Wasted Honor -

Carl R. ToersBijns is the author of the Wasted Honor Trilogy [Wasted Honor I,II and Gorilla Justice] and his newest book From the Womb to the Tomb, the Tony Lester Story, which is a reflection of his life and his experiences as a correctional officer and a correctional administrator retiring with the rank of deputy warden in the New Mexico and Arizona correctional systems.

Carl also wrote a book on his combat experience in the Kindle book titled - Combat Medic - Men with destiny - A red cross of Valor -

Carl is considered by many a rogue expert in the field of prison security systems since leaving the profession. Carl has been involved in the design of many pilot programs related to mental health treatment, security threat groups, suicide prevention, and maximum custody operational plans including double bunking max inmates and enhancing security for staff. He invites you to read his books so you can understand and grasp the cultural and political implications and influences of these prisons. He deals with the emotions, the stress and anxiety as well as the realities faced working inside a prison. He deals with the occupational risks while elaborating on the psychological impact of both prison worker and prisoner.

His most recent book, Gorilla Justice, is an un-edited raw fictional version of realistic prison experiences and events through the eyes of an anecdotal translation of the inmate’s plight and suffering while enduring the harsh and toxic prison environment including solitary confinement.

Carl has been interviewed by numerous news stations and newspapers in Phoenix regarding the escape from the Kingman prison and other high profile media cases related to wrongful deaths and suicides inside prisons. His insights have been solicited by the ACLU, Amnesty International, and various other legal firms representing solitary confinement cases in California and Arizona. He is currently working on the STG Step Down program at Pelican Bay and has offered his own experience insights with the Center of Constitutional Rights lawyers and interns to establish a core program at the SHU units. He has personally corresponded and written with SHU prisoners to assess the living conditions and how it impacts their long term placement inside these type of units that are similar to those in Arizona Florence Eyman special management unit where Carl was a unit deputy warden for almost two years before his promotion to Deputy Warden of Operations in Safford and Eyman.

He is a strong advocate for the mentally ill and is a board member of David's Hope Inc. a non-profit advocacy group in Phoenix and also serves as a senior advisor for Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council in Chino, California As a subject matter expert and corrections consultant, Carl has provided interviews and spoken on national and international radio talk shows e.g. BBC CBC Lou Show & TV shows as well as the Associated Press.

I use sarcasm, satire, parodies and other means to make you think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
































































































































Tuesday, December 30, 2014

New book now available -

Monday, December 29, 2014

Correctional Officer Bashings - the real story

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Tick Tock, they want to turn back the clock


The movement is in motion, there is hate, rage and anger all around
But when you look real close, it’s not really the truth that is sought to be found
But rather a movement to destroy our culture and change what is not right in their minds...
But taking the point with violence towards cops and others, is not how you win this fight

We want to be able to stand up and pledge allegiance to our flag
To kneel down into prayer as we give our God our daily wish and love as the sole creator of life
And use His wisdom to study the word, to see the light and give us the knowledge for further insights
And bow down to Jesus, God or the Holy Spirit as we hold on what taught us what was right.
For we are led by fakers and frauds who tell us how to live our lives with values of their own
Rather than those we learned and taught in a culture that is seemly lost inside our minds

So rebel the rage, the power and seek the freedom we have lost
Take the power back and bring God back into our lives at any costs
Spin you minds to find the love and compassion for each and every mankind
Ignorance has taken over but common decency we can still find
The baby boomers are witness to what was and can be done again
They do not fear the beat of this drum as they have already marched this song before
We must counteract with love and not hate and make each individual count
We have to take the power back so that every live counts

No need to use your guns, you fist or your angry words
If we are to win this war, there has to be honor while carrying this sword
Follow our Constitution and do not let them change its ways by executive orders or falsified laws
Do not accept the curriculum that comes out of Washington DC and make it go away and bring us back yesterday
We have to show the others the lies that are told and laws that are broken
By those who swore to protect us when elected by their morals have been stolen
So support the police, they can serve and protect us well if we let them stay
And take care of the corruption that surrounds us every day
We have to take the power back there really is no choice
Standing up for the red white and blue will give us back our voice
But if you follow the promises of the false prophets elected
The world is doomed and the culture is lost and no one will care about our loss

No more teacher telling us what to read in class as the history books have been changed to suit their needs
To project and protect the evil ones who destroyed this country from the inside out
They have tried to taint the students’ eyes and closed the windows to their souls
Now they are the fools and everyone knows they are the ones who will go to Hell
So don’t play the fool, and stay real cool as the cops are our friends and not the enemy as said
For if you don’t support the cops, we may all soon end up dead


 

Saturday, December 27, 2014

What I see ~


What I see


“The soul never thinks without a mental picture.” ― Aristotle


What I see is not what everybody else sees. What I look at is different from other’s view. What I am watching or observing is not important as what others view or see because each and every picture is a mental impression that comes from the soul and changes the perspective with every different beat of the heart as it performs the miracle of seeing for everyone in a most unique and different way.

