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"PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Two judges pleaded guilty on Thursday to accepting more than $2.6 million from a private youth detention center in Pennsylvania in return for giving hundreds of youths and teenagers long sentences."

And.

another article

"In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers."

Ain't privatization grand?

Judges in prison for abusing kids. They're going to have lots of fun in jail with the other inmates.

Up to 7 years in the can each. Wanna bet on how much fun they'll have in the jug?? Plus Luzerne county is already starting to get deluged with lawsuits over kids sent to jail by these quacks. It's being predicted that the lawsuits will bankrupt the county.

Republican tax cuts in action. Contract out everything. Privatize.

The people of that county deserve to be fucked. They should have huge property taxes, corporate taxes should be hiked to move all the jobs out, everything in the God forsaken county should belong to those children. The people let it happen. They voted for this shit, now let them stew in it.

Just like this chicken shit country is paying for the Bush years now.

We started to pull our collective heads out of our asses in November. Let's make sure we learn the lesson. I want to see "we the people" get fucked good and raw for allowing this knee jerk reactionary political crap take control.

If you voted for a Republican in this century, you are either an asshole, a dumb ass, or both. You deserve to pay for this shit. I hope you get fucked in the job market, the housing market, and the stock market. I hope you greet a Wal-Mart until you die. Remember, you don't believe in the Government doing anything for the people. You are on your fucking own.

If the corporate world controls Government, as they are close to doing, things will collapse. I am a Government contractor, I know. It will all spiral into a money grab, everyone wanting a bigger piece of pork. That's what has happened here. To cut costs and skirt civil liberties, prison systems were contracted out. No thought to providing a decent place with some hope of rehab, just get the job done as cheaply as possible. Do what is required. Nothing more.

Fuck, fuck

-Chuck, Vegetarian fanboy

When I was younger I spent some time in a PA youth detention center and I feel for these kids.

i'm buying an AK-47 with my tax refund.

I disagree, except that sometimes I am an ass, and I was on a rant. But, this is a systemic problem, not an isolated local issue.

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Probably ought to know what you're talking about before you rant. I live in Luzerne county. The county commissioners who decide this stuff are all Dems. The public at large does NOT get to vote on these choices. it is county business..the commissioners decide.
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Why was the prison system privatized? It wasn't the local politicians who set this up. The culture of corruption was set up by the people's lack of concern for those who need Government services. Mean spirited voters. Cheap voters who want tax cuts over a decent society, in other words, Republicans. Republican at the federal and state level who cut budgets so drastically, and had such little regard for these children, that your county or state let out a contract to these folks. It takes two to tango, these contractors played ball with these judges.

This is symbolic of the mess Republicans have made of the quick take-out version of Government services set up in the last several years. Everywhere, parks and forests, military, schools if they could, prisons, it goes on and on. Government is broken, and this is the type of thing that happens.

Yes, that county should pay the price, really, the whole state should. And the whole country will. This is the Republican legacy.

I remember a time when we had a responsive Government, when mentally ill were put in hospitals and helped instead of warehoused in prisons. When Government employees took care of public lands and you could hike and camp and visit for free or a reasonable price, in a clean, safe environment. When soldiers fought wars and supported the infantry. When the Government ran prisons, and followed the Constitution, and had an interest in rehabilitation, not profit. When the Government used to inspect consumer items like food. When the EPA functioned.

You can't clean up Government, when the Government is taken over by for-profit corporations. It is a recipe for corruption.

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The decision makers are all Dems. Sorry idiot. Next time, be informed BEFORE you announce to all of us that you're an ass!

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I wish this problem was confined to your county, but the locals didn't make any decisions, at least not any that were not forced by budget cuts. This is systemic. Look past Wilkes-Barre, the corruption is rampant. Jesus, look at all the money we pissed away in Iraq, and what to show for it?

So, if you are following this, let us know when the corporate suits who were taking the money get indicted, will you? Thanks.

-Chuck, Vegetarian fanboy

"Conservatives cannot govern well for the same reason that vegetarians cannot prepare a world-class boeuf bourguignon: If you believe that what you are called upon to do is wrong, you are not likely to do it very well."

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0607.wolfe.html

Chivarella and Conahan were bona-fide elected state-level judges. While Luzerne county is part of the 69th largest market in the US and contains the city of Wilkes-Barre it is made up mostly of old anthricite coal towns which haven't had any future in the past 60 years. It is easily one of the most bigoted and backward areas in the country. Governments are essentially collections of "good old boy" networks where everything is done with a nod & a wink. Democratic machine politics are alive and well here, and the system has been in place for over 100 years. New comers are not welcome here. Doesn't matter what your color or philosophy is. If you are not from here (and I am not) you could live here for the next 60 years and never be accepted. I used to manage a business here that required a large sales staff. I could not hire "outsiders" into sales positions because no matter how skilled or successful the sales-type had been elsewhere, if he wasn't related to cousin Vinny or Uncle Stosh he couldn't get a sale if he was giving his product away. The city of Hazleton which is also in Luzerne county got national and international attention, when it's mayor went on a rant against hispanic immigrants and got his city council to draft a handful of unconstitutional laws involving renting to hispanics. The city got sued by the ACLU and others. The mayor Lou Barletta went on the offensive and offensive he was, and it got continual attention for about 8 months from virtually every national news organization. Satellite trucks were are regular sight on city streets. International groups like the UK's BBC, Italy's RAI and Japan's NHK all came to little Hazleton, PA in Luzerne county to look at the city's lunatic mayor and talk to the red-ned bigots who walk the street. CNN's Lou Dobbs did his show there at least 4 times in the past year. Loony Lou capped his campaign to rid the world of anyone who wasn't free, white and 21 from his city by making a run for congress on the Repub line against incumbent Dem Paul Kanjorski. Loony Lou is still the mayor of Hazleton. His laws lost in Federal court, and the city appealed, and is being heard again at the next Federal level in Philly..where they are expected to lose again. Since the Supreme court will never hear this case, the city will then be on the hook for everyone's legal fees, which is expected to bankrupt that city. By the way, ALL the indicted parties in this judge scandal all happen to be from..HAZLETON!!!

^ Oh sure,you might think that,but Bush was an idiot so it must be the Republicans fault.