Part 24 of the "Incarcerated American" series is to look at the proposed legislation to do something about the overpopulated prison system here in America. It is also to credit and Thank Senators Rand Paul (KY), and Cory Booker (NJ) as "Public Patriots" for setting down and looking at this with a bipartisan American approach and taking action, since much of Washington is currently so corrupt, contaminated, dysfunctional and full of nickel and dime freak show's like the recent shenanigan's to sue and impeach the President over nonsense like ObamaCare, Middle Eastern or Far Eastern conflict's, pop- culture show's on Hillary Clinton, or similar distraction's. This is an importante domestic issue that need's to be focused on. Some video, links and read below, then I will add some to it after.
Rand Paul, Cory Booker team up for REDEEM Act ... Thanx to PBS NEWSHOUR
***** PBS NEWSHOUR/ TRANSCRIPT: Rand Paul, Cory Booker team up for bipartisan reform of criminal justice system
***** CORY BOOKER: U.S. Senators Booker and Paul Introduce Legislation Calling for Criminal Justice Reform
*****************************************************************************
Private Prisons: How US corporations make money out of locking you up ... Thanx to TRUTHLOADER
***** HUFFPOST/ POLITICS: Reality Has Turned the Tide Against Private Prisons
***** ACLU: PRIVATE PRISONS
***** BUSINESS INSIDER: 11 Stunning Facts About America's Prisons
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
Thomas Hudson Pickering aka "Ranch Chimp", "Commie Tommie" & "Skool" (short for old school) to kid's locally
Right now in these trying economic times for most of us, we have an abundant amount of tax money being squandered to house/ incarcerate thousand's of American's, especially young American's for this privatized prison profiteering as you can see throughout this series in other posting's. While at the same time, it is taking serious/ large money away from our state and federal ran prison's and other institution's to house actual dangerous offender's ... and if they "fail" ... like all the other corporate privatization nonsense and scam's going on in America, they will even privatize more of those. I know how difficult this will be for the Senators to sell in Washington to the "establishment" politician's of the left and right, especially at an election time, the million's by corporate lobbyist's that is poured into these ventures and election's, etc (I point out here in Part 21 just how difficult this is to change, but you have to do it by changing law's, especially federal law too as Sen. Booker point's out, the law's "allow" them to milk basically ... and someone has to do it at some point), which is basically modern day racketeering, but it is a good start, so anything at this point is a plus when it comes to this, and this is more of a "positive" when you have politician's on board who are in agreement despite their political differences, instead of just an Attorney General or President trying to make a move "solo". It will also bring to light those hard question's and needed idea's that alwayz get swept under the rug, and instead inspire many more to push.
And what you see here although many still dont know is going on, is actually just the top of the chain in this, it is so deep full of all kind's of other contract's that are milking tax money, and even moreso the families of the inmates ... from those who sell black hair care and skin lotion product's to African American inmates as example, to selling the various junk food's at over inflated prices like candies and Ramen noodles, to coffee/ soup heating element's, portable fan's, phone card's, undergarment's, shoes, or all the other product's that are only allowed to be bought through their own commissary list's ... even when you send inmates money using these services like Ace Cash, they take cut's out of that and short inmates, and charge them for basic health, medical, hygienic need's/ item's that they also get tax money for and sell to families and inmates while pocketing the taxes and over- inflated commissary profit's both ... it's so deep. When there is such a system designed to incarcerate and willing to spend whatever it takes, there is much incentive to make a profit and for thing's to get out of control, especially when you dont watch where every dollar goes, and just loosely fund and fund. Since the last 30 or so year's on record (since the 1984 sentencing reform laws) show that this war on drugs for instance has done no good whatsoever when it comes to the drug issue, for just one example.
Folk's are alwayz wondering why we are so broke?, alwayz trying to dig out of a rut?, where is all the taxes going?, where much of the deficit comes in? ... well it's basically all these Wall St and corporate racketeer's just robbing America blind to be honest. And I am one who been talking about this for over 20 year's now ... this has been how long this has been going strong. I first noticed it year's back in Texas jail's and prison's, alot of them parole violator facilities, or them state type privately run jail's, etc. For instance, they were taking these small abandoned old closed jail's, institution's, hospital's, hotel's, etc, they would remodel them using inmates to do much in plumbing, electrical, carpentry/ construction to landscaping, etc, with only a few contracted outsiders to oversee and supervise, much labour done for free as work detail by inmates who had trades in the outside free world ... then having state liscensed/ approved inspector's come in to inspect and then give the green light to open and start business ... while most of the money that was coming from state tax money was being pocketed by other's. And there is a whole list of other services that these inmates even do for outside private businesses and agencies for free where tax, company, and private money is also being funneled to these detention center's and contractor's that use free prison labour to work their grunt job's, then they mark up/ fudge the invoices/ bill's on cost's ... and basically you have a system of like a neo- type slavery. To where today in 2014 they have grown to the point where they get million's upon million's from state and federal funding and build these new places as fast as shopping mall's. Then you have local's in many of these rural area's where the facilities are set up, selling contraband since they outlawed smoking for example, so they smuggle smokes/ tobacco products, drug's or whatever, many times even through underpaid detention officer's who barely make a couple bucks an hour above federal minimum wage, contract worker's, etc.
