1 in 100 Americans is in Prison

NY Sun (Sarah Garland): N.Y.’s Prison Population Declines as America’s RisesNew York State may have one of the country’s largest prison populations, but the state is not part of a nationwide trend that has raised the number of incarcerated Americans to record levels, a new report has found. For the first time in the country’s history, one in 100 Americans is in prison, according to the report released yesterday by the Pew Center on the States, a nonpartisan research organization. Among people in their 20s, one in every 53 is in prison, while one in 30 black men is a prison inmate. In contrast to most other states, however, New York’s prison system is slowly shrinking.

What are the Public Policy Implications of these Reports?

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No doubt, you’ve heard about the recent Business Week cover story, “Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?“, which blew the lid off the theory that “statins” — drugs like Lipitor, Crestor, Mevacor, Zocor and Pravachol — can cut the odds that you will die of a heart attack by slowing the production of cholesterol in your body and increasing the liver’s ability to remove LDL, or “bad cholesterol,” from your blood.

It’s true that these drugs can help some people — but not nearly as many as we have been told. Moreover, and this is the kicker, we don’t have any clear evidence that they work by lowering cholesterol. ***  Read entire article 

Shift Happens

This video makes many factual claims, with implications for your future.  Which are true?  For those students struggling to come up with a research paper topic, watch the video for a batch of good ideas:

Born Irish, but With Illegal Parents

DUBLIN — Cork-born and proud of it, George-Jordan Dimbo is top to toe the Irish lad. He studies Gaelic, eats rashers, plays hurling, prays to the saints, papers his walls with parochial school awards, and spends Saturdays at the telly watching Dustin the Turkey, a wisecracking puppet, mock the powerful. If the Irish government has its way, he may soon be living in Africa.

Border Crossings

Diversity in Ireland

This is the seventh in a series of articles examining global migration and its consequences.

Previous Articles in the Series »

Read entire article–compare and contrast with USA procedures and policies.

 

No Class February 25, 2008

Enjoy your break!!

Assignment for February 18, 2008

Read Chapter Four-”Policy Analysis:An Introduction” of the required text (Kraft & Furlong).

Blackwater–Wikipedia Entry

Blackwater Worldwide, formerly Blackwater USA, is a self-described private military companyfounded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.^[2] It has alternatively been referred to as a security contractor or a mercenary organization by numerous reports in the international media.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} Blackwater is based in the U.S. state of North Carolina, where it operates a tactical training facility that it claims is the world’s largest. The company trains more than 40,000 people a year, from U.S. or foreign military and police services, as well as other U.S. government agencies. The training consists of military offensive and defensive operations, as well as smaller scale personnel security. Technologies used and techniques trained are not limited by U.S. domestic law, although it is unclear what legal status Blackwater operates under in the U.S. and other countries, or what protection the U.S. extends to Blackwater operations globally.^[8] *** Read entire article. 

Assignment for February 11, 2008

Complete and hand in your first, short, written assignment; i.e., a one-page editorial or autobiography. Read Chapter Three:  Theories of Politics and Public Policy of the required text (Kraft & Furlong). 

KILL PLASTIC BAGS WITH TAXES: look to Ireland

Posted By Emily Pilloton On 4th February 2008 @ 14:07In social responsibility, Policy, Waste reductionIreland plastic bag usage drops dramatically after plastic bag taxes are instated! With all the recent bans on plastic bags around the world, it’s natural to wonder just how effective all the bag banning will be. Instead of simply enacting laws to phase out plastic bags – which seems like a wishy-washy attempt at most, Ireland has implemented a tax-based incentive to cut plastic bag useage — and …Article taken from Inhabitat – http://www.inhabitat.com URL to article: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/02/04/ireland-plastic-bag-usage-way-down/

Navy must comply with no-sonar rule

By ANDREW DALTON, Associated Press WriterTue Feb 5, 6:42 AM ET

LOS ANGELES – Environmental groups seeking to protect whales from the potentially harmful effects of sonar cheered a legal victory against the Navy and the Bush administration.

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U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled Monday that the Navy is not exempt from complying with both the National Environmental Policy Act and a court injunction that created a 12 nautical-mile no-sonar zone off Southern California.

“It’s an excellent decision,” said Joel Reynolds, attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is spearheading the legal fight. “It reinstates the proper balance between national security and environmental protection.”

Scientists have said loud sonar can damage the brains and ears of marine mammals, and may mask the echoes from natural sonar that some whales and dolphins use to locate food.

The president signed a waiver Jan. 15 exempting the Navy and its anti-submarine warfare exercises from the injunction, arguing they are vital to the nation’s national security.

“We disagree with the judge’s decision,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Monday. “We believe the orders are legal and appropriate.”

The judge also said she has “significant concerns about the constitutionality of the President’s exemption,” but that “a finding on this issue is not necessary” to reinstate the sonar injunction.

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Read entire article on current conflict between executive and judicial branches of Federal Government.  Note issues of judicial review and constitutionality.