So, it's 5:30 in the afternoon on Thanksgiving Day and I'm trying to be profound when all I really want to think about is having a turkey sandwich with mayonnaise and cranberry jelly. A friend of mine in the 90's introduced me to these sandwiches. They're best on soft white bread, like Wonder bread, because then the mayo kinda sinks into the bread, the cranberry jelly melds with the turkey and the turkey just absorbs everything. I've been making them with roasted chicken for the last week but tonight, I think I'm going to get to make it with turkey. It all depends on the size of the turkey slices in the dinner I've got to heat up.
I'm staying with my sister Karen, a challenge in itself, but it's better than being alone on Thanksgiving Day, like I was last year. It's chilly here, not freezing yet, but I've got this incredible heater keeping me warm most of the time during the day. It's her dog Scooter. He likes to be on top of soft things. When she reclines in her chair, he's right on top of her. During the night, he sleeps on top of her hip and the edge of the chair. But when she's awake and moving around, or out of the house, or sitting at her computer, he's decided that I'm a good replacement. And he gives off a ton of heat. Right now, he's stretched out between my lower legs on the footrest of this recliner. I don't even need a blanket with him near.
Last but not least this Thanksgiving Day: I've had one heck of a year since last Thanksgiving. I've endured a cold winter in Massachusetts. I've gone to Washington D.C. on behalf of pancreatic cancer. I've endured a day of travel that included a 4 hour delay in DC and several changes of flights from Chicago. I went to my 30 year high school class reunion and enjoyed it. I spent time in Michael's company and time with Dwayne. I got to spend some time with an acquaintance from high school that I now consider to be a good friend. And most of that happened in the months after I was supposed to be dead. I don't think there's any way for me to NOT be thankful for this past year.
For all the loved ones in my life, may your year ahead be filled with more good than bad, more laughter than tears, and more life than any one person can live. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
It's been a while and I feel the need to write, to express myself again in words that few see because I don't advertise this blog. But it's ok because, in a way, it's my journal. And sometimes, journals don't need to be shared.
It's July 3 and tomorrow is another birthday for some people I know. One is once again in my life and I'm glad because I've missed her zanyness. She's older (aren't we all?) and yet, she still has so much of that zing I remember best about her. She's in a long term relationship, something I might have never seen her in but she's happy and therefore, I'm happy. I wish we were closer in miles because I need to see her from time to time, to remind me that being a nut can be fun and beneficial to health.
The other person turns 81 and I'm not sure how I really feel. A part of me hates and a part of me loves and I'm not sure which one wins out most of the time. They say that only the love survives but in this case, I'm not sure it should be that way. All I know is, he turns 81 and I'll spend part of tomorrow crying.
I just finished catching up on a blog I enjoy reading because the writer is always about the truth of her situation. It's just too bad her wife isn't as honest or worthy of that honesty. How do you feel, knowing you made a promise and then broke it just as soon as you left the one you made it to? How do you feel when your world has come crashing down and everyone believes the more famous of the two of you because you did what was right for you and now she's mocking your choice? How does anyone believe the famous one if they hear the full story? It's just sad all around.
I'm tired and hurting but I need to do some things today so I'm going to force myself to go upstairs and take a long shower, then force myself to ask to go to the grocery store. I need milk and something to drink other than water and soda. I want lemonade, I want chips, I want so much more than I have right now. I need to do something other than sit and stare at a keyboard on the laptop.
The bottom line is, I want my friend Dwayne here and it can't happen right now. Such is life.
It's July 3 and tomorrow is another birthday for some people I know. One is once again in my life and I'm glad because I've missed her zanyness. She's older (aren't we all?) and yet, she still has so much of that zing I remember best about her. She's in a long term relationship, something I might have never seen her in but she's happy and therefore, I'm happy. I wish we were closer in miles because I need to see her from time to time, to remind me that being a nut can be fun and beneficial to health.
The other person turns 81 and I'm not sure how I really feel. A part of me hates and a part of me loves and I'm not sure which one wins out most of the time. They say that only the love survives but in this case, I'm not sure it should be that way. All I know is, he turns 81 and I'll spend part of tomorrow crying.
