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if-you-fan-a-fire · 2 years

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"Treating Convicts Like Humans," Richmond Times Dispatch. June 7, 1942. Page 45. ==== 'In the name of the debts that we have paid arc paying and are about to pay we plead for the right to defend the nation of all nations - America,' cry inmates of the Penitentiary --- By Overton Jones BEHIND those high brick walls at 500 Spring Street a restlessness In the air these days more noticeable than usual. It Isn't because the gentle breezes of Springtime drift lazily across the penitentiary recreational field where brown-dad convicts are wont to spend their idle moments In the afternoon when the work is over.

Instead it's the war responsible for the accelerated desire to say goodbye to that institution which even in peacetimes exactly the place a person would choose in which to spend his vacation. It wouldn't be accurate to say that all of the 4200 or so prisoners confined in the Virginia penal system are chaffing at the bit in their desire to get out and do their part in this war. But it is true that hundreds of these so-called outcasts of society would nothing better than to be allowed to serve in Uncle Sam's fighting forces and to take a crack at Adolph Schickelgruber and that son of the Rising Sun. In fact the prisoners writing in the current issue of The Beacon, penitentiary inmate periodical suggest that if the sinless soldiers in the army want to be contaminated by contact with "cons" then let the government set up a "Legion Damned" in which will fight men released from the nation's prisons. "It's better than an even money bet that wen the war is over we'd be hocking more medals than twice our number among the pure and undefiled," write the two convicts.

This eagerness of outcasts to join the fight for the protection of that society may surprise some of the citizenry who enjoy the privilege of coming and going when and where they please and who know nothing of what goes on behind those towering walls on Spring Street. But Rice Youell is not surprised. After all a man who's just rounded out his twentieth year as penitentiary superintendent ought to know pretty well what to expect from the men who live behind those walls. "The patriotism of the people in prison is as good as that of the people outside" he commented. Despite their confinement they too respect the principles for which America is fighting and would like to be In there doing their bit, he explained.

Not that the major would advocate throwing open the prison doors of America and letting the entire male prison population don the military uniform. That would be foolhardy. But he believes a good many prisoners should be allowed to become soldiers, their selection, of course, being handled extremely carefully. 'Give Them a Clean Sheet' And what about these men when the war is over? Should they be slapped back into the pen? "Give them a clean sheet and let them start all," Virginia's prison head suggested. If you are inclined to question the judgment on this matter it might be to recall that for 20 years his job has been to direct the handling of Virginia's prison population and in 20 years a man ought to get to know pretty well the people he's dealing- with.

Evidently Governor Darden thinks the major has done a good job for it is reported the penitentiary superintendent soon will leave that post to take over the task of guiding the Department of Corrections set up by the recent General Assembly. When he steps into his new task Major Youell can look back on 20 years of labor on behalf of the prisoners of Virginia and for the State itself His work (and he declares emphatically that the State Prison Board deserves the major credit) has drawn nation-wide attention and prison system has in many ways become a model for other States to copy.

But leaving the more technical side of prison administration for experts to deal with, it's interesting to take a glimpse back over the years at some of the human interest which have marked the V.M.I. football career as a penologist. It's hard to get him to talk about this side of his Job because the Virginia Penitentiary superintendent the dramatic type warden you read about in the novels and see on the screen. His aim has been to do a good job of prison administration without drama publicity and frills.

Last week, though, Major Youell did take a couple of hours off to reminisce a little and to recall among other things that the famed Mais and Legenza case of 1935 probably received more publicity than any other single case in the past 20 years

If you were living in Richmond on March 9, 1934, you remember how the city was rocked by news of the highway robbery of a Federal Reserve truck at the Broad Street Station overpass and the murder of E. M. Huband, the driver. Mais, Legenza and three other members of the notorious Tri-State gang pulled the job, giving Richmond an unwelcome taste of big-time criminal activities. Moving on to Baltimore, Mais and Legenza continued their career of crime but they finally were captured in that city and by August were brought back to Richmond for trial and both were condemned to die in the electric chair at the State Penitentiary.

But if Major Youell prepared a couple of death-house cells for his two newcomers due to arrive in October he was doomed to disappointment. On September 29, a date that will live in crime history, the two murderers staged the most daring jailbreak the city has ever known. Behind them, they left a trail of blood with one policeman mortally wounded and another felled by bullets from pistols smuggled into their cells. They commandeered an automobile on East Broad Street and made their escape as police from throughout this section of the country began a gigantic manhunt In Richmond the death of the patrolman fatally wounded when the gangsters made their bold dash for freedom, the suicide of the City Jail deputy who had stood guard at their cell doors and a grand jury investigation which recommended sweeping changes in the administration marked the aftermath of the sensational break.

Call Led to Arrest Cornered, finally, on the station platform at Wayne Junction, Pa., Mais and Legenza shot it out with police but Legenza broke his leg in a 30-foot jump from an embankment to a concrete street. They escaped again but the wound forced Legenza to seek hospital treatment in New York. A telephone call from Mais to a friend in Philadelphia was intercepted by police and the two finally were captured.

It was a small army of Federal men and local police which brought the two murderers to the door of the State Penitentiary on January 22 That same day they were taken separately to Hustings Court and new dates set for their execution.

For days the hardened criminals showed no evidence of fear that the end was approaching. But as the execution date drew close they began reading their Bibles praying and singing joining the chaplain in words of familiar hymns. He would tell them the story of the condemned thief on the cross and the Master's words of promise.

"When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more ..." were the words which rang through death row.

Strange, when criminals whose deeds have been blazoned across the headlines are doomed to death, reactions of the public take a peculiar twist. Major Youell received one threatening letter, warning him of dire consequences if the executions were carried out. Evangelical pamphlets flooded the mail from religious folk who hoped to be the means of saving the souls of the two condemned men.

