Pennsylvania, regressive as ever

The juvenile system in this state, along with the Children and Youth, really disgust me sometimes.
Volokh Conspiracy (a favorite conservative blog of mine) tagged it right: The Most Revolting Corruption Story in a Long Time.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Two lawsuits have been filed against two Pennsylvania judges accused of taking more than $2 million in kickbacks to send youth offenders to privately run detention centers.

The suits name Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan as well as the individuals who allegedly paid the kickbacks and other defendants. They were filed in federal court late Thursday and Friday on behalf of hundreds of children and their families who were alleged victims of the corruption.

"At the hands of two grossly corrupt judges and several conspirators, hundreds of Pennsylvania children, their families and loved ones, were victimized and their civil rights violated," plaintiffs' attorney Michael Cefalo said in a statement Friday.

Prosecutors allege Ciavarella and Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, possibly tainting the convictions of thousands of juvenile offenders.

Judges who traumatize children and delegitimize the courts should get life in prison. I'd have to search for an iota of compassion for them. For me, this sums up the Bush/Rendell era very nicely.

some links: Wall Street Journal lawblog

Dept of Justice press release

Scranton article on lawsuits being filed

See you Monday.

Thursday Already?

from the Washington Monthly:

WE CAN'T AFFORD RESULTS LIKE THESE.... Charles Darwin was born 200 years ago today, so it seems appropriate to acknowledge to extraordinary contributions the scientist made to modern scholarship. The LA Times noted today, "Not only was Darwin's theory of evolution a scientific epiphany, millions of people owe their lives and their health to research that is predicated on Darwin's insight that human beings share a common ancestor with other species."

The same editorial noted, however, that a movement still exists that hopes to undermine modern biology. The good news is, their anti-science crusade has repeatedly been defeated in the courts, when they try to get schools to incorporate religious lessons into public school science classes. The bad news is, wide swaths of the public are still confused.

A new Gallup poll found that only 39% of Americans say they "believe in the theory of evolution." One in four say they don't, while 36% don't have an opinion either way. There was a "strong relationship" between education and understanding -- 21% of Americans with a high-school education or less believe in evolution, followed by 41% who've had some college, 53% who have a college degree, and 74% who have a post-graduate degree.

There's also, apparently, an age gap. Those aged 18 to 34 are most likely to accept modern science (54% believe in evolution), while those 55 and over are the least likely (31%).

I suppose this offers at least some hope for the future, but the numbers are still pretty embarrassing for the country. A bare majority of American college graduates accept the foundation of modern biology? In the 21st century? That's it?

Reiterating a point from a couple of weeks ago, the country just can't afford this kind of confusion on such a grand scale. The competitive advantage the United States used to enjoy is vanishing, and conservatives' anti-science push comes with too high a burden for the country.

The country needs to start taking science seriously again -- our economy depends on it -- and ignorance costs far too much. The sooner poll numbers like these improve, the better off the country will be.

—Steve Benen

Wednesday, Warm Day

It case you hadn't noticed we are having a warm spell, which seems a February tradition in the Delaware Valley. Should be cold again soon.
Has everyone heard that the researcher who pushed the idea that the MMR vaccine is linked to autism has been outed as a fraud. Yep, he faked his data (from the Sunday Times (London):

Confidential medical documents and interviews with witnesses have established that Andrew Wakefield manipulated patients’ data, which triggered fears that the MMR triple vaccine to protect against measles, mumps and rubella was linked to the condition.

The research was published in February 1998 in an article in The Lancet medical journal. It claimed that the families of eight out of 12 children attending a routine clinic at the hospital had blamed MMR for their autism, and said that problems came on within days of the jab. The team also claimed to have discovered a new inflammatory bowel disease underlying the children’s conditions.

There goes one, and perhaps two, of the foundations of the anti-vaccine crowd. I am one of that crowd, though not avid. We didn't have our kids vaccinated as babies because five to ten innoculations seemed too many, too soon. However, this research was part of our decision. This doesn't mean, of course, that there is no link between mulitple innoculations and autism, but it calls into question the entire notion.

Wakefield might have a gig waiting for him in psychopharm development.

Slow Post, Tuesday

Not much happening here today. Busy with children at home. Check back tomorrow.

Good Morning, Monday.

I trust all enjoyed the warm weekend. I prefer COLD in February, but I appreciate the change, so long as it doesn't last too long. Why not post some good news to start the day:

The New York Legislature finally seems poised to overturn the infamous Rockefeller drug laws. The impending change comes too late for the tens of thousands of low-level, nonviolent drug offenders who wasted away in prison because of mandatory sentencing policies when they should have been given treatment and leniency. But after years of building support for reform, legislative leaders now have it within their power to make wholesale changes in this profoundly destructive law.

These laws are likely the most destructive package of legislation in modern history. The impact on families, children, and neigborhoods through the country is almost impossible to measure.
"Three-strikes" laws (regardless of the class of crime), mandatory minimums, draconian visitation rules, and the insuperable economic hobbling that being a felon imposes on an individuals, make rehabilitation not only more difficult, but create huge barriers to reconciling with families and communities.
Ironically, by making such reconciliation impossible, the Rockefeller Laws probably reinforced the drug trade in all kinds of ways.
Our good governor, Ed Rendell, still continues a policy oriented towards punishment instead of rehabilitation, and of course the PA legislature has a long way to go before it will seriously consider reform.

Prison outreach is a big part of any comprehension vision of social justice. We've begun doing our small part by sending books and reading materials to prisoners who request it. Please contact us in you are interested in making donations of time, money, or books.