– Snowmageddon Dumps Record 60 Inches Of Snow On Erie, PA; “Declaration Of Disaster”:
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The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– Philadelphia Closes 23 Schools, New $400 Million Prison Being Built (Opposing Views, June 7, 2013):
Philadelphia officials are closing almost two dozen schools and decimating the budgets of the remaining schools under a so-called “doomsday” education plan.
However, amid all these cuts for education, the state of Pennsylvania is building a new $400 million prison for Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania’s School Reform Commission voted on March 7 to close 23 schools, reported the New York Times.
The same commission voted on June 1 to approve a $2.4 billion budget that will radically undercut the schools that stay open.
According to Philly.com, the budget cuts mean that “schools will open in the fall without new books, paper, clubs, counselors, librarians, assistant principals, or secretaries. Athletics, art, and music would be gone. There could be 3,000 layoffs, including some teachers. Class sizes would be larger, and schools would have no aides to help manage them or support staff to monitor lunchrooms and playgrounds.”
Read morePhiladelphia Closes 23 Schools, New $400 Million Prison Being Built
– Pennsylvania Judge Sentenced For 28 Years For Selling Kids to the Prison System (IntelliHub, May 22, 2013):
In the private prison industry, longer sentences earn more money from the state.
Since 2003, Ciavarella received millions of dollars in bribes for condemning minors to maximum prison sentences. In one case, Ciavarella sentenced a 10-year-old to two years in a detention facility for accidentally bottoming out his mother’s car.
According to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, over 5,000 young men and women were unjustly sentenced to prison and denied their constitutional rights. Many of them have now been released and cleared of their charges.
Read morePennsylvania Judge Sentenced For 28 Years For Selling Kids To The Private Prison System
– What Does It Mean that Residents in All 50 States Have Filed Petitions to Secede? (ZeroHedge, Nov 16, 2012):
A lot of attention is being given to the fact that residents in all 50 states have filed petitions to secede from the United States.
Daily Caller reports:
By 6:00 a.m. EST Wednesday, more than 675,000 digital signatures appeared on 69 separate secession petitions covering all 50 states, according to a Daily Caller analysis of requests lodged with the White House’s “We the People” online petition system.
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Petitions from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas residents have accrued at least 25,000 signatures, the number the Obama administration says it will reward with a staff review of online proposals. (RELATED: Will Texas secede? Petition triggers White House review)
The Texas petition leads all others by a wide margin.
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States whose active petitions have not yet reached the 25,000 signature threshold include Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
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Fourteen states are represented by at least two competing petitions. The extra efforts from two states — Missouri and South Carolina — would add enough petitions to warrant reviews by the Obama administration if they were combined into petitions launched earlier.
Other states with multiple efforts include Alaska, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.
As Google notes, web searches for the term “secession” are being run in a number of states:
Read moreWhat Does It Mean that Residents in All 50 States Have Filed Petitions to Secede?
– Pennsylvania may force workers to pay taxes to their employers (The Raw Story, Oct 24, 2012):
A bill that landed on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s (R) desk this week would give companies that hire more than 250 new workers a gobsmacking tax incentive: 95 percent of those workers’ state income taxes would be paid to the employer, and not the state.
It’s a bizarre strategy meant to attract companies from other states, specifically designed to lure California-based software maker Oracle into Pennsylvania. It’s also, as Philadelphia City Paper put it, “lavish corporate welfare” writ large across state government.
The bill, HB 2626, passed on October 17 with bipartisan support. Just 80 members of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, most of the Democrats, voted in opposition.
Employers that hope to take advantage of the incentive program must hire 250 or more new full time employees and provide health insurance for them, in addition to paying a wage that’s above the county average wherever they’re located. Once those conditions are met, the proposed law would allow companies to absorb as much as $5 million of their employees’ income taxes every year.
Read morePennsylvania May Force Workers To Pay Taxes To Their Employers
– Hospital workers call police to seize newborn baby, throw momma out of the building, assault child with dangerous vaccines (Natural News, Mar 29, 2012):
Another shocking case of tyrannical, overzealous social workers and hospital staff has unfolded in Pennsylvania, where a mom who just gave birth in an ambulance to a healthy baby girl was threatened by a government social worker and accused of not allowing her child to receive “medical treatment.” (A claim which is factually false.) In reality, the new mom, exhausting from giving birth in an ambulance, was merely asking questions and trying to determine how her newborn daughter was being treated by hospital staff.
