SIGN NOW: Urge Japan to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are joining with people around the world to urge the government of Japan to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Today, many citizens in the world, even in countries possessing nuclear weapons, understand nuclear weapons as inhumane and unnecessary. In fact, the use of nuclear weapons is banned under international law. Now is the time for the government of Japan to lead the world from prohibition toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.
Our world continues to live under the threat of dirty bombs, loose nukes, nuclear accidents and catastrophic nuclear conflict. Sign our petition to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty into full force to end further nuclear weapons development. Help us tell world leaders to permanently end nuclear weapons testing and ultimately free the world from the nuclear weapons threat.
Watch our 40 second video to see living examples of why we must end nuclear testing and rid the world of the nuclear weapons threat.
“So that the people from future generations will not have to experience hell on earth, we want to realize a world free of nuclear weapons while we are still alive.”
Join your voice with those of the Hibakusha to say “Never Again.”
Sign the petition for a new treaty to ban nuclear weapons below.
Hibakusha Earnestly Desire Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
At present, humanity stands at the crossroads of whether to save our blue planet with all living things on it as it is or to go along the road of self-destruction.
The two atomic bombs dropped on August 6th and 9th 1945 by the US forces totally destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in an instant and killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of people without discrimination. With corpses charred black, bodies with their skins peeled off and with lines of people tottering in silence, a hell on earth emerged. Those who narrowly survived soon collapsed one after another. For more than 70 years since then, we have struggled to live on, afflicted by the delayed effects and by anxiety about the possible effects of radiation on our children and grandchildren. Never again do we want such tragedies to be repeated.
After 11 years of silence following the A-bomb suffering, Hibakusha assembled in Nagasaki in August 1956 and founded Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A-and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations. There we pledged that we would work to “save humanity from its crisis through the lessons learned from our experiences, while at the same time saving ourselves”.
Since then we have continued appealing to the world that “there should never be another Hibakusha.” This is the cry of our soul. Wars and conflicts are still going on in the world, and many lives of innocent people are lost. Nuclear weapons are being used to threaten others. There are also moves to develop new nuclear weapons. The destructive power of existing nuclear weapons, which number well over 10 thousand, amounts to that of tens of thousands of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs combined. Nuclear weapons are the “weapons of the devil”. They could wipe out the human race and all other creatures. They could destroy the environment and turn the globe into a dead planet.
Human beings have prohibited the use, development, production, and possession of biological and chemical weapons by treaties and protocols. Why do we hesitate to prohibit nuclear weapons, which are far more destructive than these weapons?
We, the Hibakusha, call on all State Governments to conclude a treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons. The average age of the Hibakusha now exceeds 80. It is our strong ‘ desire to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world in our lifetime so that succeeding generations of people will not see hell on earth ever again.
You, your families and relatives, or any other people should not be made Hibakusha again. We believe that your signatures appended to this appeal will add up to the voices of hundreds of millions of people around the world and move international politics. They will finally save the future of our blue planet and all life on it. We earnestly appeal to you to append your signature to this petition.
April 2016
Initial Proposers of the Appeal:
Sunao Tsuboi, Sumiteru Taniguchi and Mikiso Iwasa, Co-Chairpersons, Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations)
Terumi Tanaka, Secretary General, Hidankyo
Kwak Kwi Hoon, Honorary Chairman, Korean Association of Atomic Bomb Victims
Tsukasa Mukai, President, US Association of Atomic Bomb Victims
Takashi Morita, President, Associacao Hibakusha Brasil Pela Paz
Setsuko Thurlow, Hibakusha of Hiroshima, Toronto,Canada
Yasuaki Yamashita, Hibakusha of Nagasaki, Mexico City, Mexico
International Signature Campaign in Support of the Appeal of the Hibakusha for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Earnestly desiring the elimination of nuclear weapons without delay, we, the Hibakusha, call on all State Governments to conclude a treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons.
I, the undersigned, hereby support the Appeal of the Hibakusha.
NOTE: After the launch of the International Signature Campaign in April 2016, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted on July 7, 2017. This Campaign now calls on all State Governments to join the Treaty and achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
If you do not believe that free speech is a necessity of life: please leave this blog now officially and legally as of reading this, your obligation of this statement is formally required.Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights. The author of the Constitutional Rights Blog does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That doe not mean we are should not vote.
I make typos allot. I do not get paid to do this. I do not have a editor or anyone working for me at all. Sometimes it may take me more than one day to finish a article.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 11 2019 Sign here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/add-your-name-end-unfair-excessive More than 2.2 million people are incarcerated in our country, and many are serving extreme sentences that don’t advance public safety. These sentences come at a great cost to both taxpayers and our society as a whole. To advance justice and reduce mass incarceration, we need to review unjust sentences. Prosecutors can do this by forming Sentencing Review Units, which are small teams of lawyers, investigators, and others who review cases to determine if a sentence is so excessive that it demands a second look by the prosecutor’s office. While many prosecutors support Sentence Review Units, in most states, they don’t have any mechanism to request that a sentence be reduced – even if everyone agrees it’s excessive. While some jurisdictions – including California and Washington D.C. – have passed laws to break down these barriers and allow for sentence review, Sentencing Review Units are still far too rare. The people who wrote this great petition (above) are great themselves. Here is a link: https://www.tjcengage.org
From: Grits for Breakfast: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019 Texas trends follow national decline in misdemeanor arrestsThe Wall Street Journal on Sunday published an item reporting on a nationwide decline in misdemeanor arrests, a trend this blog has been documenting for several years. So Grits thought it worth comparing the national trends cited to Texas data. The WSJ article focused on jurisdictions where misdemeanor arrests could be broken out by race, with arrests of black people accounting for a disproportionate share of the decrease. Texas data don’t immediately allow us to make similar, racially delineated analyses, but the overall trend of reduced misdemeanor cases holds for Texas. Texas misdemeanor cases by the numbersLooking at top-line stats from the Office of Court Administration’s 2018 Annual Statistical Report (from which all graphs below are screenshots), the number of non-traffic misdemeanor cases in Texas peaked in 2007 at 585,499, declining to 404,001.
When you consider Texas’ dramatic population growth over these years, the decline appears even more significant. Texas witnessed especially large declines over the previous five years in misdemeanor theft (-47%), theft by check (-81%), and driving with an invalid license (-25%), with small increases (less than population growth) for family violence (5%), marijuana possession (4%), and 1st offense DWI (2%).
Grits finds especially interesting the decline in misdemeanor-property-theft cases. Texas raised property-theft thresholds in 2015, so that one must now steal $2,500 to be charged with a felony. Felony-theft cases predictably declined in response, but misdemeanor theft cases declined even more. Perhaps that’s a function of cops being less willing to focus attention on low-level cases, the tuff-on-crime crowd will surely say. But both reported crime stats and the National Crime Victim Survey tell us property thefts declined throughout this period. So if police did de-prioritize them, then policing clearly wasn’t having the crime deterring effect that traditional models might predict. In fact, if such “de-policing” occurred, it correlated with less theft, not more. This raises a counter-intuitive possibility: Maybe what police do after the fact doesn’t have that much to do with crime rates in the first place? The 2018 data don’t capture the period after the Texas Legislature accidentally made pot cases more difficult to prosecute without a lab test, but before then, both misdemeanor drug cases (mostly pot) and felony drug cases (mostly harder drugs) were a big source of growth in prosecutions:
Here’s how new Texas misdemeanor and felony cases broke out in FY 2018:
The biggest decline, however, has been in traffic cases and other Class C misdemeanors, a trend which this blog has documented in the past.
Delving more deeply into these Class Cs, every category except local traffic ordinances have declined over the last five years. (I’m curious if readers have any suggestions why enforcement of local traffic ordinances would increase by a third over the last five years while enforcement of state traffic laws declined?)
Moreover, juvenile Class C cases have plummeted, driven largely but not entirely by the state’s decriminalization of truancy:
Reporters or policy makers who would like to replicate these data for their local area may use the OCA’s data query tool to break them out by jurisdiction. What’s going on?So why is this happening? Some of the trends cited in the WSJ article don’t apply to Texas – e.g., marijuana legalization or decrim hasn’t happened here, and Texas’ car-patrol-based policing doesn’t see as frequent use of “stop and frisk” tactics as do jurisdictions where officers walk a beat. The WSJ cited FBI statistics to document “steady declines in disorderly conduct, drunkenness, prostitution and loitering violations,” which arguably could be a function of the rise of smart phones, gaming, and internet culture. Much “disorderly conduct” now occurs online, much to the detriment of the political culture, while “loitering” these days may more frequently involve staring at a telephone. Similarly, prostitutes in 2019 are less likely to stand out on the street and more likely to respond to text messages or queries on a website. IMO, researchers have probably understated significantly the impact of digital culture on (downward) crime trends. Indeed, Grits considers the incapacitative effects of video gaming so significant for young males, in the past I’ve pondered the idea of issuing gaming consoles to high-risk probationers to reduce recidivism. Grits has written before about declines in DWI and public drunkenness arrests, which I suspect may also related to the rise of car sharing apps that can easily get drunks off the streets or out of their own cars. On Twitter, Grits asked a couple of national experts their opinions on sources of declines in misdemeanor arrests. Megan Stevenson, an economist and legal scholar at George Mason Univesity, suggested, “Broken windows policing going out of vogue. Gentrifying cities means poor people no longer live where rich people work. Increased surveillance technology reduces willingness to shoplift/graffiti. Lower blood lead levels in children.” She also wondered if the trend may be influenced by “Shifting law enforcement to private security companies who intimidate but don’t arrest?” And our pal Alexandra Natapoff, now of UC Irvine and author of Punishment Without Crime, a book-length treatment of misdemeanor questions, suggested the trend might also relate to “changes in police arrest quota and promotion policies” or attempts to reduce “Jail costs.” Austin’s recent brouhaha over decriminalizing sitting, lying and camping in public spaces makes Grits give extra credence to Professor Stevenson’s hypothesis about gentrifying cities removing poor people from the places rich folks live and work. Austin has always had a significant homeless population during the 34 years I’ve lived here. But as long as they were sleeping in creek beds and behind dumpsters where no one could see them, for most of the city’s more affluent population, “out of sight, out of mind,” was good enough. As soon as middle and upper class folks began to see homeless people in their daily lives – mostly under highway overpasses and in tents on roadsides – the weeping and gnashing of teeth began (with GOP officials at the local, state and national levels fanning the flames of discontent as vigorously as they could muster). Grits considers these interesting suggestions, but all of them beg the question, why were misdemeanor arrests going up before 2007? After all, both reported and unreported low-level crime (as judged by the National Crime Victim Survey) has declined dramatically since the 1990s, and we didn’t see arrest reductions until relatively recently. Since we don’t know why arrests continued to rise as crime declined, it’s equally hard to tell why arrests went down as crime declined even more. For that matter, no one knows for sure why crime has declined in the first place. There are many hypotheses. In an era when economists have built out a sizable cottage industry developing Bayesian “causal inference” models that supposedly flesh out specific causal relations for crime trends, in reality, nobody really understand the whys and wherefores of even the most basic tendencies of the justice system. Your correspondent has come to believe that running ever-more regression analyses on the same, extremely limited datasets is unlikely to cast more light on the subject. Regardless of the cause, the footprint of the Texas justice system has reduced dramatically over the last decade, even if prison populations remain stubbornly high. These misdemeanor data provide further evidence of that trend and arguably played a big part in creating that outcome. For my part, Grits considers the decline in misdemeanor arrests and cases mainly a positive development, not a problem to solve. Others’ mileage may vary.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 12 2019 Texas Plans to Execute Jewish Man Denied a Fair Trial by an Anti-Semitic Judge OCTOBER 4, 2019 | 3:30 PM UPDATE: On Friday, October 4, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, where Randy Halprin had sought relief before turning to the U.S. Supreme Court, granted a stay of execution. We commend this decision. “A g***damn Kike.” “That f***kin’ Jew.” According to pleadings filed yesterday with the U.S. Supreme Court, that’s how Judge Vickers Cunningham referred to Randy Halprin, a Jewish defendant whose trial he presided over. The pleadings ask the court to delay Halprin’s execution—currently scheduled for Thursday, October 10 in Texas—and to review a federal appellate court’s decision denying him the right to seek a new trial.
