Friday, November 03, 2006

Now wait a minute here...

This comes from Philadelphia...
Philadelphia prison inmates would have greater access to condoms under a policy change being considered by city officials.
Among the changes being considered is the addition of condoms to the commissary list. That would both allow inmates to purchase condoms and send the message to prisoners and guards alike that they are a permitted item.
Prisons Commissioner Leon A. King II declined to discuss the issue yesterday, deferring to his spokesman, Robert Eskind. Eskind acknowledged discussions with activists had been ongoing, but said no decisions had been made.

Now wait a minute here.
Isn't part of imprisonment a denial of some rights? And wouldn't you think that would include sex? So these guys are facilitating a circumvention of the punitive aspect of incarceration?
This isn't anything new, though...
Eskind said issues had been raised about how the current policy, which has allowed condom distribution since 1988, was being adhered to.
"There were concerns that inmates were afraid to ask for them because they were afraid it was contraband," he said. "It's a public health issue. People who are in jail should have the same level of protection as people on the street."

But people in jail aren't supposed to be having sex, are they?
The city policy is already more liberal than most. The vast majority of jurisdictions - including New Jersey and Pennsylvania state prisons - consider condoms to be contraband because they can be used for smuggling.
Yikes!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Revelations

John Kerry's recent foot-in-mouth exercise was truly a revelation... an insight, as it were, into what the left REALLY thinks about soldiers and service.
Only dummies serve, Kerry's remarks all but shouted out to the American people. It's a view shared by much of the left, a view the left has held since the 1960s.
Those who defended his remarks certainly are amongst the elitists who dominate the left and its political arm, the Democratic Party.
Even more revealing is that Kerry didn't get that an apology was appropriate until some Democrats, fearing repercussions at the polls next week, put the heat on him. The timing of the apology underscores its insincerity.
This was no failed joke, as some of Kerry's defenders claim. This was an insight into how the left and its political arm really think.
I've not been one to put much stock in pollsters' work output. I usually ignore polls and would salute the first so-called "mainstream" media outlet that refused to report on them.
But it was also revealing that an instant Web poll taken by a Philadelphia TV station showed that 26 percent (as I write) of those responding had changed their minds about how they would vote as a result of the Kerry kerfluffle. Now, instant polls are about as worthwhile as instant grits (this comes from someone who actually likes grits, y'all). But if people were motivated enough to punch the button and say that a change has come to their viewpoints, the odds are pretty good that those folks are motivated enough to go to the polls on Tuesday.
Could John Kerry, once again, have put the Republicans over the top?
I hope.

No more dialup!

We finally broke down and got cable internet service. What a difference. And we'll be back more often now.