Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year!
:)
Sunny
Sheriff Grady Judd Takes on the First Amendment
The recent arrest of Phillip Greaves by Florida authorities has constitutional advocates asking The Question.
Is free speech free?
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin regarding Greaves controversial book:
"It's repulsive and awful. But I don't think they can go forward because the book is clearly protected by the First Amendment," Toobin said. "This book, as awful as it is, it is only words."Words on a page or over a computer screen gets a person arrested here in Florida. A conviction can result in sex offender registration.
(...)
Toobin pointed to a similar case that went to the Supreme Court in 2002 where cartoons depicting children in acts similar to ones in Greaves' book were deemed protected by the Constitution.
"Certainly the sheriff and I disagree about the constitutional issue, but I agree with him that the issue of child pornography is a very serious one and I'm certainly glad that law enforcement is taking an active stand against it," Toobin said.
Arresting officer Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd rebutted Toobin with the rationale behind the arrest.
(...)
"This has nothing to do with free speech and everything to do with obscenity," said Judd. "We had a law in Florida that applied. We only needed jurisdiction."
Judd said his detectives were able to establish jurisdiction by conducting an undercover operation and purchasing and receiving a copy of the book through the mail.
"He mailed this book to us. It was a how-to book of how to sexually abuse children," Judd said. "It clearly violated Florida law. "There's too much hand-wringing across the nation. When we can't stand together as a nation and say you can't write a book with real stories of children being sexually abused, then it's time to change the law."
The "mailed book" is the "opening of the door"method sting operations have utilized for years to obtain arrest warrants. Judd justified the Greaves arrest by citing "...a Florida obscenity law that says that it is illegal to portray children in an explicit sexual manner."
Ironically, the sheriff may have unwittingly opened his own door to inspection of best practices used by law enforcement.
With the high profile coverage this case will certainly receive by the press, the spotlight on police sting tactics and what some refer to as entrapment will likely prove intensive.
Upside to a Down Economy
Per Corey Rayburn Yung, associate professor at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, the economy has kept many states from fully complying with the Adam Walsh Act.
The commentary was offered in response to a viewpoint shared by John Walsh regarding the continued need for public notification efforts currently utilized to inform the community of the residences of those designated as sex offenders.
Notification of the legal sort apparently led to the death of David Morrison of Nevada. A contact card left by a detective at Morrison's home is suspected to have been the motive for his murder by his roommates.
An arrest has been made in the case.
The Nevada Sex Offender Registry provides notification of Tier One"low risk" offenders to "... persons authorized to receive criminal history record information. Typically, this includes law enforcement, prosecutors and courts."
Meaning, the law protects the privacy of Tier One offenders, allowing them to resume some semblance of an ordinary life.
A search on Morrison resulted in the following:
"A search of the Statewide Registry has not produced any information that is available to the public through the Statewide Registry."
Presumably, Morrison was considered low risk or as now deceased, is no longer listed on the registry, which is not the case here in Florida. (Deceased, living under a bridge, incarcerated, it's all public record here in the Sunshine State).
Either way, sloppy procedures and the continued poor education of the public as to how easily an individual can be designated a sex offender contributed to Morrison's death.
David Morrison was thirty years old.
Swallowing a Political Pill
How quickly one's political "passion" can change.
The Buzz, 12/13/2010:
Dave Aronberg, who lost his bid to be the Democratic nominee for Florida Attorney General, is a member of Republican victor Pam Bondi's transition team, advising the incoming attorney general on prescription drug abuse and pill mills. But will he become a permanent member of her team? "It's totally hypothetical," Aronberg said as he was leaving the "No Labels" conference in New York City. "We talked about my joining the office. Nothing is definite yet."
So how would Aronberg feel about having a boss who's fighting the federal health care legislation and the EPA's water quality standards? That's something that would have to be worked out, Aronberg said. "My passion has been fighting prescription drug abuse, trying to close down pill mills," he said. That's an area of common ground for him and Bondi, he said. "Pam Bondi and I agree that the issue of public safety should not be partisan," he said. "We differ on the health care lawsuit."
Aronberg's initial passion was an attempt to establish a statewide 1,500-foot buffer between where sex offenders live and places children gather. In doing so, get-tough sex offender housing ordinances passed by more than 120 Florida communities would have been repealed and faced compliance.
His efforts proved unsuccessful.
Pill mills should prove much more politically palatable to the voting public.
Geotags and Location
Note to self when uploading photos from smart phones to Facebook and other social media sites.
Disable the geotag function.
