Well I know we were all hoping to put this off topic to bed, but today's Boston Globe has a feature story on "Captive Commerce." No, they're not writing about laogai in China, but the Billerica House of Correction (and other prisons across the state). Mattresses, pillows, and laundry bags are being stitched by convicts just a few miles from me, for which the inmates get paid $3.75 a day.And over in Framingham they're making US flags (tiny ones up to 10 by 12 -foot ones). No, they're not "prisoners of conscience." It's a low security "House of Correction," so they're in for driving while drunk (for the zillionth time), possession of controlled substances, burglary, and other anti-social behavior. Even so, that "Proudly Made in America" label may not always mean somebody out in suburbia is enjoying a "good job at a good wage" as a result. In the meanwhile, let's all of us behave, and enjoy the good wages and good works which our trade allows. Patrick Draine Billerica, MA
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