From: Kurt James <kjames-AT-fourthtier.com>
Subject: FW: Police Report
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 10:21:27 -0800


let the beating begin....

Kurt James


From:  Olsen, Mark [SMTP:Mark.Olsen-AT-transamerica.com]
Sent:  Wednesday, February 03, 1999 3:54 PM
To:  Kurt James (E-mail)
Subject:  Police Report

Pass this on to anyone.
> 
> Got stopped by a cop last night.  I live near the LA airport, so this was
> an "LAX Airport Authority Police Officer."
> 
> I was coming off the freeway and was doing 52 mph in a 50 mph zone-
> basically right off the off-ramp as it turns into a highway.  According to
> the cop, I was following the car in front too closely.  Evidently I wasn't
> paying attention because I didn't seem to notice that I was merely 30 feet
> off the bumper of the car in front-an old, beat-up VW beetle.
> 
> He didn't ticket me.  It was odd.  He stood in traffic, literally, for AT
> LEAST five minutes lecturing me about California speed limits, stopping
> distances, and how to calculate distance from the vehicle in front.
> 
> Must've been a slow night for him.
> 
> I'm telling you, California is a police state.  I know of no fewer than
> six individuals who have recently, are currently, or soon will be serving
> on jury duty.  Probably more.  These are just the ones I'm immediately
> aware of.
> 
> Currently, the U.S. imprisons or jails more of its citizens than any other
> country in the history of civilization (I learned this in a documentary at
> Sundance Film Festival).  California leads the nation with more of its
> citizens in jail or prison than all other 49 states combined.  California
> currently also has more jails and prisons than all other 49 states
> combined.  By the year 2010, or something, this figure is expected to
> double.  Thanks to the brilliant, three-strikes law (backed by the
> National Rifle Association) which sentences people to life in prison for
> things like theft, drug dealing, shoplifting, burglary and fraud, (a fact
> which jurors are forbidden from considering during their deliberations)
> the state of California soon will spend more on prisons than it will on
> education.
> 
> Juries literally can send a person to prison for 25 years to life for
> stealing a bottle of vitamins.  Of course, the jury isn't informed of the
> ramifications of their guilty verdict until after they've returned it.
> The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld a conviction of this nature on
> appeal.
> 
> In case you're interested in a solid long-term investment, you might
> consider putting your money in the California state prison industry.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Mark Olsen