Apparently, the ability to track down exact location via metadata embedded within the uploaded image is disturbingly easy. (Read Web Photos Reveal Secrets, Like Where You Live).
As noted by the U.S. Army, Geotags and Location-based Social Networking:
• Geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification to photographs, video, websites and SMS messages. It is the equivalent of adding a 10-digit grid coordinate to everything you post on the internet.
• Geotags are automatically embedded in pictures taken with smartphones.Many people are unaware of the fact that the photos they take with their smartphonesand load to the Internet have been geotagged
Protect you and yours. Read the full account here.
Nothing is private any longer.
Money Trailing Scanner Contracts
American travelers are a bit verklempt over the see-more body scanners.
Sorry, folks. The current invasion of privacy rights is nothing new. Only this time around, it's happening to you and your loved ones.
As we found with Senator Orrin Hatch and the TrackerPal ankle bracelet contract--prior to everyone embracing the ability to be tracked through a cell phone GPS or OnStar in the car--a political contract (or at the very least, major lobbying) lies fast at work in our world.
The scanners prove no different.
(...)If you've seen one of these scanners at an airport, there's a good chance it was made by L-3 Communications, a major contractor with the Department of Homeland Security. L-3 employs three different lobbying firms including Park Strategies, where former Sen. Al D'Amato, R-N.Y., plumps on the company's behalf. Back in 1989, President George H.W. Bush appointed D'Amato to the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism following the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Also on Park's L-3 account is former Appropriations staffer Kraig Siracuse.
The scanner contract, issued four days after the Christmas Day bomb attempt last year, is worth $165 million to L-3.
Rapiscan got the other naked-scanner contract from the TSA, worth $173 million. Rapiscan's lobbyists include Susan Carr, a former senior legislative aide to Rep. David Price, D-N.C., chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee. When Defense Daily reported on Price's appropriations bill last winter, the publication noted "Price likes the budget for its emphasis on filling gaps in aviation security, in particular the whole body imaging systems."
An early TSA contractor for full-body scanners was the American Science and Engineering company. AS&E's lobbying team is impressive, including Tom Blank, a former deputy administrator for the TSA. Fellow AS&E lobbyist Chad Wolf was an assistant administrator at TSA and an aide to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who sits on the Transportation and Defense subcommittees of Appropriations. Finally, Democratic former Rep. Bud Cramer is also an AS&E lobbyist -- he sat on the Defense and Transportation subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee.
Always follow the money.
Nancy Grace Gets Off $cott Free
After four years, the wrongful death lawsuit against Nancy Grace is over.
The Duckett family agreed to a settlement which requires Grace to pay $200,000 annually to a trust fund set aside for still missing Trenton Duckett, two years of age at the time of his disappearance.
Here's an interesting condition.
Should Trenton remain missing at age thirteen, the trust would be transferred to The Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Trenton's mother committed suicide after an on-air interview with Grace, who overly pressed the young woman for details about her missing son. The family filed suit against Grace and CNN, claiming both were responsible for the death. Attorneys for the defendants sought dismissal for years, but proved unsuccessful in doing so.
Trenton would be six today.
Grace offers her typical gracelessness here.
GPS: All the Buzz
What do mosquitoes and mosquito control workers share in common?
Apparently both prey on others.
Mosquitoes for obvious reasons. Mosquito control workers for sticking it to taxpayers.
(...)
A citizen's complaint triggered an eight-month investigation in which officials cross-referenced data from previously installed truck GPS trackers with daily employee inspection records, Director Craig Simmons said.
As a result of the investigation, three mosquito control workers also were fired in late June.
"With the fiscal position the county government's in, with pending layoffs, we couldn't fathom why employees would choose to do something like this when we have the ability to track them," Simmons said.
Spray-truck personnel are typically unsupervised about seven hours a day, Simmons said. Each week, they inspect about 8,000 mosquito-prone sites across 86 geographic spray zones along the Space Coast.
The GPS investigation examined on-the-clock activities during a seven-week span from August to September 2009. Disciplinary letters reveal details about the terminated workers' alleged misdeeds during that timeframe:
A technician made 20 unauthorized trips to the Port St. John Public Library and drove home 78 times.When his supervisor told him he did not have permission to visit the library, the worker responded: "That's a lie from the pits of hell! That's a lie. That's a lie. That's a lie. That's a lie!" his notice of dismissal shows.
It didn't take a GPS to foresee this type of tracking merge into the mainstream.
