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 In 1978 the documentary "Scared Straight" was filmed at New Jersey's Rahway Prison, and was widely shown on television. Bad-ass New Jersey kids were sent to the prison for a "seminar" from real bad-assers in the prison population, mostly murderers doing life. Back then, amidst Jimmy Carter, we were not as attuned to liberal gimmickry as we - some of us, anyway - are today. And, that's what it was. Glitzy, feel-good liber-ade designed to divert attention from deep rooted problems. The real, and admittedly simplistic formula, IMO, for keeping kids straight begins at home, where a code of ethics, morality, and integrity will be instilled, if any are to be. Orphanages work too; homeroom teachers, not. If, in the absence of this loving tutelage a child starts going bad, the answer is not a visit to Rahway, but a bed in reform school. Except we don't have reform schools anymore. To underscore what I'm saying, I give you ...
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