Arizona Treading on Water Use and sucking out residential water supply

Politicians, business leaders and economic professionals who promote the construction of new businesses, housing developments and private prisons often do not discuss or dwell into the subject of water conservation or water shortages for obvious reasons. The fear of discovering the facts that Arizona is in danger of losing its ability to sustain the mega growth is haunting the very same people who say there is enough water for our state for all future growth and planning. Surely running out of water is no one’s fear right now although studies show that we are treading on dangerous grounds in the area of water supply in our state.

Private prisons sustain large populations that are concentrated in size and can exhaust or consume the daily water consumption at an enormous rate that has never been planned or calculated in the planning or construction stages of such mega structures. Taking the three most active counties in the state, Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties, there are some things that have to be revealed in order to understand the complete consequences of building new prisons and housing associated with this venture. Factors have been added to give more credit to the speculation that a water shortage is imminent and they are being ignored by our state leaders. One fact is our region is the one of the most threatened regions in the United States because of its limited rainfall and yearly accumulations. Global warming, whether you believe in it or not, could impact our water availability thus should be taken into serious consideration as part of the impact statement. Thirdly, this region of these tri-counties is connected by a water corridor explained in a Morrison Institute report as the odds of this water phenomenon connect us to the very root of the resource anticipated to be overloaded in the near future.

In the Morrison Institute report titled “Watering the Sun Corridor” the answers appear to show a degree of certainty that this regions is dramatically being drained from existing water supplies as it is “pumped, dammed, moved, hoarded litigated away and fought over “ because of its precious value to the land and its people. These counties already mentioned are bound together by the Central Arizona Project and the limitations of the Groundwater Management Act. Never in the past did the economists, state leaders or other speculators of business calculate the heavy drain of prison populations in these times of worry about having sufficient supplies for our major metro cities that are interconnected to the water pipe. Gambling that the water supply is sufficient to support such a substantial load of multitudes of thousands and thousands of prisoners can be the fatal mistake in the overall plan. The reports will address several issues such as: are population projections for this corridor still meaningful in light of the current economic downturn? How many people can be supported by the corridor’s water supplies? What happens if the conventional assumptions about water availability prove inaccurate? How should the impact of climate change be assessed? How would lifestyles have to change by dramatically decreased water use? Does more efficient water reuse stretch existing supply? What water supplies are available for the future?

Population projections are running interference of the plans to build prisons as this tri-county area is project to have much more of a burden that anticipated ever before. The Morrison Institute commissioned Marshall Vest, director of the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management to do population projections. In its report it states that it is projecting “approximately 10.1 million residents in 2040 with a “low” projection of 8.9 million. Reading the report it becomes rather positive in content as it assures the residents won’t run out of water if water is managed and conserved. It does caution residents that abuse or excessive uses of water can impact their availability thus water must be used wisely and restricted to more agricultural or commercial uses in the future.

The main area of concern for residents wanted instant access to water is the use of underground water. As of 2006, 45% of the three-county supply still comes from groundwater pumping. Arizona continues to be a most an active partner in groundwater management. One important requirement is that new developments demonstrate secure physical, legal, and continuous access to a 100-year assured water supply. This is a stricter standard than California’s, which requires a 20-year access (and only for large subdivisions). The 100-year supply in Arizona should generally come from surface water, preserving groundwater for when surface water is not available. It is strongly suggested that before any new prisons are built to accommodate the state’s prison growth plans, there are sound methods in place to evaluate the usage and the availability of such water supply for inmates to brush their teeth, use the toilet and shower daily at the cost of taxpayers unaware that these resources are being stolen right from under their noses with no resistance from state leaders or politicians.

Source:

http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/publications-reports/2011-watering-the-sun-corridor-managing-choices-in-arizonas-megapolitan-area

Arizona Counties on the hook for prison costs

Reading a price study of incarceration of the California prison system has brought to light a most important fact that many people seem to forget whenever there is talk about prisons or prison expansion or cost. These “tough on crime” facts are often collected and put into one basket to make an argument that prisons are cost extreme and effective method to deal with crime in the community. They are necessary to meet the needs of the criminal justice system as deterrence and reduce criminal behaviors. Then after the rhetoric of politicians drumming up enough votes to pay for this public service one fact is conveniently omitted to the legislative body and the entire state’s population of tax payers. The costs incurred are paid by all taxpayers inside the state and every county that is part of the tax base in government.