The Gelber-Bondi Race
I've stayed silent much of this election cycle, choosing instead to enjoy the anxiety of many incumbents as unknown candidates picked them off at the primary and stand to do the same during tomorrow's election.
Don't get me wrong. I'm more than slightly horrified over just who may find themselves in positions of political power Wednesday morning, but then, I've had that feeling now for years.
Of particular interest to me is the Florida Attorney General race. Seasoned politician Dan Gelber appears perplexed over his current situation, polling under Pam Bondi, a former prosecutor who (in my opinion) appears quite unprepared for the position.
Gelber has been no friend to certain families in Florida, thanks to a certain lobbyist who has captured his attention with misinformation over the many years Gelber was in the position to effect change. So, part of me enjoys the reality of disgusted voters slapping him in the face.
But then we have Bondi, who failed the character test some time back after hauling a Louisiana family into court as a means to keep the Katrina dog she adopted from returning home to its Louisiana family.
Quite the choice.
If Gelber pulls off this race, I hope he remembers that real people who have committed no crime are effected--often quite harshly--by Florida law.
If Bondi is the state's next AG, at the very least, her predecessor Bill McCollum is out of politics.
It's Just Too Hard to Tail a Vehicle...Too Hard!
Ah.
The St. Pete Times asks the age-old question.
Should authorities need a warrant to put a GPS tracking device on your car?
(...)
"We do utilize GPS for investigations, and we do have a policy that addresses the usage," wrote Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter in an e-mail. "But we cannot release the policy due to the fact that it reveals investigative techniques."
Procedure that was actually upheld by the courts.
Enter Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
(...)
"The needs of law enforcement, to which my colleagues seem inclined to refuse nothing, are quickly making personal privacy a distant memory," he wrote in a widely read dissent.
(...)
He wrote that there seems to be no limit to what technologies the government can use to violate privacy.
He noted that in 2009 a Sprint Nextel official revealed that the company gave its customers' cell phone locations to the government more than 8 million times that year. The company said that it was all done legally and that the number of customers affected was far less.
"By holding that this kind of surveillance doesn't impair an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy," wrote the judge, "the panel hands the government the power to track the movements of every one of us, every day of our lives. …
"There is something creepy and un-American about such clandestine and underhanded behavior."
Yep.
Could not have put it better myself.
While I'm off checking beneath my car, check out the commentary beneath the above article.
Priceless.
The Social Network's Social Message to Young Men
I finally got a chance to take in The Social Network and was struck by an implied message that likely I--as the only Frog in the movie's audience--picked up on.
In at least three specific scenes, young college-aged men acted in their own best interest and inquired after the ages of young women in attendance at various parties.
And in one scene, the young lady had lied about her stated 21 years of age.
My hopes are a young man does not need to attend Harvard to get the point.
The New Web
We told you so.
As reported by The New York Times:
Nearly everyone who uses the Internet will face the privacy risks that come with those capabilities, which are an integral part of the Web language that will soon power the Internet: HTML 5.
(...)“It’s going to change everything about the Internet and the way we use it today,” said James Cox, 27, a freelance consultant and software developer at Smokeclouds, a New York City start-up company. “It’s not just HTML 5. It’s the new Web.”
But others, while also enthusiastic about the changes, are more cautious.
Most Web users are familiar with so-called cookies, which make it possible, for example, to log on to Web sites without having to retype user names and passwords, or to keep track of items placed in virtual shopping carts before they are bought.
Read how soon nothing will be sacred here.
***
"Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds."
--John Perry Barlow
"Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds."
--John Perry Barlow
NASA Meets SCOTUS
Does NASA have the right to probe medical records, finances and drug history of employees?
Twenty-eight scientists--who work at positions that do not require security clearance--think not. Because of the unclassified nature of their employment, the plaintiffs cite the background checks as an invasion of their personal privacy.
(...)
The controversy began in 2004 when NASA, then under the direction of Michael Griffin, ordered all scientists working at JPL to undergo comprehensive, open-ended background checks — beyond the standard pre-hiring reviews for federal employees — or risk losing their jobs.
Read more here.
The Supreme Court will hear formal arguments today.
Titusville's Foreclosure Registry
As I've watched the citizen-driven Fair Districts initiative successfully bulldoze past legal attempts by the Florida state legislature to remove Amendments 5 and 6 off the November ballot, I had a thought.
If citizens are frustrated enough to draw the line on gerrymandering in this state--the practice of the majority party power "drawing districts to favor incumbents or political parties with little rhyme or reason as to the interests of voters"--then how much longer before citizens reach a similar limit regarding the impact of public records overreach on their individual right to privacy?