Halprin’s plea to the Supreme Court is based on substantial new evidence demonstrating that Cunningham, who is no longer a judge, is a virulent racist and anti-Semite who brought his views to bear on Halprin’s case. Based on the evidence gathered by Halprin and his attorneys, it appears that Cunningham hates anyone who is not white and Protestant. For example, an affidavit filed by Tammy McKinney, who grew up with Cunningham and, as an adult, attended the same church and clubs as him, stated that Cunningham regularly used slurs “such as ‘n@#ger,’ ‘we***ck,’ ‘spic,’ ‘k***e,’ [and] ‘the f***in’ Jews.’” Read more here: https://www.aclu.org/blog/capital-punishment/texas-plans-execute-jewish-man-denied-fair-trial-anti-semitic-judge Rapid DNA Machines in Police Departments Need Regulation OCTOBER 2, 2019 | 3:45 PM Police departments around the country are beginning to deploy “Rapid DNA” machines, which can take a cheek swab or other genetic sample and automatically generate an identifying DNA profile. These machines cost as little as $30,000 and claim to take just 90 minutes. They handle some of our most sensitive information (our DNA) — and yet their design and use is largely unregulated. That should be cause for concern for several reasons. Read more here: https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/medical-and-genetic-privacy/rapid-dna-machines-police-departments-need What You Need to Know About the LGBTQ Rights Case Before SCOTUS OCTOBER 8, 2019 | 7:30 AM
For the LGBTQ civil rights movement, this is a big moment. These cases will affect more people than the Supreme Court’s decision about the freedom to marry, and they potentially implicate a broader range of contexts in which LGBTQ people may face harm, if the Court green-lights discrimination. Worse still, a bad ruling would strip away protections against discrimination that LGBTQ people have been able to use to protect themselves for two decades. And all this in a context where nearly one in three transgender people has experienced discrimination in the workplace. In short, the stakes are very high. Read more here: https://www.aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/lgbt-nondiscrimination-protections/what-you-need-know-about-lgbtq-rights-case
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 13 2019NATION & WORLD Black woman shot in her home by white Texas cop after neighbor called for check because her door was open ASSOCIATED PRESS | OCT 13, 2019 | 7:45 AM | FORT WORTH, TEXASThe officer does not identify himself as police in the video. Police said the officer, who’s been on the force since April 2018, was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. [Most read] Chicago Marathon 2019: Course map, where to watch the race and how to avoid traffic congestion » Officials have not released the officer’s name. In the statement, police said the responding officers saw a person near the window inside the home. The officer fired the single shot after “perceiving a threat,” the statement said. The bodycam video also included images of a gun inside the residence, but it’s unclear if the firearm was found near the woman. Neighbor James Smith, who initially called police, told the Star-Telegram he was just trying to be a good neighbor. “I’m shaken. I’m mad. I’m upset. And I feel it’s partly my fault,” Smith said. “If I had never dialed the police department, she’d still be alive.” Smith said Jefferson and her 8-year-old nephew typically lived with an older woman, who’s been in the hospital.”It makes you not want to call the police department,” the neighbor said. Local activists held a press conference Saturday, asking the city to hold the officer who fired the shot accountable. Pastor B.R. Daniels Jr. said he wants the police department to stop what he called “shooting first, asking questions later.” “We want a review of policy, procedures. How do you storm a house, kill a young lady, with an 8-year-old minor in the house, who could have been killed himself,” Daniels said. Authorities said the bodycam footage was released soon after the shooting to provide transparency, but any video taken inside the house could not be distributed due to state law. The shooting comes less than two weeks after a white former Dallas police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing her black neighbor inside his own apartment. Amber Guyger said during her trial that mistook Botham Jean’s apartment for her own, which was one floor below Jean’s. Guyger, 31, was convicted of murder for Jean’s September 2018 death. Read more here: https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-texas-police-shooting-atatiana-jefferson-20191013-qevnqp52bfdjznr6jt4pcz76se-story.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 15 2019 MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2019
Roundup: Oversight overlooked, the I-35 Fine Corridor, a last chance to end forensic hypnosis, and more Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: Agency regulating judges toothless and useless Texas’ State Commission on Judicial Conduct is a toothless agency. Its investigators appear to do a good job, but they’re too cozy with the judges they regulate and the results just don’t sufficiently protect the public. This Houston Chronicle editorial speaks to that point: “The State Commission on Judicial Conduct should be embarrassed by the wrist slap it gave three current and eight former Harris County judges who routinely denied no-cost bail to thousands of poor defendants between 2009 and 2017,” their editorial board opined. I agree, but the biggest problems are embedded in the statute and would require the Legislature to fix them. Crime lab delays grind justice to a halt State Representative Terry Canales complained to Texas DPS that crime-lab delays fundamentally threaten the administration of justice: “Defendants are frequently and unnecessarily spending years in jail waiting for forensic evidence to be processed so that they can have their day in court,” Canales wrote. “This gross reality threatens the very essence of our legal system and the fabric of our democracy, and it devalues the credibility of the state’s governing bodies and law enforcement agency.” According to the McAllen Monitor: For instance, the oldest firearms case pending is 1,187 days old while the average turnaround is 228 days. The oldest pending fingerprint testing case is 1,279 days old while the average turnaround is 255 days. Finally, the longest pending seized drug case is approximately 1,209 days old while the average case takes 90 days to complete. Drug war a major contributor to attacks on Fourth Amendment There’s a meme out there spread by revisionist academics like John Pfaff that critics of the drug war have overstated its contribution to mass incarceration. While it’s true that only 16.5% of Texas prison inmates are incarcerated for drug crimes, drug cases represent 34% of all new felony charges filed, so Grits finds that criticism overstated, at best. Criminalizing addiction accounts for a huge proportion of how the justice system spends its time. But focusing solely on prison population ignores the severe collateral consequences from the drug war in scaling back Fourth Amendment rights, as prosecutors are seeking to do in two cases pending before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The Austin Statesman’s Chuck Lindell covered those here. Qualified immunity claim overcome in case vs. Dallas transit cop The Fifth Circuit declined to dismiss a case against a Dallas transit cop based on qualified immunity after the officer arrested a photographer expressly in violation of her agency’s written policy. Grits doesn’t believe qualified immunity should even exist. Maybe Justice Don Willett is having an influence; he’s a critic of the qualified immunity doctrine. Activists angry at first Dallas police oversight board meeting The initial meeting of the new police oversight board in Dallas erupted in chaos when board members tried to adjourn the meeting without hearing from the public. Activists were upset that three appointees had opposed creation of the board and lacked commitment to its mission. Adding fuel to the fire, reportedly one of the officers attempting to push citizens forcibly out of the room was wearing a “Punisher” t-shirt. Fine revenue and local budgets Now that the state legislature has capped property tax increases for local governments, expect more of them to attempt to boost revenue from criminal fines. An analysis by Governing magazine found 90 Texas municipalities where 10% or more of revenue came from fines, 39 where fines made up more than 20% of the budget, 22 where fines were more than 30% of the budget, and 10 where they made up more than half. An accompanying map shows that many of these are clustered along I-35 between San Antonio and Dallas. Jury acquits prison guard despite repeated brutality A Brazoria County jury found a Texas prison guard not guilty of aggravated assault after he slammed a handcuffed prisoner to the floor and killed him. The same guard had already been disciplined for doing the same thing to the same prisoner several months prior. Politicizing innocence compensation Having been deeply involved in passing Texas’ best-in-the-nation innocence compensation statute when I was Innocence Project of Texas policy director back in 2009, Grits is incredibly disappointed at the Comptroller and Attorney General going to irregular lengths to deny compensation to Alfred Brown. This was pointless, mean-spirited, and driven by pandering to the Houston police union. Last chance to get rid of ‘forensic hypnosis’ This Guardian story on forensic hypnosis correctly hones in a case pending before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals as the best chance for the state to be rid of the practice. But it incorrectly suggested the Forensic Science Commission could deal with the issue (they say they don’t have jurisdiction because the practice doesn’t deal with physical evidence), and a bill filed to end the practice at the Texas Legislature last session couldn’t even get a hearing in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. As such, the author was a bit too sanguine the practice might be abolished here. If the CCA doesn’t get rid of this junk science, in Grits’ estimation it will remain with us in Texas courts for a long, long time. Hug it out The judge in the Amber Guyger case explained why she gave the defendant a hug. And an academic argues that the hug Botham Jean’s brother gave Guyger turned the trial into a lesson in restorative justice. Read more links here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/10/roundup-oversight-overlooked-i-35-fine.html
Sign this cool petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/be-heard Sign now to tell Congress: Protect workers and prevent workplace harassment by passing the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act Target: All Members of Congress The Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) in the Workplace Act is the first comprehensive federal legislation that would fix our broken laws to prevent workplace harassment and abuse—and ensure all of us are protected from harassment on the job, no matter who we are or where we work. The BE HEARD in the Workplace Act would bring us much closer to the world we all deserve, where all of us can work with equality, safety, and dignity on the job. Working people have fought for years to address the power disparities and exploitative working conditions that have allowed harassment, assault, and discrimination to persist in the workplace. These movements for change have been led by courageous women who have for too long endured harassment and violence at work, including women of color, Indigenous women, immigrants, and women in low-wage jobs—who are especially impacted. Now, with unprecedented national attention on the harm caused by sexual harassment and assault, we have an incredible opportunity to make meaningful, long-overdue legislative change. Here’s what the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act will do to prevent and address all forms of workplace harassment and discrimination: For the first time, expand anti-harassment and civil rights protections to all working people, including workers at small businesses, independent contractors, unpaid interns, volunteers, and trainees. Make it indisputable that all LGBTQ+ workers are protected from harassment and discrimination. Require employers to take steps to prevent harassment on the job. Ensure that employers can’t prevent victims of harassment from talking about their experiences, by limiting the use of nondisclosure agreements and forced arbitration. Reject decisions by some courts that groping by a coworker isn’t serious enough to be harassment if it only happens once. Ensure that people who experience sexual harassment at work can access the same financial remedies as people who experience racial harassment at work. Ensure people who get tips, like servers, are paid at least the same minimum wage as other workers, so tipped workers don’t have to put up with harassment from customers as the price of making a living. And much more. This bill will benefit working people nationwide, across all industries and occupations. It’s what we all deserve. We’ve come so far, and we need an even bigger movement to make sure that Congress acts to pass this bold new bill. Together, let’s end workplace harassment and discrimination. Please sign the petition to members of the U.S. Congress now.Sign this cool petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/be-heard
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 16 2019 Read more here: Tuesday, October 15, 2019 Scaredy Cops: Fear-based training of police officers makes them more likely to shoot Amber Guyger and Aaron Dean, the cops who shot and killed Botham Jean and Atatiana Jefferson, respectively, had something in common: Both shot an innocent person for no good reason because they were scared. Maybe that’s because they were trained to be. Guyger testified that she killed Botham Jean because she feared for her life. And clearly Dean, who had snuck into Jefferson’s backyard instead of announcing himself at the open front door, considered himself in grave danger just from seeing a woman’s silhouette in the window. But neither faced an actual threat. The greater threat in both cases stemmed from their own fear. Cop culture brims with fearful rhetoric about the dangers they face, even though most cops never fire their service weapon over the course of their careers. A former Baltimore cop writing in Medium last year worried that “police are trained to fear.” “Cops are supposed to be heroes and first responders and run toward danger,” he wrote, “but it sure seemed like our training was teaching us to be afraid of everyone. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/10/scaredy-cops-fear-based-training-of.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 17 2019 Morning Digest: Kansas lawmaker who quit GOP over its transphobia will run for Senate as a Democrat Thursday October 17, 2019 · 7:00 AM CDT KS-Sen: State Sen. Barbara Bollier, a former moderate Republican who switched parties last year, announced Wednesday that she’d join the August Democratic primary for Kansas’ open U.S. Senate seat. Former U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom and Manhattan Mayor Pro Tem Usha Reddi were already competing for the nod.
Sign this here: https://support.naacp.org/onlineactions/SVnpnly9MUmEHMveKucVUg2 The NAACP-supported Domestic and International Terrorism DATA Act, H.R. 3106, passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a unanimous vote on September 26, 2019. The legislation has now been sent to the U.S. Senate, which must pass the bill before it can go the President for his signature to become law. This bill would ensure that for centralized, reliable, publically accessible information on terrorism and its roots is available to inform the American people as well as federal, state, and local law enforcement of effective counter-terrorism policy making. What we knowCurrently, anti-terrorism efforts focus primarily on international terrorism threats; most of the information gathered is classified as “secret” (in other words, not available to the public or most policy-makers); and it is collected the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI;There is a need for centralized, reliable, publically accessible information on terrorism and its roots to inform the American people of effective counter-terrorism policymaking; H.R. 3106 requires an annual, unclassified joint report produced by the FBI and US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Justice that provides, among other things, an assessment of domestic threats. Sign this here: https://support.naacp.org/onlineactions/SVnpnly9MUmEHMveKucVUg2
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 18 2019
My email from: JOHN CORNYNUnited States Senator Thank you for contacting me regarding the impeachment process and President Trump. America has experienced hard-fought elections in the past, and our leaders have always found a way to come together and resolve our differences to address the issues facing our nation. Our Founding Fathers wisely developed a system of checks and balances to prevent an accumulation of excessive power in any single branch of government. I am committed to exercising appropriate congressional oversight to prevent abuses of power whenever and wherever they emerge.
On August 12, 2019, an unnamed intelligence official filed a whistleblower complaint with the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community regarding a July 2019 telephone conversation between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. President Trump later released a memorandum that provided more information regarding the content of that call. Since then, Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives have initiated a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform are conducting interviews and gathering additional information. Historically, a bipartisan majority of the full House of Representatives has held formal votes to begin impeachment proceedings, and both political parties have participated in the impeachment process. The House of Representatives has traditionally advanced articles of impeachment only on a broad bipartisan basis. The American public expects and deserves Congress to exercise its oversight authority transparently and cooperatively. However, I am concerned House Democrats’ current inquiry into President Trump is politically motivated and is not being conducted in a bipartisan manner. Should the House of Representatives vote to impeach President Trump, the Senate has the authority to hold a trial to consider any evidence supporting those articles of impeachment, and a two-thirds majority vote of Senators is required to convict and remove the President from office. As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, we are also investigating the alleged whistleblower’s complaint. Our nation values the rule of law and the right to due process, and the American public must be assured all government officials administer the law fairly and without improper bias. I believe the way to address this issue is in a bipartisan way, by impartially following the facts, applying the law, and reaching appropriate conclusions on the issues at hand. We will carefully examine the record, consider the evidence, and follow that evidence wherever it may lead. While we may not agree on every issue, I hope you will continue to contact me regarding matters of importance to you. I serve nearly 30 million Texans, regardless of political affiliation, and I pledge to consider your views during my work in the U.S. Senate. I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you, and I thank you for taking the time to contact me.
I consider myself expert on the subject of separation of church and state:
Here is a example of the two of the most popular modern, political leader’s of both political parties; both agreeing on separation of church and state. I made these two graphic’s in 2012:
The reason the pilgrims left England for America was because of religious persecution. I also made this graphic in 2012 to crison the launch of this blog:
From: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution Text of the First AmendmentThe First Amendment, as passed by the House and Senate and later ratified by the States, reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
First Amendment to the United States Constitution The ‘establishment of religion’ clause of the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between Church and State’.
Reasonable minds can disagree about how to apply the Religion Clauses in a given case. But the goal of the Clauses is clear: to carry out the Founders’ plan of preserving religious liberty to the fullest extent possible in a pluralistic society. By enforcing the Clauses, we have kept religion a matter for the individual conscience, not for the prosecutor or bureaucrat. At a time when we see around the world the violent consequences of the assumption of religious authority by government, Americans may count themselves fortunate: Our regard for constitutional boundaries has protected us from similar travails, while allowing private religious exercise to flourish. […] Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: Why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly? President Ronald Reagan from the speech on Oct. 26, 1984, to the Temple Hillel leaders in Valley Stream, N.Y.
“We in the United States, above all, must remember that lesson, for we were founded as a nation of openness to people of all beliefs. And so we must remain. Our very unity has been strengthened by our pluralism. We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free, and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief.”
Rabbi Friedman, Senator D’Amato, members of Temple Hillel, and to all of you, a very, very warm thank you for this wonderful greeting. It is a great honor for me to be here with you today.
I’ve covered a bit of territory since this campaign began. What’s heartened me most is the new spirit that I have found around this country, a spirit of optimism and confidence, of pride and patriotism, that has been brought forth by a great American renewal.
America’s greatest gift has always been freedom and equality of opportunity — the idea that no matter who you are, no matter where you came from, you can climb as high as your own God-given talents will take you. But a few years ago we were being told that this vision was no more, that America was in decline, and all of us had to lower our expectations.
I think you remember the disasters that defeatist spirit led to: the first back-to-back years of double-digit inflation since World War I, a 21\1/2\-percent prime interest rate, record taxation, declining growth, savings, investment, income, and confidence in our future — not to mention growing problems of crime and drugs and in education. Overseas, we had lost the respect of friends and foe alike. Our determination had grown weak, undermining commitments to even our closest friends like Israel. We talked and acted like a nation in decline, and the world believed us.
Well, in 1981 the American people set out on an entirely new course. And working together, we have cast aside the pessimism, along with high inflation, stagnation, and weakness, in a wonderful rebirth of freedom, prosperity, and hope. And today we’re seeing not humiliation and defeatism, but pride in ourselves, in our accomplishments, and in our country.
From New York Harbor to San Diego Bay, a strong economic expansion with low inflation is leading the rest of the world into recovery. America is back. America is on its feet. And America is back on the map. But we cannot and we will not rest until every American who wants a job can find a job.
A nation’s greatness is measured not just by its gross national product or military power, but by the strength of its devotion to the principles and values that bind its people and define their character. Our civil rights: on that subject, we are enforcing the law with new determination. Since we took office, the Justice Department has filed more criminal charges on civil rights violations, brought more violators to trial, and achieved more civil rights convictions than any one before us. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: As President, I will continue to enforce civil rights to the fullest extent of the law.
That’s why I have appointed to the Civil Rights Commission people like Commissioners Clarence Pendleton and Morris Abram and Staff Director Linda Chavez. They recognize that you cannot cure discrimination with more discrimination. I’m proud that they’re serving on the Commission, and I intend to keep them there. And as long as I’m President, we’ll have a Justice Department which argues for the rights of individuals to be treated as individuals, whether the case involves hiring, promotions, layoffs, or any other matter subject to the law.
And we’re also remembering the guiding light of our Judeo-Christian tradition. All of us here today are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sons and daughters of the same God. I believe we are bound by faith in our God, by our love for family and neighborhood, by our deep desire for a more peaceful world, and by our commitment to protect the freedom which is our legacy as Americans. These values have given a renewed sense of worth to our lives. They are infusing America with confidence and optimism that many thought we had lost.
You know, when you talk about human life, I think that means seeing that the immeasurable pain of the Holocaust is never dehumanized, seeing that its meaning is never lost on this generation or any future generation, and, yes, seeing that those who take our place understand: never again.
Now, perhaps that message should again be impressed on those who question why we went on a peacekeeping mission to Lebanon. Indeed, anyone who remembers the lesson of the Holocaust must understand that we have a fundamental moral obligation to assure: never again.
To help preserve that lesson for future generations, I’m satisfied that our General Services Administration has approved the use of the old Customs House by the New York City Holocaust Memorial Commission as a means of commemorating the Holocaust. And it will be a museum of the Jewish people in the Diaspora. It will serve to remind our children and our children’s children the tragic consequences of bigotry and intolerance.
We in the United States, above all, must remember that lesson, for we were founded as a nation of openness to people of all beliefs. And so we must remain. Our very unity has been strengthened by our pluralism. We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free, and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief.
At the same time that our Constitution prohibits state establishment of religion, it protects the free exercise of all religions. And walking this fine line requires government to be strictly neutral. And government should not make it more difficult for Christians, Jews, Muslims, or other believing people to practice their faith. And that’s why, when the Connecticut Supreme Court struck down a statute — and you may not have heard about this; it was a statute protecting employees who observed the Sabbath. Well, our administration is now urging the United States Supreme Court to overturn the Connecticut Court decision. This is what I mean by freedom of religion, and that’s what we feel the Constitution intends.
And there’s something else. The ideals of our country leave no room whatsoever for intolerance, for anti-Semitism, or for bigotry of any kind — none. In Dallas, we acted on this conviction. We passed a resolution concerning anti-Semitism and disassociating the Republic[an] Party from all people and groups who practice bigotry in any form. But in San Francisco this year, the Democratic Party couldn’t find the moral courage or leadership to pass a similar resolution. And, forgive me, but I think they owe you an explanation. [Applause]
Thank you.
What has happened to them? Why, after the issue became so prominent during the primaries, did the Democratic leadership alk away from their convention without a resolution condemning this insidious cancer? Why didn’t they turn their backs on special interests and stand shoulder to shoulder with us in support of tolerance and in unequivocal opposition to prejudice and bigotry?