An avalanche of requests for the privilege of witnessing the executions poured into the office Twelve witnesses saw the first of the two men die another 12 watched the second death. "You are requested to be at the penitentiary Saturday February 2 at 7:30 A.M. to witness the execution of William Davis (Legenza) Please present this card at the the door." That's the way the invitations read When Criminals Fell Out MAJOR YOUELL'S 20 years' experience virtually lacks any mass prison escape episodes. There've been numerous breaks of one or two prisoners of course but nothing on a really big scale.

It was back in '35 that the major pulled what he described at that time as "a mean piece of psychology" to foil a projected prison break. It seems that he was tipped off that five of his guests in the big house were planning to vamoose without lingering to say goodbye. But he didn't throw the five into solitary confinement or take other drastic measures. Instead, he summoned each one of the plotters individually to a prison office and seated him before an open door, where fellow conspirators could see him when they went by to the mess hall. As the major had anticipated, each plotter thought the others had squealed and a quarrel resulted. The escape plans collapsed.

Directing administration of a prison is a grim business but not without its humorous side .Take the case of the phoney French millionaire. One day back in May' 1936 Major Youell received a letter addressed to "Monsieur le Directeur du Penitencier de I-Etat de Virginia Etats Unis d'Amerique du Nord." The major opened the letter and saw it was in French and being no expert at reading that language he sent it to Arthur James, then State Welfare Commissioner, who made a translatio,n but figured better get somebody else to translate it, too, so he forwarded it to Principal James Harwood of John Marshall High School. A teacher of French at the school finally translated it and sent it back to Major Youell. First, there was a newspaper clipping from a French paper which said that "it is the penitentiary of Virginia which harbors this unusual prisoner" a nobleman who killed a woman who refused his advances being sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime. "In his cell (said the French newspaper) Juan set up an extraordinary washing machine so extraordinary that he found a' partner who allowed him 50 per cent on the profits. A year later the lawyer for the prisoner already had several thousand dollars to the account of his clien.t This did not fill Juan with Joy. He despaired at finding himself rich and in prison He attempted suicide twice. Having been saved from suicide the prisoner has become a philanthropist and from his prison he carries on works of charity he comes to the aid of poor people and of Don Juan has become a patron of the arts."

Then there was a letter to Mr. Directeur asking him to pass on to Juan another letter which explained the purpose of the communication In the letter to Juan the writer told a sad story of being broke and pleaded with the nobleman "to make a Frenchman happy by sending him same of those dollars which you dispose of."

Major Youell didn't have any prisoner answering the description of the nobleman but he did repent having at that time a French prisoner a master of invention and a little queer mentally. This fellow he said may have smuggled out a letter which resulted in the French newspaper article.

One of the less imposing but important achievements at the penitentiary in recent years has been the building up of a prison library under the direction of the Rev. Henry Lee Robison, Jr. director of religious work in State institutions.

Travel books are the most popular nonfiction volumes in the library, Mr. Robison reported. One day just before delivering a sermon to the inmates, Mr. Robison held up before them some travel books which had just been purchased for the library.

"All of us ought to be interested in traveling," he declared. There was silence for a few moments and then a roar of laughter swept through the assembly room, much to the embarrassment of the clergyman. That however was not as inappropriate as the remark made by a speaker, who told the prisoners as he left them after making an address on one occasion that he would be back the following year and "I hope to see you all again."

But more popular than any of the nonfiction books even travel are the Zane Grey Western stories. Murders too are eagerly sought after In for Readers" in The Beacon comments run like this: 'Murder Up My Sleeve," by Earl Stanley Gardner is typical of Mr. Gardner's stories. A millionaire with a reputation was murdered. Terry Clane, a new and exciting character created by Mr. Gardner, found himself involved. Using extraordinary methods to solve an extraordinary murder he beats them to the punch in a mystery that is filled with surprise cunning and excitement." And in another comment the prisoners are told that in one book the villain killed people "with mirthful and original inventiveness."

Interest in the library has been stimulated through the school at the penitentiary attendance at which is compulsory for all men who completed the fifth grade of schooling. Superintendent Youell is a firm believer in education of men within prisons, bemoaning that some people feel it's a waste of money to provide educational facilities for prisoners. "It is such a pity that so many people have the age-old feeling that the closing of prison doors behind a prisoner ends his case," he said. "We all know that the vast majority of prisoners go back to society so it is only a common sense problem that we should do everything in our power to salvage just as many of these unfortunates as possible," The penitentiary school's first annual commencement exercises were held in June 1937, in the prison chapel, while outside a terrific rainstorm beat at the windows. The stormy weather was not an omen of the future history, as it has grown in popularity and usefulness, although those directly responsible would like considerably more money to provide better equipment with which to work.

One old Negro convict who even read a few years ago now values above all his possessions a Bible and an oversized dictionary. He gave a Negro boy five bags of marbles for the dictionary. Asked how much he would sell his two books for he replied:

"Boss them books are going to be with me when I die." There was another man who was condemned to die in the chair but shortly after the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment he turned up at the school and in due course was graduated after having completed the fifth grade. Not satisfied with graduating once, he was on hand again the following September and went through the course and was given another diploma. They finally had to make him an instructor to get him out of school. Three Causes of Discontent SPEAKING with the authority of a man with 20 experience in penology Major Youell last week listed three things which can cause trouble among prisoners at a penitentiary: overcrowding, poor food, and idleness. Today, the food at the penitentiary is good - not fancy, of course, but adequate and nourishing. The writer of this article and Major Youell were walking through the penitentiary last week when the superintendent stopped to chat a moment with an old Negro prisoner. The Negro who said he had been at the pen since 1904, was asked about the food and according to his account what's put on the table in the prison mess hall today is like a banquet compared to those days when he first entered the institution.