Case in point.
The city of Titusville, Florida unanimously approved a $150 charge on homeowners who face foreclosure proceedings or have mortgages in default.
The city would pocket half the fee and give the other half and "...to Suntree-based Federal Property Registration Corp., which will help identify foreclosed property and manage the registry."
Yep. You read right. A foreclosure registry.
(...)
Under the agreement, Darnell's company would contact lenders with foreclosures in the city, inform the lenders of the city's registration requirements, and provide an electronic method of registration for the lenders, including through the city's website. A mortgagee would have to register the property with the city within 10 days after the mortgage is declared in default.
Reasoning?
It's quicker.
(...)
"This is a quicker way of identifying and registering these properties than the 'one-by-one' process the city would use through code enforcement," Titusville City Manager Mark Ryan said in a memo to the city council. "Many cities are struggling with new inventories of foreclosed homes, and creating ordinances as a way to help mitigate the damage to communities and recover costs incurred."
Two hundred properties have since been registered.
How much more must Floridians endure?
Read Titusville's public records policy here.
Read Florida's Ballot Initiative 101 here.
And vote YES on Amendments 5 and 6.
Smashed Frog Turns on the Lights
A year ago, I decided to buy a domain name from Google for ten dollars.
All went well until a couple of months back. Google emailed me a notice to renew as I had not selected automatic renewal via a credit card with my initial purchase.
Sounds easy enough.
Wrong.
I've struggled with Google since August in attempt to renew my domain name. Once logged into my account, I was unable to simply choose automatic renewal as apparently, past a certain date, such an action is no longer an option. Communication proved next to impossible and when contact was made to the person beyond the Q & A forum, I was simply passed off to someone else.
As a result, Smashedfrog.com went quietly into that good night (although still readable by cache), the address now owned by eNom and available for me to repurchase for reportedly close to $100.
Pardon me if I feel a bit scammed.
To quote George Herbert Walker Bush, not gonna do it.
So back to Smashed Frog with a blogspot in the middle. As long as Blogger is around and offers services for free, no need to worry about going dark.
Update your bookmarks, Froggers.
We have work to do. :)
Brian D. Sweeney, United Flight 175
September 2006--as a participant in the 2996 project--I was assigned the privilege of memorializing Brian D. Sweeney, a passenger on United Flight 175.
Of Viking Heart was written in tribute to a man I never met but came to know only by his passing, through the voices of his friends and family.
Today, I will think of those he left behind much too soon and their loss that never ends.
And I'll think of Brian, 38, who claimed to be part Viking and part Leonardo da Vinci.
Others remember Brian here.
We will never forget.
George Crossley
Smashed Frog says good-bye to a friend.
George Crossley.
The Orlando Sentinel, 9/9/2010:
(...)
Crossley, who worked more recently a radio talk-show host, collapsed at WEUS-810 AM station in Altamonte Springs Wednesday evening. He was rushed to South Seminole Hospital in Longwood where he later died.
(...)
Crossley, who was once the leader of the American Civil Liberties Union's Central Florida chapter, hosted The People Power Revolution show alongside co-host and producer John Hamilton.
Speaking for Florida's downtrodden, we thank George for his voice when others remained silent.
Our condolences to his family and friends.
***
“Why are children who are supposed to be protected by the Jessica Lunsford Act actually being harmed grievously by the same law? Why are the children of registered sex offenders being tormented, abused and trying to commit suicide because of the Jessica Lunsford Act?”
--George Crossley
Read more about the man here.
--George Crossley
Read more about the man here.
Operation Orange Tree
John Walsh is on the road pitching software used in the 2009 Operation Orange Tree sting that resulted in the arrest of 70 plus persons, aged 17-83 years.
(...)
The software can recognize child pornography and identify the sender and receiver without the sender and receiver being aware, Walsh said. He said he was not privy to the exact way it works.
(Sheriff) Kevin Walsh said after the software flags a picture as child pornography, the officers secure search warrants for both involved in the peer-to-peer exchange. The concentration will be on Onondaga County and Central New York exchanges, but on the Internet, the two involved could be anywhere.
I can't even begin to imagine the slippery slope associated with this technology.
Bill McCollum Kicked to the Curb
The St. Pete Times, 8/24/2010:
(...)
The Associated Press called the race for (Rick) Scott just before 11 p.m. McCollum initially held out, waiting for the final tally and telling supporters to be patient.
