answered. “Since this is in the experimental phase, for now they’re just bringing in various low level conservative government officials such as mayors, city council people and a few state employees. They’re the kind of people that wouldn’t be missed very much if they disappeared from the face of the earth."
I glanced down the halls of Level A and observed nothing but stark walls and rows of single person cells on either side of the hall. The cell doors were massive with only one small barred window in it presumably for viewing and spraying in pepper spray.
“Is this Level A for solitary confinement?” I asked.
“The whole center has only solitary cells,” said Ernie. “The prisoners aren’t allowed any contact at all with each other. Their meals are shoved in through the tray slot in the doors by the guards.”
“What do they eat?” I asked.
“They all eat tofu,” said Frank. “It’s another way the Department of Homeland Security has devised to break their spirit. If they’ve followed the rules and are becoming more socialistic, they get a special dinner of sushi on Sundays.”
I peered into the closest cell and observed a very forlorn looking individual sitting on a concrete single bed with a thin mattress and blanket on top of it. His eyes were closed as he held his head between his hands. A blank flat screen television hung on one wall and the bathroom facilities and unenclosed shower were in a corner near the door.
“It looks as if they at least get to watch television,” I mumbled.
“This is their quiet period,” said Ernie. “It lasts an hour. After that the only thing that runs on that screen is a series of socialistic lectures. Here on Level A they have ten lectures by Juan Williams that run for twenty three hours a day.”
“Isn’t Juan Williams the commentator that used to work for NPR?”
“That’s the one,” said Ernie. “After listening to those lectures non stop for a month, if they aren’t committed Socialists by then, they’re transferred to Level B.”
“What about the poor fellow in this cell?” I asked. “What’s going to happen to him?”
“He’s very close,” said Frank. “He only has the rest of today before his month is up. He still has a few conservative ideas, though. He’ll go to Level B tomorrow.”
“Can we see Level B?” I asked.
“There really isn’t any physical difference on the other levels as far as construction is concerned. All four floors are exactly the same.”
“Then why send him up there?”
Ernie spoke in a low voice. “The difference on level B is there are twenty lectures by Bob Beckel on the monitors for twenty three hours a day. All the lectures are on DVD of course.”
“Isn’t he a commentator on the Fox News Channel?”
“He sure is,” said Frank. “Being yelled at and sworn at by Bob Beckel for twenty three hours a day can sure mess with your head.”
“That’s for sure,” said Ernie.
“What happens to them if they aren’t a Socialist or a Communist after the month is up?” I asked. “Do they go to Level C?”
“Yes,” said Frank. “After listening to Beckel for a month, almost half of them are devout converts to the socialistic cause so they’re released back in to society. Many of them have to be put on some type of medication before they are released after a psychological trauma like that. The rest go up to Level C.”
“What happens on Level C?”
Ernie looked at me. “It isn’t a pretty sight up there. The program consists of thirty lectures by Alan Colmes, the author, radio host and political commentator. If Colmes starts to make sense to the prisoners, the authorities know that complete indoctrination has successfully taken place. The administrators even hire a few of them to fill positions in the government, knowing they’ll fiercely adhere to the party line. The prisoners that show any hint of conservative leanings are transferred to Level D.
“I’m so disturbed by what you’ve told me so far that I’m not sure I want to know what happens on Level D.”
Frank looked as if he didn’t want to confide in me about what happens on Level D. “Up there,” he said sadly, they’re subjected to the most horrible thing imaginable. The prisoners get no quiet time at all. They’re forced to watch forty hours of lectures by Chris Mathews for twenty four hours a day.”
“Not the guy that gets tingles running up his leg?” I asked.
“That’s the guy,” said Ernie.
“That seems to violate the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution’s ban against cruel and unusual punishment,” I protested. “That was the argument the administration used to ban the so called enhanced interrogation techniques. So what happens to a person if they survive Level D but are still conservative?”
“Usually, by that time, their brains have turned to mush. They’re taken one by one down an elevator to a small door in the back of the building. A guard leads them to a small gate in the perimeter fence and tells them to take off running across the desert. Under a standing presidential order, drones are dispatched from Halloman Air Force Base. The drone operators hunt down the conservatives and vaporize them with hellfire missiles. The precedent for this type of operation was set by President Obama when he ordered a United States citizen be blown up in this manner in Yemen.”
“And they’re against enhanced interrogation?” I was flabbergasted.
“It sure doesn’t make much sense, does it?” said Ernie.
Then Frank told me the administration was counting on their experiment being a complete success. The proof would be when they could change the views of Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh or otherwise eliminate them.I was visibly shaken and didn’t want to hear any more. We were pulling into the parking lot of Hal’s Diner before I could compose myself. I thanked Frank and Ernest as I hopped into my car and drove off, vowing to stop reporting on the places I’d seen and the events I’d witnessed. I knew this was a promise that I probably wouldn’t keep.
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The Experimental Education Center Page 2
