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Railfanning March 26, 2016: The Everett Railroad
On the morning of March 26 (my birthday!), we paid a visit to Hollidaysburg, PA to visit the Everett Railroad’s 2-6-0 Mogul #11. The engine was pulling an Easter … source
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The Shackles Return: Why Debtors’ Prisons Are Making An American Comeback
The debtors’ prison is an old, decrepit institution that many thought was abolished in the 19th century, something little more than a relic of the past. This is a problematic view for two reasons.
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Scripted Ambush: Was the Pennsylvania Barracks Shooting Staged?
What was war reenactor Eric Frein’s role during the apparent shooting that took place at the Pennsylvania Blooming Grove police barracks
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New Pennsylvania law allows school districts to record student conversations on buses
The days of hearsay “he said, she said” reports on school bus incidents might be over, at least in Pennsylvania. Gov. Tom Corbett signed legislation in February allowing the use of audio recording devices on
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Infographic: Overflowing U.S. Private Prisons, by the Numbers
The predatory corporate prison enterprise aims to privatize profits and socialize losses. This combination has led to a situation where correctional facilities have only one incentive: ensure that new bodies arrive as fast as
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Private School Defends Strip-Searching Child, Says Constitutional Rights Do Not Apply
Mother sues for civil rights violations A mother told a Federal court this week that school officials in Pennsylvania told her that they were within their rights to strip-search her daughter, asserting that the girl
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Woman Repeatedly Uses STUN GUN During Black Friday Brawl
Black Friday: the day Americans apparently feel the need to do all their Christmas shopping in one day – and in person. Sadly, Black Friday has become somewhat synonymous with atrocious violent behavior in
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Pennsylvania Judge Sentenced For 28 Years For Selling Kids to the Prison System
Mark Ciavarella Jr, a 61-year old former judge in Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison for literally selling young juveniles for cash. He was convicted of accepting money in exchange
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EBT System Down – Shutdown Propaganda or SHTF?
Early on Saturday morning, EBT customers all across the United States began experiencing issues with their EBT cards, the card which allows them to access their SNAP benefits (aka Food Stamps) with the system
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Teachers Will Be Armed in Arkansas
Clarksville High School in Arkansas will be the first high school to utilize state laws that allow armed security guards in schools to arm teachers. Training is underway now that will facilitate teachers carrying concealed
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Pennsylvania Judge Sentenced For 28 Years For Selling Kids to the Prison System
Pennsylvania judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. has been sentenced to almost three decades in jail after conspiring with private prisons to trade kids for cash
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Private Prisons: The More Americans They Put Behind Bars The More Money They Make
How would you describe an industry that wants to put more Americans in prison and keep them there longer so that it can make more money? In America today, approximately 130,000 people are locked
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Money Is A Form Of Social Control And Most Americans Are Debt Slaves
Is America really "the land of the free"? Most people think of money as simply a medium of exchange that makes economic transactions more convenient, but the truth is that it is much more
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What’s behind the punishment for fake guns in schools?
In the latest episode of Ban Fake Guns, we have a boy suspended from school in Florence, Arizona, for carrying, yes, a picture of a gun on his computer. Screen saver. This is surely
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Debtors Prisons In The US Are Rapidly Filling With People Who Can’t Pay Bills
How did breast cancer survivor Lisa Lindsay end up behind bars? She didn't pay a medical bill -- one the Herrin, Ill., teaching assistant was told she didn't owe. "She got a $280 medical bill
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Did this dirty trick get Obama re-elected?
Did the suppression or lack of voter ID laws aid President Obama’s victory over Mitt Romney? Obama did not win a single state that requires photo IDs to vote, although he was victorious in four
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Shocking images show desperate New Yorkers digging through dumpsters for food as downtown Manhattan embarks on fourth night without power
New Yorkers have resorted to digging through filthy dumpsters for food ahead of their fourth night without power and, for many, without water. Shocking images captured groups of residents sifting through garbage outside a Key
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Hurricane Sandy May Score a Direct Hit On Spent Fuel Pools at Nuclear Plant
Preface: We hope and expect that the severity of the hurricane is being overblown, and that the nuclear plants in the Northeast will ride out the storm without any incident. We noted
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The $100 Billion Storm: 17 Things You Should Know About Hurricane Sandy
Meteorologists are warning that Hurricane Sandy could potentially be the worst storm to hit the east coast of the United States in 100 years. Do you remember "the perfect storm" back in 1991?
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More than a Dozen Nuclear Plants Near Hurricane Sandy’s Path Brace for Impact
“Because of the size of [Hurricane Sandy], we could see an impact to coastal and inland plants,” Neil Sheehan, a spokesman based in Philadelphia for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said by phone today.
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