Rethinking and Rebuilding Progressivism in US Politics and the Democratic Party: Politics, Law and Courts, Foreign Affairs, Sports and Popular Culture...a great Berkeley blog
I think we need to try a last-ditch Bosnia-like peace conference that would bring together all of Iraq's factions and neighbors. Just as Bosnia could be solved only by an international peace force and the Dayton conference -- involving Russia, Europe and the U.S., the powers most affected by Bosnia's implosion -- the civil war in Iraq can be quelled only by a coalition of those most affected by Iraq's implosion: the U.S., Russia, Europe, Japan, India, China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Syria and Jordan. As in Bosnia, any solution will have to be some form of federalism, a division of oil wealth and policing by an international force, where needed.
For such a conference to come about, though, the U.S. would probably need to declare its intention to leave. Iraqis, other Arabs, Europeans and Chinese will get serious about helping to salvage Iraq only if they believe we are leaving and it will damage their interests.
Some fear that Iran will be the winner. But will it? Once we are out of Iraq, Iran will have to manage the boiling pot next door. That will be a huge problem for Iran. The historical enmity toward Iran by Iraqi Arabs -- enmity temporarily focused on us -- will re-emerge. And Iran will also have to compete with its ally Syria for influence in Iraq.
Yes, the best way to contain Iran would have been to produce a real Shiite-led democracy in Iraq, exposing the phony one in Tehran. But second best is leaving Iraq. Because the worst option -- the one Iran loves -- is for us to stay in Iraq, bleeding, and in easy range to be hit by Iran if we strike its nukes.
What would be the consequences of leaving without such a last-ditch peace effort, or if it just fails? Iraq could erupt into a much wider civil war, drawing in its neighbors. Or, Iraqis might stare into this abyss and actually come to terms with each other on their own. Our presence may be part of the problem. It's hard to know.
Join Larry Kissell, Democratic nominee for Congress in North Carolina's 8th District, this Thursday, August 3 from noon to 1 p.m. at Benjy Dunn's Filling Station in downtown Biscoe. Benjy Dunn's Filling Station is located at 103 West Main Street in Biscoe, near the stop light, right across from Kissell for Congress headquarters in Montgomery County.
Robin Hayes (NC-08) has taken nearly $250,000 from Energy Special Interests (1) and nearly $135,000 from Oil and Gas Interests (2) while voting for a final energy bill that gave away billions to Oil, Gas and Nuclear Industries (3). Hayes also voted three times (4) against cracking down on price gouging and lowering gas prices, and against giving consumers immediate relief (5) at the gas pump with increased investment in new energy sources like ethanol just last year.
"Now compare this with the behavior of advocacy groups like the Sierra Club, the environmental organization, and Naral, the abortion-rights group, both of which have endorsed Senator Lincoln Chafee, Republican of Rhode Island, for re-election. The Sierra Club’s executive director defended the Chafee endorsement by saying, "We choose people, not parties." And it’s true that Mr. Chafee has usually voted with environmental groups.
But while this principle might once have made sense, it’s just naïve today. Given both the radicalism of the majority party’s leadership and the ruthlessness with which it exercises its control of the Senate, Mr. Chafee’s personal environmentalism is nearly irrelevant when it comes to actual policy outcomes; the only thing that really matters for the issues the Sierra Club cares about is the “R” after his name.
Put it this way: If the Democrats gain only five rather than six Senate seats this November, Senator James Inhofe, who says that global warming is “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” will remain in his current position as chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. And if that happens, the Sierra Club may well bear some of the responsibility."
This argument amounts to a basic truth wrapped in a major fraud. Democrats have tacked left in recent years (though more in tone than in substance). But Zell Miller has moved, too. Far from representing some lonely, abandoned Democratic center, Miller has become a cartoonish GOP partisan...