As to idleness today, there is no such problem at the prison here. Ten excellent prison industries are operating teaching the men fine workmanship in the wool and cotton textile trades, printing, metal trades, and machine shops. Not only do the men learn useful trades, which they can find of value when they leave prison, but they also are kept occupied producing goods which State institutions use. In the field of prison industry Virgina's penitentiary stands as a model for other States. As to the first of the trouble-makers listed by the superintendent - that of overcrowding Virginia - certainly has been guilty of allowing this situation to exist at the big house on Spring Street. In small cells which only one man should sleep three men have been living. One of the three has had to sleep on the floor.

Fortunately, though, even as this is being written officials are making arrangements to move many of the prisoners to the new cell house just completed on the penitentiary grounds and when the new unit is occupied there will be only one man to a cell. Each cell has a cot, table, chair, sanitary facilities, an enclosed lighting fixture, operated from a main switch, and plugs for radio headsets. Each prisoner will have earphones on which he can listen to the radio according to Major Youell.

And so life in the penitentiary moves on a life not pleasant perhaps but far less abhorrent under modern penal theories than that of even a few decades ago when all emphasis was on punishment and not on rehabilitation. Today in Virginia's penitentiary convicts can express their views through their own prison publication, just as they are doing in the timely discussion on the proposal that men in prison be released to serve in the armed forces.

"The heart that beats under a prison shirt is Just as truly American as the heart of the man in the street," says The Beacon. "Contrary to popular belief most men in our prisons today have an honest regret for the mistakes of the past and a burning desire to make amends. Most of us ask for plead for the privilege of defending a flag that is as dear to us as to John Q. Public. Most of us would feel extremely honored to die behind a smoking gun aimed toward society to know that we too know how to die for so worthy a cause. "When America has completely smashed her rodent foes and if there should be any of the 'Legion left alive reward us with supervised parole until proven our right to permanent freedom.

"In the name of the debt that we have paid are paying and are about to pay to society we plead for the right to defend the nation of all nations, America." Photo captions:

Top left: Rice Youell (left) who has rounded out 20 years as penitentiary superintendent confers with Frank Smyth who is in charge of prison industries such as the metal shop at right. Middle: Dapper Gangster Robert Hals and his henchman Walter Legenza created more notoriety for their murderous robbery here and subsequent prison break in 1934 than was attached to any other Penitentiary case in the last generation.

Top right: Trouble caused at the Big House by crowding three into a one-man cell about to be done away with.

[Top notch carceral propaganda - the large scale Virginia road camp system, where the majority of African American prisoners were incarcerated, is not mentioned once.]

#richmond va #virginia state prison #penal reform #carceral propaganda #prisoner newsletter #words from the inside #prison conditions #prison overcrowding #american prison system #virginia prisons #world war ii #enlistment of convicts

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garadinervi · 1 month

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«No More Cages» – A Bi-monthly Women's Prison Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 1, November-December 1981, Women Free Women in Prison Collective, Brooklyn, NY (pdf here) [Cynthia Miller Papers, 1973-1995, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Special Collections and University Archives, Digital Commonwealth, Worcester, MA]

#graphic design #newsletter #magazine #cover #magazine cover #no more cages #women free women in prison collective #cynthia miller papers #university of massachusetts amherst libraries #digital commonwealth #1980s

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goawaywithjae · 2 months

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Today's K-drama recommendations are all ... prison related...

#“One Ordinary Day”#“Prison Playbook”#“Big Mouth”#Kdramas #Kdrama reviews #Kdrama review #“Move to Heaven”#“Itaewon Class”#“Juvenile Justice”#“Way Back Home”#Itaewon Class #Substack #Substack Writer #I wrote this #Substack newsletter

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angela-yuriko-smith · 11 months

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Still Loved After 132 Years, Guess This Angel

This author's early work is set in the late 17th century...

Can you guess next week’s authortunity angel? Guess as many times as you like in the comments below. First person to guess correctly gets a paid year subscription to Authortunities, a $50 USD value. You can check out all the calendar newsletters here. The answer will be in next Wednesday’s Authortunities on June 21 and announced during my brand new show, Authortunities Forecast. Good…

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damianbugs · 5 months

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(comic references under cut)

a personal and fav hc of mine is that following jason's death, yes, batman shuts down, yes, he becomes colder and destructive — going out every night and staying out for as long as he can because hurting is better than trying and failing to sleep. i don't think he would have done the same as bruce wayne, though.

bruce wayne pulls away from the public. galas and events are either cancelled by the wayne foundations or go ahead without the man in attendance. no one can really blame him, after the death of his sheltered and beloved second son. there are no comments issued by anyone in the family besides what is strictly necessary and after one unavoidable yet invasive investigation¹ to sedate public obsession, bruce wayne does not speak on the matter at all.

he does however say a lot through action.

within a couple months, a long standing project finally gets unveiled with no big event or publicity. the Jason Todd-Wayne Homeless Shelter, right in the centre of Crime Alley. the Jason Todd-Wayne Children's Fund, offering free lunch meals to school children from struggling families. The Jason Project, focusing on reading programmes in prisons and rehabilitation support. donations under the name Jason Todd are publicly given to a multitude of charities.

the public opinion on these actions are split. some find it wonderful if heartbreaking, how a child can be so loved that their parent will do anything to make their legacy leave a mark in time. gotham hasn't seen such abrupt change in — well, ever. bruce wayne is known for charity, of course, but this is different. this is for one person. this is the most expensive form of mourning.

