Bernard Kerik on Prison: Americans Wouldn't Stand for What I Saw

http://www.newsmax.com ^ | November 1, 2013 | Jim Meyers

[NKP_Vet]

As New York City police commissioner, Bernard Kerik was ultimately responsible for the incarceration of many criminals.

Now that he has seen the prison system from the inside, having served three years behind bars, he has a new appraisal of the U.S. penal system: "insane."

In his first interview since his release from prison, where he served time for tax evasion and lying to federal authorities, Kerik told NBC’s Matt Lauer on the Today show Friday: "No one in the history of our country has ever been in the system with my background.

[NKP_Vet]

Now you would think that uber liberal Matt Overpaid Lauer would agree with Kerik. But since Kerik was a republican that worked for Gulliani there is no way overpaid Matt would agree with anything he said about prison reform. If Kerik were a democrat it would be a different story, especially since he was sent to prison on trumped up charges that included "lying to IRS agents".

[Dilbert San Diego]

So what’s the point of this? Prison is not supposed to be a walk in the park. It’s not supposed to be a picnic. It’s not supposed to be a vacation.

[relictele]

After reading it, I would say the emphasis is not on conditions but on mandatory minimums ie more mindless zero tolerance, which allows autocrats to avoid thought and accountability.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

That American prisons and sentencing are ineffective as deterrents to crime is beyond doubt. Kerik is a whiner.

[DJ Taylor]

"If Kerik were a democrat it would be a different story,..."

Kerik's crimes pale beside those of countless Democrats.

Proving once again that the Democrat Party is no longer a political party but a criminal organization with more in common with the Chicago Mob than with any political party in U.S. History

[Gay State Conservative]

I can't recall what he was convicted of but assuming that he was,in fact,guilty and that he did,in fact,deserve three years all I'd have to say to him is: “please stop....you're breaking my heart!”

[Alberta's Child]

This is the jack@ss who George W. Bush once nominated to be the head of the Department of Homeland Security.

The good news about the disaster that followed is that it effectively ended Rudy Giuliani's future career in national politics.

[Alberta's Child]

He was convicted of lying to Federal officials because of false statements he made during his background check for the DHS post he was nominated for in the Bush administration.

He was convicted of tax evasion because of a scam where he had a contractor doing several hundred thousand dollars of work on his multiple homes while he was the police commissioner in New York City under Rudy Giuliani. He never paid the contractor for the work, but in lieu of this the contractor received millions of dollars in city contracts.

[Gay State Conservative]

He never paid the contractor for the work, but in lieu of this the contractor received millions of dollars in city contracts.

OK then,assuming he was,in fact,guilty I'd say that three years inside sounds pretty reasonable.One would think that a cop would be in a better position to understand what it's like inside than most and,as a result,would make it a point not to do anything that would land himself there.

[C. Edmund Wright]

Your response is a straw argument and totally misses the point of this particular person making these particular points. Unless Kerik is a lib weenie (and he is not) and unless he supports prison as a walk in the park (and he doesnt) your response was mere drive by babbling...

[Marie]

We have to get real here. The US has the highest rate of incarcerated citizens than *any* country in the world. We’re even higher than China and Russia. For a ‘free’ nation, that’s insane.

It’s not realistic to put a human being in a system where they’re treated like animals for a decade or two, then release them back into civilization, and expect them to become model citizens. If a prisoner’s expected to rejoin society at some point, we must prepare them for being civilized.

Mandatory minimums make as much sense as schools’ “zero tolerance” policies.

[C. Edmund Wright]

Great, becasue we wouldnt want a low tax low regulation adult who fully understands the war on terror and supports Antonin Scalia as a model for the SCOTUS having a future in politics, now would we?????

[nathanbedford]

So Bernard Kerrick does three years for income tax evasion and for lying to federal officials.

Income tax evasion has become an art form in America but the real crime is committed by federal officials whether elected or bureaucrat who contrive massive income tax avoidance schemes for fatcats. Somehow this is considered servicing constituents rather than selling out. First the congressman passes an income tax law that is virtually incomprehensible, empowers the Internal Revenue Service to pile regulation upon regulation until it is actually incomprehensible, and then rides to the rescue and provides tax breaks.

As to lying to federal officials, Barack Obama is guilty of that every time he says good morning to his secretary because he is incapable of telling the truth about anything. So we have the spectacle of federal officials lying to the public, lying to Congress, lying to each other, but not doing very much time for it.

How much time should Susan Rice do? How much time should Clapper do? How much time should Attorney General Holder him do?

Why is it illegal to lie to IRS agents or to cheat on one's taxes when the IRS has been committing blatant crimes against citizens and the administration has been blatantly lying about those crimes to protect itself?

How much time did Bill Clinton do for lying under oath and trying to fix a court case to protect his purse? We know he perjured himself because the DNA tells us so.

The lesson to be learned is that when radical leftists gain political power corruption and cronyism are inevitable and cynicism is the unavoidable stepchild as the public sees more and more corruption.

Vote for a lefty and you vote to kill the rule of law and substitute the kind of politics that we see surrounding the income tax laws. Vote for a lefty and you get a maladministration of laws nobody read and regulations no one human being can comprehend. A vote for a lefty brings us to a Third World state, a banana republic, a place where influence, cronyism and bribery are the only ways a citizen can neutralize his government and make an otherwise honest living for his family.

But Bernard Kerrick does three years.

[onedoug]

One thing about prisons: They are islamist breeding grounds.

[Mr Rogers]

Mandatory sentences came about because judges were letting criminals go free, or giving very light sentences. If someone thinks a mandatory sentence is too harsh, the elected legislature can change it. But if you leave it totally up to judges, many criminals will never set foot in jail.

[vette6387]

“emphasis is not on conditions but on mandatory minimums ie more mindless zero tolerance”

This is the same way our gubimint screwls are run! Pubic Screwls=Children’s Prison

[NKP_Vet]

From the minute Bush nominated Kerik the longknives came out and tried to find anything and everything to ruin him, and they succeeded. What is a damn crime is Bush not calling off the witch hunt before he left office. Kerik was going to prison the minute Obama took office.

[logic101.net]

Kerik’s crimes pale beside those of countless Democrats.

Free speech applies only to liberals, the laws apply only to us.

[jimmyo57]

“The US has the highest rate of incarcerated citizens than *any* country in the world”

That’s because US has a lot of amenities in prison other countries don’t have. I was station in Sardinia in the mid 80’s and there was a prison in the town of Tempio. If your family didn’t bring you a blanket you froze! That’s extreme and don’t recommend it here but they need to be a lot strict so criminals DON’T want to go to prison.

[Navy Patriot]

Free speech applies only to liberals, the laws apply only to us.

It's actually far worse than that, but that tyranny is the foundation cornerstone of the destruction of America.