tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post176407665400891181..comments2024-03-15T05:45:01.402-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: 'Six Impossible Things': Do you believe in a conservative, rational, and smaller corrections budget?Gritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-57528513128149254422011-01-30T17:44:00.363-06:002011-01-30T17:44:00.363-06:00Now I agree with that. The parole board should be...Now I agree with that. The parole board should be honest (now that is a good one I just my drink up) and tell the offender you are going to do the entire sentence. But the problem there is three prong. 1) you lose your slave labor. 2) You the parole board and prison employees can no longer justify most of their positions. 3) We (our lawmakers) have to admitt we are a society of no rehabiltation or forgiveness. You see parole is corrupted those appointed have bought their positions same as bribes and kickbacks from the top on down.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-26171665948119311852011-01-30T13:51:45.006-06:002011-01-30T13:51:45.006-06:00In this blog article and comments (which have been...In this blog article and comments (which have been interesting and instructive) I've not read much on parole. I fail to understand why we warehouse offenders for 20+ years when they have done exactly what they were supposed to do...be rehabilitated, accept consequences, make amends. have a clean disciplinary record for the entire time in prison (which considering the nature of prison) is not easy to accomplish. I think I would respect TDCJ and the Parole Board if they would give up on "hope". Just say, you will be punished forever, get over it.Then we could cut all the rehab and religious programs in the prisons. Just stack them up till they die.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-11442681598801454472011-01-30T13:11:55.176-06:002011-01-30T13:11:55.176-06:00I wonder how many unmarked graves are going to be ...I wonder how many unmarked graves are going to be found on Sugarland when it is developed. That may be a little embarassing to say the least. I would imagine more unmarked graves would be discovered in Gatesville than already is known to exist now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-33822469947049459062011-01-30T12:03:33.050-06:002011-01-30T12:03:33.050-06:00Developers and the City of Dallas wanted Dawson St...Developers and the City of Dallas wanted Dawson State Jail closed, too, but last year TDCJ re-upped the (private) contract, which was otherwise due to expire last week.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-31057605572767602372011-01-30T10:04:39.948-06:002011-01-30T10:04:39.948-06:00You are right, hook 'em. Prime real estate. ...You are right, hook 'em. Prime real estate. (Central unit). You and I both said when Grits asked how many prisons they might close. One, for symbolism only. So they close Central, for which there was a lot of sentiment for closing anyway, so the land could be developed. It does make a lot of sense, but this does not need to be the only one!Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16902834245861000386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-36386806194946671542011-01-29T21:33:29.832-06:002011-01-29T21:33:29.832-06:00It's been said many times, by many different p...It's been said many times, by many different people: Texas has never closed a prison since the first one opened its doors in 1846, and it never will. There's always a first, though, and it looks like the Central Unit in Sugar Land will be the breakthrough case to disprove that rule, after which I'd expect to see more units follow it to the chopping block.<br /><br />THIS IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS. THERE ARE OTHER CO$IDERATION$ FOR CLO$ING THI$ PRI$ON. TEXAS LAWMAKER$ DON'T FOOL ME, IT$ A $HAME YOU CANNOT SEE THI$ FOR THE $HAM IT IS!Hook Em Hornshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04660612847019528535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-55294191051965670372011-01-29T20:19:28.414-06:002011-01-29T20:19:28.414-06:00Why are our lawmakers so scared of TDCJ? How come ...Why are our lawmakers so scared of TDCJ? How come they do not stand up to them and make them follow the laws they pass? They must be getting bribes and kickbacks alsoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-77812119344561680972011-01-29T20:17:32.723-06:002011-01-29T20:17:32.723-06:00I do not believe what has been said here about the...I do not believe what has been said here about the cost of housing prisoners. They the TDCJ executives may claim it cost so much a day to feed and house them but I believe that money is being stolen. In the Gatesville units they have cut back all protein in the meals. One egg now instead of two. The meat they serve is the end and pieces that even Walmart will not sell. Once again if it was your love one how would you feel to see the suffering and human right abuses. Most of these women are non-violent offenders of severe abuse and trauma themselves. Only 2 apples and 2 oranges a year. Third world prisons do better than this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-77391578156062576302011-01-29T11:24:22.532-06:002011-01-29T11:24:22.532-06:00We live in a society that preaches love and forgiv...We live in a society that preaches love and forgivness on Sunday but come Monday no one practices it. So much for when you pay your debt to society and that clean slate BS. The real