The United States is transforming itself into a nation of ex-convicts. This country imprisons people at 14 times the rate of Japan, eight times the rate of France and six times the rate of Canada.
''Thirteen million people have been convicted of a felony and spent some time locked up,'' Jennifer Gonnerman writes in ''Life on the Outside.'' ''That's almost 7 percent of U.S. adult residents.

Noam Chomsky, the political theorist and leftwing guru, yesterday gave his reluctant endorsement to the Democratic party's presidential contender, John Kerry, calling him "Bush-lite", but a "fraction" better than his rival.
He said there were "small differences" between Senator Kerry and the Republican president. But, in an interview on the Guardian's politics website, he added that those small differences "can translate into large outcomes".

"Stars and Stripes morale survey (Oct. 16-22) found that nearly half of soldiers questioned don?t plan to re-enlist," Michele Winter wrote, adding, "If troop letters to Stripes, to Lt. Col. David Hackworth and to various national newspapers are any indication, the U.S. Army can expect a hemorrhaging of its noncommissioned officer ranks. . ." Saying that a proposed $5,000 reenlist bonus proposed by the Department of Defense did little to impress, Winter reminded, "If the passage of concurrent receipt doesn't improve morale and repair damage done to recruitment and re-enlistment, anticipate the draft."

As most point out, however, any mention of conscription would be ill-advised before the 2004 election. "A number of analysts said yesterday that while any public suggestion of a draft would be politically suicidal for U.S. President George W. Bush in an election year, he could find himself with few other options if he is returned for a second term and the fighting in Iraq is still raging," the Toronto Star recently reported. "I don't think a presidential candidate would seriously propose a draft," the Cato Institute's Charles Pena added. "But an incumbent, safely in for a second term -- that might be a different story."

DEMOCRACY HAS NOT FAILED. REPRESENTATION HAS FAILED!
If John Kerry is not a prominent speaker at the biggest fucking anti-war rally in America tomorrow then I say, Fuck John Kerry and the horse he rode in on. Bitch.

DETROIT (Reuters) - What day is it? Don't ask the driver of General Motors Corp.'s Pontiac Grand Prix.

Due to a software glitch, the computer display in the 2004 model year Grand Prix shows the wrong day of the week, Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson said on Monday. Engineers overlooked the fact that 2004 is a leap year, with an extra day, "Somehow or other, the fact that this was a leap year got missed," Hopson said. "We are working on a solution."

Last October, Business 2.0 magazine listed ChoicePoint among the top 100 fastest-growing technology companies in America. The company's revenues in 2003 totaled nearly $800 million, a 9 percent increase over 2002. Revenues in the company's Business and Government Services division totaled $340 million.
The people who wish to remain anonymous trouble Smith the most. "It is the anonymous person," he writes, "or small group of people, who represent the greatest risks -- economic, physical or emotional -- facing us today."
In an interview with business magazine Georgia Trend in 2002, Smith said ChoicePoint conducted a survey showing that 25 percent of pizza delivery drivers recently had spent time in jail.