OF ALL THE PRISONS IN THE COUNTRY, WHY IS ILLINOIS' VACANT PRISON THE ONLY VIABLE OPTION? ANSWER: VACANCY EASIER TO DISCUSS THAN OVER-CROWDING!

A cell house at Thomson Correctional Center is seen from one of the guard towers at the facility north of Thomson. (AP)Our politicians have a history of refusing to discuss American prison issues...until recently. And, the only reason why they are talking about prisons is because the issue surrounds VACANT, WASTE-OF-MONEY-TO-BUILD, FEDERAL-MONEY-FOR-GITMO-DETAINEES PRISONS.

A newly-built but empty Thompson Correctional Facility located rural Illinois was in the news today (article here) as the most viable option for Gitmo detainees. It is estimated to bring 300 or so jobs to the area. Big deal! It also will bring in 1500 armed forces, i.e. men and women that can be deployed anywhere in the entire country. Why displace them to the middle of nowhere? There are plenty of other prisons that can be used!

THE OTHER PRISON ISSUE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT OUR AMERICAN INMATES

Here's an idea: why not discuss why is there no room for Gitmo detainees in most other prisons? Why are we only looking at vacant prisons? Well, the reason why is our prison system has become industrialized; the more prisoners, the more money for privatized prisons and corporations with contracts at the prisons. Our politicians refuse to discuss why we are the most incarcerating country in the world; our politicians refuse to look at other alternatives for non-violent offenders. The over-crowding of prisons is an issue for another day, it seems. Right now, our politicians would rather talk about Gitmo detainees intead of rehabilitating and releasing non-violent drug offenders.

BRINGING GITMO DETAINEES TO AMERICAN SOIL IS A BAD IDEA

I do not like the idea of bringing Gitmo to America. Are the prisoners going to be spread throughout the country or will they all just be chillin' in one spot? Will they be housed with American inmates?

The United States has been so concerned with fighting the war on terrorism abroad. We have done very little to weed out cells in America (Ft. Hood killer who posted blogs and was being watched by Feds proves my point). I think it is silly to bring known terrorists back here. We are just feeding the monster by doing so.

I'm not worried about an inmate escaping. The American "home" will be so secured they ain't goin' nowhere. But, they will be afforded the rights of other inmates. They will be allowed visitors, they will get mail. They will be living in the place that they want to see destroyed. They will find a way to share information.

Out of sight, out of mind. We bring them here to America and those prison lights will be shining ever so brightly on our enemies. The moths will be that much more attracted to the flame...

ARRIVAL OF 1ST GITMO DETAINEE IS PREMATURE - NOWHERE TO GO POST-CONVICTION...BUT, MONEY TALKS

Guantanamo Prison

The first Guantanamo detainee, Ahmed Ghailani, has arrived on U.S. soil to face trial for a bombing in 1998 that killed 12 Americans, 224 people in all. Article here.

He's an American detainee, accused of killing Americans; thus, he should be tried by America. Fine.

But then what? It reminds me of when I was in high school and my parents wanted to send me to boarding school...or somewhere...for being a "bad kid"...even though they wanted to give me the boot and punish me, they had to formulate an exit plan first: Where do we sent this kid?

Obama needs to determine where to send these boys! Instead, he's brought this guy over to the U.S., with no idea where he'll be permanently placed. That's just silly.

Issue is WHERE not WHEN

President Obama has not resolved the issue of where the Gitmo detainees will serve their sentences, if convicted, even though he promised to close Gitmo down by January 2010. But how can he close the doors on Gitmo before having new doors open? What a premature promise!

How Much Will You Give Me to Take Them In - The Prison "Industry" Will Prevail

Money talks. As of right now, it doesn't seem like any states want the detainees. We know Obama asked for $81 million to close Gitmo. But how much will it cost to house these guys in America? How much are the Feds willing to give the states for these guys? There has been talk on the Hill about states (per the Governors' consent) being given extra money if they agree to house the convicted detainees. Article here.

Our prison system is currently extremely overcrowded. Keep in mind, there are only 240 detainees; it's not like we are talking about thousands of beds here. But, these men will be housed in the maximum security facilities. It will cost taxpayers millions of dollars per year, per Gitmo convict, to house these men.

This issue of "WHERE" gives states a tremendous bargaining chip in this time of financial crisis. States that decide to house these men are in a position to receive an additional hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Overcrowding may become a secondary issue...give the states enough money and they'll surely find a way to put these dudes somewhere. Money talks!

Prison Industry Allows for Private Companies to Profit Too

Modern day slavery still occurs in the prisons. Corporations pay prisoners pennies on the dollar for work. Be on the lookout fo lobbyists supporting the states bringing the detainees to the state pen. They can make some cash off of them too. See my blog on this here.

www.tamaraholder.com and www.xpunged.com