I can't remember if it was the failing NYT or WP that ran an article on the death penalty recently but it showed that homicide rates are lower per capita in states that do not have the death penalty. Of the states with no death penalty, Illinois appears to have the highest murder rate, though still lower than capital punishment states. What do European nations with low homicide rates (sorry Jo Nesbo) have besides low gun ownership? No capital punishment. So wreak your revenge if you will, but it doesn't seem to do much good in the long run.
Eric, re. the commandment "thou shall not kill". That is an incorrect translation from the original Hebrew. It should be "thou shall not murder". Looking at the Biblical history that occurred after the Ten Commandments shows frequent killings, mostly in battle. There is a gulf between participating in a battle, especially of self-defense, and the taking of one, or several, innocent lives.
Regarding the two letters above about why the State wouldn't tax retirement income; they argue it's because of employees' unions. I was told that it is primarily because it would affect all retirement income, that you couldn't choose which one. And so Social Security, 401k distributions, pensions, anything retirement would be taxed the same. Though I didn't fact check that, I was told it was written in the State Constitution that way. I assume it correct since they had to try to pass a constitutional amendment to try for a graduated tax.
No. The assertion is that since Illinois has a flat tax in the constitution that a tax on retirement income would have to be at the same rate as regular income. So it is harder to limit the tax to people with higher incomes. But a tax law could easily choose which source was taxed. Social Security and pensions could be excluded, and IRA and 401K distributions included in the income calculation.
I have a friend in the TDCJ, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, doing two life sentences and an additional 25 years with the possibility of parole for capital murder when she was just 16 years old; and legislation addressing proportionality in the sentencing of juvenile crimes is before the governor’s desk in Texas. Known humanely as “offender” and “inmate,” she is living in Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas; she chronically suffers from the Saharan climate in this section of the prison, and she frequently complains about how the lack of air conditioning in her unit (Mountain View Unit housing women’s death row, for example, does have air conditioning) is a serious problem: Are sweltering Texas prison units a part of the so-called deterrence from and retribution for crime committed and incarceration, or is the civil standard many people enjoy a poor fit for the women of Crain Unit and others?
It's torture, basically. Nobody has to bother with a justification because nobody gives a shit. Torture as punishment may be a deterrent in theory, but that doesn't mater because it's wrong, in addition to being counterproductive. The 8th Amendment prohibits cruelty as punishment. Judges and the Justice Department need to do more to stand up for the rights of prisoners, especially when, as at Riker's, they haven't been convicted yet.
“In ‘Why Americans Don’t Care About Prison Rape,’ as 2015 article in The Nation, Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig reported on studies showing nearly 200,000 detainees a year are sexually violated in U.S. jails and prisons.
“We have become a culture that tolerates and potentially lauds the rape and sexual exploitation of hundreds of thousands of people every year, many of them minors, mothers, mentally ill. ... Rape is (widely seen as) part of forcing prisoners to change, it’s what makes learning your lesson in prison scary, and scary prisons are what keep bad people in line. …” –Zorn.
It seems to me like this despoiling prison ethic of rape-on-demand reflects ravaging barbarism committed by a degenerate pack of desecrating prisoners lusting after vengeance, power, and control using sexual extortion within the prison system as the method – a comply-or-die mentality. It puts power in the hands of the perpetrating prisoners based on the marauding prison outlaw culture waging the hellish threat of harm. It is clearly absurd that the vicious practice of these cruel molestations has any place in our modern criminal justice system or prisons that need to be completely eradicated of it in a civil, just society. So, what is or is not a just society and how is it reflected in our prison system(s)?
Although you are entirely correct about Trump's non-funny joke about raping the journalists, you seem to overlook two nuances (at least one of which Trump intended): 1) one of the Trumpies' favorite pastimes is watching the libs complain about non-funny humor of this type (so you took the bait); and 2) there is a serious argument to be made that the journalistic privilege has outlived its useful life (just like the filibuster and other old devices). Journalists cite alleged confidential sources dozens of times per day and the privilege is widely abused by both sources and journalists. I have no sympathy for the leakers (both authorized and unauthorized) or the alleged journalists.