At 12:34 a.m. today in an e-mailed news release, he admitted defeat. "The votes today have been tallied and I accept the voters' decision," he said, calling the primary "one for the ages.''
His concession carried with it the same pugnacious tone that marked the bare-knuckled race.
"No one could have anticipated the entrance of a multimillionaire with a questionable past who shattered campaign spending records and spent more in four months than has ever been spent in a primary race here in Florida,'' he said.
Froggers, it appears Bill McCollum has left the building.
For the harm this man has inflicted on families via perpetuation of legal myths regardless of what research revealed, for his resistance to civil rights restoration, for Terri Schiavo...
...good riddance.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Bill.
Tuesday is Trash Day
On Tuesday, Florida voters take out the garbage, beginning with the much-needed removal of Bill McCollum from the office of Attorney General.
But will voters trash his political career permanently at the primary, ending McCollum's bid as the Republican candidate for Governor by choosing newbie Rick Scott instead?
Sounds good to me. Because I'm fairly certain Floridians will address the next Governor as Alex Sink.
Speaking of the Attorney General race? For the Democrats, the choice is Dave Aronberg or Dan Gelber.
For the Republicans: Holly Benson, Pam Bondi and Jeff Kottkamp.
Who will make that cut and most importantly, who will be the best choice to move this state out of the Dark Ages?
And who will be the best choice for us?
Charlie Crist vs Broward County
Just call him Eliot Ness.
Charlie Crist is hot on the trail of South Florida political corruption, singling out nine subtropical counties, although most know the real target is Broward County, home of a School Board that is pretty much getting schooled these days.
Read more about which lobbyists are reportedly in the midst of the probe. (Be patient, Froggers. It's only a matter of time before the right rock is turned over, revealing The One We Want before a court of law).
Speaking of probes, Broward County candidate Travis Williamson finds a peeping accusation coming back to haunt his campaign. And oh, by the way.
He's running for the School Board. LOL.
Zany.
But back to Gov. Charlie.
His get tough stance may be gubernatorial overkill to distract from his certain to be raised during the Senate race connection with presently imprisoned Ponzi political contributor, Scott Rothstein.
Who also contributed to the Bill McCollum campaign. LMAO.
Follow the donation trail here.
Ya gotta love it.
Who's Next to Fall in South Florida?
Per The Daily Pulp (8/6/10):
(...)
Another thing: There's another very serious corruption-fighting body in town and a source tells me it is digging deep and has already produced an indictment against a public official that is under seal. No, it's not the BSO unit. It's not the feds. It's not the SAO. On Monday I'll bring more information, including the apparent targets of the probe.
Please let the target be who I want it to be.
Debra Steinsaltz Shelves Books in South Florida
Interesting. Judicial candidate Debra Steinsaltz doesn't name names, yet all South Florida has seemingly associated a story shared at a recent judicial forum with the very person that has talked up the family bio to anyone that will listen as a personal platform to steamroll hateful lawmaking through the Florida legislature as well as South Florida, particularly so in Miami.
And obviously, continues to do so as noted in a blog post written by Buddy Nevins of BrowardBeat.com.
I'd say Debra Steinsaltz has thrown the door to a kitchen that is certainly not clean.
Read on, especially when Mr. Book discusses ethics.
Candidate Debra Steinsaltz should have thought before she spoke at the second Broward Judicial Watch judicial forum on Thursday.
Answering a question, Steinsaltz told the forum audience that she once had a client who was a nanny accused of molesting the child of a major political insider.
During the preparation for the trial, Steinsaltz said she learned many things about the victim’s family and hinted the family had deep dark secrets which would cause them “embarrassment”.
Although she never mentioned the victim’s name, it was obvious to everybody I talked to at the forum that she was referring to the family of Ron Book. He lives in Plantation and is one of the state’s best known and most ubiquitous lobbyists.
Assistant Public Defender Steinsaltz defended, Waldina Flores, a nanny convicted of molesting Book’s daughter Lauren a decade ago.
(...)A livid Book now says he is interested in helping Steinsaltz’s opponent, County Judge Peter Skolnick. Book could raise Skolnick thousands of dollars easily.
Barry Harris, Steinsaltz campaign consultant, had no comment.
Reached by telephone after the forum, Book said that Steinsaltz’s “ethics speak for themselves. This is typical of a (Broward Public Defenders) office that conducted themselves in an unprofessional manner throughout this entire case.”
Book said one assistant PD was so “unprofessional” that he was “forced to file a Bar grievance against him.” The Assistant PD was taken off the Flores case.
