Friday, June 12, 2015

Questions, Questions... JUST A COUPLA QUICK QUESTIONS: why, in the name of all that is cruel and unusual, has solitary confinement in federal prisons not been deemed unconstitutional by the high court? At any given time, something like eighty to one hundred thousand inmates are in solitary, out of a prison population of approximately two million. That's less than five percent of the prison population, and, one might think, qualifies as "unusual". The cruelty of it is beyond question. Nearly all prisoners, about ninety five percent, eventually are freed, and when a person who has been in solitary for an extended period of time is suddenly turned loose unto the world, bad things happen, having to do with psychological and adjustment difficulties. Rarely is any help offered by the system to prepare for this. Again, cruel. On the other hand, if we adopt a broad definition of "cruel and unusual", we might be imprisoning parents for requiring children to attend church. Second question: why have the NFL, NBA, and MLB amateur player drafts not been ruled unconstitutional? Don't these drafts amount to involuntary servitude? Either sign with the team which drafted you, or choose a different career. No choice for the young person, who, one might think, should have the inherent right to seek employment with whatever employer he or she chooses. Possibly the answer is that each of the professional sports leagues is legally regarded as a single employer, but who knows? Final question: when will Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton be indicted o charges of treason for undermining the President of the United States while treaty negotiations are ongoing with a foreign nation? The Senate is enjoined by the constitution to "advise and consent", not to undermine. You might recall that Cotton and forty six other U.S. Senators wrote, signed, and sent a letter to the government of Iran informing it that President Obama has no power to conclude an enduring treaty with anyone, since whatever arrangements he participates is are likely to be reversed by future American governments? Doubtless this is true, but still....question...question...

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