We heard from both sides of certain 2020's crim justice reform issues last Monday. Below are a couple of samples of the pros and cons of parole reform, one of the many controversial reforms proposed nationwide.After that, I've included an example of what reformers must consider when proposing and implementing reforms. The example pertains to bail reform, something that shares characteristics with parole reform. The comments and video describe an unintended consequence of bail reform in the … [Read more...]
A Dark Triad Test to identify Psychopaths.
As you may know from a previous blog, I've been working on a book about the crimes and havoc committed by some people I knew with the Dark Triad personalities of psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. Here's a Dark Triad test that's available on line. I can't attest to its reliability or validity (two key aspects of any psych test). However, look at the 36 item questionnaire and let me know what you think. If you go ahead and take it, you do so at you own risk. You might find … [Read more...]
Bullying Celebs Who Abuse Their Social Media Power
I've blogged a bit here and there regarding celebs and their ability to escape justice. So, it's fitting to highlight the way some engage in injustice as a "celebrity bully." But you ask, who needs another blog about a celebrity bully or a celeb who was bullied as a kid? Well, if the bullying's about disinformation, we all need such a blog. The problem of misinformation has been growing exponentially of late. So, nobody's free from it. Disinformation seems everywhere — in our homes, even in … [Read more...]
Bullies – how to respond to all sorts
Bullies come in all sorts of guises - from deceptively lightweight cyberbullies to the heavyweight Vladimir Putins and Xi Jinping's of this world. My friend and guest blogger today, Alain Gunn, has thought through the ways of how to respond to all sorts of bullies. Here's his essay on managing bullies. Bullies - how to respond to all sorts. How do you stop a bully? There are only two ways to do it: Convince the bully of the error of his ways Find a Bigger, Better … [Read more...]
The saga of the Titanium Rib and Dr. Mel Smith
I've had a lifelong interest in discrimination and birth-defects stemming from being bullied for my once-nasal cleft-palate speech. Hence I was interested when college classmate Alain Gunn wrote The Titanium Rib. The Discrimination Angle The book is about a device that allows infants born with defective chests and lung function to live. And it's a true story of two dedicated surgeons —one being a black man who endured discrimination as a trailblazer entering the lily white ranks of … [Read more...]
Appearances can be deceiving – President Kennedy’s health
As a '60s liberal, I swallowed whole the storyline about our new president, John F. Kennedy. If appearances could be trusted, he was young, vigorous, and courageous (rescuing a fellow sailor in WWII.) Just the man to usher in the so-called Camelot years. I was a high school junior with a surgically repaired cleft-lip-and palate, finally able to talk without tell-tale nasality. But I'd been restricted from PE thru middle-school and from competitive sports during high school. Thus, I … [Read more...]
Thoughts about “Clarice,” spinoff from “The Silence of the Lambs.”
I managed to catch the 2nd episode of the "Clarice" series recently. It channeled the Waco cult situation, also known as the Waco, Texas massacre. That was the controversial law enforcement siege of a compound that belonged to the Branch Davidian religious cult. In the 2nd episode, Clarice deals with Novak, the leader of a secessionist militia group, hoping to avoid the debacle that happened when the Waco cult compound caught fire during the G-men's … [Read more...]