Housing Guantanamo Detainees in the United States

This is the way we imagine prison cells, but in a supermax facility, there would be a solid door with just a small window.

Just recently, the United States Senate turned down President Obama's request for funding to close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by a resounding margin (90-6). The ostensible reason was that the president had not yet presented a detailed plan for what to do with the remaining detainees, but there was also a lot of NIMBY (not in my back yard) feeling expressed in the Senate. No one seems to want dangerous terrorists housed in prisons in their state. As President Obama commented in a speech today, there would not be a reason to be looking to house detainees in the United States now if the Guantanamo Bay prison camp had not been opened in the first place, and it would not be necessary to put some prisoners in preventive detention (that is, hold them indefinitely without trial) if the detainees had not been tortured and otherwise mistreated to obtain evidence. Another thing the president has said on several occasions is that no one has ever escaped from a so-called supermax prison in the United States, even though those prisons do include some convicted terrorists in their population. If that is the case, is it really true that no state would accept Guantanamo detainees into a supermax facility?

A "supermax" prison is a highly secure detention facility in which especially dangerous prisoners are held in virtually solitary confinement under the strictest safety precautions. At the present time, there is only one supermax prison in the federal system, which is located at Florence, Colorado. Many so-called supermax prisons or prison units have been cited for all sorts of human rights abuses connected with the level of control believed to be necessary to secure the inmates. Many politicians seem to be afraid that a prison housing terror suspects relocated from Guantanamo Bay would be the focus of efforts by Al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations to release the prisoners. That might be true, although based on history to date, it seems improbable. In any case, especially in the current economic climate, there seems no reason to believe that some states would not accept small supermax facilities or units to house Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

Maybe I believe this mainly because prisons are a popular industry in upstate New York, not that far from where I live, and there was a great outcry in some towns when Governor Paterson proposed closing some underutilized prison facilities upstate. I can't believe that, given enough money, some town in upstate New York would not agree to "host" a supermax facility, no matter who the inmates were going to be. And if New York state is like this, there must be other states with similar circumstances.

Whatever happens, there needs to be a careful and rigorous examination of how many prisoners left at Guantanamo need to be detained in the future. We need to accept a few of the detainees ourselves, assuming there are any who would accept living in a country that has treated them so badly, and we need to lean on other countries to accept some of them, as well. There must be a reasonably fair trial process for the dangerous or incorrigible ones, and then they need to be sent to supermax prisons in the USA. I say "reasonably fair" because, given the deplorable actions taken during the Bush administration, some of the worst offenders could not be convicted in a normal criminal trial under U.S. law. After all, how many times was Khalid Sheik Mohammad waterboarded? There may also have to be preventive detention legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress to justify holding the prisoners who simply cannot be tried and convicted. And while all that is going on, it's time to offer supermax facilities to states that are willing to take them.

So let's imagine that a supermax prison or prison unit were constructed in upstate New York to house some of the most dangerous Guantanamo detainees. Given all the security precautions that must be taken, no such prison is going to be pleasant to live in. That said, one could attempt to construct a facility that provided humane conditions for long-term detainees. The rooms, in which the prisoners might spend 23 of 24 hours each day, must be large enough for people to move around comfortably and contain whatever furniture is safe for a prisoner to have. That means things that the prisoner can't use to injure himself or a guard or another inmate. The inmates must have an opportunity to exercise, preferably outside whenever possible, be given decent food that complies with any religion-based dietary restrictions, and whatever medical care is necessary, including mental health treatment.

The prisoners must have the chance to worship, to watch television, and to read whatever they want. There should be no physical or psychological abuse of any kind, and no control based on drugs. Every cell must have a good-sized window with bulletproof glass that looks out onto a pleasant landscape, such as a garden or a park. If there is a way for the inmates to socialize on a limited basis, they should be permitted to do so. Anything that can be done within the realm of safety to stimulate their minds and provide exercise for their bodies should be done.

Yes, I know what you're thinking: Such a prison would be incredibly expensive. Too bad. If we had not created this situation, we wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of it now. It's our responsibility, and we have to assume the burden, whether we like it or not.

Lilac Time

I can't think of a more magical time in my neighborhood than the end of May, when the scent of lilacs permeates the air. I took my dog for a walk this afternoon and came home high on lilacs. You can have your drug of choice, but I'll take lilacs every time.

Here, where spring comes late, if it comes at all, there is an established progression among the flowering trees and shrubs. The forsythia comes first, followed by the cherries and magnolias, then the apples, crab apples, quince and redbud trees, then finally the lilacs. I love them all, but in my book, the lilacs are the best.