Fact is, many counties in the state pick up shares of the bill of confinement for other counties with high incarceration rates, as the state prison system is a place where all prisoners are house and fed and taken care of but the money comes from the entire state to pay the final bills. In Arizona, it means that those counties that have a low crime rate and low number of convicted felons going to prison are picking up the tab for those counties with a high crime rate and a high number of convicted felons. For example, Maricopa County’s share of the state’s prison population averages around 64 per cent of the total number of persons incarcerated in state prisons. Two more counties (Pima and Pinal) follow them making up the majority of convicted felons in the state. Translating that into figures of dollars the fact is that burdens the tax payers throughout the state, it becomes clear that the residents of those low crime areas have no say so in how much they pay for their share of the crime bill of running prisons. One could ask the question “why does a county such as La Paz have to pay so much for the use of prisons when their counter partner such as Maricopa County is responsible for over half of the persons incarcerated in the prisons?”

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety report, there were 354 homicides (murders) reported in their annual crime report, 2010. Looking at their breakdown, Maricopa County reported 202 murders, Pima County reported 78 murders and Pinal County reported 20 murders adding up to 300 leaving the remaining twelve counties with 54 murders for the year. Readers can apply this method to other crimes as well and quickly discover the disparity in the rate of crime numbers throughout the state.

There are other factors that drive up the costs of incarceration often not taken into consideration as they are well hidden in the rhetoric from state leaders. For example, the cost of a death sentence is much higher than the cost of a life sentence or lesser felony offenses. Maricopa County clearly leads this number of prisoners as the majorities come from this county and are sitting on death row waiting the exhaustion of their expense appeals and when the time comes, their executions. The list goes on to illustrate the severity and the burdens placed on the state systems from a few counties when the other counties are rarely even close to attaining such a high number of felony crime convictions yet pay for the bill regardless of the costs.

In California, the question is posed “If counties want to use more prison services than the statistical average….. they should pay for it.” However, politicians oppose such a thought by their own rhetoric that all counties have a partnership with the state and that a joint account would be better to cut the costs and lessen the burden on those that lead the rate in imprisoning people. These costs of incarceration don’t stop at the prison costs as the population that is impacted by high incarceration rates picks up more social services and other state expenses based on these persons going to prison and having families that are left behind. The Arizona state corrections budget for this fiscal year is $ 1 billion dollars. This is the highest incarceration budget in history and makes up approximately 11 % of the state’s budget. Taxpayers should take the time to read the annual crime report issued by the Arizona Department of Public Safety and glean how their county fares in their fair share of paying for the state prisons that are projected to costs more as the years ahead create a need to find more space to house these criminals in our state.

Source:

http://www.azdps.gov/About/Reports/docs/Crime_In_Arizona_Report_2010.pdf

Arizona, a firestorm of hesitation

So much to do and so much to say about the political misfires in Arizona and its prison policies, it has becoming a losing cause as the clock ticks away precious time on any hope to reform the sentencing formats and pre-trial procedures for the mentally ill who suffer so greatly when they are incarcerated into prisons and lose their ability to cope and function with their constant challenges to survive and deal with the adversity that faces them upon entry into one of the worst prison systems in the United States regarding mental health care and treatment. Every convicted person, now becoming a number and prisoner faces tremendous stress and anxiety as they are hidden away among the masses of other prisoners, holding their breaths as they prepare themselves to face a dark world where kindness, understanding and acceptance takes on a complete new meaning to those who are mentally challenged and incapable of understanding their new environment without the help of others.

As the seconds on the clock tick away it has been illustrated by report after report that prisons in Arizona have replaced the role of the state hospital as masses are now incarcerated and mistreated or neglected in what would have otherwise been a more therapeutic milieu if offered out patient programming and mental health treatment in our communities. Although Arizona has some of the nation’s best mental health laws, it totally ignores the need of those who suffer disorders and commit crimes without criminal intent but do so because of their limited understanding, comprehension and ability to control their illness or disability.

Arizona, without any hesitation has opted to ignore their special needs and dispose of them into a cesspool of criminals who are convicted based on criminal intent and behaviors. Choosing to take the easy road and avoid the costs for outpatient treatment centers in our communities through approved health care channels, they ignore the fact that these mentally ill persons must now walk a line of fire among predators who will surely prey upon their weakness and inability to defend themselves. Their limited understanding of the new culture thrashed upon them will create tidal waves of anxiety levels that will make them potential suicide victims and to their family’s dismay, victims in a very predatory world.

