Prison Puzzle Pieces 3. Dave Basham
question, so I asked him again.
He stated that he belonged in a cell on the seventh tier.
I directed him to report to his cell.
He started to move, but stopped and continued his conversation with the inmate in the cell.
I again directed him to report to his cell.
He did not obey and stated that an officer told him that he could come down here.
I asked him which officer told him.
He refused to answer.
I directed him numerous times to tell me or point out which officer told him he could go to gallery 5.
He refused all of my directives.
I directed him to switch in.
He did not obey. He went to another officer and started speaking to her about this situation.
After directing him a few more times to switch in he started heading up the stairs. He stopped on gallery two and started yelling down to the other officer and me.
I directed him to report to the door. We met the sarge at the door and explained the situation to him.
The sarge escorted him to his cell. He was placed on ICR for being in an unauthorized area, misrepresentation and disobeying.
It can be rather entertaining at times to catch some idiot lying to me. It can be fun to see how many other lies they will create to try to lie their way out of getting caught at the first lie and refusing to admit it. It can be interesting to see what they will say and do to try to give their lie credibility. As I said, it can be, but it happens so often that it becomes a nuisance that really wears on you.
DOC SYSTEM OF LIES
State of Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Corrections
March 8, 2005
Dear Mr. Dave Basham:
Thank you for applying for our recent Mobility/Work out of Class Employee Development Specialist 2 position. We reviewed all applications based on the criteria provided in the job posting.
•Security Background
•Correctional Officer Experience
•Depth of understanding of adult learning principles
•Training experience
•Instructional methods used
We carefully reviewed the information you submitted against this criteria and found it was lacking in one or more of the criteria.
We certainly appreciate your interest in the EDS 2 assignment. If you have further questions please contact me at 651-643-3440. I encourage you to apply for future opportunities in Employee Development.
Very truly yours,
Bullshit Artist
Employee Development Director
Okay, what is my bitch about this? Lies like this are built into the system. Every state job has to be posted for anyone to apply for. That’s a good thing, kind of.
The problem is that many times they already know who they want and who they are going to hire. This gives false hope and wastes a lot of time for those of us applying for the job. Time is wasted preparing a resume and submitting it. I even went down to Central Office and submitted mine in person. Time is wasted again when they have you drive down to Central Office for their fake interview. I could tell during that extremely brief interview that it was just a formality that this gal was doing to keep her job. The only one that was unimpressive during this interview was her. It was blatantly obvious that she had never even looked at my resume.
This position was to be a trainer for new correction officers. This would be part of their academy training. The training coordinator for both Stillwater and Oak Park Heights prisons even tried to convince her to give me the job.
When this Bullshit Artist put up the posting for that position, why didn’t she post that she had already decided to hire a friend of hers, so apply if you want, but your efforts would be futile. I actually found out about this friend situation from several sources.
I have an outstanding record as a trainer before, during and after this job. Don’t send me a form letter stating that I was lacking in one or more of the criteria. I was better qualified to do her job than she was.
This may sound arrogant of me; however I encourage people to not downplay their strengths. I know what I am good at and what I suck at. I have no need or desire to inform you of my weaknesses. These books are long enough already without adding that long list.
This is one of those times where you want to go down there and slap the person silly. It wouldn’t have done any good. She wouldn’t have been able to comprehend what was going on.
With her in this position, it was no wonder we wound up with so many incompetent people in their positions.
The best thing government could do, would be to do a lot of house cleaning of unqualified personnel.
Someone that went to college and did not have the variety of life experiences that I had is far more successful than I will ever be.
Someone that did not go to college, but stayed with one job is far more successful that I am.
As a matter of fact, I do not consider myself successful at all. I basically wandered through life working hard at anything I did. When someone lives over six decades, like I have, one has a lot of time to fill with a lot of different things. The only thing that can really be said about me is that I made it through six decades, my way. Not necessarily good, not necessarily bad, just made it through.
NATIVE AMERICANS
YES, THEY ARE SPECIAL
The Native Americans were having their “Annual Religious Meal and Smudging.”
The following is the information we were supplied with.
Date and Sign Up Procedures: The meal will be held on Thursday, September 9, 2004 in conjunction with regular Thursday Sweat Lodge. Per policy, offenders who have been attending Sweat Lodges (on the master pass list) will be permitted to attend. A signup sheet will be posted in each unit prior to the event. Individuals must sign up by the cutoff date. Offenders in segregation or on in-house segregation status are not eligible. Individuals in B-West are allowed one religious event per week.
Site Set Up and Clean Up: Arrangements have been made for 6 individuals to clean up the Sweat Lodge area, set up the area before the feast, help bring food to and from the kitchen, return it at the end of the feast and clean the area. Each will be sent a pass.
Outside Participants: Outside participants will be limited to 10 in accordance with policy. The Religious Resource Center will be responsible for coordinating their entry into the facility. There will be limitations on what can and cannot be brought in.
Menu: Bison roast steaks, fried walleye, mixed berries, wild rice, corn on the cob, fry bread, mixed nuts, blueberry pie, coffee, punch
Costs: The cost of the feast will be covered via the institution food budget.
Event timeline: An expanded timeline has been approved. The event will begin at 12:00 noon and end at 5:45 p.m. Everyone must remain in the Sweat Lodge area during the event.
Gifts: No special gifts have been approved. The sharing of tobacco as a gift is allowed.
Alternate Location: In the event of bad weather, the meal will be served in the main dining hall after the general population has been served the midday meal and before the evening meal is served.
CASINO MONEY
Here is a