tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57868512363654625332024-03-13T12:09:40.925-04:00BERNARD B. KERIKOne of the most accomplished public servants in the nation, for more than 30 years, Mr. Kerik served his country – most notably as an advisor to the U.S. Presidential Envoy of Iraq, and New York City's Police and Correction Commissioner. His term in the NYPD was marked by dramatic reductions in crime, improved community relations, and his oversight of the rescue, recovery and investigation of the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-55648996406504073092014-08-24T03:12:00.000-04:002014-08-24T03:12:40.938-04:00What the Deaths of Michael Brown and James Foley Can Teach Us<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">As a result of the police response to the
protests in Ferguson, Missouri, President Barack Obama has ordered a review of
the distribution of military equipment to local and state police, to determine three
things:</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">(1) whether the federal/military
surplus programs are appropriate; (2) whether the amount of training provided
for that equipment is sufficient, and (3) how well the government audits the
use of the money and equipment provided to our police departments.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I strongly believe that there is a clear
justification for local, state and federal police agencies in the United States
to be well equipped, well trained, and be prepared for the threats of violence
and terrorism that we face today and in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To eliminate or diminish these types of
units because of mistakes that may have been made in Ferguson may be a
temporary "feel good" solution, but that will only last until the
first time an extremely violent act or terrorist attack occurs and those units
do not have the equipment or weapons necessary to defend themselves or protect
the communities they serve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then they will either fail and be
criticized for not doing their job, or far worse, they will die trying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe President Obama’s concerns are
justified and understandable, but I just hope that those responsible for the
review, as well as our congressional leaders are fair, objective and think this
out long and hard before they make a decision either way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We cannot ask our local and state police
to put their lives on the line, yet not give them the tools, training,
resources and support they need to do the very jobs we expect of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to reports, the review will be
led by the President’s Domestic Policy Council, the National Security Council,
the Office of Management and Budget, and relevant U.S. agencies including the
Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice and Treasury, and will also
be carried out in coordination with the U.S. Congress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given what we saw in the immediate
aftermath of the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, where unarmed peaceful
protesters were confronted by armored vehicles, assault weapons and, as one
former military commander said, "more gear than I wore in Iraq or
Afghanistan,” I under the President’s concern. I understand the questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Personally, I believe the initial police
response, however well intended, was an over-reaction under those specific
circumstances. We saw unarmed peaceful protesters, standing with their hands in
the air, met by officers pointing assault weapons at them. That response only
exacerbated an already difficult and painful situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, when provocateurs, most of whom
came from outside of Ferguson, infiltrated the peaceful protests in the nights
that followed, they threw Molotov cocktails, looted and destroyed businesses
and private property, and fired guns among the protesters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The police had no option but to act, and
act with force.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A crowd can, at any moment, turn from
peaceful to dangerous. Law enforcement has to hope for the best, but be
prepared for the worst, and never be afraid to do their job. When they do their
job, their political leadership and superiors MUST support them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">History has taught me that at every turn
in life, we must try to make good from a bad situation. In this case, I am sure
there are many lessons to be learned from Michael Brown’s death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we owe it to Michael Brown, his family,
the community of Ferguson and really all of America to do our best as a society
to learn everything we possibly can from this tragic event.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was the show of force with war-like
weapons necessary? Could it have been handled differently? Do local and state
police require the weapons and equipment we saw in Ferguson? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After 35 years in law enforcement and
running two of the largest law enforcement agencies in America, overseeing the
rescue, recovery and investigation of the attacks of 9/11, and being extremely
familiar with the threats we face in this country from ISIS and radical Islamic
extremist terrorists, I offer the following historical perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the 80s and 90s, the drug cartels and
violent criminals were outgunning local, state and federal law enforcement
officers. Bad guys went from carrying revolvers to semi-automatic pistols to
semi-automatic rifles to fully automatic assault weapons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1986, in Miami, FL, two men
slaughtered two FBI agents with fully automatic weapons. In 1997, bank robbers
in Hollywood, CA confronted Los Angeles police with fully automatic weapons.
Attacks like these and increasing similar armed confrontations left law
enforcement no choice but to enhance their weapons, ammunition and protective
equipment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then came 9/11 and the threats of radical
Islamic terror, which changed the dynamics of law enforcement all across our
country, including at the state, local, and even small community levels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let’s remember that New York City has
been the target of at least 13 terror attacks over the past 12 years. Radical
Islamic extremists targeted the Prudential Building in Newark, NJ, and others
around the country. Two brothers planted a bomb at the Boston Marathon. A group
of men planned to blow up a synagogue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
could go on and on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition, in the past four years, we
have witnessed mass murders on our military bases, in our colleges and
elementary schools as well as shootings in our malls, either by Islamic
extremists or some deranged lunatic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our local and state police are
responsible for responding to these attacks and the increasing threats of
terror and violence we face in America today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the most violent and extreme
circumstances, there are specialized teams of highly trained men and women,
some of which are referred to as Emergency Service Units (ESU), Special Weapons
and Tactics Teams (SWAT), Emergency Response Teams (ERT), Hostage Rescue Teams
(HRT).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When civilians need help, they call the
police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the police need help, they
call ESU, ERT or SWAT. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When these units respond, they have to be
prepared for anything and everything - a deranged gunmen with assault weapons,
a suicidal bomber, IEDs, a suspect wanted for murder, a hostage taker or
barricaded suspect, or an emotionally disturbed person who wants to jump off of
a building or bridge and is willing to take the life of anyone who attempts to
stop them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is what these specialized units do
day in, day out. Their primary mission: SAVING LIVES.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You would have to be either naïve or in
complete denial not to admit that these teams are extremely important and play
a vital role in securing and responding to threats of violence or terrorism in
our cities and communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We should have a national debate on the
response to Ferguson’s demonstrations, and rightfully so. We can look at who
receives equipment from the federal government or military, what equipment is
necessary, and most importantly – more than anything else, whether the units
receiving this equipment are not only adequately trained, but funded for
training long term.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Local and state government leaders are
quick to create these units to keep their communities safe, but then fail, and
at times outright refuse, to fund them for the necessary training which is
quite often more important than the equipment itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can have the best equipment in the
world, but if you do not know how to use it, or consistently train with it, or
conduct mock drills and table top exercises as a cohesive team, then you are
putting the men and women in those units, as well as the citizens in the
communities they serve, in danger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we are going to look at these types of
issues, I think we should also begin to look at many of our regulatory
agencies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the past year or so, I have read about
U.S. Health & Human Services raiding doctors' offices for fraud with
heavily armed police, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency raiding a guitar
company with a SWAT team, and U.S. Department of Education booming down a
family's door in a morning raid in search of someone who failed to pay off his
student loan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If these reports are true, why do these
and other federal regulatory agencies require that sort of firepower, when the
U.S. Justice Department – FBI, DEA and Marshal's Service – has some of the best
trained and most qualified non-military special weapons and operations teams in
the world? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If a regulatory agency requires that sort
of firepower, why not leave it to the real professionals, those who do it for a
living?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a lot on the line for our
country and all Americans as it relates to this issue. We need real debate, not
knee-jerk reactions. Weapons of war on America’s streets are not needed every
day, in every circumstance. However, we must be prudent in our preparations for
the worst possible scenarios while at the same time protecting our citizens,
our communities, and our freedoms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just in the past few days, we have heard
one threat after another from the newly-formed Islamic extremist army called
ISIS. This barbaric and savage army claims to be in the United States, has
threatened imminent attacks, and even boasted that they intend to raise their
flag above the White House.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must be
ready should their threats become reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are no easy answers in a world
where a man in black garb and a hood covering all but his eyes and mouth
beheads an American and posts the video on the Internet for the entire world to
see.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, there is a lot for us to learn from
what happened to Michael Brown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
there is a lot for us to learn from what happened to James Foley. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May the circumstances of their deaths
cause all Americans, especially our government leaders, to pause and dig deep
for answers about how we arm and prepare our communities in the face of such
realities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let this be Michael Brown and James
Foley’s legacies. Their deaths can cause us to be better prepared and to help
save lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must make that so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May they both rest in peace. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-48714591151233478992014-03-10T00:53:00.001-04:002014-03-10T01:11:35.277-04:00NEVER FORGET - TERROR IS HERE TO STAY<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Sunday, March 9, a plane carrying 239 people went missing
and has yet to be found. Not long after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for
Beijing, Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, vanished from the radar
screens off of the coast of Viet Nam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weather was clear, there were no signs of distress, no calls for
help, and then silence. No radio contact with air traffic control, and no sign
of the flight on radar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to published reports, two people on that flight boarded with
stolen passports, one Italian and one Austrian. The Malaysian Transport
Minister said that the identities of two other passengers are also of concern,
and he is working with a number of international intelligence agencies as part
of his inquiry. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has also
responded with grave concern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Malaysian authorities are reluctant to call it terrorism, but for
several years, we have seen increased terror activity in Thailand, Malaysia and
Indonesia. The two stolen passports were reportedly stolen in Thailand and used
by two people who bought their airline tickets together for the Malaysian
flight to China.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That flight disappeared somewhere over the coast of Viet Nam, with an
onboard catastrophe that prevented the crew from calling for help and
announcing any sign of distress. Search crews consisting of 45 ships and 22
aircraft have located what they have reported are pieces of the aircraft’s door
and tail wing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If there was an explosion in the rear of the plane or the cargo bay
or an engine malfunction, we would most likely have heard from the pilots. That
leads us to believe that something happened in the front of that plane that
took out the communications system, and ultimately took the plane down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although it is still too early to call it terrorism, this tragedy, still
a mystery, raises some very serious concerns that must be addressed as the
search continues for the missing plane.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were the stolen passports reported to Interpol by the Thai authorities,
and/or the Italian and Austrian Embassies? If not, why not? If so, why
weren’t these people flagged at passenger check-in and the carriers of the
stolen passports stopped?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The authorities will be looking at the cargo handlers, the vendors,
other passengers, and even the crew assigned to the flight, including the
pilots. Every inch of video footage will be scoured for clues. Who
were these people? Did they act alone or did others assist them,
including airport or airline personnel?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although it is still too early to call it terrorism, it not too early to
remind people that it is highly possible this is another act of terrorism
against, not just the West, but humanity. Whatever the failures were that
led to this disaster must be determined, assessed and learned from. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Terrorism is here to stay, and the enemies of freedom are constantly
seeking new methods of attack. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let just hope this isn’t the result of one.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-23386888486967554852014-02-16T00:23:00.002-05:002014-03-04T07:35:41.523-05:00THE NEW YORK TIMES AND CLEMENCY<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A New York Time’s editorial recently outlined how presidential
clemency which allows the President of the United States to either commute
unjust sentences or pardon deserving petitioners who have served their time,
has decreased over the past several decades. The editorial
stressed there is now a call for reviving this much needed practice…and
that we should heed that call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">U.S.
