All Things Considered spent some 20 minutes on this today. I was shocked to hear the report---and delighted that there is one news outlet that still will spend time to report something in depth.

You can probably hear it on their archives on NPR's website.

Briefly--we have detained people who have "green" cards--legally (under the patriot act). They may have had a traffic incraction ( or more) years ago and we plan to deport them. Until that time they are held in jails (the report talks only of Passaic County jail in NJ) which are paid by the Fed. govt for the incarcaration. Now---the really bad part.

The guards (Passaic Cty) harass and threaten them, sic dogs on them, roust them every night at 2 AM with the dogs. Some have been hospitalized for beatings and dog bites. Abu Ghraib(spell?>) is here--sadly. Here --and it should not have been there either--for an allegedly civilized nation.

People awaiting hearings are handled by sadistic guards---their attorneys (legal aid) are threatened when they come in. Guards get these jobs because, probably, they can do no better and being of a certain psychological bent take it out on the prisoners (detainees).
We could go into who becomes a guard--but that is for another topic.

NPR took over 6 months--they said---to research and air this piece. The warden would not speak with them, the Feds would not speak with them, a PR firm for the prison did---and he had never been there.

Has our Bushworld evolved into letting the inmates run the asylum---something akin to the Brownshirts and the Gestapo.

Geo. Orwell---where are you now to see how it is all coming to pass?

Bill Hahn