Easily overpowered and influenced by behavioral career criminals into committing more crimes while incarcerated, they will receive limited treatment [if any] and sparse medication [due to costs] with the expressed inability to express what they have to say in order to protect themselves or keep themselves sane or treated. Rather than being locked into a prison of madness, they are locked inside themselves unable to fend for themselves and cope with the adversity that is surely a factor in their demise of becoming insane and unable to survive within the wilderness cast into. Suffering families, seeking closure on many of these tragedies have expressed hopelessness and fear that their relatives will be castaways in a system that doesn’t care about their civil rights or their right to exist in a safe and secure environment while in the custody of the state and the prison management.

Because of this misfire in direction and hesitation to take action, Arizona will most definitely weather many firestorms that will bring both tragedies and sorrow to the many who suffer from this illness or condition that seemed to be ignored and untreated for reasons beyond comprehension or human considerations. Arizona, must heed the incoming clouds of disaster that hides the sun and the reality of this problem. Shedding more light on this matter will reveal the critical need to help and manage these special needs offenders with a different stroke of the pen and allow humanity and rational thinking to take over and create better options for these persons who suffer greatly and often die inside of our prisons needlessly as many deaths are preventable and avoidable if the treatment programs are managed to identify their treatment needs before incarceration and followed up with treatment rather than incarceration as the first option on the judicial table of options. Politicians should be aware when the clouds hide the truth and the sun reveals the tragedy after the rains, it is time to change the way these persons are handled in our criminal justice system and allowed to retain their right to survive and live according to our laws and Constitution. Until this system is fixed, there will only be calm after the storm when the rains have cleansed the human spirits that rules the way our prisons are operated.

Border Patrol Agent Jesus Diaz, Human Dignity

Sitting in church today I found a pamphlet all crumpled up and thrown on the floor between the pews that read "Long ago, a Frenchman incurred the displeasure of the emperor Napoleon. He was thrown into a dungeon, forsaken by his friends, and forgotten by everyone in the outside world. In loneliness and near despair he scratched on the wall of his cell, "Nobody cares." So many forces in today's world want us to reach the same conclusion, to think that we don't really matter, at least not very much. But these forces are craftier than Napoleon. Instead of locking us in a literal dungeon, they scorn us indirectly. They tell us, for example, that our looks, bank account, career, clothes, résumé, talents, and self-esteem are most important. In short, they put the spotlight on all kinds of different things about us, but they ignore us. By overvaluing those good things, we end up undervaluing the most important thing, our very self that resides beneath. When that happens, we also start to undervalue other persons. This is the root of today's cultural campaign against human dignity." (http://www.mountsaintpeter.org)

I immediately thought of Border Patrol Agent Jesus Diaz who sits in a prison in Del Rio and confined to a small cell resembling modern dungeon used to isolate persons from society and other persons. It appears that human dignity is no longer one of the values possessed by those individuals who make leadership decisions of persons who are no longer in favor of their "own" standards and values such as the case against Jesus Diaz. Treated with total disrespect as well as total disregard for the own personal difficulties endured during his loyal service to this country for 8 years as a border agent trampled his rights, his dignity and his freedom as they never considered this to be a major factor when he was prosecuted and just recently denied bail bond to go home. Denied bail and pronounced to be a threat to the "community" that he fought so hard to protect, he will not be able to go home to his family as we all await his sentencing. Just like the lost and forgotten friend thrown into the dungeon centuries ago, Jesus Diaz sits there alone, with almost a degree of certainty to reach a point in his life where his faith in mankind could dwindle on the facts of his case and that he did not do anything wrong to deserve this kind of abuse and punishment from his former bosses, the government.

Jesus Diaz is receiving prayers and well-wishing from many out there in the free world who recognize the importance of his dilemma and wrongful incarceration. Those prayers and support provided must keep the hope in this man's spirit alive and to keep the flame of optimism gleaming and bring his life back in order. Time will tell of the injustice as others will see how he was wrongfully accused of an act that was not a violation of "color of law" as claimed but merely an act to maintain control over a suspect. An illegal alien who resisted his [Diaz's] efforts to take him into custody of the matter and process his apprehension according to due process afforded under the law and who today roams freely while Agent Diaz sits there in a dungeon like setting awaiting his destiny for a possible sentence of 10-35 years in prison.

