Betchya our deficits on both state & federal levels would diminish greatly if

[stellanoir]

all non violent offenders who are doing time were re-sentenced to home confinement.

These stats are a couple years old but take a look at the percentages if you're at all curious. . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States#Violent_and_nonviolent_crime

With the surveillance technologies already so accessible there is no way it wouldn't be a heck of a lot cheaper, considerably more humane, and would more than likely lower the rates of recidivism in a vast majority of circumstances.

I've seen wild estimates of varying costs of incarceration from various locales around the country but most of 'em range from 30-60 grand per year. That's just nutz when if those imprisoned were earning that much they might have afforded better legal representation in the first place.

But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO politician dares address this issue for fear of appearing to be "weak on crime". So when the penal system is so clearly broken and utterly inhumane, they cast a blind eye to this heinously huge and outrageous costly source of our national shame.

That's despite draconian mandatory sentencing regulations that have motivated even some of the most conservative judges to hop off their benches.

Decriminalizing weed would free up a whole lot of wasted time and resources of our law enforcement forces, courts, and prison system, but more than most are well aware of that.

So much for our alleged representative legislature. Ughhh.

Have never met a violent pot head and seriously doubt I ever will.

Norquist's treasonous pledglings would rather roast the elderly, the sick, and the poor than ever dream of freeing those who don't warrant incarceration in theses times.

I've been going on about this for a while but was reminded of it today because of this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5073834

Which then reminded me of this. . .

It was cut from "Sicko" because no one would believe it. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4L6-0WRfSA

It's fascinating and really puts us to shame.

It addresses the prison system @ 5:27 but the intro is really informative about many facets of their culture and thoughtful long term priorities

Just sayin'

[BlueIris]

1. K&R. As someone who has really been rethinking our prison system lately,

this post gives us a lot to think about.

[krispos42]

2. Trapped in your house with your family.

They can come and go, but you can't. Just hanging around, not doing housework, not cooking...

the harassment from your family would probably be a better incentive to avoid getting in trouble than low-security prison.

[stellanoir]

5. bingo

[PETRUS]

3. Our incarceration rate is a bad symptom.

[sam11111]

4. bottom line total savings needed for political arguments

Pls dig up and multiply

--------------
N-V offenders x savings each if house arrest

Thanks

[stellanoir]

7. Figures for home confinement would probably

vary as widely as the costs of incarceration from place to place.

I wouldn't even begin to try and guesstimate.

But a couple guys monitoring surveillance devices and alerting local or state or federal authorities when bells and whistles are set off has gotta be a mere minuscule fraction of the wages of the cast of characters who are responsible for the maintenance, the housing, the feeding and doing whatever they do to maintain "order" and keep them inside.

To say nothing of the big muck-a-mucks sleazily profiting from privatized prisons.

And from most reports, it helps scarcely few.

Plus with GPS and wifi everywhere, and all of us essentially under surveillance, it's not as though they'd have to launch satellites to do it or anything.

Sorry I'll leave it to someone else to do the math.

I just know that we're pissing away too many lives and wayyy too much dough on something that only worsens conditions for too many.

[onethatcares]

6. how the hell are you going to

keep the prison industrial complex in high cotton if you don't have a workforce you can threaten with solitary? It's not like the defense industry is going to provide convicts with computers in their homes.

BTW, what happened to the food strikes at San Quentin and the California prisons?

[stellanoir]

9. There was an amazingly informative thread about

the prison industrial complex posted in GD a few years ago. It had all sorts of really scary stats and graphs and toons.

I had bookmarked that thread and just tried to find it, to no avail. My "intertube" connection has been messing up today, but it seems like the admins might be up to doing something with the upgrades that may be making older bookmarks or threads less accessible. I know I've linked to that original thread a couple times before.

Will try again later.

Have no clue about the food strikes. Hope they did some good but I kinda doubt it.

The corporate media thinks the Kardashians and other mindless things are of greater importance I guess.

I often wonder about the plight of Leonard Pelletier more.

It's an uphill slog for sure. Yet it's need of amelioration couldn't be more apparent to those who are paying attention, who are far too few.

