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« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2018, 05:29:32 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 6-1-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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And it looks like the proposal is picking up steam. This week, the House passed the First Step Act by a vote of 360-59. Some of its features include providing training programs for ex-inmates to reduce recidivism, allowing inmates to build “good time” credit each year, banning the shackling of pregnant inmates, allowing for the release of terminally ill patients, and requiring prisoners to be placed in facilities within a reasonable distance of their families.
“I will sign it,” said President Trump, “and it’s going to be strong, it’s going to be good, it’s going to be what everybody wants.”
The bill’s supporters are hoping that the president can use the bully pulpit to push hesitant Republican senators to take up the measure, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is at the moment reluctant due to deep divisions among party members.
Meanwhile, criminal justice advocacy groups such as Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the U.S. Justice Action Network, the Equal Justice Initiative, Koch Industries, and the American Civil Liberties Union are divided over the First Step Act for reasons ranging from potentially discriminatory practices to the lack of halfway houses for inmates to make the transition back into their communities.
Highlighting the division over prison reform, Reason’s C.J. Ciaramella writes32, “Democrats are split on it, old-school conservatives are drumming up opposition from law enforcement groups, and progressive advocacy groups are attacking it from the left. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Republican pointman on criminal justice reform, says the bill is dead in the water unless it includes major reforms to federal sentencing law as well.”
To his credit, Grassley has successfully recruited 13 Republicans to join the bipartisan effort. Yet despite the promising efforts of House members on Capitol Hill, the future of the bill doesn’t look promising. And that’s unacceptable.
Politicians have long ignored this complex issue, often seeking a quick fix to appease their own interest groups. And while Republicans need to realize that aggressive sentencing is not appropriate in all situations, or good for society in the long-term, Democrats need to stop looking at ex-cons merely as potential voters (yes, then-Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe did unilaterally restore33 voting rights to 200,000 felons before the 2016 presidential election).
Of course, the most serious offenders should receive harsh sentences and should be locked up long-term. But those who’ll eventually leave prison to again become our co-workers and neighbors need a system that prepares them for life as productive citizens in a free society rather than creating a revolving door of convicts. Our society will be safer for it, and we can spend less money on incarceration.
Reforming the plea bargain process, revisiting mandatory sentencing laws, and even admitting that the Drug War has failed are all steps in the right direction.
In the end, this isn’t about getting soft on crime, but recognizing the flaws in the current system. With millions of prisoners and tens of millions of felons, Republicans and Democrats need to find common ground and do what’s right. President Trump is moving the country toward a broader conversation about prison reform, and the First Step Act is truly a step in the right direction.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/56305-pleading-for-criminal-justice-reform
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
WaPo: The Poor Die Before They Can Vote for Socialism36 — Researchers claim political inequity for the poor because they lose political viability sooner.
Calling Out a Republican Entitlement Reform Hypocrite37 — One governor calls for Republicans to engage in reform after contributing to the problem.
Video: Do Leftist Racists Really Fight Racism?38 — The upside to the Roseanne tweet controversy is the Left is now on the record opposing racism.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
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For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion39.
OPINION IN BRIEF
L. Brent Bozell & Tim Graham: “Who knew we would look back at Roseanne Barr’s crotch-grabbing massacre of the national anthem in 1990 and see a mere flesh wound on her career? She embarrassed herself, mocking America in front of America, but her hit show rolled along. But one egregiously racist tweet destroyed the ‘Roseanne’ reboot of 2018 in a Hollywood minute. Tweeting that former Barack Obama top aide Valerie Jarrett is a mixture of the Muslim Brotherhood and ‘Planet of the Apes’ put an abrupt end to the top broadcast television program of the year. ABC made the right decision — and the obvious business decision. You cannot compare blacks to monkeys. That is an old, dehumanizing trope. It is viciously mean-spirited to compare President Donald Trump to an orangutan, as many leftists have. But that is a mockery of one man’s hair and intelligence, not the rhetorical equivalent of a burning cross. In retrospect, everyone said ABC should have known this was going to happen. Barr has always been a loose cannon, and her politics have zigzagged from running on the presidential ticket of the nutty-left Green Party all the way over to backing Trump. But the network thrived with the original formula of ‘Roseanne,’ and it saw a win-win with a reboot: The show’s old audience would tune in, and ABC could sell itself as reaching out to the red states after mysteriously dumping Tim Allen’s hit show. The ratings were terrific. Then Roseanne drove the reboot over a cliff.”
SHORT CUTS
For the record: “I saw no smoking-gun evidence of collusion before I left the government, and I still haven’t.” —former Obama DNI James Clapper
Re: the Left: “Is Trump wrong to say Pelosi ‘loves MS-13’? Sure. But with her deceitful attack, she gave him the pretext to make that claim. There is a lesson here for Democrats: Trump says enough outrageous things that Democrats shouldn’t have to make them up. When the president has you defending the ‘dignity and worth’ of MS-13 members, you’re doing something wrong.” —Marc A. Thiessen
Self-evaluation: “Trump gave his critics reason to associate him with [Roseanne] Barr by calling her to congratulate her on her show and eagerly trumpeting its success. Trump’s boosterism was typical of him — it’s all about the ratings — but also reflects an endemic weakness of the Right. Conservatives disdain celebrities, but dangle a C-list celebrity with a few rightward leanings in front of us and he’s immediately awarded a speaking slot at the next Republican convention. We have low regard for pop culture, but crave its validation.” —Rich Lowry
Food for thought: “You know, I meet young people, and they want to act and they want to be famous, and I tell them, when you get to the top of the tree, there’s nothing up there. Most of this is nonsense. Most of this is a lie. Accept life as it is. Just be thankful to be alive.” —Anthony Hopkins
Alpha Jackass, part I: “You know, Ivanka, that’s a beautiful photo of you and your child, but let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices, you feckless c—t. He listens to you. Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to f—ing stop it.” —Samantha Bee
Alpha Jackass, part II: “I like Samantha Bee a lot, but she is flat wrong to call Ivanka a c—t. C—ts are powerful, beautiful, nurturing and honest.” —Sally Field
And last… “The Roseanne and Samantha Bee scandals aren’t comparable. Roseanne wrote something on Twitter and her show was immediately cancelled. In the case of Samantha Bee, an entire network’s legal and editorial team knew exactly what Bee would say, approved it, and broadcast it.” —Sean Davis
https://patriotpost.us/articles/56312-friday-short-cuts
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Nate Jackson, Managing Editor Mark Alexander, Publisher |
