s and suspending driving privileges. Schools are closing and textbooks are falling apart, but the lodge at Rocky Gap State Park stays sufficiently funded costing taxpayers dearly. This is likened to the guy who makes his car payment but comes up short for child support. I advocate neither the state, the county, nor the dead-beat father. But what's fine for one to do should not be a crime for another.

Staring at cinder blocks, listening to sounds of heavy doors locking and unlocking, fed meals that just aren't enough for grown men. This is the life of the criminal if he gets caught. I keep hearing those words while playing spades with a hustler, "It's not cheating if you don't get caught." He deals us better hands, "reneges" to win the game. And I know he's doing it, but he's my partner. We wouldn't win if he didn't. Everyone cheats. That makes it even. So, it's only cheating if you get caught.

It reminds me of a line I read in John Martel's Conflicts of Interest. "Isn't it possible that the flapping of destiny's wings in your distant past might have set in motion a nonlinear force that could cause you to do something completely unpredictable at a crucial point in your life, something that could bury you in chaos?" And I think about the psychobabble connecting the ability to commit a crime to some traumatic experience in the criminal's childhood. And I think about the opposing stance that it's an excuse for justifying criminal behavior. Both are right. Both have merit. But I see an angle to the psychobabble. The criminal mind is merely a reflection of life and the way things are.

A small town in Western Maryland, Smallton has an infrastructure it can't afford. Schools, roads, public transportation and parks are just part of the resource draining scenario that worsens every year. Yet its citizens face stiff penalties, often jail time, for such offenses as writing bad checks. And the state doesn't even waste time making sure fathers pay child support by garnishing wages, withholding tax refunds and suspending driving privileges. Schools are closing and textbooks are falling apart, but the lodge at Rocky Gap State Park stays sufficiently funded costing taxpayers dearly. This is likened to the guy who makes his car payment but comes up short for child support. I advocate neither the state, the county, nor the dead-beat father. But what's fine for one to do should not be a crime for another.

I

if he didn't. Everyone cheats. That makes it even. So, it's only cheating if you get caught.

It reminds me of a line I read in John Martel's Conflicts of Interest. "Isn't it possible that the flapping of destiny's wings in your distant past might have set in motion a nonlinear force that could cause you to do something completely unpredictable at a crucial point in your life, something that could bury you in chaos?" And I think about the psychobabble connecting the ability to commit a crime to some traumatic experience in the criminal's childhood. And I think about the opposing stance that it's an excuse for justifying criminal behavior. Both are right. Both have merit. But I see an angle to the psychobabble. The criminal mind is merely a reflection of life and the way things are.

A small town in Western Maryland, Smallton has an infrastructure it can't afford. Schools, roads, public transportation and parks are just part of the resource draining scenario that worsens every year. Yet its citizens face stiff penalties, often jail time, for such offenses as writing bad checks. And the state doesn't even waste time making sure fathers pay child support by garnishing wages, withholding tax refunds and suspending driving privileges. Schools are closing and textbooks are falling apart, but the lodge at Rocky Gap State Park stays sufficiently funded costing taxpayers dearly. This is likened to the guy who makes his car payment but comes up short for child support. I advocate neither the state, the county, nor the dead-beat father. But what's fine for one to do should not be a crime for another.

ld bury you in chaos?" And I think about the psychobabble connecting the ability to commit a crime to some traumatic experience in the criminal's childhood. And I think about the opposing stance that it's an excuse for justifying criminal behavior. Both are right. Both have merit. But I see an angle to the psychobabble. The criminal mind is merely a reflection of life and the way things are.

A small town in Western Maryland, Smallton has an infrastructure it can't afford. Schools, roads, public transportation and parks are just part of the resource draining scenario that worsens every year. Yet its citizens face stiff penalties, often jail time, for such offenses as writing bad checks. And the state doesn't even waste time making sure fathers pay child support by garnishing wages, withholding tax refunds and suspending driving privileges. Schools are closing and textbooks are falling apart, but the lodge at Rocky Gap State Park stays sufficiently funded costing taxpayers dearly. This is likened to the guy who makes his car payment but comes up short for child support. I advocate neither the state, the county, nor the dead-beat father. But what's fine for one to do should not be a crime for another.

own in Western Maryland, Smallton has an infrastructure it can't afford. Schools, roads, public transportation and parks are just part of the resource draining scenario that worsens every year. Yet its citizens face stiff penalties, often jail time, for such offenses as writing bad checks. And the state doesn't even waste time making sure fathers pay child support by garnishing wages, withholding tax refunds and suspending driving privileges. Schools are closing and textbooks are falling apart, but the lodge at Rocky Gap State Park stays sufficiently funded costing taxpayers dearly. This is likened to the guy who makes his car payment but comes up short for child support. I advocate neither the state, the county, nor the dead-beat father. But what's fine for one to do should not be a crime for another.

s and suspending driving privileges. Schools are closing and textbooks are falling apart, but the lodge at Rocky Gap State Park stays sufficiently funded costing taxpayers dearly. This is likened to the guy who makes his car payment but comes up short for child support. I advocate neither the state, the county, nor the dead-beat father. But what's fine for one to do should not be a crime for another.

It's not just small-town hypocrisy. President Bush reneged on funds to UNFPA to the tune of thirty-four million dollars. A promise to pay is a promise to pay and President Bush failed to do so. In another case years ago, few will forget the scandal involving senators and delegates cashing bad checks in Washington. They weren't sent to jail as I recall. How ironic that legislators push for stiffer penalties on crimes they themselves commit.

And it's OK for the state of Maryland to have a state lottery, but deny to its citizens gambling casinos and slot machines. I'm not necessarily an enthusiast of gambling, but I wouldn't mind playing cards or cashing in a payoff at a "Cherrymaster." The government has been able to fund quite a few things from having a state lottery. That could be a luxury its citizens could enjoy for themselves. Plus, Allegany County in Western Maryland has made it clear by the policies in place that prayer in school is strictly prohibited. But, it won't allow alcohol sales on Sunday. Clearly confusion exists concerning the separation of church and state.

These are just the simple examples. Government espionage and other high crimes are as real as the books written about them. They are hard to prove and just as hard to deny. It's OK for the government to kill of a person or a certain type of people. And if done right, the people won't even know they are a target. It's OK for a government to have a monopoly on the military, gambling or regulating goods. But, God forbid companies like Microsoft falter there. It's OK for government to influence or have an inside track on Wall Street and