Obama Wants Bloggers’ Help

Obama asks bloggers to pressure Congress:

‘Barack Obama unleashed the hounds last night, asking progressive bloggers to pressure Congress on health care reform. “There is a default position of inertia here in Washington,” he said on an invitation-only conference call. Lawmakers need to feel the same urgency and desperation ordinary Americans feel, he said, “and you guys can help deliver that better than just about anybody.”
‘He stopped short of asking Congress to work through its August recess, but said “the time for talk is over,” and said he was open to using reconciliation to pass the bill. But he also warned the bloggers not to make “the best the enemy of the good.” He said he’d be happy to get even imperfect bills from each house, since much will change in the closed-door negotiations to combine the bills.’
—Kevin Spak SOURCES: Huffington Post, Washington Post

New York to Bill Rich Prisoners

New York is planning an excellent prison bill: Forcing rich convicts to pay for their prison stay:

‘New York lawmakers are considering a “Madoff” bill that would force convicts with deep pockets to pay the costs of their own imprisonment, Reuters reports. “Far too often, taxpayers are stuck with the bill for criminals who have extensive personal wealth waiting for them,” one assemblyman said as convicted financier Bernard Madoff begins his sentence. The state comptroller estimates that each prisoner costs $80-$90 a day.

‘Though the law references Madoff, the Ponzi king has already been stripped of all of his assets—or at least those he couldn’t hand off to his wife. But the law would have applied to famous inmates like Martha Stewart or Leona Helmsley. The law is also a response to the lavish bar mitzvah one inmate threw for his son inside lower Manhattan’s Tombs prison.’ Kevin Spak Source: Reuters

Gates ‘Racial Arrest’

Henry Gates wants to document his ‘racial arrest’ for PBS:

‘After his up-close and personal look at the criminal justice system, Henry Louis Gates Jr. intends to tackle the issue of racial profiling in a documentary for PBS, the Harvard scholar tells the Washington Post. “It had never crossed my mind but it has now,” says Gates, who was arrested when a neighbor thought he was breaking into his own home. Charges have been dropped.

‘Gates said he wants his documentary to ask, “How are people treated when they are arrested? How does the criminal justice system work? How many black and brown men and poor white men are the victims of police officers who are carrying racist thoughts? I want to be a figure for prison reform,” Gates said. “I think that criminal justice system is rotten.”‘ Nick McMaster Source: Washington Post