We’re pleased to share this guest commentary from FR Friend Kevin Roberts, the Deputy Communications Director of the California Republican Party:
As paralysis sets in on the state of California and its projected $40 billion budget deficit, Democrats are now pushing for tax increases and cuts to state services for thousands of California families.
Gas prices are back on the rise. Our neighbors and friends continue to lose their homes, jobs, and savings. An end does not seem to be in sight.
All the same, though. That seems to be the sentiment from the court-appointed prison receiver, Clark J. Kelso, as he ratchets up plans to spend our tax dollars on new prison healthcare facilities. Kelso, who may or may not be a fan of the MTV program Pimp My Ride, clearly wants to deck out the California prison medical system.
The San Francisco Chronicle recently published an extensive article that looked at the draft report from the court appointed receiver, Clark Kelso, who is tasked with overhauling the state’s prison heath care system.
And he just wants to do it up, baby. Kelso’s plan for gold-plated healthcare and facilities would include handball courts, aerobic and yoga classes, gymnasiums with basketball courts, music rooms, crafts rooms, therapy kitchens, and special, feng shui type landscaping. “Recreational therapy” programs would even include horticulture. All for California prisoners.
According to the Chronicle article, Kelso recommends spending $8 billion of your money, on building seven new prison hospitals – each roughly the size of 10 Wal-Mart stores.
"In the place of sterile prison corridors or barren, large-scale ‘yards,’ both staff and patient should experience landscaped courtyards and places of rest and respite."
"Workout rooms to ‘promote wellness,’ featuring exercise machines and space for ‘therapeutic activities such as aerobic, yoga (and) group exercise.’ Plus handball courts.”
I don’t know about you, or Clark Kelso for that matter, but neither my gym membership nor health insurance offer me handball court access.
Also included in the plan that’s designed to bring California’s prison medical care up to “standard”? Outdoor running tracks.
Running not your thing? Yeah, not my thing either really. Not to worry, also included with your guilty plea are the aforementioned “gymnasiums with a basketball court and a music room, a crafts room, game room, and therapy kitchen.”
A therapy kitchen? Really? Again, if therapeutic cooking isn’t your thing, how about “landscaped courtyards and places of rest and respite”? Not sure what that is either, so I asked around. Here’s an artist’s rendering of a place of “rest and respite”.
"The report also recommended plenty of landscaping along the perimeters of the lockups to hide the fences and electronic surveillance systems.” Because we wouldn’t want our prisoners to, you know, suspect that they’re in prison.
"The overall idea is to create something that doesn’t resemble a prison, the document said – hence, designers should ‘explore a unique blend of hospital, community college and residential scales as a basis for the site plans.’" Feng shui meets community college art deco.
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like a breakdown in priorities to be funding top-of-the-line prison healthcare with our state strapped for cash. Times are going to be tough enough, even with those spiffy California State IOUs set to replace our tax refunds.
Then again, at least I can rest easy knowing that if and when I get picked up for pocketing that Obama memoir (audacious, I know), I’ll have plenty of time for meditation, self-reflection and horticulture courtesy of the California tax payer.
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