amateur philosophy

     I have been told, by amateur "philosophers" that crime is the will of God, and that this is God's way of, among other things, punishing the wicked. A "Miracle on 34th Street" moment for you--according to the government and laws of the United States, which can be seen in the workings of our insurance industry, God does not underwrite or sponsor crime.
     Most standard insurance policies exclude from coverage what are legally termed "acts of God'. That is why our government occasionally steps in and offers flood insurance to people living in areas where floods are common--because floods are an "act of God" not covered by a standard insurance policy.  This is because a widespread natural disaster would bankrupt any insurance company, not because the insurers are afraid to thwart the will of God by offering insurance against  divine retribution.
     You can, however, buy insurance against crime. Both car insurance and  homeowner's policies cover theft and vandalism, and life insurance pays if someone is murdered. So, according to our government and legal system, crime is not an "act of God".

The worst criminal in the world

     Who is the worst criminal in the world? Bernie Madoff, I suppose, since he has been sentenced to 150 years in prison, and he never left a bruise on anyone, other than a financial one.  Apparently you can do anything but crush people's pipe dreams and get sympathy.  How demonized Madoff has been by the public and the press is really beside the point--the point being that a 150 year sentence makes an ass of the law and with it the people, whose purpose the law supposedly serves.
     No one can serve a 150 year sentence. Or two consecutive life terms. These sentences, and others like them, are  the equivalent of sentencing someone to life imprisonment with the added proviso "and we really don't like you".  No one can serve two consecutive life terms, unless we resurrect them from the dead and imprison them again. The lifespan of a human is now about 80 , or fourscore, years, up from threescore and ten (70). This is the maximum sentence any court can actually impose. Anything else is ridiculous.
     Suggestion--can crimes against persons have the longest sentences--80 years being the limit?  Or do we have to pity the poor murderers for their psychological problems, which thieves apparently don't have? Can we just divide up this eighty years into reasonable segments, with multiple murder getting the longest sentence?  And petty crimes getting 30 days, and a sure 30 days, as they used to? Everything else, including investment scams, to be somewhere in between?  Enough said--the "courts as casinos" is a topic for another day.