Jesus Diaz, just like in the story where the prisoner saw a green shoot coming up through the cracks of the concrete stones on the dungeon's floor, will witness a growth of kindness and compassion from others until it flowers and blooms, showing him that when ever you feel down and out because of circumstances beyond your control, God will always give you a sign that He is there and that "He Cares" about you. The term "human dignity" is most important. It represents a universal declaration of human rights as our own constitution so states [so eloquently] that it preserves our individual rights. It is apparent and it is obvious that the U.S. government or its agents do not regard Jesus Diaz as a person who deserves to be treated with dignity as they have abused his case making a mockery out of the justice system by prosecuting an innocent man.

Treating Agent Diaz as mere specks of carbon, dust and without conscious matter, they have alienated themselves from the human race to punish someone who for political reasons have offended them in some way and who they decided must carry the brunt of their political message that entails their lack of human rights and lack of respect for Agent Diaz as they imposed on him cruel and unusual punishment and treatment. They did not support and value his life although he has provided for them faithful and dedicated service to protect this country. It appears that those responsible for his incarceration have lost their capacity to make sound moral choices, their capability to recognize his value to his country, his family and his community, and most of all, they have lost the ability to respect his dignity as a lawful citizen and a man who needs to be released and go home to his family.

Calderon gets another border cop

This story will not have a happy ending as the Department of Justice is picking up cold cases and targeting border patrol agents on their reports and the accuracy of their reporting. It appears to be a oxymoron from my point of view as the recent illegal activities of the ATF regarding the willingness to sell guns to the Mexican cartel and the allowance of these guns to kill American cops on the border or our cities has gone as a sanctioned event until a whistleblower revealed the corruption of those lying and hiding the facts of that case from the American citizens. To the best of my knowledge, these officials lied and deceived our citizens for purpose of not revealing their poor judgment and tactical mistakes in the war against the Mexican cartel who are buying guns in the USA. What gets this story twisted is they [U.S. officials] love the "lack of candor" charge, but the government’s top managers at Department of Homeland Security and the DOJ have been lying for years and continue to get away with it under the current administrative level of tolerances as they continue to push the blame of all this political whitewash down to the officers who work the trenches and give their blood sweat and tears to get the job done.

Today I read in a publication called The Hispanic Speaking News that “In Maine on Tuesday, a helicopter pilot with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency was arrested on charges of lying to federal agents in regards to an incident that occurred in the Rio Grande, and resulted in the death of Mexican man in 2005. the pilot, James Peters in now facing four counts of lying to federal agents who were investigating the death of Carlos Delgadillo Martinez, 22, who drowned in 2005 after Peters allegedly purposefully flew his helicopter too close to the victim. Federal prosecutors say Border Patrol agents working near one of the international bridges in Laredo saw a helicopter hovering low over two Mexican men on an inner tube in the Rio Grande on December 14th, 2005. According to federal records, radio transmissions revealed that the helicopter pilot told a Border Patrol agent that he was about to attempt to make the men “go back.” The helicopter’s rotor wash caused the inner tube the men were holding onto to flip over. At least one of the men lost their grip. Delgadillo Martinez’s body was found in the river on Christmas Day, 11 days later.”

Whatever happened to crossing the border is at your own risk and if for some reason the trip is too dangerous you assume all responsibility of your poor decision making on yourself.... or is there a double standards for illegal immigrants. It would appear that there is - One for citizens, one for Mexican Aliens. This madness if fed by the US government politically correct approach to all of Mexico’s complaints about border abuses by border agents that has netted numerous agents in a politically entwined web that has no purpose other than pleasing the Mexican government while demoralizing our border agents.


Source:

http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/details/cbp-helicopter-pilot-arrested-in-immigrant-death-case/4906/

America without fences taints the fruit on the tree

The first question that pops into my mind was the one asked by so many about amnesty and the President of the United States wanting to legalize millions of illegal immigrants and give them citizenship in the most wonderful country in the world. The answer would seem obvious as the answer would be to deny all that came here illegally amnesty and deport all those who entered our country illegally. These people have already broken our laws as an indicator of their moral values and disregard for the American traditions of life and the pursuit of happiness as American citizens, here legally and not smuggled or transverses during the darkness of night across our borders and open spaces to avoid detection and capture by the law authorities o the broken spirited border patrol who have been under fire by its own administration for doing a job so well that in infringes on the government’s wishes to open up the borders in a most covert manner and allow as many illegals to enter without resistance.

