Inmates need their floss!

I was cleaning up the house a little today as Teri is coming to visit in about a week. That means I have to make my condo look like I clean every day and care how things look. Actually, I don't care at all. But I decided to do a few things anyway and then lie down and rest up. First I checked the top of my fridge. I'm not tall enough to see up there, but it's where I always put newspaper articles that I think are worth saving. But by the time I check them out, too much time has passed and they mean nothing to me. Also, they're covered in dust, so I just throw them all away. However, today I found an article in the newspaper from 2012 about dental floss! I'm a  floss addict - I floss three times a day - every time I eat. 

So this is what the article was about. Seems like 11 inmates at the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla, NY,. filed a $500 million lawsuit demanding access to dental floss. I say, "Good for them!" But authorities say they have to consider security issues. Floss has been used to braid into ropes and escape over prison walls. It has been used to sew up gunshot wounds after escaping and stitch up a dummy left in the bed when the inmate escaped. Experts say floss or the plastic container it comes in has been used to strangle someone, to escape, to saw through bars, etc. The lead plaintiff, Santiago Gomez, said the jail was violating inmates' federally protected civil rights by not allowing inmates access to dental floss because they know it will cause cavities if you fail to floss your teeth. I'm with Santiago! The jail has furnished the inmates with "Floss Loops," circles of rubbery floss with no hard plastic so they can't be used as weapons. I don't know if that was ok with the inmates and if they dropped their suit. It wouldn't be ok with me!

New York's state prison system permits dental floss, but only the unwaxed variety as the waxed is much stronger. Now I don't go along with that. I use only the waxed kind because it is stronger! I hope I am never incarcerated in a NY state prison. I wonder if Teri could smuggle some in for me if that time ever comes.

The picture I used is of Teri, 5 months old, and me, over 5 months old. I used it because it looks like Teri may have some dental floss around her neck!