Sunday Morning Coming Down

Bryan Stevenson wrote Just Mercy in 2014. Too many people get sent to jail wrongly and for the wrong reasons.  In 1972 there were about 300,000 incarcerated and today there are about 2.3 million folks.  Yes, the population has increased but there are now sentencing guidelines which make going to jail increasingly likely because of poverty and a breakdown in the justice system where folks are not adequately represented and policies criminalizing related to drug usage and mental illness. Just Mercy story is mostly about issues related to the misapplication of the death penalty but the criminal justice meanders and its application isn't always just.

The Miami New Times ran a story about Bud Conlin and Tom Kennedy who were banned from visiting detainees at the Krome Detention Center.  Bud has worked with immigration detainees as part of FOMDD.org or the Friends of Miami Dade Detainees for several years. His visiting privileges were most likely restricted because of his arrest at the I.C.E. Office in Miramar, Florida.  He and others were arrested while protesting current immigration policies. The bureaucracy in their mind probably thought they were acting reasonably and I doubt that they got any flack from officials that manage the Krome Detention Center.  According to an ICE Detention document:   "Only an officer with the rank of supervisor or above may deny or cancel a visit. In those cases, the officer shall document his or her action in a memorandum sent through official channels to the facility administrator. The visiting room officer, with concurrence from the shift supervisor, may terminate visi...

September 10th is historically the height of the hurricane season and after a seeming lull in storms Florence, Helene, Issac and two other areas of disturbed weather are steaming around the Atlantic Ocean. The seemingly drifting nature of the forecast for Florence as it reaches land is worrisome.  A quick moving major hurricane is one thing.  A slower moving major hurricane is something else, and a stalled hurricane be it strong or even a category 1 storm or tropical storm is going to be a big problem for those that live in low lying areas as flooding occurs. It looks like almost the entire coastal areas of North Carolina and a great deal of South Carolina are under storm surge warnings or watches and with projected rain fall of 10 or more inches for areas where the storm will make landfall, the amount of flooding possible is hard to imagine.  Evacuation orders have been given.  How many will actually evacuate is the really big question.  A shelter is the la...

This morning news  on NPR  had a story about why folks don't vote.  Sometimes they think their vote won't matter,  sometimes they want to vote but can't.  Demographically younger adults vote  less than older adults.  Maybe they don't like or know about the candidates and don't vote.  Sometimes they are or feel like they are ignored and don't vote.  Sometimes it's not a big part of your culture so you don't vote.  This may be strange to say but I think all reasons for not voting are just another way of being apathetic or too busy or even more sadly poor. The votes cast by more reliable/regular voters weigh heavier on the scale because they listen and are listened to.  No excuses, it does take effort and time to vote locally, statewide, and nationally.  Not voting doesn't mean you don't care but it does give officeholders license to ignore you individually and as part of a voting bloc you belong to whether you realize it or not...

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If you had an state issued birth certificate and an application for a U.S. Passport was denied by the U.S. Department of State, you might be asked for more information and hopefully it will be accepted. (A long time ago), on a weekend trip to the Bahamas with friends I was told my voter's registration card was enough proof to return to the United States.  A passport cost money, the Bahamas didn't care because I had a return ticket, no problem.  Immigration and Customs checked us in the Bahamas.  The U.S. Immigration Official looked at my voter's registration card and then asked if I had my birth certificate.  "No I don't" was my response.  He then asked if I knew how easy it was to get a voter's registration card in Miami. " I said yes. (As a county employee I was a trained to register people to vote.)  The official then asked where I was born? " I said Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, Illinois." He accepted this answer and I got on the plan...

I guy that used to be on the Bill Cosby Show (Geoffrey Owens) was "job shamed" because he had a job at Trader Joe's and I think that is crazy.  Some jobs pay more than others and require different skills.  Some jobs are more permanent than others.  Employment is a lot of things and it can be self employment or working for somebody.  Actors often have side jobs or acting may be the side job, lots of actors are unemployed or financially challenged sometimes or regularly.  They can be laid off or maybe the reruns stopped and the rent is due.  There are jobs and working at a grocery store isn't the worst job in the world.