>One final comment, although I do not think that
>incarceration is a solution to social problems, I am
>not sure that there are any viable alternatives to it.
> I do not think there is much that can be done to
>solve these problems, at least in a short run.
Sure there is. Drug courts, more money for rehab and education and less for jail, and, of course, jobs. There's a gang interventionist here in Los Angeles whose mantra is "nothing stops a bullet like a job."
> I pretty much agree with the above, albeit your
>postings do not always convey that message.
Could be. Could also be that whenever anyone mentions prison reform, gentrification or a number of other topics you have some kind of Santa Cruz flashback that interferes with your listening skills. That's on you, not the rest of us.