Deputy Attorney General James Cole recently encouraged the criminal defense bar
to assist the Justice Department in finding suitable candidates for clemency
among the thousands of people who were incarcerated unjustly as a result of
mandatory minimum sentencing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Cole
was talking specifically about low-level, nonviolent, and many first-time drug
offenders who are serving draconian, “life or near-life” sentences, who
The Times’ reported “are trapped permanently at the margins of society by post
prison sanctions — laws that bar them from jobs and housing, strip them of the
right to vote and make it difficult for them to obtain essential documents like
drivers’ licenses.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As much
as I agree with The Times and Mr. Cole’s assessment, I would strongly urge a
bigger, broader look at the problem and how to address it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drug
offenders are not the only ones suffering from post-prison sanctions, nor are
they the only people who are serving unjust or unfair sentences as a
result of the federal sentencing guidelines or mandatory minimums.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If our
Founding Father’s beliefs were truly that all men are created equal, and that
the punishment must fit the crime, and once you have been punished, you
have served your debt to society, then our failings are far greater than the
American people could ever imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
collateral damage to a convicted felon, not just to a drug offender, is the
same. There are men convicted of first time, non-violent, non-drug
offenses with Master’s degrees and Ph.D’s who cannot find a job. There are
similarly convicted members of our Armed Forces who put their lives on the line
for us in war but who cannot now find housing. The label of “convicted felon”
is a life sentence of personal, financial and professional hardship that
creates an unending burden, not just to the individuals and their families, but
to society as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Presidential
clemency is needed to right the wrongs in the drug sentencing laws, but
it is also needed to give those men and women who deserve it, a real
second chance. Our system of justice today offers none.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I agree
with the Times that the Justice Department’s recent interest in the clemency
problem is good news, but looking beyond the Justice Department’s Pardon Office
is a must.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are
men and women sitting in prison or who have already served an enormous
amount of time, yet do not have the money to hire attorneys to
file a petition of clemency or the education to do so on their own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Counselors
and case managers in the federal prison system can be extremely helpful in
identifying candidates for consideration. So can advocacy groups, family
members, and others willing to handle the necessary paperwork in a skillful
manner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
considering changes in the mandatory minimums and sentencing guidelines, our
legislators must look at ways to make those deserving U.S. citizens whole, once
they have paid their debt to society for mistakes they have made. A life-long
period of punishment is unjust, unfair, and un-American.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 21.3pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
speaking about presidential clemency, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy once
said, “A people confident in its laws and institutions should not be ashamed of
mercy. The greatest of poets reminds us that mercy is ’mightiest in the
mightiest.’ It becomes the throned monarch better than his crown.” I hope
more lawyers involved in the pardon process will say to the powers that
decide, “This man has not served his full sentence, but he has served
long enough. Give him what only you can give him. Give him a
second chance. Give him a priceless gift. Give him liberty."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
a country bound by what I believe is the greatest Constitution on the face
of the earth, we must encourage the use of presidential clemency as the Times’
suggests. We should also encourage our legislators to do the job that they were
sworn to do, and create laws that are fair, impartial and, most importantly,
with punishments that fit the crime, not ones that last for eternity.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-69843651128514240832014-01-23T07:43:00.000-05:002014-01-23T07:43:09.586-05:00LEARNING FROM RUSSIA<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In late December, an Islamic military group in Dagestan
claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings that killed more than 30 people
and injured dozens more.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The same group then threatened to strike the Olympic
Games in Sochi, which is about 300 miles west of Dagestan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Russian authorities are now feverishly searching for at
least three possible female suicide bombers, one of which is a 22-year-old
widow of a radical Islamist who was killed recently by Russian security forces.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">According to various intelligence reports, these female
suicide bombers, who have been dubbed “black widows,” are also responsible for
a number of previous attacks throughout the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As part of a massive pre-emptive security operation,
photos of two women in veils and Muslim headdress have been distributed to the
media, various hotels, other tourist sites in Sochi, the resort town and host
city of the Olympics, in hopes that these women can be located before they
strike.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The critical question now becomes: <i> Can
the Russians guarantee the safety and security of their international guests
and their own people from these and other potential terrorist threats?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Right now, no one knows the answer. What we do
know is that these women are like chameleons. They will blend in to the
local population, plan their dastardly deeds, and strike when it is least
expected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Russians know who they are and why they are a
perceived threat, but for how long have they known? When did they acquire this
intelligence? Why weren’t these women monitored from the outset of their
husbands' demise? How many more are there? Is there now a program in place to
monitor and account for them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is all about knowing the threats that exist,
gathering the intelligence, and pro-actively responding to actionable
intelligence when possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems like the Russian government has let these
women slip through the cracks of their security and intelligence services, at
least for the time being, a lesson that every country battling radical Islam
can learn from.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In a post-9/11 world, there is nothing more important
than a capable intelligence system that allows local, state and the federal
authorities to not only communicate but share critical intelligence that allows
them to protect their citizens. We here in the United States have made
tremendous strides in many ways, but we have still had our failures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Could the Boston Marathon bombing have been prevented?
Many believe so. Were mistakes made? What were they? Who knew what and when?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That is probably what the Russians are asking
themselves today, as they must sit on pins and needles until they find these
terrorists or the games come to an end without death and destruction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As we stand on the sidelines praying for the safety and
security for all those who will be attending the games, including our own
Olympians, we can learn from these events.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Proactive and pre-emptive intelligence gathering and
following up on actionable intelligence will lead to the success of combatting
terrorism, both now and in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You cannot fight an enemy that you cannot see.
You cannot stop an attack that you do not know is going to happen.
And, no matter how quick you think you can respond, you are never going
to be quick enough to stop the bloodshed and death once a terrorist detonates
an explosive device with the intent of causing mass casualties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Intelligence is the answer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The faster those fighting this war against terror learn that,
the safer we are all going to be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-BERNARD B. KERIK</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-78804153629453555362013-11-01T07:47:00.005-04:002013-11-01T07:47:41.530-04:00U.S. CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN DIRE NEED OF REPAIR<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">In June 2011, the following document was sent to the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and 72 members of the U.S. Congress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">For more than two decades, constitutional
scholars, former Attorneys General, federal and state judges, criminal defense
bars as well as past and present federal prosecutors have increasingly called
into question our criminal justice and prison systems, which many have said are
threatening the very </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">foundation of our democracy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">As someone who once headed two of the largest
law enforcement organizations in the world and is now a convicted offender
living within the federal prison system, I bring a unique and perhaps
historical perspective to this issue. I know how the system is supposed to work
and what it is supposed to accomplish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Based on what I have personally witnessed since my incarceration, I
strongly agree with the national consensus: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
system is in dire need of repair.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">For nearly six years I managed the New York
City jail system, including Rikers Island - once called the most violent system
in the nation - and was responsible for overseeing 13,000 uniformed and
civilian staff as well as 133,000 annual inmate admissions. I also commanded
the NYPD at 55,000 strong, with an annual budget of $3.2 billion. I have
conducted criminal justice assessments for the U.S. Justice Department, the
Kingdom of Jordan, and the government of Mexico City. In Jordan, I was also
responsible for the design and construction of a 400-bed super-maximum security
prison for the region's most dangerous and deadly terrorists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">While serving as New York City's Correction
Commissioner, through compliance, I successfully vacated dozens of federal
consent decrees and achieved unparalleled and historical reductions in
inmate-on-inmate violence (slashing and stabbings), serious use of force by
staff, assaults on staff, staff sick time abuse, and overtime spending. Our
system became one of the most efficient, clean, safe, and secure in the
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our successes were
unprecedented.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">However, I am sad to say that nearly
everything I believed about the federal prison system when I was New York
City's Police and Correction Commissioner has been contradicted by my own
incarceration. I have learned that most of what I thought to be true is just not
a reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm convinced based on what I
have witnessed that members of Congress, federal judges, and prison
administrators themselves are in the same position. They just don't know what
the federal prison system is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i>
like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Unfortunately, there is no survey, inspection,
or tour or magic window to look through that allows judicial leaders-or
anyone-to see reality, and what it's like to live as a prisoner. Without living
within the system, one cannot fully see its flaws, failures and injustices or have
any idea what it's like to live by a clock, where time stands still. No matter
what your vantage point from the outside, it is difficult to clearly see and
feel the unnecessary damage done to many of those incarcerated, their families,
and society as a whole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">And just like me, if members of Congress,
judicial leaders, prison administrators, and the general public do not know
this problem exists, they have no reason to care and, worse, no reason to fix
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, failure to fix our criminal
justice system, as it stands today, will - I predict - ultimately be the demise
of our country as we know it. This problem is like a fast-growing cancer that
has yet to be fully diagnosed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
eroding the very foundation of our democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Alarming
prison population growth</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">According to published reports, the federal
prison population has grown from 25,000 in 1980 to an estimated 210,000 as of
March 17, 2011. This is an increase of 840% over the past 31 years. Considering
that the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal law enforcement agencies
have not come close to an 840% increase in enforcement and arrest activity, one
has to ask, "What has caused the explosive growth?" I believe the
primary answer stems from the elimination of the former federal parole system
and the creation of the federal sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimums.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">These guidelines and mandatory minimums are
extremely detailed, complex, and difficult to understand. They have provided
prosecutors unprecedented authority to influence sentencing outcomes and the
ability to enhance and prolong a defendant's sentence, even for conduct
acquitted by a jury. The guidelines allow little to no room for
non-incarceration sanctions by the court and do nothing to encourage the use of
alternative penalties. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">In a speech before the American Bar
Association (ABA) in 2003, Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy expressed
his concerns about the inadequacies and injustices of our correctional systems.
He called for (1) the federal sentencing guidelines to be revised downward, and
(2) a repeal of the mandatory minimums, most of which he felt were "unwise
and unjust." He stressed that punishments were too severe and sentences
too long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Justice Kennedy has not been
the only one with concerns about our criminal justice and prison systems. U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder, as well as former Attorneys General Edwin Meese
III, who served under President Ronald Reagan, and Richard Thornburgh, a
Republican who served under two Presidents, among others, have expressed
similar concerns, particularly with regard to sentencing guidelines and
mandatory minimums. Republicans, Democrats, conservatives and liberals alike
have, in one way or another, all said the same thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Inaction is
no longer an option<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I have been stunned to read their prophetic
words and realize the system remains the same-or worse - today, many years
later. More disturbing than their words is the lack of response to them. My
fear is that the lack of attention to this issue stems from the old adage, "Out
of sight, out of mind." In other words, our legislators and the American
public do not care about a problem they do not know exists. Unless they see it
for themselves-either personally or through eye-opening discourse-they will not
act. Based on what I have seen and learned here in the federal prison system,
for our country's sake, inaction is no longer option.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
presently has 210,000 prisoners in custody, and according to public records, is
35% over the rated capacity, meaning the BOP is housing 35% more inmates than
there is room for. This is accomplished by double and triple bunking inmates in
high, medium and low security facilities. Overcrowding in any jail or prison
environment creates frustration, friction, and confrontation. The possibility
of violence against inmates and/or staff becomes extremely high. To reduce
these possibilities, prisoners must have access to programs that will keep them
occupied and help in reducing recidivism, and "good time" incentives
that will encourage them to comply with institutional rules. In addition,
prison administration must do what it can to reduce the overcrowding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Currently, there are 23,000 men being housed
in federal minimum security camps, the lowest classification of housing within
the BOP. In the camp where I am located, there are approximately 300 inmates
that have been convicted of non-violent drug or "white collar"
offenses. They pose no threat to society or the community, and they are not
escape risks. The housing units in a minimum security camp consist of
dormitory-style units similar to that on a military base or college campus, and
there is extremely minimal staffing. There are no fences around most camps, no
locks on the doors, and in reality, I was far more restricted on home
confinement or house arrest for the nearly six months before I arrived at my
present facility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">About 85% of the prisoners at the facility
where I am have been convicted of non-violent drug offenses; about 20% of these
are first-time offenders. About 15% of the camp's population is here for
white-collar crimes. Most are first-time offenders as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Hopelessness
and despair permeate<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">This has been an eye-opening, gut-wrenching
learning experience since the day I arrived. Most important, I have learned
that just because these men are here in prison, they are not all
"bad" men. Some are; some are simply incurable. Others committed
crimes out of habit, some out of greed, some out of stupidity, and some had no
clue they were even doing anything wrong. Most would give anything to turn back
time to make it right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I have listened to their stories as well as
their gripes and complaints about our justice system. Five things stand out.
First, their sentences. I have been stunned, absolutely stunned, by the length
of their sentences. Second, we are imprisoning people who belong in hospitals
or drug treatment centers. Third, real rehabilitation within the system is
non-existent; fourth, because they have no money for legal representation, many
of these men who should not be here are rotting away in prison, and, last,
there is an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness, despair and cynicism that
permeates the compound.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Do keep in mind that during my career as a
police officer and drug agent, I stood in courtrooms with no mercy or
compassion as people were sent to prison. But these were BAD people who did BAD
things. These were men who brutally executed and murdered other men. They
attempted to murder my partner and me. These were men from whom we seized millions
of dollars in drug proceeds and <u>tons</u> of cocaine, not ounces or grams. I
believe today, as I did then, that they deserved to go to prison for 10, 20,
and 30 years to life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">However, similar sentences have been rendered
for many of the non-violent low level drug and white collar offenders in this
minimum security camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could this be
fair?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was stupefied when one
non-violent inmate told me he had been sentenced to 30 years for a drug
conspiracy and that he had already served 19 years of his time. Thirty years
for a non-violent drug conspiracy in which he was found with no drugs in his
possession! Why is he still here? The more I hear, the more I understand the
true meaning of Justice Kennedy's words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">There are young men in this minimum security
camp who have been convicted of low-level drug offenses and sentenced to 10
years in prison. Five (5) grams of cocaine have put them in prison for 10
years, some more. Five grams is the weight of two sugar packs in a coffee shop.
Threatened with even longer sentences by federal prosecutors, many of these men
in their late teens and mid-20s and 30s simply pled guilty for sentences of 10
years or more, some for first-time offenses. Some never had drugs in their
possession or even knew the people they were supposed to have conspired with.