Steinsaltz handled the second Broward case involving Flores. After she was sent to prison for molesting Lauren Book, the former nanny violated the rules of her original sentence by writing the teenager.
She was prosecuted again and got 10 years for the letter writing added to her original 15-year sentence.
Book said that Steinsaltz was obviously “using the words of a pedophile” about his family in an attempt to “further her candidacy.”
“This is a woman who deficated (sic) and urinated on my child and then fled the state before she was caught. If this candidate wants to use this case and her defense of this pedophile, I believe the voters can make their own decision.”
Book said he doesn’t know Skolnick from “Adam’s housecat” but he would be interested in helping his campaign. He also said he would review the tape of the judicial forum to see if there was “further action” he should take against Steinsaltz.
7/30/10
Lauren Book recently decided against a Broward County School Board run.
Tree at Last
No problem.
I'll register my address.
But good luck finding my house.
Read more about invisible tree houses here.
(No worries about birds. A special film can be applied to the glass that only winged ones can detect).
The Pentagon and Porn
Well, this could prove interesting.
Federal investigators have identified several dozen Pentagon officials and contractors with high-level security clearances who allegedly purchased and downloaded child pornography, including an undisclosed number who used their government computers to obtain the illegal material, according to investigative reports.
The investigations have included employees of the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — which deal with some of the most sensitive work in intelligence and defense — among other organizations within the Defense Department.
(...)
The more than 50 pages, compiled by the investigative service, part of the Pentagon’s Inspector General’s Office, contain summaries of investigations initiated since 2002, including some cases that remain open.
Read more over at The Boston Globe.
No Unemployment Compensation for Sex Offenders?
The Senate is scheduled to vote on HR-5618, the "Unemployment Benefits" bill this afternoon.
The bill is apparently headed to the floor without deletion of the following phrase disallowing sex offenders from receiving unemployment benefits.
‘‘(2) ensure that benefits under this Act are not provided to any individual convicted of a sex offense against a minor (as such terms are defined in section 111 of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (42 U.S.C. 16911)); and..."
Visit eadvocate's site for more information about what you as a citizen can do here.
Sad. Sad. Sad.
Making a List, Checking it Twice
I recently read that the Internet was the new Wild Wild West.
Apparently, a couple of Utah state workers thought the same and deputized themselves to sieve through a workforce database to compile a list of 1300 persons who allegedly entered the USA illegally.
The list was then forwarded to state officials.
Here's the not so funny punchline, delivered by a spokesperson for Utah Governor Herbert.
(...)
"The use of private information to intimidate the Latino community is wrong and wrong-headed," Archie Archuleta, head of the Utah Coalition of La Raza, said.
"The fact that a third party is using this information to target children and pregnant women is extremely troubling," he said.
Welcome to our world.
Tiny Houses
A possible answer to residency restrictions....downsize and take your home on the road.
(...)
You'll discover why you really don't need to own land to call one of these small houses home. Jay's portable homes can be put nearly anywhere. These structures have been placed in backyards, RV parks, rural settings, and even in a National Park. Imagine the freedom of being able to pick up and move as you wish. Tired of your neighbors? Don't like your view? Just pick and move.
Scratch the National Park, but imagine the possibilities. :)
Read more about the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company here.
Ten years ago, Jay Shafer downsized to an 89-square-foot house and reinvented both his lifestyle and career in the process.
To Pick Up Arms
A recent SF commenter mentioned the constitutionality of the picking up of arms. What does such an action mean to this blogger?
A class action suit could be a modern day form of "the picking up of arms". What I've always felt here at Smashed Frog is that the politicians who have developed and passed the sex offender laws never ever will back off. To do so would prove political suicide, especially should a heinous crime--such as the Jessica Lunsford murder--ever again occur. (Which has happened, with these very laws in place....no comment from the politicos who believed words in a law book could rubber-stamp prevent children from future harm).
A successful class action would take politicians off the hook and I believe court action is what these types are hoping for, but that aside, working in the background on our behalf is the current financial budgetary situation forcing many individual state legislatures to a "come to Jesus" meeting with themselves regarding the collateral dollar impact made on the state coffers by the very laws they passed.
Just think of the tax dollars these dumbbells have lost, preventing persons from application and receipt of FHA mortgages or designating people with a identifier that serves as a huge inhibitor in finding work. (That being said, public notification and the registry ends professions as well, as in ending careers for those who hold any sort of licensure or certification at the time of conviction and registration).
Not to mention the costs to the taxpayer to enforce the registration and public notification laws....
