If you have ever played the game MONOPOLY you know the phrase GO TO JAIL!!!

Seems pretty harmless part of the popular game.

But in the real world, jail is anything but harmless. In fact, jail-time is causing billions of dollars of damages to the country!

It works like this…The United States has the highest prison population in the world (see chart below).

1 in every 31 adults facing probation (in prison or outside of prison) or on parole.

Courtesty Wikipedia

The problem is… prisons aren’t working well. These “correctional” institutions are not correcting the inmates as many return to crime upon release.

Writer Adam Serwer found the large prison population is costing the economy big time.

“US economy los[t] the equivalent of 1.5 to 1.7 million workers…but there was also a national $57 billion to $65 billion loss in productivity and output”

Clearly, the answer isn’t to just “let criminals go,” but there is some validity to rethinking our prison system as a whole.

Non-violent offenders, including “financial fraudsters” (as Andrew Sullivan puts it), could serve an alternative sentence of sorts, giving up their assets, doing community service, and operating under a curfew. This way, these non-violent criminals would not need to be a burden on the state.

Maybe this is something we should stop to think about. What do you think? Are there better alternatives for these non-violent offenders or the prison system as a whole?

Whereas, transgender and gender non-conforming children and youth are among the least understood, most marginalized and underserved of populations despite constituting at least one percent of all children and youth; and 

Whereas, transgender children who receive the love and support of their families, friends, neighbors, communities, schools and culture have every opportunity to thrive and be successful; and 

Whereas, transgender children and youth have identities that are, in every way as authentic, valid and natural as cisgender children and youth; and 

Whereas, transgender adolescents deserve access to pediatric medical care and healthcare coverage that affords them the opportunity to experience physical puberty in a way that is congruent with their gender identity; and 

Whereas, all Oregon children and youth are guaranteed the right to express their gender identity as they experience it by the Oregon Equality Act, and they have the right to be educated in a safe, respectful and supportive school environment as required by the Oregon Safe School Act. 

Now, therefore, I, Sam Adams, Mayor of the City of Portland, Oregon, the “City of Roses,” do hereby proclaim December 5 through December 11, 2010 to be Transgender Child Awareness Week in Portland, and encourage all residents to observe this week.

For College and High Schools students, this can be a stressful time of year, what with final exams, holiday shopping, final exams, family reunions, final exams and… oh… did we mention final exams?

Whatever the cause of your stress, we have the cure: BUBBLE WRAP.

There is nothing more satisfying than popping bubble wrap, but if you don’t have any on hand for emergency stressful situations, don’t despair!  You can pop bubble wrap online.  It’s not quite the same of course, but it still has the  same”pop” sound that somehow relieves tension.  Try it out here, and be sure to check out “manic mode”.  There’s also perpetual bubble wrap, if you don’t want the fun to ever end.

Christmas is just around the corner, and you can hardly wait.  You leap down the stairs and look beneath the tree and what do you find….ponies! Not quite, but one man was almost as lucky.

A homeowner’s grandson was reportedly caught receiving 110 pounds or approximately $400,000 worth of marijuana. The package was sent to the wrong address and the grandson ended up in handcuffs. A 29-year old self-employed musician came forward to authorities and confessed that the package was intended for him.

Have a creative idea or research plans?

· URA provides up to $1500 to undergraduate students to support their research or creative work with a UMBC faculty mentor

· Students of all years and disciplines may apply

· Start now: Proposal Deadline — March 3, 2011

ABSTRACT: The threat of bacterial pathogens, such as the anthrax-causing Bacillus anthracis, as biological weapons has made it more urgent to understand the mechanism and properties of bacterial endospores. In harsh conditions the bacterium transforms into endospores which can remain dormant for many years and then germinate in favorable conditions, such as a human host. A detailed understanding of certain spore characteristics can help improve the methodology and instruments used by first responders in a biohazard emergency to ensure rapid, accurate, and non-invasive detection. This study attempts to use the characteristic of intrinsic fluorescence to differentiate molecular species by their unique spectra. The effects of certain germinant nutrients and temperature on the growth and germination of the Bacillus spores were also characterized. A comparative analysis was done of the spectra of different strains of Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus (both simulants for Bacillus anthracis) grown in three different growth media. After several calibration curves of Dipicolinic acid (DPA) and DPA complexes were created, the samples were scanned for these endogenous fluorescent molecules. Measurements of the concentration of the fluorescent DPA complexes were used to follow the germination of the spores.

To read a q&a with Neeti and to find out more information about her research, click on the website below!