I was in college when Steve Novick was 10 years old. On my shelves, I still have books from that period — when the criminal justice system was poised for big change: more social work, less punishment. It didn’t take long for the results to come in. What followed was public reaction in the form of three-strikes laws, etc. Progressives and civil rights attorneys fought back, persuading lawmakers and voters that public safety didn’t require laws or punishment.
In politics, the pendulum swings back and forth. Nobody learns.
Consider Novick’s reference to Roe v. Wade. Yes, abortion should be legal. But the Democrats and Planned Parenthood turned abortion into a moneymaker. It’s a great fundraiser. It also created a peculiar feminist concept of pro-life where females are emboldened to have babies whether or not they can raise them. One of the leading predictors of poverty is single motherhood.
An important word that Novick leaves out of his reminiscence on 1973: Drugs.
Bipartisan cooperation in Congress was a real thing.
I was in college when Steve Novick was 10 years old. On my shelves, I still have books from that period — when the criminal justice system was poised for big change: more social work, less punishment. It didn’t take long for the results to come in. What followed was public reaction in the form of three-strikes laws, etc. Progressives and civil rights attorneys fought back, persuading lawmakers and voters that public safety didn’t require laws or punishment.
In politics, the pendulum swings back and forth. Nobody learns.
Consider Novick’s reference to Roe v. Wade. Yes, abortion should be legal. But the Democrats and Planned Parenthood turned abortion into a moneymaker. It’s a great fundraiser. It also created a peculiar feminist concept of pro-life where females are emboldened to have babies whether or not they can raise them. One of the leading predictors of poverty is single motherhood.
An important word that Novick leaves out of his reminiscence on 1973: Drugs.
Let’s learn from 1973, not repeat it.