A social worker named Angelica Lopez-Heagy continued to threaten the mom, who persisted in asking polite questions to try to determine what she was being accused of. In response, the social worker demanded, “Since you’re not going to cooperate, I’ll just go and call the police and we can take custody of the baby.”
Just look at the ‘terrible health effects’ of RAW MILK:
– Calf Fed On Raw Milk Versus Calf Fed On Pasteurized Milk (Must-See Pics)
Pasteurization destroys all enzymes that were supposed to help you to digest the milk and to promote your health.
Getting tired after drinking pasteurized milk? Try raw organic milk if you find any!
– Judge stops farmer’s sale of raw milk to Maryland (Lancaster Online, Feb. 11, 2012):
A federal District Court judge has ordered a Kinzers farmer to stop selling raw milk to customers in Maryland.
Judge Lawrence Stengel issued a permanent injunction Feb. 2 barring Amish dairyman Daniel Allgyer from sending the unpasteurized beverage across state lines to Grassfed on The Hill, a Washington, D.C.-area buying club.
The action capped a two-year undercover investigation of Allgyer and the club by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
In his opinion, Stengel discounted an arrangement by which a private group, Right to Choose Healthy Food’s Rawesome Club, was leasing Allgyer’s cows and distributing milk to Grassfed on The Hill members.
Buyers each paid a $25 fee to join the Rawesome Club, according to court papers.
Read moreJudge Stops Amish Farmer’s Sale of Raw Milk After A TWO-YEAR UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION
Unbelievable!
YouTube Added: 31.10.2011
This video updates the intentional rundown of an animal activist by a pigeon shoot minion at one of Pennsylvania’s disgusting live pigeon shoots.
– Police officer shot dead after pointing stun gun at man’s dogs as he attended domestic (Daily Mail, August 14, 2011):
A police officer killed while responding to a domestic disturbance in a small eastern Pennsylvania borough had pointed a stun gun at two dogs before being shot, court records reveal.
Freemansburg police officer Robert Lasso had pointed at the attacking dogs when the homeowner pulled out a shotgun and fired the fatal blast on Thursday evening.
In police custody, the alleged gunman, 46-year-old George Hitcho Jr, said he had told Mr Lasso to get off his property and not come on unless he had a warrant, authorities said.
‘He tried to kill my dogs and pointed a gun in my face,’ Hitcho said, according to the documents. ‘I do not care if you a cop or not …Unbelievable.’
The officer had been responding to a report of a disturbance and ended up at the back of Hitcho’s house, authorities said.
Police Chief George Bruneio, who arrived after Mr Lasso requested assistance, instructed him to ‘shoot the dogs’ and that’s when the homeowner pulled out a shotgun and fired, authorities said.
Read morePolice Officer Killed After Pointing Taser At Homeowner’s Dogs
All links on the effects of low-level radiation down below.
– Is Iodine-131 Killing Babies In Philly? (MyFoxPhilly, June 16, 2011):
A researcher says the death rate among babies is up 48 percent since Iodine-131 was found in Philadelphia’s drinking water
Joseph Mangano is is the executive director of the Radiation And Public Health Project in New York, which is made of up scientists and health professionals.
There has been a recent spike, in infant deaths in Philadelphia, and Mangano says radioactive levels, in our water could be to blame.
After the explosion at the Fukushima power plant in Japan, radiation circled the globe, all the way to Pennsylvania.
About a month, after the disaster, radiation levels spiked, in our water, at three Philadelphia facilities.
Mangano said radiation combined with higher levels of iodine the EPAQ found in Philadelphia’s water two months ago may be killing young babies here.
WTF!
All is well, just like it was in Japan before the truth came (still only partially) out.
– Dr. Michio Kaku: Three Raging Nuclear Meltdowns In Progress!
And when all those radionuclides show up in your food, especially cesium, then your concerned governments have already a backup plan for that inevitable case:
… permitting doses to the public that EPA itself estimates would cause a cancer in as much as every fourth person exposed …
– EU Erhöht Grenzwerte Drastisch! EU Raises ‘Safe Level’ of Cesium in Japanese Food By 20 Times!
And again:
– Updating Japan’s Nuclear Disaster
Jeff Patterson, former Physicians for Social Responsibility president said, “There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period.” In 1953, Nobel laureate George Wald agreed saying “no amount of radiation is safe. Every dose is an overdose.”
