol related accidents, or how many people are killed by drunk drivers.

What the statistics and proponents of laws don't tell us is that a DUI caused accident doesn't mean the drinker was the cause of the accident. They don't tell us that speeding or reckless driving was the cause. We aren't told the road was covered in ice and it was truly just an accident.  When a beer can is found on the roadside, or a weeks old empty in the floorboard, the accident becomes alcohol related. If the attending officer can smell what he/she believes to be alcohol, even if it's cough medicine, it becomes an alcohol related accident.

Stop and Frisk—The Police State

I first apologize that this might get lengthy because of quotes. Please bear with me because this might be one of the most important legal arguments this country faces today. New York city has a law named Stop and Frisk. It seems this law allows police to randomly stop people with only a reasonable suspicion and frisk the surface of the person. Many of us believe this law comes into conflict with the 4^th Amendment, which states that police must have probable cause to search Americans without a warrant and protects against unreasonable searches. I guess the first thing we must do is understand the difference between the two words.

From Dictionary.com:

reasonable  (rea·son·a·ble) [ree-zuh-nuh-buhl, reez-nuh-]

adjective

1. agreeable to reason or sound judgment; logical: a reasonable choice for chairman.
2.not exceeding the limit prescribed by reason; not excessive: reasonable terms.

3.moderate, especially in price; not expensive: The coat was reasonable but not cheap.

4.endowed with reason.

5.capable of rational behavior, decision, etc.