Catching up

I have been very behind of late.  You who still read here know I haven't had much of anything useful or interesting to say.  Basically, I've been grousing about the weather, while really dealing with a major life change that I wasn't really looking forward  to.  I don't handle change well.  My Google Reader was largely being ignored, with well over 500 unread posts.  Lots of possible blog topics went  un-commented-on.

But I think I'm getting back to normal.  My Reader is down under 300 (and I really did read the majority of those other 300).  I can't exactly write blog posts about all of the things I've been thinking about, but here are some small points and highlights.

1) The Shawnee County Jail (Kansas) has spent a pretty penny on psychotropic drugs for its inmates.  According to the article, 16% of the jail's inmates have some mental illness.  While a high incidence of mental illness in the county jail population is no surprise to any criminal defense attorney, I would have to quibble with that number.  There is no way only 16% of the jail population is mentally ill.  There have to be more who just haven't been recognized or diagnosed.  Lacking a good response to mental illness, we as a nation have more and more resorted to treating those who suffer from mental illnesses as criminals.  At least we're footing the bill to provide some of them with medications that might help alleviate their symptoms.

2)  We've all seen reports that violent crime rates might actually be dropping.  But Suzanne Reisman, who writes at Blogher.com and Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) and Other Rants, points out that rates of domestic violence are actually skyrocketing.  Difficult economic times make for stressful times on the home front.

3) 36% of sex crimes against juveniles are committed by juveniles.  According to the study's author, only about 10% of those "offenders" show signs of pedophilia.  More often than not, these are just kids fooling around with other kids, or experimenting, or not recognizing boundaries.  Kinda makes you wonder whether the federal Adam Walsh Act, which strong-arms states into making everyone 14 and older who commits a "serious sex offense" register as a sex offender, is such a great idea.  Because almost every sex offense that involves someone under 13 is a "serious sex offense".  Maybe, just maybe, early and appropriate sex education really is a better response to juveniles engaging in inappropriate sexual behaviors.

4) I have checked the 15-day forecast at least 4 times today.  It still projects 34 degrees for Sunday, January 10, and a string of 40-degree days starting on the 14th.  I can make it until the 10th.  Really,  I can.

5) Oh, and my plummy office walls really are divine.