Last edited Sun Jan 6, 2019, 06:20 PM - Edit history (1)

it's hard to even start in on it. I feel for any employees affected by the shutdown, but corrections officers unions are the very last people I want to hear from right now. I know your post was made with good intent, but to start, the food in the federal correctional system can never, never be described as anything but disgraceful. Ninety percent of the food fed to inmates is donated because it can't be legally sold for human consumption, and then written off the taxes of the companies that donate it. Nice that the story used a photo from a restaraunt because the real thing is not very photogenic...in fact it's something you probably wouldn't feed your dog. Rancid meat recycled and served multiple times with each successive serving more heavily seasoned to hide the taste...years-old freezer-burned chicken leg quarters served bloody from inadequate cooking time. It's quite common to be sick from spoiled food once or twice a week if you don't have money to purchase pre-packaged food from the commissary (most of which conveniently enough is sold by Keefe which is primarily owned by George W. Bush). And then on holidays they only feed one meal they call brunch and serve something called steak or game hen and then close the place down for the rest of the day and hand out baloney and cheese sandwiches. In a nutshell, the food is so poor that only inmates who have no alternative eat the food they serve.

Then we can start with the corrections officers unions, one of the biggest lobbyists for virtually anything that supports the prison slave-labor industry and anything that supports the pipeline to prison. I don't want to rant all day, but corrections officers unions, like police officers unions are a primary cause of the militarization of our police forces and are not someone progressives should support.

seated next to the head of dietary services at state correctional institutions. He told me it cost the taxpayers a little over $1 per day to feed "offenders" on a daily basis. It may have gone up slightly since then, but no way are they getting the quality of food in the picture on a daily basis, if at all. Sometimes the Feds reach a point where they have a significant amount of commodities that they bought in mass and need to distribute them quickly for whatever reason. They will distribute these items to both federal and state agencies. Otherwise, not sure I take this article seriously. Just my opinion based on experience.

This next statement is also just my opinion. Sometimes, especially at holidays, institutions do try to come up with something better than the usual fare, whether it be correctional, mental health facilities, whatever. Not only does this help morale a bit, but may also act as a bit of a stress relief valve for people who are feeling their incarceration resentment more during the certain holidays. This in turn helps to possibly mitigate undesired circumstances for a while. I have no problem with that. But the article is using a roller where a paint brush would do.

as to the rest, I can vouch from personal experience...

I would say that a $5,000 per day hotel room is a rather short putt for her.

She is a deeply family oriented person. The room could have been a big multi family suite, with kids and grandkids with her.

and accommodate her family quite nicely.

Many of us take very adequate entire family vacations on a lot less than $5,000.

A multi family unit in a popular place is going to cost a lot of money, period. A person like her don't live at a Motel 6 for a week. She maybe could gotten an out of the way place for less, but why demand that she do that when she could clearly afford something else?

and wherever it is she's staying.

It is nice that she can afford it, but it might look a whole lot better if she were donating significant money to help some of the people being financially devastated by the shut down. Staying at a $5,000/night place is reminiscent of Marie Antoinette's diet advice.

You are making a lot of assumptions about her and seem to be trying to cast her in a negative light.

I don't think there is anything in the article about Ms. Pelosi.

I went straight to the link and didn't read the excerpt, where again I missed the mention. That makes the article even more repulsive.

I was responding to that observation, which I think is somewhat wrong sighted in that it made her look like she did not care, which is dead wrong.

She could vacation any fucking where she wanted -- she was NOT yet been sworn in as majority leader.

Where's all the angst and Paul Ryan sightings??? He was AWOL and I have yet to see one word printed about it.

Some once took that to an art form on DU. They always couch their "concern" amidst concern for the down and out or struggling, making it hard for a true democrat to oppose them, even as they train their fire only on democrats.

You make a good point, it is her money. The lady may have not had a vacation in a couple of years at least, she was very active at raising money for democrats in special elections and the 2018 congressional races.

doesn't mean HERS costs that much. Most resorts/hotels have an assortment of rooms at an assortment of prices, including honeymoon and "Presidential" suites.

Why would they include that photo with the article as opposed to a photo of the food that was actually served to the prisoners?

Or because federal workers aren't getting paid?

Does the article ever get around to blaming the Semenefrious Tubloidial Buttnoid in the White House?

because Shitler screwed them over.

The bit about “Ima end up fat i been eatin like a boss all week i just had steak, pie, chicken, potatoes, salad mac nd cheese rice all type of (things),” one wrote. “bro ibe workin out for (nothing)" is about as racist as you can get.