problem is the pint size dictators we have in the prison's and on the parole board. They must have been picked on in school or something. They humilate and degrade people who do not even have the basic human rights this country lectures other countries about. We tell Egypt to turn back on the cell phones and the internets; however, we deny this for rehabilitation. Project RIO is a joke!! No one can job search without the internet so how can someone transition out of prison. We are a joke of a nation now when we abuse human rights right here and try to hide it. The reasons the prison phone profits are not rolling in is because the prison officials break the law there too. Get ready the fees in this state are going to go through the roof. You probably be charged a fee to visit your love one in prison because if you ever did it you know they do not want visitation at all. Hey China does look better now than Texas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-55553583024279425682011-01-29T09:46:45.547-06:002011-01-29T09:46:45.547-06:00Anon. 9:22 I mostly agree with you. But have yo...Anon. 9:22 I mostly agree with you. But have you considered how difficult the Drug War Industrial Complex would be to take down, even if Obama had a burning passion to end it? A lot of people do. But it is an industry that is far bigger than the drug industry it purports to be about. We talk about the Military/Industrial Complex, The Prison/Industrial complex, etc. The Drug War/Industrial Complex is just as entrenched. Nobody has the political will (or cojones) to tackle it. That said, economic times such as these could be a way to put some chinks in their armor. The same people who support the "war on drugs" are the ones who are screeching about cutting spending. And as has been pointed out repeatedly on this blog, this lock 'em up mentality has some very lofty financial consequences. In Texas legislature, we have a new freshman class that is larger than it has been in a long time. Many of these are of the "tea party" stripe. While they are, for the most part, also very socially conservative, it is my hope that money will be the overriding factor, this session. If they have some common sense, they will see that social engineering needs to wait for another day, even if people like Warren Chisum insist that it be done at all.Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16902834245861000386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-27848445461921182602011-01-29T09:32:47.802-06:002011-01-29T09:32:47.802-06:00I didn't miss it, 9:22, I just found it irrele...I didn't miss it, 9:22, I just found it irrelevant to the debate over what will happen with Redder than Red Texas' corrections budgets in 2011. Obama being against something doesn't mean much here.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-22163710468601533602011-01-29T09:32:04.545-06:002011-01-29T09:32:04.545-06:00To Nequam Compleo: There jobs out here for ex-cons...To Nequam Compleo: There jobs out here for ex-cons, but they are hard to find.I did 11 years on parole (got off in 2000, worked a few different jobs. It was tough, but I made it.<br />"Common sense" really isn't all that common (esp. when it comes to the ledge)<br />Hang in there. You can make it if you are determined.DEWEYhttp://theprisonshow.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-58927710242267655612011-01-29T09:22:45.472-06:002011-01-29T09:22:45.472-06:00Apparently Scott you missed President Obamas youtu...Apparently Scott you missed President Obamas youtube townhall meeting yesterday.<br /><br />We are supposed to be switching from incarceration to health issues for drug offenders.<br /><br />After 40 years of locking up people over drugs with no room for discussion at the federal level,the first sitting President since Nixon has stated that drug legalization is a "legitimate subject for debate".<br /><br />Of course,he is against it. But if he had been caught when in college<br />and younger,he wouldn't be President. And he is now paying back all the industries that lobbied his funding for the election by continuing the prohibition,and continuing the prohibition.<br /><br />Everyone,or almost everyone,thinks marijuana is prohibited because it is a dangerous drug but it was banned in 1937 after a campaign of propaganda and lies,paid for by big industry,to get hemp off the open market,,,,not marijuana,and<br />is still being supported by the<br />same big industries today with the same propaganda and lies.<br /><br />Until we remove the ability of big business to buy legislation we will continue to chase the rabbit around the track.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-66378039053368761522011-01-29T06:59:24.804-06:002011-01-29T06:59:24.804-06:009:29, clearly you did just skim since your comment...9:29, clearly you did just skim since your comments are pretty much non-responsive. For starters, the reform suggested in #3 that you criticize was simply to accurately budget for penalty increases in the law, which strikes me as a fiscally conservative stance. Do you somehow think they should NOT budget to pay for the laws passed?<br /><br />Re: giving people a "slap on the wrist," you obviously didn't read #4, either. And as for "liberal hogwash," I'm not saying anything much different than <a href="http://www.rightoncrime.com/blog/" rel="nofollow">these folks</a>, but then, I'm not much for labels. Small minds attempt to salve their own inadequacies by pigeonholing those who disagree with them into comforting labels, but once you get deep into the weeds on these issues, for the most part they're non-ideological.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-76301765417642959382011-01-28T21:53:40.407-06:002011-01-28T21:53:40.407-06:00Scott,