I just finished catching up on a blog I enjoy reading because the writer is always about the truth of her situation. It's just too bad her wife isn't as honest or worthy of that honesty. How do you feel, knowing you made a promise and then broke it just as soon as you left the one you made it to? How do you feel when your world has come crashing down and everyone believes the more famous of the two of you because you did what was right for you and now she's mocking your choice? How does anyone believe the famous one if they hear the full story? It's just sad all around.
I'm tired and hurting but I need to do some things today so I'm going to force myself to go upstairs and take a long shower, then force myself to ask to go to the grocery store. I need milk and something to drink other than water and soda. I want lemonade, I want chips, I want so much more than I have right now. I need to do something other than sit and stare at a keyboard on the laptop.
The bottom line is, I want my friend Dwayne here and it can't happen right now. Such is life.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Bullying
I've been reading a lot of stories in the news lately that have my blood pressure up. It's time for JT to post her thoughts about one in particuler.
Bullying: I went through school and graduated exactly 30 years ago this June. I was the obese, smart kid with glasses. Not just fat but Obese with a capital O. I got the jokes, the stares, the having things thrown at me, all the way through school. One time on the bus ride home, a guy, who used to talk with me every single day, pulled the tip off a pen and then dropped the ink portion down my back. Needless to say, I ended up throwing out one of my favorite shirts and had to wear dark shirts so that the ink stain on my skin wouldn't show through for the next few days.
I heard all the jokes about wearing tents, when was I going to run away and join the circus, having the ground shake when I walked, and the see-food diet I must be on. When I mentioned it to a teacher once, I got told "What do you expect me to do? Grow up and grow a thicker skin." I felt the pain of auditioning for a group that I had the vocal skills to be a part of but because they did dance moves, I would never be a part of. My size made me stand out from the rest of the group and the director wanted it to be more cohesive.
I spent most of my teen years feeling isolated and not a part of everything else going on in school. But I survived. Low self-esteem and all, I survived. Phoebe Prince did not.
Phoebe Prince was a beautiful young lady from Ireland who lived and went to school here in the U.S. For months, she dealt with bullying and harassing behavior from other students. The school's procedures were used but laxly. After taking it for one final, really bad day, Ms. Prince committed suicide. Several students have been arrested and will pay nearly as big a price, because with any felony conviction comes a lifetime of lesser chances. All because they decided to be idiots.
It's no longer enough to say it's a part of life, a passage that all must undergo to become adults. It's not enough to tell the bullied to grow a thicker skin, to pay them no attention. The old rhyme may say that words will never hurt you but it's a lie. Words hurt and in some people, they hurt to the point of danger.
How many times have we read about a student bringing a gun to school to "deal with the bullies?" How many times do children have to die because tolerance is a lesson they never learned at home? How many times do we have to hear a parent say that they're child could never say or do such things, only to have that child be brought up on charges for doing exactly that? Harrassing behavior hurts and always has. Now, it kills. We can't let it continue.
Bullying: I went through school and graduated exactly 30 years ago this June. I was the obese, smart kid with glasses. Not just fat but Obese with a capital O. I got the jokes, the stares, the having things thrown at me, all the way through school. One time on the bus ride home, a guy, who used to talk with me every single day, pulled the tip off a pen and then dropped the ink portion down my back. Needless to say, I ended up throwing out one of my favorite shirts and had to wear dark shirts so that the ink stain on my skin wouldn't show through for the next few days.
I heard all the jokes about wearing tents, when was I going to run away and join the circus, having the ground shake when I walked, and the see-food diet I must be on. When I mentioned it to a teacher once, I got told "What do you expect me to do? Grow up and grow a thicker skin." I felt the pain of auditioning for a group that I had the vocal skills to be a part of but because they did dance moves, I would never be a part of. My size made me stand out from the rest of the group and the director wanted it to be more cohesive.
I spent most of my teen years feeling isolated and not a part of everything else going on in school. But I survived. Low self-esteem and all, I survived. Phoebe Prince did not.
Phoebe Prince was a beautiful young lady from Ireland who lived and went to school here in the U.S. For months, she dealt with bullying and harassing behavior from other students. The school's procedures were used but laxly. After taking it for one final, really bad day, Ms. Prince committed suicide. Several students have been arrested and will pay nearly as big a price, because with any felony conviction comes a lifetime of lesser chances. All because they decided to be idiots.
