Hi. Comments interspersed below Fenton, The local school districts in Pennsylvania require their staff to have FBI and State Police background checks. The Boy Scouts and many churches are requiring anyone with direct contact with vulnerable individuals (children, or handicapped adults) to have the same FBI and State Police clearances. This whole scheme has completely different rational for being brought into law and it goes along the same lines of much of the rest of whats been going on over there these past 8 years. The <<official>> rational of protecting both kids and the adults who work around them is just balderdash.... and plays on this fear thing thats been generated (with enormous success) over there and in Brittan. The only problem with all the clearance stuff is that it only shows that you are not a KNOWN offender YET. It is a half measure. The real problem is that it gives the FBI and State Police an excuse to register non-criminals. They gather more and more information about your private lives and all that can be used.... perhaps not today....but.... well the short of it is you all are walking right into an Orwellian existence and seemingly just oblivious to that fact and not willing to put your collective foot down and and say no... and NO you should say... because in the end that path can only lead in one self destructive direction. The flip side of this is protecting yourself. Never allow yourself to be alone with a child. Always have another adult with you when children are in the room. You will have someone to verify your side of the story if the child cries "Witch!". (Had it happen to me as a scout leader, and having two other unbiased adults in the room at the moment in question quickly ended what would otherwise have been a disaster.) Its a false fear. The only thing societies need to do is be rational and fair minded in dealing with such cases when they occur. <<You, The People>> simply have to handle such cases in a rational manner. I used to keep on tuning without a thought, but now I want to run for my life! Beware, brother, beware! Greg Graham Yes... America in 2008. The 60's are long gone.... Fear rules in now in so many ways over there. I've been back regularly over the years and boy am I glad I ended up over here. Beautiful country the US. Some of the finest natural wonders anywhere.... and the people ... at their heart of hearts really want only the best for the rest of the world... more so then any other people I've run into. Admirable more then perhaps you know. All the more tragic that it has in reality become <<a nice place to visit......>> Skål RicB
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