The Larry Kane Report

I was feeling sorry for Lynn Matsko, Assistant Vice Principal At Harriton High, who called a news conference to express her distress at claims she was spying on a student through a web cam. Then, I was feeling badly for the Robbins family, whose home was allegedly spied-on. Then, I was feeling badly for the family again when they were demonized for all their past-due bills and other alleged problems, which has nothing to do with this case.  Then, I felt sorry for all the kids at Harriton whose school was embarrassed by this whole mess. Then. I got a little chuckle when students were spotted with shirts emblazoned with the words, “Lower Merion Spied On Me.”

Then, I got angry , not at Ms. Matsko, or the Robbins or the people who tried to demonize them. I got angry because suddenly a crisis in common sense turned into a circus. Suddenly, school boards all across the country were investigating whether their loaner laptops could be used as spy-cams. That means that those districts were concerned that they too had the potential to spy on their students at home.

You see, most people are missing the point.

And this is it: The fact is that someone in the Lower Merion school district allowed a CONNECTION  between the computer cams and the school. That CONNECTION, whether innocent or not, provided the potential for someone to look at someone’s private moments in their own homes! Did the school district understand that there was a POTENTIAL for harm by allowing that connection in the first place?

That is the real story, not the charges and counter-charges, but the awareness that someone in that school district wasn’t smart enough to see that a connection like that was a green light for possible abuse.

The person in that school district who may have knowingly approved that connection must be found,  and at the very least,  given a copy of the United States Constitution.

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Two men, just doing their jobs as armored car guards in Northeast Philadelphia are shot to death in cold blood. Last week, the triggerman, Mustafa Ali, was convicted. Last night, a common pleas court jury sentenced him to life in prison, rejecting the DA’s appeals for a death sentence.

It has always amazed me how juries are reluctant to impose death penalties. I want to know what goes into the mind of a jury,which heard uncontested testimony of the vicious killings of William Widmaier and Joseph Allulo. The killer expressed no emotion during the trial, but for the victim’s families, the pain was all-too-familiar.

Why do juries rarely impose death as the punishment? It is true that death penalties are rarely carried out, but the threat of dying is always there. And the killer never knows when the solitary march to execution, will come.

All juries must decide on the merits. The testimony in this case was so dead-on. Why did the jury let this man live? So many juries follow the same pattern. When you sentence someone to death for a heinous crime, is it a sin? Perhaps some of these soft jury members think more about the killer, than they do about those left behind – the families of the victims.

Does the punishment fit the crime? Certainly, not in this case.

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Could this be the beginning of cooperation in Congress? Hardly. But it came as a shock to the system for Senate Republicans. Scott Brown, the man whose election left health care in the dust, actually voted for a White House jobs bill. Brown’s vote prevented the possibility of a GOP filibuster. Brown obviously has an independent streak, which is what probably got him elected in the first place. That, of course, along with the worst Democratic candidate in Massachusetts history.

This is a hopeful sign, but don’t expect Brown to go from red to blue too often.

MURPHY-FITZPATRICK BRAWL

Sources in both campaigns tell me that fund-raising in the rematch of former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick against current Congressman Patrick Murphy may set a record for a Pennsylvania Congressional district. Murphy was sailing along in Congress, headed for certain victory, when Republican Fitzpatrick decided to take the leap. Both national parties have now placed the mostly Bucks County race on their target lists.

JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS STORY

A medical think tank reports that blood-borne and other infections killed 48 thousand Americans in hospitals in 2006.

Resources for the Future says better infection control in hospitals may have avoided this medical disaster. This is a frightening report, and is further proof that if you are in a hospital, be assertive, ask questions, and most of all, demand a clean and careful environment.

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The GOP, fresh from the CPAC week of Obama-bashing and doomsday scenarios, is on an election year high, but glancing at the events, you have to wonder if the Grand Old Party can find a horse for the course. I mean, show me the money candidate? Mitt Romney? Sarah Palin? Newt? I mean, Rick Santorum might have a better shot. Let’s face it. Issues are important, but in the end Americans choose their Presidents based on their own comfort level. There is a candidate with a real chance. Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi, is charming, bright and could sweep the South. There is one problem. He’s probably not right-wing enough for the Tea Party, the Palin-ites, and the people who would like to control the GOP, and care nothing about winning elections.

No wonder Michael Smerconish has changed his registration to Independent. No surprise to me. He’s always been one – an independent that is.

In the meantime, despite his challenges, Barack Obama has a great opportunity to rebound if he decides, at least for a few weeks, to focus on several key issues. The President will start this week by trying to produce a new and acceptable health care bill. That will be a good start.

ROAD IDIOTS -

I’m amazed by the drivers who are clueless to the current conditions. High snow banks mean that cars in the right lane could crash if cars in the left lane squeeze them over. That could also happen to people who pass on the right, forcing drivers on the left into who knows what. Yet, some of the roadway imbeciles in our community are still driving like it was August. Have you noticed that? If you are  one of these thoughtless drivers who may kill someone with your road idiocy, I n: stay home, or take the train. At the very least, you could be an organ donor. Actually, everyone should.

YES. IT’S “LIVE”–

Some of you have written to my web site email, asking me about the show I’m doing at the Franklin Institute 12 times in March. The biggest question: is it live or on tape? It is a “live show” on stage. I will be sharing the “inside” of the great Beatles tours, accompanied by film, videotape, exclusive interviews, and hopefully, lots of memories, and fun. There will be lots of special moments. I hope you can join us. But if you plan on bringing children under 10, I would recommend the 5 P.M. shows on Saturdays. These programs will not include the references to adult situations included in the other shows.

In case you’re wondering about THOSE shows: These will include situations that the Beatles faced and that this reporter saw. But they are not R-rated – just very funny.

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The FBI is investigating. The parents have filed a lawsuit. The nation is watching. And so far Lower Merion school officials are not exactly forthcoming about the alleged monitoring of a student at his home through the camera in his laptop computer.

So far, the schools Superintendent and spokespersons for the district have been very “official” in their responses. No one has directly denied the charges. People are defending the assistant principal who was apparently involved.

Message to Lower Merion school leaders: Let the truth be known quickly. Was the student monitored at home without his knowledge through his laptop computer given to him my the district? What was the inappropriate behavior the district was seeking, if any? Were the students rights violated? If there was illegal spying, was it just a single case, or was there more? Are other cameras now involved? Why is the Superintendent not conducting his own review and quickly? If the charge is not true, why is Lower Merion not completely refuting it?

These are questions whose answers are owed immediately to the students, parents and teachers of Lower Merion.

Lower Merion is a beautiful community. it’s school system is highly regarded. But this case has cast a shadow over the schools.

My advice: Tell the whole story before it gets out of control.

And….

If any teacher, adminstrator or principal ordered the intential web-camera surveillance of any student in their homes, they should be dismissed.

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