It makes ECONOMIC sense to invest in disadvantaged children while they are young

I can’t think of a dumber investment policy than to have our states spend three times more on average per prisoner than per pupil…  We don’t really have a money problem in America, but a profound values problem and a profound priorities problem.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, during her lecture “Stand Up for Children Now,” on April 19, 2006 at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

Americans spend $60 billion a year to imprison 2.2 million people. This statistic compelled me to pull out my calculator.  The result was shocking.  In the United States we spend more than $27,000 per prisoner per year.  Is this effective?  Other than the violence, crowding, beatings by “goon squads,” rapes, riots, and high rates of recidivism, that is, is it effective?  There are many reasons to be concerned.  Here’s the main reason indicated by the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons:

What happens inside jails and prisons does not stay inside jails and prisons. We must create safe and productive conditions of confinement not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it influences the safety, health, and prosperity of us all.

What might be more effective method of using our limited social resources than putting millions of people in prison?  How about investing more in the training and education of disadvantaged children?  This is not just an idealistic platitude.  In the June 30, 2006 issue of Science (www.sciencemag.org – …

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Christian selection bias: how you, too, can be God

Erich and I have previously mentioned Christian selection bias -- the practice of crediting "God" with prayers that are "answered" while ignoring the many examples of prayers that are not (also known as confirmation bias) -- but today I saw, for the first time, an explicit call for this bias among Christians. …

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Exercising in the park

I was out at a city park today to play some racquetball.  While taking a break, I noticed four guys playing handball nearby.  They were playing a hard-fought game.    But wait a minute!  What is that tobacco-y smell?  Why, it's tobacco!  Two of the handball players were smoking cigarettes (the coffin nails were actually in…

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Turning boon into boondoggle.

The Republican Party may have its share of PR problems, but common knowledge and polling data agree that the party still holds the upper hand on the issues of terrorism and national security. Polls also suggest that national security has a place close to the average American’s heart, especially after recent close-calls on national airlines.

But, as with so many other matters of partisan policy, the Republicans don’t really have any advantage over their political adversaries at all. Again, the Democrats seem to desperately struggle not with positions, but with effective marketing.

Take for example the 9/11 Commission’s report card, issued back in December of 2005. The report card reviewed the Bush Administration’s response to the bipartisan Commission’s list of well-researched recommendations, and it gave fairly dismal scores. I think the report card bears repeating, even some eight months later:

GR2005120600039…

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What is the purpose of your life?

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a
Cheshire cat in a tree.
‘Which road do I take?’ she asked.
‘Where do you want to go?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Then,’ said the cat,’ it doesn’t matter.’ 

Lewis Carrol: Alice in Wonderland

One thing fundamentalists have that many of us lack is a well-practiced response to why they exist and what life is all about.  Their response goes something like this: “I am here to serve Jesus Christ so that I can join Him in heaven. How do I serve him?  I follow these Ten Commandments.” 

Pretty slick, eh?  The entire purpose of a human life boiled down to ten seconds.

What about the rest of us? What would we say if someone asked us for our “purpose”? Would we even claim to have “a purpose.”  If forced to answer, many of us might say that we’re “trying to get by” or that we’re simply “doing the best we can” or that we try to follow the golden rule.  But most of us don’t have anything resembling the simplistic formula of fundamentalists.  At first glance, that fundamentalist formula makes fundamentalists look decisive, strong and admirable.  This succinct certitude probably gains lots of converts among the many people who join up.  In reality, though, such a simple statement of purpose serves only as a mere placeholder that raises (or should raise) hundreds of questions among honest and thoughtful people. 

I haven’t worked out any succinct statement regarding …

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