others are a bit unsettled. if all of this could have been done, why not do it before? why use a dead boy's name to do good that will only benefit the living waynes reputations? is this some sort of ego thing? to make himself feel better? to make everyone else feel bad?

bruce doesn't quite know himself.

part of it feels useless, pouring money and time not spent breaking bones (his own and others) into fulfilling dreams jason had once had. the boy had always wanted to help in a way that was more than batman, more than bruce. is it invasive, to assume jason would have been grateful for this, that jason would have agreed? does he have any right to be so presumptuous?

part of it feels necessary. to implicitly tell the world that even before jason todd had publicly died, the city had lost a hero². that losing him is more than just an article for the front page of the daily newsletter. that gotham has lost someone intrinsically important. to make it clear that bruce wayne is only as good as what his children let him be. that they are the ones who can make change, at the end of the day.

most of it is selfish. the Wayne Botanical Gardens opens a new exhibit for the first time in decades named My Son. the Gotham Library dedicates an entire self to Jason Todd-Wayne. the third door in the living quarters of the Wayne Manor is always locked, except for monthly dustings. there is a lesson, locked in a glass case down in a Cave, labeled A Good Soldier.

¹ : Batman: Gotham Knights #45

² : Batman #125

#i think the psychology of batman of bruce after jasons death is something so very often simplified #and rarely ever explored in a nuanced way #this is just the surface of something i think would make it more compelling #and more haunting for jason #because imagine you come back and your death has done Good #but its not You who caused it. you come back but the city is not grateful for you. they are interested who you once were #who you died as #your father thinks similarly.#doesn't he?#bruce wayne #jason todd #character study #saki 2am rambles

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rocky-the-rockstar · 9 months

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#bsd #stray dogs #bungou stray dogs

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itsmythang · 6 months

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I figured as much when it was widely reported he has no bank accounts that can be found. That said right there he was dirty. Only mafia and drug kingpins do that ish. I'm sure others do it but people getting legit $$$$ hardly would ever go to the trouble of conducting all their business in cash.

VIA: Mary Trump

UNBELIEVABLE: The new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson received illegal money from at least one Russian oligarch. In 2018, Johnson received campaign contributions from “American Ethane,” a company that was 88% owned by three Russian nationals.

Johnson’s received at least three checks, each for $6100, from the company. The campaign says he returned the money after he was exposed. But he's still racking up favors for Russians. -Voted against the 2022 Ukraine Supplemental Appropriation. -Voted for Amendment 22 to HR 2670 which would have prohibited all security assistance for Ukraine.

If you agree my uncle is unfit to be in the White House or anywhere but prison, please support my mission to get these maniacs off our TVs. Sign up for my free newsletter to reserve your spot! Let’s do this. https://marytrump.substack.

Mary Trump

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mostlysignssomeportents · 6 months

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Kinkslump Linkdump

This is my dozenth linkdump! The world comes at you fast, and even though I'm writing 4-5 essays a week for this newsletter, many's the week that ends with more stray links than will fit in that format. Here's the previous ones:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

I managed to turn out five posts last week, despite being on tour with my latest novel, The Lost Cause, a hopeful solarpunk novel endorsed by Rebecca Solnit, Bill McKibben and Kim Stanley Robinson. The tour went great – the book's now a national bestseller on the USA Today list! Here's an essay I wrote explaining the structure of the feeling that the book is meant to convey:

https://www.torforgeblog.com/2023/11/14/cory-doctorow-the-swerve/

This is a climate emergency novel full of rising seas, terrible storms, wildfires and zoonotic plagues, and yet – it is a hopeful novel. What makes it hopeful? It depicts a future in which we are treating these phenomena with the gravitas and urgency they warrant, with our whole society's focus shifting to moving coastal cities inland, weatherizing and solarizing our housing, and creating permanent housing for internal refugees.

While it would be infinitely preferable to live in a world where none of that is necessary, that's not the world we have. This is an sf novel, not a fantasy novel, so all the climate harms we've locked in through decades of expensively procured inaction are present. But the difference between disaster and catastrophe is how and whether we address those harms. Sure, this is a world where superstorms wipe away whole cities and Miami is a drowned mangrove swamp, but it's also a world in which oil executives do not chair UN climate summits or complain that oil companies are being "unjustly vilified":

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/27/opec-says-oil-industry-unjustly-vilified-ahead-of-climate-talks-.html

I write a lot, and it's not just this newsletter. Writing transports me from my anxieties and aches. That's how I came to write nine books during lockdown ("when life gives you SARS, make sarsaparilla"). Lost Cause was one of three books I published in 2023.

I'm going to greet 2024 with another novel, The Bezzle, a sequel to 2023's Red Team Blues, about the hard-charging, high-tech forensic accountant Marty Hench:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

The Bezzle is a story about the shitty technology adoption curve – the way that the worst technologies we have are first rolled out on the people least able to complain about them. After these bad technologies have their sharp edges sanded down on the bodies of prisoners, refugees and kids, they move up to blue collar workers and discount store shoppers, and so on, until we're all living under their thumb.

In The Bezzle, a dear friend of Marty finds himself serving a long sentence in a privatized California prison that flips from one private equity fund to the next, each with even worse, more extractive ways to use technology to bleed prisoners and their families dry. You can read the opening scenes in a just-published excerpt on Tor Books's site:

https://www.torforgeblog.com/2023/11/20/excerpt-reveal-the-bezzle-by-cory-doctorow/

The period immediately before a book's publication is always a tense one, as the first reviews trickle in. Library Journal's Marlene Harris is the first out of the gate, with a spectacular review:

https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/the-bezzle-1802415

Marty’s reminiscences range from obscure financial machinations to heaping helpings of social commentary but always move the underlying thriller story forward in a backwards heist tale that delivers a righteously satisfying ending to the surprise of both the reader and the villain. This novel, like his previous outing, rides on Marty’s voice. He has a jaundiced view of everything, but he tells it with such style and verve that readers are caught up and ride along on the surface until the shark beneath the water jumps out and bites the villain where it hurts.

