by Diane Dimond on January 3, 2012
What Road Will The New Year Take?
Time for New Year resolutions. Mine take the form of wishes and hopes focused on how to make our crime and justice system safer, saner and more evenhanded for all.
I know some of my wishes are unlikely to come true. But I also know many of them could if we were all determined to make society work better.
I hope that the coach Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State University gives strength and solace to the millions of victims of child sexual abuse everywhere, no matter how old they are now. May each of them understand that society condemns every person who preys on children and that the shame isn’t theirs, it rests solely on the molester. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on October 17, 2011
Who Dreamed Up The Fast & Furious Plan?
What the hell is going on in this country? And why don’t our federal officials just man-up and admit when mistakes have been made?
Now, keep in mind – I don’t write about politics so this is not a partisan attack. I write about crime and justice. So, take what I’m about to say in that spirit.
And remember the name “Fast and Furious” because I predict you’ll be hearing a lot about it in the days ahead.
Here’s the backstory: Someone at the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives … [click to continue…]
by Diane on June 20, 2011
He Declared the "War on Drugs"
40 years ago this month President Richard Nixon declared his “War on Drugs.” Now, 40 years later can we honestly say we’ve got a handle on the problem?
No, of course we can’t. The drug scourge continues with its ever increasing criminality and murderous violence. It heaps economic hardships on families, communities and prison systems. Our decade’s long drug war gives off the stinking scent of failure and the undeniable conclusion that the way we’ve tackled the problem so far just isn’t working.
So how long do we keep doing the same old things before we change course? Isn’t it time for a radical shift in strategy to try to lessen the impact illegal drug trade has had on all of us?
I don’t want to make this a political thing but after reading a couple of recent reports (more on that below) I’ve come to the conclusion that Richard Nixon may have had a sharper focus on how to handle the drug problem than our current president. [click to continue…]
If the Supreme Court Says Its Constitutional...
Saying, “I told you so,” is not becoming. So I won’t say it.
But I will remind folks of all those columns I wrote about the need for states to do something proactive about the problem of illegal immigration since members of the United States Congress have repeatedly fallen down on the job.
Frankly, I stopped writing about it because I figured anyone who was interested in the topic had already formed an opinion and nothing I would write would change any minds. Also, because there was the hate mail I got after I refused to call people who enter this country illegally “undocumented workers.” [click to continue…]
by Diane on February 21, 2011
Where To Cut? Where To Cut?
The president has now put forth his $3.73 trillion budget with its recommended deep spending cuts. And, the other politicians in Washington – those who represent us on Capitol Hill – have begun the traditional partisan bickering over what is acceptable and what is not. Many go at this monumentally important task focused on making the other party look irresponsible instead of pinpointing which cuts would be best to get our country back on a firm fiscal track.
Some wring their hands and moan that one proposed cut or another is “just a drop in the bucket.” They ignore the fact that lots of drops are needed to fill up a bucket. [click to continue…]
by Diane on January 31, 2011
State of President Obama's Union, 2011
One of the primary functions of government is to keep us safe – not only from foreign enemies but from fellow citizens who’ve turned to crime. We function best when we feel safe and secure in the world. It allows us to unlock our creative minds, produce more and better work and give back to society in the most positive ways.
So, as I watched President Obama’s State of the Union speech I listened carefully for what he would say that would address American’s concerns about crime and justice and help us feel safer. After all, consider recent events. Shortly before the speech, in states across the nation, eleven police officers had been killed in the line of duty in a 24 period. And the country is still reeling from the shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona that left 6 people dead and 14 wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
I was disappointed with the speech. [click to continue…]
by Diane on January 3, 2011
Thinking of Ways to Make a Safer and More Just World
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the commandment to “Love Thy Neighbor as Yourself” was the only law we needed?
Strictly adhered to that would be enough to curb crime in a big way. There would be no murder, assault, fraud, burglary … well, you get my drift.
But as this New Year dawns we all understand that we’re way past biblical pronouncement at this point. Today society must have laws and rules and regulations. But I often heave a big sigh and wish they worked better to get crime under control!
In years past I’ve used this first column of each New Year to list my wishes for the crime and justice system. For 2011 the list is pretty simple … [click to continue…]
by Diane on December 27, 2010
A Gift for All - Immigration Reform
Everyone – especially young people – wants that one special gift for Christmas. Well, this year there’s a group of kids that will remember the holiday as disappointing after the sins of their parents came back to haunt them. All these kids really wanted for Christmas was a helping hand onto the road to U.S. citizenship.
Their parents brought them to this country illegally, some of them as tiny infants, and although raised here in the United States of America – knowing loyalty to no other country but this one – they’ve been told their American dream stops now.
Our procrastinating Congress ended the first half of its 111th session by once again failing to pass the so-called Dream Act. The act could have become the first brave and concrete step on the arduous road to immigration reform. [click to continue…]
by Diane on November 1, 2010
The One Who Didn't Shrink From the Job
Remember the name Marisol Valles Garcia. She’ll either go down in history as a selfless heroine or she’ll soon be dead. Maybe both.
Twenty year old Marisol lives in the small and violent Mexican border village of Praxedis Guadalupe Guerro, population 9,149. Marisol is a criminal justice graduate student, married and the mother of a little boy. The baby calls her Mama. The rest of her village now calls her Chief, their Chief of Police. It’s a job no one else in her village would take for fear they’d lose their lives if they put on a badge.
The last man in Marisol’s position, Chief Manuel Castro, was kidnapped tortured and beheaded last year. But Marisol says she took the job because she’s just tired of everyone being afraid. She said after being sworn in, “We have to reclaim our lives!” [click to continue…]
by Diane on June 28, 2010
The Catch 22 of Immigration Reform
Dateline: June 28, 2010
It’s a terrible Catch-22. For years now the powers that be in Washington have done next to nothing to help define and refine the nation’s immigration laws. So states and municipalities have started to tackle the job themselves. However, when the ‘locals’ are finally exasperated enough to take action they’re hauled into court for encroaching on the federal government’s purview!
Let me get this straight. The Feds won’t act to fix our immigration mess but the states can’t do anything either because it’s the Feds’ job? Oh, what a paralyzed mess we’ve become in this country!
We’ve all heard about what Arizona did. [click to continue…]