Seeing is not like any other sense as it has much more of a dimension one can only imagine. Seeing is not like hearing or touching or even tasting and smelling. It is unique and triggered by the soul that paints a mental picture for you and only you.

When you create a vision you can change what you see and turn ice into rain and fire into water. You can trick the mind with your own perception as you create what you want to see in a most unique and personal way.

Seeing can be spiritually induced or created. It does not have a natural or constant factor to abide by and allows you to create a different landscape or image with the touch of the imagination as you travel a voyage that consists not just of what is real but also what you have created inside your mind. Thus the power of seeing is often underestimated by many and therefore sold short of how it can change your life.

A painter paints the colors and shapes on the canvas with his mind and his eyes while a clay maker can do the same with his hands. Both have a vision from the heart and each is bewitched in their own passion to create something that hides inside their soul.

There are no vision that are the same, there are no identical visions. Each artists creates their own and what I see differs what others might see standing in the same place at the same time. It may be a difference in shapes, colors or other attractions to beauty. These colors change when it is morning or if it is night. The light brings out the different shades of pale and yet they may match some of the others in the surroundings but never be the same.

What you can see can be determined by sound, tone or colors of the rainbow. The vision can be effected by light, by bright and dim and other luminous features that bring out the figures and shapes that are translated in your mind.

Even upon the closest inspection, what you can see could have been created by a mistake in the eye yet beautiful just the same as if it wasn’t a mistake at all. It all depends on your point of view, it all depends on how you learned to see things and from what angle. Whether you see with an old set of eyes an some that are new, it doesn’t matter for they will never see the same things that is planted in the brain.

What may seem to be large to someone could in fact be something that is small. Life is full of connections and perceptions so you can’t tell one from the other unless you have taken the time to learn and compare. Some call valleys mountains while others call mountain peaks. It is all how you see the shapes and figures that makes you want to seek.

What I see may be flat, while others see it as a deep in-depth dimension plane filled with grains of sand that is unseen by some but stands out to others as a matter of time we never paid attention to before. We see what we want to see and hardly ever pay attention to the other things that surround us.

Thus seeing is a constant struggle to see what other see. What may be in front of one’s nose may be distant for others but regardless how it is seen, it takes the uniqueness of seeing to make your soul come alive. Shakespeare said “love looks not with the eyes but with the mind; and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” Such truth is rarely argued as we all know that love is blind indeed.

Some things we see are mysterious to some but not to others. One quickly forgets that the mystery is your eye and want message it sends to the mind. Yet we are told that our eyes are the gateway to the soul and adding the mystery to the eye, each soul can be said to be different from others.

Some say the eye can see which man is noblest, supreme, strongest or wisest. Thus the eye is a far reaching tool that must not be taken for granted for any reason. Perhaps it is the attention to detail that gives the eyes such powerful influences on the mind and heart. Perhaps it is these eyes that set our memory or taint the recall with how we see by our other senses.

Perhaps it is true what has been said for centuries now. We don’t see things as they are but rather, we see them as we are or want them to be. Sometimes, you can see best when you close your eyes. Other times your vision is clearer when you look into your own heart, your soul and your mind to find your dreams, your awakenings and your passion.

Thus we look on the inside and the outside to get a better view. It is what makes life so exciting. Whether seeing with vision or double vision, it does not matter for you will only see what you want to see or if you are fortunate, what your heart, your soul and your mind what to let you see. Everything else does not matter as the art of being wise is to know what to overlook.

On the other end of the spectrum, do not overlook the obvious. It may create a vacuum that may cause your pain or grief. As the soul can speak with your eyes, a kiss can dampen your gaze and drive you into a state of panic if you don’t take the time to understand what you just experienced. 

Your confidence comes from the view and the view comes from your senses that have put your mind in order to remind you that the human doesn’t see things as they are but rather, as it is. True confidence comes from the view and we do not see everything in complete detail but we do in fact prioritize our seeing so we can enjoy the environment more completely.

 

Betrayal -


Betrayal – Turning your backs on others

 
“Et tu, Brute?” William Shakespeare

 


Have you ever had a job or career you loved? Have you ever loved it so much you would rather quit than tear it apart? Did you leave because of your love for the job or the betrayal around you? The fact is, you may have loved your job so much, you gave up on it because you loved it so much.