Think about it: 10+ years in prison for such crimes that, in a state criminal
justice system, would garner months, if not probation, for first-time
offenders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">These men are doomed to failure unless they
receive shorter sentences and are mandated to participate in lifestyle and self
improvement programs that will help them to return to society as better people.
While well intended, the BOP and its ability to meet its stated goals and
objectives to provide real work and vocational, educational and rehabilitative
programs, fall substantially short. Education, discipline, occupational
training, and real jobs will reduce recidivism, not prolonged incarceration,
that some believe is a crime reduction strategy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Draconian sentences without discipline,
education, and occupational training are destroying these men, shattering their
families, and leaving their children fatherless, spurring welfare dependency,
increasing recidivism and creating a cycle of crime and incarceration that will
only increase for generations to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Simply
warehousing prisoners<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">As for the law-and-order and tough-on-crime
advocates who are skeptical of sentencing reform, I suggest that you are
probably under the same assumption I was until I arrived here:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the system makes every effort to rehabilitate
those incarcerated. But, in reality, it does not. We as Americans have been
told for decades that we are spending billions of taxpayer dollars each year on
prison systems and rehabilitation, but what I have found is that we are
spending billions to simply warehouse prisoners. Rehabilitation is nugatory at
best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">To give you a better understanding of my
first-hand observations, consider this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Over the past few decades, the system has been overloaded with
non-violent drug offenders serving more than ten years in medium and low
security facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These offenders
eventually drop below their ten year "out" date and get moved to a
minimum security camp. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The only way to describe the daily environment
in this minimum security camp is that it compares to a junior high school,
without classes and girls. Grown men sit around like teenage boys talking about
old times, drugs, guns, cars, jewelry, women and sports. Because they have
limited contact with the outside world, this place has become their home, and
the other prisoners have become their family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Then you have young non-violent low level drug
offenders who are sentenced to five to ten years and wind up here in the same
camp with the older prisoners who are serving out the final years of their
sentences. This is absolutely the worst thing you could do to these younger
men. Some of them have graduated from high school, a few attended college, many
are uneducated, and some are completely illiterate and cannot read or write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">However, once they arrive here and mix into
their new surroundings and the fear of prison dissipates, they begin their
"new education" with the older institutionalized inmates as their
teachers. They learn how to lie, cheat, steal, con, manipulate, and gamble.
Their vocabulary diminishes into a profound ghetto slang, their posture changes
into an intimidating swagger, a fist bump replaces a handshake, and a grunt
replaces "Good morning." They have no respect for the privacy of
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A normal conversation consists
of yelling and hollering, and minor disagreements often result in threats of
violence. Here they learn more about the drug trade than they did on the
outside, and they make all the contacts they need to further themselves in
criminal activity once they leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
is just for starters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Their surroundings begin to demoralize and
demean them, they lose whatever occupational skill sets they may have had
before being incarcerated, and they go from a societal value system to an
institutional one that lacks respect, discipline, and responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Keep in mind that I am talking about
non-violent drug offenders whose families and communities have already failed
them. Many of them are first-time offenders who, with the right guidance,
education, and programs, or a mandated military-style boot camp, could leave
prison better than when they arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, the system does not provide it. The younger they are and the
longer they are imprisoned, the less of a chance they will have for any type of
successful integration back into society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Unlike their families and community, our
criminal justice system must not provide them an option of failure. If we do
not shorten their sentences, make their stay more valuable, and get them out of
the system faster, smarter and with an intended goal of improving themselves,
we may as well sentence them to life in prison or death because that is
ultimately what we are doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">For the non-drug or white-collar offender, the
system demeans and demoralizes them as well, but the cost to society is far
more devastating. In this camp, such men are serving sentences of 6 - 120
months. Most of them have led productive and successful lives and had never
been in trouble with the law until now. They did not need to be sentenced to <u>years</u>
in prison to be punished or learn their lesson. For them, just surrendering to
prison, being strip searched and thrown into their new living environment was
rehabilitation enough to ensure they never return. However, what happens next
is perhaps one of the most devastating and damaging contradictions of our
entire criminal justice system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Collateral
damage devastating<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Most of these men are highly educated-doctors,
dentists, CPAs, lawyers, corporate executives, politicians and various
government employees, including some military. Nearly all of them possess
aggressive work ethics and highly desired skill sets. They possess everything
that the system preaches, promotes and encourages the drug offenders to
accomplish, but then, because they were successful prior to their incarceration,
the system seems to use that success against them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They get painted with the same broad brush of
vilification as some of the nation's lowest and worst criminals.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">For most, regardless of their family ties, or
what they may have done for society or their local communities, or their
military service or contributions to their country, mercy or leniency of any
kind are unacceptable considerations by most federal prosecutors, who routinely
seek the maximum punishment under the sentencing guidelines and are unhappy
with anything less. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Over the past 20 years, the system has become completely
unforgiving. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Many of the men in this camp, both drug and
non-drug offenders, are good men who made a mistake. They deserve to be
punished, but the punishment should fit the crime. They did not rob, rape,
murder, or commit a violent crime, but you would never know this by the way
they are treated. They are demeaned, degraded and financially annihilated so
badly that the toll for many is close to unbearable, causing them depression,
serious health issues, enormous cynicism, and unfortunately for some, permanent
psychological damage. The far-reaching and collateral fallout to their families
is often even worse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The impact on the next generation for almost
every man in this camp is grave, though rarely talked about...it is too
painful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">It is heart-breaking to confront this truth: a
father's ability to help, teach, guide and mentor his children while
incarcerated is close to impossible. For every day they are separated, the bond
between father and child diminishes, and they grow further apart. The system
encourages men to communicate with their children and families, but then
prevents them from doing so on multiple levels. Phone calls and emails are
limited and are far more costly than on the outside. An inmate makes .12 cents
per hour working within the prison system, but is charged .23 cents a minute
for phone calls and .05 cents per minute for emails. Oftentimes, distance and
the cost of travel make visits infrequent or preclude them altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">No matter where you came from, or what you
have been incarcerated for, or how long your sentence, the separation between a
father and his kids creates pain and anxiety for both. You cannot teach and
mentor a child in absentia. Any attempt to discipline your child during a visit
or long distance - by phone or email - creates friction, added anxiety, anger,
upset and, ultimately, distance. They say that justice is blind. No one comes
to understand that better than the children of someone in prison. If they are
too young to realize it today, I promise that over time it is something they
will learn and never forget. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Think of it this way: A young man, 31 years
old, arrested for a first-time, non-violent drug offense is sentenced to nine
years in federal prison. He has an 11 year old son whose "collateral
sentence" is nearly half of his lifetime without his father. At perhaps
the most critical time in that child's life, when he will need his father most,
he will be without him and on his own. If there were alternatives to
incarceration, if there were alternative penalties, if there were boot camps or
something other than our reliance on mandated incarceration and these draconian
sentences, perhaps they would both be saved. Instead, with the mandatory
minimums and sentencing guidelines, the chances are extremely high that the son
will one day replace the father in this living hell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">For a father who loves, adores and cherishes
his children, a day in prison is like a week, a week like a month, and a month
a year. Time virtually stands still, while the lives of his children pass him
by. For those men, they can only hope and pray that their wives and/or family
have the mental, emotional, and physical stamina and ability to make up for his
absence in caring for his children. I thank God every day for my own wife, and
the care she gives our youngest daughters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">But what happens to the children who aren't
that lucky? They suffer the loss of love, support and mentoring of a parent,
and because there is little to no compassion in the system, there is absolutely
nothing a father can do. That is his greatest punishment, and ultimately,
society's as well. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Please do not misunderstand: I am not saying
that many of these men should not be punished or go to prison. Many should, but
not for the length of time in many cases. Their sentences contradict our
founding fathers real goals of justice. If there were alternatives, children
and families would not have to pay such a high price for their fathers'
long-term absences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Grave
economic impact</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">In all the years I spent in the correctional
field, I never focused on the collateral damage to the offender, their families
and, more so, to our society and country. My principal focus was the care,
custody and control of the inmate population, and ensuring that the prisoners
received the programs and services they were supposed to receive according to
state and federal minimum standards. When I thought of incarceration costs, my
only concern was the incarceration cost to house a prisoner within our system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">What I never thought about, until I arrived at
this minimum security camp, was the economic collateral cost of incarceration
to the American taxpayer and to our economy as a whole. The more I have studied
this, the more I have been shocked by reality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">According to the latest figures from the government,
the average cost to incarcerate a federal prisoner is $28,284.00 annually. A person
would naturally assume that an offender sentenced to three years in federal
prison will cost the government and the American taxpayers $84,852.00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wrong! That cost is only to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">incarcerate</i> the prisoner. The collateral
economic costs of his three year incarceration far outweighs the government's
out-of-pocket expense, and here's why: If that prisoner earned $100,000 before
his arrest and incarceration, the government loses the tax income on the
inmate's $100,000 annual salary, and the economy loses his cost of living
spending. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">That is a loss of $300,000 to the economy,
plus nearly $85,000 for his incarceration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then, add in the cost of the investigation, and at a bare minimum, the
total is about $500,000. As a result of their imprisonment, many of these men
have to file bankruptcy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their families
are forced to depend on welfare or public assistance. Those are additional
staggering losses to the American taxpayer and our economy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Lastly, for criminal defendants to be ordered
to pay restitution upon their release from prison, it will be close to
impossible for them to do so. Most of them are left destitute as a result of
the prosecution against them and their imprisonment, and their earning
capabilities once released will be reduced by up to 60%. Ordering restitution
in most cases amounts to nothing more than symbolism over substance, because it
is just not possible. Once a defendant has been socially and financially
incapacitated for life, where is the money going to come from? This is another
enormous financial loss to our economy, not to mention crime victims who will
never recoup their losses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Using a real life example of one of the
white-collar defendants here who had a very small company that employed five
people, including himself, the basic loss to the American taxpayer and our
economy for his three year imprisonment will run in excess of $2 million in
direct and indirect costs, not including unemployment benefits for those losing
their jobs when his company closed. So, instead of this man's incarceration
costing the economy and American taxpayers $25,000 per year, it will ultimately
cost us about $660,000. Had he been placed on probation and fined and penalized
substantially, he would have been punished, justice would have been served, and
there would be no loss to the government. And, this is only one man, and there
are thousands within the system with similar crimes and circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Mass
incarceration is costing billions<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Unnecessary and over-incarceration are costing
our country billions more than the reported cost of incarceration. If the
system allowed or encouraged alternatives to incarceration whereby many
non-violent offenders were placed on home confinement and house arrest, with
strict supervision, and allowed to work, pay taxes, take care of their
families, and pay their fines and restitution, the government would be making
money, instead of losing it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">And consider this: Criminal justice experts
from the ABA, the Cato Institute, the National Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers, the ACLU, the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, just to
name a few, are raising serious concerns about over-criminalization by federal
prosecutors who are increasingly investigating and criminally prosecuting
people for what once was civil, administrative, and regulatory conduct. Have
you ever thought that inflating your income on a credit card application or a
loan application for a home, car, or college tuition is bank fraud and you
could be sent to federal prison? What about a government employee who falsifies
his time and attendance records or uses government property, like a cell phone
or computer, for his own personal use? Or a banker or corporate executive who
buys a client or vendor a generous birthday or Christmas gift?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, under recently proposed
legislation by the Justice Department, putting a false name, date of birth or
photo on Facebook could become a felony.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Should <u>you</u> become the target of a
federal prosecutor, each of these examples - and far less -could result in
federal charges, and you being sent to federal prison. No one can escape
federal charges and prison time if scrutinized and pursued relentlessly as some
of the men I have met here. NO ONE!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Certainly, if a person commits a crime or
makes a mistake, he should be held accountable or punished, but the punishment
must fit the crime. "Punishment" should not automatically mean YEARS
in prison. Our reliance on over-incarceration and draconian sentences for
non-violent convictions are destroying people, families, and our society as a
whole. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">We seem to have lost sight of the intended
purposed of our criminal justice system: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">justice.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">We must institute real alternatives to
incarceration - shorter sentences, probationary sentences, home confinement and
house arrest, and greater fines and penalties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We must put a stop to mass incarceration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">We should also consider programs where
first-time non-violent felony drug offenders enter a guilty plea for their
crime, but receive a deferred sentence if they complete either a long-term
residential drug treatment program, or military style boot camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Successful completion could result in the
dismissal of charges, thus avoiding a felony conviction and a criminal record,
and giving these offenders a second chance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">In addition, we should consider adopting
Virginia's risk assessment program which offers shorter sentences and
diversionary programs to offenders deemed not likely to repeat crimes. (Of
course, those deemed at-risk face stiffer penalties and sentences). Virginia
Governor Robert F. McDonnell said that those leaving prison should have an
opportunity to change, and he has moved to help state prisoners more easily
regain their voting rights. He called America a "nation of second
chances."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Unfortunately for a federal convicted felon,
those words are nothing more than rhetoric.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">'Dying with
your eyes open'<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">One of the damaging and devastating realities
for a federal convict is that the label "convicted felon" is, for
most, a life sentence of financial and social devastation, negatively impacting
the offender's employment possibilities, earning capability, and vocational
licensing for the rest of his life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Based on my conversations with other inmates
who realize they have made a mistake and would give anything to turn their
lives around, they see that label, “convicted felon,” as something that will
prevent them from attaining any type of success in the future. Based on what
they have learned from the older prisoners in the system, the younger men see
that label as a death sentence. "There's no use...it is hopeless,"
one young black man said to me. "I'll leave here worse than when I got
here, then what?" Unfortunately, he could not be more right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Hopelessness and despair begin on the day of
sentencing when you stand before the court and are reminded that you are no
longer an empowered citizen of the United States of America. You are told that
your conviction will deprive you of valuable civil rights such as the right to
vote, the right to sit on a jury, the right to bear a firearm, and the right to
hold public office. Your conviction could prevent you from holding certain
licenses such as law, real estate and others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Most prisoners I am serving with feel the day
they were sentenced was the end of their life. From that day on, as a young man
here told me, "It's like dying with your eyes open." Despite my 30
years in law enforcement, I would have never known what he meant without being
here to see it for myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">In a free and democratic society such as ours,
justice should not eternally slaughter one's rights to freedom and liberty,
except in the most extreme cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it
does…day in and day out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the federal
criminal justice system, the only way to expunge that criminal conviction and
lifetime label of "convicted felon" is by presidential pardon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Imagine this: A 22 year old United States
Marine sold a pair of night vision goggles that he owned on eBay to an
international exporter who did not have the appropriate U.S. government export
permit. The Marine was charged and pled guilty to selling the goggles for
export - a felony. He will carry with him the label of "convicted
felon" until the day he dies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">As a result of his conviction, he lost his job
and his home, and his life and new marriage were completely turned upside down,
not to mention that, as a "convicted felon," he will face a lifetime
of hardship, and financial and social sacrifice. And, if all of this wasn't bad
enough, the federal prosecutor insisted on prison time, so he was sentenced to
36 months in federal prison. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">This young U.S. Marine, who had barely begun
his adult life and whose only real job was fighting for and defending the very
freedoms and liberties that he has lost forever, is now destitute. Unless
pardoned by the President of the United States, his punishment will last
forever. Is that what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the U.S
Constitution and the laws of our land? I just don't think so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">It is time to consider a way to give these men
a second chance... a REAL second chance.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">One of the most disturbing things I have
discovered since my incarceration is that there are many men in prison who are
indigent and do not have the financial wherewithal to afford an attorney for an
appeal or legal issues that often arise as a result of being incarcerated, such
as divorce, child custody, home foreclosures, tax issues, lawsuits and insurance
issues, to name a few. The system is designed to further destroy what's left of
these men once they arrive at prison, and without an attorney or some sort of
legal assistance, they don't stand a chance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I am also convinced there are innocent men in
prison who would be free today if they had the benefit of an attorney to assist
them with their appeals or court filings. Many of these men cannot read, and
the laws are too complex and complicated. Unfortunately, many criminal defense
attorneys see their job as complete once their client is taken away or runs out
of money. Only a few continue to help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Prisoners with a better understanding of the
law are reluctant to help others, at the risk of them becoming a criminal
target by federal prosecutors for "practicing law without a license."
