Paris needs our support!

[misteroriginal]

[quote author=BellisimaJ. link=topic=11907.msg58714#msg58714 date=1183313589]

A report released by the justice department on Nov. 30 reported 1 in every 32 American adults -- or a record 7 million people -- were incarcerated, on probation or on parole at the end of 2005

The United States has 5 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's incarcerated population. We rank first in the world in locking up our fellow citizens

That is really sad. And, I'm sure that it has grown far worse since the Bush admin took office. It likely also does not include our "prisoners of war" that are arrested and locked up with no rights to due process. Thank you, Bush.
[/quote]I wish it were as simple as blaming Bush. Just vote him out, and it goes away, right?

I'm afraid the problem runs deeper. Some experts say Pakistan, if democratic, would most likely elect a Taliban-like government. That translates to Bin Laden + Nukes.

The thing that bothers me about Paris is how happy people are to see her ass thrown in jail. It's not just you, Belle, so I'm not trying to pick on you.

I'm not a Paris fan, but I'm worried about the challenge of balancing freedom, mob rule, and terrorism.

[BellisimaJ.]

I wish it were as simple as blaming Bush. Just vote him out, and it goes away, right?

No, it won't go away when Bush is out of office. We will still be stuck with a Supreme Court that is not really balanced right now, and the Bush legacy will be that of fear and a loss  of many of our freedoms because he has played upon our fears to make it so.

The thing that bothers me about Paris is how happy people are to see her ass thrown in jail. It's not just you, Belle, so I'm not trying to pick on you.

I know you aren't picking on me.   If I insinuated that I was happy about it, I didn't mean to. I do think that if the law is there for some, it should be there for everyone. I know many people who have been able to avoid any real punishment for a DUI and other things, however, that isn't fair to those who either have not got the money or the political clout to get out of it. And O, you know that is how it works. I know from experience-----I'm lucky in that regard, but most people are not. 

That's really all I meant. That and I would die before I would allow people to see how much something like that would bother me-----Martha Stewart went with her dignity intact, and I admire that.

I'm not a Paris fan, but I'm worried about the challenge of balancing freedom, mob rule, and terrorism.

I totally agree with you---excellent point, O!!

[misteroriginal]

I think rich nobodies can pull strings and pay people off. I think celebrities, on the other hand, are screwed. Paris & Martha are too well-known to slip under the radar. I think they are unfairly "made examples." There's this guy named Russell Crowe who claimed on 60-minutes to have paid off a dude with $100,000 for throwing a phone at him.

Personally, I'm disenchanted with Republicans AND Democrats. Both parties attack individual freedoms from opposite angles. The cumulative effect is frightening. I don't trust government or human beings with power, so I prefer deadlock.