It's no longer enough to say it's a part of life, a passage that all must undergo to become adults. It's not enough to tell the bullied to grow a thicker skin, to pay them no attention. The old rhyme may say that words will never hurt you but it's a lie. Words hurt and in some people, they hurt to the point of danger.
How many times have we read about a student bringing a gun to school to "deal with the bullies?" How many times do children have to die because tolerance is a lesson they never learned at home? How many times do we have to hear a parent say that they're child could never say or do such things, only to have that child be brought up on charges for doing exactly that? Harrassing behavior hurts and always has. Now, it kills. We can't let it continue.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Politicians
It's been about a month since I last posted. I have all the best intentions in the world but sometimes life just gets in the way. I will keep trying.
I was re-reading a story on the internet just a few minutes ago and something in the story made me stop and come here to write. See, in this fictional story, a boy tells the Prime Minister of Canada some hometruths as only a child can do. He ends up being told by the Prime Minister that he'll make a good politician some day and it's his response that made me want to write this post. He responds by saying he's not a politician because politicians do what they think will make people vote for them. He's doing what he he thinks is the right thing to do.
Now, I know it's a piece of fiction but that really is what's wrong with most politicians these days. ESPECIALLY these days. They sit there and spread all sorts of things that they know are lies because they're appealing to a certain type of voter. It's not because it's what they believe in or even that the majority of their constituents want. They know that people are angry at the way things are being done. Or maybe I should say, NOT being done.
Our country is a mess right now. Most of these companies that the politicians helped out last year with huge amounts of money posted big profits at the end of the year. Big enough that their CEO's got all kinds of bonus money. While the average American has lost their job or is in danger of losing their homes, these CEO's had their companies bailed out with our money, they earned a profit, they got a huge bonus in the millions, and they still haven't done anything to show their thanks for the bailout. Did they cut prices for the average American? No. Did the banks take a look at the loans and say thanks by modifying them so that people might be able to keep paying their mortgage? No. Have the insurance companies lowered their rates or even just held them steady? NO. And all these politicians just keep being idiots.
I think there are three things should be mandatory required reading/viewing for every member of any legislature in every governmental office, be it local, state, or federal. First, a copy of the portion of the internet story that I talked about earlier in this post, the speech the boy gave the Canadian Prime Minister, should be printed out and given to each and every politician. Second, every politician should have to spend their first day in every legislative session watching the movies "Dave" and "The Distinguished Gentleman" for the message they tried to convey. Most especially the speech that is given in Dave by the fake President to the Congress. And third, every politician should have to take a test on those movies, to make sure they understood the point being made.
JT's Bottom Line: It's the very least they should HAVE to do for us, the people they're supposed to serve.
I was re-reading a story on the internet just a few minutes ago and something in the story made me stop and come here to write. See, in this fictional story, a boy tells the Prime Minister of Canada some hometruths as only a child can do. He ends up being told by the Prime Minister that he'll make a good politician some day and it's his response that made me want to write this post. He responds by saying he's not a politician because politicians do what they think will make people vote for them. He's doing what he he thinks is the right thing to do.
Now, I know it's a piece of fiction but that really is what's wrong with most politicians these days. ESPECIALLY these days. They sit there and spread all sorts of things that they know are lies because they're appealing to a certain type of voter. It's not because it's what they believe in or even that the majority of their constituents want. They know that people are angry at the way things are being done. Or maybe I should say, NOT being done.
Our country is a mess right now. Most of these companies that the politicians helped out last year with huge amounts of money posted big profits at the end of the year. Big enough that their CEO's got all kinds of bonus money. While the average American has lost their job or is in danger of losing their homes, these CEO's had their companies bailed out with our money, they earned a profit, they got a huge bonus in the millions, and they still haven't done anything to show their thanks for the bailout. Did they cut prices for the average American? No. Did the banks take a look at the loans and say thanks by modifying them so that people might be able to keep paying their mortgage? No. Have the insurance companies lowered their rates or even just held them steady? NO. And all these politicians just keep being idiots.