It has happened. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">A man should not lose his Constitutional
rights because he lacks the money to fight for them! But this is occurring
every single day across America, and as a result, people who should not be
imprisoned are rotting away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Recent news reports have suggested that law
graduates are having difficulties finding employment. I know exactly where they
could be quite useful if Congress and the ABA would create a legal assistance
program in places like this and for the men who need it the most.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">In addition, it is time to address another
issue: using jails and prisons to house the mentally ill or those in need of
drug treatment programs. Here at this prison camp, I have seen two stunning
examples of this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">When I first arrived here, there was a 44 year
old man who suffered from mental illness, was partially blind, and had only a
third grade reading level. He had absolutely no business being here. He
belonged in a hospital or treatment center, not a prison. He was found mentally
incompetent to stand trial by state authorities, so they turned him over to
federal prosecutors who ignored the state's findings and charged him with
possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine. His attorney urged him
to accept a plea agreement of 128 months in prison. He signed a plea agreement
that he could not read or understand to serve 10 years and eight months in
federal prison. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">After nine years in prison, he was released,
but for the month before he left this compound, he paced and wandered around
aimlessly, like an animal in a cage. When I approached him and asked him what
was the matter, instead of being excited about leaving after nine years, his
greatest concern was that he was afraid of getting lost... he had to take two
buses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">There was a 24 year old man who, in 2005, pled
guilty in federal court for manufacturing methamphetamine. He was sentenced to
40 months in federal prison, given four years probation and ordered to attend a
residential drug treatment program. After attending the program and serving 24
months in prison, he was released. He found a job, was successfully employed
and was attending evening college classes. Two years later, he relapsed, began
using cocaine, and admitted himself into a treatment center to get help. When
his probation officer learned of his whereabouts and circumstances, the young
man was sent back to federal prison for 36 months because he failed a urine
test, a violation of his probation. He needed treatment; he did not need three
more years in prison. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">For close to 16 months, until the day he left
this compound, I watched this young man sit on his bed, staring into space, and
slowly deteriorate. He needed therapeutic help on several fronts, but got none.
He was "dying with his eyes open."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">System can
be fixed<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The flaws, failures and inadequacies of the
system are overwhelming. From within the system I see them clearly. I also know
they can be fixed. With efficient and creative management and accountability,
and the help of Congress, real reforms that are essential are possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">For more than a century, Americans have stood
proud of being global leaders in industry, technology, military, medicine and
innovation. Recently, however, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous
reminded us of a stunning, sad and shameful reality: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">America also leads the world in mass incarceration.</i> We are 5% of
the world's population, yet 25% of the world's prisoners. How is that possible?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Have we become a society of what our
forefathers feared most...persecution, oppression, abuse and mistreatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">A repeal of the mandatory minimums and federal
sentencing guidelines is critical. The sentences are unjust, unfair, too long
and extremely severe. Real educational programs, discipline, and occupational
training and job placement must be instituted for those incarcerated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Young first-time drug offenders should be
mandated to attend military style boot camps that teach respect, patriotism,
discipline, parenting, occupational and vocational training. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Non-violent offenders with the ability to
work, pay taxes, take care of their families, and pay their fines and
restitution should be considered for alternatives to incarceration such as home
confinement or house arrest, probationary sentences, and stiffer fines and
penalties. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">We must seek funding to provide those
incarcerated with legal assistance if they cannot afford it otherwise, and
consider legislation that returns an offender's Constitutional rights once they
have proven themselves worthy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Congress must consider substantial sentence
reduction initiatives for the federal prison system that would encourage
positive inmate behavior and substantially reduce the number of inmates within
the system. There are several Congressional bills sitting in the halls of
Congress that would accomplish both. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">One such bill or amendment calls for a
retroactive enhancement of a federal prisoner's "good time" credit,
from 54 days per year to 128 days per year. By doing so, it would create
substantial incentives for inmates to comply with institutional rules, which
would reduce staff confrontations and inmate-on-inmate violence within the
system. Inmates who refuse to comply with institutional rules and policies
could lose some or all of their "good time” credit, thereby prolonging their
time in custody.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The enhancement of “good time” credit, which
would be comparable to many state prison systems around the country, would also
reduce the numbers of inmates within the system, thereby reducing overcrowding.
Most important, at a time when Congress is desperately searching for ways to
cut government spending, “good time” credit would reduce the BOP's annual
budget by close to $1 billion. Portions of those cost savings could be used for
much needed inmate recidivism reducing programs, basic and in-service BOP staff
training, and emergency and safety equipment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The remainder would be an enormous cost
savings to the American taxpayer, not to mention, once these inmates are
released, they can begin to work, pay taxes, begin to take care of their families,
and pay their fines and restitutions, another benefit to our economy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Without these changes and more, the U.S.
prison population will continue to grow in staggering numbers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
recently said, "The effects of rampant incarceration in recent years have
been devastating for families, neighborhoods and civil society."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even he has no idea how devastating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You really cannot get the whole picture from
the outside looking in.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Foundation of democracy at stake<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">As a father, an American, and someone who has
fought for and defended the very freedom and liberty that I feel are in
jeopardy, I have been shaken to the core by what I have seen with my own eyes.
