Don't Release the Hounds

I'm with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on this one -  overcrowding in a prison is not cruel and unusual punishment, and we shouldn't release more than 40,000 prisoners just because they have long lines at the gym.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1360186

In my opinion,  overcrowding is not cruel and unusual punishment mainly because it's not prescribed as part of the punishment - it's a result of a great many number of people committing crimes and the state not having enough money to keep them all around in first-class quarters.  I've never been to prison so I only know what I read and what I see in movies - and specifically movies that just happen to have a scene or two in a prison and aren't specifically about prisons - and what I think I know is that most prison cells house 4 inmates or less. Is that true? Let's double it. 8 inmates or less.

I've lived in Army barracks where rooms house 12 soldiers in a space just barely large enough to hold 6  bunk beds, one locker per soldier, and standing room between them.  And I've lived in Army barracks that are open bays, housing 40 or more soldiers in a room similarly arranged. Sometimes that bay was actually a large tent.  Where 80 soldiers share one bathroom with 4 stalls and 4 sinks.

So I don't feel particularly bad for prisoners who live in similar conditions. I work for a living, they hurt someone else AND are getting a free ride from the state.

Speaking of Antonin Scalia - I read his background on wikipedia and I agree with most of his opinions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonin_Scalia

Innocent mistake or bold scam?

I received a letter with the following envelope information:

FROM:
MFS MUTUAL FUND SETTLEMENT
In re Mutual Funds Investment Litigation
c/o The Garden City Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 9410
Dublin, OH 43017-4510

TO:
MFS HERITAGE TRUST CO TRUSTEE
IRA A/C RICHARD R DUFFIELD
(my street address here)
(my city, state, and zip here)

The letter is not addressed to me so I did not open it.  But  I am the first home owner at my address and the house was built to my specifications a few years ago.  So I know that a Richard Duffield could never have had this address.

It could have been a mistake in the address, but I suspect it's an attempt at fraud by pretending an administrative mistake and  luring someone into paying fees to receive someone else's settlement. Once the victim takes the bait the scammer can also blackmail them because technically the victim also committed a crime by opening mail addressed to someone else.

I didn't open the envelope. I marked it "not at this address" and put it back in my mailbox for the postman to pick up. I think that's the right thing to do when receiving mail addressed to someone else who I don't know.

Worst Job Search Sites

I have a feeling I'll need to find a new job soon so I am updating my resume and looking for some jobs online. I ran into a few sites that really sucked:

You Found Jobs (http://youfoundjobs.com) - a disguised bait & switch, they make it look like you're filling out THEIR registration form but you're really signing up for a bunch of stuff; if you're not careful you'll authorize some shady company to charge you through your phone bill. Very nasty.

Career Finder (http://career-finder.org) - a clean bait & switch, they promise job listings but first you have to request information from a bunch of schools. It's annoying that they claim that you're signing up to receive information from schools because it shows employers that you're education minded and, apparently, employers like that sort of thing... because probably none of the employers listed there (if they have any) care or are even aware that you've requested information from a bunch of schools. It's meaningless. Degrees and certificates count; spam in your mailbox doesn't.

Job.com (http://job.com) - they do have jobs but the signup procedure is alternating pages of job-related data and "offers". Some of the data entry is repetitive. At least they let you skip each offer as it is presented. Sometimes they show pop-up ads.

Career Arrow (http://careerarrow.us) - same scam as You Found Jobs. Both of them go to a page at http://ian.smileymedia.com with the phone charge scam and who knows what else after that (I didn't dare click on anything once I saw that page, I just closed the browser).