Via the fabulousness that is Making Light, this:

and a whole slew of other really cool, really twisted knitting. This is don’t-try-this-at-home fiber art, kids–no namby-pamby cable knit or fair isle nonsense here. Though I think the stool on which the tray, sword, and head rest is an actual un-knit stool.

So, the Pew Center on the States reports that 1 in 100 American adults is in our prison and jail system, a rate that exceeds every other country on earth.

In response, both the New York Post and the New York Times have published pieces which say, in essence, “Yeah, but we’ve got the lowest crime rates in the last fifty years.”

It’s interesting that New York publications say this because more than any other state in the US, the number of prisoners and prisons they have is actually down 17%. So I guess the increases in other states prison populations is keeping the crime rate down in New York.

Huh?

It’s also interesting that Texas, with one of the largest prison systems in the country, had decided that it can no longer maintain such a large prison population. Rather than increase the number of cells, legislators from both parties are instead spending half a billion on other programs to cut down on that population including “a dramatic expansion of drug treatment and diversion beds.”

The fact is that there are people in prison who should be there. But, unfortunately, there are a huge number who pose no threat to their communities and would be better served through some combination of drug treatment, probation, and job training.

Here’s the report.