[socialindependocrat]

8. The suits can't think outside the box!!

This is a good idea.

They would pay for their own food and housing.

What about looking at the stupidly long sentences that some people
got for selling pot.

I think we should review them all and send a bunch of them home.

This is another example of the government doing what it wants
instead of what the people want it to do.

We really need to vote in a bunch of progressive Dems this time around.

[stellanoir]

10. 67% of the population think pot should be decriminalized.

That's probably a low ball estimate.

I think everybody knows a few adorably sweet and spacey stoners who wouldn't hurt anything ever.

Barney Frank was ranting about that issue last night on Maddow.

On Ratigan's show this afternoon, he had two guys who produced something for the Discovery Channel called "Weed Wars." Didn't catch when it's gonna be shown.

We all know that non psycho active hemp makes superior textile and paper products, is sustainable and could really boost our few remaining family farms. Big lumber, petro based textiles, and big cotton don't want that to happen at all.

I've heard that a huge issue with Marinol, the big pharma answer for pharmaceutical THC issue, the darned stuff is so concentrated that it makes many who have legitimate medical problems so spaced out that they can't function. So they much prefer to get it from the black market.

That's generally what happens when a curative agent is taken out of it's natural matrix and reduced to a white powder. It's taken out of balance.

I had a client a couple of years ago who's father had horrible GI dysfunction and the Marinol cost $250 per pill and it made him sick and stupid. So his GP got him some commercial grade weed and he could self regulate and he was much more comfortable.

[socialindependocrat]

11. I've heard the 67% figure

So if that is true why is there such a fuss about decriminalization?

Why can't we set up some petition center and everybody can submit their
name to the list and when it gets to a million people then congress
has to make a law.

I get so frustrated when we have the data to back up a proposal
and congress drags it's feet for whatever reason.

Like you said - pharma and large corps. and professional groups.
They all shouldn't matter if "We The People" want to have something done.

I start to think of the idea of FREEDOM
Freedom to control your own body
Freedom to do what you like in your own home or on your own farm.

I think of Ecstasy and ask why don't they try it for depression?
Instead they just declair it as having no value and they ban it.

Then I think, if they banned it, why is it being produced?
They must be using it for something!!??

I grew up in the 60s and after all these 50 years, you would think, we would
be a little farther ahead in being able to make our own choices.

I think that we are really so screwed up that society is more accepting of
shaved heads, as a fashion, than long hair on men. That scares me.

Oh well, carry the flag and fight the good fight!!!

Thanks for the post!!!

[stellanoir]

12. Welp I didn't save the links

but before Ecstasy became a schedule 1 drug, it was unscheduled and used therapeutically with quite remarkable results.

Also I did read more recently that a few VA shrinks were conducting sessions with it with Vets with extreme PTSD after coming home from Iraq and had similar positive experiences.

Haven't seen anything lately though.

We are very simply bereft of representative leadership in these times. Our democracy is now a total ruse.

I did recently hear from a kid in his early 20's that there is now some hyped up form (overly concentrated dose) of MDMA in circulation amongst his peers that was really messing them up.

Doing it in crowds to techno isn't necessarily conducive to enlightenment.

As a 13th generational american on my mum's side and a kid who was born on Flag Day, I won't be waving any flag any time soon.

Though in typing that, the imaginary Ipod in my cranium just shuffled to "US Blues." Once a dead head always a dead head I guess.

And I'm not gonna fight. I'll just rant from time to time when the BS is too much to take.

Hope you will too. Fear is the tool of the dementors of doom.

Don't sweat it about the hair though. Fashion has always been fickle.

Alice Bailey was an esoteric writer who lived over a century ago . In the midst of all of those texts was a book entitled, "Glamour, A World Problem." That became a catch phrase a dear friend and myself cited when I lived in LA decades ago. It was more than a little applicable at the time and persists as such. I never read the book. Felt I didn't need to.

Thanks for the heartfelt response.

on edit- had to remove a consonant. It was a poorly place "d".

[stellanoir]

13. just kickin' for the heck of it