Friday, Series Tied 1-1, Links

Prison Gerrymandering

Census Bureau’s Counting of Prisoners Benefits Some Rural Voting Districts:

Concerns about so-called prison-based gerrymandering have grown as the number of inmates around the nation has ballooned. Similar disparities have been identified in upstate New York, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Critics say the census should count prisoners in the district where they lived before they were incarcerated.
…
Prof. James A. Gardner of the University at Buffalo Law School, said that because “prisoners don’t want to be there, leave at the first opportunity, and there’s no chance they can vote, it is taking advantage of a completely inert population for the purpose of sneaking out extra political power.”
The Prison Policy Initiative found 21 counties across the country where at least one in five people, according to the Census Bureau’s count, were actually inmates from another county.

This kind of distortion isn’t surprising, as the many layers of our system contain gross population distortions (I’m looking at you US Senate). This type of distortion is directly stealing political power away from urban areas and shifting it to rural areas (where the prisons are). That the current state-by-state solution is being undertaken instead of a coordinated Federal solution is certainly an Equal Protection suit waiting to happen along the lines of
Bush v Gore (hello, USSC, thanks for opening that can of worms up).

Turin: Not Just Bloody Shrouds

, originally uploaded by bryanboyer

In Turin, the Olympic Glow Hasn’t Yet Faded:

The days when Turin was known exclusively as the home of automakers and a certain bloody shroud are over. Since hosting the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, Turin, a northern Italian city along the Po River, has been transformed from a nondescript industrial city into a cosmopolitan center of artisanal food and modern design.
“Twenty years ago, Turin was still just a one-company town,” said Alessandro Bertin, a city spokesman. “But in the last few years, the city is being reinvented by young industrial design studios and high-end food.”

I have to admit: I had completely forgotten that the 2006 Winter Olympics were in Turn.

(Fake) Hollywood Director Attack Ads


In the manner of John Woo, Kevin Smith and Wes Anderson. Of note: this was all shot in and around my building. Brooklyn, represent (or something).