I fear for all our children and their children as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">We have allowed our criminal justice system to
devolve into one that lacks fairness, mercy and compassion, and seems to pride
itself on over-criminalization, conviction, mass-incarceration and the
destruction of humanity. Sentences are too long, punishment too harsh, and true
rehabilitation is non-existent. If Congress and the American people could
witness what I have since my incarceration, there would be anger, there would
be outrage, and there would be change. No one in their right mind would allow
this system to continue as it is today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">To intentionally ignore the flaws, failures
and injustices in our federal criminal justice system out of fear of being
"soft on crime" should no longer be an acceptable excuse to do
nothing. To over-criminalize, over-incarcerate and do little to nothing to
rehabilitate those within the prison system is "wrong on crime," and
is a threat to every American in this country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">In 1994, just after I was appointed to the New
York City Department of Correction, I was told over and over by city officials
that I should have never taken the job. "Rikers is too big, too violent
and out of control," they said. "It can never be fixed." I felt
otherwise. The month I took over as First Deputy, we averaged 150 stabbings and
slashings in the system per month. Six years later, the month I was appointed
police commissioner, there was only one (1).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Change <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">In just six years, we went from being one of
the most violent, overcrowded, and mismanaged jail systems in this country to
an international role model of efficiency, accountability, and safety. With the
help and support of Congress, our criminal justice and prison system can change
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I call on our country's leaders and the
American people to take this growing problem seriously. The very foundation of
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-76654162004777912072013-10-23T20:33:00.000-04:002013-10-24T06:29:09.257-04:00TERROR - 30 YEARS AGO TODAY<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thirty years ago today, I was working in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, when the BBC began reporting that a suicidal terrorist had driven
a water tanker loaded with explosives into a four story building in Beruit,
Lebanon, that housed a detachment of U.S. Marines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than 240 of our soldiers died in that attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the first and most substantial attack by
radical Muslim extremists that I had seen up until that day, and it wouldn’t be
the last. Unfortunately, I would see many more, including the worst in world
history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t think we learned much from that attack,
or from the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, an American businessman who was thrown
overboard, from the cruise ship Achille Lauro, by Palestinian terrorists less
than two years after the Beruit bombing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To me, those events were the beginning of radical
Islam’s war against the west, a war that has only increased over time. And,
with each attack that has followed, we have learned more and more about our new
found enemy, most importantly, that it looks like they’re here to stay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If history has taught us anything, it is that
good will prevail over evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we continue in that battle between good and
evil, let us not forget those that sacrificed, so that we could live in freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God Bless those soldiers that died on October 23,
1983, and those that have died since. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May they never ever be forgotten.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-85909205819206986852013-10-18T00:31:00.001-04:002013-10-18T00:40:34.132-04:0025 YEARS AGO TODAY<div>
On this day, 25 years ago, Michael Buczek was 24, and Chris Hoban 26. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aUnuCPXYznk/UmC3vLloLhI/AAAAAAAAAJk/2FvbqqUTzJQ/s1600/Buczek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aUnuCPXYznk/UmC3vLloLhI/AAAAAAAAAJk/2FvbqqUTzJQ/s1600/Buczek.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
They died long before their time, leaving behind heartbroken families, and a devastated department. 25 years later, the memory of their passing is no less painful than it was on that fateful night. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My prayers are with the families that they left behind, and the men and women that I worked with in Manhattan North Narcotics (MNND), that have carried on their memory ever sense. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
God Bless you all.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-34141399640368721552013-09-22T18:23:00.002-04:002013-09-22T18:29:06.621-04:00THE BLACKEST OF FRIDAYS<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The number of dead in the
Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, is now up to 68, and according to
sources in CNN, three of the terrorists responsible are from the United States,
linked to the terrorist group al-Shabab.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is anyone surprised? They
shouldn’t be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in 2005 and 2006, I
said that it was only a matter of time before we would see things like this in
our own country. Not if, but when, and by whom?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The spectacular type of
attack such as 9/11 is no longer needed to have a severe and negative impact on our psyche
and our economy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine how black “Black
Friday” would be, if on America’s biggest shopping day of the year, the day
after Thanksgiving, al-Qaeda affiliated groups, entered three or four malls
like Westgate, around the country at the same time, and carried out the same
sort of attack?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It could have devastating
consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Al-Qaeda’s links and growing
influence here in America has grown substantially, and it’s only a matter of
time, before something like this happens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The attack in Nairobi, is
an example of their ability, and a reminder as to why we have got to remain
pre-emptive and pro-active in doing everything we can to secure our critical
infrastructure, and insure our intelligence community is at the top of their
game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to reports, the
group that carried out this operation is estimated to have several thousand
fighters, including a few hundred foreign fighters - some from the Middle East
with experience in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and others are from
Somali communities in the United States and Europe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let’s hope that we find
them, before they find us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today it’s a mall in
Nairobi, Kenya… but as the say in the major motion picture industry, “Coming to
a theater near you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let’s hope not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-38515823615353771572013-09-16T08:46:00.001-04:002013-09-16T08:48:55.164-04:00Madison Rising Star-Spangled Banner 2013 (Flopping Aces Tribute)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yaye7Md3PYs" width="459"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-73367355362132768422013-09-07T12:00:00.000-04:002013-09-07T12:00:05.643-04:00REFLECTIONS OF 9/11/2001September 11, 2001 began like most mornings. It was around 6 a.m. that I gave my wife Hala and 11 month old daughter Celine a kiss before walking out the door of our apartment. Given it was New York City’s primary election day for the mayoral candidates, Hala and I had plans to watch the election results with the Mayor at The Dylan Hotel, on East 41st Street, that evening. I confirmed our plans and told her I’d see her later. Little did I know no one would be voting that day.<br />
<br />
I was in sweats, ready for my daily work out in the gym in the back to the Commissioner’s office at NYPD headquarters. The drive from my apartment took about 40 minutes. By the time I arrived, I had read through the crime stats from the night before and had been briefed by the detectives in my car. Nothing, that I recall, was out the ordinary. If we all were lucky, it would be a peaceful day with the election going smoothly. <br />
<br />
I went to my office, put a few things on my desk, and then started running on the treadmill while watching the news. It was a blue sky day, the kind you’d want for any election. I finished my workout about 0745 and then went over some paperwork in my office. When I finished, I went to take a shower and was standing in my bathroom shaving when John Picciano, my chief of staff, and Detective Hector Santiago started banging on my outer door. When I opened it, I still had shaving cream all over my face and a white towel around my waist. “A plane has just hit Tower One,” they said, almost in unison. I looked up at the TV over my treadmill and saw the news coverage. I walked quickly through my office to my conference room to look at the Towers...a clear shot from my windows. I was horrified by what I saw.<br />
<br />
The devastation to the North Tower, 1 World Trade Center (WTC), was mind-boggling. I wondered how a small plane could have done so much damage. The news began reporting that it was a jet airliner. A jetliner? <br />
<br />
Within minutes I was there, standing on West Broadway on the north side of the building, right next to 7 World Trade which housed the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management. The front of it had been damaged by the explosion of the airplane hitting the building. There was no way to get into the building or to the Office of Emergency Management. There was debris falling from the top of the North Tower. People were running out buildings, screaming and crying. A police sergeant ran towards me and my men, screaming for us to get back. "Back up, back up!" he yelled, "They're jumping!" <br />
<br />
As most Americans watched their television in horror as men and women jumped to their deaths from the 95th floor of the building, I witnessed their last moments alive. One by one, then two and three at a time, they jumped and fell to the ground. I felt completely helpless. There was no way to stop them...or to help them. They were escaping the towering inferno in the only way they could. <br />
<br />
About 15-20 feet to my right, just off the curb, was a hot dog vendor who too realized what he was seeing. He began screaming at the top of his lungs, “Oh my God! Oh my God!” He moved closer to me, gesturing and grimacing wildly. Then, he simply stood still, still screaming but not moving. He was so loud I couldn’t hear what my people were shouting to me. I yelled for them to get him back and out of the way. They moved him behind me and north of Barclay, and, luckily they did because had he stood there much longer, he would have died instantly from more falling debris.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Unanswerable questions</b></i><br />
<br />
The city's response was in motion and, as bad as it seemed at that moment, it was about to get severely worse, not only for New York City, but the entire nation. As I turned around to give an order to one of my men, an enormous explosion and fireball blew out of the north side of the South Tower around the 85th floor. As I looked straight up, I was confused at first. What the hell just happened? Then I heard a member of the NYPD aviation unit on the radio say that a second jet airliner had just hit the South Tower on the south side, opposite of where I was standing. In that instant, I knew we were at war. An enemy was attacking us. I yelled for John Picciano, my chief of staff, to get me air support and close down the airspace. <br />
<br />
How many planes did they have? Were they also on the ground? Where would they strike next? Would they try to kill the mayor? Me? My mind was racing with unanswerable questions. <br />
<br />
We ran for cover as debris from the plane and building showered down on top of us. A two foot chunk of metal from the plane struck one of my detectives in the back of the leg, nearly knocking him to the ground. <br />
<br />
I told my staff to call the mayor's car and divert him. Have him meet me at West Broadway and Barclay. Forget meeting at 7 WTC; it was too dangerous. About three minutes later, the mayor arrived, jumped out of his truck and ran up to where I was standing. Joe Lhota, his deputy mayor, was there too. I began telling them about the second plane hitting Tower Two just minutes before, just as I was standing there. We were looking up at the buildings and saw the rainstorm of white papers, chunks of metal, and….people. Suddenly the mayor realized that people were jumping to their deaths to escape the raging fire. He looked at me, stunned. It was obvious that we were likely to lose everyone and everything above the impact area of where the planes had hit. We realized this was like nothing we had ever been through before. <br />
<br />
The mayor grabbed my arm and said, "We're in unchartered territory." I assumed at the time that he was referring to the damage and devastation to the Towers and at the size of the response to come. However, in the days that followed the attack, and realizing an enemy had succeeded in the unimaginable—a catastrophic attack in the heart of our country's financial district—those words had a whole new meaning. <br />
<br />
There were no warning signs of the attack, but New York City's first responders in the FDNY, NYPD, EMS and Port Authority Police could not have accomplished more than they did that morning given the circumstances. With strength, determination, valor and grace, they executed plans and protocols that had been developed over the years, resulting in the evacuation of more than 100,000 people from lower Manhattan and the impact zone, the rescue and evacuation of thousands from the two buildings, and the establishment of one of the largest crime scenes in U.S. history, all in the face of death that, by day's end, claimed nearly 400 of their comrades.<br />
<br />
<b><i>‘We’ve got this, Boss’</i></b><br />
<br />
The mayor and I wanted to see the damage to the other side of the buildings so we walked to the fire department’s temporary command center. We met with the Fire Department's First Deputy Commissioner, Chief of Department, and Chief of Operations, three of the most experienced fire fighters in the country with well over 100 years of combined experience. Also there were Father Mychal Judge, the Fire Department's Chaplain, and Sergeant John Coughlin from the NYPD Emergency Services Unit (ESU). They briefed us on their assessment of the damage and the response. As the mayor spoke to Father Judge, I spoke to Sergeant Coughlin. Despite the death and devastation around them, they were all examples of grace under pressure. John briefed me on the ESU teams on site; you would have thought he was briefing me on a minor water main leak. He was confident, courageous, and defiant. "We’ve got this, Boss," he said, and he knew I believed in him. Just 10 months earlier, he had helped save my baby daughter's life when she was choking. I already knew Coughlin was a hero. They all were. As we walked away, heading back north on West Street, I told him to stay safe. Father Judge blessed us all. It was the last time I would see any of them alive.<br />
<br />
One of my detectives had commandeered a small office on the corner of Barclay Street and West Broadway for use as a temporary command post. We walked from West Street back to that office. The mayor called the White House from a hard-line phone. He wanted to ask for military support. After finally getting through, he was told that the Vice President would come on the line momentarily. All of the sudden, the mayor abruptly hung up the phone, looked at me and said, "That's not good. They said they're evacuating the White House and they think the Pentagon has just been hit." <br />
<br />
Before I could get my mind around his words, the building we were standing in began to tremble as if a freight train were coming through the side of it. Joe Esposito, the NYPD Chief of Department, burst through the door and yelled, "It's coming down!" Someone yelled, “Hit the deck!” A bunch of the mayor’s staff dove onto the floor. Some crawled under desks or tables. The building was rattling. No one screamed or yelled, but I could see the fright in their faces. I was standing, holding onto the wall and a file cabinet. None of us knew what was really going on. From where I was standing, I could see the windows in the corridor that led into the office. All at once, they were exploding. Something was happening outside…everything was shaking. <br />
<br />
The South Tower of the World Trade Center complex, one of the biggest buildings in the world, crashed to the ground. We didn’t see it, but we heard it. Almost instantly the office was filled with smoke, dust, and a gassy smell. <br />
<br />
When the rumbling stopped, my security team rushed the mayor, the others, and me to the back of the office. There was a door that entered into the hallway. One of my men was yelling into his portable radio, "Code Black!" the distress signal if the mayor or police commissioner was in trouble. The hallway connected to a maze of hallways, each with a door at the end. One by one each door was checked. Locked. We couldn't breathe. We were suffocating. I pulled my shirt up over my nose and mouth. I remember thinking: "All the shit I've been involved in... burning buildings, gun battles, drugs busts…and I'm going to die in an office!" <br />
<br />
<b><i>We couldn’t stay there</i></b><br />
<br />
I didn’t know how much time we had. No one could rescue us because no one knew where we were. I doubted the “Code Black” was even transmitted due to all the crap in the air and whatever else was going on outside. I thought of my wife and baby. Little did I know, Hala was watching the news coverage, and they were reporting the mayor and I were missing. <br />
<br />
We were surrounded by locked doors. The smoke and dust in the air were getting thicker. Breathing was becoming more difficult. I thought we were going to die there. Then, to our utter amazement, we heard keys jangling. Someone was opening one of the doors. We rushed in that direction and when the door opened, two maintenance men were about as stunned to see us as we were them... especially for them to see the mayor and me. We all took deep breaths of clean air. But we knew we couldn’t stay there. I asked them where the other doors went and if there was a back way out of the building. They said yes and we all headed for the far door that they opened with a set of keys. We all moved quickly down this new hallway, went through another door, and found ourselves in the lobby of 100 Church Street.<br />
<br />
We were now four blocks away from the Towers, and as I looked out of the windows in the lobby of the building, my first thought was that we had suffered a nuclear blast. Everything outside was white. Ash covered the streets, cars, and buildings. There was nearly an inch of dust on the ground. As we walked outside, what struck me perhaps more than anything was that there was no sound. None. It was almost as if we had been placed in a soundproof room. The silence was beyond eerie…it was frightening. What had really happened? We didn’t know. People were walking around in a daze. Some looked like plaster statues. Some were crying. I heard someone mumble, "It's down...the Tower's down....it's completely down." <br />
<br />
Many of the mayor's staff wanted him to return to City Hall, but I thought otherwise. I didn't know how many more planes there were or what the next targets could be. I wondered if ground attacks were planned. I told the mayor, "You cannot go back to City Hall. It is too dangerous for you there. You have got to get out of here." <br />
<br />
I needed to keep him alive. Continuity of government is critical at a time like this. I don't think he was thinking of it that way, but for me, it was no different than the U.S. Secret Service keeping the president airborne and out of Washington, D.C. until they could determine further threats. <br />
<br />