I think there are three things should be mandatory required reading/viewing for every member of any legislature in every governmental office, be it local, state, or federal. First, a copy of the portion of the internet story that I talked about earlier in this post, the speech the boy gave the Canadian Prime Minister, should be printed out and given to each and every politician. Second, every politician should have to spend their first day in every legislative session watching the movies "Dave" and "The Distinguished Gentleman" for the message they tried to convey. Most especially the speech that is given in Dave by the fake President to the Congress. And third, every politician should have to take a test on those movies, to make sure they understood the point being made.
JT's Bottom Line: It's the very least they should HAVE to do for us, the people they're supposed to serve.
Monday, February 15, 2010
9-11 trial
I've been reading all the press about where to hold the trials for the idiots who planned the 9-11 crashes. Should it be in regular civilian courts or in a military tribunal? So many Republicans want it to be in a military hearing. I think the biggest reason I've heard that is because it's going to take so much security, etc.
But I have a problem with holding them up to a military tribunal. There are different laws at play in a military hearing. These aren't meant to hear cases against the country but against military people who have a fully different set of rules than non-military people. They won't be heard by everyday people or argued in front of everyday people, the same types of people who were hurt the most by the events of 9-11. It will be military personnel making all the decisions and the final outcome, people who don't always think the way everyday people think and feel.
This wasn't a crime against our military, no matter what legislators say. It was a crime against the people of the United States of America. You want to deal with security, fine. Hold the hearing where they're being held, in Guantanamo Bay. But have it a non-military hearing, with a jury of everyday people. Expand the jury so that it's not just 12 people. The largest number of people killed were New Yorkers, so let the largest number of people on the jury be from NY. Let the remainder of the jurors be from Pennsylania and the military. Let the judge be one of the Judges from the highest court in the country, picked at random by a Native American. If they are found not guilty, release them in NYC, with the date and time of their release made public a week before the release. If they're found guilty, they get one appeal and then are put to death. Anything less would not be justice. And that's from a person who is most definitely against the death penalty.
JT's Bottom Line: Their crime was against the citizens and the citizens should be the ones to judge them, not the military.
But I have a problem with holding them up to a military tribunal. There are different laws at play in a military hearing. These aren't meant to hear cases against the country but against military people who have a fully different set of rules than non-military people. They won't be heard by everyday people or argued in front of everyday people, the same types of people who were hurt the most by the events of 9-11. It will be military personnel making all the decisions and the final outcome, people who don't always think the way everyday people think and feel.
This wasn't a crime against our military, no matter what legislators say. It was a crime against the people of the United States of America. You want to deal with security, fine. Hold the hearing where they're being held, in Guantanamo Bay. But have it a non-military hearing, with a jury of everyday people. Expand the jury so that it's not just 12 people. The largest number of people killed were New Yorkers, so let the largest number of people on the jury be from NY. Let the remainder of the jurors be from Pennsylania and the military. Let the judge be one of the Judges from the highest court in the country, picked at random by a Native American. If they are found not guilty, release them in NYC, with the date and time of their release made public a week before the release. If they're found guilty, they get one appeal and then are put to death. Anything less would not be justice. And that's from a person who is most definitely against the death penalty.
JT's Bottom Line: Their crime was against the citizens and the citizens should be the ones to judge them, not the military.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
I used to live with a guy who would say he wasn't against gays but he didn't want them in the military. His whole reasoning wasn't that it would change whether or not he could trust them but because he didn't want to hear about their wild sex the night before and all guys talk about sex. I tried to get him to think how it must feel to be gay and having to listen to other guys talk about the wild sex they'd had with girlfriends or prostitutes. He would say that if they were just normal then that wouldn't bother them to hear it. No matter how hard I tried or what I said, to him it all boiled down to the fact that they just weren't normal.
I've never understood that argument, about being normal. Normal by whose standards? By any religion? By law? By each individual's ideas of normalcy? Because to me, being normal is just being yourself. By most people's standards, I was always considered to be highly intelligent. To me, I was just me, just normal. I thought that everyone could do math because it was easy and anyone could spell without problems because it was just a matter of looking at the word and seeing it was wrong or right. Then I met my friend Michael who looks at words, knows they're wrong but for the life of him he can't see where the problem is.