I'm headed into Skyboat Media's studios on Monday with @wilwheaton to record the audiobook for this one, directed as ever by the amazing Gabrielle de Cuir. Keep your eyes peeled for a presale crowdfunder in January!

I am often asked how I decide when to present an idea through fiction and when to do so with nonfiction. The answer is a complicated one, and I got into it in some detail on Nature's Working Scientist podcast, in discussion with Paul Shrivastava:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03394-8

When it comes to politics, fiction and nonfiction are intensely complementary. Nonfiction can convey the data about a social phenomenon, but fiction can convey the meaning of the data. It's one thing to see a chart about inequality, and another to inhabit it through fiction. Marty Hench's narrative adventures are a way into the feeling of living in a corrupt oligarchy.

There are other ways into that feeling, of course. Take Barry Bowen's "Lifestyles of the Blessed & Famous: Preacher Homes Sold in 2023" for The Roys Report:

https://julieroys.com/lifestyles-blessed-famous-preacher-homes-sold-2023/?mc_cid=9678383b64

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then carefully staged realtor drone shots ganked from the Redfin listing for a "pastor"'s $3.5m mansion in Newport Beach is a full-on sermon about the corruption of the Hillsong megachurch:

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Newport-Beach/503-30th-St-92663/home/12363926

Narratives and photos are all well and good, but there's always room for some data. The USA's weird breed of federalism and devolved power makes for some very interesting data. Writing for The American Prospect, Paul Starr rounds up several studies evaluating the "natural experiments" created by enacting very different policies in otherwise similar states:

https://prospect.org/health/2023-12-08-life-death-cost-conservative-power/

The data is in: conservativism kills. Living in a red state shortens your life expectancy. The redder the state, the worse it is. The bluer the state, the longer you're likely to live:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0009.12469

The exemplars here are Connecticut and Oklahoma, whose life expectancies were at par until they began to diverge in policies. Oklahoma got more conservative, Connecticut got more liberal. Today, the average Oklahoman will pop their clogs at 75.8, while a Connecticutensian can expect 80.7 years.

Different scholars have parsed out different policy outcomes. Giving Medicaid to children, for example, shows benefits for the next 50 years:

https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20171671

The big one, of course, is gun control. Here's the topline: "restrictive state gun policies reduce overall gun deaths." Water also wet:

https://journals.lww.com/epidem/fulltext/2023/11000/the_era_of_progress_on_gun_mortality__state_gun.3.aspx

Fact-free spiritual beliefs like "an armed society is a polite society" are key to conservative policymaking. Pesky progressives who confuse the issue with relevant facts are playing dirty, pointing out reality's unfair leftist bias.

But after 40 years of neoliberal deference to corporate power, the worm is turning. Somehow, a world on fire, filled with megapastors in megamansions who brief for lethal policies, has finally inspired a global vibe-shift (and not a moment too soon!). One of the most tangible expressions of that shift is the revival of antitrust, which has been in a coma since the Reagan administration.

All over the world – the EU, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and the USA – there are new competition enforcers challenging corporate power in ways that were unthinkable just a few years ago. If I'd written an enforcer like FTC chair Lina Khan in 2010, critics would have slammed me for wish-fulfillment too unrealistic for science fiction.

But today, Khan is taking big swings at corporate power, fighting against a calcified edifice of decades of bad, pro-monopoly precedent. The pro-monopoly press hate her, which is why the WSJ keeps publishing sweaty op-eds insisting that she is wasting her time and that monopolies are good, actually:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/14/making-good-trouble/#the-peoples-champion

But she is still out there, fighting for all of us. After a pro-monopoly judge stymied the FTC's bid to block the rotten Microsoft/Activision merger, Khan re-filed, appealing the decision:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/us-ftc-tries-again-stop-microsofts-already-closed-deal-activision-2023-12-06/

Critics insist that she's on a foolish errand, but Khan is tackling the most promising face of a sheer cliff, and the plainly anticompetitive merger between one of the world's largest console makers (a convicted monopolist!) with one of the world's largest games publishers is the right place to start. If she can get her piton into one of the hairline cracks in that face, her arduous climb gains a solid anchor for the next stage of her assent.

Of course, Khan's highest-profile action is her case against Amazon, the omnipresent, dystopian poster-child for enshittification, a platform we can't avoid, but which is so haphazardly policed that the bestselling bitter lemon energy drink you order might be bottled piss harvested from its immiserated drivers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/release-energy/#the-bitterest-lemon

In a world of murderous, community-destroying monopolies, Amazon stands out for the sheer number of ways it makes the world worse. Amazon maims its warehouse workers and kills its drivers with impossible quotas. It poisons Black and brown neighborhoods with truck exhaust from its giant depots. It destroys small businesses that sell on its platform. It was part of the studio cabal scheming to destroy actors and writers' livelihoods with unfair contracts and AI. Its audiobook monopoly stole at least $100m from independent authors. It makes goods and services more expensive at every retailer (not just Amazon), and price-gouges on its own storefront:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/#consumer-welfare-queens

Keeping that scam going requires a lot of skullduggery. A new set of leaked internal Amazon documents shed some light on how that inedible sausage gets made:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjbm9/amazon-brags-it-cultivated-california-mayor-with-donations-in-leaked-policy-document

Amazon's "Community Engagement Plan 2024" brags about buying off small-town mayors and astroturf groups in its bid to resist regulations that would limit warehouse delivery van emissions in communities of color (Amazon calls this "philanthropic work"). Coincidentally, that "philanthropy" targeted Perris, a town where residents voted for a warehouse tax to repair the roads that had been trashed by fleets of Amazon vans.

