So we got what we asked for.

We asked for tough-on-crime legislation.

We asked for mandatory minimums and inflexible charges.

We asked to try juveniles as adults.

We asked for more and harsher prisons.

We asked, in short, to do what children do -- be allowed to lash out immediately and instinctively at wrongdoers, vent our rage and grief and fear without restraint and without guilt.

We didn't want to know if it worked, if any of these measures actually reduced crime.

We didn't care that studies show that the death penalty does not deter crime, or that juvenile crime has been dropping for five years in a row (and not as a result of our draconian juvenile-offender laws -- future punishment doesn't deter kids).

We wanted to drink deeply of the bitter fountain of revenge. Pure, naked retribution, Old Testament-style.

What is good with America:
A local SLO company, Ernie Ball, chooses on its own to pay its employees a "living wage" instead of a minimum wage. Says, the president of the company, Sterling Ball, "It's contrary to a lot of traditional business theories, I know," Ball said. "But I did it because it's the right thing to do, fundamentally." Read the article.

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