I saw this kid get arrested.

I saw this kid get arrested the other night, probation violation. They came and got him at work, we were all surprised. I can't believe that I did that for a living once, putting the cuffs on people and taking away their freedom. Many of them really did deserve it, had hurt others, violent and all that. Many were just regular, had made a mistake, didn't deserve what they got.

Tough on crime, sounds great in a campaign speech. Minimum mandatory sentences take discretion away from the court, from the people. I know this has been discussed before, by many who are much smarter than me. It needs to be discussed however, freedom is at stake here. I think a lot of it is about money, private prisons run for profit. Private cops, where does it end? I'm not some kind of flaming liberal, I shouldn't even have to say that. I don't think that profit should be a driving force in the criminal justice system, that's dangerous.

I remember when I saw the Rodney King video, that was sad. One of my bosses, a lieutenant, stood silently next to me as we watched on the squad room TV. He said he wouldn't beat a dog like that, we all felt kind of sick. I remember a juror's comment, the jury that found those cops not guilty. This juror said something like they don't pay their cops to roll around in the street with people, I think it was something like that. Well that's exactly what you get payed to do, I knew back then that something was wrong. There is no honor in some people. I know it was a long time ago, still makes me cringe. Most cops are better than that, don't know anyone who would ever do that, I hope.

We have a parrot, he sings the Beer Run song.