Jailbirds and jokes
Most every Monday morning the Flathead County Crowbar Hotel has around a hundred nonpaying guests in a jail built just a few years ago for 65 inmates. When I was growing up in the '30s the jails and prisons were not running over, possibly because of several reasons that no longer exist.
Up until the liberal "weep-easys" rewrote the U.S. and federal criminal statutes after World War II, a convicted felon was not sent to prison to lie around, eating high on the hog, and watching colored television. He worked. For example: convicts built the original road along the east shore of Flathead Lake.
Bread and water was a common menu for prisoners who broke the rules of conduct. A convicted felon lost his rights of citizenship, which among other things meant, he couldn't vote. It riled me considerably when the ACLU got all that changed and the new permissive society developed an environment that pampers dangerous criminals.
Try to imagine how upset I got last month when an AP story said a husband and wife team from Bozeman had received a federal grant to travel around Montana registering ex-cons to vote. Casey Rudd and her husband Eddie say they plan to register "at least a thousand convicted felons," and they pointed out that most people don't know felons can vote once they are released from prison. They do not mention the huge numbers of released felons who violate parole or probation, let alone the alarming percentage who go back to prison for committing new crimes.
A thoughtful person welcomes any workable idea which could help ex-inmates turn their lives around, go straight, and become contributing members of society. That is what we all wish would happen; BUT — somebody needs to explain to us how talking any of them into registering to vote will help, especially when the people doing the registering are a former drug dealer and her ex-con husband driving around Montana living off the taxpayer's money.
There is something about this plan that bothers me. How about you? It will be interesting to see what approach the politicians will use to go after the "criminal vote."
Remember the maladjusted fireman down in Sanders County who is charged with setting costly forest fires all over the place in the summer of 2003?
James Grant has pleaded guilty in federal court but a legal matter has forced the case into state court. While waiting, the county prosecutor asked the judge to set James' bail at $100,000. Said he didn't want that guy running loose during this summer's fire season.
Last week Grant's lawyer went up in the court room and pleaded with the judge to let his client out of jail while they are waiting a new trial. The judge asked why he should let James out of jail. His lawyer promptly pointed out all the recent rains have greatly diminished the risk of fire. The fuels are so wet and soggy so it would be difficult for James to get anything burning.
The judge thought that over and apparently figured it made sense, because the bail was lowered to $25,000.
Don't know why, but that event reminded me of the man accused of murder. The judge asked him, "Why did you hire these two thugs to kill your wife?"
The accused answered. "Well Your Honor, I loved her too much to do it myself."
On my last birthday, a lady from the West Valley sent a birthday card, one of those with a humorous painting of a wrinkled old cowboy on the cover. Inside it said, "Dear George, I hope you live to be as old as your jokes."
That's scary!
G.George Ostrom is news director at KOFI Radio and a Flathead Publishing Group columnist.