Thursday, January 15, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Letters

Private prison firms have horrible records

The Mercury indicated ["A Private Nightmare," Jan. 8] that 11 prisoners escaped from a Corrections Corp. of America subsidiary TransCor van in Kansas. They actually escaped in Minneapolis, overpowering a newspaper-reading guard while his partner made a doughnut run. The hostage-taking convict was arrested in a Chicago bus station. I'm aware of many instances of rape allegations and suits by female prisoners transported since that time.

CCA has consistently had problems with its undertrained, underpaid and unsuitable prison staff. The Tulsa World discovered a longtime program manager accused of raping two inmates had served 17 years for murder of an Alabama football player, and 20 other CCA staff had criminal records.

A CCA competitor, CSC (Correctional Services Corp.) recently had its insurance company deny responsibility for payment of a $25 million limit toward a $38 million wrongful death judgment in Texas. Another competitor failed to repair a transport van after drivers reported serious mechanical problems. Six shackled and caged prisoners died a fiery death when it exploded.

Questionable also is "research" purporting to show taxpayers savings when prisoners are held by for-profit corporations. Studies in states, including Tennessee, and by the Federal Bureau of Prisons indicate the savings are imaginary. "Research" alleging otherwise tends to be done by industry hacks like Dr. Charles Thomas. He resigned from the University of Florida after newspapers revealed he'd received $3 million from CCA alone for "consulting" on an REIT merger. Other silliness masquerading as science comes from the right-wing Reason Institute that feels privatization will grow hair on bald heads.

--Frank Smith,

Bluff City, Kan.

Accrediting group is more than `drop box'

I am absolutely shocked at the article by Larry Wills that appeared in your paper seriously demeaning the World Association of Universities and Colleges ["Dr. Fake," Jan. 1]. We are not a "drop box." We have main offices in Costa Rica where we are licensed and we have offices in other areas of the world. The organization has 50 universities as members and we take great care in ensuring quality college education for our students. John Bear, who was quoted, has been sued by many colleges for libel. His statements about us are absolutely wrong. We are having a WAUC conference at the Aladdin Feb. 20-22. Please send a reporter to this meeting and have them meet some of our presidents. All the person needs is a press pass. He or she is also invited to our special luncheon. I suggest you investigate the organization and, if possible, it would be prudent for you to issue a retraction. Thank you.

--Dr. Maxine Asher,

President,

World Association of

Universities and Colleges

Save Alaskan forests from Bush's pillaging

By eliminating protections for 9.6 million pristine acres in Alaska's Tongass Rainforest (the world's largest intact temperate rainforest), President Bush is sending another holiday gift directly to his campaign contributors in the timber, mining and oil industries, ignoring its impact on Americans and the environment.

These acres are some of the last U.S. areas that still have pure water and healthy populations of the wildlife present when settlers first arrived, including grizzly bears, black bears, whales, rare sitka deer, mountain goats, wolves and bald eagles. Native Americans, commercial fishermen and recreational businesses also rely on forests free from the pollution, soil erosion and increased fire risk that clearcut logging brings.

Bush's decision is a direct affront to the wishes of the American people, who submitted a record 2.5 million public statements in support of full protection for the Tongass and other roadless areas across the country. Instead, American taxpayers will be footing a multimillion-dollar bill to fund national forest logging roads.

In addition to eliminating Alaska forest protections, President Bush is considering weakening protection for roadless areas in the Lower 48 next year, rendering them vulnerable to mining and logging industries. This could include the currently pristine McAfee Peak of Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests.

Instead of lavishing yet another gift on the timber industry, the Bush administration should give a lasting gift to future generations of Americans by protecting our last wild forests.

--Monica Liau,

U.S. PIRG

PATRIOT II should outrage everybody

The Review-Journal article "Travelers Endure Airport Gridlock" reporting on the pitilessly enforced search delays of travelers leaving Las Vegas brings to mind the stealth implementation of "PATRIOT Act II."

Lost amid the tumult surrounding Saddam Hussein's Dec. 14 capture was enactment of a measure radically extending federal counterterrorism powers. Most of the details of H.R. 2417, the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 2004, "are secret, including the total cost of the programs, which are estimated to be about $40 billion," noted an Associated Press story. That amount is "slightly more than Bush had requested." The measure's publicized portions include new FBI powers "to demand financial records from casinos, car dealerships and other businesses," as well as several pilot programs permitting data exchanges between agencies.

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, opposed the measure, insisting that it "should outrage every single American citizen." "It appears we are witnessing a stealth enactment of the enormously unpopular `PATRIOT II' legislation that was first leaked several months ago," Paul said in a Nov. 20 speech on the House floor. "These expanded police powers will enable the FBI to demand transaction records from businesses...without the approval or knowledge of a judge or grand jury. This was written into the bill at the 11th hour over the objections of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would normally have jurisdiction over the FBI."

"I also have concerns about the rest of the bill," Paul continued. "One of the few things we do know about this final version is that we are authorizing even more than the president has requested for the intelligence community. ... Despite the tens of billions we spend on these myriad intelligence agencies, it is impossible to ignore the failure of our federal intelligence community to detect and prevent the Sept. 11 attacks."

--Frank M. Pelteson

Keep doing annual best movie column

I don't agree that this should be your last annual column on movies [Editor's Note, "My Best Movies of 2003," Jan. 8]. Whatever movies you've seen, you should write next year. It adds to the dialogue, and it's obvious you love movies.

Your recommendation of The Magdalene Sisters as No. 3 movie of the year adds to my desire to see it. I didn't put In America on my best 10 list, but Richard Roeper and you agreed it was top on your list. That's interesting to me.

You and I agreed on four out of 10, which I suppose is average.

See The Swimming Pool and Monster, which are on my list.

But most of all, please renege on your promise not to write about movies next January. You don't have to see everything to be relevant. Remember: quality not quantity.

--Tony Macklin