But the real focus of Amazon's "Community Engagement" is California's AB1000, a bill that will limit the construction of supersized, 100k+ sqft warehouses near daycare centers, schools or rec centers. Secondarily, Amazon is hoping to get California to make it easier to advertise alcohol around kids, to "unlock" California's liquor market.

This kind of shameless, mustache-twirling villainry can only go on so long before it meets resistance. One of the longest-running, hardest fought struggles against corporate malfeasance is the farmers' right ro repair fight against John Deere. Deere boobytraps its tractors so that after a farmer repairs a Deere tractor, they have to wait for days, and pay hundreds of dollars, for a Deere technician to come out to the farm and type an unlock code into the tractor's console:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

Despite multiple state right-to-repair initiatives and a pending rulemaking from the FTC, Deere is still fucking around. Now, they've found out. US District Court Judge Iain Johnson just handed Deere a scathing, 89-page memo rejecting the company's bid to kill a class action suit brought by its customers:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/deere-must-face-us-farmers-right-to-repair-lawsuits-judge-rules-2023-11-27/?ref=404media.co

The memo hearkens back to company founder John Deere, "an innovative farmer and blacksmith who—with his own hands—fundamentally changed the agricultural industry":

https://www.404media.co/a-massive-repair-lawsuit-against-john-deere-clears-a-major-hurdle/

Judge Johnson tells Deere's lawyers that the real John Deere "would be deeply disappointed in his namesake corporation," and calls out their lying. You love to see it.

This kind of thing is happening all over the world as policymakers, regulators and lawmakers take aim at corporate power. The Australian government just announced that it would force Apple to open up iOS to alternative browser engines:

https://open-web-advocacy.org/blog/new-digital-competition-laws-for-australia/

This is obscure and technical, but that's why it's so exciting: rather than mumbling broad platitudes about competition and user choice, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's regulation targets a critical leverage point where a small change will deliver huge benefits:

https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/consumers-and-small-businesses-to-benefit-from-proposed-new-regulation-of-digital-platforms

While there are many browsers in Apple's App Store, they're all just reskinned versions of Safari, all running on the same core engine, Webkit. Webkit is ancient, undermaintained and feature-poor. Crucially, Webkit does not implement the parts of the HTML5 standard needed for WebApps, which would allow app developers a safe channel to offer apps that don't go through Apple's App Store monopoly chokepoint:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/13/kitbashed/#app-store-tax

Now, there's a big jump between announcing this kind of regulation and enacting it. As Mark Nottingham points out, Australia's had an "in principle" commitment to enact a privacy regulation for two successive governments, with no actual regulation in sight:

https://techpolicy.social/@mnot/111546662237364754

So we can't take these announcements as a sign to declare victory and stand down. The policymakers who announce these proposals deserve our accolades for the announcement and they require our constant vigilance until they make good on their promises.

That's the case in Ireland, where the Coimisiún na Meán has just published a fantastic regulatory proposal for recommendation systems, requiring recommenders to be turned off by default and that recommendations based on "political views, sexuality, religion, ethnicity or health" have to be switched off by default:

https://www.cnam.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Draft_Online_Safety_Code_Consultation_Document_Final.pdf

It's especially significant that this is coming out of Ireland, a corporate crime haven that has successfully lured the world's tech giants into flying its flag of convenience, with the guarantee of tax evasion and lax regulation:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

This rule won't enforce itself. It'll require constant vigilance and pressure. There's plenty of ways to do that on a part-time, voluntary basis, but if this kind of thing enflames you enough to make a career out of it, here's a tenure-track job for an infosec professor at Citizen Lab, fearless slayers of high-tech corporate ogres:

https://jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-Assistant-Professor-Information-Security-ON/576463017/

That's all for this week's linkdump. It's time for me to go hole up in my office and wrap presents. When I do, I'll be tuning into the latest Merry Mixmas MP3 of Christmas mashups from DJ Riko:

http://www.djriko.com/dls/DJ%20Riko%20-%20Merry%20Mixmas%202023.mp3

Riko's Christmas mashups have been part of my holidays for more than two decades now. He's been making them for 22 years! That's a lot of great holiday mashups:

https://www.djriko.com/mixmases.htm

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/09/gallimaufry/#marty-hench-rides-again

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lesbianchemicalplant · 8 months

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Harvard University students and over 30 organisations that signed a statement holding Israel “entirely responsible” for “all unfolding violence” in Israel and Palestine are facing a wave of criticism. On 8 October, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and Harvard Graduate Students for Palestine published a statement emphasising the role of Israeli “colonial occupation in creating these conditions of violence”. They wrote, “We hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence. Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. "Palestinians in Gaza have no shelter for refuge and nowhere to escape. In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence.” They called on the Harvard community to take action to “stop the ongoing annihilation of Palestinians”. The statement originally included a list of 30 organisations at Harvard that had signed on, but the names were later removed to protect the safety of the students. On Wednesday, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called on Harvard to release the names of the students who signed the statement so that he and other CEOs don’t “inadvertently hire any of their members”, Fortune reported. He said he is 100 percent in favour of free speech but he objects to “students putting out a statement holding Israel ‘entirely responsible’ for terrorists’ heinous and despicable acts, but doing so anonymously under a corporate veil while leveraging the Harvard brand”.