For churches who argue that homosexuality is wrong because God said it was an abomination in the bible, I only have a few questions. Do you believe that God is love? Do you believe that the Devil is the absence of God? If you believe both of those things, then how can you believe that homosexuality is wrong, because for most, it's all about the love. If you believe that God is love and that two people love each other, then you have to believe that God is with them and therefore, it is right. Because if God is with you, then how can God hate you? It makes no sense to believe any other idea.
The bottom line is: If God is love, and two men or two women or a man and a woman love, then God is there and the relationship is blessed. It's that simple.
I've never understood that argument, about being normal. Normal by whose standards? By any religion? By law? By each individual's ideas of normalcy? Because to me, being normal is just being yourself. By most people's standards, I was always considered to be highly intelligent. To me, I was just me, just normal. I thought that everyone could do math because it was easy and anyone could spell without problems because it was just a matter of looking at the word and seeing it was wrong or right. Then I met my friend Michael who looks at words, knows they're wrong but for the life of him he can't see where the problem is.
For churches who argue that homosexuality is wrong because God said it was an abomination in the bible, I only have a few questions. Do you believe that God is love? Do you believe that the Devil is the absence of God? If you believe both of those things, then how can you believe that homosexuality is wrong, because for most, it's all about the love. If you believe that God is love and that two people love each other, then you have to believe that God is with them and therefore, it is right. Because if God is with you, then how can God hate you? It makes no sense to believe any other idea.
The bottom line is: If God is love, and two men or two women or a man and a woman love, then God is there and the relationship is blessed. It's that simple.
Monday, December 28, 2009
December 28, 2009
Here I sit, at my sister's apartment, trying to stay warm. It's an older building in a small town in Massachusetts, and like most older buildings, it hasn't been kept up too well. There's no real insulation in this building, the windows are leaky, the floors are getting a bit less sturdy, the electrical wiring is a bit on the weak side, and the heat is one small unit in the middle of one room. When it's windy, like it's getting tonight, the windows rattle because they aren't too tight anymore. My sister worries that a good gust will knock the windows out totally.
Even with all the problems, it's a roof over my head right now. There are so many people who don't have that roof right now. So many who don't have the ability to eat a good meal or get warm at all, or sleep safely without worrying about what they're going to lose if they sleep deeply. It's a crying shame.
This country that I love is such an apathetic mess. Let me say that again. The United States of America is an apathetic mess. We see someone hurting and we complain that their hurts ae their own fault, that if they don't like hurting here, they should go back to where they came from. We read about someone dying in prison because medical care is lacking and we say that if they didn't want to die in prison, they shoudn't have committed the crime. We complain that the cost of their medical care is too high for someone who is the dregs of society.
Our legislators are yelling all over the place about how high the costs are for certain things, how we should continue to punish certain crimes over others even if the crime itself isn't as serious, how no one wants to deal with the problem but them, and then nothing gets done because if they actually did something to fix the problem, most of the voting public wouldn't vote for them anymore.
I'm tired of people who want to play it safe, who don't want to care for anyone but themselves, who want nothing more than their cushy jobs and paychecks that are far higher than they should be for the job they do and they get to give themselves a raise every year. It's time for America to wake up and realize that change is positive even if it doesn't look so in the beginning. It takes time to make changes so let's take that time and at least begin.
Let's start to care again. It's what made us great.
Even with all the problems, it's a roof over my head right now. There are so many people who don't have that roof right now. So many who don't have the ability to eat a good meal or get warm at all, or sleep safely without worrying about what they're going to lose if they sleep deeply. It's a crying shame.
This country that I love is such an apathetic mess. Let me say that again. The United States of America is an apathetic mess. We see someone hurting and we complain that their hurts ae their own fault, that if they don't like hurting here, they should go back to where they came from. We read about someone dying in prison because medical care is lacking and we say that if they didn't want to die in prison, they shoudn't have committed the crime. We complain that the cost of their medical care is too high for someone who is the dregs of society.
Our legislators are yelling all over the place about how high the costs are for certain things, how we should continue to punish certain crimes over others even if the crime itself isn't as serious, how no one wants to deal with the problem but them, and then nothing gets done because if they actually did something to fix the problem, most of the voting public wouldn't vote for them anymore.