Radiation exposure is increased by a factor of a trillion. Inhaling even the tiniest particle, that’s the danger.
Where is the outrage?
– Governor Corbett Says Public Water Supply Testing Finds No Risk to Public From Radioactivity Found in Rainwater, Pennsylvania Office of the Governor, March 28, 2011:
[Emphasis Added]
… The [Iodine-131] numbers reported in the rainwater samples in Pennsylvania range from 40-100 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). Although these are levels above the background levels historically reported in these areas, they are still about 25 times below the level that would be of concern. The federal drinking water standard for Iodine-131 is three pCi/L. …
On Friday, rainwater samples were taken in Harrisburg, where levels were 41 pCi/L and at nuclear power plants at TMI and Limerick, where levels were 90 to 100 pCi/L.
Corbett emphasized that the drinking water is safe and there is no cause for health concerns. …
“Rainwater is not typically directly consumed,” Corbett said. “However, people might get alarmed by making what would be an inappropriate connection from rainwater to drinking water. By testing the drinking water, we can assure people that the water is safe.” …
Officials said a Vanderbilt man died from the flu over the weekend, while the number of cases in Western Pennsylvania continues to increase.
Health officials said the number of flu cases is increasing even among people who were vaccinated.“Myself and my colleagues, we observe people that were vaccinated for the flu and are coming down with symptoms. So there seems to be some variant strain circulating.” said Dr. Andrew Sahud, chairman of the infection prevention committee at Allegheny General Hospital.
The above comments provide additional anecdotal data on vaccine failures this season across the northern hemisphere. In week 6 the number of H1N1 cases in Allegheny County almost doubled from 23 to 42, representing almost half of the reported cases for the entire state. Thus, it is likely that the above cases are dominated by H1N1, so a vaccine failure would be consistent with data from the UK, where vaccine failure in 50% of vaccinated patients was reported.
Vaccine failure and immunological escape are also supported by the high number of cases being reported throughout the United States. The P&I death rate for week 6 spiked to 8.9%, just shy of the five year peak of 9.1%, providing further evidence for vaccine failure. Last season in the fall of 2009 a serological study indicate almost half of the school age population in Allegheny county had H1N1 antibodies, confirming widespread infections in the greater Pittsburgh area, but H1N1 has made a comeback this season signaling immunological escape. The repeated selection of California/7/2009 for the current season has led to the predicted escape, and the selection of the same targets for the 2011/2012 season provides additional concerns for the use of the antigenic characterization test by vaccine selection committees in the US and worldwide.
Police track down five children who were raised with no birth certificates, schooling, vaccinations or medical care
Police in York, Pennsylvania, are asking themselves how the parents of five children aged two to 13 managed to conceal them for so many years with no birth certificates, no schooling, no vaccinations and no evidence of medical care – and why.
“I don’t know what would possess them at all,” said detective Dana Ward Junior, who tracked down the children after a child welfare agency received an anonymous tip-off. Ward has charged Louann Bowers, 33, and Sinhue Johnson, 45, with five counts of child endangerment. They are due to appear in court on Friday.
Years of isolation have taken their toll on the children, experts say. They are now living in foster homes, but “some suffer health and vision issues,” Ward wrote in an affidavit. “None of the children are at their expected education levels, and there are possible mental health issues.” They have now been vaccinated and the older ones enrolled in school.
Read morePennsylvania Police Ponder Riddle of 5 ‘Invisible’ Children
(NaturalNews) Just when you thought the truth couldn’t get any stranger than fiction, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue decides to launch a creepy new Big Brother “Tax Amnesty” program aimed at getting delinquent taxpayers to pay up on their back taxes. But the state agency has stooped to using police state tactics in its advertising to scare people into paying.
If you don’t believe me, watch this YouTube ad (it’s real):
In it, a robotic female voice targets a man named “Tom” who owes back taxes to the State of Pennsylvania. A satellite view from above (eye in the sky) is zooming in on Tom’s house and targeting it in the crosshairs, as if he is some sort of enemy of the state.
The voice says, in classic mob-style shakedown language, “Listen, we can make this easy. Pay online by June 18th and we’ll skip your penalty… because Tom, we do know who you are.” This is followed up by a large on-screen text slogan, “FIND US BEFORE WE FIND YOU.”
