Allen’s Perspective

1. Miami – Needing a QB ever since Marino retired, the Dolphins should take a QB like Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Brian Brohm. If not a QB, they should take Chris Long from the University of Virginia, but with contract negotiations, they will take a Michigan monster in Jake Long to play LT.

2. St. Louis – The Rams will be lucky to chose between Chris Long, Vernon Gholston from Ohio State and LSU’s Glenn Dorsey. I predict St. Louis fans will be thrilled with Chris Long from Virginia to play in Missouri, whose capitol is Jefferson City.

3. Atlanta – Obviously, the Falcons desperately need a QB and can’t risk waiting for second round to get a top 3 QB. Matt Ryan is a safe pick for the unhappy fans in Atlanta.

4. Oakland – The Raider Nation will have a choice between several quality DL choices, but will be raving when they draft outstanding RB Darren McFadden from Arkansas.

5. Kansas City – If the Chief’s 2007 NFL sack leader DE Jared Allen is traded, then Carl Peterson will chose great DE Vernon Gholston, probably over Glenn Dorsey. If Allen is signed, then K.C. will pick OT/G Branden Albert of Virginia for the Jefferson City state of Missouri.

6. New York Jets – The Jets will pick the best DL available, which will be Glenn Dorsey if K.C. trades Allen. If K.C. does not trade Allen, then Jets will select Gholston.

7. New England – The Patriots get to “tuck” away this draft choice to select LB Keith Rivers from Southern Cal.

8. Baltimore – The Ravens need a QB and, like Atlanta, can’t risk waiting until the second round. In a surprise, they will pick Joe Flacco who played at nearby Delaware.

9. Cincinnati – The Bengals need to improve their defense and therefore will pick DT Sedrick Ellis from Southern California. If K.C. does not trade Allen, then the Chiefs will pick Glenn Dorsey or other DE’s that are available.

10. New Orleans – The Saints will pick the best defensive player available out of Chris Long, Vernon Gholston, Glenn Dorsey, Sedrick Ellis and Keith Rivers. If K.C. trades Allen, none of these players will be available. So I predict the Saints will draft DE Derrick Harvey of Florida over many good CB’s available.

11. Buffalo/Toronto – The Bills will pick best defensive player available, so I will guess Aqib Talib from Kansas who has played in cool weather would best suit the Bills over a warmer weather CB.

12. Denver - The Broncos will want to upgrade their OL and will pick Branden Albert if KC trades Allen. Or Jeff Otah of Pitt if Albert taken.

14. Chicago – The Bears will pick QB Brian Brohm of Louisville.

21. Washington – The Redskins new Head Coach Jim Zorn could best use offensive and defensive line improvements. G Branden Albert of UVA, OT Jeff Otah of Pittsburgh, OT Ryan Clady of Boise State, Chris Williams from Vanderbilt, DE Derrick Harvey of Florida will have been selected by the 21st pick. So I predict the Redskins will pick Phillip Merling, DE from Clemson.

Is there no America-hating, anti-Israel thug that Jimmy Carter wouldn’t do business with?

The nation’s 39th president has long since shattered the tradition that former presidents refrain from criticizing their successors, even when they are from different political parties. The man who was arguably the worst president of the 20th century hasn’t stopped running his mouth against all his successors, including fellow Democrat Bill Clinton, since Ronald Reagan routed him from office in 1980.

But now Carter — who once called the current Bush administration’s Mideast and Iraq policies “criminal” — appears to be going beyond his usual wrong-headed, mean-spirited criticisms to actively undermine his government’s foreign policy.

That, in our view, makes him the real criminal.

On his Mideast travels this month, Carter is planning to meet in Syria next week with Khaled Meshai, the exiled head henchman of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that refuses to recognize the existence of Israel, is waging war against it, and pledges to destroy the Jewish state.

Perhaps Carter’s visit with the notorious terrorist leader shouldn’t be such a surprise, given that he always has favored Hamas over Fatah, the more moderate Palestinian group that Hamas clashes with ideologically — and sometimes in street battles.

The problem is that being an ex-president and Nobel Peace Prize winner makes Carter a person of enormous international prominence. So when he meets with a top terrorist thug, it enhances the legitimacy and stature of that thug in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Hence, the Bush administration policy of trying to isolate Hamas as an international pariah could be severely damaged by Carter’s meeting with Meshal. It might encourage European and other nations to loosen sanctions against Hamas when the U.S. government seeks to tighten them.

Carter fancies himself a peacemaker, especially since the Nobel Peace Prize was undeservedly bestowed on him. But in point of fact he’s part of a global far-left, hate-America crowd that is doing everything possible to legitimize terror and tyranny at the expense of peace and freedom.

Carter’s doing more than embarrassing his nation. He’s betraying it. The sooner this embittered man fades from the world scene, the better.

From the Saturday, April 12, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle
Read On the Augusta Chronicle http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/041208/edi_194696.shtml.

Ideas and solutions that work should be models to be shared and refined. When President Ronald Reagan signed legislation to abolish parole in the federal system in 1984, he recognized that the existing sentencing and parole system was adding to rising crime rates and was fundamentally unfair to the victims of crime and to the public. This was a major shift in criminal justice policy and served as inspiration for changes I advocated during my campaign for governor of Virginia in 1993. Parole abolition and truth-in-sentencing have worked to make Virginians safer and brought credibility to the justice system. They will work now for South Carolina, where leaders are proposing similar changes for the Palmetto State.