I'm tired of people who want to play it safe, who don't want to care for anyone but themselves, who want nothing more than their cushy jobs and paychecks that are far higher than they should be for the job they do and they get to give themselves a raise every year. It's time for America to wake up and realize that change is positive even if it doesn't look so in the beginning. It takes time to make changes so let's take that time and at least begin.
Let's start to care again. It's what made us great.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Remembering Randy Pausch
A slight change in topics for this post. In early 2008, I watched a video on a local PBS station that ended up having a major impact on my life. It was called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" and it was incredible.
Carnegie-Mellon University has a long-standing lecture series that used to be called 'The Last Lecture' and is now called Journeys. The premise was, if you only had one lecture left to give, what would it be about. In 2007, they asked Professor Randy Pausch to give the lecture. What I'm not sure they did or didn't know was, it was to be his last lecture at C-M. He'd been diagnosed in 2006 with pancreatic cancer and had found out in August of 2007 that it had recurred and metastasized. He was given 3-6 months of good health left to live.
His lecture was taped and uploaded to YouTube. It hit 1 million views in that first month alone. As of just the other night, it was closing in on 11 million views. And that's not counting how many times it's been downloaded for free from iTunes or bought from C-M University.
What's the big deal about the lecture? He used his greatest gifts of humor and intelligence and gave a lecture that wasn't about how he was living the last few months of his life but how he'd lived his life, period. All the best pieces of advice that anyone could give anyone were in that lecture. Lots of laughter, intimate stories from his life and teaching days, and all given in such a way that you didn't realize what you were really learning, which was how to live your life the right way. He celebrated his wife's birthday at the end of the lecture and he ended it by telling everyone that the lecture wasn't meant for those who'd just finished hearing it. It was meant for his 3 children.
Dr. Pausch died on July 25, 2008. He has been given tons of recognition. Carnegie-Mellon has named a bridge at their campus after him, because he bridged the distance between the different studies there. Disney has awarded 2 fellowships in his name and they have a plaque at Disney World with two of his favorite sayings written on it.
JT's Bottom Line: If everyone could just live their lives the way he did, this world would be a much better place.
Carnegie-Mellon University has a long-standing lecture series that used to be called 'The Last Lecture' and is now called Journeys. The premise was, if you only had one lecture left to give, what would it be about. In 2007, they asked Professor Randy Pausch to give the lecture. What I'm not sure they did or didn't know was, it was to be his last lecture at C-M. He'd been diagnosed in 2006 with pancreatic cancer and had found out in August of 2007 that it had recurred and metastasized. He was given 3-6 months of good health left to live.
His lecture was taped and uploaded to YouTube. It hit 1 million views in that first month alone. As of just the other night, it was closing in on 11 million views. And that's not counting how many times it's been downloaded for free from iTunes or bought from C-M University.
What's the big deal about the lecture? He used his greatest gifts of humor and intelligence and gave a lecture that wasn't about how he was living the last few months of his life but how he'd lived his life, period. All the best pieces of advice that anyone could give anyone were in that lecture. Lots of laughter, intimate stories from his life and teaching days, and all given in such a way that you didn't realize what you were really learning, which was how to live your life the right way. He celebrated his wife's birthday at the end of the lecture and he ended it by telling everyone that the lecture wasn't meant for those who'd just finished hearing it. It was meant for his 3 children.
Dr. Pausch died on July 25, 2008. He has been given tons of recognition. Carnegie-Mellon has named a bridge at their campus after him, because he bridged the distance between the different studies there. Disney has awarded 2 fellowships in his name and they have a plaque at Disney World with two of his favorite sayings written on it.
JT's Bottom Line: If everyone could just live their lives the way he did, this world would be a much better place.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
California's Parole Idiocy Continues
OK, here's a perfect example of the sheer idiocy of the Parole system in California. If you're a reader from California, you know that our prison system is under fire. We're overcrowded to the max, to the point of it being totally unsafe for the Correctional Officers to even do their job, and we have a shortage of them, as well. Even our Governor has declared that the system is collapsing under its own weight.
One of the biggest problems feeding into the overcrowding is the parole system. Out here, when you're released from prison, EVERYONE does time on parole. The rules for you to follow while you're on parole aren't as cut and dried as one might think. Everything depends on the parole agent that you're assigned. That agent might be more easygoing than some or they might be a wannabe cop who will put you back in prison for sneezing and not saying excuse me after you've sneezed. The truth is, even the hard and fast rules get played with by each and every parole agent. But some of the reasons for returning someone to prison on a violation are so asinine that even the Legislators who want to be tough on crime would be scratching their heads and saying "What???" This case is just one such case.
