Draco the Lawgiver
Draco wrote the first constitution of Athens. His laws were severe, as a debtor became a slave and there was death for even minor offenses. In time, this form of punishment became known as Draconian.
Draco means dragon in Latin. I’m a dragon. Maybe there is more to all this than I can imagine. The solution to crime might well be Draconian.
The Three Strikes Law
There is almost total agreement that the solution to crime is in the prevention. Upbringing and education mean everything, and every care and reasonable expense should be expended to mold a solid citizen. I highly advocate early education as the means to remediate potential criminals in Chapter 4. Unfortunately, there will still be crimes.
Civilization has exacted a range of punishments over time. In Exodus 21:23-27, an “eye for an eye” provided the principle of proportionate punishment. Equitable retaliation was the belief. This same concept is presented in the Code of Hammurabi. Of benefit to the criminal, this type of law prevents excessive punishment. The Quran actually urges the victim to accept a lower compensation, if not totally forgive, with an unwritten belief of a later reward, such as, perhaps, paradise. Martin Luther King has been quoted to say, “the old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.”
Fair enough, as everyone makes a mistake now and then. If the crime can be forgiven, fine, now do everything possible to remediate that person. Be protective, be reformative. Rehabilitate. A second crime is committed and there is a conviction. Now what? Is there a way to prevent habitual offending? Do longer and longer prison sentences make sense? Alas there could be a third strike. Chaperoned, air-conditioned comfort, for life?
In baseball, if you get three strikes, you are out. In the U.S., with three strikes, or convictions, you go to jail, maybe even for a long time, perhaps life. This is a relatively new concept, which started in the state of Washington in 1993 and California the following year, with three felonies and you’re in prison for life. Kevin Weber was sentenced to 26 years to life for stealing four chocolate chip cookies (his two previous convictions were for burglary and assault). There are 344 shoplifters in prison for 25 years or more, one who stole a $3 magazine. Les Miserables? Their prisons now hold double the designed capacity. And, you’re paying for all this.
More than half of the states now have some form of this law. In March 5, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the three strikes law was not “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Here is my problem with this law. As immoral as keeping someone in jail for the rest of his life might be, I think it is not worth my tax dollars. Does this mean I am against such a concept? No, I like the fact that seasoned criminals are kept away, only, let us be truly sensible, maybe, even draconian. First, do we want a better educational system or should we build more prisons? Second, isn’t it cruel to keep someone locked up for a lifetime? Third, how, really, can we actually best prevent that fourth crime. This simple solution will soon be announced...but not quite yet.
Draco wrote the first constitution of Athens. His laws were severe, as a debtor became a slave and there was death for even minor offenses. In time, this form of punishment became known as Draconian.
Draco means dragon in Latin. I’m a dragon. Maybe there is more to all this than I can imagine. The solution to crime might well be Draconian.
The Three Strikes Law
There is almost total agreement that the solution to crime is in the prevention. Upbringing and education mean everything, and every care and reasonable expense should be expended to mold a solid citizen. I highly advocate early education as the means to remediate potential criminals in Chapter 4. Unfortunately, there will still be crimes.
Civilization has exacted a range of punishments over time. In Exodus 21:23-27, an “eye for an eye” provided the principle of proportionate punishment. Equitable retaliation was the belief. This same concept is presented in the Code of Hammurabi. Of benefit to the criminal, this type of law prevents excessive punishment. The Quran actually urges the victim to accept a lower compensation, if not totally forgive, with an unwritten belief of a later reward, such as, perhaps, paradise. Martin Luther King has been quoted to say, “the old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.”
Fair enough, as everyone makes a mistake now and then. If the crime can be forgiven, fine, now do everything possible to remediate that person. Be protective, be reformative. Rehabilitate. A second crime is committed and there is a conviction. Now what? Is there a way to prevent habitual offending? Do longer and longer prison sentences make sense? Alas there could be a third strike. Chaperoned, air-conditioned comfort, for life?
