HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLM!!!!!

Hope you had a good one. And I hope 22 treats you well.

On another topic, guess who's going to Montreal in March? ME, that's who! The prof at McGill I applied with wants me to come visit. Yay free trips! Lol.

Ryan:

Regarding your comment:
"Also, Steph, if you convince me that your education will somehow benefit me, either in the short or long term, I'll give you twenty bucks for your tuition(I wonder if that's tax deductable)."

He is how my education benefits you in the short term.

Because of my education and my chosen field, I spend a lot of time with some people (i.e., Cara). We take numerous classes together, we are going through the same crap in applying to grad school, and we listen to each other bitch about school and stuff a lot. Through all this commiserating Cara and I do, you and others do not have to listen to Cara bitch about school related stuff as much as you might. Because we keep each other in line, we don't forget application deadlines or important tests, so Cara and I get better grades and chances at grad school acceptance. This puts both of us (and especially Cara) in good moods and makes us (and especially Cara) more fun to be around.

So in summary, because I am pursuing this line of education, Cara, one of your dear friends, A) bitches less to you about school crap, and B) is in a better mood and is more fun to be around. I think this qualifies as my education benefitting you in the short term.

Yes, Ryan. What I meant was that many law abiding citizens would jump at the chance to get a free education. And yes, the only reason these law abiding citizens (not poor mother types) are not getting a free law degree is that they are not willing to kill someone. And yes, everyone does have an equal opportunity to commit crimes. But you need to view this in terms of a cost-benefit situation. Do the benefits (a free law degree) outweigh the costs (killing someone, going to jail, ruining my family's lives, abandoning my morals, etc.)? No matter how much some people may WANT a free law degree, one or the other of the reasons I just mentioned may be enough to stop them from pursuing this course of action. And THAT is the difference. These people DO NOT have an opportunity for a free law degree because they WILL NOT kill someone. This very fact sets them apart from the criminals. If it really were that easy to get a free law degree, everyone would be doing it, but they aren't, so something's not right. So, I don't think I'm being contradictory at all. The very fact that one person chooses not to kill someone is enough, in my mind, to say that they do not have the "opportunity".

And your lack of spelling ability is preventing me from taking your argument(!) seriously.

I think rehabilitation is possible in SOME (and a very small some at that) number of cases. But I stand by what I said. The vast majority of criminals are not rehabilitated. The rate of recidivism is atrocious. I DO NOT think the system is fair, and I DON'T think crime is necessary. There is no point to committing a crime. It's stupid and, unless you don't get caught, it's not worth it in the grand scheme of things. And yes, criminals have a long life ahead of them after the big house, because life does not mean life here. It means maybe 15 years. But that's another issue. And so what if they do have a long life after they do their time. Chances are they end up back in prison. There are always going to be those people who don't give a shit about contributing to society, or making an effort, or holding down a job, or paying child support. MOST people, however, pay their taxes, raise their kids decently, shovel their sidewalks, and try to make the best of their situation, no matter how awful it is.

And I don't disagree that jails should not be called "correctional facilities". It's false advertising. And I don't think that either of your two ways of changing people is sufficient. People can know you're right and not give a shit (e.g., psychopaths). And people can know you're going to hurt them and not give a shit (e.g., terrorists).

And yes, the middle class IS complacent. The system isn't broken for them, so they have no need or desire to fix it. It is how it is. The people who do get screwed have little say in the matter, and little hope of things ever changing. But that's always been a problem, and likely always will.

All that I wanted to say with my original post was that I (being me and only one person) thought that being able to get a law degree while in jail in fucking ridiculous. That is all. I respect the opinions of others regarding this issue, but I will ALWAYS think it is ridiculous. I think a lot of other things are also ridiculous, but this one got my attention.

And on an aside, people SHOULD vote. Not voting just says that, like 80% of the population, you're too lazy to go to the polls. Vote and spoil your ballot if that's what you want. It sends a (slightly) stronger message that way.

Seen in the paper:
"Mafioso earns law degree in jail"
Fantastic. So THIS is where our tax dollars go. To putting criminals through law school. Would anyone like to donate their taxes to put me though school??? No, didn't think so. So, not only is this guy living free, with no need to worry about how to pay the bills, but he's earning a LAW DEGREE at the same time? How does this make sense. Lets help the criminal get a LAW DEGREE so that not only will he possibly be able to get a better job than many people have, but he'll be smarter in his mobster dealings. Let's teach the criminals the loopholes in the law, won't that be fun? I think someone dropped the ball. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think criminals should be getting law degrees (though some would argue that lawyers ARE criminals...), ESPECIALLY on the taxpayers' dime.

Hey, It's February. And guess what comes after that? March! And March is the month of GRAD SCHOOL OFFERS! ACK!!! The real world (well, as real as the world of academia can get) is getting closer. Hmmm...

If you ever need to be entertained, take transit. It's, by far, the best place to hear stupid people say stupid things.
Today's gem, for instance:

guy2: hey man
guy1: hey
guy2: what's going on?
guy1: i just got fired
guy2: Sweet!

Yeah, getting fired is TOTALLY cool. EVERYONE should aspire to this level of greatness... Right...