Did the job fulfill the needs of others before it filled yours? Did it seem like it gave more love to those undeserving than your own loyalty given unconditionally or was it ripping you off emotionally and leaving you broke for satisfaction and self-worth.

The truth be told, your job may have become as obsessive as a drug addiction. You discovered it controlled you in more than just coming and going to work. It was hiding inside of you like an addiction does even when you are away treating like you it was just “another affair.”

The job turned the others against you and you couldn’t handle that very well. You felt they were talking behind your back and to your best friends and you couldn’t stop it or control it any longer. Maybe it was the lying or the character assassinations that bothered you the most but it’s one thing to be lied to and another to be lied about. That hurts even deeper.

The job was good while it lasted. It was dramatically a big part of your life but now you are done. There is no more sharing or caring about others as you are drained with distrust of others and trust for only a few. You felt you were your own sole provider and taking care of things that others should have helped you with but neither helped nor cared about it any longer.

Holding on to the job was senseless. It gave nothing back even after all those years. It was said to find out that even after all this time you served with honor and integrity, it only gave you back more hurt than ever before. Not once not twice but many times over.

Even your friends are no longer the true and blue they once were. They once liked you as a person but now, they don’t like me at all. Even though you worked harder to help them out over and over, the time has come to let it all go and move on.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Sunrise Sunset by Carl ToersBijns




Sunrise Sunset by Carl ToersBijns
 
Every new year, life offers us God’s majestic natural beauty of sunrises and sunsets. Put into plain English, this translates into experiencing nature’s daily beauty of new days and beginnings giving us a chance to make up for whatever we had failed to do the day before or from coming out of the darkness that sets after the sun goes down daily without ever giving up on our dreams.

Some view the end of the year as a time of darkness while ot...hers see it as a new beginning. This cycle every twelve months offers us hope and love with a certain sense of expectations and accomplishments so we can see or feel the progress we made the year before.

In review we all have a chance to see and feel what has transpired and build a new foundation to make the coming year stronger and better with an emerging shimmering light as a lighthouse to give us new directions.

This review consists of experiencing the good and bad, the dark and the light and dreams lost or dreams on hold. Regardless, it is a time that always brings the yearning to move on to a higher level as you struggled with those same frustrations the year of past.

One should feel blessed and glad that you get a second chance to dance the rhythm of life. One should be grateful to participate in the creation of the Tree of life and give hope to those who are missing the mystical powers of hope faith and love.

Most of all, one should be inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds them and awakens their creativity and brilliance as well as the opportunities to gain insight and wisdom from those who surround them. Celebrate life to the fullest.

Celebrate with joy the sunrises and sunsets of the future and tomorrow and give life your fullest effort to be the best you can be in life, family and spirit.

Let the sun’s light give you strength for your darkest hours and let the fire of passion give you the drive to do what you yearn the most in life. Photos are taken by Casey Stanford Photography - available online at http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/casey+stanford/all

Monday, December 8, 2014

Please support the mental illness awareness

We have made progress. We are at 71 per cent success rate. We still have a way to go and I am sure we will reach our goal set for the benefit for others. This book will bring awareness to the mental illness needs of those special needs people who depend on others for their survival and safety. Please help us help others.
We have made progress. We are at 71 per cent success rate. We still have a way to go and I am sure we will reach our goal set for the benefit for o...
www.gofundme.com

Sunday, December 7, 2014

cultural competence

Unconscious Bias in Prisons





To be honest with you, I believe this bull about Eric Holder believing cops are affected by an “unconscious bias” goes a little too far over the blurred lines but it does give us some food to think about. The Attorney General feels police officers in the case of Eric Garner’s death need to be examined for this type of bias inside their heads because he feels they are infected with a decision making process that may predict poor police interactions that are associated with race and social class biases as well as the traditional lines of police work in general. 

One has to be aware that with some level of certainly, this kind of a bias may appear to be true in some cases but keeping it in content and context, so that these assessments are not skewed or taken out of context. This value of unconscious biases has been underrated and overrated by many studies and must be kept in the parameters and environments that are real and within logical and rational expectations and desired outcomes. 

If such studies do not take into account community demographics, culture, training and roles provided, it can lead someone down the wrong path and draw the wrong conclusions. It has been said that police have better results and less violence in their interactions with those of a higher social class than those belonging to a middle or lower social class. 
Perhaps there is a preference for cops to work in good neighborhood rather than working in poor neighborhoods. It does seem to affect their perception to a degree. If this perception guides their decision making, then what can be said about correctional officers working in a criminal element and putting their own conscious biases towards those they manage or supervise and what does that do to institutional enforcement levels and use of force situations? The questions are real but rarely assessed or researched. 