We began walking north. We had to set up a command center, but where? It was still difficult to breathe but not as bad as when we were stuck in that office. Then came that noise again. People behind us and around us began running and screaming. "It's coming down," and within seconds, the North Tower collapsed. Another blizzard of ash, dust and soot. Again, it was difficult to breathe.<br />
<br />
First we went into a hotel and then a fire station. I ultimately recommended that we use the New York City Police Academy as a command center. It was nondescript and out of the way. When I spoke with the press and media, I told them to them to keep the location secret. If there were enemy on the ground, I did not want them to know the whereabouts of the mayor, governor or the command center.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Greatest rescue mission</i></b><br />
<br />
By 12:30 p.m., the mayor, fire commissioner, nearly every city agency head and I met at the academy to begin managing the crisis. Governor George Pataki and his senior staff responded. The mayor and I later went to Saint Vincent's Hospital to check on casualties. Doctors and nurses were standing and sitting outside, waiting for those who might need medical attention. Few arrived. Little did I know then, that was a good sign for all of us. It meant the first responders had done a better job than anyone could have imagined. More than 100,000 people had been rescued or evacuated from those buildings and the surrounding area. This was one of the greatest rescue missions in U.S. history, and the men and women of the New York City Fire and Police Departments, EMS and the Port Authority Police were responsible.<br />
<br />
I returned to police headquarters late that afternoon. Joe Dunne, my first deputy, came into my office to tell me the families of the 23 missing police officers from the NYPD were assembled in the auditorium, waiting for me. Meeting the families was one of the most difficult moments of that day, but it was also one of the most inspirational. Fearing the worst, I tried to remain hopeful and optimistic. I shared their pain, but I also had great pride in our department...its heritage, its camaraderie and its ability to take care of its own. The family members were an inspiration to all of us. I often think that they were a greater inspiration to me than I may have been to them.<br />
<br />
Late that night, the mayor left the academy for home, and I left for my office. Before going to headquarters, I returned to what became known as "Ground Zero." I needed to see it again. I walked through the smoke and debris and saw a small group of people walking toward me. It was the mayor and his staff. We met for a moment. We barely spoke. We stood there looking at the damage and devastation. For me, it was like looking into the gates of hell, the smoke and fires and the smell. It was hard to breathe. I thought of those we were missing. I thought of the men and women who were there working. How could this happen and why? All in one day, I had witnessed the worst and the best in humanity...the evil that had attacked us and the courageous men and women, working tirelessly around the clock in an attempt to rescue any possible survivors.<br />
<br />
I slept in my office that night. I woke to the sound of fighter jets patrolling our skies. New York City was a war zone. I cried and I prayed to God for strength.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Completely gone</i></b><br />
<br />
Every day I witnessed great heroism and experienced great loss, as did all of America. Any of us who were at Ground Zero for any period of time saw things that would haunt the strongest of men. I clearly remember the day I got the news that they found two of my cops. I went to Ground Zero immediately. Every worker at the site came to a standstill as I walked toward my First Deputy Joe Dunne and the Chief of Department Joe Esposito. There were hundreds of workers, but it was still and silent. When I got to Dunne and Esposito, I said, "Who is it?" They told me the names of the two cops. I then asked, “Where are they?” <br />
<br />
They both pointed towards two orange Home Depot buckets, 10 to 15 feet away from where I was standing. I slowly walked toward the buckets, looked around and saw nothing. When I got up to the buckets and looked inside, each contained an exploded gun, a magazine, and, I believe, a set of keys and handcuffs. There was no body, vest, boots, uniform or belts...there was nothing else. These men were completely gone. Dunne had tears running down his face. He said, "There's nothing else." <br />
<br />
To this day, I hate the sight of orange buckets.<br />
<br />
The initial shock of finds like this was overwhelming to all of us. Some people took it harder than others, and some never recovered. The psychological impact of war can be devastating, and this was the first battleground in this war with our new-found enemy. The men and women serving on that battlefield we call “Ground Zero,” including many volunteers from across the country, somehow found the strength to work through these circumstances, through the death and devastation. The emergency responders deserve so much more credit than people have given them, not to mention the inference by many that they do not deserve the medical attention they have asked for. Anyone who refuses or questions medical support for the men and women who worked on those piles for days, weeks, and months at a time has absolutely no conception of what they went through. <br />
<br />
In the three and a half months that followed, we were not perfect, but did the best we could. As I have watched other crises around the world in the 10 years since, I stand even more proud today of our first responders. Their successes and sacrifices have been unprecedented, and I believe there are none better.<br />
<br />
Prior to September 11, 2001, I had already decided and announced I would leave office on December 31, 2001, with Mayor Giuliani, even though Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg had asked me to stay on as his police commissioner. Crime was down to a five year low, the morale of cops was up, community relations were stronger, and in just 13 months, we had reduced the response times nearly 50 percent for the first time in more than 10 years. I was proud of my accomplishments as police commissioner, but not as proud as I was of the men and women who worked under my command.<br />
<br />
Day in and day out, they put their lives on the line for the people of the City of New York, but it was not until 9/11 that the entire world got to see them at their best. They never cowered, and they did not flinch. In the face of death, their strength, dignity, valor and grace were unparalleled, just as with their brothers and sisters in the FDNY and Port Authority Police.<br />
<br />
May God bless those who were there, those we have lost since, and the families they left behind.<br />
<br />
And may God continue to bless the United States of America.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-40307116480646417692013-08-24T20:29:00.000-04:002013-08-25T07:37:05.258-04:00ASHTON KUTCHER'S MESSAGE<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the past few days, we
have seen teens that beat an elderly man to death for no reason, and others
that gunned down a college student, because they had nothing better to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guns, drugs, gangs, and
violence, are increasing at levels that are hard to believe. Where are these
kid's parents? Where is parental accountability? How do we get into the
minds of our young men and women today? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hollywood actor Ashton
Kutcher recently gave an acceptance speech at the Teen Choice Awards that
received national attention when he told America’s children, that work is a
good thing, to be smart, and to build their own lives. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNXwKGZHmDc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNXwKGZHmDc</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His message was dead on,
and although his message didn’t surprise me, what did, is how many people
watched it and said, “Oh my God… what a great message for our youth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No kidding!!!! But, why
aren’t America's children getting that message from their parents, their schools, or the
music or rap industry? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe they are the ones,
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people to pay attention, and kudos to those parents who didn’t have to be
reminded, what they should be teaching their own kids. All others --- WAKE UP! </span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can <i>Orange
is the New Black</i>, the new
weekly comedy-drama television series, focused on the American criminal justice
and prison system, do something that no one has ever been able to do
before? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the sake
of our economy, and our society as a whole, I sure hope so. <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/30/orange-is-the-new-black-season-1-review">http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/30/orange-is-the-new-black-season-1-review</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read Piper
Kerman’s book, <i>Orange is the New Black, </i>when
it first came out and found it compelling, gut wrenching, and sad but true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given my
experience in running Rikers Island and the NYPD, I have learned that you
cannot fix a problem that you do not know exists. Given what I observed during my own incarceration, I am convinced that our legislators, courts, criminal justice
administrators and the general public, have very little real insight, into
something that has had, and continues to have such an negative impact on our
children, economy and our country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully, <i>Orange
is the New Black</i>, will bring one of America’s most important issues,
into the halls of Congress, and the living rooms of a general public, to give
them a birds-eye-view of the collateral damage that prison and the criminal
justice system can quite often have on families, children, the economy, and our
society as a whole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bad people
that do bad things belong in prison, and some, for a very long time. Some
forever. But there are many first time, non-violent offenders sitting in
prison, that could be punished by alternative sentencing, such as fines,
probation, community service, and other methods, which would allow them to
work, take care of their families, pay their fines and restitutions, and most
importantly build a stronger bond with their children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Justice
would be served, and families could survive. The collateral cost of continuing
down the road we’re on, will ultimately destroy generations of our youth to
come, and our already dire economy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you
Piper Kerman for your story, and to Netflix for having the foresight, and
courage, to touch on a topic that NOT so many wish to discuss, or have the
courage to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully,
in the course of your efforts, you can convince our legislators that inaction
in criminal justice and prison reform is not as much <i>soft on crime</i>, as it is <i>stupid
on crime. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without it, our children and theirs, our economy, and our society as we know it, is doomed to failure.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-12972165541161311182013-07-14T13:15:00.000-04:002013-08-11T22:03:54.538-04:00DID WE WANT JUSTICE OR DIDN'T WE?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night, a jury consisting of six women in the State of Florida, found George Zimmerman, not guilty of a crime, in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The spectacle that has followed this tragedy from the time of the shooting, makes me wonder, if we as a country, haven't lost sight of what our founding fathers intended when they created the U.S. Constitution. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Martin family deserved answers concerning their son's death, and Zimmerman deserved an unbiased, fair, and impartial investigation into his actions. That's the way it all began, but it is not the way it ended. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Sanford Police conducted their investigation in conjunction with the local prosecutor's office, who concluded that the shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, although tragic, was done in self-defense, and no criminal charges were brought. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By all accounts, the initial investigation of the shooting was thorough, fair, and conclusive, but for some in the media, that just wasn't enough, so they alleged that the real motive for the shooting was race, and within days after their focus on George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin began, they turned one into a saint, and the other into a monster. Neither, was a fair, or even close representation.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then came the appointment of a special prosecutor, who using the same evidence, charged George Zimmerman with second-degree murder, a conviction of which could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A truly objective onlooker would have to wonder, how could the two investigations have such different results. The truth of the matter is that it is not that difficult, when a prosecutor is motivated by politics and the media, and begins to infuse into the real evidence, their own personal conjecture and lopsided crime theories that can ultimately change the entire dynamic of the investigation.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The special prosecutor in this case claimed Zimmerman shot Martin because "he wanted to." They labeled Zimmerman a wannabe cop, claiming he followed Martin, after profiling him as a criminal. There was no evidence that that was the case, but they said it anyway, knowing it was a lie, and hoping that those words would win them a conviction.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is not justice. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prosecutors are not supposed to break the laws to enforce them. They are not supposed to be driven by the press or media, or influenced by political parties or activists, but unfortunately some are. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If a local, state or federal law enforcement officer got up on the witness stand, and lied to the court, or a jury, they would be charged with perjury, false statements or misconduct. Prosecutors should not be immune from those same standards and scrutiny, but unfortunately, for the Martin and Zimmerman families, they are.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the end, the jury concluded what the initial investigation concluded - that the shooting of Martin, was not a crime.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The aftermath of the trial, is perhaps even more disturbing than the fact that Zimmerman was unjustly charged with a crime in the first place.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz tweeted, "Thoroughly confused. Zimmerman doesn't last a year before the hood catches up to him." </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did we want justice, or did we not? Justice doesn't mean, you get the results you want or else! Justice should never be influenced by politics, the media or activism. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The political and civil rights activists will not be happy until they have destroyed Zimmerman and his family. Eventually, he'll lose his job, home and life savings, if he hasn't already, and he'll be bankrupted by legal fees and law suits. His life will never be the same, and this is just the beginning of the torture and torment he will suffer forever. This is not justice.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The initial investigation by prosecutors and the Sanford Police Department, and the findings of the jury was justice. Everything else, was a charade, and anything further would be a travesty.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enough is enough.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once and for all we should live and abide by the Constitution that was created to protect us. Ignoring it, is doing nothing but tearing us apart, and destroying this great country.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-90863119888494068992013-06-16T04:26:00.000-04:002013-08-11T22:04:29.685-04:00HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no greater gift that God has given man, than the gift of children.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On this Father's Day, I think of my own father and the love and life he gave me, and I thank God for the children with which I have been blessed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Father Day!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-89604504393875830292013-05-23T16:36:00.005-04:002013-08-11T22:05:12.123-04:00FOR THE CHILDREN OF HEROES<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Friday, May 17, 2013, two FBI agents assigned to the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team died in a training accident off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Special Agent Christopher Lorek, 41, left behind a wife and two daughters, ages 11 and 8; and Special Agent Stephen Shaw, 40, left behind a wife, a 3 year old daughter and 1 year old son.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To assist in the future education and needs for the children of these two heroes, The Lorek-Shaw Children's Fund has been established, and contributions can be made to:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lorek-Shaw Children's Fund - Account 231605</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Justice Federal Credit Union</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5175 Parkstone Drive</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chantilly, VA 20151</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their fathers died training to save the lives of others. Please send your thanks for their service and sacrifice, in the form of a contribution for the future of the children they left behind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May God Bless them all.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-39888872513101002642013-05-13T08:51:00.001-04:002013-08-11T22:06:31.946-04:00"The Heartthrob and A Sad Mother's Day"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to published
reports, thousands of American teenage girls are "crushing” over the 19
year old Boston terrorist bomber, Dzhokhar (Jahar) Tsarnaev, and leading a
social media movement to exonerate him.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 11.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .05in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 11.55pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a parent, I cannot think
of anything more sad, disappointing and disgusting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 11.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .05in; margin-right: .4in; margin-top: 11.35pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What parent in their right mind
would allow their children to make such sickening and insensitive comments,
considering this sick and deranged terrorist, killed three people, and injured
more than 200, including 13 that lost limbs?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 11.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .05in; margin-right: .7in; margin-top: 11.45pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These girls with their
empty souls, and morally bankrupt skulls, are exactly why parents, educators,
and our legislators should be championing and mandating the re-birth of civics
in our children's classrooms.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 11.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .05in; margin-right: .55in; margin-top: 11.55pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where are their basic
respect, discipline and common sense of right or wrong? Where are their
parents? Where are their mothers, on this Mother's Day?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 11.75pt 0.6in 0pt 0.05in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 11.4pt;">There is one mother who is
grieving the loss of her eight year old son, and who may need help tending to
his </span><span style="line-height: 15.18px;">grave site</span><span style="line-height: 11.4pt;"> There is another mother mourning the loss of her son, a police
officer, who is sadly suffering the first Mother’s Day without him in her life.