We must never remain silent in the face of bigotry. We must condemn those who seek to divide us. In all quarters and at all times, we must teach tolerance and denounce racism, anti-Semitism, and all ethnic or religious bigotry wherever they exist as unacceptable evils. We have no place for haters in America — none, whatsoever.
And let’s not kid ourselves, the so-called anti-Zionists that we hear in the United Nations is just another mask in some quarters for vicious anti-Semitism. And that’s something the United States will not tolerate wherever it is, no matter how subtle it may be.
We have a tremendous watchdog on this, Jeane Kirkpatrick. She is one very forceful and determined woman. And she has defended Israel with persistence and courage, and America is very proud of Jeane Kirkpatrick. Contrast her performance with that sad moment on March 1st, 1980, when the American delegate to the United Nations actually voted in favor of a resolution that repeatedly condemned Israel. And why did my opponent remain silent? I ask you again, what has happened to the party of Harry Truman and Scoop Jackson?
I was once a member of that party, and for a great part of my life, myself. And I don’t believe that what we’ve seen and what I’ve been talking about is true of the millions of rank-and-file, patriotic Americans; it is only true of an element of leadership that somehow seems to have lacked the courage to stand for what is right.
I’d like to remind you of an important, indeed, a key position of the United States. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick has my explicit instructions that if Israel is ever forced to walk out of the United Nations, the United States and Israel will walk out together.
I think we’ve come quite a long way together, at home and abroad. Gone are the days when we abandoned principle and common sense. Gone are the days when we meekly tolerated obvious threats to peace and security. I can tell you today from my heart, America is prepared for peace. And because we’re stronger than before, because we’ve regained our respect, and because our allies and friends know once again that we can be counted on, we’re in a position to secure a future of peace — not peace at any price, but a true, meaningful, lasting peace supported by freedom and human dignity.
Now, make no mistake, if ever we were to heed those who would cripple America’s defense-building program, we would undermine our own security and the security of our closest friends, like Israel. And as long as I’m President, that’s not going to happen. Israel and the United States are bound together by the ties of family, friendship, shared ideals, and mutual interests. We’re allies in the defense of freedom in the Middle East. And I’m proud to say, borrowing Prime Minister Peres’ words of 2 weeks ago, relations between the United States and Israel “have reached a new level of harmony and understanding.”
In partnership, Israel and the United States will continue to work toward a common vision of peace, security, and economic well-being. Our friendship is closer and stronger today, yes, than ever before. And we intend to keep it that way.
Let me leave you with one final thought. I know that many of you here today have your political roots in the Democratic Party. And I just want to say to all of you, to repeat what I said a moment ago, that I was a Democrat most of my life, and I know what it’s like when you find yourself unable to support the decisions of the leadership of that party. But to you and to the millions of rank-and-file Democrats who love America and want a better life for your children, who share our determination to build a stronger America at home and abroad, I can only say: Come walk with us down this new path of hope and opportunity, and in a bipartisan way, we will keep this nation strong and free.
The spiritual values which the Jewish community represent are now being seen by the American public on a television series, “Heritage, Civilization, And The Jews.” These are values we want and need in the Republican Party. We stand with you, working for an America that works for everyone, an America strong and successful, inspired and united for opportunity. We stand with you, committed and determined to help you protect the traditions and ethics that you hold dear. And we stand with you in your belief in the inviolability of the first amendment.
We stand with you in condemning any and all who preach or countenance bigotry, hatred, or anti-Semitism. And we stand with you in supporting the rights of Soviet Jewry and other believers. We will never be silent in the fight for human rights. We stand with you in support of our friend and democratic ally in the Middle East, the State of Israel. And together, we can build an even better future for our children and for America. And together, we will.
The other day I said something to a group of students in the White House that I will repeat to you: We are free. We are the land of the free, because we are the home of the brave.
Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy addresses the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, a group of Protestant ministers, on the issue of his religion, Sept. 12, 1960. “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.” From: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16920600 On Sept. 12, 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy gave a major speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, a group of Protestant ministers, on the issue of his religion. At the time, many Protestants questioned whether Kennedy’s Roman Catholic faith would allow him to make important national decisions as president independent of the church. Kennedy addressed those concerns before a skeptical audience of Protestant clergy. The following is a transcript of Kennedy’s speech: Kennedy: Rev. Meza, Rev. Reck, I’m grateful for your generous invitation to speak my views. While the so-called religious issue is necessarily and properly the chief topic here tonight, I want to emphasize from the outset that we have far more critical issues to face in the 1960 election: the spread of Communist influence, until it now festers 90 miles off the coast of Florida; the humiliating treatment of our president and vice president by those who no longer respect our power; the hungry children I saw in West Virginia; the old people who cannot pay their doctor bills; the families forced to give up their farms; an America with too many slums, with too few schools, and too late to the moon and outer space. These are the real issues which should decide this campaign. And they are not religious issues — for war and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers. But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected president, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured — perhaps deliberately, in some quarters less responsible than this. So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again not what kind of church I believe in — for that should be important only to me — but what kind of America I believe in. I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him. I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew– or a Quaker or a Unitarian or a Baptist. It was Virginia’s harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson’s statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim, but tomorrow it may be you — until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril. Finally, I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end; where all men and all churches are treated as equal; where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice; where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind; and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood.That is the kind of America in which I believe. And it represents the kind of presidency in which I believe — a great office that must neither be humbled by making it the instrument of any one religious group, nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group. I believe in a president whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation, or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office. I would not look with favor upon a president working to subvert the First Amendment’s guarantees of religious liberty. Nor would our system of checks and balances permit him to do so. And neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the Constitution by requiring a religious test — even by indirection — for it. If they disagree with that safeguard, they should be out openly working to repeal it. I want a chief executive whose public acts are responsible to all groups and obligated to none; who can attend any ceremony, service or dinner his office may appropriately require of him; and whose fulfillment of his presidential oath is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual or obligation.This is the kind of America I believe in, and this is the kind I fought for in the South Pacific, and the kind my brother died for in Europe. No one suggested then that we may have a “divided loyalty,” that we did “not believe in liberty,” or that we belonged to a disloyal group that threatened the “freedoms for which our forefathers died.”And in fact ,this is the kind of America for which our forefathers died, when they fled here to escape religious test oaths that denied office to members of less favored churches; when they fought for the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom; and when they fought at the shrine I visited today, the Alamo. For side by side with Bowie and Crockett died McCafferty and Bailey and Carey. But no one knows whether they were Catholic or not, for there was no religious test at the Alamo. I ask you tonight to follow in that tradition, to judge me on the basis of my record of 14 years in Congress, on my declared stands against an ambassador to the Vatican, against unconstitutional aid to parochial schools, and against any boycott of the public schools (which I have attended myself)– instead of judging me on the basis of these pamphlets and publications we all have seen that carefully select quotations out of context from the statements of Catholic church leaders, usually in other countries, frequently in other centuries, and always omitting, of course, the statement of the American Bishops in 1948, which strongly endorsed church-state separation, and which more nearly reflects the views of almost every American Catholic. I do not consider these other quotations binding upon my public acts. Why should you? But let me say, with respect to other countries, that I am wholly opposed to the state being used by any religious group, Catholic or Protestant, to compel, prohibit, or persecute the free exercise of any other religion. And I hope that you and I condemn with equal fervor those nations which deny their presidency to Protestants, and those which deny it to Catholics. And rather than cite the misdeeds of those who differ, I would cite the record of the Catholic Church in such nations as Ireland and France, and the independence of such statesmen as Adenauer and De Gaulle. But let me stress again that these are my views. For contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me. Whatever issue may come before me as president — on birth control, divorce, censorship, gambling or any other subject — I will make my decision in accordance with these views, in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise.But if the time should ever come — and I do not concede any conflict to be even remotely possible — when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do the same. But I do not intend to apologize for these views to my critics of either Catholic or Protestant faith, nor do I intend to disavow either my views or my church in order to win this election. If I should lose on the real issues, I shall return to my seat in the Senate, satisfied that I had tried my best and was fairly judged. But if this election is decided on the basis that 40 million Americans lost their chance of being president on the day they were baptized, then it is the whole nation that will be the loser — in the eyes of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world, in the eyes of history, and in the eyes of our own people.But if, on the other hand, I should win the election, then I shall devote every effort of mind and spirit to fulfilling the oath of the presidency — practically identical, I might add, to the oath I have taken for 14 years in the Congress. For without reservation, I can “solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, so help me God. Transcript courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 19 2019Here is a link to the transcript of a phone call between the President and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: https://vantaylor.house.gov/components/redirect/r.aspx?ID=1617-493363 If this is the only reason to impeach The President of The United States, there is just no way. I do not want to be known as the year a president was impeached; for something as trivial as this. I was not old enough to vote when President Nixon was impeached in 1974. I need to know everything now; about this. Don’t you? Cast your vote here: https://vantaylor.house.gov/forms/form/ Elections are coming soon. Why can’t we wait till then and let the voters decide?
Email from: Kay Granger
The freedom that we enjoy as Americans and Texans is built on and has been defended by our nation’s military for centuries. Our nation’s uniformed men and women are the best trained and most capable in the world, and we have the honor and great responsibility of caring for them and their families as they leave the military service. Over 1.5 million military veterans call Texas home and Texas ranks number two in the nation in total veteran population. Given the medical and vocational support provided to veterans in our district, it is no surprise that some 55,000 veterans live in our 12th Congressional District. Our national defense is my number one priority and the care we provide for our veterans and their families is a large part of that. Veterans leaving military service are eligible for unique healthcare, educational benefits, transition assistance, and related benefits for their family members. While our nation’s veteran care system is by far the best in the world, there is still work to be done. I am actively working for you in Congress to provide the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with the oversight and resources it needs to provide better care for our veterans and their families. I am most concerned with the VA’s electronic health record situation that prevents active duty military medical records from transitioning to the VA. This issue slows a veteran’s transition from active duty, and more concerning, it can impact the level of medical care a veteran is able to receive. Further, I am concerned with the increasing suicide rates of our veterans. I continue to advocate for additional funding and support to ensure our veterans receive the mental health care they need. I am confident that the level of care provided to our veterans and their families will increase, and I will not stop my advocacy until we get the job done. Back home, my focus on veteran care is no different. Not only does nearly twenty percent of my staff have military experience, I also have dedicated case workers with first hand military experience that specifically handle veteran and VA issues for my constituents. These caseworkers serve as a veteran’s liaison with the VA and Department of Defense to help address complicated issues that our district veterans are experiencing. This year alone, my office received VA casework requests from 112 veterans, and we have already successfully closed 83 of those cases. Our nation’s veterans earned and deserve the support and benefits our nation provides and put simply, we must get it right. Know that I will continue to advocate for veteran care in Washington, and more importantly, back home here in Texas. For those of you that employ veterans, care for veterans, are family to a veteran, and to our veterans themselves, thank you. Sincerely,
Kay Granger
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 20 2019 Our Online Speech Rights Are Under ThreatOn Wednesday, Congress examined a little-known law that has made the internet the space for self-expression and connection that it is today. The law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, makes communication on platforms like Facebook, Wikipedia, Yelp, and others possible by assuring that these platforms generally won’t be liable for user-generated content like posts and reviews. With CDA 230 currently under review, some members of Congress are proposing new measures, such as a “political neutrality” requirement, that could radically curb the freedoms we currently enjoy on the internet. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/our-online-speech-rights-are-under-threat/ Tell Congress: Workers should have control over their schedules Imagine working on-call for multiple days, a split shift of non-consecutive hours in one day or even being sent home in the middle of your shift when sales are low. This is the harsh reality for many workers. Unpredictable schedules make it nearly impossible for hourly and low-wage workers to balance family and work responsibilities or rely on a steady paycheck. That needs to stop now. Progressive champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren just reintroduced legislation to give hourly workers control over their schedules.1 Now, we must use our power to make sure Congress passes this important bill. Sign petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/schedules-that-work Sign and send the petition to your U.S. senators: Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act It has been eight months since Congress let the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) expire after it was left out of a deal to keep the government open following the 2018-19 shutdown. The U.S. Senate still has yet to vote to reauthorize it. VAWA officially expired on February 15. On April 4, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to reauthorize it—and it’s been sitting on the Senate calendar ever since. The version of VAWA the House passed in April includes crucial new measures, including protections for survivors facing eviction from their homes because of their abuser’s actions, a provision to bar firearms from getting in the hands of stalkers and abusers, and protections for transgender people who are incarcerated. As expected, Republicans aren’t in favor of these changes, but their partisan stonewalling is preventing survivors from accessing crucial community resources. By allowing VAWA to expire and then refusing to act to reauthorize it, Senate Republicans are sending a strong message to survivors that their needs, safety, and healing are unimportant. Sign and send the petition to your U.S. senators: Vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act immediately. Sign petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-to-your-us-senators-reauthorize-the-violence-against-women-act
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 20 2019 MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019 Interview: Parsing the civil-rights lawsuit demanding Hepatitis C treatment for Texas prisoners In last month’s Reasonably Suspicious podcast, co-host Mandy Marzullo and I interviewed Texas civil-rights attorney Scott Medlock about his new lawsuit against the Texas prison system over the state’s failure to treat inmates suffering from Hepatitis C. (See the original complaint here, and coverage from the Houston Chronicle.) Medlock first learned of the issue in a Grits for Breakfast blog post and filed the suit over the summer. Listen to the excerpted segment here, and find a transcript of our conversation below the jump: Read and listen to more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/10/interview-parsing-civil-rights-lawsuit.html Tell the House of Representatives: End conversion therapy Sign this petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/end-conversion-therapy Conversion therapy is a widely discredited practice – yet is still legal in 31 states.1 Conversion therapy is abuse. It is a dangerous practice that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity by using emotionally and physically traumatic interventions to make victims associate their identity with shame. More than 700,000 LGBTQ people have reportedly been subjected to conversion therapy – and if we allow this practice to continue, an estimated 800,000 LGBTQ youth could fall victim to this fraudulent practice in the coming years.2 The House of Representatives must act now to protect LGBTQ people and youth and ban conversion therapy now. Every single leading professional medical and mental health association – including the American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and Pan American Health Organization – reject conversion therapy and strongly caution that the practice is illegitimate, unnecessary, ineffective and dangerous.3 Not only is it morally reprehensible to claim someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity is a mental illness, there is also absolutely no medical foundation or evidence that even suggests conversion therapy works. Conversion therapy is dangerous, and sometimes even fatal. The majority of victims of conversion therapy are minors who cannot make their own medical decisions and experience family rejection as a result of their sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ youth who are rejected by their parents are eight times more likely to attempt suicide, five times more likely to report high levels of depression and three times more likely to use illegal drugs.4 The risks only increase for LGBTQ youth who have undergone conversion therapy. Conversion therapy has turned abuse into a multimillion-dollar scam to defraud and harm hundreds of thousands of families unsure of how to respond when their child comes out.5 The Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act is a step in the right direction to finally put an end to this practice. The bill would provide congressional recognition that being LGBTQ cannot be and does not need to be “cured.” It would classify for-profit conversion therapy as fraud under the Federal Trade Commission Act and prohibit any advertising that claims conversion therapy can successfully change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Lives are at stake and LGBTQ people deserve legal protections from this prejudiced and harmful practice. Can you add your name today? Tell the House of Representatives: Protect the LGBTQ community and pass the End Therapeutic Fraud Act. References: Movement Advancement Project, “Conversion Therapy Laws,”accessed Oct. 17, 2019.The Trevor Project, “About Conversion Therapy,” accessed Oct. 17, 2019.National Center for Lesbian Rights, “The Facts About Conversion Therapy,” accessed Oct. 17, 2019.The Trevor Project, “About Conversion Therapy.”
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 25 2019 I have been saying for years that McKinney Texas, was the last city in America to outlaw public hangings. This may not be accurate. I can not prove this online. My wife’s college history teacher told her this, years ago. I looked it up about a week ago. I was struck by this haunting photo I saw and decided to do a post here as a result of that research.
