For me, and possibly you, the Manson “family” has been a reoccurring presence. I was 11 when the Tate-LaBianca murders happened, and certain names were indelibly etched into my memory–Charles Manson, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten. Their names have kept popping up over the years, usually in relation to parole hearings. And each time, the gruesome details are recounted.

Except for Manson, who is insane, all developed into model prisoners. And interestingly, after all this time, only one of them has died–Susan Atkins, in 2009, of cancer.

This morning, I read that Leslie Van Houten was denied parole for the umpteenth time. Parole was recommended, but Gov. Jerry Brown denied it, saying she “currently poses an unreasonable danger to society.” I’ll confess, there is a very large part of me that wants to see her released. She’s not the same person she was at age 19. But after reading, again, what she did in 1969…well, it’s shocking.

In Norway, the maximum prison sentence is 20 years, regardless of the crime. A person might remain imprisoned longer than that, but the initial sentence doesn’t go beyond 20 years. There is no “life sentence,” and certainly nothing like our obscenely unjust “three strikes” laws, which are so beloved by law-and-order politicians.

Part of the reasoning, in Norway, is that people change over time. I’m reminded of the scene in “The Shawshank Redemption” where Red says at his parole hearing, “I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can’t. That kid’s long gone, and this old man is all that’s left.”

Norway apparently believes in redemption and life-change. In America, our focus is punishment and vengeance. You can argue that some of these Manson fanatics did redeem themselves, but must continue paying the consequences. I don’t know. It’s an interesting discussion to have.

Donald Trump has ramped up his enthusiasm for torturing prisoners, saying we need to do the “unthinkable.” What do you think he means? Pulling out fingernails? Attaching electrodes? Breaking toes? Gouging out eyes? Raping family members in front of prisoners? When you’re talking “unthinkable,” all of this is fair game. So if you’re going to vote for Trump, you might want to learn what exactly “unthinkable” means to him.

This would obviously go way beyond what the Bush administration started, striking at the heart of what we stand for. And it would make it profoundly absurd to then sing, “God Bless America.”

Republicans have been criticizing President Obama for not canceling his Latin America trip after the Brussels attack. Apparently he was supposed to go back to Washington, issue a sober statement condemning Islamic terrorism, then sit in the Oval Office wringing his hands. All of the presidential candidates, of course, canceled their itineraries upon learning of the attacks.

About 32 people were killed in Brussels.

Earlier in 2016, terrorist attacks killed 60 in Libya, 32 in Cameroon, 63 in Somalia, 30 in Burkina Faso, 55 in Iraq, 86 in Nigeria, 60 in Nigeria, 28 in Turkey, 24 in Cameroon, 80 in Iraq, 32 in Somalia, 62 in Iraq, 48 in Tunisia, 22 in Ivory Coast, 38 in Turkey, and 18 in Egypt.

Where was the outrage from Republicans over these attacks? Why weren’t they demanding that Obama cancel his schedule after these attacks? Don’t all lives matter?

We shouldn’t care only when terrorists kill people in a white Christian European country. That would be the R word.

Some amusing comments being posted on Twitter about Ammon Bundy and his merry band of militia in Oregon.

• Every successful revolution starts with the takeover of a closed visitor center with gift shop.
• So just to be clear, these are the good guys with guns, right?
• So a bunch of white guys are on Native American soil crying about wanting their land back from a tyrannical and oppressive system.
• Occupying a backwoods federal building is a brilliant way to speak truth to…4 stoned hikers just looking to pee inside.
• Wait, men are playing in a park with actual real guns?
• In order to avoid potential bloodshed, authorities urge the militia members to remain white.
• White men with guns stealing land? Never heard of such a thing.
• So does this mean I’m allowed to grab a gun and “occupy” any federal building I want? God I love being white.

In recent years, nearly ever building at our Laurel Mission in Kentucky was severely damaged by coal-mining underneath the mission property.

Lately, I’ve been reading about the numerous small earthquakes occurring in Texas and Oklahoma as a result of fracking. The huge amounts of waste water being pumped back into the ground are upsetting the geological balance. Between 2013 and 2014, the number of magnitude 3+ earthquakes in Oklahoma increased from 109 to 585. The state even put up a website about it.

Nothing terrible has happened yet, though I’m sure owning property with regular tremors doesn’t help property values. And no corporation will locate a new factory there. It’s only going to get worse, until the oil companies figure out (and they eventually will) a different way to handle waste water. Until then..well, hey.

Last week I read about much worse developments in the Netherlands, which is pumping enormous amounts of natural gas out of the earth. It has caused hundreds of minor earthquakes, with considerable damage. Walls are cracking, fireplaces crumbling, buildings tipping, pipes bursting, doorways snapping, roofs buckling. Over 200,000 homes have been damaged, with 90,000 homes now considered uninhabitable.

The Dutch government offered an apology. Like that’ll help.

That, Texas and Oklahoma, is probably your future. Mess with God’s earth, and God’s earth messes with you.

Of course, oil companies just argue, “The science isn’t conclusive. We can’t say for CERTAIN that fracking is causing this.” The same argument tobacco companies used against charges that smoking causes cancer. And that oil companies use against evidence that carbon emissions are causing climate change. And that food processors used against claims that sugary foods cause obesity and diabetes. “It hasn’t been proven conclusively.

Both Texas and, most recently–on June 1–Oklahoma have passed laws which prohibit localities (cities, counties, etc.) from banning fracking. So if you want to protect your property values by keeping oil companies away…tough luck. They can come and frack all they want. We The People have no recourse.

If I were you, I wouldn’t buy property in Texas or Oklahoma.