When I became governor of Virginia in 1994, our Commonwealth had experienced a 28 percent increase in criminal violence over the previous five years. Rising crime, fear, and frustration were the results of a lenient and dishonest justice system that did not take punishment seriously and allowed early-release parole to create a revolving door for criminals.

First-time convicted criminals were eligible for parole after serving a quarter to as little as one-fifth of their sentence. First-degree murderers sentenced to 35 years spent an average of only 10 years in prison. Offenders sentenced to “life” could become eligible for parole after serving between 12 and 15 years. More than 75 percent of all violent criminals in the system in 1993 had prior convictions. Because of parole and almost automatic good time credit, no one — not the judge, the prosecutor, the juries, or the victims and their families — had any real idea of how much of the prison sentence a convicted criminal would actually serve.

In 1994, we succeeded in abolishing this dishonest parole system, increasing time served for violent crime and instituting “truth-in-sentencing,” which guaranteed that felons would serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. For the first time, there was certainty in what a sentence really meant. Inmates can still earn up to 15% “good time” credit on their sentences. Repeat violent offenders are serving sentences two to three times longer than before our reforms. Meanwhile, we overhauled the correctional classification system, building low-cost work centers for low-risk, minimum-security, non-violent offenders.

More than ten years later, what are the results of these changes? First-degree murderers now serve 91 percent of their sentences in prison with a median time served of 32 years, rather than 12 years with parole. A sentence of “life in prison” now essentially means just that. Truth-in-sentencing fosters trust in our justice system. Judges and juries do not have to play guessing games when determining sentences. Police and crime victims have a firm idea of when a criminal will be released. Victims need not fearfully plead every year to the parole board not to release the felon. Rational and consistent sentencing fosters public confidence in our criminal justice system.

Best of all, there are thousands of people who are not victims of criminals. Since 1995, the violent crime rate in Virginia has declined by nearly 23 percent. The murder rate is down by 30 percent, and forcible rape rate has dropped by more than 15 percent. This is a logical result when one realizes that most crimes were being committed by repeat offenders. If a rapist is in prison, serving now an average sentence of 18 years rather than six, he can’t be lurking in a parking garage waiting for his next victim.

Moreover, parole abolition and truth-in-sentencing did not drastically increase our prison population, as many critics feared when the reforms were enacted. As compared to a prison population that increased by 154 percent between 1985 and 1995, growth in Virginia’s prison population slowed to 31 percent between 1995 and 2004. State officials predict an annual average growth in the prison population of 2.8 percent over next six years — much less than originally forecast, and lower than the national average.

Based on this success in Virginia and in other states, elected officials in South Carolina are advocating a similar change to their sentencing system. Attorney General Henry McMaster and legislators are fighting to abolish parole and to institute truth in sentencing so that all convicted criminals must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.

Instilling honesty, consistency, and fairness for all in the criminal justice system is a goal that serves all citizens. As it did in Virginia, parole abolition and truth-in-sentencing can accomplish this goal for law-abiding South Carolinians by reducing the number of victims of crimes committed by criminals released early. For those who claim longer sentences are undesirable, ask them which convicted criminal they would like to rent a room in their home or move into their neighborhood.

Mr. Allen served as Virginia’s governor and U.S. senator. He is currently the Reagan Ranch Presidential Scholar for Young America’s Foundation (www.yaf.org).

thestate.com/satopinion/story/364824.html

About George Allen

George F. Allen served the Commonwealth of Virginia for over twenty years, as Governor, in both bodies of the United States Congress, and as a delegate holding Thomas Jefferson’s seat in the Virginia General Assembly.

Sworn in as Governor in 1994 George Allen brought sweeping reform that made Virginia a national model in economic development, public safety, education accountability, and creative government. As a self-described “Common Sense Jeffersonian Conservative,” Allen pushed through cutting edge reform with bipartisan support in a legislature held by the opposition:

Criminal Justice Reform – Virginia’s criminal justice system was completely overhauled, including the abolition of parole, adoption of truth-in-sentencing, dramatic increases in prison time for violent and repeat criminals, and comprehensive juvenile justice system reform.

Education Reform – Virginia’s “Standards of Learning” became a national model for rigorous academic standards and accountability.
Welfare Reform – The Allen Administration put a two-year time limit on assistance, mandatory work for able bodied recipients, and strong measures to compel fathers to support their children.

Government Reform – Through a comprehensive reappraisal of state programs, regulatory reform, privatization, and other cost-saving measures, the Allen administration increased funding for education, public safety, and job creation with prompt permitting and lower tax burdens.

Economic Development –The Allen administration created an economic development strategy that catapulted Virginia to the forefront nationally and causing the US News and Report to dub Virginia the “Silicon Dominion.” Allen brought in over $14 billion in new investments and more than 300,000 new net jobs were created.

Elected to the United States Senate in 2000, George Allen continued to advocate policies to make America and Virginia a leader in innovation and technology. In 2001, he was appointed Chairman of the Senate High Tech Task Force and later in his term he created the Competitive Caucus to keep America the “world capital of innovation”. Allen was a member on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee as well as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on European Affairs.

Senator Allen was unanimously elected a member of the Senate Republican Leadership as Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2002. Under Senator Allen’s leadership, Republicans gained four seats in the Senate and expanded the Republican majority to 55-44-1.

Currently, Allen serves as the Reagan Ranch Presidential Scholar for the Young America’s Foundation.

George Allen holds a B.A. in History with distinction as well as a law degree from the University of Virginia. He and his wife, Susan, reside near Mt. Vernon in Fairfax County with their three children: Tyler, Forrest, and Brooke.