You can't really say "alleged journalists" here since the draft they got and published was nearly identical to the final opinion. I don't think Trump was trolling the libs. I think he really does like the idea of torturing journalists.
And no, there is not a serious argument to get rid of journalistic privilege. THink of all the stories that never could have been or would have been told about the scoundrels of all stripes in the halls of power if every source had to fear that they'd be given up and exposed.
I am a bit confused about allusions to taxing pensions in IL. I am a retired teacher, draw a teacher's pension, and am taxed on it. Who are the lucky ones who draw a pension and are not taxed? On another note about taxation, I resent the fact that it seems I am taxed on my (actually mostly my husband's) SS twice. In fact, IL seems to hold its teachers in low esteem because we do not collect our full measure of SS even though we worked at other employment that withheld SS.
You are not taxed on your pension by the State. You only pay federal tax. And you do not pay double tax on SS. Most teachers and their unions preferred not to be covered by SS although it is debatable. If you want the benefits, you and the employer have to make the contributions.
I found Trump's 'joke' distasteful for many reasons. But I think that Ms Stoker Bruenig overstates the level of public acceptance. I think one of the reasons that people think the male prisoner rape story is humorous is because they do not believe that it is common. And it isn't. In 2015 there were 1.5 million prisoners in local, state and federal prisons and 2.3 million people that were detained for some length of time in these facilities. The reported rapes were under 4% and Stoker Breunig's 200,000 'sexually violated' number is 8.6% of the population. The most recent reports shows a significant improvement.
I think that the vast majority of people assume and expect that prisons are well controlled and managed, which is why there is a scandal when it is discovered that they are not. Similarly, getting murdered in prison, or the threat, is a common plot point in TV and movies but only happens to 0.004% of the incarcerated population.
I can't remember if it was the failing NYT or WP that ran an article on the death penalty recently but it showed that homicide rates are lower per capita in states that do not have the death penalty. Of the states with no death penalty, Illinois appears to have the highest murder rate, though still lower than capital punishment states. What do European nations with low homicide rates (sorry Jo Nesbo) have besides low gun ownership? No capital punishment. So wreak your revenge if you will, but it doesn't seem to do much good in the long run.
How do causation and correlation apply?
Eric, re. the commandment "thou shall not kill". That is an incorrect translation from the original Hebrew. It should be "thou shall not murder". Looking at the Biblical history that occurred after the Ten Commandments shows frequent killings, mostly in battle. There is a gulf between participating in a battle, especially of self-defense, and the taking of one, or several, innocent lives.
Well, that's true. And then there's the gratuitous killing of the first-born and the purported drowning of nearly everyone in the great flood and.. well HuffPo has a good rundown https://www.huffpost.com/entry/violence-in-the-bible-greatest-hits_b_5861bd66e4b068764965be0a
Regarding the two letters above about why the State wouldn't tax retirement income; they argue it's because of employees' unions. I was told that it is primarily because it would affect all retirement income, that you couldn't choose which one. And so Social Security, 401k distributions, pensions, anything retirement would be taxed the same. Though I didn't fact check that, I was told it was written in the State Constitution that way. I assume it correct since they had to try to pass a constitutional amendment to try for a graduated tax.
No. The assertion is that since Illinois has a flat tax in the constitution that a tax on retirement income would have to be at the same rate as regular income. So it is harder to limit the tax to people with higher incomes. But a tax law could easily choose which source was taxed. Social Security and pensions could be excluded, and IRA and 401K distributions included in the income calculation.
It's not just rape. It's violence up to and including murder, contraband, inhumane conditions (like no a/c in Texas). It's pretty inexcusable.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-atrocious-prisons-conditions-make-us-all-less-safe
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/15/nyregion/rikers-island-jail.html
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/24/texas-prisons-air-conditioning/
I have a friend in the TDCJ, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, doing two life sentences and an additional 25 years with the possibility of parole for capital murder when she was just 16 years old; and legislation addressing proportionality in the sentencing of juvenile crimes is before the governor’s desk in Texas. Known humanely as “offender” and “inmate,” she is living in Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas; she chronically suffers from the Saharan climate in this section of the prison, and she frequently complains about how the lack of air conditioning in her unit (Mountain View Unit housing women’s death row, for example, does have air conditioning) is a serious problem: Are sweltering Texas prison units a part of the so-called deterrence from and retribution for crime committed and incarceration, or is the civil standard many people enjoy a poor fit for the women of Crain Unit and others?
