Social Chat

One of the classes I’m teaching this semester focuses on prisons and corrections. More specifically, we’ve been delving into the topic of what it means to punish and correct behavior. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the US Constitution as it relates to medical care for prisoners. The eighth amnt of the US Constitution stipulates that prisoners have a constitutional right to a degree of medical treatment and that intentionally disregarding a prisoner that has a serious health issue is considered cruel and unusual punishment and a violation of that individuals cicil rights. The ARTICLE addressed for this week centers around the State of CA. Apparently a Federal Judge recently ruled that the state was in contempt for not adequately taking care of its prisoners in CA. They have been ordered to pay 8 BILLION to improve its facilities. What do you think of this and why.

This week’s focus is on the Federal Communication Commissions (FCC) authority to penalize TV Networks for using foul language. Check out this CNN VIDEO that reviews the situation. You can also click HERE to read a short article that covers the story. For years the FCC has had authority to limit the kind of language used on TV. Critics claim that not only is such a rule a freedom of speech issue, but also gives the FCC too much discretion (critics also charge that the FCC’s rulings are not consistent). What do you think?