It turns out that, that Collin County college teacher may have exaggerated the truth a little. Maybe I remembered wrong. It is hard not to get worked up about history stats like this. So I understand how people can exaggerate sometimes about these kind of sad day’s of our country. The following article is proof that one of the last legal public hangings in Texas was in 1921; in McKinney, Texas. From: https://www.collincountyhistory.com/hangings.html Collin County had only three legal hangings before the state took over that responsibility in 1922. Stephen Ballew – for killing James Golden in 1870. The trial was held in the Christian church because the courtroom was too small. This would have been during the time of the two-story wood-frame courthouse, before the stone courthouse with the towers was constructed. He was hanged at the south edge of McKinney. Shack Culwell – an 18-year-old black man who killed his boss, W. R. Norvell, in a dispute over $5. He was hanged from a tree north of McKinney near the current VFW hall. He was taken to the site in a wagon, sitting on top of his coffin and was buried at the foot of a tree. Ezell Stepp – for killing Hardy Mills, 1921. He was hanged on a scaffold at the county jail. This was one of the last legal hangings in Texas. This next article about Gainesville, Texas has got to be the worst public hanging’s ever.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hanging_at_Gainesville
The Great Hanging at Gainesville was the execution by hanging of forty-one suspected Unionists in Gainesville, Texas, in October 1862 during the American Civil War. Two additional suspects were shot by Confederate troops while trying to escape. Some 150–200 men were captured and arrested by state Confederate troops in and near Cooke County at a time when numerous citizens of North Texas were opposed to the new law on conscription. Many suspects were tried by a “Citizens’ Court” organized by a Confederate officer. It made up its own rules for conviction and had no status under state law. Although only 11% of county households owned slaves, seven of the 12 men on the jury were slaveholders, determined to suppress dissent.
I found this article in Google, after actually talking with someone who remember’s seeing some Paris, Texas hangings February 1, 1893, in the town of Paris, Texas: Smith was put to death in the same manner as thousands of other African Americans, many of them freed slaves, who were publicly lynched between 1877 and 1950. He was stripped, beaten savagely and brought to the town square with his hands bound. In front of a crowd of about 10,000, including families with children, he was forced to climb onto a high platform and then tortured by the executioners for more than an hour. Finally, he was burned alive to the jubilant shouts of the mob, who immediately purchased his bones and organs, sold as souvenirs of the event. Read more here: https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-how-racial-terror-permanently-altered-americas-demographics-1.5462682
Maria Ines Ramírez Mexican female lynched in early May 1880 Collin Co. She was lynched (burned) for alleged Witchcraft
This is from this book:
Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence against Mexicans in the United States, 1848-1928 Carrigan, William D. & Clive Webb New York: Oxford University Press, 2013
‘Commodure’ Jones Black male lynched in Aug 1911 Farmersville, Collin Co He was lynched for allegedly insulting a woman.
The source for this is: Tuskegee University Archives Box 132.020 – database typed on paper Guzman, Jessie (Editor)
Mapping the history of racial terror SMITHSONIAN.COM
JANUARY 24, 2017
The Civil War may have freed an estimated 4 million slaves, but that wasn’t nearly the end of acts of racial violence committed against African Americans. Acts of domestic terrorism against black people include the thousands murdered in public lynchings. Now, an interactive map provides a detailed look at almost every documented lynching between the 1830s and 1960s. Read more here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/map-shows-over-a-century-of-documented-lynchings-in-united-states-180961877/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 26 2019
My email from JOHN CORNYN United States Senator: During my time in the Senate, core values like personal responsibility, compassion for others, and supporting families have served as my guide. I am glad to have the opportunity to share these values with the Trump Administration as we work with the President to guarantee a safer, more prosperous future for our children. On August 12, 2019, an unnamed intelligence official filed a whistleblower complaint with the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community regarding a July 2019 telephone conversation between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. President Trump later released a memorandum that provided more information regarding the content of that call. Since then, Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives have initiated a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform are conducting interviews and gathering additional information. Historically, a bipartisan majority of the full House of Representatives has held formal votes to begin impeachment proceedings, and both political parties have participated in the impeachment process. The House of Representatives has advanced articles of impeachment traditionally only on a broad bipartisan basis. The American public expect and deserve Congress to exercise its oversight authority transparently and cooperatively. However, I believe House Democrats’ current inquiry into President Trump is politically motivated and is not being conducted in a bipartisan manner. Instead, I am concerned this impeachment proceeding is about relitigating the 2016 election and defying the voters who voted for President Trump in 2016. Should the House of Representatives vote to impeach President Trump, the Senate has the authority to hold a trial to consider any evidence supporting those articles of impeachment, and a two-thirds majority vote of Senators is required to convict and remove the President from office. As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, we are also investigating the alleged whistleblower’s complaint. Our nation values the rule of law and the right to due process, and the American public must be assured all government officials administer the law fairly and without improper bias. I believe the way to address this issue is in a bipartisan way, by impartially following the facts, applying the law, and reaching appropriate conclusions on the issues at hand. We will carefully examine the record, consider the evidence, and follow that evidence wherever it may lead. In the meantime, I will continue to support President Trump’s rebuilding of our military to better defend America against foreign adversaries. The President has improved American security and ensured America’s global strategic interests by improving our military readiness and securing historic pay increases for our troops. I am also proud of the work President Trump has done to increase accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs and expand healthcare access for our nation’s veterans. Since he was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, President Trump has proven a faithful steward of the American economy, and he has made significant progress in renegotiating aging trade deals. This is good for Texas, which benefits from trade with Mexico more than any other state, but it also improves the general welfare of all Americans. As a result, the United States has experienced an unprecedented period of economic growth and low unemployment rates. President Trump’s pro-growth policies encourage the creation of jobs and opportunities and help Americans keep more of their hard-earned money to save and spend as they see fit. Given the scope and magnitude of federal regulations and their impact on the economy, it is crucial the regulatory process remain transparent and accountable to all Americans, rather than in the hands of unelected bureaucrats. Fortunately, President Trump has repealed overreaching regulations and proposed new rules to clarify federal authority and ensure economic viability. President Trump and I believe all Americans deserve access to quality and affordable health care, and they should never be denied coverage due to a preexisting condition. We have worked together to ensure patients, their families, and their doctors are at the center of health care decisions, rather than government bureaucrats. I also support President Trump’s efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs by increasing competition and redirecting savings to patients. Finally, as a member of the Judiciary Committee, I have the privilege of ensuring judicial nominees display integrity and interpret our laws as written, not according to their own personal or political views. Under the Trump Administration, I am proud the Senate has confirmed federal judges at a faster rate than during any other presidency, including three Texans to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and 16 Texans to our federal district courts. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts, and I will keep your views in mind as Congress works with President Trump to advance conservative values and policies for our nation. I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the United States Senate. Sincerely, JOHN CORNYN United States Senator
Grits: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2019DNA mixture software widely used in Texas disallowed by MI federal judgeFor some time, Grits has been skeptical whether DNA-mixture software would hold up to “Daubert” scrutiny if judges were to directly evaluate it. In 2015, this blog reluctantly broke the story in Texas about errors and uncertainties regarding how to evaluate DNA mixture evidence. (They were being openly discussed by the Forensic Science Commission and the Court of Criminal Appeals’ Criminal Justice Integrity Unit when I worked for the Innocence Project of Texas, but reporters weren’t covering the complicated, math-heavy story.) After that, I’ve followed the issue from afar even after I stopped tracking forensics in any professional capacity. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/10/dna-mixture-software-widely-used-in.html Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 27 2019
Ships anchored on the HudsonRiver north above New York City forthe 1945 Navy Day at the victorious end of World War II. Navy Day United States today.
My grandfather was in the Navy during WWII. He would always talk so much about his time in the Navy. As a child, until I was in my early twenty’s; I thought he was in the Navy for many years. I asked him one day how long he was in the Navy. He told me two years. I realized it was not how long he was in the Navy; it was the intensity, that made his story’s so long and sentimental. These guys never knew when the entire ship could be destroyed and he would have definitely been dead. He was a cook and I am pretty sure the kitchen was located in the belly of the ship.
In the United States, the Navy League of the United States organized the first Navy Day in 1922, holding it on October 27 because it was the birthday of 26th President Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919, served 1901–1909), who was a naval enthusiast/promoter of sea power and former assistant Secretary of the Navy just before the Spanish–American War of 1898. Although meeting with mixed reviews the first year, in 1923 over 50 major cities participated, and the United States Navy sent a number of its ships to various port cities for the occasion. The 1945 Navy Day was an especially large celebration, with 33rd President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972, served 1945–1953), reviewing the returning home American fleet in New York Harbor after victory in World War II.
In 1949, Louis A. Johnson, (1891–1966, served 1949–1950), second Secretary of the newly merged and created Department of Defense, directed that the U.S. Navy’s participation occur on newly established Armed Forces Day for the unified/coordinated uniformed services in May, although as a private civilian organization, the Navy League was not affected by this directive, and continued to organize separate Navy Day celebrations as before. In the 1970s, historical research found that the “birthday” of the earlier Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), was determined to be October 13, 1775, and so Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt worked with the Navy League to define October 13th as the new date of Navy Day. However, Navy Day in the United States is still largely recognized as October 27th.
Patients’ Needs, Not Personal Beliefs, Come First in Healthcare Last week, we asked a federal court to strike down the latest regulation in the Trump administration’s sustained assault on healthcare access for vulnerable people. A new rule allows healthcare providers who receive federal funds to obstruct patients’ access to essential healthcare by invoking their personal religious or moral beliefs – even in emergencies. This means, for example, that even if a hospital discovers an employee would be unwilling to care for all patients equally, it would have to retain that employee. The Trump administration is certainly living up to its promise to prioritize religious beliefs above the need of patients. We’ve asked the court to strike down this “refusal of care” rule before it does real damage to people’s lives. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/religious-liberty/patients-needs-not-personal-beliefs-come-first-in-health-care/
Nebraskans Aim to End Exploitative Lending with a Ballot Proposal to Slash Payday Interest Rates Nebraskans for Responsible Lending announced this week that they will begin gathering signatures to reduce the amount that payday lenders may charge to a maximum annual interest rate of 36 percent. Currently, payday lenders in Nebraska can charge exorbitant, predatory rates numbering in the hundreds, plunging families who need a couple hundred dollars into a vicious cycle of debt. Payday loans burden Americans with more than $4 billion in fees each year in the 34 states that allow staggering triple-digit interest rate payday loans. The new initiative would help end predatory lending practices and ensure that consumer loans are fair and reasonable. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/nebraskans-aim-to-end-predatory-lending-with-a-ballot-proposal-to-slash-payday-interest-rates/
Grits: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2019
State officials vs local pols on bail and policing, reinvigorating community service, why that weird brass-knuckles bill was really a thing, and other stories Let’s clear a few browser tabs with a roundup of stories that merit Grits readers’ attention:
Texas AG insults federal judge’s intelligence
Gov. Abbott’s penchant for deploying troopers to patrol cities
Change to brass knuckles law prevents hundreds of convictions per year
Community service options suffer from spotty implementation
Silvestre Garcia Ramírez⸬ Mexican female lynched in early May 1880⌖ Collin Co.She was lynched (burned) for alleged Witchcraft From: http://www.monroeworktoday.org/lynching.html The rise of Lynching Lynching means more than homicide: it is condemning someone to death by the whims of a mob or entire community — no judge. Over time, it became racist, common, and brutal. However, the word lynching has evolved in meaning over time, and the methods looked different in distinct regions of the US. In the original 13 colonies, lynching referred to punishing someone in public (such as tar and feathers) outside of the official law. By 1835, this public punishment was becoming lethal more often, and the group of people who did it still expected impunity. The perpetrators felt no one should ever question the ‘justice’ being served by murdering their suspect. In the 1830s, remember, the United States was still in the times of slavery and expanding to the Far West. In the middle of the century, lynching could be found as a crude form of frontier justice done by vigilantes “keeping the peace”— about 40% of all the recorded lynchings by this time were done to white men (there are two cases recorded of a white woman as well). Yet studies have discovered lynching was used more often in towns that had a functioning courthouse. This seems to contradict the idea that it was just a time of lawlessness. Lynching became a tool that people engaged in hatred: it was applied viciously as Anglos clashed in tensions with Mexican-Americans on the southwest border. It was an ultimatum leveled against Chinese families who were living alongside white settlers in the middle of California, Oregon, and Washington. 1880 — Fifteen years after the Civil War, black men had created social progress with the new right to vote (but still no women in the US were allowed to vote). Black Americans were successfully becoming businessmen, property owners, and electing their own state legislators. Then the defenders of a whites-only South (Dixie) escalated lynching to a scale it had never been used before. After 1886, the proportion of times it was used against white suspects in the South was strikingly small. But entire white communities would gather in the streets to seize and kill black people outside the law. In the South, nearly 80% of such mob murders would be attacks against black Americans specifically: mostly men, sometimes women, even sometimes teenagers. Watch video: http://www.monroeworktoday.org/lynching.html# Activists in the 1890s struggled to define the word lynching to try to capture this rise in terror.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 29 2019 Tell Congress: Support the Students Not Profits Act Sign this petiton here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Students-Not-Profits For-profit colleges lie to students and leave them deeply in debt. They have been repeatedly caught promising a great education and career success in order to suck tuition dollars out of students and taxpayers. Some for-profit college campuses have gone as far as bribing local temp agencies to hire graduates for a day or two in order to artificially inflate “job placement” rates.1 But despite their grifter status, these colleges receive 15% of the total U.S. financial aid each year – and a third of them get almost all their revenue from federal sources. 2 They recently introduced a bill, the Students not Profits Act of 2019, that would cut off federal aid from for-profit colleges. Can you help build momentum for the bill today?