We must hold these politicians accountable. It's my feeling that many who visit here are of all different sorts of political beliefs; however, what holds us together is a common fate.
Make certain to do what may appear the very minimum. Vote local. If the right to vote is no longer yours (yet one more sneaky way to keep the status quo) ask your family and friends to vote and knock some of these long-termers out of the running, particularly at the primary, where incumbents are the most vulnerable to ousting as predictably, only the most fervent voters fight the August heat to pull the lever).
Here in Florida, I think a political shuffle will occur, basically because most citizens have had enough. It's not just about money, it's about what this state has become....a zero-tolerance prison-builder and family divider in collusion with wealthy Floridians, who have passed the taxes on to the rest of us.
Poisonous Misuse of the Registry by Congress
e (and others) feel the recent amendments added to congressional proposals discussed here are nothing but "poison pills", additions inserted to defeat the bill (or at the very least, slow down the process) much like the GOP did with health care.
Not about RSO's at all.
Misuse of the registry? Or freakin' dirty politic, per usual?
Additionally, sometimes these poison pills do become some form of the passed legislation, as was noted a few years back with home weatherization funding, where the county added criteria disallowing registered sex offenders from the granting and receipt of these federal dollars.
Also disturbing--somewhere along the line, an individual actually brainstormed these exclusions, poison pill or not.
Sick.
HR 5072 Amendment 12: No FHA Mortgage for Sex Offenders
eAdvocate's recent posting of proposed bills before Congress offers continued proof of the attempted exclusion of those designated as sex offenders from opportunities provided all American citizens and how such exclusion simply violates human rights.
Within each bill lies a caveat which denies persons "convicted of a sex offense against a minor" access to these benefits if passed.
--Unemployment Benefits: HR 5618: Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2010. Sponsor Rep. Jim McDermott (WA-7).
--Small Business Loans: HR 5297: Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010. Sponsor Rep. Barney Frank (MA-4).
Read the specifics here.
Equally disturbing, is an amendment to proposed FHA legislation that utilizes the same verbiage to disallow the award of FHA mortgages to those convicted of the same offense. As explained by proponent Rep. Chet Edwards (TX) the addition of Amendment 12 (added to the FHA Reform Act of 2010 (HR 5072) inhibits "...any kind of federally financed reward or taxpayer-backed benefit to sex offenders reentering our communities."
I can deduce many reasons why Mr. Edwards might formulate such a hateful premise in his peanut of a closed mind, but my first thought is sex offenders bring down property values and make home sales difficult for homeowners and realtors. I'm aware of one particular incident within my community where a homeowner lost the sale of property located next door to because the adjacent neighbor was listed on the state registry. No way to tell if that person was a low-level offender or not as the Florida Sex Offender Registry doesn't bother to differentiate.
As I like to say. Too. Bad. So. Sad.
However, I'd also like to point out how such a FHA disclaimer could effect the housing and shelter of family members living with a person designated as an offender. Or not.
Because should this amendment somehow survive, someone in that same household could get the FHA mortgage on their own merits. Once the family moves into the neighborhood, I'd suggest a Guess Who's Coming to Dinner open house.
No State Can Add or Take Away
The federal government is asserting in court that Arizona has overstepped its authority by the passage of state law to make an immigration violation a crime.
According to the federal policy, "..."no state can add or take away" from the (immigration) policy set in Washington, with the current focus "...to target "dangerous aliens" such as violent criminals, fugitives and gang members, rather than to arrest and deport the millions of illegal immigrants living in this country."
Which would imply, the federal laws are the laws of the land.
If that's an accurate statement, then when it comes to federal SORNA policy, why is substantial compliance achieved by states employing a different system of registration and public notification, as long as registerable offenses carry the same or greater sex offender registration and notification guidelines as SORNA?
Apples and oranges or just nonsensical?
Smashed Frog Goes Botox
I finally did it, NG.
A girl's got to keep up appearances and it was way time this blogger found a new look (although still in progress).
A Froggy Fourth to you all.
Jim Greer: You're the One the Dems Want
After an afternoon chatting with my friends via 1970's state of the art communications, my mother had had enough of her then sixteen-year-old daughter monopolizing the telephone. She yelled at me to "Get OFF than PHONE!", and followed up with the usual "NOW!"
I gave her the typical teen OK, OK and kept talking.
She promptly picked up a pair of scissors with the longest blades I had ever seen in my short life and promptly cut the cord of the land line.
Someone should've cut the cord on the conversation between disgraced and ousted former Republican Party chair Jim Greer and his co-hort, Delmar Johnson.