When I was a kid, people around here brought lilacs to the cemeteries for Memorial Day. There was a special holder for them, a cone-shaped green metal thing with two prongs at the bottom. You stuck it in the ground by means of the prongs, poured in water, then put the cut lilacs in the container. When you visited the cemetery, no matter what other pots of flowers or wreaths you might see, there were always bouquets of lilacs all around. After a while, the people who ran the cemeteries didn't want the lilacs in their metal containers, but some people continued to bring them for years. I don't know if they sell those metal containers anymore. Maybe people used to bring them home and reuse them. They looked fine, much better than coffee cans wrapped in aluminum foil, which you also saw in those days.

Back then, you mostly saw the common blue lilacs, which grow into trees after a while. They are everywhere in my neighborhood, but they seem to be challenged now by white, pink, and even deep purple varieties, which are eye-catching and beautiful. None of them has the intoxicating scent of the blue lilacs, however, and those are my favorites. The scent of lilacs is amazing. I don't mean that air freshener smell or the perfumed candle smell that is supposed to be lilac. No, I mean the scent of real lilacs outside in the fresh air on a cool but sunny day in May. Superb, and more or less free, thanks to my neighbors who planted them.

And the best thing about lilac time in Oswego is that it lasts for quite a while. Even when the flowers begin to fade, the scent lingers and the colors take on a new cast and continue to adorn the neighborhood. And when lilac time is over, it's time for the bridal wreath spireas to bloom. No scent, but lovely all the same. How lucky we are to live here!

Redefining the American Dream

A recent article in the New York Times reports on the results of a poll administered by the Times and CBS last month. In the poll, people were asked "What does the American Dream mean to you?" They were also asked if they thought they had or would achieve it.

Given the current recession, it's no suprise that people's responses about having achieved the American Dream, or their prospects for doing so, were more pessimistic than they once were. Many people did not think they would have more and live better than their parents. But the survey also found that people were redefining their dream away from material success toward more abstract values. Concepts like freedom, equality, and opportunity were mentioned as the "real" American dream by an increasing number of people.

Obviously, this says something about people's optimism in difficult times. It also signals a welcome, if temporary, departure from measuring success in terms of how much "stuff" one can acquire. I think this trend should be encouraged, and I herewith state my New American Dream and hope that others will share it:

1. That we in the USA stop polluting the planet and do what needs to be done to reverse the damage, even if it means our standard of living declines somewhat.

2. That everyone in the USA has sufficient food, clothing, and shelter.

3. That everyone in the USA has adequate health care coverage that is not tied to employment.

4. That we in the USA take proper care of children and the elderly.

5. That we in the USA stop discriminating against one another on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or any similar factor.

6. That the USA be responsible for providing meaningful work for its population that doesn't involve only providing consumer items for everyone else.

7. That the USA develop and administer an education policy that is inclusive and effective and focuses more on learning and thinking than on self-esteem building.

8. That rich people and corporations in the USA accept that they have to pay a fair amount of taxes to support the country and its people.

9. That the government of the USA stop sending its citizens to die in irrelevant wars and instead concentrate on helping people who need it.

10. That everyone in the USA stop waving guns and flags around and concentrate instead on items 1-9.

And that's it, folks.

Time to Consider Plan B

Remember those college loans? Time to pay up, sucker!

Brennan Jackson , a high school student in Los Angeles, is desperately trying to patch together enough scholarships to enable him to attend the University of California at Berkeley next year. He is an A- student and he wants to go to a good college, but with his father out of work and another college-age sibling right behind him, money is tight. And, Brennan is finding, financial aid is tight, too.

There's an old song that says "You don't always get what you want," and I think Brennan should be listening to that wisdom. Forget about Berkeley for now, kid, and go to whatever two-year or four-year public college is within commuting distance.

In an age when nearly half the high-school population is expecting to go to college and the quality of public primary and secondary education is declining, the bachelor's degree is rapidly becoming the new high school diploma. Would you go into debt to pay for the "new high school diploma" for your child? Maybe, if the child is smart and willing to work hard and there is no way to pay for a basic college degree without borrowing some money, but as little as possible, please, or you're a dope.

At the present time, well-regarded public colleges are seeing a surge in interest. Another possibility that cash-strapped parents and students are exploring is starting the college education at a two-year public college and then transferring. In New York State, at least, the standard of education at public two-year colleges is not different from the four-year colleges, at least in the liberal arts or Associate in Arts (AA) degree programs. A student from the Syracuse area who got an AA degree from Onondaga Community College and got good grades could expect to transfer to a four-year college without any difficulty.

In the grocery store, "name" brands may sometimes be better than store brands or "off-label" brands. And Harvard is still Harvard, in part because Harvard has a lot of money to spend on faculty and facilities (although not as much as they used to), and in part because it can be much more selective in admissions than less celebrated institutions. But not all private colleges are Harvard, and borrowing money to send a kid to a Brand X private college is basically a waste of money. Bragging rights are nice, but bankruptcy isn't, and starting out on a career with a huge student-loan debt is crazy.