Ackman emphasised that people should be ready to defend their beliefs and take responsibility for them. He said that while there is nothing wrong with criticising Israel, students shouldn’t hide behind “a Harvard-branded corporation while doing so anonymously”. On 10 October, Harvard president Claudine Gay put out a statement saying that she condemns the “terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas”. “Let me also state, on this matter as on others, that while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group - not even 30 student groups- speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.”

Students challenge leadership On Wednesday, the Harvard Club of Israel issued a statement addressed to the Harvard leadership in response to the “back-pedalling statement issued [by Gay]”. “In the face of evil, Harvard must proclaim that pro-terrorism statements like those published by the student groups on Sunday have no place in civil discourse at Harvard or elsewhere,” the statement said. “If Harvard wishes to be a moral leader for the world, its administration must speak out immediately and forcefully. Anything less than full support for Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens and unequivocal denunciation of this terrorism is unacceptable and is wholly inadequate for an institution of Harvard’s caliber.” Students across college campuses in the US have been speaking out in support of Palestine. On Tuesday, an NYU Law School student’s job offer with an international law firm was rescinded after they published a pro-Palestine message in the Student Bar Association newsletter. At Columbia University, the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine contended that the blame for the conflict and resulting casualties squarely rests with the Israeli government and their western allies. Columbia’s president, Minouche Shafik, said she “was devastated by the horrific attack on Israel this weekend and the ensuing violence that is affecting so many people. Unfortunately, at this moment, little is certain except that the fighting and human suffering are not likely to end soon.” On Tuesday, Students for Justice in Palestine at Stanford University penned an opinion piece asserting the legal entitlement of Palestinians to resist occupation.

Numerous California branches of the pro-Palestinian organisation endorsed a declaration characterising Hamas' assault as a pivotal event in modern Palestinian defiance, Politico reported. Students for Justice in Palestine groups at multiple City University of New York campuses will hold rallies for Palestine on Thursday and Friday.

(11 October 2023)

unfortunately this is nothing new for colleges (especially in the US). e.g. Hillel, the world's largest “Jewish campus organization”, is a Zionist org that routinely harasses Palestinians and their supporters

or the entire existence of the Canary Mission, a project specifically to stalk and doxx students and professors who are Palestinian or anti-Zionist

#palestine #zionism #israel #colleges #academia #schools

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jensorensen · 1 month

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America's Most Wanted Librarians

GOP-controlled statehouses have been cranking out reams of preposterous and frightening library legislation. One proposed bill in Louisiana, HB 777, would make it a crime for librarians to use public funds to join the American Librarian Association or attend an ALA conference, punishable with prison time and hard labor for up to two years.

Get my weekly newsletter by joining the Sorensen Subscription Service! Also on Patreon.

#cartoon #politics #comic #libraries #librarians #books #education #theocracy

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shouldershimmycity · 2 years

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Helium - Prologue (Hangman x Mitchell-Reader)

Maverick never thought he would have children. Then he finds out he has a daughter, and he has to decide whether or not he wants to be a part of her life. But first, he has to get her out of enemy territory with the help of the man who will fall for her.

*****

I was writing another WIP when I got this idea so that one will have to wait haha. I'm back at school so I'm a little busy. As always let me know what you think! (Also Ice is still alive in this because I say so oops.)

*****

Maverick’s bike idled through the gate, the guard posted there didn’t need to check his ID to know who he was. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell was probably the most well known man in the Navy, if not one of the top five. Of course, Iceman was up there as well.

Speaking of the Admiral, Maverick had been visiting his old friend when he had received a call from a Major General in the Air Force, who was stationed in Virginia. Mav had looked at Ice for an explanation, but the man who usually had all the answers had shrugged his shoulders. Then he had checked his work email, and insisted Maverick attend whatever meeting was awaiting him in Oceana. The admiral had turned pale, and he had poorly tried to hide the shock in his expression. He refused to answer Maverick when he inquired what was wrong. If Maverick wasn’t being given orders, his curiosity surely would have won out anyway. Ice had managed to get the load master manning the C-17 to clear a little space for his bike, which Maverick was thankful for. He could tell that he would be here for a while it seemed. Clearly, whatever waited for him must be of the utmost importance; but he couldn’t shake the look on Ice’s face from his mind.

Upon Maverick’s arrival, a Lieutenant saluted him, asking him to ‘follow me, sir.’ He opened the door for the Captain, and began leading him down a hallway, with nothing but government owned stark white walls, and an occasional newsletter taped up in random places. The Lieutenant stopped next to a door, which was opened, and Maverick thanked him, entering the conference room.

The blinds were closed, but the daylight crept through like sharp fingers, desperate to reach into the privacy of the dark. At the table were three individuals, two men and one woman.

The first of the men was Admiral Alexander “Beegee” Williams. Maverick had served under him briefly when he was sent to Bosnia after pissing off a different Admiral. Beegee had made sure to keep an eye on him for Iceman. He was younger than Mav and Ice, but a wise man all the same.

The latter of the men being Major General Leonard “Scythe” McConner. Maverick had heard of him, and he had clearly heard of Maverick. His face was stern and his hair was practically white, the lines on his face were twisted in a sour expression. Although Mav still had no idea what was going on, it was clearly bigger than he thought if the Air Force was being pulled into it.

It took him a moment to recognize the woman sitting in front of him, mostly because she wasn’t in uniform and their previous encounter had been a drunken one. She was much older now, as was he, but she was still very pretty. She gave him a weak smile, and he returned it although he was even more confused now. Hopefully he could get an explanation.

“Captain,” Scythe greeted him, and Maverick flashed his teeth in his signature movie star grin, nodding his head in salutation.

“Sir.”

