For The Children

Judge Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison for “Selling” Kids to Private Prisons

"Accused of perpetrating a 'profound evil,' former Pennsylvania judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for illegally accepting money from a juvenile-prison developer while he spent years incarcerating thousands of young people. Prosecutors said Ciavarella sent juveniles to jail as part of a 'kids for cash' scheme involving Robert Mericle, builder of the PA and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers. The ex-judge was convicted in February of 12 counts that included racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud and tax evasion. In addition to his prison sentence, Ciavarella was ordered to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison for “Selling” Kids to Private Prisons

Cops Barge Into Home, Take Baby After Parents Seek 2nd Medical Opinion

"The next day police showed up at the Nikolayev’s home with representatives from Child Protective Services (CPS). Alex went outside to meet them, where he says he was 'pushed against the building.' When he asked if he was being placed under arrest, he said they 'smacked me down onto the ground [and] yelled out, ‘I think I got the keys to the house.’' Seeing the scene outside, Anna set up a camera in front of her door. Video shows police letting themselves in without a warrant, and taking the baby. 'I’m going to grab your baby, and don’t resist, and don’t fight me okay?' one officer can be heard telling the mother in the video." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops Barge Into Home, Take Baby After Parents Seek 2nd Medical Opinion

Bulletproof whiteboards installed in Minnesota school district

"A Minnesota school district where two students were killed in a 2003 shooting unveiled a new device Tuesday aimed at adding a last-ditch layer of safety for teachers and students: bulletproof whiteboards. The Rocori School District has acquired nearly 200 of the whiteboards, made of a material touted by its manufacturer as stronger than that in police-issue bulletproof vests. The 18-by-20-inch whiteboards can be used by teachers for instruction and used as a shield in an emergency. Police Chief Phil Jones demonstrated the whiteboards Tuesday in a school gym by leveling a karate kick at one, whacking it with a police baton and stabbing it with a knife." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBulletproof whiteboards installed in Minnesota school district

Second-Grade Teacher Suspended for Showing Children Garden Tools

"Yes, my friends, a 17-year teaching veteran did it. He showed garden tools to his class. It’s incredible. He actually showed them tools. That’s right. He got out a box of tools. There was a pair of pliers. There was a screwdriver. But the school’s authorities knew this was a cover. He showed the children a pocket knife. What kind of tool is that? What can a knife do that a pair of hedge clippers can’t do a lot better? So, he was suspended for four days without pay. The public schools are determined to protect children. They should not be shown a knife at age 7. Condoms, yes. That’s different. But not knives." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecond-Grade Teacher Suspended for Showing Children Garden Tools

Crooked Judges Want Your Kids for Cash

"In what has been coined in the media as the 'Kids for Cash Scandal,' Ciarvarella and Judge Conahan have since been exposed as having made deals with the developer of the for-profit juvenile detention facilities co-owned by Robert Powell of PA Child Care and another company, Western Pennsylvania Child Care. While both judges were sentenced in 2011 and are now serving time, it makes one wonder just how many similar judicial branches are insidiously entangled with for-profit juvenile detention facilities and just how many people working for the system saw red flags and remained silent. Just how deep does the rabbit hole go?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCrooked Judges Want Your Kids for Cash

Rogue Cop Assaults Elementary School Student

"When Officer David Bailey grabbed a 10-year-old student by the back of his head and slammed it into the school cafeteria table, it is safe to say that student was not free to leave. On that afternoon, Bailey decided that his routine beat on the streets of Southeast D.C. extended into the hallways of Moten Elementary School. Although Bailey was not a trained school resource officer contracted from the Metropolitan Police Department nor one of the three contract officers assigned to Moten at the time, his presence raised no red flags. Regular visits from the police in D.C. Public Schools had become ubiquitous." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRogue Cop Assaults Elementary School Student

For Pakistanis It’s A Boston Marathon Bombing Nearly Everyday

"What a terrible and senseless tragedy. I can’t let myself think about it for too long without welling up inside. While my timing in saying what I’m about to say may seem harsh to some, now is the only time to make this point. For the people of Pakistan the Boston Marathon bombing happens nearly every day. Sometimes it’s a lesser bomb and fewer people are killed or injured. Sometimes it’s a much larger bomb like one example that left nearly seventy children dead at one time (that’s about three times the loss of children that happened in Sandy Hook). Can you imagine?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFor Pakistanis It’s A Boston Marathon Bombing Nearly Everyday

Dad Finds 4th-Grader’s Crayon-Written Paper: ‘I’ll Give Up Constitutional Rights To Be Safer’

"The words are written in crayon, in the haphazard bumpiness of a child’s scrawl. 'I am willing to give up some of my constitutional rights in order to be safer or more secure.' They’re the words that Florida father Aaron Harvey was stunned to find his fourth-grade son had written, after a lesson in school about the Constitution. Harvey’s son attends Cedar Hills Elementary in Jacksonville, Fla. Back in January, a local attorney came in to teach the students about the Bill of Rights. But after the attorney left, fourth-grade teacher Cheryl Sabb dictated the sentence to part of the class and had them copy it down, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDad Finds 4th-Grader’s Crayon-Written Paper: ‘I’ll Give Up Constitutional Rights To Be Safer’

Girl, But Not Boys Who Shared, Gets Kicked Out of School For Sexting

"A 16-year-old student says she was forced to withdraw from her prestigious Catholic prep school after texting a topless photo to two of the school's star athletes, who shared it with the entire lacrosse team but received no punishment. Instead of using the incident as a teachable moment for both male and female students about trust and social media, the administration sent a clear message: girls are ungodly creatures who tempt boys into sin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGirl, But Not Boys Who Shared, Gets Kicked Out of School For Sexting

Government investigating whether free app games target children for commercial gains

"A watchdog has launched an investigation into whether children face 'unfair pressure' to spend money on apparently free web and app-based games, it said Friday. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is asking parents to get in touch with any examples of possible 'commercially aggressive' practices which encourage children to buy virtual currency like coins, gems or fruit, or upgraded membership. It is unlawful to make a 'direct exhortation' to children to make a purchase or persuade their parents to do so under consumer protection regulations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGovernment investigating whether free app games target children for commercial gains