Bartram
Brand HBCUbian
:lol:
:|
:shame:
:|
:shame: :shame:
EDITORIAL
Caucus casts doubts on self :idea:
The Legislative Black Caucus took a blow to its credibility :idea: Thursday when a prison tour its members had arranged was canceled when none of the caucus' member showed up.
:lmao: :lmao:
The tour, which was to include civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, was called off after Jackson and some staffers from his organization waited for about 45 minutes at Staton Correctional Institute in Elmore County.:shame:
This complete no-show raises serious questions about how serious the caucus is about prison issues. If 35 legislators sign up for the tour and zero actually show up for it, what sort of message does that send?:nod:
Jackson said many legislators were busy preparing for a march to protest Gov. Bob Riley's veto of a felon voting rights restoration bill. :lol: That's a really weak excuse.:nod:
Jackson is a publicity magnet who draws attention wherever he goes, but he is not a significant player in the attempts to address Alabama's prison problems. The Legislative Black Caucus is a significant player, or at least ought to be, given that its members, unlike Jackson, hold public office and have serious public obligations. By blowing off the prison tour its members had arranged, the caucus gives the appearance of not being very serious about prison issues. :idea:
The felon voting rights issue is important -- the Advertiser supported the bill that Riley vetoed
-- but the more pressing problem by far is the situation in Alabama's prisons. The system is horrifically overcrowded and is facing court orders to address that problem. In the short term, the Department of Corrections is shipping inmates to private prisons in Louisiana and Mississippi to reduce overcrowding here, but that is only a temporary measure.
The felon voting rights bill may have more political and emotional appeal, but the larger public policy question is what to do in the prison system. The caucus members, as should every legislator, ought to be deeply concerned about finding answers to that question. :smh:
Further, it should be noted that the canceled tour was not without consequences for the strapped prison system. A department spokesman said about 20 extra corrections officers were on duty at Staton because of the tour. That additional expense was wasted when the caucus members didn't show up.:smh:
:|
:shame:
:|
:shame: :shame:
EDITORIAL
Caucus casts doubts on self :idea:
The Legislative Black Caucus took a blow to its credibility :idea: Thursday when a prison tour its members had arranged was canceled when none of the caucus' member showed up.
:lmao: :lmao:
The tour, which was to include civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, was called off after Jackson and some staffers from his organization waited for about 45 minutes at Staton Correctional Institute in Elmore County.:shame:
This complete no-show raises serious questions about how serious the caucus is about prison issues. If 35 legislators sign up for the tour and zero actually show up for it, what sort of message does that send?:nod:
Jackson said many legislators were busy preparing for a march to protest Gov. Bob Riley's veto of a felon voting rights restoration bill. :lol: That's a really weak excuse.:nod:
Jackson is a publicity magnet who draws attention wherever he goes, but he is not a significant player in the attempts to address Alabama's prison problems. The Legislative Black Caucus is a significant player, or at least ought to be, given that its members, unlike Jackson, hold public office and have serious public obligations. By blowing off the prison tour its members had arranged, the caucus gives the appearance of not being very serious about prison issues. :idea:
The felon voting rights issue is important -- the Advertiser supported the bill that Riley vetoed
-- but the more pressing problem by far is the situation in Alabama's prisons. The system is horrifically overcrowded and is facing court orders to address that problem. In the short term, the Department of Corrections is shipping inmates to private prisons in Louisiana and Mississippi to reduce overcrowding here, but that is only a temporary measure.The felon voting rights bill may have more political and emotional appeal,
but the larger public policy question is what to do in the prison system. The caucus members, as should every legislator, ought to be deeply concerned about finding answers to that question. :smh:Further, it should be noted that the canceled tour was not without consequences for the strapped prison system. A department spokesman said about 20 extra corrections officers were on duty at Staton because of the tour. That additional expense was wasted when the caucus members didn't show up.:smh:
