My friend Gary Emmett reminds me, in connection with the Valerie Plame affair, that one of the observances of the Days of Awe — the time between Rosh HaShanah, which was last weekend, and Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown tomorrow — is kaporot [*], which echoes the much older ceremony of driving the scapegoat out into the wilderness. [*].
Now imagine with me, if you will, George Bush whirling Scooter Libby three times around his head, saying, “This is my substitute, this is my exchange, this is my atonement. This turkey will enter prison, and I will enter upon a successful re-election campaign.”
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman