WTF is going on???

Yes, this blog is heavily China-related (if not entirely), but there are those stories every now and then that you just can't pass up and that have no connection to China, except for the fact that the US, with its much smaller population, is incarcerating more people than China.

That's right, 1 in 100 American adults are in jail or prison. The stats get even more shocking when you break it down by age and race, 1 in 9 black men between the ages of 20 and 34 are behind bars. When you think that another 2 or 3 probably end up dead in that age group, its simply mindboggling. This is exhibit A in why Barack Obama as US President would be a very inspiring thing for so many people.

When the news is so focused on steroids in sports, with Marion Jones in jail and Roger Clemens possibly heading there, its not really surprising that there are so many people in jail, but have our priorities gotten a bit messed up? Aren't there other ways to punish people? Shouldn't society's focus be on other things? Why isn't this something anybody is talking about???

AP article: Record-High Ratio of Americans in Prison