The ad almost seems like a hoax, but it’s very real. The official website carries the same Big Brother message: Pay up, or we’ll find you… (and do something scary to you).
Read morePennsylvania’s Big Brother Tax Collection Scare Campaign: ‘We Know Who You Are’
Prepare for collapse.
Here is a quick roundup with a general theme of “Hard Times”.
12th Grade Optional
Utah considers cutting 12th grade — altogether
At Utah’s West Jordan High School, the halls have swirled lately with debate over the merits of 12th grade. The sudden buzz over the relative value of senior year stems from a recent proposal by state Sen. Chris Buttars that Utah make a dent in its budget gap by eliminating the 12th grade.
Buttars has since toned down the idea, suggesting instead that senior year become optional for students who complete their required credits early. He estimated the move could save up to $60 million, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The proposal comes as the state faces a $700-million shortfall and reflects the creativity — or desperation — of lawmakers all over.
“You’re looking at these budget gaps where lawmakers have to use everything and anything to try to resolve them,” said Todd Haggerty, a policy associate with the National Conference of State Legislatures. “It’s left lawmakers with very unpopular decisions.”
“The bottom line is saving taxpayer dollars while improving options for students,” said state Sen. Howard A. Stephenson, a Republican and co-chairman of the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee. “The more options we give to students to accelerate, the more beneficial it is to students and taxpayers.”
Jordan Utah School District To Lay Off 500
Jordan District to lay off 500 employees because of $30M shortfall
The Jordan School District will lay off 500 employees by July 1 as part of an effort to make up for a $30 million shortfall.
By a 6-1 vote, the Jordan Board of Education approved options to reduce the 2010-11 budget, which include personnel cuts, programs and services cuts, transfer of expenditures to other programs, compensation adjustments, class-size increases, and possible tax increases.
Between now and the end of March, the board will determine which positions and programs will be eliminated. As many as 250 teaching positions and 250 administrative/support staff positions will be cut.
Not a single teacher need be cut. All it takes is unions to lower salary demands and/or pensions. Any cuts are the direct responsibility of the Teachers’ union.
Harrisburg Pennsylvania Heads For Bankruptcy
Harrisburg excludes debt payments from 2010 budget
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, moved a step closer to defaulting on a bond payment when its city council passed a 2010 budget that does not include $68 million in debt repayments on an incinerator.
The Pennsylvania State Capitol building seen from State Street in Harrisburg.
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the capital of the sixth-largest U.S. state by population, should skip a $2.2 million debt service payment due Feb. 1 and consider bankruptcy, City Controller Dan Miller said.
Harrisburg faces $68 million in payments this year in connection with a waste-to-energy incinerator and should weigh Chapter 9 protection from creditors or state oversight through a program known as Act 47, Miller said today. Chapter 9 bankruptcy allows municipalities to reorganize rather than liquidate.
The alternatives are to sell assets such as an historic downtown market; an island in the Susquehanna River that includes the city’s minor-league baseball stadium; and the city’s parking, sewer and water systems, according to a preliminary 2010 budget and an emergency financial plan submitted yesterday.
“What I’m suggesting is we stop paying the debt service until we have a plan or we decide which way to go, in bankruptcy or Act 47,” Miller, a former city council member who became controller this month, said in a telephone interview. “I think it could save our assets instead of selling them.”
Read moreController: Pennsylvania Capital Should Weigh Bankruptcy
Reporting from Indianapolis and Denver — The last time Indiana missed its deadline for passing a budget and had to shut down the government was during the Civil War.
But on Monday, as lawmakers raced to hammer out an agreement over school funding, state agencies began preparing 31,000 workers to be temporarily out of a job. Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has warned residents that most of the state’s services — including its parks, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and state-regulated casinos — would be shuttered unless a budget is passed today.
Indiana is one of five states — along with Arizona, California, Mississippi and Pennsylvania — bracing for possible shutdowns this week as time runs out for lawmakers to close billion-dollar gaps in their fiscal 2010 budgets.
Of the 46 states whose fiscal year ends today, 32 did not have budgets passed and approved by their governors as of Monday afternoon, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Although the majority of those are expected to pass eleventh-hour budgets, the fiscal futures of a handful remain uncertain, said Todd Haggerty, an NCSL research analyst.
“It’s a lot of states that are coming down to the wire,” Haggerty said. “It’s far more than we’ve seen in the past, and it’s because of the state of the economy.”