Civil Rights optional at Worcester House of Corrections
I’m glad to see Zoback over at Worcester Magazine was the first local journalist to pick up the trail of this incredibly damning DOJ Civil Rights Division report on the Worcester County House of Corrections. I don’t know what’s more bizarre, the report itself or Deputy Superintendent Turcos response that the DOJ is ‘factually and legally’ incorrect in it’s reporting. My personal favorite being the response to the DOJ claim that the jail has a cumbersome inmate grievance process, to which Turcos replies:
“There’s nothing in the Constitution that says a jail can’t have a cumbersome grievance process … [or] any process”
Apparently some people think the right to petition for a redress of grievances is just part of a Seinfeld sketch. I guess I’m just old fashioned, but I take my first amendment kinda seriously; makes you wonder if we’ve got at least some of the criminals on the wrong side of the bars.
Been quite the week for Sheriff Glodis, with Dianne Williamson pointing out the sweet perks some of his people are getting. A federal court putting a mysterious 20k check on the record and now this DOJ report. Something tells me Howie Carr is going to be staying up late writing his next Central MA chronicle.
A tax on people who are bad at math
Looks like Councilor Smith actually took his batshit insane local lottery proposal to the council floor today. While the proposal is fanciful and mostly ridiculous for a number of reasons, according to the Worcester Magazine blog Mr Smith said something tonight which he really needs to be called out on.
He also wants the City Manager to work with the delegation to change the funding formula to more accurately reflect what Worcester put into the system. It shouldn’t be our job to subsidize the other cities and towns.
While on the surface I agree with this sentiment in totality, reality says it’s time Mr Smith read the second paragraph of the preamble to the constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individuals: it is a social compact, by which the whole people covenants with each citizen, and each citizen with the whole people, that all shall be governed by certain laws for the common good. It is the duty of the people, therefore, in framing a constitution of government, to provide for an equitable mode of making laws, as well as for an impartial interpretation, and a faithful execution of them; that every man may, at all times, find his security in them.
We’re not living on an island Joff and while there is an excellent, logical argument for keeping Worcester money in Worcester that can only happen when people start leaving the suburbs to move back here. You would need to rewrite over sixty years of federal law and essentially roll back every aspect of our economy to pre WWII levels to make that possible. All very noble goals indeed, but unfortunately, the schools need pencils today.
How do you plan on stimulating the economy?
Right or wrong, the checks are actually in the mail and local businesses are looking to grab that cash as quickly as they can. What do you think about the economic stimulus plan?
One McGovern down…
Former Sen. George McGovern, an early supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton, urged her to drop out of the Democratic presidential race and endorsed her rival, Barack Obama.
Can’t be long now, what’s it going to be Jim?