We know there is a distinct preference what custody levels officers prefer to work or engage in with convicted felons. There is also reasonable grounds to believe officers would rather work with those of a higher intelligence and better communication skills than those who are slow at mental processing and speech. Their patience wears thin and often results in frustration. 

It may not be based on race or other inequalities but it could trigger a modal response that is hard to deny to exist and create a conflict in actions and interactions based on their own perceptions and preferences. Thus it is reasonable to suggest that a conscious bias may impair or place an effective barrier to the desire to produce effective and safer solutions especially when some of these inequalities are misunderstood.

Recent and past work experiences have shown that implicit biases also exist among police officers and correctional officers and are associated with perceptions and beliefs about persons considered to be suspected criminals or convicted criminals. One just has to inject a bias towards the nature of crime committed or accused of to change the perception or outcome. 

Together, such a finding may suggest that the relationship between law and criminal may be an important contributing factor to racial and social disparities in law enforcement either on the streets or inside a jail or prison.Additionally, there are reasonable conclusions drawn from anecdotal experiences such biases may be generated or reinforced during formal, informal, on the job  training as well as educational resources and may enable the design of interventions to address disparities in such enforcement of law and rules.

Why Correctional Officers are not treated like Cops





To quote Paco Villa "Correctional officers do deserve special recognition.   They have an important and dangerous job.  They are often subjected to all kinds of abuse by prison inmates.  During their shifts they are confined to almost the same degree as the inmates they are in charge of.  Unfortunately the public does not hold correctional officers in high esteem.  They are unappreciated and underpaid.  But calling themselves cops does not change any of that." This takes us one step further and declare a fact how grand juries perceive our roles to be.
This controversy on how grand juries seem to always never fail to indict a cop for anything – not for murder, assault or other crimes whether serious or not, brings up the romantic relationship prosecutors have with police officers but not correctional officers. This process of indicting a cop is way different from indicting a correctional officer. There seems to be no parity here whatsoever. In fact, there appears to be a pattern of behavior that is very disturbing for the profession.
The facts are being revealed via the media how prosecutors operate and run a grand jury. It makes you realize how a prosecutor can make this group of citizens “see” what they want them to see. This alone should make you aware that the system is broken somewhere along the line we tow as correctional officers also charged with statutory enforcement within a criminalized society.
How you recognize the difference is in perception, role, culture and connection prosecutors have with cops and not correctional officers is important. How they act in their role to indict or not indict should be a key how they feel about the profession as well as the position correctional officers’ play in the criminal justice system.
Can you see my argument? Are you aware of the difference in professional courtesy and treatment?  Justice is served in the eyes of the prosecutor. There should be no uncertainty how the prosecutors view correctional officers. We as a profession are demonized by society, the media and yes, our own law enforcement community. In short, we are the bad guys and bad guys do wrong. We are always guilty based on our role in society’s eyes.
Experts say grand juries can reliably be counted upon to deliver indictments the vast majority of the time, and available numbers seem to back that up. Still, the key to success is the prosecutors and the prosecutors have their own agenda except when it comes to working with cops. They need cops to make their cases, unlike correctional officers who are deemed to be expendable by the system.
The news site FiveThirtyEight.com reported that of 162,000 federal cases in which prosecutors sought indictments in 2010, grand juries failed to deliver an indictment only 11 times. Also worth noting, however, is that when charges against police officers are on the table, indictments are far less certain. Again, this is not the case for correctional officers. They are indicted at higher rates than cops yet they do the same difficult jobs inside a prison. Where is the justice?
Why is that? Correctional officers, like our cops on the street, have the authority to do things ordinary citizens do not, and that can create some shady areas in interpreting potential crimes inside our jails and prisons. The fact is, many are set up by these criminals who are going along for a ride to “burn an officer.”
How can we show these grand jurors of this cultural dynamic and influence different results; they may be more inclined to side with correctional officers in any confrontation with an already convicted felonious criminal if they set the prosecutors’ biases aside.
Little can be done to meaningfully change either of those factors. But there’s also this: Prosecutors themselves can effectively rig the process by not fighting particularly hard for an indictment against a fellow member of law enforcement. They may be playing a political game, trying not to anger police or their supporters in higher places.
However, they do no such efforts for correctional officers left to defend themselves without any aid from the administration who let them go because of potential embarrassment of a conviction among the rank and file. They basically wash their hands the moment the allegation was made.