Thank you for your blog. You make sense. ...Scott,<br /><br />Thank you for your blog. You make sense. <br /><br />Regarding probation fees, those belong to probation departments, they are locally generated. If it wasn't for the probation fee, most CSCDs would be non-operational. Most CSCDs count on the fees paid by the probationer to make up anywhere from 40-75 percent of their budget. However, CJAD continues to ask for money to be returned (and where do you think that money comes from, the probation fee,that's where, it can't be coming from what is allotted in Basic Supervision because Basic Supervision allotments are not enough to rund a CSCD). CCP allotments are like yo-yo funding. I doubt seriously it is funded the way the Statute reads. Otherwise, the funds provided would grow through the years as the population grows instead of become static and/or reduce.<br /><br />As far as the comment about no one is listening to Carey Welebob and Stuart Jenkins, I'm not so sure I would count on them to save the CSCD. They are good people and all but they are part of TDCJ. <br /><br />The CSCD answers to local government (locally elected officials manage CSCDs, at least that is the theory). <br /><br />The people who need to speak up for the CSCDs are the CCAL Judges and District Court Judges and whoever might be involved as a Community Justice Council Member of a CSCD as those are the people who have real relationships with State Legislators. <br /><br />Every CSCD employee in the State of Texas could write their State Rep, and that would be a smart thing to do, but it is still perceived as a self-serving request. If other politicians like Judges and District Attorneys spoke up for the CSCD, a legislator's ear might pin back just a little for a listen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-40746672284317875892011-01-28T21:29:19.114-06:002011-01-28T21:29:19.114-06:00Okay, I've only skimmed this post, Grits, but ...Okay, I've only skimmed this post, Grits, but really? I love #3 ... "Incarcerating more people costs more money" ... are you kidding me? SO, the simple solution is, incarcerate fewer criminals? Oh, I know. Incarcerate only the really bad ones. Let the thieves and druggies off with a slap on the wrist. What a bunch of liberal hogwash.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-56832944106268416662011-01-28T20:17:49.118-06:002011-01-28T20:17:49.118-06:00State government could set an example by hiring ex...State government could set an example by hiring ex-cons.<br />I wonder if Brad Livingston worries about job security?<br />Can someone tell me how much parole/probation fees are and how they are calculated.<br />Scott, this is a great piece of writing. Why not submit it to the Austin Statesman? I submitted one a few days ago making some of these same points. Gut the prison system to something that makes sense and then we could talk about education and health care, the elderly and the mentally ill. They have not rushed to contact me.<br />Don, I know you are right and now they have everyone's attention. It is a game of chicken to see who veers first. Of course a good bargainer always starts by asking more than they expect so this should not surprise us. Tuff on Crime has turned to Dumb On Texas. Dumbing down Texas will be the result of cutting education. A penny increase in sales tax would be so much more honest than $20 added to our vehicle license renewal. Owning cars is already a huge expense and gas just keeps going up.<br />The only jobs that I know of where background often makes no difference is the laundries and such in industrial areas. Also the shale drilling provides a lot of jobs as low as hauling sand and as high as those that visit the sites (in a company car) and enter the data in the computers.TX Cure also has listings of employers that hire people in these situations. I guess it is still on their website.Angeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00323251252533007308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-65752572369263214252011-01-28T16:52:14.615-06:002011-01-28T16:52:14.615-06:00Great post Scott. If the Legislators of the state ...Great post Scott. If the Legislators of the state of Texas were truly concerned about the citizens of Texas these 6 points would be a no brainer. The budget cuts support the war on the Texas citizenry that masquerades itself to the gullible as the war on drugs. Having the corrections bureaucracy wield control over the Legislators is like asking the thieves to guard the bank.<br /><br />The way the parole board operates is criminal. Find people jobs and getting them educated is key to staying out of prison. Another reason the budget cuts support the war on Texas citizenry. They don’t want your taxes they want you in one of their human warehouses. <br />SheldonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-66591268506845313242011-01-28T16:16:10.565-06:002011-01-28T16:16:10.565-06:00One could probably find out through an open record...One could probably find out through an open records request, NC.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-52590764388641603172011-01-28T14:16:10.136-06:002011-01-28T14:16:10.136-06:00David RD:
