Jeff Doyle is a former correctional officer and parole agent who publishes the Pacovilla blog. When I opened my mail at the Atwater Federal Prison Camp early this morning, I found a printout of the Pacovilla blog that featured Mr. Doyle’s review of an article I wrote. Since I suspect that most readers of the [...]
Newspapers reported on some action in the Supreme Court last week. As a prisoner, I have some thoughts. On Wednesday, 3/21/2012, Justice Kennedy authored an opinion concerning defendants’ rights to effective counsel during plea negotiations, and Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan joined him to make the decision law. The far right faction of the [...]
On Monday, March 27, the Wall Street Journal published an article that described the booming business of prison consultants. Individuals who face imprisonment rely upon the consultants to guide them through the troubles to come. The consultants who were profiled in the article had served time of various lengths in federal prison. The article didn’t [...]
Michael has a new article on the Huffington Post: I Want My Human Rights Too! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-santos/i-want-my-human-rights-to_b_1376951.html Print PDF
I read a great book that brought insight into how Google’s algorithms drive search results. Date Read: March 26, 2012 Book Title: In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives Author: Steven Levy Read my review on Amazon.com Print PDF
Last week I and four other men from the Atwater Federal Prison Camp gave a presentation to at-risk youth from the Merced area. Mr. Vallero, a staff member assigned to the Special Investigative Services division of the custody department at the adjacent high-security penitentiary, leads this community service program that he calls “Visions.” The only [...]
George Melloan published a book review of Indispensable Counsel: The Chief Legal Officer in the New Reality, a new book by E. Norman Veasey and Christine T. Di Guglielmo. The authors had the credentials to write this book. It describes obligations chief legal officers, or CLOs, have in advising CEOs of publicly traded corporations in [...]
Several decades ago, the well-known German philosopher Max Weber wrote extensively about organizational systems and structures. Mr. Weber’s writings on the nature of bureaucracy may shed light on what Americans should expect from this criminal justice system. Whereas efficiencies and the pursuit of profit frequently motivate citizens from the business class, Mr. Weber’s writings explain [...]
American citizens who keep money in Swiss bank accounts should beware. If their motivation for maintaining numbered accounts in Switzerland is to hide those financial resources from U.S. authorities, Americans may want to rethink their strategy. Indeed, under a potential international treaty between Switzerland and the U.S., Americans with Swiss bank accounts may be inviting [...]
Book Title: One Click: Jeff Bezos and the rise of Amazon.com Book Author: Richard L. Brandt Date Read: March 10, 2012 Why I read One Click: I first heard about Jeff Bezos in 1998, when investment analysts who wrote about promising Internet companies wrote frequently about Amazon.com. In building that company, Jeff Bezos attracted [...]
