Which is also unconstitutional. Each case must be decided on its merit. Mandatory sentencing violates due process protections and interferes with the judiciary's powers, which also violates the separation of powers doctrine.
Which is the logical equivalent of claiming that your dog licked you only because they are panting. Both stated factors are parts of federal sentencing guidelines, a third is pandering to the "law and order" sets of both LW and RW constituencies.
Aggregate metrics are based on how the "average" individual within a country is living. And if you understand basic statistics, such metrics can provide you with a fairly accurate picture of daily life in said country. You don't need to go to Switzerland or Germany to know that they're good countries. I don't base my assessment on any particular metric, but on a combination of metrics. The US is definitely within the top 10% of countries. But the boastful assertion by Americans that they're the greatest, the best, the number one country in the world is highly dubious. The same way Americans can declare other countries "bad" or "evil" despite never having experienced them: By relying on data and observation.
Your question is just an attempt to sidestep the ethical issue I'm raising. You don't want to address the perverse nature of corporations feeding off tax money because it severely undercuts the "USA SO GREAT" shibboleth we've been indoctrinated with.
The problem with the "justice" system isn't primarily about its mistakes, although those are far too frequent and severe. The problem with the "justice" system is that it is fundamentally unjust.
He just named some. Non-violent drug offenses. Why do you require more examples? Is there some magic number of imaginary crimes that the government is allowed to make up before it becomes unjust? But since you asked, we can also include non-violent sex offenses as well. Specifically, anything involving consensual sexual acts between adults. There is absolutely nothing "criminal" about two consenting adults exchanging money for sex. So there is another class of imaginary crimes that the law enforces. Do you require more examples or is that enough?
The American revolution was a "crime" against the British empire. You would have been a Tory for sure.
People are sent to prison for all sorts of ridiculous reasons. It's why millions of Americans are demanding criminal justice reform, because the system is so obviously broken. Unfortunately, the robotic "law and order" types are standing in the way of progress, defending a corrupt system that's been captured by the rich and the powerful. I take solace knowing that they are slowly but surely losing the battle. Americans are waking up to how dysfunctional and unjust the legal system has become.
I don't really care whether the US is the greatest or the freest. There is no objective measure to determine that. I have visited and or lived in about thirty countries and five continents. This is where I feel most at home and where I want to be.
My problem isn't with people who feel most comfortable living in America. I feel the same way. My problem is with people who go around boasting about how great they supposedly are compared to the rest of the world.
Unfortunately I'm not as confident as you are about that. The vast majority of Americans barely even know what the First Amendment covers, never mind the rest of the Bill of Rights.
I believe we are great compared to the rest of the world. I don't care whether someone comes up with some artificial standard that says we are not as great or greater than some other specific country. To me, that is meaningless. We have different values and preferences. What is great for me, may not be so great for you.
He in fact did not mention any in the posts of his that I replied to And could you be more vague with your “examples”?
Of course they did. They also decided that corporations (a paper created fiction) have the same protected rights as human beings and that money = speech. That changes nothing I posted.