This is from :http://www.tdcj.state.tx.u...David RD:<br />This is from :http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/rid/rid-rio/rid-_about_project_rio.html<br /><br />Fidelity Bond: A Fidelity Bond is a business insurance policy that protects the employer due to loss of money or property resulting from employee dishonesty. The Fidelity Bonds are provided by the Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Company. The Texas Workforce Commission's Project RIO Fidelity Bonding program may bond an eligible ex-offender for $5,000. Larger bonds may be issued with the approval of the State Bonding Coordinator.<br /><br />We have the ability to be bonded pretty much the same day as the application is filled out. There's also tax credits. Most business, from my experience, have no desire to deal with them. <br />Grits, do you have any way to get any info on how many companies have utilized the tax credits or the bonding program?Nequam Compleohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16558754423834154588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-56351987293780308112011-01-28T14:01:52.670-06:002011-01-28T14:01:52.670-06:00Great article!! Kudos for Grits! Now, if you cou...Great article!! Kudos for Grits! Now, if you could just get this printed on the front page of every Texas newspaper, Texas Monthly, and then special reports on all the local nightly news programs...oh well!! Not gonna happen!! So conservatives are running our State now as they have been for the past 10 or more years? So what's with their continuous preaching of "UNFUNDED MANDATES"? Every new punishment enhancement MUST BE FUNDED - both the legal issues for the courts and the incarceration, treatment, and probation issues!! WHY NOT do what you preach?? Guarantee they won't! Why not require the TDCJ and the BPP to justify every budget item in their proposed budgets? Justify keeping the largest number of prisons open in the country when prison population is decreasing BECAUSE of diversion, rehab, and other "keep-em out of prison" programs? BPP justify keeping your diversion and "keep-em out of prison" programs - there won't be a problem there - THEY WORK!!! If they went through our State budget like that then TDCJ would most assuredly have to close more prisons because HOW CAN they justify costing the taxpaer $35-$70 daily for "socialist" incarceration when diversion and rehab cost a small fraction of that? THEY CAN'T! Keep the prisons for people that really should be in them...we need to develop a completely new punishment system for the ones that don't need to be locked away.<br /><br />On people finding jobs after prison. The State should require employers to not discriminate against X non-violent offenders when applying for work. Require the offender to purchase (through payroll deduction if necessary) surety bonds that would guarantee the business reimbursement should they loose merchandise or other property because of the X offender. Maybe that would create an better environment for X offenders so they can get their lives back on track. Stop literally destroying a persons ability to make a decent living because of a misdemeanor or felony that may have happened many years ago. That mentality only sets these people up to offend again - they only place left for them to possible earn a living.David RDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-47099678135751231802011-01-28T13:50:52.083-06:002011-01-28T13:50:52.083-06:00Don, that's true, but the Senate budget gave b...Don, that's true, but the Senate budget gave back "just" $200 million more - that still leaves a pretty big hole - $831 million short of their requested budget, by my count, and a $467.8 million reduction from their budget last biennium, which as we know left them $61 million short on their healthcare contract with UTMB. Those are still REALLY big reductions if they all come from the probation/parole side.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-32440559811863209162011-01-28T12:44:57.385-06:002011-01-28T12:44:57.385-06:00We just need to all remember that HB 1 is meant to...We just need to all remember that HB 1 is meant to be shock and awe; worst case scenario. Even the Senate version already is not as bad as that. IMO, the lawmakers are not Einstein, but they are smarter than this. They are conditioning the public for the worst, and when it turns out to be not quiet that bad, they get to tell you how wonderful they are. The final budget won't be this budget. Filling the shortfall with only cuts, no new revenue, and not touching the "rainy day" fund is not even halfway feasible, but most people are not as informed as the people who frequent this blog. They will raise some taxes, (though will use the euphemism "fees"), probably use some of the "rainy day" fund, and the next revenue estimate in May should look a little better. It will still be rough, but not this ridiculous.Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16902834245861000386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-56853121166628793552011-01-28T11:31:03.885-06:002011-01-28T11:31:03.885-06:00With all these cuts, question has to be: will the ...With all these cuts, question has to be: will the talking heads in Austin learn from the past and actually keep a balanced budget for the future? I'm making myself laugh as i type..TCAmember1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-80800041308791861592011-01-28T11:31:00.991-06:002011-01-28T11:31:00.991-06:00Well said, Scott...Well said, Scott...Jim Stotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09484387651863003779noreply@blogger.com