Since then Miller has supported Bush on virtually every major Senate vote: No Child Left Behind, drilling for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, the Patriot Act, the GOP Homeland Security Department plan, the Iraq war, and a partial-birth abortion ban. Two years ago, he stopped caucusing with Democrats and now meets each week with Senate Republicans. More than that, Miller churns out more elaborate anti-liberal invective than most actual Republicans. Earlier this year he published A National Party No More, a long indictment of effete Democratic values and the party's subservience to groups like NARAL and the trial lawyers. During the Democratic Convention last month, Miller agreed to be a member of a Republican National Committee "truth squad." And while just three years ago Miller praised John Kerry as "one of this nation's most authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders, and a good friend," today he belittles Kerry as "so out of touch with the average American it would be comical if it were not so dangerous."
"Arnold Schwarzenegger promised us in 2004, ‘Trust me. Everything will be under control. Your lights will stay on.' And for three years, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been singing the music of California's deregulation scheme, thwarting efforts to create an environment that attracts clean power to California," said Angelides. "It's time to send a strong signal to the market that the failed deregulation experiment of Enron, George Bush, and the energy power pirates is over once and for all."
The Governor's energy policy can be summed up in four words: Pray for Mild Weather," said Angelides. "Governor Schwarzenegger has put California's energy in the hands of the power barons who have been fined more than $5.3 billion for market manipulation. The result is a crazy quilt energy policy that is not working for California."
* Within 100 days of taking office, unveil an action plan that will ensure the state has sufficient power with a 15 percent reserve - along with needed improvements to the transmission grid -- to provide adequate power to protect our families, our economy, and our businesses.
* Reinvigorate the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority to build and invest in new power plants if the utilities and energy generators do not, and to finance transmission improvements to protect us from price manipulation, gouging, and blackouts. The Authority would also finance large scale solar and renewable power projects to meet and exceed the state's renewable energy portfolio standards.
* Name an energy czar to focus on attracting new renewable and gas-fired generation to the state and improve the state's energy efficiency programs.
Angelides also said he would support legislation (AB 974) to streamline the electrical transmission facility permitting and siting process. The plan would address eliminating regulatory overlap, reducing review and approval times, and providing expedited review of transmission lines.
In a nice article on this race, Clay Risen of the New Republic notes the East-West cultural and political divide that exists in Tennessee, and how this shapes the character:
"But Tennessee conservatism is different from, say, Alabama conservatism. West Tennessee is a culturally conservative place; but the state GOP's roots lie in east Tennessee, where voters going back to the Civil War have held conservative notions about government and the market while eschewing the reactionary cultural and racial politics that have beset other parts of the South. (In 1861 the region even tried to rejoin the Union after the state seceded.) East Tennessee has provided the country with such moderate Republican senators as Howard Baker and Lamar Alexander, and it gave Democratic senators like Al Gore Sr. and Estes Kefauver the political room to support the civil rights movement. And while solidly conservative, it is never a lock for the GOP--many east Tennessee voters crossed party lines in 2002, providing the winning edge for Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen."
So how can Angelides unify and solidify this base of voters? Speak to issues on which they have common ground. And I think the key here is emphasizing a key theme on which Arnold did well on in his recall campaign (and then not so well in the 2005 special election)--reform.
Reform
How about backing Proposition 89--the proposal for public financing of elections? This would be the ultimate in pushing a "reform" agenda which Arnold championed during the recall election. Why not steal a page from Arnold and steal the thunder of Arnold's reformer-appeal? Unlike Arnold's "reform" agenda and support of certain initiatives in '05, which alienated and galvanized the unions and far left, Angelides would not face comparable backlash on this one. In fact, if corporate interests (the Chamber of Commerce, for example, which is probably already in Arnold's camp anyway) start attacking Angelides, this may actually raise his stock with the Democratic party faithful and rile them up enough to actually get them active and mobilized. As I wrote about in an earlier post, Arnold's support of the reform initiatives led to a rift and battle between unions and business interests, which ultimately hurt the proposals chances of winning, given that a well-organized coalition of nurses, labor, firefighters, etc. came together to defeat the initiatives.
So, Tom DeLay, the former bug exterminator-turned-U.S. House Majority Leader, raised millions — a lot of it from corporations — and spent it to turn key Texas House seats over to Republicans who would do his bidding with regard to redistricting.
President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have refused to call the worsening violence a civil war, but Rumsfeld, in often tense exchanges with senators, warned against pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq prematurely.
"If we left Iraq prematurely as the terrorists demand, the enemy would tell us to leave Afghanistan and then withdraw from the Middle East. And if we left the Middle East, they'd order us and all those who don't share their militant ideology to leave what they call the occupied Muslim lands from Spain to the Philippines," he said.
"Sectarian violence probably is as bad as I've seen it, in Baghdad in particular," Army Gen. John Abizaid, the head of U.S. Central Command, told a Senate hearing. "If not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move toward civil war."
Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, the most senior U.S. military officer, also said there was a "possibility" of civil war in Iraq, where the violence has claimed about 100 lives a day. Asked whether he would have seen a chance of civil war a year ago, He replied, "No, sir."
"Because of the administration's strategic blunders and frankly the record of incompetence in executing, you are presiding over a failed policy," said Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, a possible 2008 presidential candidate. "Given your track record, Secretary Rumsfeld, why should we believe your assurances now?"
Check out the picture of this guy sitting on his front porch, relaxing with a puppy on his lap. The guy looks really happy, and why shouldn't he be--he's not working, and has no immediate plans to do so. Seriously, though, this Times article details a growing trend among American males age 30-54--namely, that they won't work because the only jobs available are beneath their skill set/experience or are demeaning. FYI, the guy in the picture's name is Alan Beggerow.
Many of these men could find work if they had to, but with lower pay and fewer benefits than they once earned, and they have decided they prefer the alternative. It is a significant cultural shift from three decades ago, when men almost invariably went back into the work force after losing a job and were more often able to find a new one that met their needs.
Mr. Priga supports himself by borrowing against the rising value of his Los Angeles home. Other men fall back on wives or family members.
But the fastest growing source of help is a patchwork system of government support, the main one being federal disability insurance, which is financed by Social Security payroll taxes. The disability stipends range up to $1,000 a month and, after the first two years, Medicare kicks in, giving access to health insurance that for many missing men no longer comes with the low-wage jobs available to them.
No federal entitlement program is growing as quickly, with more than 6.5 million men and women now receiving monthly disability payments, up from 3 million in 1990. About 25 percent of the missing men are collecting this insurance.
Sometimes women who are working throw out men who are not, says Kathryn Edin, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania. In any case, without a household to support, there is less pressure to work, and for men who fall behind on support payments, an incentive exists to work off the books — hiding employment — so that wages cannot be garnisheed.
"The committee...while recommending a ban on employing children in these occupations, had said that these children are subjected to physical violence, psychological trauma and, at times, even sexual abuse," a government statement said, referring to the Technical Advisory Committee on Child Labor. "These children are made to work for long hours and are made to undertake various hazardous activities severely affecting their health and psyche," it said, in a statement released late on Tuesday.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) welcomed the ban but said its implementation was a challenge, as many of the children worked in homes and away from public view.
``Children working at homes or in eateries have very long hours and face isolation, and are far away from support systems,'' said Leyla Tegmo-Reddy, ILO's India representative.
``Often, these children take care of more privileged children, seeing the world that they don't have.''
Labor ministry spokesman M.L. Dhar said children working as domestic servants and in street restaurants, were vulnerable because crime against them often went unreported.
``For children working in houses, it is an difficult area (to investigate) as there is a question of privacy of people living there,'' Dhar said. ``But the government will evolve some methods.''
If Bayh and Warner could hold the Kerry States from 2004 and win back Iowa and New Mexico, then add their own home territories of Indiana and Virginia, they could carry the election, even without Florida or Ohio.
Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli, making his first bid for statewide elective office, acknowledged Monday that Republican contributors probably supplied most of the $100,000 that he said he spent gathering signatures to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot.
Romanelli said he expects to turn in far more than the required 67,070 signatures by Tuesday's deadline.
I have friends in all political parties. It's just that my Republican friends are more confident about standing with me than my Democratic friends. And as a group, my Republican friends are a little better off," he said in a telephone interview.
Romanelli, a Wilkes-Barre resident, supports abortion rights, while both Santorum and Casey oppose them. Political observers say Romanelli's candidacy would likely draw votes away from Casey, the state treasurer, who has held a double-digit lead over Santorum for months.
In Pennsylvania, 41% of likely voters say it is too easy to get an abortion, versus 23% who say it is too hard, and 24% who say the effort required is "about right." Fifty-two percent (52%) believe abortion is morally wrong, but only 34% agree that abortion should be banned except when the life of the mother is at risk. Fifty-two percent (52%) oppose such a ban.
A Casey campaign spokesman accused Santorum of "earmarking" GOP contributions for an ostensible opponent."He's been the biggest supporter of the Green Party candidacy," said the spokesman, Larry Smar.
Virginia Davis, Santorum's campaign spokeswoman, declined to answer questions about whether he solicited the contributions.
An analysis showed that at least $29,000 came from donors who also have given to Santorum's campaign, and nearly all the donors had given to Republican candidates in recent elections.
Imagine it. As people drive less, travel lanes fill with cyclists. Businesses reclaim adjacent street space for outdoor cafes and markets. Children play in the streets, and safely. Neighbors, no longer so constantly encased in glass and metal, speak more often. Trains connect city centers. More of these city centers are designed for walking and bicycling, as in Copenhagen or Amsterdam with their car-free streets downtown. Development, instead of spreading, clusters into compact, convivial communities, surrounded by green space. Parking lots become parks and gardens. Smog dissipates. Quietude grows as traffic noise fades. As cities become less motorized and more livable, people feel less need to escape them. Pressure on wilderness drops; a restorative neglect blesses outlying areas. More roads get ripped and revegetated. Creeks are freed from culverts. Erosion from road construction no longer chokes trout streams. The sheen of oil disappears from lakes and rivers. All manner of biological communities expand -- forests and prairies, wetlands and deserts.
We humans have gotten into the habit of driving most times we take a trip -- but when we pull out of the realm of habit, a trip becomes a point of decision-making, and an opportunity. Not many of us can function in today's society without ever entering a car. But all of us can be mindful of the ramifications of doing so, mindful of the choice we make when sliding behind the wheel, and mindful enough to reduce the amount we do it. To drive undermines restoration. To move about using other means -- walking and bicycling in particular -- gives restoration support. Driving less can mean fewer roads, fewer oil rigs, less mining, containment of sprawl, fewer pollutants, and a tentative flourishing of places like the one where I communed with the egret..
One day shortly after I decided to pursue a "car divorce," as I later came to call it, I stopped my bicycle on the bridge to watch the egret, and it occurred to me: Bird, I'm doing this for you. For myself, yes, but also for you and for the potential that this could catch on, that car culture could de-volve, that less driving will allow a restoration of your wild world
Three weeks ago, the administration released a 40-page report by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, with recommendations to hasten the end of Castro's government and assist a future transition to democracy. This year's report from the three-year-old presidential commission, now jointly headed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, pledged $80 million in new funding to aid opposition and democratic forces, including Miami-based broadcasts of Radio Marti, but it offered no new policy initiatives.
It is hard to believe that the worlds largest rainforest is being destroyed to feed the fast food industry in Europe. That's right, thousands of acres of pristine Amazon rainforest are burned everyday to make way for soy production for cheap chicken feed. But now the worlds biggest fast food chain has answered our call to save the Amazon. McDonald's has agreed to stop buying soy grown in newly deforested areas of the rainforest.
In order to truly protect the Amazon we need the same commitment from companies like KFC and the Amazons major soy-traders - Cargill, ADM, Bunge, Dreyfus and Amaggi. Weve just obtained a limited two-year moratorium from these traders on buying soy from deforested areas. But two years is not the permanent protection the Amazon needs, and if we dont act now, it could be no more than a token gesture.
Mozilla's has acquired about 15 percent of the global usage share in the nearly 21 months since it was released. In the same time span, Microsoft's Internet Explorer saw its share drop from the high 90s to just under 80 percent.
In the U.S., Firefox’s claim is even larger, with 15.8% in July up from 14.1% at the end of last year, according to Web analytics firm OneStat.
If households are classified by annual income, the sales tax is sharply regressive. Under the AFT proposal, taxes would rise for households in the bottom 90 percent of the income distribution, while households in the top 1 percent would receive an average tax cut of over $75,000. If households are classified by consumption level, a somewhat different pattern emerges. Households in the bottom two-thirds of the distribution would pay less than currently, households in the top third would pay more. Still, households at the very top would pay much less, again receiving a tax cut of about $75,000.
But growth projections also need to take into account transition relief. Consider a 65-year-old who retires the day that a sales tax takes effect. While she worked, her income exceeded her consumption and she paid income taxes. Now in retirement,—when her consumption will exceed income,—she will be asked to pay consumption taxes. Should she be given tax relief for consumption financed by drawing down her assets? Giving such people tax relief on their accumulated assets would raise the sales tax rate considerably and reduce growth, but not giving tax relief seems unfair. Politically, some sort of relief seems almost a certainty.
Estimates suggest a well-functioning, broad-based consumption tax, with limited personal exemptions and limited transition relief could raise income per person by up to 2 percent over 10 years. But more generous transition relief or erosion of the tax base would drive the growth effects to zero fairly quickly. These results stand in sharp contrast to AFT's claims that after 10 years of a sales tax, the typical American household would be at least 10 percent and "probably 15 percent better off" than they would have been otherwise.
In 1959, Captain Murtha took command of the 34th Special Infantry Company, Marine Corps Reserves, in Johnstown. He remained in the Reserves after his discharge from active duty until he volunteered for Vietnam in 1966-67, where he served as the S-2 intelligence officer for the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division and received the Bronze Star with Combat "V", two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
Kerry's plan would start with health coverage for all children by boosting federal reimbursements to states through their Medicaid programs. It also would allow individuals and employers to purchase the same health plan available to federal employees, and would reduce insurance costs across the board by having the federal government pick up catastrophic care insurance.
What I was talking about, Alan, which should not be distorted, is Iraq and the impact Iraq has had on the Middle East and the lack of diplomacy and involvement by this administration for several years. I'll give you a huge example.
For three years or more, this administration did not engage with France, Great Britain and Germany in the effort to keep Iran from having nuclear weapons. And our absence from that had a profound impact on their attitude.
In addition to that, the management of the war in Iraq has been such a disaster that this administration has lost credibility. I said again and again, I would not have gone into Iraq the way President Bush did, if I had to. I would have done that very differently, and our leverage, we would have a great different — a great deal more leverage in the region that we have today.
Obviously, I can't tell you that Hezbollah wouldn't do something bad. I can't tell you that they were going to snatch a couple of soldiers. I'm not saying that.
What I'm saying is Iraq would have been profoundly different, and our engagement and diplomacy would have been profoundly different. And the attitude of the United States towards the countries in that region would have been different, and as a result, we would have greater leverage and greater ability to protect our interests.
If Angelides wants to motivate his base, he should create a commercial showing Arnold’s support for Bush at the 2004 convention and his current boosting of Blair. In the background there would be photos of Americans who died in Iraq, coupled with footage of the death, misery and destruction that Arnold’s good friends George and Tony have brought to that country.
The chief reason Angelides trails is his lack of unified support among Democrats, including union members and those who identify as environmentalists. If Angelides can get Democrats back in his camp at levels that were achieved by John Kerry or Barbara Boxer in California’s 2004 election, he has a good chance to win.
The bulk of it -- $100 million -- will go toward $275 million in new facilities that will be called the Knight Management Center. The rest of the money will be used to match other donors' gifts to endow faculty positions. Officials say the new buildings will allow Stanford to fulfill its vision for revamping the business school curriculum so students have a more individualized, interactive education.
The 340,000-square-foot center will be roughly 85,000 square feet larger than today's business school and will include eight buildings set around three quadrangles on Serra Street. Stanford plans to break ground in 2008 and finish construction by 2010 or 2011.
"In fact, Pombo took a shot at the Senate's position by posting a cartoon on his committee's Web site showing a senator, portrayed as a screaming toddler, crying: "Waaaa! But I don't want to play with the House!"
"The House bill goes much further, ending the federal moratorium and allowing individual states to choose whether to permit drilling. Under the House measure, coastal states would have no control over areas more than 100 miles off shore."
"Pombo spokesman Brian Kennedy said the same industry lobbyists also met privately with Pombo last week to offer their behind-the-scenes support for his more sweeping House bill.
"The chairman has their assurance that they are not just going to fold to the Senate position. They are trying to get as much supply as possible," Kennedy said. Pombo "feels that American consumers are going to demand more from their lawmakers than baby steps when it comes to solving this supply crisis."
"Chairman Pombo, I think, understands when his own governor comes out against his bill how much work we have to do in this country" to persuade people of the merits of drilling, said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., a key sponsor of the Senate bill. "If Congressman Pombo is aggravated, don't be aggravated at me. Take it up with Arnold, take it up with the Terminator."
"Sen. Pete Domenici, the powerful New Mexico Republican who crafted the legislation, said he will propose even more drilling, possibly off the East and West coasts, as soon as next year.
"I will, in due course, argue for opening more and more and more and more," Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Monday. "That's how I see it happening. I think this is the first giant step toward breaking the precedent (against drilling) and getting us started."
"If Fidel Castro were to move on because of natural causes, we've got a plan in place to help the people of Cuba understand there’s a better way than the system in which they’ve been living under," he told WAQI-AM Radio Mambi, a Spanish-language radio station. "No one knows when Fidel Castro will move on. In my judgment, that’s the work of the Almighty."
Three weeks before the official announcement in Havana of Castro’s deteriorating health, a U.S. presidential commission called for an $80 million program to bolster non-governmental groups in Cuba for the purpose of hastening an end to the country’s communist system.
At the time the 95-page commission report was released, Bush said, "We are actively working for change in Cuba, not simply waiting for change."
Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who like Ros-Lehtinen was born in Cuba, joined with her in saying they expect U.S. action for now will be limited to transmitting radio messages of hope to the Cuban people and preventing an influx of illegal immigrants from the island. Martinez said he is confident the Navy and Coast Guard have the necessary resources to prevent refugees from trying to flood U.S. borders.
Under the "clean money" system, the state would give money to candidates who collect the requisite number of $5 contributions as long as they agree to forgo further private fundraising.
The system would be paid for by an increase of two-tenths of a percentage point in bank and corporation taxes and would cost more than $200 million a year, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.
he Arizona system has spawned a proliferation of special-interest campaign groups that spend money ostensibly independently from campaigns, said Bruce Merrill, a professor of political science at Arizona State University. The "independent expenditure" campaign is also a burgeoning phenomenon in California.
"The concept makes sense. It's an attempt to get more people into the process, to minimize the impact of large corporations and to loosen the impact of money in the system," Merrill said. "The problem is the way it works in Arizona, it works just the opposite."
Proposition 89 would put a cap on contributions to independent expenditure campaigns and to candidates who reject public financing and raise private contributions.
Contributions to nonparticipating candidates would be limited to $500 to $1,000 from individuals depending upon the office, $2,500 from committees and $12,500 to $750,000 from political parties.