“There is a situation abroad which you have been brought in to evaluate. Two F-22 pilots were shot down in enemy territory by 5th generation fighters. They are asking for a prisoner exchange, but their demands are higher than we’re willing to go. That being said, these pilots have top secret clearance and know information that we cannot allow to be… extracted from them. We need air support for the mission, and you have been requested specifically,” Beegee finished off his speech with the press of a button, which illuminated the screen behind Maverick.

Three images faced him, one of a young man, he was sturdy looking, built and had a strong face. He reminded Maverick of a pitbull. The picture next to him was of a young woman, she was about Rooster’s age, if not slightly younger. She had a confidence that only came natural to certain people, and he could practically feel charisma oozing from her. But he could tell she wasn’t cocky about it just from looking at her picture. He’d imagine that they might get along if he had the pleasure to meet her. Perhaps he could introduce her to Hangman.

On the screen below the two ID images was a slightly grainy picture, but it was horrifying all the same. Both of the pilots were held by the back of their shirts, and they were beaten to a pulp. Despite the perceived durability of the young man in the photo above, he looked absolutely terrified in the one below. The young woman seemed to remain strong despite the damage done to her body and her face; in fact, her expression was hard, twisted with the will to endure her circumstances. The photo reminded him of a seller’s listing, for an item. They were not items, these were human beings. It took Maverick a minute to tear his eyes away from the gruesome image.

“Where are they?” he asked, voice quiet from the shock. The images were replaced with a map, highlighting the enemy base involved.

“Boxer and Mayhem are right about here, we believe. The base is heavily monitored by 5th generation fighters. We would like you and the reassembled Dagger Squadron to take on the task of air support, most likely in the form of air to air combat, while a hostage retrieval takes place on the ground,” Scythe cut into the presentation, despite the vibe the old man gave, Maverick could see the worry beneath his face. These were his pilots, then?

“That’s possible, but I… I have to ask,” Maverick hesitated, his mind reeling, “why us? Why me? I’m in the Navy not the Air Force…”

That’s when the woman, who Mav believed was named Emily, burst into tears. When she stood to leave the room, his bewilderment must have shown, because Scythe pursed his lips together; eventually and reluctantly, he spoke.

“You’ve been called in with the expectation that you will complete this mission because you have motivation that no other team leader could have here,” he stated firmly, but Maverick was still so lost.

“Maverick,” Beegee spoke up, his voice was delicate; like if he spoke too harshly the man in front of him would turn to dust, “You’ve been called in because Mayhem is your daughter.”

Maverick blinked, then he blinked again, and once more before opening his mouth to speak. Nothing came out.

I have a daughter? How is that possible? She’s Emily’s daughter? Does she know? How could I have not known? Why wasn’t I told? I’m a father?

“Maverick!” Beegee called him back to reality, worry written all over his face. When the Captain made eye contact with him he continued, “I know this is a shock, and I would like you to be able to work through it, but we simply do not have the time, I’m so sorry. We need you to reassemble the squadron immediately.”

All he could do was nod, and when he was dismissed he stepped out into the hallway. Lifting his eyes, he saw Emily sobbing in the middle of the hall. He pointed a weak, accusatory finger at her.

“You– she– Why didn’t you tell me?” Despite his shock, his voice was stern. She went to speak, but he held up his hand, “No– no let’s not do this right now… I have to– I have to go assemble the squadron.” He brushed past her, and she only cried harder, and he could hear her mumbling something. He needed some air, and he needed to call someone.

*****

“I have a daughter.”

“WHat?!” Rooster choked on whatever he was drinking, and coughing filled the other end of the phone line. Maverick had no idea what to do, and the only person he could call about this was Bradley. He nodded, despite the Lieutenant not being able to see him through the cell phone.

“I know,” was all he could squeak out.

“Listen Mav, if you want to be a part of her life you can do that. I’m sure she’d be happy to have you as a dad,” he reassured. Mav took a shaky breath.

“That’s the problem. I have to call the Daggers back together for a mission. She’s a POW in enemy territory right now, and the Navy and the Air Force want air support on this mission,” he explained, and Rooster inhaled sharply, “I feel like the room’s spinning, Bradley.”

“Okay, well sit down, don’t pass out!” he demanded, and Mav did as he was told. “Okay, look, the fact is the mission needs to be completed first. Her safety comes first. You can’t be a part of her life if there’s no life to be a part of,” Maverick grimaced at Bradley’s words, but they were true, “so do what you need to do, and you can worry about it later, Mav.”

“Yeah… Yeah that is true.”

“I’ve got to pack. I’ll see you tomorrow and we can figure it out,” he sighed, and Maverick slumped against the wall, closing his eyes for some semblance of peace.

“Alright, talk to you later, Rooster.”

Maverick looked up and stared into the fluorescent light, he had no idea how someone’s life could change so drastically in a matter of hours. Not only did he have a daughter, but if this mission wasn’t successful, he would never get to meet her. He was not only confused, but he was starting to get angry. Maverick was a flight risk, pun not intended, and he had commitment issues, that was pretty much a fact. But never, ever, would he have neglected a child who needed care and love. Never. Especially if it was his own child. He knew what it was like to grow up without parents, he never wanted that for any other child. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t kick himself for putting Bradley through that. Did she even know who he was? Did her mother spend her entire life telling her he was a deadbeat? Would she even want him in her life? His head hurt. Why couldn’t he have been there?

Rooster was right. He couldn’t figure anything else out unless he could speak to her face to face. He had to focus on the mission first and foremost, then he could worry about it all later. He had a job to do.

He had to get his daughter and her wingman home safely.

#hangman top gun #hangman imagine #hangman #hangman fic #hangman x reader #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin x reader #top gun #topgunmaverick #top gun x reader #maverick

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