So how do you keep these institution's full and busy? Well ... you do it by legislating many petty law's that many arent even aware of, 3 strikes your out law's that can take a petty offender for any non violent or even non criminal type offense and make it a privatized prison only state jail type felony or whatever, to where you can get at least a 6 month sentence for the person and make an easy $35K/ $40K grand to shift that inmate through it's system. Your almost guaranteed that a high percentage of them will return for future revenues (for stockholders ... another $35K/ $40K grand a pop), being that the restriction's they have when they get out on parole, to where something as simple as not officially changing your address through the proper proceedures within 24 hours or so, can land you back for a couple month's, or not being able to pay back fee's/ fines/ cost's that are also imposed on you. Focusing on the "poor" youth is a plus and big target as seen by these "investor's", and many of those are folk's of "colour" ... they're young and poor, they dont know yet that much about law and their rights, they get a petty drug possession case or whatever, get into court, get assigned a public defender who worx behind the scenes with the prosecution ... the lawyer/ defender comes back to the defendant/ kid after a closed door meeting with prosecution (this is so pre- planned and rigged, that many times the defense dont even meet with the prosecution, actually tell's the kid to wait in a court conference room, while the defense takes a 10/ 20 minute break to hang out, take a piss, or have a smoke outside), and tell's the kid that the case the state has is strong and if the kid tries to challenge it at a trial they "could" get some ridiculous maximum amount sentence, so it's a gamble ... which makes the kid worry and take any deal, then tell's the kid to take a cop- out plea deal and let the court/ judge give a sentence on the deal (even judges been busted supplying these institution's with kid's/ inmates), etc ... and when they're young and disorganized ... it's easy to keep them returning in some way to the system, so it's like a long- term investment ... and even when they're "off paper" (parole/ probation) have them locked in for life in their database for "prior offenses" to use as precedent for future conviction(s), etc.
In Texas for example (and my guess in some other states) when it comes to doing time and defense ... the more money you spend, the less likely you are to do time on any non- violent offense. I was talking to a young lady recently for examples here (white female), she went and done several month's in a state jail for under $20 worth of cocaine possession, slapped with a couple thousand in fines, fee's, etc (she had a court appointed attorney, she couldnt afford defense) after getting out, she now is trying to get her life back together, she is engaged to be married in several month's, she has a job and worx hard, and pretty much other than that is a straight up citizen. Another guy (white male) I talked to about a year ago had 6 bust's/ arrest's for drunk driving, he is an independent contractor in HVAC (heat- ventilation- a/c) who makes good money ... he hired a good defense lawyer for instance, he was slapped with well over $15,000 in defense fee's and court cost's/ fines/ probation fee's, etc, but he never done a day of any time incarcerated on any of his conviction's, and this guy was an alcoholic pretty much who alwayz drove drunk putting himself and other's in danger. These are just 2 cases, to show the reality here in Texas ... I could recall many other cases that are similar.
Understand that these folk's that create these law's and institution's dont give a rat's ass about cleaning up crime, making your middle class or poverty class neighbourhood safer, trying to reform or rehabilitate anyone, especially the youth, or frankly give a shit about the nation/ America, the youth, or the poor who get abused by this system ... their bottom line is one thing only, and that is to make a buck/ profit ONLY ... nothing else matter's. It's time to work on shutting them down and saving our nation a bundle in doing so ... and would even be nicer to incarcerate some of those racketeer's from Wall St, Washington and the private sector's in some of those institution's that they had built and used for so long for their racketeering ventures ... and make bet's on them (like at the fight's/ boxing or horse races) on how well they can survive in the real world ... the world that they throw some of these young kid's into that doesnt rehabilitate the kid or do anything of any value, a system more negative and abusive than anything positive for a kid in many cases. It is time again (like during the Great Depression or the late 1960's, when thing's also got out of control in the last century) to reform, revitalize and reinforce our democracy (or what is actually a "republic" design) and system, and the people of this nation to lobby for a change, and importantely in our communities, not just Washington. To really get where we need to be, we need to put our money not offshore as much in war's/ occupation's, building more prison's or whatever, but invest in our American public institution's, school's, and community rehabilitation programmes, drug issue intervention and treatment center's and education of such ... not giving more billion's and billion's in corporate welfare so they can squander, rip- off and take this nation further into the ground than they already have ... especially locking down our children.
THAT is the Reality ... Word Out ....
*****************************************************************************
***** PD/ RCJ" "INCARCERATED AMERICAN" PART'S 23 THRU 1
***** PD/ RCJ: "PUBLIC PATRIOT'S" PART'S 33 THRU 1
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
***** RANCH CHIMP JOURNAL "WELCOME" POST
***** RCJ MUSIC/ ART'S HONOUR ROLL SOCIETY (my hand- selected music/ arts picks)
***** RCJ/ THOMAS PICKERING: GOOGLE+ (video posts)
***** THE RESISTANCE/ PERIL'S OF THE POWER POSSE (inspiration for hope & change) ... to be viewed as a "profit- see", not a "prophecy".
*****************************************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment