Read it, retch, and rebel—The state of Florida is now operating two “faith-based” prisons—one for men, the other for women. A spokesperson for Gov. Jeb Bush says there’s no legal problem, the soul-saving is financed by volunteers. Chimed in one of the Bible thumpers: “We need to bring humanity back into these people, to humanize them again. Faith is just one way of doing that.”

Meanwhile, let us prey—Russ Stone, a financial planner and promoter of religion in the work place, told the New York Times that with the persistent revelations of accounting scandals, his clients are becoming more open to mixing faith and business. Sometimes people will tell him they’re having difficulty resolving business decisions. His response: “Why don’t we pray on it?”

Astonishing—The Los Angeles Times had an interesting account of the annual science fair at the Los Angeles convention center. Participants included prize-winning science students in middle and high schools. At the convention the young researchers discussed scientific issues (ocean pollution, etc.) with professors. A Times headline writer seemed astonished. The headline read: “Young minds want to know—Students at annual county science fair tackle grown-up research subjects.”

Landlords 101—Students at the University of California, Irvine are resisting administration moves to evict pupils from a campus trailer park. The administration wants it for a parking lot.

Maxed out—“U.S. credit card delinquencies rose to a record in the fourth quarter as the average unemployed worker took almost five months to find a new job, making it difficult for some Americans to keep up with payments, the American Bankers Association said.”—News item.

Why waste it on kids—A $1.5 million federal grant was earmarked for the Colorado health department to meet some of the needs of orphans and foster children. Through a “misunderstanding,” the fund was used to meet “administrative expenses.” The administrators are now scratching their heads about paying it back.

He had a sword cane?—In Denver, 500 cops and kin marched on City Hall and the county building to protest a 10-month suspension of a fellow cop who shot to death a disabled youth allegedly threatening his mother.

Check it out—We’re late in offering readers income tax tips. Like, if you inherited property in 2004, bear in mind that the first $1.5 million of assessed value is tax deductible, not $1 million as it was in earlier harsher years.

An antimony (Big word, eh?)—“Illinois physicians say skyrocketing liability insurance is driving them out of their hometowns and out of the state. Doctors blame lawyers for filing too many malpractice lawsuits, and lawyers blame doctors for making too many mistakes.”—News item.  
 
 
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