SB, I am absolutely appalled. This privatisation of jails has to stop. Here in the UK, prison overcrowding is a huge problem but if one behaves one gets out after half of one's sentence almost automatically. If a foreigner commits rape or murder, he cannot get deported because the lawyers always use the human-rights excuse.Many UK prisoners pretend to convert to Islam as that gets them special extra privileges regarding better food, open spaces to pray etc. Of course, the Scandinavian prisons are a delight, with, reportedly, satellite TV, good food etc. etc. Not that I have ever had personal experience, thank God.
The justice system has been seized by private interest to such a large extent in a very short time frame. The very first time I got into trouble with the law was when I was 18 and living in my own apartment, as a perfectly law abiding citizen) When a childhood friend of mine who had run away from an abusive home, and was being chased by law enforcement for truancy, sought refuge at my home. Three officers came to my door asking about my friend and I told them to come back with a warrant and shut the door. My friend was caught jumping out of the window and they then had probable cause to detain me for aiding and abetting. They gave me a 2 year unsupervised probated sentence, and a 200 dollar fine and I was free to go.
Fast forward to today and I received the same 2 year probated sentence with thirty days to serve hanging over my head. From charges that stem from failure to pay fines on previous nanny state traffic raids. Under the new privatized probation system I have to pay an initial 40 dollar fee, plus an additional 30 dollars every 3 months so that they can review my case. The lady who went over my case had a stack of papers full of similar cases. I was never even informed about these additional fees and conditions at my hearing.
People who are in jail will sign anything to get out, and because the prisons and jails are overflowing with petty violators, the government has expanded the probational systems, while selling it off to for profit agencies. Most people who are released from jail now days are under some form of probation where they are responsible for paying for the cost of their own big brother supervision. Not only are they second class citizens stigmatized by society, but they also have to pay for the fees to private companies, on top of suffering from a lack of job opportunities because many companies wont hire people with criminal records.
I refused to pay the probation office and have filed a motion to be able to do community service. The clerk who took my motion agreed with me that the probation system is a racket. The one reason things have been able to get this bad is because nobody stands up for themselves, and most people just pay the money and keeps their mouths shut. So we now live in communities where black and white cop cars, and undercover vehicles under federal control are continually prowling for the quota of tickets, and the jails are being filled with people who are too poor or too addicted to drugs to pay their fines or get treatment.
A water fast can be a wonderful thing. They always help clear my head.
No I think the water was polluted and didn't clear my head.
I imagine you'll be buckling your seat belt from here on...
I will wear a seat belt and pretend to be a good slave for now. Though as a free spirit who does not fear death, I still protest such manifestations of overreach. If Paul Revere was riding out today, warning of the impending imperialist invasion, I bet there would be some cop waiting to ticket him for not being properly harnessed on his pony....Alas I digress....One must chose ones battles wisely, and spending 30 days in a cage for being seen by an officer without proper restraint, will not be the best use of my time on this earth. Though while on the inside I did minister to many people in need of the Raw truth. One of the nurses who has had health issues, was very interested in what I had to say. She was aware of the corrupt medical system and the crimes of the commercial food industry. She looked up my story and was open to going paleo. Two of the guards looked up my you-tube clips, and one of them told me how he respected the fact that I butchered my own.
Though my mission work inside the pit of despair has its rewards its much more enjoyable planning for global insurrection and encouraging mass civil disobedience from the comfort of my own home.... and facing 30 days for any additional charge is something I would rather avoid so until I get my motions passed and this probation dropped, this road warrior will have to play it careful.