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 30 2019 Grits: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2019 Digesting new Daubert opinion on DNA mixtures Grits earlier referenced the opinion from federal District Judge Janet Neff, in Michigan’s western district, who directly evaluated the most common, commercial DNA-mixture software using probabilistic genotyping under the Daubert standard for whether to allow expert testimony. Texas courts heretofore have let in such evidence but avoided a direct Daubert evaluation. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/10/digesting-new-daubert-opinion-on-dna.html I found this great article yesterday related to my last few post’s: Trump Is Not Alone Among Americans in Failing to Understand What a Real LynchingBy The Charleston Chronicle | October 29, 2019 | For 100 years, the NAACP campaigned to make lynching a federal crime, initially in the hope that federal intervention would bring the perpetrators to justice, and finally as an expression of truth-telling. The efforts were always blocked by filibusters organized by Southern senators. In 2005, the Senate passed a resolution apologizing to the victims of lynching for their failure to pass anti-lynching legislation. In 2018, the Senate finally unanimously passed anti-lynching legislation for the first time. In June of this year, the House Judiciary Committee put forth HR 35, the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, for a vote before the House. Trump’s egregious comment provides the occasion for truth-telling. The House and the Senate should finally act together to put the anti-lynching bill on the president’s desk for his signature, and join in a national teach-in, perhaps a joint session of the Congress, to educate Americans about the reality of lynching and the lies it spread that still need to be dispelled. Read more here: https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2019/10/29/trump-is-not-alone-among-americans-in-failing-to-understand-what-a-real-lynching/ I had to remove those photo’s. Without them I would not have been lead to discover this great website: http://www.monroeworktoday.org . This is a multifaceted blog page; it needs to be open to a diversified group of people. I still believe in the south and my local community. Among the 300 million or so (my guess) people in the south; I think at least seventy five percent or more are good people. It is always the few that ruin it for other’s. Just like the media/internet, it seems the more people troll; the more influence they have. I still believe in the democrat’s too. You can not tell me that the 100,000 ( my guess) or so democrat representatives; are all far left sociologists. I am half democrat, half republican and not left or right wing; just the best of both party’s. Right down the middle. I can be that in the land of the free. This is still America the Beautiful as far as I see it. From the tallest mountains to the lowest deserts and oceans and lakes, it’s all still good.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 31 2019 Sign this, I did: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-demand-the-trump-administration-stop-undermining-unionsSUBMIT YOUR COMMENT: Demand the Trump Administration stop undermining unionsThe Trump Administration is, once again, attempting to roll back critical protections for working people. The administration is seeking a rule change that would rob graduate teaching assistants and other student employees of their rights to organize and collectively bargain. Trump’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) claims that collective bargaining will harm “academic freedom.” However, there is a wealth of evidence to the contrary.Public universities have had graduate student worker unions for 50 years. In 2016, more than 64,000 graduate student employees were unionized at 28 institutions of higher education in the public sector. The colleges and universities with union-represented student employees have not reported a loss of “academic freedom” as the Trump board suggests.In reality, union-represented graduate student employees at public universities have reported that they enjoy higher levels of personal and professional support than that reported by non-union represented students. Unionized and nonunionized student employees report similar perceptions of academic freedom. However, union-represented graduate student workers did report receiving higher pay than non-union represented graduate student workers. All workers deserve the right to a union and collective bargaining. The proposed rule, however, denies student employees these basic rights. Right now, there is a public comment period on this proposed rule change. We must make our voices heard. Sign and send the petition to submit your comment. Participating Organizations:American Federation of TeachersCoalition on Human NeedsDaily KosEconomic Policy InstituteJewish Labor CommitteeNational Employment Law ProjectPeople Demanding ActionPeople for the American WayProgress AmericaService Employees International Union
Grits:WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019Podcast: New evidence of Rodney Reed’s innocence, first thoughts on the Atatiana Jefferson shooting, and the Mystery of the Disappearing Misdemeanor ArrestsHere’s the latest Reasonably Suspicious podcast from Just Liberty: Read and listen to more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/10/podcast-new-evidence-of-rodney-reeds.html Thanks to the great news broadcaster’s Gay USA for the lead on this story:
Virginia Beach Human Rights Commissioner resigns over anti-LGBTQ Facebook posts After first refusing to step down, Kenick El later said he’d resign following a now-cancelled meeting on Oct. 31 Brother LaKendrick Coburn El, also known as Kenick El, took to Facebook to share a story about a transgender sex offender, calling being transgender a “mental illness.” He accused the LGBTQ community of “promoting” homosexuality to children, adding that homosexuality is a “mental illness” and an “abomination to the Human Race.” Read more here:https://www.metroweekly.com/2019/10/virginia-beach-human-rights-commissioner-kenick-el-announces-resignation-following-anti-lgbtq-facebook-posts/ Oh yeah I voted today so I can talk about politics all I want now.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 01 2019From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/10/trump-supporters-using-halloween-accuse-democrats-witchcraft-satanism/ Trump supporters are using Halloween to accuse Democrats of witchcraft & Satanism They should make up their mind. Aren’t Democrats supposed to be leading a witch-hunt? Thursday, October 31, 2019 Beautiful young woman in witches hat conjuring, making witchcraft by making flames erupt from the pages of a book of magic during a full moon.. Donald Trump’s supporters are commemorating Halloween in a magical way: by claiming that Democrats are targeting him with witchcraft. Anti-LGBTQ activist Michael Brown says “the spirit of Jezebel” is executing a “Satanic plot” to destroy America and Trump using feminism, LGBTQ rights, abortion, witchcraft and sex trafficking of kids — and that’s just the tip of the black-magical iceberg. Related: Are witches & gays corrupting upstanding politicians in DC? On his web show The MC Files, right-wing conspiracy theorist Chris McDonald said, “[Democratic] Rep. Adam Schiff is a pedophile and a Satanist who practices human sacrifice.” How does he know this? Because he “senses such a dark, demonic power on Schiff whenever he hears his speak.” The group Intercessors for America recently urged its followers to pray for Trump to protect him from “occultic activity.” Just how deep is this witchy plot against the president, you ask? Let them explain: “Spells and hexes. Curses and binding. Witches, warlocks, occultists, and resisters of President Trump are focusing their negative energy and spiritual power toward President Trump right now. Monthly rituals have been taking place since the beginning of his presidency. Now, all who call on the name of the enemy are actively ramping up their efforts and coordination in this heightened time of occult activity for a week of binding beginning the evening of October 25. Meanwhile, Florida megachurch pastor Paula White recently prayed for Trump’s protection against “the wicked” in article entitled “Why Every Christian Must Make Spiritual Warfare This Halloween”: “Let every demonic network that has aligned itself against the purpose, against the calling of President Trump, let it be broken. Let it be torn down in the name of Jesus. Let the council of the wicked be spoiled right now…. I deploy the hand of God to work for him in the name of Jesus. I secure his calling. I secure his purpose. I secure his family… And everybody said, Amen.” Well, not everybody. Perhaps these whack jobs have a point though. After all, just one year after Trump’s election we heard that witches are forming covens across America and casting spells for LGBTQ rights. That same year self-proclaimed witch and chanteuse Lana Del Rey and other witches participated in a mass “binding spell” on the president. No matter all the magic, it seems that Trump’s own incompetence has had the most powerful binding effect on him. No wonder he feels like he’s the target of a never-ending “witch hunt.” Sign this petition here: https://greenamerica.salsalabs.org/godivaendchildlabor/index.html Godiva’s golden boxes of chocolates and decadent chocolate-covered strawberries contain some unsavory ingredients: poverty and child labor. Nearly 70% of the world’s cocoa, including Godiva’s, is sourced from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where cocoa farmers and their families live on less than $1 per day—well below the global poverty line of $1.90/day. Child labor, a symptom of extreme poverty, has been a known problem in West African cocoa fields for nearly two decades. The US Department of Labor found more than 2 million children work in hazardous conditions growing cocoa—such as burning fields, applying agrochemicals, carrying heavy loads—and many do not attend school. Thousands of consumers have asked Godiva to take action on child labor, and the company is listening. Godiva has taken first steps to improve conditions on cocoa farms in West Africa by working with the Cocoa Horizons Foundation. They have also finally made a public commitment to source 100% certified cocoa by 2020. But Godiva needs to do more. Most major companies have commitments to have 100% certified cocoa in their supply chains by 2020, and the companies provide regular updates about their plans and progress. Many companies are also going beyond certification, and are implementing programs to support farmers and better address underlying causes of child labor in communites. Godiva hasn’t shared who certifies its cocoa. Godiva hasn’t shared any plans, progress, or metrics about the amount of certified cocoa in its supply chain. And Godiva has not publicly announced any programs to go beyond certification and better support farmers. Without this information, consumers won’t know if Godiva will hit its goal of 100% certified cocoa by 2020, and if Godiva’s efforts are truly helping farmers. Making a commitment is not enough. Godiva needs to demonstrate that they are walking the walk and talking the talk. Godiva’s cocoa purchases should pay farmers a fair wage, allow children to go to school instead of work in the fields, and empower cocoa growing communities. Farmers should also be trained in best practices so that their cocoa is grown in an environmentally sustainable manner. Godiva is already a leader in when it comes to luxury chocolate and plans to double its sales to $2 billion in the next few years – join us in encouraging them to become leaders in transforming the cocoa industry so that it is better for both people and the planet. Dear Ms. Young-Scrivner, As someone who enjoys eating chocolate and sharing it with those I love on special occasions, I was disappointed to learn that Godiva does not share specific plans, timelines, and programs to ensure that your supply of cocoa is fully sustainable and free of child labor by 2020. Throughout West Africa, cocoa farmers and their families live in poverty. To be truly sustainable, Godiva must be able to trace where its cocoa is coming from down to the farm level, and under what conditions it was grown. I urge Godiva to ensure that all the farmers that produce your cocoa are lifted out of poverty. Additionally, forced child labor is a major problem on cocoa farms in West Africa. I strongly urge your company to purchase 100% of your cocoa certified by a third-party as being free of child labor. Additionally, you should establish an independent, community-based child labor monitoring and remediation system for all the farms that supply your cocoa. This will assure your customers that you do not rely on the exploitation of children to produce your products. Finally. as you make these commitments, I encourage you to share your progress with the public through a corporate responsibility report on your website that makes your progress on farmer income, child labor, and environmental protection fully transparent. Thank you for your time and attention to this message. I look forward to learning more about what Godiva is doing to ensure that your chocolate is sustainable, and does not rely on child labor.
I am sending this to the governor: From: https://usa.inquirer.net/45222/us-celebrities-try-to-save-texas-death-row-inmate US Celebrities Try to Save Texas Death Row InmateAFP / 12:40 AM November 02, 2019 Nearly 60,000 people, including Hollywood celebrities Kim Kardashian and Susan Sarandon, are petitioning for clemency for a death row inmate in Texas who is set to die in three weeks for a crime he says he didn’t commit. Rodney Reed, a 53-year-old African American, was sentenced to death in 1998 after being convicted by an all-white jury of the rape and murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. “How insane!!!! New witness comes forward that Rodeny was NOT the murderer!!!! He is set to be executed Nov 20th,” Kardashian, the reality TV star, tweeted on Thursday, slightly misspelling the inmate’s first name.Rodney Reed Although traces of Reed’s sperm were found in the victim, he has always claimed innocence, maintaining that he and Stites were secretly having an affair at the time of her death. Reed’s lawyers believe that evidence obtained after the trial points to another suspect — the victim’s fiance, Jimmy Fennell, a former policeman who later served a 10-year prison sentence for another rape. “The strong evidence exonerating Mr. Reed and implicating Fennell continues to mount,” they wrote in a clemency petition Wednesday asking the state’s governor, Greg Abbott, to commute Reed’s sentence to life in prison. In the document, they include several testimonials on their client’s behalf, including that of a former co-worker of the victim who confirmed that Stites was having a secret affair with Reed. According to another affidavit filed with the petition, a former prison inmate said he heard Fennell brag during a prison yard conversation about committing the murder that Reed was convicted of. “Jimmy said his fiancee had been sleeping around with a black man,” said Arthur Snow, the former inmate.Rodney Reed Fennell through his lawyer has long denied involvement in his fiancee’s murder. Reed’s lawyers also have filed a petition with the US Supreme Court, seeking a stay of execution. Separately, an online petition posted by death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean and the Innocence Project has gathered 60,000 signatures, asking that the Texas governor show clemency. Their efforts have been highlighted by television talk show host Doctor Phil and Sarandon, who won an Oscar in 1996 for her role as Sister Helen in the movie “Dead Man Walking.” “Rodney Reed is innocent but Texas is going to kill him on November 20th,” Sarandon wrote on Twitter.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 02 2019 Prescription drugs are more expensive in the United States than anywhere else in the world. Click Here To Add Your Name if you agree with Mayor Pete’s plan to make Big Pharma price drugs responsibly! Stand with Pete Buttigieg, candidate for U.S President, and support his plan to make pharmaceutical companies price prescription drugs responsibly and pay their fair share. Prescription drugs are more expensive in the United States than anywhere else in the world. And while millions of Americans struggle to pay for medicine, pharmaceutical companies are getting richer and richer, remaining the most profitable companies in the entire health industry.Nearly one in four Americans struggle to pay for medicine. Three in ten skip doses or forgo filling prescriptions because they can’t afford them. Families across the country face difficult choices: medicine or child care for my two-year-old? Medicine or making rent on time? Medicine to treat my diabetes or to control my cholesterol? Time and time again, Washington has proven that it’s either uninterested in, or incapable of, addressing this problem. It’s time for a new era of leadership ready and eager to make drugs affordable and take on pharmaceutical companies. That’s why, as president, I will make drugs more affordable for all by empowering the federal government to negotiate drug prices and implementing penalties on drug manufacturers that increases a drug’s price by more than inflation. Add your name if you agree with Mayor Pete. Pharmaceutical companies must price prescription drugs responsibly and pay their fair share.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 03 2019 PREVAILING AT THE PIPELINEOctober 24, 2019South Dakota Governor Caves on Attempted Efforts to Silence Pipeline ProtestersSouth Dakota’s governor and attorney general last week backed down from their unconstitutional attempts to silence Keystone XL Pipeline protesters. In response to a lawsuit we filed, the state has agreed to never enforce the unconstitutional provisions of several state laws that threatened activists who encourage or organize protests, including for actions like giving a coffee or thumbs up to protesters, with fines and criminal penalties of up to 25 years in prison. Construction of the pipeline may be imminent, but with the laws we challenged proclaimed unenforceable, protesters no longer have to worry about incarceration or fines as they exercise their First Amendment rights. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/south-dakota-governor-caves-on-attempted-efforts-to-silence-pipeline-protesters/ DOUBLING DOWNOctober 24, 2019Why is Missouri So Afraid of Finding out Whether Lamar Johnson Is Innocent of Murder?In 1994, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office committed gross prosecutorial misconduct in order to convict Lamar Johnson of murder. They knowingly presented perjured testimony, fabricated facts to discredit Johnson’s strongly corroborated alibi, and buried the fact that a prime witness against him was a paid jailhouse informant. Twenty-five years later, that same Circuit Attorney’s Office is doing everything it can to get Johnson a new trial so the truth can vindicate him, but the Missouri establishment is fighting the office tooth and nail. Last week, the ACLU and the ACLU of Missouri filed an amicus brief calling on the Missouri appeals court to right the wrongs done by the district court in Lamar Johnson’s case and give him the new trial he so obviously deserves. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/why-is-missouri-so-afraid-of-finding-out-whether-lamar-johnson-is-innocent-of-murder/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 05 2019 Sign this petition here: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/tell-congress-facial-recognition-hiring-form-discrimination/ Even just saying the words “job interview” can stress the average person out. Now imagine having a job interview, not with a human being, but an AI algorithm, that will decide your “employability” based on hundreds of data points about your micro-facial expressions and tiny inflections of your voice. Are you sweating yet? A tech company, HireVue, is already making this a terrifying reality for job seekers.1 But their AI algorithm process is not just super-secret, it’s rife with the potential for employment discrimination. Instead of waiting for Congress to “catch up” with tech companies, we need to act now and demand they nip unfair algorithms like this in the bud. Tell Congress: Using facial recognition in hiring practices needs to be banned as a form of unemployment discrimination! Grits:MONDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2019Even arresting ‘kingpins’ won’t reduce US drug demandArresting drug dealers was never a winning Drug War strategy because, as long as demand existed, there was always a willing supplier ready to replace anyone who was arrested, prosecuted, jailed, or even killed. As it turns out, that’s true at the highest echelons of the international drug trade. These changes arguably justify dismantling much of the federal drug enforcement infrastructure as we know it, argued an article in Foreign Affairs by Steven Dudley published this spring, declaring “the days of the monolithic, hegemonic criminal groups with all-powerful leaders are over.” As a result, “For U.S. policymakers, it may be overkill to direct the resources of six federal law enforcement agencies toward dismantling these groups, especially in the era of synthetic drugs.” Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/11/even-arresting-kingpins-wont-reduce-us.html Stop the privatization of America’s national parks Sign this petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/national-park-privatizationHere’s a frightening idea: Grand Canyon, sponsored by Coca Cola. Yosemite, brought to you by McDonalds. Acadia, a subsidiary of Aramark.Under a scheme hatched by former disgraced Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, that could be the eventual fate of America’s national parks.Reporters recently uncovered shady plans between the Interior Department and national park profiteers, the RV and hospitality industries, and enemies of public lands to privatize national park campgrounds, allow commercialized food trucks and other services at parks, limit benefits for seniors and increase prices.1
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 06 2019 Sign this petition here: https://www.freerodneyreed.com/ xecution of Rodney ReedThis is urgent. On November 20th, Texas is scheduled to execute an innocent man for a rape and murder he did not commit. Mountains of evidence exonerates Rodney Reed. All of that evidence was kept from the all white jury that convicted him. Instead, the evidence implicates the victim’s fiancé – local police officer Jimmy Fennell – who has a history of violence against women, including being convicted for kidnapping and sexual assault soon after Rodney was wrongly sent to prison. Governor Greg Abbott has stopped an execution before. He can again. A huge public uproar right now could force Abbott to free Rodney Reed and stop this execution. Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/add-your-name-public-lands-belong-in-public-handsAdd Your Name: Public lands belong in public hands!Add your name to join Teresa Leger Fernandez, candidate for Congress (NM-CD3), in the fight to ensure we keep public lands in public hands! >>There’s a reason why New Mexico is called the “Land of Enchantment.” Our public spaces offer some of the most scenic and beautiful views our country has to offer — from mountain ranges to desert plateaus, the state’s beauty is truly unmatched.We need to do everything we can to protect our public lands from mining companies and developers looking to profit off our land. Donald Trump is on a personal mission to hack up our public lands and let private companies mine every resource they can from them no matter who is hurt. Teresa Leger Fernandez has spent decades fighting for our public lands and waters — winning lawsuits, advising President Obama and Congress and standing with her community at meetings, rallies and protests.Trump’s for sale sign puts the health of New Mexico and the families in it at risk by polluting our air, water and lands. I’m running to Congress to stop this exploitation.New Mexico’s public lands are more than just places of recreation. They hold important cultural, environmental and archeological significance. Many of the same spaces New Mexicans enjoy are the ancestral homes of our indigenous communities. Our government has no right to take that land away from them. Our national parks, lands and monuments drive economic development throughout the state. Our communities have built opportunities for themselves and their neighbors. They’ve taken key positions to help manage the lands they love and reside on. Without protection from our government, our communities will be pushed out. Sign Teresa Leger Fernandez’s petition today and let’s make sure our Congress knows where we stand: we’re not giving away our lands to corporate interests. Grits: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2019 Oklahoma! (does #cjreform); HPD raid response doesn’t address phony informant; why do probationers die at high rates? And other storiesHere are a few browser clearing odds and ends: Read it here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/11/oklahoma-does-cjreform-hpd-raid.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 07 2019 Click here to sign this petition: https://www.paction.us/prescription-drug-prices/courage H.R. 3 is a new bill that aims to lower prescription drug prices. Congress must step up and pass this needed piece of legislation. Prescription drug prices in the United States are higher than almost anywhere else in the world. The exorbitant prices for life-saving drugs force too many Americans to skip or ration their needed medication, causing serious and even fatal health issues. Bureaucracy and secrecy in the healthcare industry are major factors in out-of-control drug pricing. H.R. 3 addresses these issues by allowing Medicare to directly negotiate with drug companies and make the results publicly available to all Americans. It also invests in innovation and creates a limit on out-of-pocket costs. Taken all together, this bill will go a long way toward reducing the costs of prescription drugs. Let’s end corporate greed and unfair prices for life-saving drugs. Demand that Congress pass H.R. 3 immediately →
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 09 2019 Sign this petiton here: https://www.paction.us/prescription-drug-prices/elisa-cardnell-for-congress H.R. 3 is a new bill that aims to lower prescription drug prices. Congress must step up and pass this needed piece of legislation. Prescription drug prices in the United States are higher than almost anywhere else in the world. The exorbitant prices for life-saving drugs force too many Americans to skip or ration their needed medication, causing serious and even fatal health issues. Bureaucracy and secrecy in the healthcare industry are major factors in out-of-control drug pricing. H.R. 3 addresses these issues by allowing Medicare to directly negotiate with drug companies and make the results publicly available to all Americans. It also invests in innovation and creates a limit on out-of-pocket costs. Taken all together, this bill will go a long way toward reducing the costs of prescription drugs. Let’s end corporate greed and unfair prices for life-saving drugs. Demand that Congress pass H.R. 3 immediately
Rental assistance shortage leaves 700,000 veterans homeless or struggling to afford housingNov. 8As Veterans Day approaches, hundreds of thousands of veterans struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Some 38,000 veterans were homeless on a single night in January 2018, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates. Moreover, 666,000 veterans lived in low-income households that paid more than half of their income for rent and utilities in 2017, Census data show. Low-income people with such high housing costs — what HUD calls “severe cost burdens” — often must skimp on items like food or clothing to pay for rent and utilities. They also face a growing risk of utility cutoffs, eviction, and homelessness as bills pile up. READ MORE » https://www.chn.org/voices/rental-assistance-shortage-leaves-700000-veterans-homeless-or-struggling-to-afford-housing/
Sign the petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/no-surprises-people-against-unfair-medical-bills Target: CongressNichole Briggs woke up in the middle of the night with stomach pain and went to the local hospital for an emergency appendectomy. She double-checked that the hospital was covered by her insurance, yet she still received a bill for nearly $5,000 because her surgeon was outside her network. She refused to pay the unfair bill. A credit agency then took her to court and put a lien on her home, all for a bill she shouldn’t owe in the first place.This should not be the status quo, but one in five emergency department visits result in a surprise medical bill. These bills occur when a person is charged for care they receive from a health care provider or facility that is outside of their health plan’s network, even though they didn’t choose to go out of network to begin with. No Surprises: People Against Unfair Medical Bills is demanding that Congress enact legislation to ban these surprise medical bills immediately.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 11 2019 Grits: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2019 #PardonMe Mr. Governor, who lied at TDCJ?, a public-safety approach to DWI, and other stories Let’s clear some browser tabs. Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention but haven’t yet made it into independent posts: Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/11/pardonme-mr-governor-who-lied-at-tdcj.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 12 2019 Sign this petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/mnuchin-opportunity-zones Tell Congress: No more tax handouts for wealthy investorsMichael Milken is a corrupt former Wall Street trader who served two years in prison for insider training and was the inspiration for the notoriously greedy character Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wall Street.” He’s also pals with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.1Not surprisingly, Mnuchin appears to have personally intervened to help Milken personally benefit from an “opportunity zone” tax break designed to help wealthy investors exploit poor areas.2 Mnuchin’s apparent corruption is business-as-usual for the Trump administration. But it wouldn’t even be possible if it weren’t for opportunity zones, a bad idea that isn’t working and needs to go away. We need to seize on the new attention Mnuchin’s corruption is bringing to the opportunity zone tax scams to finally end this handout to wealthy investors. On Veterans Day, we join together as a nation to honor all the brave people who’ve served to protect America and defend the values we hold dear.