In baseball, if you get three strikes, you are out. In the U.S., with three strikes, or convictions, you go to jail, maybe even for a long time, perhaps life. This is a relatively new concept, which started in the state of Washington in 1993 and California the following year, with three felonies and you’re in prison for life. Kevin Weber was sentenced to 26 years to life for stealing four chocolate chip cookies (his two previous convictions were for burglary and assault). There are 344 shoplifters in prison for 25 years or more, one who stole a $3 magazine. Les Miserables? Their prisons now hold double the designed capacity. And, you’re paying for all this.
More than half of the states now have some form of this law. In March 5, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the three strikes law was not “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Here is my problem with this law. As immoral as keeping someone in jail for the rest of his life might be, I think it is not worth my tax dollars. Does this mean I am against such a concept? No, I like the fact that seasoned criminals are kept away, only, let us be truly sensible, maybe, even draconian. First, do we want a better educational system or should we build more prisons? Second, isn’t it cruel to keep someone locked up for a lifetime? Third, how, really, can we actually best prevent that fourth crime. This simple solution will soon be announced...but not quite yet.
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Okay, what happened? The Dow Jones Industrials crashed 680 points today to 8149. It is only the fourth-biggest one day decline and 12th worst, at 7.7%, on a percentage basis, but really bad, nevertheless. This is a sign that we are in for a long recession. In a way, this was surprising, for Black (meaning a positive bottom line, as opposed to Red, which connotes a loss) Friday had 3% more shoppers, each spending 7.2% more. The Hong Kong market rose, but the rest of the world sunk, most from 5% to 10%. One might speculate that the world markets will react very negatively tomorrow.
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U.S. crude oil for January delivery dropped $5.15/barrel to $49.28 and gasoline at $1.82/gallon fell to a 4-year low. Gold also plummeted, $42.20/toz to $776.80. With the recession should come gold buying. Why this precious metal is dropping in value is confounding.
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The dollar gained on the Euro, but, again, fell against the Yen. I repeat, I don't quite understand this. It was $1.60 to the Euro at the time of $147/barrel oil (mid July), but the exchange rate is now down to $1.26. Of course, prior to this year, the exchange rate largely vacillated between $1.25 to $1.30, so nothing, in a sense, has changed. Regarding Japan, a little more than a year ago, it was 123 Yen to the Dollar. Today, the exchange rate fell below 94 Yen to the Dollar. Of course, we should be comparing the inverse, so the change in this period was from $0.0081 to the Yen to $0.01069 to the Yen. The only explanation I can give about why the U.S. dollar is rising against the Euro, but falling against the Yen, is that, historically, in time of recession, the Yen serves a deposit function not dissimilar to gold. Anyway, for the traveller, your money is now worth more in Europe than Japan.
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Well, the hurricane season ended over the weekend. If you live in Hawaii, nothing happened. Whew! However, there were 16 to 19 named storms in the West Pacific, depending on who you believe, with seven hurricanes, none which reached the Central Pacific. This last happened in 1996. Damages were estimated to be about $50 million, mostly to Mexico.
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In the Atlantic, 2008 set several weather records. For the first time, ever, a major hurricane (156 MPH) formed each month from July through November. Fay managed to hit Florida four times. The yearly loss was $54 billion, the second most ever, to 2003, when Katrina, Rita and siblings caused $128 billion worth of damages. But in 2008 there were only 16 named storms, half becoming a hurricane, and, maybe up to 14 fatalities.
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In comparison, there were 21 named storms (10 becoming typhoons) in the East Pacific, where the average is 27 named and 17 typhoons (equivalent to a hurricane). So it was a slow season, but damages were approximately $3 billion with at least 1700 deaths. All these storms have a Western name (alphabetically listed) and a second name linked to the location of the origin.
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The North Indian Ocean had 9 storms, 4 becoming cyclones, causing $10 billion in damage. Sounds almost tepid. But, again, we tend to shield ourselves from reality, as Cyclone Nargis, with 135 MPH winds, might have killed 146,000 (Katrina's death toll was 1836, although 705 are still missing), and if so, would only be the 7th worse cyclone (the Bhola Cyclone in 1970 killed half a million people). The Southern Hemisphere faced 37 storms, 13 becoming cyclones, causing about $150 million in damage.
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