Part of every parolee's life for up to 5 years (depending on the crime you were convicted of) is reporting to your parole agent. How often you report in person depends on your agent and your parole custody level. Certain parolees have to report weekly and have more frequent contact with their agent. Others only have to report in once a month in person, and still more only have to fill out a form once a month. If you fail to report in, they can violate you immediately. From what I've been told, the usual procedure after failing to report is for the agent to call the number they have for you and/or drive out to try and find you. If they can't, then they fill out a report and have a warrant issued for your arrest. Leave the area for long enough and the violation becomes a bit more serious and it's called absconding.
The parolee I'm discussing here did just that. 5 years ago, with only 10 months left to go on parole, he screwed up and absconded all the way to Pennsylvania. Once there, he went about the business of living his life. He got a job, something that is nearly impossible for parolees in California. He paid his bills on time, building up a good credit record. He stopped using meth and getting arrested. He worked full time as a mechanic and went to college classes at night. For all intents and purposes, this man turned his life around. He literally did exactly what parole's main purpose is; he reintegrated into society without problems. But he absconded to do that. And California never lets an absconder just disappear into the night.
Earlier this summer, this man had a traffic violation. When they ran his license, it came up with the warrant for violating parole in California. So, off to jail he went, until California came to pick him up. They did and for the last month or so, he's sat behind bars waiting for the first hearing that they're supposed to have within 10 business days. He finally had the hearing today.
At his hearing, his lawyer showed everything that has happened since he absconded 5 years ago, how well this man had adjusted, a job, the college courses and his being on the Dean's list, all the things that made this man a good candidate for being continued on parole without going back to prison for the violation. Now, you would think that with California being broke and the prisons are all overcrowded, someone like this who had actually done 5 years without any further criminal activity and had even turned his life totally around, this person should be cut loose to get back to his life. Right?? But remember, this is California we're talking about, the state where compassionate release is only on paper, where they have to get their pound of flesh so that the politicians can espouse how much crime has been averted by their being tough on crime. The deputy commissioner who held this parolee's hearing decided he couldn't just let him go, he had to serve time. So he sentenced this parolee to 87 days in a drug rehab program inside the prison. 87 days inside prison so he can attend a program (for perhaps 20 days of that time if he's lucky) that will teach him something he has already learned how to do on his own. And the cost to California will be approximately $11,679.75. (average yearly cost to house/feed/clothe an inmate is 49,000. Divide that by 365, you get a daily cost of 134.25, multiplied by the 87 days he has to serve and you get that $11 grand figure.) $11 thousand to punish someone who has already done on his own exactly what he should have done. No crimes committed except a violation of parole.
And then we wonder why California's prisons are so crowded, why we have recidivism rates that rank us in the top 5 in the country, and why California is spending more money on inmates than on educating children so they don't become inmates in the first place?
My bottom line: As long as California wants to continue to LOOK tough on crime, it will continue to look STUPID overall.
One of the biggest problems feeding into the overcrowding is the parole system. Out here, when you're released from prison, EVERYONE does time on parole. The rules for you to follow while you're on parole aren't as cut and dried as one might think. Everything depends on the parole agent that you're assigned. That agent might be more easygoing than some or they might be a wannabe cop who will put you back in prison for sneezing and not saying excuse me after you've sneezed. The truth is, even the hard and fast rules get played with by each and every parole agent. But some of the reasons for returning someone to prison on a violation are so asinine that even the Legislators who want to be tough on crime would be scratching their heads and saying "What???" This case is just one such case.
Part of every parolee's life for up to 5 years (depending on the crime you were convicted of) is reporting to your parole agent. How often you report in person depends on your agent and your parole custody level. Certain parolees have to report weekly and have more frequent contact with their agent. Others only have to report in once a month in person, and still more only have to fill out a form once a month. If you fail to report in, they can violate you immediately. From what I've been told, the usual procedure after failing to report is for the agent to call the number they have for you and/or drive out to try and find you. If they can't, then they fill out a report and have a warrant issued for your arrest. Leave the area for long enough and the violation becomes a bit more serious and it's called absconding.