Happy Veterans Day from the NAACP! Our veterans served in times of war and in times of peace. They safeguarded our shores at home and fought against tyranny abroad. They battled so that others might know freedom—even if they themselves were not truly free. And through all their sacrifice and courage, they showed us the difference that can be made when people are forged together by a belief in something bigger than our individual selves. For all they have done and for all they continue to do in our communities, we owe our veterans a profound debt of gratitude. So, on behalf of everyone here at the NAACP, I thank all who have served. And I wish everyone a happy Veterans Day. Sincerely, Derrick Johnson@DerrickNAACPPresident and CEONAACP
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 14 2019 I have been saying this for about since Facebook since it first started. It is a huge vindication to see a actual article like this. As I have also said over the years; a huge amount of the social media people, are posing as American’s. All social is a form of trolling. The internet is not real life and never will be. If only we could convince the media and our politicians of that. The internet is a great tool and I love it, but; it cannot be compared to the way we interact with each other face to face. If people think the internet is exactly like real life; I question their sanity. From: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-removed-3-billion-fake-accounts-report-2019-11-13/ Facebook says it removed 3.2 billion fake accounts November 13, 2019 / 7:26 PM/ CBS/AP Facebook said it removed 3.2 billion fake accounts from its service from April to September, up slightly from 3 billion in the previous six months. Nearly all of the bogus accounts were caught before they had a chance to become “active” users of the social network, so they are not counted in the user figures the company reports regularly. Facebook estimates that about 5% of its 2.45 billion user accounts are fake.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 15 2019 Grits: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2019 Firefighters play rough!, blame-game politics, why you shouldn’t carry cocaine in something with your name printed on it, and other stories Lots going on this week. Let’s hit some high (and low) points: Read more: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/11/firefighters-play-rough-blame-game.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 16 2019
Reading my emails brought a tear to my eye, this morning. Good to see all the good people doing such great work to help each other. That is what America is all about. WE DID IT!!! Within the hour after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles officially recommended that Governor Greg Abbott stop the execution of Rodney Reed for a 120 day reprieve…this happened: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a stay of execution for Rodney Reed. Reed’s “Brady, false testimony, and actual innocence claims” will be considered by the trial court in his case before any further action is taken. That means Rodney is still in jail, and there will still be a trial. But for now, Rodney Reed will live. THANK YOU. This never would’ve happened without massive numbers of people like you making phone calls, organizing rallies and vigils, and raising our voices together. We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved together, and our Action PAC team hustled hard:We launched the #FreeRodneyReed website and petition which garnered 3 MILLION signatures;We set up the call tool that directed more than 100,000 total calls to decision-makers;We successfully pressured 70 Texas legislators to write letters urging Gov. Abbott to intervene;We helped volunteers organize more than 130 vigils and rallies around the country and recruited 4,000 people to join. But all of this work and our online organizing tools took a ton of funding, and we need your support for our next steps. Demonstrations: https://www.mobilize.us/actionpac/?utm_source=em20191115pm Lastly: the nationwide #FreeRodneyReed demonstrations planned for Sunday, November 17th will proceed. We don’t yet know what will happen with Rodney Reed’s trial. We do know that this mobilization will not be stopped. Sunday’s rallies and vigils need to be as big as possible to spread the word about this victory and organize people for our next steps to free Rodney Reed. So far there are more than 130 events in the works. If you haven’t signed up for one near you yet, do it now. We are so proud of you. Today’s victory truly belongs to all of us. Let’s keep going. — the #FreeRodneyReed team (a project of Action PAC) Sihn this petition here: https://secure.everyaction.com/FlnSZwUyvkisZx5dAVcJNA2 You can save a man’s life. Sign our petition to demand that Gov. Greg Abbott stay Rodney Reed’s execution. Did you hear today that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended to Gov. Abbott that he delay Rodney Reed’s execution by 120days? This never happens. EVER. I need you to sign this petition to save an innocent man’s life. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/proact The PRO Act will give CWA members and all workers more power to win better wages, benefits, and working conditions. This bill is so important CWA will not support any Senator or Member of Congress for reelection unless they commit to pass the PRO Act. You still haven’t signed the petition to ask Congress to support the PRO Act yet. Can you take a moment to add your name to show your support? Click here.Corporate lobbyists are working hard to stop this bill from passing because they know it would take power from their hands and give it to workers. We have to push back and make sure Congress knows we will hold them accountable if they don’t fight for CWA members and all workers.Here’s what the PRO Act would do: Help strengthen protections for workers forming a unionPrevent the misclassification of workers as independent contractorsDeal a blow to “right-to-work” lawsProtect strikes and other protest activitiesAnd much more! Children are losing access to an extremely effective anti-poverty program: MedicaidNov. 15The number of uninsured children increased by more than 400,000 to more than four million nationwide between 2016 and 2018, reversing a long-standing positive trend and erasing many of the gains achieved after major provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect. Behind these numbers are millions of families struggling to make ends meet and get their kids the health care they need to succeed. READ MORE »https://www.chn.org/voices/children-are-losing-access-to-an-extremely-effective-anti-poverty-program-medicaid/ America’s foster care system: Progress on many fronts, but still overburdenedNov. 14An annual study of foster care in the United States reveals good news and bad news – and there are newly emerging threats, both at the state and federal level. The good news: for most of the 2010’s, federal data showed the number of children in foster care steadily increasing after a previous decade of decline. The reason, in part, was the opioid crisis. Now, however, the number of children in foster care is declining, while the number of homes available to foster youth is on the rise. READ MORE »https://www.chn.org/voices/americas-foster-care-system-progress-on-many-fronts-but-still-overburdened/ The latest CHN Human Needs Report: Budget updates, Medicaid work requirements, low-income tax credits, and moreNov. 12CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest on Congress’s work on spending bills, a judge’s ruling on immigration and health care, how Medicaid work requirements fared at the ballot box, efforts to expand low income tax credits, and more. READ MORE »https://www.chn.org/voices/the-latest-chn-human-needs-report-budget-updates-medicaid-work-requirements-low-income-tax-credits-and-more/ ADD YOUR NAME HERE: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-its-time-that-millionaires-start-paying-their-fair-share ” We need a Millionaire Surtax that creates an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few. Let’s apply a new 10-percentage point increase in taxes on annual income above $2 million for married couples and $1 million for individuals ― the richest 0.2% of Americans. And let’s use that new revenue to invest in critical services for working class families!” Donald Trump is handing our country to the rich on a silver platter. Working people are suffering while the rich can buy a brand new yacht, and then Mitch McConnell goes on TV to complain about the deficit. No. We’re going to turn our country around and build a system where everyone pays their fair share. That means increasing taxes on millionaires and billionaires―in some cases, by a lot. The new Millionaire Surtax proposal from Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Sherrod Brown would increase taxes on millionaires―the richest 0.2% of Americans―and generate billions that we can use to invest in America. To: Aramark Correctional Services LLC and Aramark Services Inc.Stop Serving Unhealthy Meals to Inmates and Robbing Families Sign this petiton here: https://diy.rootsaction.org/petitions/stop-serving-unhealthy-meals-to-inmates-and-robbing-families Petition TextAramark is slowly ruining the health of inmates. Menus provided to the county are contrary to what is actually being served in the jail, thereby charging tax payers for food that they are not providing. Small portions, bad and undernourished food referred to as “slop” is served to inmates at the El Paso County Jail Annex in El Paso Texas and many other prisons around the country, about 500. Aramark also provides the commissary for the inmates there, and sell over priced, unhealthy, items that are high in sodium and fat like chips, Ramen Noodles, cookies and this is the only option available to purchase and families must spend a fortune, because the inmates go hungry and have no other choice.Demand Aramark to offer healthy options in the commissary like fruit, nuts, applesauce, and so on and lower their prices. They are also oppressing the rights of Jewish inmates by not providing full Kosher meals and say “it’s Kosher” when in fact they are not equipped with a Kosher kitchen and give partial non-kosher side items which are rejected and therefore the inmate is malnourished and hungry because of this. We want Aramark to provide nutritious, healthy and normal portions of food to the inmates, and provide full Kosher meals even if they have to be ordered from the outside with the Kosher mark and sealed! Why is this important?Aramark’s prison food portions are inadequate, causing hunger. The food is not nutritious nor does comply with the daily requirements for nutrition and calories needed to sustain life. The foods are causing degenerative diseases like Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Hypothyroidism, high cholesterol and so on. They have no regard for human life, which is cruel and unusual punishment.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 17 2019
EQUITY FOR ALLWhy Kimberly Haven is Fighting for Menstrual Equity in PrisonIncarcerated women are typically provided with a very limited number of subpar products you would never buy outside of the carceral system. The neglect is widespread: thirty-eight states have no law requiring the provision of menstrual products to incarcerated people. As a formerly incarcerated person, activist Kimberly Haven encountered the problem firsthand. Now, she is fighting to bring menstrual equity to all. Read about her experiences and the road ahead for equity here. Read more →https://www.aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/why-im-fighting-for-menstrual-equity-in-prison/ONLINE MYTHSThree Common Privacy Misconceptions That Companies LoveA significant number of Americans hold significant misconceptions about their privacy, misconceptions that privacy-invading companies love. That’s according to new research on American understandings of privacy carried out by the University of Pennsylvania. For example, in 2018 nearly 60 percent of Americans said they believed it is true that “When a website has a privacy policy, it means the site will not share my information with other websites or companies without my permission.” This is not true. Privacy policies often don’t guarantee user privacy. Learn more about other common misconceptions about online privacy here. Read more →https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/three-common-privacy-misconceptions-that-companies-love
Women can not have enough rights; ever! My wife and mother have always been a inspiration to me; especially my wife a US Army veteran. Sign this petiton here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/era-speier Tell Congress: Repeal the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Click here to sign the petitionWhy is the Equal Rights Amendment as urgent today as it was when first passed in 1972? Just ask an avowed enemy of equality, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote, “Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t.”3 The Equal Rights Amendment would enshrine equality for women in the highest laws of our nation, not in legislation that could be rolled back. It would supercharge everything from pay equity to domestic violence laws and prevent Republicans or corporate allies from challenging laws in court. Ending discrimination in healthcare, pay, education and employment will save and change the lives of women across America, especially marginalized women who are most at risk.4 When the ERA passed Congress in 1972, an arbitrary and unnecessary timeline was imposed — ratification by three-quarters of states was required by 1979, later extended to 1982. Now, more than 20 years later, 37 states ratified the amendment, and Virginia is about to become the 38th and final necessary state.5 There’s nothing in the Constitution that requires deadlines, many amendments went to the states without any deadline at all, and others took decades to be ratified. The 27th Amendment, which prohibits immediate congressional pay raises, was ratified 203 years after its introduction.6 The deadline on the ERA was a dirty trick to block its ratification – and if Congress can impose an arbitrary deadline, Congress has the power to remove one just as easily. Grits: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2019 A 10,000 year sentence? Austin PD racism in ‘Plain View’, the case for reducing drug penalties and eliminating cash bail, and other storiesGrits has been busier than a one-legged man at an ass kicking contest. So while I play catch up, here are several items which merits readers’ attention, some of which I may expand upon going forward: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-10000-year-sentence-austin-pd-racism.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 20 2019
Grits: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019Kardashian-West star power attracts Texas Rs, the scourge of driver-license suspensions, 2 false conviction stories, and the future of correctionsHere are a few browser-clearing odds and ends that may interest Grits readers: Read it here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-scourge-of-driver-license.html Tell Congress: Don’t let Mitt Romney destroy Social Security. Click below to sign the petition:https://act.credoaction.com/sign/mitt-romney-social-security Millionaire Mitt Romney ran for president in 2012 calling for cuts to Social Security. He picked Paul Ryan, the nation’s loudest advocate for slashing and burning Social Security and Medicare, as his running mate. Now, Millionaire Mitt is in the Senate, and he has a new plan to cut Social Security.1Romney’s legislation would create a special committee of senators who would meet behind closed doors where they can agree to cut earned benefits without interference from the people who rely on those benefits to survive and retire with dignity. We can’t let that happen.2Tell Congress: Don’t let Mitt Romney destroy Social Security. Click here to sign the petition.Romney likes to pose as a member of the Republican resistance to Trump, but he doesn’t lift a finger to rein in Trump’s abuses or protect terrorized communities. He is fully on board with Trump’s agenda of Wall Street profit and Main Street pain. Romney – who leveraged his dad’s famous name into a career in predatory private equity and a multi-million dollar fortune – supports Trump’s tax handouts for the rich, his ignore-the-rules free pass for Wall Street speculators and his loathing for Social Security.Mitt Romney and Donald Trump know that cutting earned benefits is incredibly unpopular, which is why they resort to sneak attacks. Trump did it by sabotaging the Social Security Administration itself – leading to office closures, massive loss of staff and long waits for disability benefits.3 Romney introduced legislation to quiet the voices of actual working people and give elite senators like himself the power to come together in a special, private committee to come up with a plan to cut Social Security.4 Millionaire Mitt and Daddy’s Money Donald may not need Social Security to retire with dignity, but millions of Americans do – especially after Romney and Trump’s Wall Street pals destroyed all their savings in the financial crash. If members of Congress want to help Social Security instead of cutting it, the answer is simple. They need to reject Romney’s nonsense plan and get behind the Social Security 2100 Act, which would increase Social Security benefits and keep the system solvent into the next century by making the super-rich finally pay their fair share.5
