The word change dates back to the 13th century and is a derivative of the Latin cambiare, which means to exchange, or barter. Today, the dictionary tells me that change means “to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone.” Maybe we can specify “politics” or “government” as that “something” and Obama fans can put it on a button and wear it on their sleeves along with their naiveté.

Last October I had a few lapses in judgment. One was dying my hair dark brown, one was a less-than-perfect life choice, and the other was getting a little turned on by Barack Obama. On October 3, 2007, Obama was campaigning in Independence, Iowa, raping the dry husk that is the American Dream, *giggle* when one reporter noticed something strange.

“You don’t have the American flag pin on. Is that a fashion statement?” he asked and pointed out that politicians had been wearing them since September 12, 2001.

At that moment, my world stood still as Obama spoke. He said he stopped wearing the pin on his lapel after 9/11 when it became “substitute for… true patriotism” and that his ideas for America will prove to be a testament to his patriotism. Immediately, I fell in love, but others saw it as a weakness and further questioned his patriotism and support of American troops overseas. “You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who serve. And you show your patriotism by being true to your values and ideals. And that’s what we have to lead with, our values and ideals,” Obama said the next day in a response to the attacks. That, I think, is the spirit of change Barack Obama wants to embody, but has failed terribly at in recent days. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that his supposed candor is nothing but eloquent rhetoric that is just as malleable as any other politician’s promises.

You’ve most likely seen the numbers on US prisons that have been making the rounds. More than one in every hundred adults in the United States is in jail or prison, amounting to more than 2.3 million Americans behind bars. This record rate of incarceration in the “land of the free” far exceeds that of any other country, both numerically and as a percentage of the overall population. State governments shell out an average of $50 billion a year on corrections, while the feds pick up the bill for another $5 billion, according to a study by the nonpartisan Pew Center On The States that included data from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Prisons.