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The Patriot-News
is perhaps the worst newspaper in Pennsylvania.
What's more troubling is that it serves the capital city,
Harrisburg. It should better be called the Parrot-News.
The Patriot appears to do virtually none of its own reporting or investigating. It parrots what ever bunk is fed to it by the Republican administration and other officials. The Patriot is essentially a propaganda mouthpiece for a police-state. They have little interest in truth and none in questioning official fables, fabrications or fairy-tales. Recently the Patriot-News published a retraction by its columnist, Nancy Eshelman, a woman who should know better since her own son spent time in Pennsylvania prisons. Using information from the New York Times, Ms Eshelman had mentioned that Pennsylvania prisoners are strip searched in front of other prisoners. Some anonymous "spokeswoman" reportedly contacted the Eshelman woman with a denial. This unnamed Department of Corrections ("DOC") bureaucrat reportedly fed the columnist the fabrication that prisoners are not strip searched in front of other prisoners. Without carefully checking her source, Nancy Eshelman repeated the lie in print. A real journalist should always check her sources and make an effort to verify information, especially stories coming from the notoriously dishonest DOC. Our cofounder promptly wrote to the Patriot-News, to Ms Eshelman and even to the press secretary at the Department of Corrections. We reproduce part of that last letter: "As both you [the DOC press secretary] and the unidentified 'spokeswoman' are undoubtedly well aware, that assertion is completely untrue."While prisoners are not always stripped in front of others, it happens commonly going and coming from visits, during major shakedowns and at other times; often to humiliate the man. "There is one large room at the Smithfield prison, for example, which is surrounded by glass booths. Those booths are crammed with a hundred or more prisoners at times when transfers between prisons are taking place. In the open part of the room each and all of the prisoners are strip searched and required to 'bend over and spread 'm' in full view of the other prisoners and dozens of members of the staff...not once, but twice. "At the Huntingdon prison and many others, there are gang showers where a hundred naked men bathe together. "I urge you to go see for yourself. "While I'm not surprised by patent dishonesty by any part of the imprisonment industry, I urge you to correct this particular fabrication. It's simply ridiculous." For our part we urge the Patriot-News, Nancy Eshelman and all members of the media to check facts. Never trust ANYTHING: fed to you by the Department of Corrections. There are 42,000 prisoners. Ask one of them. "It seems like the less a statesman amounts
to, You are welcome to use or republish
any of our material.
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