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Blog Entries by Mark Olmsted from 09/2009

The Devil They Know: Biography of an American Inmate

| Posted 09.01.2009 | Politics
Read More: Drug Addiction, Single Mothers, Child Abuse, US Poverty, Recidivism, Prison, Violence, Alcohol Abuse, American Prisoner Description, American Prison Inmates, Prison Inmates, Politics News

A system which punishes the poor for reacting unexceptionally to their poverty has created a criminal class which views prison as a sort of career.

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A Job Nobody Wants: In Defense of (Gasp!) Drug Dealers

| Posted 09.11.2009 | Politics
Read More: Poverty, Terrorists, Criminal Justice System, Drug Dealing, Prisoners, Inmates, Cure, Dehumanization, Changing Perception, Jim Webb, Politics News

The man at the gas station who hands over Marlboro Lights is never called the scum of the earth. The makers of Oxycontin, Valium, and Vicodin -- the biggest drug dealers in the word -- spend no time in prison cells.

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What's It Going to Take, Barack? A Screed

| Posted 09.16.2009 | Politics
Read More: Rahm Emmanuel, Rachel Maddow, Mr. Cool, Public Option, Majority Rule, Healthcare, Barack Obama, Right-Wing Extremism, Bush, Politics News

I admire Barack Obama very much. He's smart as hell and his attempt to change the tone of politics has been admirable. But it has failed.

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Birth of a Trash Whisperer

| Posted 09.24.2009 | Green
Read More: Serenity Prayer, Griffith Park, Trash, Service, Dogs, Litter, Green News

Within a week I was hooked on collecting trash. I'd found an addiction with a very gentle high but no hangover.

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