If you have not heard the audio between these two, head here and take a listen. The potential fall-out on the Florida Republican Party, well, it's electrifying.
For Frogger researchers interested in helping the Florida Democratic Party figure out who else may be listed in the Greer Rolodex, documents released in the case against Greer can be accessed here.
Enjoy.
RSO Families Feel the Heat of Ex Post Facto Sex Ofender Lawmaking
I burned my arm on a hot light bulb yesterday.
Leave it to me to maneuver about my attic in 90 degree heat (God knows what the attic temp might have been) but upon my descent via the ladder stairs, I managed to skim my skin past the old Edison and hit the garage floor balancing a box of dated income tax returns in one hand while blowing cool the toasted oval reminiscent of a muffler burn reddening the inside of my inner arm.
Actually, it's not the first time I've been burned. A few years back, I brushed my elbow against an unshaded bulb and my skin singed before I yanked back in pain. At six years of age, I scrambled to iron hair ribbons as my mother turned her back from wrinkled sheets to answer the phone.
Don't you dare, she warned, tethered by a coil of telephone core. Don't you dare pick that up.
I dropped the iron on my forearm. Wasn't the last stint, either. In college, I ironed my leg while sitting on the floor pressing a shirt on a pillow case while watching a rerun of the Wizard of Oz.
My son is certain that in a previous life I may have been Joan of Arc. No one, he has told me, has been burned as many times as you.
Earlier this week, a law enforcement officer knocked on the door to verify my family member continued to live at our address. Off probation for several months, our loved one had almost managed to put the nightmare of the last five years behind us. Then the knock at the door, to carry out a condescending city ordinance put in place by a scared-to-death city council--serving to remind we as a family may never get past a wrinkle in our lifetime.
That we will continue to be burned. That we family members will continue to feel the sting and the pain of collateral damage.
That we all will never live the life to which we deserve, of which we aspire.
Because we absolutely cannot get past the ex post facto sex offender laws continuing to be stacked against us.
I'm tired of constantly feeling the heat. I'm tired of bearing the scars.
When will it end?
When?
Chuck Schumer's Sex Offender Soup Line
Sadly humorous that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants to close the job loopholes for sex offenders.
Doesn't he get it?
Being listed on a sex offender registry pretty much kills any chance for gainful employment.
Period.
What's worse, Schumer is out spouting the same old tired lie.
"Sex offenders are different than just about any other criminal because the percent of recidivism is huge and the chance for rehabilitation is unfortunately small. ... Whatever demons haunt these people don't go away."
"I agree with a few of the other posters here that can see through this political grand standing. There are thousands of these people who have commited acts such as "peeing in a bush" or had sex with their underage girlfriend who is only a few months younger than them. Its funny how an 18 year old has sex with a 16 year old and they are considered a sexual predator and low life scum but if she is was 17...hey no problem. Hell people were getting married at 15 years old a century ago, now people would want you castrated. Keep it up people and you are going to have hundreds of thousands of jobless, homeless "sex offenders" who will have nothing to lose because the witch hunt that is going on today will make being a functioning member of society an impossible task."
Read more commentary here.
ACLU Rejects Plea for Assistance
So much for help from the ACLU.
Read it and weep.
...
From: ACLU
Assistance
15 June 2010
Re: Request for Assistance
M/M ______:
We have reviewed your complaint and regret to inform you that the ACLU of Florida declines to offer you legal assistance. Due to our limited resources, we cannot take all civil liberties cases brought to our attention, and we must concentrate our resources where they are most needed.
In declining to represent you, the ACLU is not passing judgment regarding the legal merits of your case. You may wish to consult further with a private attorney. You may contact the Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-342-8011 for an attorney in your area.
Thank you for writing to the ACLU of Florida. We wish you success in resolving your difficulties.
Sincerely,
Intake Department
School's Out for Lauren Book
Hmmm.
Lauren Book has decided against a School Board run.
(...)
In a voice mail message, Book told us (the Sun Sentinel) this:"We have decided that I will not be running for school board. This was a decision that was not easy for me or my family, but I've decided I wanted to take the next year and half to two years to really focus on Lauren's Kids and get it the point where it can stand on its own and then look at the possibilities for other offices.''
Read more here.
As for here, comments like the one below might provide us with a bit of insight about what Ms. Book might have faced with a District 4 run.
"I tried to contact her for help regarding my daughter through her non-profit organization and she never contacted me. Her father gave me lip service, but was no help either. I lost respect for both of them after that."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