Constitutional Rights Blog says: Millionaires of America and all the corporations that have started in America owe absolutely everything they have accomplished to our country. Let them go to Iraq, and start from scratch, and see if they can make their millions. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-its-time-that-millionaires-start-paying-their-fair-share SIGN NOW: IT’S TIME THAT MILLIONAIRES START PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE Our nation faces two big obstacles, among others, to creating an economy that works for all of us. First, the gap between the rich and everyone else keeps getting wider. While those at the top are soaring way ahead, working families are struggling. Second, the wealthy and corporations are not paying their fair share of taxes. If they did, we could raise trillions of dollars to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and to make new investments in healthcare, education, housing, childcare, infrastructure and clean renewable energy. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) have introduced a Millionaires Surtax ― paid by the richest 0.2% ― that would begin to close the gap between the rich and everyone else and allow us to fund new investments that benefit working families. The Millionaires Surtax will create an additional 10-percentage point tax on all income earned by households making $2 million or more each year and individuals making $1 million or more. According to the Tax Policy Center, the surtax will generate an additional $635 billion over ten years that can be used to invest in critical services for working families. A recent poll by Hart Research found that the surtax is supported by 73% of voters, including more than one-half of Republicans.[1] Due to a rigged tax system, including the 2017 Trump-GOP tax scam that gave massive handouts to huge corporations and wealthy CEOs on Wall Street, we have an economy that greatly favors the wealthy while the rest of us are stuck picking up the tab. A Millionaires Surtax would apply to all income earned by the top 0.2% ― including wages, salaries and wealth that comes from Wall Street investments such as stocks. The rest of us (the other 99.8%) would not pay an extra dime. Become a co-signer of the Millionaires Surtax today to begin to create an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few. [1] “Polling,” http://surtax.org/polling, November 7th, 2019
Sign this petition here: http://organizetexas.org/unlocktheblock/ At any given time, thousands of people are detained in the county jails of Bexar, Harris, and Dallas counties on a pre-trial status, leaving them eligible to vote. We need to ensure that people directly impacted have a safeguard in place to protect their voting rights. Right now, each election cycle, far too many eligible voters are excluded from participating in the democratic process because of structural barriers to vote. We demand that Bexar, Harris, and Dallas counties open polling centers within the jails, to allow eligible voters awaiting trial to cast their vote directly and launch an awareness campaign to inform voters of their right to vote.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 22 2019Could this be the whistle blower?: PHOTO: Alleged whistleblower Eric Ciaramella shakes hands with Barack Obama in Oval Office | November 20, 2019 01:57 PM A year after Ukraine official and alleged whistleblower Eric Ciaramella left President Trump’s White House, a picture of him shaking Barack Obama’s hand was published on a close friend’s wedding website. The Oval Office photograph, obtained by the Washington Examiner, is circulating among Trump allies who consider it evidence that the alleged whistleblower is biased against Trump and had partisan motivations when he filed an Aug. 12 complaint that sparked impeachment proceedings. In the photograph, a smiling Ciaramella, then Ukraine director on the National Security Council at the White House, is shown shaking Obama’s hand. They are standing in front of a portrait of Abraham Lincoln by George Henry Story. Read more here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/alleged-whistleblower-eric-ciaramella-shown-shaking-hands-with-barack-obama-in-oval-office-photo Grits: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2019 ¡Poncho! Livin’ too large It would be easy to take shots at Texas state Rep. Poncho Nevarez, a front runner among Texas Monthly’s list of Worst Legislators of 2019, after he dropped four packets of cocaine in an envelope with his name printed on it while leaving the Austin airport and was charged with a 3rd degree felony. So let’s do that now. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/11/poncho-livin-too-large.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 24 2019
This is one subject I can not get through to politicians and the law, especially the local law and politics here in Collin County. The best way to get this through to closed minded people about separation of church and state; is this: If we allow Christian beliefs in the classrooms and the government; than we must allow all religions from Buddhist’s to Satanist’s to any cult, in the class room and the law. RELIGION OUT OF THE CLASSROOM Students Told They Would Be Better Off ‘If They Had Jesus in Their Life’ Last week, the ACLU and the ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against the Smith County School System for violating the separation of church and state. According to the lawsuit, four students who are atheists have had to contend with school officials promoting Christianity through official prayers, Bible distributions, religious posters, and even a giant cross painted in one of the school’s athletic facilities. We asked our three high school clients in this case – Harleigh, Leyna, and Pyper – to tell us about their experience, their friendship, and why they decided to sue their school district. Read this blog to see what they have to say. Read more → November 18, 2019 https://www.aclu.org/news/religious-liberty/students-told-they-would-be-better-off-if-they-had-jesus-in-their-life/
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/write-to-congress-support-the-pro-act CWA FIGHTING FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE & DEMOCRACY Write to Congress: Support the PRO Act Ten years ago, when CWA’s Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens joined together with her coworkers to form a union at the newspaper where they worked, management retaliated by firing her and 28 others. Firing workers for organizing a union is illegal – but it still happens all the time because the laws that are meant to protect us aren’t strong enough.Bosses use their power over our livelihoods to intimidate us and stop workers from fighting for the wages, benefits, and working conditions we deserve. That’s why we need Congress to pass the PRO Act to build power for all workers. You still haven’t sent a letter to your member of Congress to ask them to support the PRO Act. Click here to send a letter. It will only take a moment and make a real difference. After you send a letter, watch the new video of Sara telling her story about why the PRO Act is so important. Share the video with your friends and coworkers to spread the word.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 25 2019
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 28 2019
Happy Thanksgiving. Most thankful for America.
GritsWEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2019 On the dangers of dick-ish drug enforcement, racist cop rose in Austin PD ranks, indigent defense denied in Amarillo, and other stories Just in time for the drive to Grandma’s house, here’s the November 2019 episode of Just Liberty’s Reasonably Suspicious podcast covering Texas criminal justice politics and policy, co-hosted with Amanda Marzullo of the Texas Defender Service. Listen to this here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/11/on-dangers-of-dick-ish-drug-enforcement.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 29 2019 GritsFRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2019 Report cast dismal light on indigent defense in Amarillo On the November episode of the Reasonably Suspicious podcast, my co-host Mandy Marzullo and I discussed a new, commissioned report by the Sixth Amendment Center (6AC) analyzing indigent defense systems in Potter and Armstrong Counties. Potter County contains most of Amarillo, while Armstrong is a nearby, very rural county with very few lawyers, an 8-bed jail, and no municipal police departments. I’ve excerpted our segment here, and below pulled some highlights from the (somewhat overwritten) 200+ page report. Listen here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/11/report-cast-dismal-light-on-indigent.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 1 2019 WRITE YOUR SENATORS NOW: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/workplace-violence-act-letter-campaign This statistic might shock you: One in every six workplace deaths is due to violence. Violence in the workplace is a serious problem. Luckily, the U.S. House just passed a bill to address it—and now it’s the Senate’s turn. Will you tell your senators to pass the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act?
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 2 2019 Sign this petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/mitt-romney-social-security Millionaire Mitt Romney ran for president in 2012 calling for cuts to Social Security. He picked Paul Ryan, the nation’s loudest advocate for slashing and burning Social Security and Medicare, as his running mate. Now, Millionaire Mitt is in the Senate, and he has a new plan to cut Social Security.1Romney’s legislation would create a special committee of senators who would meet behind closed doors where they can agree to cut earned benefits without interference from the people who rely on those benefits to survive and retire with dignity. We can’t let that happen.2Tell Congress: Don’t let Mitt Romney destroy Social Security.Romney likes to pose as a member of the Republican resistance to Trump, but he doesn’t lift a finger to rein in Trump’s abuses or protect terrorized communities. He is fully on board with Trump’s agenda of Wall Street profit and Main Street pain. Romney – who leveraged his dad’s famous name into a career in predatory private equity and a multi-million dollar fortune – supports Trump’s tax handouts for the rich, his ignore-the-rules free pass for Wall Street speculators and his loathing for Social Security.Mitt Romney and Donald Trump know that cutting earned benefits is incredibly unpopular, which is why they resort to sneak attacks. Trump did it by sabotaging the Social Security Administration itself – leading to office closures, massive loss of staff and long waits for disability benefits.3 Romney introduced legislation to quiet the voices of actual working people and give elite senators like himself the power to come together in a special, private committee to come up with a plan to cut Social Security.4 Millionaire Mitt and Daddy’s Money Donald may not need Social Security to retire with dignity, but millions of Americans do – especially after Romney and Trump’s Wall Street pals destroyed all their savings in the financial crash. If members of Congress want to help Social Security instead of cutting it, the answer is simple. They need to reject Romney’s nonsense plan and get behind the Social Security 2100 Act, which would increase Social Security benefits and keep the system solvent into the next century by making the super-rich finally pay their fair share.5 Tell Congress: Don’t let Mitt Romney destroy Social Security. Thank you for speaking out. References: Max Richtman, “Retirees should say ‘no thanks’ to Romney’s Social Security plan,” The Hill, Nov. 5, 2019. https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/468907-retirees-should-say-no-thank-to-romneys-social-security-planIbid.Nancy Altman, “Republicans Are Killing Social Security One Tiny Service Cut at a Time,” Slate, Jan. 22, 2018. https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/01/social-security-faces-death-by-a-thousand-service-cuts.htmlRichtman, “Retirees should say ‘no thanks’ to Romney’s Social Security plan.”Ibid. https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/468907-retirees-should-say-no-thank-to-romneys-social-security-plan
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 3 2019 To persecute LGBTQ people is against God’s will. In fact since LGBTQ folks are persecuted it is God’s will that you help them. I have made my yearly donations to Lambda Legal and the Dallas Resource Center today: if you live in the Dallas aria I hope you will too. This sounds more like a jihad on LGBTQ people than Christian. jihad definition: a struggle or fight against the enemies of Islam. “he declared a jihad against the infidels” At any rate these people are very confused if not severely mentally challenged. From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/11/dangerous-defense-trump-religious-right-begun-fighting-holy-war/ Religious right leaders, struggling to maintain power and influence – even in the chaotic White House – have been avowing lately that anyone who opposes Donald Trump is in league with the devil—literally. In a conversation with fellow evangelical Eric Metaxas, Franklin Graham said that resistance to Trump was “almost demonic,” to which Metaxas replied, “It’s not almost demonic. You know and I know, at the heart, it’s a spiritual battle.” Graham and Metaxas are hardly alone. Lesser known, but just as dangerous figures like Stephen Strang and Frank Amedia are making the same claim. Strang said on a recent podcast that “this is not a war between left and right, or between Democrats and Republicans, or even between President Trump and his political opponents. It’s spiritual warfare.” Amedia claims that Trump critics are part of a demonic plot to stop the return of Christ. It’s easy to brush these claims off as the usual hysterical claims from the religious right. But in fact they represent a new—and dangerous—escalation in rhetoric. Saying you’re waging a culture war is one thing; but to say we’re locked in a battle between the forces of heaven and hell sets the stakes at the highest possible level. It makes sense that the same people who have unequivocally worshipped Trump, are doing whatever it takes to keep his affection – even if that means mimicking his incendiary words. Moreover, it’s not only religious right leaders who are making this argument. No less a figure than Attorney General William Barr is echoing the sentiment. In a speech at the University of Notre Dame in October, Barr went on a tear about “militant secularists” who are destroying society by removing religion from the public square. Even worse was a speech that he subsequently gave to the Federalist Society, the conservative group that has become the clearinghouse for Trump’s judicial nominees. After claiming that Trump’s opponents — which Barr calls the “Left” —are “waging a scorched earth, no-holds-barred war of ‘Resistance’ against this Administration,” Barr accuses them of essentially worshipping a false god. “In any age, the so-called progressives treat politics as their religion,” Barr argued. “Their holy mission is to use the coercive power of the State to remake man and society in their own image, according to an abstract ideal of perfection.” Barr then goes on to say that conservatives haven’t responded in kind, which puts them “at a disadvantage when facing progressive holy war.” When the nation’s lead attorney says that the nation is engaged in a holy war and anyone opposed to the president is on the wrong side, we have entered into frightening territory – and just to be clear, Barr likes to cite LGBTQ progress as an example of secular assault. Barr, Graham and the other would-be warriors are essentially using their increasing influential beliefs to suggest to conservatives that the political stakes are so high that only a nuclear, violent response will suffice. It was last May that First Things, a conservative Catholic journal, published an essay by New York Post columnist Sohrab Ahmari that argued against establishment conservatives for being too nice. “Civility and decency are secondary values,” Ahmari argued. Just as they are in war. The logic of a holy war leads to the inevitable conclusion that any means are acceptable to stop the assault on God’s side. Trump’s violations of practical every political norm is not seen as a sin. It’s a virtue. He’s trying to save the Republic (or at least the Republicans) from the heathen barbarians who are fighting on Lucifer’s side. This apocalyptic belief is going to be the main theme of the right’s leading into the 2020 election. Instead of trying to adjust to the Modern Age so that they can recruit new members, conservative evangelicals (and their Catholic counterparts, like Barr), prefer to circle the wagons and start shooting. It’s a losing battle, because their numbers keep shrinking,which will only make them fight harder. After all, it’s a fight to the death.