It's torture, basically. Nobody has to bother with a justification because nobody gives a shit. Torture as punishment may be a deterrent in theory, but that doesn't mater because it's wrong, in addition to being counterproductive. The 8th Amendment prohibits cruelty as punishment. Judges and the Justice Department need to do more to stand up for the rights of prisoners, especially when, as at Riker's, they haven't been convicted yet.
“In ‘Why Americans Don’t Care About Prison Rape,’ as 2015 article in The Nation, Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig reported on studies showing nearly 200,000 detainees a year are sexually violated in U.S. jails and prisons.
“We have become a culture that tolerates and potentially lauds the rape and sexual exploitation of hundreds of thousands of people every year, many of them minors, mothers, mentally ill. ... Rape is (widely seen as) part of forcing prisoners to change, it’s what makes learning your lesson in prison scary, and scary prisons are what keep bad people in line. …” –Zorn.
It seems to me like this despoiling prison ethic of rape-on-demand reflects ravaging barbarism committed by a degenerate pack of desecrating prisoners lusting after vengeance, power, and control using sexual extortion within the prison system as the method – a comply-or-die mentality. It puts power in the hands of the perpetrating prisoners based on the marauding prison outlaw culture waging the hellish threat of harm. It is clearly absurd that the vicious practice of these cruel molestations has any place in our modern criminal justice system or prisons that need to be completely eradicated of it in a civil, just society. So, what is or is not a just society and how is it reflected in our prison system(s)?
Although you are entirely correct about Trump's non-funny joke about raping the journalists, you seem to overlook two nuances (at least one of which Trump intended): 1) one of the Trumpies' favorite pastimes is watching the libs complain about non-funny humor of this type (so you took the bait); and 2) there is a serious argument to be made that the journalistic privilege has outlived its useful life (just like the filibuster and other old devices). Journalists cite alleged confidential sources dozens of times per day and the privilege is widely abused by both sources and journalists. I have no sympathy for the leakers (both authorized and unauthorized) or the alleged journalists.
You can't really say "alleged journalists" here since the draft they got and published was nearly identical to the final opinion. I don't think Trump was trolling the libs. I think he really does like the idea of torturing journalists.
And no, there is not a serious argument to get rid of journalistic privilege. THink of all the stories that never could have been or would have been told about the scoundrels of all stripes in the halls of power if every source had to fear that they'd be given up and exposed.
I am a bit confused about allusions to taxing pensions in IL. I am a retired teacher, draw a teacher's pension, and am taxed on it. Who are the lucky ones who draw a pension and are not taxed? On another note about taxation, I resent the fact that it seems I am taxed on my (actually mostly my husband's) SS twice. In fact, IL seems to hold its teachers in low esteem because we do not collect our full measure of SS even though we worked at other employment that withheld SS.
You are not taxed on your pension by the State. You only pay federal tax. And you do not pay double tax on SS. Most teachers and their unions preferred not to be covered by SS although it is debatable. If you want the benefits, you and the employer have to make the contributions.
I found Trump's 'joke' distasteful for many reasons. But I think that Ms Stoker Bruenig overstates the level of public acceptance. I think one of the reasons that people think the male prisoner rape story is humorous is because they do not believe that it is common. And it isn't. In 2015 there were 1.5 million prisoners in local, state and federal prisons and 2.3 million people that were detained for some length of time in these facilities. The reported rapes were under 4% and Stoker Breunig's 200,000 'sexually violated' number is 8.6% of the population. The most recent reports shows a significant improvement.
https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/sexual-victimization-reported-adult-correctional-authorities-2016-2018
I think that the vast majority of people assume and expect that prisons are well controlled and managed, which is why there is a scandal when it is discovered that they are not. Similarly, getting murdered in prison, or the threat, is a common plot point in TV and movies but only happens to 0.004% of the incarcerated population.