There are other mothers sitting in hospital bedsides, with their sons and
daughters that were massacred in this heinous act of terror. There are bedpans
to be emptied, and patients that need a helping hand to compensate for the one
they lost, as a result their "cute" heartthrob terrorist.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 11.4pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 11.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .05in; margin-right: .4in; margin-top: 11.55pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">Maybe
these mindless teenage girls should be studying the history, the Pledge of
Allegiance, or the U.S. Constitution, and learning how their stupidity is what
risks the very freedom this great nation was founded.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 11.55pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .05in; margin-right: .55in; margin-top: 11.5pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This movement, and the
comments made by these girls, raise some serious questions about their parents,
and their educators, but most importantly... what is happening to our country? Mothers
give life to, protect, nurture, and teach to form the hearts and minds of all
children and citizens who are then entrusted to build the future of our great country. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, on Mother’s Day, there’s proof their work is most vital and clearly never
done. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-67788949591037003332013-05-02T23:23:00.001-04:002013-08-11T22:07:10.246-04:00BETTER LATE, THAN NEVER<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forty years to the day, after Joanne Chesimard, a member of the Black Liberation Party, shot and killed New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster, she has earned her due, as the first woman to be placed on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chesimard, who later changed her name to Assata Shakur, killed Foerster on May 2, 1973, during a traffic stop in New Brunswick on the New Jersey Turnpike. She was subsequently arrested, and convicted for his murder. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1979, she escaped from prison, hid out in Pennsylvania for a while, and a few years later, popped up in Cuba, where she has lived ever since.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, the FBI, and the State of New Jersey announced a reward of $2 million, for the capture of Chesimard. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the New Jersey State Police, and those that remember the murder, and her escape, I suppose making that list today, is better late than never.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the $2 million reward, I know plenty of volunteers that would be more than glad to grab her, and bring her back where she belongs... reward or not!</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-14635012994337366932013-04-19T19:55:00.001-04:002013-04-19T19:55:01.928-04:00OUR FIGHT BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL<br />
During this morning's cable news coverage of the unfolding events in Boston, a newspaper reporter, made every attempt to downplay the danger and threats to our country by "self-radicalized" terrorists, like the two identified Chechnyan suspects, of the Boston bombings, saying they weren't as dangerous as the 9/11 terrorists. <br />
<br />
Tell that to the families of the three dead, the 13 amputees or the 170 wounded at the marathon bombing, or to the family of the MIT Police Officer that was killed last night! <br />
Had these two terrorists walked into a crowded theater, secured the doors, and detonated similar devices as the ones they used at the marathon finish line, the death and devastation could have been catastrophic. <br />
<br />
They have done it before. Islamic Chechnyan extremists, just like the ones involved in the Boston Marathon bombing, walked into a Russian movie theater, secured the doors, and slaughtered as many people as they could on the inside. I wonder if the families of those killed in that movie theater believe that the events of 9/11 was any worse of an attack than that, that took the lives of their loved ones.<br />
I don't care where these two suspects were born, or how, why, and when they were radicalized; other than to identify possible accomplices or organizations with which that may have been affiliated and could still pose a threat to America.<br />
<br />
You can say they're "self-radicalized," or call them Al-Qaeda, Chechnyan extremists, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, or a lone wolf. You can give them any title you wish, but the bottom line is that radical Islamic extremism is on the rise globally, and it is an enemy of the United States and other countries around the world that live in freedom.<br />
To those extremists, any non-Muslim is their enemy, and that gives them the right of Jihad, a Holy War against that enemy. <br />
<br />
That ideology is a threat to every American in this country, and until we come to the realization that that threat is a clear and present danger, our God given rights to live in peace and freedom is at stake.<br />
As we watch the events in Boston unfold, please take a moment to extend your thoughts and prayers to the families of those killed and injured, and to the courageous local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, who are putting their lives on the line, in an historic battle between good and evil. <br />
<br />
God Bless all of them, and God Bless America.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-6619182190542633742013-04-17T16:10:00.003-04:002013-06-10T08:28:03.824-04:00A WORLD OF REALITY <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyone that is surprised by Monday's bombings at the Boston
Marathon, have either been sleeping for the past 11 years, or they are still
not living in a world of reality. The two successive explosions that left three
dead, and</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">more than 180 wounded at the
finish line of the marathon, is a reminder that the threats of terror against
our citizens still exist, and that vigilance, and security planning and
preparation, are a must.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Long before the attacks of September 11, 2001, New York City's
police department, and other emergency service agencies, were probably the best
in the world, at </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">preparing for, and handling security
operations for large scale events like the New York City Marathon, the New
Year's Eve Celebration at Times Square, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day, and the
Saint Patrick's Day Parades, and more. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the aftermath of 9/11, came the realization, that New
York City remains the premier target for terrorists, and that even New York
City would have to do more, when it came to securing the city from the threats
of terror. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Securing a marathon is not an easy task, but there are some
basic precautionary measures that can be taken to secure this 26 mile soft
target: Constant bombs sweeps of crowded, and high profile areas, trash
receptacles and mail boxes must be removed, sewer and manhole covers must be
secured, and people with back packs must be searched before being allowed into
secure areas. Cops standing at the barriers have to watch the crowds and spectators
for suspicious activity, not the runners, and technical and intelligent video
coverage of high risk and highly populated areas are a must. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were replicas of
those quite often used in India, Afghanistan and Pakistan: a pressure cooker or
metal container, laden with explosives, and loaded with small pieces of metal shrapnel,
such as nuts, bolts, ball bearings and nails, the same kind of stuff that a
suicidal bomber builds into their explosive belts and vests. The detonator for
these types of devices iseither attached timers, remote controls like your
garage door and car door openers, or a cell phone. Law enforcement authorities
need to consider jamming frequencies of high threat areas, or at least have the
capability to do so in the event of a possible threat, or in a case like this,
to possibly prevent the detonation of a secondary or tertiary IED. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the same day of the Boston bombings, there were 25
bombings in Iraq, that left 67 dead, and 274 injured. Israel has been living
with the threat of these types of attacks for years, and unfortunately, this
too, has become the world we live in as Americans. Anyone that thinks
otherwise, or doubts that reality, is delusional. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Law enforcement and first responders all over the country
must be prepared to respond and react to threats like these, and they need to
be funded for the training, equipment and the resources to do so. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our political leadership needs to focus on their
constituents, not their offices or their elections. This isn't about the right
or left, or Republican or Democrat, and it has nothing to do with the damned
sequester!This is about the security of our communities and our nation, and
insuring that federal, state and local law enforcement, have what they need to
do their jobs. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The American public needs to be educated. If you were
walking down a street, or through a mall in Tel-Aviv, the site of an abandoned
package, would set off immediate alarms, and a response by the authorities.
People here are often oblivious to their surroundings. The days of minding your
own business are over. If you see something or someone that appears suspicious,
you need to notify the police, and let them do their job. The security of our communities
and of our country depends on it. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is way too early to tell who is responsible for this
cowardly attack, and our thirst for answers only creates guessing and
speculation which serves no real purpose. However, there are a few things of
which I am positive. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First, the Boston Police, and first responders showed
determination, courage and valor, in their response to, and handling of this
tragic event. Even after the second IED was detonated, knowing there could be
more devices, theystill ran toward the explosions to assist and evacuate the
dead and injured. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Boston will recover stronger than ever, and every American
will unite behind them, as only Americans do. And lastly, I couldn't agree more
with President Barack Obama when he said that we will find those responsible for
this attack, and bring them to justice. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is no where they can run, or hide. We will hunt them
down, and demonstrate to the world, that they will never get away with
attacking our citizens, or this great nation. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And this is a reality that they can count on.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">BERNARD B. KERIK</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-16919244204944257082013-03-27T23:00:00.003-04:002013-03-27T23:00:24.898-04:00CHIEF JOSEPH ESPOSITO<br />
This afternoon, the New York City Police Department's Chief of Department, Joseph Esposito, walked out of One Police Plaza, for the last time as chief, as he retired after 44 years with the department.<br />
<br />
Two days after I was appointed police commissioner in August 2000, I called then Assistant Chief Esposito to my office to discuss his future with the NYPD. As a two star assistant chief, he was a borough commander in Brooklyn, and one of the most decorated and respected chiefs in the agency.<br />
I told him that I was looking for someone to replace Joseph Dunne, the department's former chief, who had been promoted to my first deputy. I told him that I wanted a chief of department that the men and women in the department respected, that would lead by example, and who could help me continue to reduce crime, enhance community relations, and that could bolster the morale of the men and women in the field. <br />
<br />
For the first few minutes of our conversation, he thought I was asking for his recommendation. I was not.<br />
<br />
"Do you want it?" I asked.<br />
<br />
Two days later, on the morning of August 25, 2000, he was sworn in as the New York City Police Department's Chief of Department - the highest ranking uniform member of the agency.<br />
I told him that morning, that he would be the best chief, the department had ever seen, and he has easily lived up to my expectations.<br />
<br />
Joe Esposito will go down in New York City's history, as not only the longest reigning chief, and most decorated; but without a doubt, the best there has ever been.<br />
My wife Hala and I, wish him and his family all the best. <br />
<br />
May God Bless them always.<br />
<br />
BERNARD B. KERIKUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-23774895109830686552013-03-16T22:42:00.001-04:002013-03-16T22:51:54.295-04:00 DEATH OF MAN'S BEST FRIEND <br />
<br />
In the spring of 1975, I was introduced to my new partner. <br />
I was a U.S. Army military police officer, and he was a four year old German Shepherd, with which I would ultimately patrol and secure, one of our government s nuclear missile batteries, in Sak Sa Ni, South Korea. <br />
<br />
With his army serial number, Y102, tattooed on the inside of his right ear, he stood on the inside of his kennel, staring and growling at me, as if I were the enemy. My sergeant said, "have a seat right there in front of him, feed him some meat and cheese every so often, and eventually he'll allow you in the kennel, so you can take him out for a walk." <br />
Well, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. King was a sentry dog, one of the most aggressive types of working dogs in the U.S. armed forces. Their training consisted of basic obedience, agitation, and extremely aggressive attack work. They were not trained for socializing as police patrol dogs or house pets. They were trained to alert on intruders, attack them, and rip them to shreds, and King was quite good at his job. <br />
<br />
Given that sentry dogs, were "one handler" dogs, his prior handler had left Korea to return to the United States, and I was to be his new partner and handler. That was if, he allowed me. <br />
Over the next few days, he ate tons of treats, and I got closer to my new pal. And, once I got up the nerve to take him out of the kennel, we became one; A partnership, closer than most people would understand. <br />
<br />
He was a stunning black and tan German Shepherd, and he looked just like Rin Tin Tin, another German Shepherd with U.S. Army roots. Rin Tin Tin, or Rinty as he was called, was found as a small pup in Lorrain, France, by U.S. Air Corporal, Lee Duncan, back in 1918, during World War I. He was eventually brought back to the U.S.. where he died at in 1932, but not before leaving a bloodline that wound up in a weekly TV adventure between 1954 and 1959, that every kid at the time, including me, loved and admired. It was he I thought of, when I first met, and began working with King. <br />
King would respond to my voice, my hand commands, or to a look, or a movement. I didn't have to say a word, but he knew what I was thinking and why. With me, he was playful and loving, but with anyone else, he was deadly. He had no fear and he had no hesitation. If he perceived a threat, he dealt with it the way he knew how, and you didn't want to be on the receiving end. <br />
In 1976, I left Korea, and I left King to a new handler. In the past 35 years, I have thought of him often. <br />
<br />
Since then I have had many dogs, most recently, Duke and Duchess. Both German Shepherds, both trained like King, and playful, loving and caring members of my family. Both enormously protective. <br />
For someone that has never had a dog, or a pet of any kind, it is difficult to understand, how close you can become to an animal. In June 2011, Duke passed away, and there are no words to explain how horrible that loss was, for me and my family. He is sadly missed, which is why I felt compelled to write about the recent loss of another German Shepherd. <br />
His name was Ape, and he was 2 years and 4 months old, and had been on active duty for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for just over two weeks. <br />
Two days ago, he was shot and killed by a deranged gunman, who had already shot and killed four people in Herkimer, New York.<br />
<br />
Ape was a tactical dog, much like the one that accompanied the U.S. Navy SEALS on the raid that resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden. Equipped with a camera, he entered an abandoned bar in the small upstate New York town, with and FBI assault team behind him, in search for the murder suspect. As he breached the door, he was shot in the chest by the gunman, who was then shot and killed by the FBI. <br />
<br />
Ape was transported to a local veterinarian, where he died from his wounds. He was later transported to FBI Headquarters, where he will be buried, and his name will be added to a memorial for dogs killed in the line of duty. <br />
