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What Was California Thinking?
American Thinker.com ^ | June 30, 2021 | John Green

Posted on 06/30/2021 3:44:44 AM PDT by Kaslin

Back in 2014, the political leadership of California became alarmed at the rapidly rising prison population in the state. The state was also under court order to reduce the overcrowding in state prisons. The people of California set a grand objective to reduce the number of convicts in the state. Fewer people going to prison has to be a good thing -- right?

The first thing they did was pass Proposition 47 -- the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. That sounds like something everyone would want. 58% of Californians voted in favor of the measure. There was just one problem. Reduced prison population was the objective -- not the outcome. Nothing in Prop 47 was designed to actually reduce crime. It redefined drug use and theft of property valued at under $950 as misdemeanors rather than felonies. Punishment would no longer be imprisonment, but a fine of $1,000. The objective of prison population reduction was achieved by not incarcerating criminals, rather than by eliminating criminal behavior. Perhaps the voters should have read past the title of the proposition.

Prop 47 also allows those imprisoned under previous guidelines to petition for early release. If a convict is in prison for stealing less than $950, he is now eligible for early release. As many as 10,000 state prisoners have been released. Thousands more have been released from country jails. An additional 15,000 are expected to be released with the closure of five correctional facilities. I can feel the neighborhoods getting safer already.

In a further demonstration of out-of-control liberalism, the voting public elected district attorneys who are more inclined to work as advocates for, rather than prosecutors of criminals. Even though he’s only been in office for six months, a recall effort is currently underway for Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón,

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: california; crimereform; fruitsnutsflakes; prisonreform; prop47; proposition47

1 posted on 06/30/2021 3:44:44 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

I’ve long maintained that liberals really desire the destruction of society in hopes that something natural.arises. what will arise is a society that cuts enemy’s hearts out, eating their entrails and burning children alive to honour Moloch.


2 posted on 06/30/2021 3:56:53 AM PDT by Jonty30 (Just because I coughed on you does not mean that I have covid. It means that we have covid. )
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To: Kaslin
The country tried this same type of solution about 40+ years ago with the mentally ill and closed almost every state run mental institution and turned the mentally ill out onto the streets.

I'm not saying that there were not problems with mental institutions, but they were located within the system and were fixable but politicians wanted to do the easy thing and shut them down.

Problem fixed, no more institutional mental illness in state run confines, but look at the streets.

3 posted on 06/30/2021 4:00:56 AM PDT by USS Alaska (NUKE ALL MOOSELIMB TERRORISTS, NOW.)
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To: Jonty30
YOU ARE RIGHT!! Its unfortunate that the people who want less crime by making less laws, have never really had their asses kicked in a dark alley when there was no one to stop the assault from happening.

The left have led a sheltered live and have NO clue of what man is capable of. They ignored what happened during the spanish Inquisition, they have never seen real torture, TV has shown them people die really quick when shot ( a complete and utter lie). They have ignored history and what man will do to man if left unchained by laws.

its not that libetals lie, it's there's so much they think they know thats wrong.

4 posted on 06/30/2021 4:18:39 AM PDT by Ikeon (Not knowing the truth doesn't make you ignorant, not wanting the truth does. )
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To: Kaslin
An additional 15,000 are expected to be released with the closure of five correctional facilities.

Isn't it odd that the public employee union, correctional guards union, etc. have been silent on this? Ostensibly thousands of union dues-paying prison employees will be out of a job, and the unions have nothing to say?

Why?

5 posted on 06/30/2021 4:25:12 AM PDT by Lizavetta
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To: Ikeon

Lib politicians are releasing violent criminals and welcoming more violent criminals from central America.

They really believe that this is an ends to a means.

Overwhelm the system, defund police departments, then the feds step in to bring order. Their kind of order.

That is their long term goal.


6 posted on 06/30/2021 4:38:06 AM PDT by Texas resident (Silver alert: There is a guy running around DC claiming he is the President.)
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To: Jonty30

“California” and “Thinking” in the same sentence? Is that redundant or an oxymoron?


7 posted on 06/30/2021 5:23:56 AM PDT by gr8eman (A man who only talks business is a failure in all aspects of life- Camino Del Rio)
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To: Jonty30
I’ve long maintained that liberals really desire the destruction of society in hopes that something natural arises.

I think there are two prongs to liberalism/leftism. One prong is true believers who think they are doing good, and feel good about themselves when they say "I vote democrat". The other prong is made up of people who simply want to destroy America. That prong is peopled with communists, muslims, and other enemies of America. They use the true believers as useful idiots to accomplish their destructive goals.

8 posted on 06/30/2021 5:39:42 AM PDT by Sans-Culotte (11/3-11/4/2020 - The USA became a banana republic.)
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To: Kaslin

IF YOUR neighborhood Walgreens or CVS is no longer there-—THIS BILL is the reason.

They got SHOPLIFTED out of business.


9 posted on 06/30/2021 5:59:09 AM PDT by ridesthemiles ( )
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To: Kaslin

Thinking! Surely you jest.


10 posted on 06/30/2021 6:02:58 AM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (The veil of civilization is only 9 meals thick. )
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To: Kaslin

Well there is one consolation... If they are not convicted of a felony then the rest of the countries taxpayers do not have to foot the bill for federal prisoners in Federal prisons. In one way or another it is solely Ca’s problem instead.

A lot of folks might not believe this. But criminals would rather be convicted of a felony and go do a year in a Fed pen than to do 11 months in a county facility. Some even commit a felony crime after they are in County prison to make sure they get a year or more and go to a Fed facility.

The food, care, and liberties are better in the fed pen.


11 posted on 06/30/2021 6:28:27 AM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: Jonty30

The intellectual lineage of liberals is the Rousseau-ian idea that man is intrinsically good and noble, that when evil is perpetrated it is due to society’s failings rather than the individual’s choice. They believe that man is perfectible, if only society is made totally just. Hence, the interminable tinkering and wholesale messing with established structures, mores, legal regimens.

Of course, they are far from qualified to do this, have only dim awareness of how things actually work; so they inevitably screw it up and make it worse.


12 posted on 06/30/2021 6:52:04 AM PDT by hinckley buzzard (resist the narrative. .)
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To: Openurmind

Unfortunately, you are wrong. This will not just be a California problem. As with the Covid spending bills and the newer “infrastructure” spending bills, the whole nation (as in taxpayers) will be paying for their crap. We will be stuck bailing out these Democrat/liberal shit holes.


13 posted on 06/30/2021 7:02:01 AM PDT by sicandtired (No, I will not press 1 for english)
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To: Kaslin

The news media lies. If they were honest the democrats would not stand a chance!


14 posted on 06/30/2021 2:23:50 PM PDT by minnesota_bound (I need more money. )
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