Shady Money, Voter Suppression, Shifting Positions…

August 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

“Shady money, voter suppression, shifting positions, murky details and widespread apathy.

If there is a road map for a Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan win in November, that’s it. Distasteful all.”

Thursday, as Think Progress pointed out, Ryan adopted Romney’s position on China’s currency manipulation and stealing of intellectual property, saying: “Mitt Romney and I are going to crack down on China cheating and make sure trade works for Americans.”

However, as Talking Points Memo reported: “Ryan has consistently opposed measures to crack down on China’s currency manipulation practices, which tilt the playing field against American labor.”

Charles M Blow has more delicious hypocrisies detailed in his Saturday column.

Filed under Elections Tagged with , ,

Prison State: Louisiana, USA

May 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Whew! Louisiana’s incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran’s… and there is money to be made!

From Charles Blow’s Saturday NY Times column:

“Louisiana is the world’s prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana’s incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran’s, seven times China’s and 10 times Germany’s.”

That paragraph opens a devastating eight-part series published this month by The Times-Picayune of New Orleans about how the state’s largely private prison system profits from high incarceration rates and tough sentencing, and how many with the power to curtail the system actually have a financial incentive to perpetuate it.

The picture that emerges is one of convicts as chattel and a legal system essentially based on human commodification.

Filed under Human Rights, Uncategorized Tagged with ,