<br />
As someone who trained dogs for more than 30 years, I know that Ape died doing something he loved doing. It was what he was trained to do, and although it cost him his life, he saved the lives of his handler and teammates, which could have been killed or seriously hurt. <br />
<br />
Dating back to the days of Rin Tin Tin, and King, military and police dogs have increasingly become an important tool, in military operations, and law enforcement. Ape's loss is a demonstration, of just how important their missions are, or deadly they could be. <br />
As an American citizen, I am grateful for his service, and his ultimate sacrifice... for his loss allowed others to live. <br />
<br />
As a dog handler and trainer, my thoughts and prayers are with his team members, and most importantly his handler and trainer. It is he or she that will feel this loss the most. <br />
To his handler, Ape wasn't just a dog, or a pet, or a tool. He was a partner, a protector, and patriot, and most importantly, he was a best friend. <br />
<br />
A friend that will be missed forever. <br />
<br />
God Bless his teammates that put their lives on the line for this country, and may Ape, forever rest in peace. <br />
<br />
BERNARD B. KERIKUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-84218176781136064502013-03-05T21:14:00.001-05:002013-09-20T20:14:17.926-04:00Taxpayers, Economy and Society Benefit from Prison Reform According to the U.S. Attorney General's Office in a recent article in "Business Insider," the sequestration could result in a major budget cut to the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to the tune of approximately $338 million. <br />
<br />
Representatives from the Department of Justice said that they are "acutely concerned" about inmate and staff safety, a sentiment echoed by Attorney General Eric Holder, who said that these cuts could endanger the lives of staff and inmates in the federal prison system. <br />
<br />
The recent murder of federal correction officer Eric Williams at the U.S. Penitentiary at Canaan, a high security prison for men, is a vivid reminder of the dangers our nation's correctional staff face daily, but could be worsened by the budget cuts as a result of the sequestration.<br />
In addition to cuts that could jeopardize staff and inmate safety, freezing future hiring and forcing 36,700 BOP staff to take an average of 12 days unpaid furlough during the remainder of the fiscal year will devastate staff morale to say the least, not to mention the financial burden such actions will have on BOP staff members and their families.<br />
<br />
For the past two decades, criminal justice experts around the country, including several former Republican and Democratic attorney's general, state and federal judges and prosecutors, and members of the U.S. Congress have been racking their brains in an attempt to address criminal justice and prison reform. <br />
<br />
One thing that has consistently been on the table has been considerations for alternative sentencing for first-time and non-violent offenders, in an attempt to reduce the present federal prison population that has gone from 25,000 in 1980 to more than an estimated 229,300 by this year's end. Another possibility has been to enhance good-time incentives, reward inmates for good behavior, and get them back into society faster, where they can work, pay taxes, take care of their families, and pay their fines and restitutions.<br />
<br />
There has never been a better time to muster the courage to address this issue than right now.<br />
The BOP presently allocates 54 days incentivized good-time per year, per inmate, far less than many state prison systems around the country. Enhancing the good time allocation from 54 days a year to 120 or 128 days a year could create nearly $1 billion annual savings to the BOP's staggering $6.6 billion budget. The additional good-time incentives would immediately and substantially reduce inmate overcrowding. In addition, this would be an added incentive for inmates to comply with institutional rules and regulations, thereby reducing violence, creating safer facilities for staff and inmates alike.<br />
<br />
Another possible remedy could be the passing of HR-62, the Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2013, that is presently sitting in the House. The bill was introduced on 3 January 2013, and referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations for review on 25 January 2013.<br />
<br />
This bill would require the BOP to change its good time policy to require that prisoners be released if they (1) have served one half or more of their sentence, (2) are age 45 or older, (3) have never been convicted of a crime of violence, and (4) have not engaged in any violation of BOP disciplinary rules involving violent conduct.<br />
<br />
The passing of this bill could generate another enormous cost savings to the American tax payer, reduce overcrowding, and also create an incentive for better behavior by the inmate population, which reduces violence, making the facilities safer for inmates and staff.<br />
<br />
Lastly, BOP wardens have the statutory authority to recommend up to 12 months halfway house/home detention, in addition to an inmate's present allocation of 54 days a year good time. Historically, maximum halfway house/home detention recommendations have been rare; however, this alone could result in substantial cost savings to the American taxpayer.<br />
<br />
These are just a few things that could dramatically and immediately reduce the federal prison population without letting violent offenders back on the streets. Such changes would also create enormous cost savings for the American taxpayer, reduce inmate violence in BOP's higher classification facilities, and generate collateral economic income, by getting these offenders back into society so they can work, pay taxes, take care of their family, and pay their restitutions and fines.<br />
There is no question that criminal justice and prison reform will happen some time in the future, but it must begin today. <br />
<br />
We cannot jeopardize the safety and security of the men and women who put their lives on the line day in and day out while staffing and securing our nation's prisons. There are ways to effectively and efficiently cut the BOP's budget without doing so. <br />
The benefit to the American taxpayer and the economy can be enormous. The benefit to society could be immeasurable.<br />
<br />
There is no better time to begin addressing this issue than today.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-1760755067431834372013-02-05T09:43:00.001-05:002013-02-05T09:43:49.367-05:00MAYOR ED KOCH - REST IN PEACE<div>There are plenty of things that I could say about the former Mayor of New York City, but I thought this was more fitting. It's a letter to my daughter, reflecting on a good and gracious man. May he rest in peace, and may God bless the family and loved ones he left behind.</div><div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">---------------</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">3 February 2013</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Dear Celine:</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Two days ago, New York City lost one of its greatest assets, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch. He passed away at the age of 88.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">He was the Mayor of the City of New York for twelve years, long before you were born...but once on a warm September morning, you and he shared a stage.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">It was September 6, 2000, and I was being sworn in as New York City's 40th Police Commissioner. The stage was full of dignitaries, police brass, and religious leaders. At six months old, you were sitting on Mommy's lap, front and center. Grandma and Grandpap sat in the second row and, right next to them, was the former Mayor Ed Koch.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">With all the pomp and circumstance, Mayor Koch watched the excitement around him. He smiled and greeted everyone who said hello. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Mommy, who was sitting right in front of Mayor Koch, was holding her hands over your face, trying to protect you from the sun's rays, when the mayor leaned over and handed her his handkerchief. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">"Put this over her head," he said, smiling at you. "The sun's no good for her." </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Mommy thanked him, took the handkerchief, and placed it over your head, and for the remainder of the ceremony, you slept away.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">When it was over, she thanked the kind Mayor, and tried to give the handkerchief back. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">"Keep it," he said, "in case you need it."</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">And there's more to this story.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Twenty-three years earlier, I was working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with dreams of joining the New York City Police Department.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">I wasn't sure how to apply for the job, so a friend recommended I call the New York City Department of Personnel and ask to be sent an application to take the NYPD test. I did, but the person I spoke with wasn't very helpful. I called back again and again, all to no avail. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Then my friend said, "Write a letter to the mayor - Mayor Ed Koch - and tell him that you want to join the NYPD and would like an application to apply." </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">At first I laughed. I knew that the Mayor of New York City had better things to do than respond to employment inquiries, but having nowhere else to turn, I typed out a letter and dropped it in the post. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Three weeks later, I received a short note from Mayor Ed Koch himself, in which he said that he forwarded my request to the appropriate departments, and should I not hear from them in the near future, please write back and let him know. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Within days of receiving his letter, I had more NYPD applications than I knew what to do with!</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">And the rest is history.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">In July of 1986, I stood in the Brooklyn Technical Institute with 2,200 men and women, and was sworn in as a New York City Police Officer by the same mayor who made sure I received the application. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Fourteen years later, we all shared that stage. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Today, a New York City icon, and a great part of the city itself, is gone.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">In reflecting on Mayor Koch's life, Chris Ruddy of NewsMax Media said, "He was a model of how a public servant and a good citizen can make a significant difference in the lives of others." In my case, that could never be more true.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">When I think of the lessons we learn throughout our lives from others, there are a few very good ones that we could all learn from Mayor Koch. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Patriotism... his was viral!</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">He loved his city, his country, and his family, more than life itself.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">In a recent interview for Vanity Fair, he was asked what was the one thing he most deplored about himself, and he said, "A willingness to go with my gut feeling rather than wait a day and contemplate other options."</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">When asked if he could change one thing about himself, what would it be, he said, "I would like to be more accepting of the faults of others."</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">And, one of my favorites, when asked what is the trait he deplored most about others, he replied, "Disloyalty."</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Then came a question that took me back to that September morning.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">What do you dislike most about your appearance, he was asked. "Sun damage on my face and head," he said. It was the same thing that bothered him about you sitting on that grand stage in the blaring sun.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">When Mayor Koch was asked if he were to die and come back as a person or thing, what did he think he would want to be, he responded by saying, "A major political leader here in the United States."</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">I laughed to myself at that thought. If he were here today, I'd tell him something that he must have known. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Mr. Mayor, you were a major political leader in this country, right up until the day you died. You were relevant, candid, outspoken, and patriotic.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Celine, when Ed Koch was the mayor, no matter where he was or what he was doing, he would ask, "How'm I doing?"</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">If he were here today, we could tell him together that he did just fine. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">I would thank him for his service to New York City and our country. You, my dear, could thank him for his handkerchief. It's a part of a great man that you can cherish forever.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Today, say a prayer for this great American.</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Love, Daddy xo</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">BERNARD B. KERIK</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-57233624404846894882012-12-17T09:37:00.003-05:002012-12-17T09:37:09.628-05:00PRAYERS FOR NEWTOWN<br />
Friday's mass murder in Newtown, Connecticut, is one of the most horrifying and unimaginable events in our nation's history. <br />
With it, will come questions about gun control, school safety and security, parenting, and how society responds to, and reports troubled behavior by it's citizens. There will be plenty of time for those debates, but now is not the time.<br />
Although there are no words that will ever ease the pain of those whose loss is incomprehensible, our entire country needs to muster every bit of prayer, compassion and support, for them and their families during this difficult time.<br /><br />We also need to insure that the courageous teachers and school officials that sheltered surviving students, and those students themselves; and the local, state and federal law enforcement officers, whose job it was to evacuate the school, and process a crime scene that will haunt most of them forever, must be looked after and taken care of. <br />
There is nothing that will erase the images of that day from their minds - ever. I KNOW.<br />
In the aftermath of Newtown, give your own children and loved ones, a special hug and kiss. There are many of our neighbors that will never have that opportunity again. <br />
God Bless them, and remember them always in your thoughts and prayers.<br />
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-BERNARD B. KERIKUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786851236365462533.post-5232708621714102242012-09-11T04:51:00.000-04:002012-09-11T04:51:57.917-04:00IN REMEMBRANCE<br />
On November 13, 2001, these words were published in my book, The Lost Son, A Life in Pursuit of Justice.<br />
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"The events of September 11, 2001, robbed the New York City Police Department, and the city at large, of 23 extraordinary human beings: police officers, sergeants, and detectives; twenty-two men and one woman who were beloved by their families and valued by the communities they served. But in their sacrifice, these fallen heroes gave the world something truly great in return: a demonstration of unshaken courage in the face of death, and the nobility of the human spirit. In a city of superlatives, theirs was an ultimate act of virtue; let their lives, and their bravery, never be forgotten."<br />
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Today, let us also not forget the 343 members of the FDNY, or the 37 Port Authority Police Officers who died as well, or the dozens of first responders from the NYPD, FDNY, AND PAPD that have died since, due to 9/11 related illnesses.<br />
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I salute and honor them all, as well as their surviving brothers and sisters in uniform, who on that day, and in the days after, put life before death, in one of the greatest rescue and recovery missions in United States history.<br />
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God Bless them all.<br />
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-BERNARD B. KERIKUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0