Still an important inquiry — how did the decision to remove pork from Federal Prisoners’ menu come about?
Via The Daily Caller
‘HAM-HANDED’ Prison Pork Ban Reversed After America Freaks Out
We are so confused — we thought Christian Slater saved Kevin Bacon. Oh well, check out the link in the footnote below for a lesson in how Hollywood confuses things.*
A decision by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to no longer serve pork to inmates has been quickly reversed after public outcry and a letter of inquiry from Senate Republican Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley.
The bureau has not fully explained why it stopped serving pork Oct. 1 of this year. Initially, the bureau told The Washington Post that pork was an expensive option and that a survey of inmates found it was not a popular option. They have since announced they will continue serving pork roast.
Grassley sent a letter Thursday to Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Charles Samuels questioning the transparency surrounding the decision and how much taxpayer money was used to conduct this survey in the first place. Hours later, the decision was reversed.
“The decision by the Bureau of Prisons to completely remove pork from its menus was ham-handed at best,” Grassley said in a statement Friday. “I appreciate the quick decision after my letter to the bureau to keep pork products on prison menus.”
Grassley, who represents the farming state of Iowa, also stressed the importance of the American pork industry, which was not happy about the decision.
“We find it hard to believe that a survey would have found a majority of any population saying, ‘No thanks, I don’t want any bacon,’” a representative for The National Pork Producers Council told Fox News.
Grassley is now looking into why the decision was made in the first place.
“None of that’s been answered, and it ought to be,” Grassley said in a statement. “I look forward to receiving a response to my letter.”
Obama does quick U-turn on prison pork removal
Grassley demanded data on ‘lowest rated’ food
WND reports: Obama does quick U-turn on prison pork removal
Grassley demanded data on ‘lowest rated’ food
The federal Bureau of Prisons’ reversal of the Oct. 1 menu change comes just one week after its spokesman, Edmond Ross, said pork was the “lowest-rated” food among inmates.
“To corroborate the validity of the claim that prisoners indicated a lack of interest in pork products, I am requesting copies of the prisoner surveys and responses that were used to support the determination to no longer serve pork in federal prisons,” the Republican senator wrote to the agency on Thursday, the Washington Post reported. “Please provide any economic evaluations the Bureau of Prisons has relied on that detail the cost of pork as compared to beef, chicken, and non-meat products such as tofu and soy products.”
Grassley also happens to be the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the federal prison system. . . .
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, applauded the original decision to pull pork products from federal prisons, but insisted it did not pressure officials on the issue.
- In looking for a graphic to adorn our post we looked up “prison bacon” and came across this Wikipedia reference to a prison movie Murder in the First (staring Christian Slater and Kevin Bacon). Using a celebrated case including names of the real people involved, see how Hollywood “embellished” the truth in pursuit of glorifying prison reforms (however needed).
Thanks to VM for giving us the heads-up on developments to this matter
