Skilling loses bid for freedom pending appeal
Welcome to Waseca, Mr. Skilling
Waseca, which is about 75 miles south of Minneapolis, has 9,611 people, according to the mayor. Just behind the sign pictured above is a frozen lake. When I got in last night, people were walking out on the ice and fishing. Another frozen lake on the other side of town was covered with hundreds of napping Canadian geese. The town has lots of interesting old homes and a county courthouse that reminds me of some of the grand courthouses you see on the square in small Texas towns. The prison where Skilling will begin his 24 year sentence is a converted college campus nestled against a neighborhood of wood-frame homes….Waseca is a lovely little Midwestern town, just down the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historical Highway from I-35 and a world away from the River Oaks mansion where Skilling’s been spending his time since his sentencing.
Well, after some initial excitement, and then a real letdown, it looks as if the Jeff Skilling-goes-to-prison roller coaster is back on the way up. Late today, we found out that Skilling will in fact be going to prison while his appeals process plays out to it’s inevitable denouement. As I heard one legal wag put it, “Skilling is toast.” Indeed…and I couldn’t be happier.
I can only hope that Skilling will remember to bring a LOT of warm clothes. He’s going to be able to experience the next 24 Minnesota winters…and for a weenie from Texas, it will be quite an unpleasant change. It’s cold, bleak, and dreary…and did I mention damn cold? It may not be Hell, but a good pair of cross-country skies and a tailwind will get you there in a couple of hours.
No one seems to know when Skilling will have to check into his new home (though some reports are indicating Skilling may report today) in Hell FCI-Waseca, but it can’t happen sooner enough. May Skilling rot in Hell FCI-Waseca…or in this case, freeze there. It couldn’t happen to a nicer thug.