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May 16, 2008

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Pennsylvania already spent 1.6 billion a year on prisons

The number of people in prison kept going up but recently the Prison-Industrial-Compex began to level off with suddenly far less lengthy marijuana sentences and Three-Strikes-and-You-Are-Out convictions; but along came new efforts on gun control and now in Philadelphia Mayor Nutter is trying to pass Three-Strikes-and-You Are Out gun possession conviction putting the march toward America inching toward being a nation eventually of being mostly prisoners back on track. Closing schools and pubic services and opening prisons go hand in hand. http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Reports/Performance/Special/speCorrections012611.pdf http://decarceratepa.info/press/inquirer-letter-editor-re-proposed-mandatory-minimum-gun-possesion-philadelphia

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I have a scary thought, instead of putting defense expenses and law enforcement expenditure as separate categories; let's call this one security expense and add into it what people privately spend on their own security. If we lump security expenses private and public together there is not ...

Vietnam, Woodstock, Iraq Protests, and now Decarcerate PA

The peace movement has grown old and gray, except for an on-again off-again Libertarian touch. Several hundred people gathered in Love Party May 21, enthusiastically waited for the too many speakers to finish, and then began marching to the art museum, the first leg of the march toward a Noon June 3 rally in Harrisburg. They forgot a bus to follow along to pick up us old folk who have trouble keeping up. The march seems to really think people are going to march all the way instead of people taking turns marching while others are in a car. The only rides being offered are to those who want to come to the June 3 Harrisburg rally.

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To Decarcerate. the opposite of to Incarcerate, as in Decarcerate PA, and Decarcerate Illinois, is not the term used in most of the country for decreasing the number of people in prison, instead of closing many schools and public programs. A 1985 article I find very persuasive but again ...

Activism is back, locally

DecareratePA Scheduled route, http://decarceratepa.info/content/decarcerate-pa-announces-march-philly-harrisburg Coverage of DecarcratePA in Norristown http://norristown.patch.com/articles/decarcerate-pa-marching-through-norristown-collegeville-to-stop-prison-expansions Some of the speakers at Love Park spoke at an earlier DecareratePA event, with the same points, http://decarceratepa.info/press/city-paper-march-harrisburg-demands-budget-people-not-prisons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_L._Brown

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Other local news

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/SEPTA_Board_approves_fare_increases_but_postpones_budget_vote.html ...

The word “Reasonable” has been hijacked by extremists as in “Reasonable gun laws”

There are a lot of efforts to legislate social change, seat belt laws the most successful through small fines that don’t increase whether or not one is a first time offender or not. In other areas gruesome ads rather than harsh punishment like someone losing or not getting a job because they smoke cigarettes or jailing adults who bought tobacco for a child has been the most effective in lowering lung cancer. In Wisconsin gruesome ads against speed or methamphetamine has been quite effective.

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The first attempt as a reasonable gun law might be a $10 fine for carrying a gun in the city park, and $100 if the fine isn't payed by 10 days after the incident occurred. When it comes to rough characters who fear a witness snitching they would most likely surprise the authorities with ...

Philly Youth Taking Charge of Their Future together with Cheri Honkala

I've never been to Detroit, but I imagine Philadelphia's West Kensington neighborhood is a lot like it.

An addict sat on a nearby stoop with his head limply hanging toward his knees. A group of women leaned their heads inside the window of a car stopping on a sidewalk. "You can score a hit of heroin for less than $10. And most of these girls will offer full intercourse for just $5," Honkala told ...