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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (29673)	2/19/2008 10:49:44 PM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Respond to of 218882

Yeah they kept St Pierre and Miquelon to remind them of why the ceded or sold the rest of Canada LOL That Louisiana thing wasn't so smart though ... TBS

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (29673)	2/20/2008 1:52:39 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 218882

An important turn of events. Security and the money it gorges soon will be cut: California facing a $14.5 billion shortfall threatens to force the early release of tens of thousands inmates. Now look below the reaction promptly coming out! Early release will jeopardize public safety John J. Benoit • Special to The Desert Sun • February 13, 2008 As a law enforcement veteran who served my community for over three decades, maintaining the safety of every California family is one of my most important priorities in the legislature. That's why I'm strongly opposed to a plan recently introduced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that would lead to the early release of thousands of felons from our state prisons. In an attempt to address the state's $14.5 billion deficit, the governor's budget plan proposes releasing more than 20,000 felons from prison before they have served their time and taking more than 18,000 felons off parole. In Riverside County, hundreds and maybe even thousands of prisoners would be coming our way should this release occur. Just imagine how dangerous our community would be with thousands of convicted criminals suddenly roaming the streets unsupervised. While the Department of Corrections claims it will only release "nonserious, nonviolent, nonsex offenders," California families should still be concerned. Under California law, many violent felons are not considered "violent" or "serious." As a result, the governor's plan could be releasing a host of felons including gang members who recruit others, repeat drunken drivers, stalkers, weapons traffickers, and people who manufacture and sell drugs around children. These are not the types of people we want back in our community. The Department of Corrections argues that early release will not threaten public safety and is necessary to reduce our severe budget deficit. But this proposal will only save 3.27 percent of the Corrections Department's overall budget. This insignificant savings is not worth the danger it will surely cost California families. Last year, I was proud to help pass Assembly Bill 900, a bipartisan reform plan addressing our overcrowded prisons. Schwarzenegger joined with Republicans and Democrats to address the prison crisis in a bipartisan fashion to add more beds to relieve prison overcrowding and improve job training and rehabilitation programs. After standing side by side with the Legislature and taking the necessary steps to make sure we did not release tens of thousands of prisoners back into our communities, this irresponsible proposal is taking us a step backward in the fight to make California a safer place to live. Other states show us what a chilling impact early release could have in California. In Philadelphia during the 1980s, thousands of prisoners were released early from jails. In an 18-month period, more than 9,700 former inmates were arrested on new charges, including 79 murders, 90 rapes and 1,113 assaults. Do we really want to see this in California? Californians have a right to feel safe in their homes, neighborhoods and communities. I will continue to stand up for California's hardworking families who don't want dangerous criminals roaming free. Assemblyman John J. Benoit represents the 64th Assembly District, which includes Bermuda Dunes, Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, and parts of Indio. For more information, visit www.assembly.ca.gov/Benoit.