Israel's strike today against Qana, in which more than 60 civilians, including children, were killed, has called into question Israel's larger strategy and true motives for the current war. In fact, while expressing sorrow for the Qana tragedy, PM Ehud Olmert told Condi Rice that he needed another 10 to 14 days to complete its war aims against Hezbollah. The extended Israeli war against Hezbollah and Lebanon now reveals that there may be a much more long-range goal ahead--the elimination of Iran's nuclear program. This whole war now really boils down to strategic maneuvering between Iran and Israel for regional power. As this article suggests--the Hezbollah kidnapping and initial attack on Israel could have been just a smokescreen and delay tactic, to buy time for Iran as it continues to drag its feet in international negotiations regarding its nuclear weapons program. Distract the world by triggering a war between Israel and Hezbollah (backed by Iran), and while the world panics, Iran keeps plowing ahead with its development of nukes. "He noted that a system designed to hold about 100,000 inmates houses more than 171,000, and more than 16,000 inmates are sleeping in gyms, dayrooms and other areas of lockups not intended for housing.
"The governor proposed a four-pronged approach: building at least two new prisons; enacting rules to suspend some state laws to allow the new prisons to be built quickly; shifting 4,500 female inmates from prisons to community-based facilities closer to their families; and opening new facilities designed to help male inmates adjust to life outside prison."
The problem is there is one solution put forward, and that is build, build, build. Increasing the number of cells will only increase the number of people in prison. "History teaches us that if you build them, you fill them", says Rose Braz, national campaign coordinator for Critical Resistance, a prison reform organization.
In something of a reversal laid out in this year�s State of the State speech and announced again with new emphasis on June 26, Schwarzenegger has proposed a $3.6 billion gift to the union � an expansion of the state corrections system, easing crowding by building two brand new prisons at $500 million each, shipping as many as 5,000 illegal immigrant prisoners to other states, and moving 4,500 nonviolent women inmates to community facilities closer to their families.
"Speaking at a conference of state district attorneys in Newport Beach, Schwarzenegger characterized jam-packed prisons as being in crisis and warned that courts could take over the system and "order the early release of tens of thousands of prisoners."
"On his first day as Governor, Angelides will immediately:
Expedite hiring of staff for both prisons and parole
Immediately increase prison capacity by opening two unused prisons
Personally contact the federal judge who holds California's prison health care system in receivership and schedule a meeting within 30 days
Name the Cabinet Secretary and top-level managers at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and give them 90 days to produce a prison recovery plan that will:
A. Increase prison capacity by building new prisons and assuring completion within 3 years of authorization
B. Improve and expand rehabilitation, education and job training
C. Improve mental health and substance abuse treatment
D. Provide a new focus on juvenile diversion programs
E. Set a goal to take the prison health care system out of federal receivership by the end of Angelides' first term
-Lengthy periods of incarceration should be reserved for the most serious offenders, who present the greatest danger to the community;
-Alternatives to incarceration should be provided to offenders who pose minimal risk to the community and appear likely to benefit from rehabilitation programs.
We have argued numerous times on this page about the need to revise the state's controversial "three strikes" law. But we recognize that, especially in an election year, too few politicians are brave enough to touch laws affecting inmates with violent or serious felonies in their backgrounds.
That's why the Legislature and the governor should begin with reforming laws affecting inmates who commit nonviolent or so-called "victimless" crimes.
The Deukmejian report suggested providing inmates an incentive to reduce their prison time by increasing the "day-for-day credits" they could earn if they participated in a range of educational, vocational and drug-treatment programs. It also called for replacing the "determinate" sentencing system with one in which a judge would impose a minimum "presumptive" sentence and a longer "maximum sentence." In order to be released after serving the shorter "presumptive" sentence, an inmate would have to complete a "program plan" assigned to the inmate on his or her arrival in prison.
Since 1985, the number of state prisons has increased from 13 to 33, all of them overcrowded every step of the way, and the state's Corrections budget has ballooned from $923 million to $5.7 billion in 2004.
