I Vote

I have no race prejudices, and I think I have no color prejudices or caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. Indeed I know it. I can stand any society. All that I care to know is that a man is a human being--that is enough for me; he can't be any worse.
- Mark Twain "Concerning the Jews"

The New York Times today reports that America ranks sixth in the world in the number of journalists jailed. This is disgraceful. There is no excuse for it. Not one excuse.

Of the 227 countries, we are the third largest in terms of population. Not sixth.

We spend huge amounts of our tax and treasure to ensure we are well policed from sea to felonious sea. We spare nothing for our boys in blue. We have law enforcement agencies ranked first in the world for technology, equipment and training. Not sixth. First.

And we have, by far, the most media outlets. The Texas Media Index lists sixty pages of media outlets for the city of Houston alone. We have the most newspapers and the most newspapers per capita than any other country in the world. We are number one in this regard. Not number six. Number one.

And the best we can do in terms of journalists jailed is sixth? It makes me want to vomit. The Ronnie Earles of this world would much rather spend their time indicting Congressmen and shaking down little old blue haired ladies at the airport for their knitting needles than to invest in the tough police work which results in getting journalists out of the city room.

I'll be voting.