The second question that comes to mind is what we do with all those 12 million or so illegal aliens that we have currently living inside our country and sponging off the social system that is going bankrupt because of the poor economy and the high unemployment rate. The most logical answer would be to enforce and uphold the immigration laws already on the books and deport them through an avenue that can track their identity and prevent repeat offenders from settling down thinking they made it safe and are now home free. According to the laws, these people need to be arrested when identified and returned to the custody of ICE and detained until they complete their processing and then returned to the border where they can arrange going back the same way they arranged coming in. Regardless, that is not America’s problem once they are back across the borders where they came in from.

Pondering the third question we must surely be mystified why the Obama administration is working so hard against the efforts of the border patrol and their associates in keeping the border secure and prevent anymore of the social systemic breakdown that has occurred within every law enforcement agency that aggressively and effectively enforce these immigration laws through the 287g laws on the book and why this administration is so hell bent on leather to make the cops the bad guys and the illegal aliens the good guys. Our moral values regarding this matter have been twisted into a new and unacceptable direction and must be changed in 2012. Cops are the heroes and the criminal aliens are the bad guys. Now before someone cries foul and calls me a racist, I am agreeable that if the person follows our laws to become a citizen and take the test and oath for their allegiance to our country, they are more than welcome to stay and remain free under the protection of the constitution that was founded by our fathers back in the colonial days but who drafted constitutional amendments to ensure that liberty and freedoms were protected as it stipulated that no man can become a president of the United States unless he or she was born here and an American citizen. Surely they must have thought that for the good of all, a good leader must be American to lead America in its destiny as the greatest and most compassionate country in the world.

Finally, people who follow the laws and live within the spirit of the laws are most welcome to join the melting pot of millions of foreign born immigrants who went through the established procedures to become citizens or permanent legal residents. Character must be sound and background checks must reveal no prior history of law breaking or immoral conduct. Self admitted turpitude disqualifies those who want to come here and enjoy the good life. The logic is simple, if a man steals he is willing to lie, and once one laws have been broken it becomes easier to break more and more laws creating a domino effect that is harmful to our nation and its moral fiber to remain America the beautiful.

All leaders are not equal

Taking the time to look inside the minds of those who seek absolute power, I found out one thing for sure and that is the fact that power corrupts but it corrupts only those who think they deserve it. Having the inability to look inside their heads since it was never one of my own ambitions, I looked it up to see how the psyche of such a person works and found it to be very interesting to say the least. Anecdotally, at least, the connection between power and hypocrisy looks obvious

Experiencing a culture of entitlement in today’s business place, there has always been the discussion between power by position or authority and those who gain power by influence. Needless to say those not in a position of power can’t compete with those who have the position thus it is often an unbalanced equation that results in the shifting of power to those who have the authority to do the things they desire. Studies have revealed that those who are powerful and who have been primed to believe they are entitled to their power readily engage in acts of moral hypocrisy.

People with power think that they are justified to break rules not only because they can get away with it but also because they feel at some intuitive level that they are entitled to take what they want. This sense of entitlement is crucial to understanding why people misbehave in high office. In addition, there arrives a sense which some powerful people seem to have that different rules apply to them and genuinely believe it. Regardless of what tests you apply to those in power, the results will show that the powerful do indeed behave hypocritically and relative to a higher their position, the less harsh they are on themselves thus suggesting that they condemn the transgressions of others more than they do their own.

This entitlement to power also applies to the entitled to abuse as it appears to be the way powerful people conduct themselves. It is speculation that corruption and hypocrisy are the price that societies pay for being led by alpha type persons although the opposite solution, although not acceptable in most cases, is to be led by wimps. We clearly do not want to be led by wimps as an alternative to the alpha's. There would seem to be another possibility though. If we selected leaders literally at random from a large pool of qualified people and gave them a fixed, non repeatable, term of power, that they were expected to serve as a public duty, then perhaps we would get the best of both worlds. Another option would be to invite being led by either corrupt "alpha males/females" or wimps, the alternative are not being led by anyone at all. Lead yourself, and leave everyone else to do the same. Follow your own moral compass and do the best job you can.