The parolee I'm discussing here did just that. 5 years ago, with only 10 months left to go on parole, he screwed up and absconded all the way to Pennsylvania. Once there, he went about the business of living his life. He got a job, something that is nearly impossible for parolees in California. He paid his bills on time, building up a good credit record. He stopped using meth and getting arrested. He worked full time as a mechanic and went to college classes at night. For all intents and purposes, this man turned his life around. He literally did exactly what parole's main purpose is; he reintegrated into society without problems. But he absconded to do that. And California never lets an absconder just disappear into the night.
Earlier this summer, this man had a traffic violation. When they ran his license, it came up with the warrant for violating parole in California. So, off to jail he went, until California came to pick him up. They did and for the last month or so, he's sat behind bars waiting for the first hearing that they're supposed to have within 10 business days. He finally had the hearing today.
At his hearing, his lawyer showed everything that has happened since he absconded 5 years ago, how well this man had adjusted, a job, the college courses and his being on the Dean's list, all the things that made this man a good candidate for being continued on parole without going back to prison for the violation. Now, you would think that with California being broke and the prisons are all overcrowded, someone like this who had actually done 5 years without any further criminal activity and had even turned his life totally around, this person should be cut loose to get back to his life. Right?? But remember, this is California we're talking about, the state where compassionate release is only on paper, where they have to get their pound of flesh so that the politicians can espouse how much crime has been averted by their being tough on crime. The deputy commissioner who held this parolee's hearing decided he couldn't just let him go, he had to serve time. So he sentenced this parolee to 87 days in a drug rehab program inside the prison. 87 days inside prison so he can attend a program (for perhaps 20 days of that time if he's lucky) that will teach him something he has already learned how to do on his own. And the cost to California will be approximately $11,679.75. (average yearly cost to house/feed/clothe an inmate is 49,000. Divide that by 365, you get a daily cost of 134.25, multiplied by the 87 days he has to serve and you get that $11 grand figure.) $11 thousand to punish someone who has already done on his own exactly what he should have done. No crimes committed except a violation of parole.
And then we wonder why California's prisons are so crowded, why we have recidivism rates that rank us in the top 5 in the country, and why California is spending more money on inmates than on educating children so they don't become inmates in the first place?
My bottom line: As long as California wants to continue to LOOK tough on crime, it will continue to look STUPID overall.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
First Words on a Blog
Here it is, my first thoughts on this blog. I've blogged before but they've always been private blogs, available only to one or two of my friends. This on is for the general public and I'm sure that at some point in time, there are going to be people who totally disapprove of what I'm saying. That's okay. I'm open to free speech. Beware: I WILL challenge you to prove your point or to back up your words with facts if I feel what you're saying makes no sense or defies logic.
I love to argue. I've been known to argue for hours, even switching my point of view if I think that will help someone else clarify their thoughts. I grew up in a home with parents who knew how to argue. I learned that, in my home, the only way to get your point across was to do it logically and loudly. Now that I'm more than grown up, I may not like to be quite as loud as I had to be then but I still love to get my point across. I'm emotional, as many people can be, when the topic is close to my heart.
I'm not an angel. I've had my moments of stupidity that ended up with being in places that no one wants to go to if they can possibly avoid them. But I've learned from those moments of stupidity and my biggest growth times have been in the months directly after those moments. Be prepared to read emotional posts that challenge your long-held beliefs.
This is My Bottom Line blog. Welcome!
I love to argue. I've been known to argue for hours, even switching my point of view if I think that will help someone else clarify their thoughts. I grew up in a home with parents who knew how to argue. I learned that, in my home, the only way to get your point across was to do it logically and loudly. Now that I'm more than grown up, I may not like to be quite as loud as I had to be then but I still love to get my point across. I'm emotional, as many people can be, when the topic is close to my heart.
I'm not an angel. I've had my moments of stupidity that ended up with being in places that no one wants to go to if they can possibly avoid them. But I've learned from those moments of stupidity and my biggest growth times have been in the months directly after those moments. Be prepared to read emotional posts that challenge your long-held beliefs.
This is My Bottom Line blog. Welcome!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)