If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

The United States incarcerates more people and at a higher rate than any other peacetime nation in the world. According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics the number of US residents behind bars has now reached more than 2.3 million.

We must increase the use of special drug courts in which addicted offenders are given the opportunity to complete court supervised substance abuse treatment instead of being sentenced to prison. We must eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing laws. We must increase the use of alternative penalties for nonviolent drug offenders. Drug defendants convicted of nonviolent offenses should not be given mandatory prison sentences. We should emphasize the criminalization of the importers, manufacturers, and major distributors, rather than just the street venders. Prisons in this country should be a legitimate criminal sanction — but it should be an extension of a fair, just and wise society.

These words are not my own. These are the words of Senator Mike Gravel, who is running for president in 2008. They display wisdom. I advise you to read up on this candidate. I would absolutely love to see a non-republican, non-democratic president win who has some common sense. I’m sick of the red-blue divide.

Click here to read up on Mike Gravel, and of course do some Googling. SPREAD THE WORD!