We have a chance to ban surprise medical bills Sign this petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/surprise-medical-bills It’s bad enough that Americans have to pause in the midst of medical emergencies to ask if insurance companies will cover the cost of treatment. But it’s even worse that visits to “in-network” providers can still result in hundreds or thousands of dollars in surprise medical bills.1 Today, one in five emergency room visits – and 70 percent of critical air ambulance transports – result in surprise medical bills. When healthcare providers and insurance companies can’t agree on how much treatment costs, they turn around and bill patients for the difference.2 The greed of insurance companies has broken our healthcare system in more ways than we can count. But right now, we have a chance at real, bipartisan action to end surprise medical billing, and we can’t let it go to waste. Tell Congress: Ban surprise medical bills. One surprise medical bill can tip someone into bankruptcy, and they are growing more and more common. Maybe the insurance company pads its profits by paying the hospital or ambulance less than the treatment costs. Or providers demand higher and higher fees that the insurance company won’t pay. Or the insurer reimburses the hospital, but not the doctor who provided treatment. Regardless, the story ends the same: patients end up stuck paying for the balance with no warning or through no fault of their own.3 The good news is that there is new momentum in Congress to ban this “balance billing,” based on three commonsense principles:4 Ban surprise balance billing and fully protect patients with no exceptions, especially in emergency situations where people can’t make sure they will see an in-network providerContain costs by establishing a reasonable payment level between providers and insurers based on actual prices and not corporate greedEnsure comprehensive protection nationwide so federal law reinforces the strongest state laws and helps people in states with no protectionsA surprising bipartisan consensus in Congress is emerging against surprise medical bills but insurers and emergency medical providers are fighting back to protect their profits.5 It’s up to us to fight for the strongest possible legislation with no loopholes or handouts – and ban surprise medical billing. Tell Congress: Ban surprise medical bills. Thank you for speaking out. References: Margot Sanger-Katz and Reed Abelson, “Surprise! Insurance Paid the E.R. but Not the Doctor,” The New York Times, Nov. 16, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/17/upshot/first-comes-the-emergency-then-comes-the-surprise-out-of-network-bill.html The No Surprises Campaign, “Statement of Principles,” accessed Dec. 1, 2019. https://nosurprisescampaign.org/statement-of-principles/ Sanger-Katz and Abelson, “Surprise! Insurance Paid the E.R. but Not the Doctor.” https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/17/upshot/first-comes-the-emergency-then-comes-the-surprise-out-of-network-bill.html The No Surprises Campaign, “Statement of Principles.” https://nosurprisescampaign.org/statement-of-principles/ Mary Ellen McIntire, “Air ambulance services face scrutiny over surprise billing issues,” Roll Call, Oct. 2, 2019. https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/air-ambulance-services-face-scrutiny-over-surprise-billing-issues
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 5 2019 Sing this petiton here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-now-prescription-drug-prices-are-out-of-control SIGN NOW: Prescription Drug Prices Are Out of Control Prescription drug affordability is one of the most critical issues facing the nation. While many know that health insurance premiums for the average family are over $1,000 per month, the cost of prescription medications is also growing. Please, add your name in support of lower prescription drug prices and urge the Senate to act. Costs are soaring: According to a 2018 report, some of the most common prescription drugs for seniors have soared in cost ten times the rate of inflation over the past five years. This is why we must control prescription drug prices. We need your help: Abigail’s bill to increase transparency into drug pricing passed the House 403-0. Now, the bill sits on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s desk. The Public Disclosure of Drug Discounts Act passed the House of Representatives with an overwhelming vote of 403-0. It will add transparency to the confusing system of prescription drug pricing and will lead to cost savings for families across the country. We need to urge the Senate to act on this bill. Please, add your name in support of lower prescription drug prices and urge the Senate to act. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-postal-sell-off-say-no-to-a-privatizer-as-the-postmaster-general Stop the Postal Sell-off: Say NO to a privatizer as the Postmaster GeneralThe public service mission of the Postal Service has made it the most popular federal agency. However, this public good is at risk if we don’t all act soon. In June 2018 the White House announced proposals to privatize the Postal Service. Now Postmaster General Megan Brennan has announced her departure as Postmaster General in January 2020. The Postmaster General has wide powers to shape the mission of USPS and there is a real risk that Brennan’s successor could hand over parts of the service to private, profit-making corporations and prepare it for a wholesale sell-off. The people will rightly expect a new Postmaster General who will uphold the Postal Service’s public mission and will work to preserve and enhance our national treasure. Add your voice. Protect our public Postal Service. Sign this petiton here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-to-pass-the-shield-act-demand-protections-for-victims-of-revenge-pornSign the petition to pass the SHIELD Act. Demand protections for victims of revenge porn.Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh have been accused by several women of sexual assault. Despite this, Trump, Kavanaugh, and countless other men have kept their jobs—but Congresswoman Katie Hill, who has been the target of a revenge porn campaign, launched by her abusive ex-husband and fueled by hateful far-right operatives, was forced to resign from office this fall.Nonconsensual pornography, better known as “revenge porn,” is the distribution of sexually explicit or nude images of another person without their consent, and often times, without their knowledge. Revenge porn is an extreme violation of privacy, frequently used to humiliate and shame victims. Women are 1.7 times more likely to be targets of revenge porn than men. The consequences women face as a result are often much harsher due to sexist double standards. But nonconsensual pornography is more than just a violation of privacy—revenge porn is sexual assault.While a majority of states—including California, New York, and Texas—have passed laws banning revenge porn, it has yet to be banned on a federal level. Fortunately, the Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution (SHIELD) Act of 2019 has been introduced in both the House and Senate to address the abuse endured by survivors of revenge porn. If passed, the SHIELD Act would make revenge porn illegal at the federal level. As women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people across the country continue to be the targets of revenge porn, Congress has yet to take action on this important piece of legislation.That’s why we demand Congressional lawmakers immediately pass the SHIELD Act to protect vulnerable constituents.Sign the petition: Demand that Congress fight against revenge porn and pass the SHIELD Act now.Participating Organizations:CREDO ActionDaily KosProgress AmericaWomen’s March National PETITIONINGU.S. CongressSPONSORED BYDaily KosADDITIONAL SPONSORSWomen’s March NationalCREDO ActionProgress AmericaOur Message to U.S. Congress:Women are 1.7 times more likely to be targets of revenge porn than men. The consequences women face as a result are often much harsher due to sexist double standards. But nonconsensual pornography is more than just a violation of privacy. Revenge porn is sexual assault. As your constituents continue to endure public shaming and retaliation, you must act swiftly to address their pain. I demand you quickly pass the SHIELD Act to ban revenge porn on a federal level.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 6 2019 Sign this petiton here: https://action.aclu.org/petition/stop-federal-executions STOP FEDERAL EXECUTIONSState by state, our country is moving away from the death penalty because it’s racist, arbitrary, inhumane, and prone to error. Attorney General Bill Barr, however, has directed the federal government to resume capital punishment for the first time in over 15 years. This move goes against public opinion, which increasingly opposes the death penalty, as well as some family members of the victims Barr claims to be representing. Immediately after announcing this change, the Justice Department scheduled back-to-back executions. Hundreds of relatives of murder victims, as well as law enforcement officials, former judges, and prosecutors, have asked Barr and Trump to stop the executions. A court-ordered injunction has blocked the executions for now, but the Justice Department is already trying to overturn this ruling. There are numerous, serious reasons why capital punishment is losing public support. Since 1973, 166 people have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death. The death penalty, at both the state and federal level, also has a long and disturbing record of racial bias. Racism infects the system at every level – including the race of the accused, the race of the victim, and the race of who is permitted to serve on the jury. People who are sentenced to death are not the worst of the worst – they have the worst lawyers, and are often the most vulnerable. Many people on death row grew up experiencing poverty, abandonment, neglect, physical and sexual abuse, or pervasive family and neighborhood violence. A number are mentally ill, suffer from brain damage, or have intellectual disability. And some are innocent. All too often, people get sentenced to death because of the quality of their lawyers. In the words of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “People who are well represented at trial do not get the death penalty.” There is no reason to resume federal executions as more and more people – and states across the country – are opposing capital punishment each year. Let’s raise our voices and demand that the Justice Department revoke its plan to reinstate federal executions. Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-to-your-members-of-congress-cosponsor-the-put-patients-first-act Sign and send the petition to your members of Congress: Cosponsor the Put Patients First Act In May 2019, the Trump administration finalized a rule that would allow health care providers to discriminate against patients based on their personal religious and moral beliefs, a policy that directly targets LGBTQ+ patients and people seeking abortion care. Trump’s rule would allow anyone involved in patient care to refuse to do their jobs for any reason. Hippocratic Oath, anyone? Under the policy, patients seeking abortions could be turned away from a hospital because of the board of directors’ personal beliefs, a receptionist could refuse to schedule transition-related care for transgender patients, and a call center staffer could hang up on someone who is looking for information about the morning-after pill. Thankfully, two courts blocked the rule from going into effect, but given the Trump administration’s track record on abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights, they won’t stop fighting back. That’s why we need Congress to block this discriminatory rule once and for all. On November 12, members of Congress introduced the Put Patients First Act, legislation that would prohibit Trump’s rule from being implemented and put an end to this policy for good. We need all hands on deck to stop this rule. By cosponsoring this crucial bill, your members of Congress will join 30 colleagues in the Senate and over 100 in the House of Representatives in leading the way for human rights and health care. The Trump administration is determined to let discrimination win. We can’t let them. Sign and send the petition to your members of Congress: Cosponsor the Put Patients First Act.
Gritshttps://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/12/public-policy-responses-to-informant.htmlTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 05, 2019Public policy responses to informant abuses Two informant related stories recall a raft of snitching coverage on this blog, now mostly more than a decade ago. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/romney-trust/ SIGN THE PETITION: REJECT MITT ROMNEY’S NEW PLAN TO CUT SOCIAL SECURITY BEHIND CLOSED DOORSPoliticians don’t shut the door when they’re trying to do something popular. That’s why when members of Congress want to cut Social Security, they propose doing so in a “fast-track” process behind closed doors where they won’t have to shoulder the blame. And that’s exactly what Senator Mitt Romney has just proposed. His new proposal, the TRUST Act, is nothing more than an extension of the Romney-Ryan plan to cut Social Security, which was overwhelmingly rejected by voters in the 2012 presidential election. The American people can’t trust Mitt’s TRUST Act. Sign the petition and tell Congress to protect and expand our earned benefits, not cut them! Demand that any discussion about the future of Social Security must be done in the light of day, where the American people can participate in the debate.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 7 2019 Tell the SEC to stop undermining shareholder activism!: Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-the-sec-to-stop-undermining-shareholder-activism/ Donald Trump’s SEC is proposing a dangerous rule change that would silence shareholders and undermine corporate accountability efforts. This move will help inoculate powerful Wall Street companies and wealthy CEOs to pressure from their own shareholders. The rule would make it harder to file shareholder petitions by increasing the ownership stake needed in order to do so by ten fold. It would also increase the percentage of support a petition would need to garner from shareholders in order to stay alive. Shareholder resolutions have been used for decades to ensure better corporate governance and to advance important causes like gay rights, gender and racial equity, and environmentalism — concerns for which the recent, much-lauded statement issued by major CEOs through the Business Roundtable implies support. For instance, employees recently used their company-issue stock to pressure Amazon to reduce its contribution to climate change because of its impact on the world and on Amazon’s own business.
Now the SEC is looking to undermine shareholder proposals and make it harder advocates from constraining corporate abuses. We need to stand up and fight back to protect the ability of shareholders to shape the governance of corporations they invest in. Add your name and tell the SEC: Stop the anti-shareholder proposal rule!
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 9 2019 Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-postal-sell-off-say-no-to-a-privatizer-as-the-postmaster-general Stop the Postal Sell-off: Say NO to a privatizer as the Postmaster General The public service mission of the Postal Service has made it the most popular federal agency. However, this public good is at risk if we don’t all act soon. In June 2018 the White House announced proposals to privatize the Postal Service. Now Postmaster General Megan Brennan has announced her departure as Postmaster General in January 2020. The Postmaster General has wide powers to shape the mission of USPS and there is a real risk that Brennan’s successor could hand over parts of the service to private, profit-making corporations and prepare it for a wholesale sell-off. The people will rightly expect a new Postmaster General who will uphold the Postal Service’s public mission and will work to preserve and enhance our national treasure. Add your voice. Protect our public Postal Service.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 10 2019 Sign this petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/mnuchin-opportunity-zones Tell Congress: No more tax handouts for wealthy investors Michael Milken is a corrupt former Wall Street trader who served two years in prison for insider training and was the inspiration for the notoriously greedy character Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wall Street.” He’s also pals with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Ivanka Trump and Jared Not surprisingly, Mnuchin appears to have personally intervened to help Milken personally benefit from an “opportunity zone” tax break designed to help wealthy investors exploit poor areas.2Mnuchin’s apparent corruption is business-as-usual for the Trump administration. But it wouldn’t even be possible if it weren’t for opportunity zones, a bad idea that isn’t working and needs to go away. We need to seize on the new attention Mnuchin’s corruption is bringing to the opportunity zone tax scams to finally end this handout to wealthy investors.Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/add-your-name-tell-congress-lower-the-cost-of-prescription-drugs-now Campaign ActionAdd Your Name: Tell Congress: Lower the cost of prescription drugs NOW >> Add your name to stand with Gina Ortiz Jones (D), candidate for Congress (TX-23). Tell Congress: Lower the cost of prescription drugs NOW >> 37 MILLION Americans say they didn’t fill a prescription last year because of the cost. Congress has the power to change that today: The House is working on legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs, but it will never get passed if Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans get their way. The rising costs of prescription drugs are a huge burden on American families, especially in a state like Texas, which has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country. One in six Texans don’t have health insurance. No one should have to choose between life-saving medicine or putting food on the table for their family. But one in four Americans says they struggle to cover the cost of the medications they need. Gina Ortiz Jones will fight tooth and nail in Congress to lower the inflating cost of prescription drugs for our seniors, our veterans and our families, but she needs you in this fight with her.It’s no secret why Americans pay so much more for our prescription drugs compared to other democracies: Congress has put their Big Pharma donors’ interests ahead of the American people’s health care. We need to show Congress that the American people demand change. Let’s start the momentum by getting a groundswell of grassroots supporters to sign onto Gina’s petition. Then, let’s elect people like Gina who will hold Big Pharma accountable! Add your name to stand with Gina Ortiz Jones (D), candidate for Congress (TX-23), and call on Congress to lower the cost of our prescription drugs. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-postal-sell-off-say-no-to-a-privatizer-as-the-postmaster-general Stop the Postal Sell-off: Say NO to a privatizer as the Postmaster General The public service mission of the Postal Service has made it the most popular federal agency. However, this public good is at risk if we don’t all act soon.In June 2018 the White House announced proposals to privatize the Postal Service. Now Postmaster General Megan Brennan has announced her departure as Postmaster General in January 2020. The Postmaster General has wide powers to shape the mission of USPS and there is a real risk that Brennan’s successor could hand over parts of the service to private, profit-making corporations and prepare it for a wholesale sell-off. The people will rightly expect a new Postmaster General who will uphold the Postal Service’s public mission and will work to preserve and enhance our national treasure. Add your voice. Protect our public Postal Service. I remember when this lady ran for judge in CC. I did all I could to get the word out for her to win. I knew something was up when she was arrested and almost thrown in prison. This is proof I was right.: From: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/12/10/exonerated-district-judge-asks-texas-supreme-court-for-spot-on-collin-county-primary-ballot/ Exonerated district judge asks Texas Supreme Court for spot on Collin County primary ballot A lapse in her law license — from October 2012 through June 2017 — is what Collin County Republican Party chair Mark Reid cited when declaring Suzanne Wooten ineligible for the 2020 ballot. Former Judge Suzanne Wooten, center, talks with the media as her husband Wes Wayland, left, and son Cal, right, listen after her 2011 convictions are vacated in the 416th District Court in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. She had been convicted by a jury in 2011 on six counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with a government record. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)Former Judge Suzanne Wooten, center, talks with the media as her husband Wes Wayland, left, and son Cal, right, listen after her 2011 convictions are vacated in the 416th District Court in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. She had been convicted by a jury in 2011 on six counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with a government record. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) By Charles Scudder 9:17 PM on Dec 10, 2019 A former district judge who wants to return to the bench is asking the Supreme Court of Texas to force Collin County Republicans to put her name on the 2020 primary ballot, despite claims that she is ineligible. Three years ago, former District Judge Suzanne Wooten was exonerated from charges stemming from what she called a politically motivated investigation into her Collin County campaign. Her license to practice law in Texas — which was suspended after she was convicted — was reinstated in 2017 when she was exonerated. But that lapse — from October 2012 through June 2017 — is what Collin County Republican Party chair Mark Reid cited when declaring Wooten ineligible for the 2020 ballot. A district judge candidate must be a “practicing lawyer” for four years before the election date, according to the Texas Constitution. Former judge Suzanne Wooten is pictured after her 2011 convictions are vacated in the 416th District Court in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. She had been convicted by a jury in 2011 on six counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with a government record. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)Former judge Suzanne Wooten is pictured after her 2011 convictions are vacated in the 416th District Court in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. She had been convicted by a jury in 2011 on six counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with a government record. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) The Texas Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that she is not entitled to have her name on the ballot, but Wooten’s lawyers said Tuesday they plan to take the case to the Supreme Court of Texas to get her on the ballot. “The issue here is not complicated, and I expect that the Texas Supreme Court will see that,” Scott Palmer, Wooten’s lawyer, said in a written statement. In a response filed with the Fifth Circuit, however, Reid’s attorney argued that the court order that exonerated Wooten didn’t change the fact that she was not able to practice law after her conviction. “This [exoneration] is insufficient to controvert the historical fact that Judge Wooten was not in good standing with the Bar and was prohibited from practicing law,” the response reads. “The Order had legal effects, it does not change the historical facts.” Conviction and exoneration Wooten was elected in 2008 after a landslide Republican primary victory over longtime District Judge Charles Sandoval. She didn’t face opposition in the general election and took office in January 2009. According to Wooten’s most recent court filing, Sandoval went to the Collin County district attorney’s office the day after her victory to complain about her win. The DA’s office, led at the time by John Roach Sr., then opened an investigation into Wooten’s campaign, with help from then-attorney general Greg Abbott’s office. Normally, law enforcement officials begin criminal investigations and pass evidence and charges off to the DA’s office for prosecution. Wooten says no law enforcement agency was involved in the investigation into her campaign. Wooten, 51, filed a lawsuit last year against Abbott, Roach, Collin County and two other prosecutors. The suit alleged that the defendants “conspired to wrongfully obtain an indictment and prosecute plaintiff by inventing and perverting law, misleading judges and juries and taking apart plaintiff’s life and career one piece at a time.” At least five grand juries considered the case between 2009 and 2011. One even sent a letter to the presiding judge, saying the case “was unnecessary, a waste of taxpayer dollars and that no crime had been committed,” the suit states. But in 2011, Wooten was convicted on charges of bribery, conspiracy, money laundering and tampering with a government record. She was accused of accepting funds from a University Park couple, funneled through her campaign manager, to run against Sandoval. As a judge pointed out in her exoneration in 2017, even if that were true, it is not illegal. In the order that vacated the convictions against Wooten, the judge also said that “any legal disabilities rendered against [Wooten] as a result of the convictions in this cause are void.” Her license to practice law was reinstated a few weeks later. ‘Practicing lawyer’? On Nov. 7, Wooten applied to be on the Republican primary ballot for the 401st Judicial District Court.
On Nov. 25, according to a court filing, Reid wrote to Wooten, saying he “simply [doesn’t] have the discretion to act any other way under the law and must declare you ineligible for a place” on the ballot. Reid declined to comment as the case is still working its way through the courts. Wooten filed a petition with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday, asking the court to mandate Reid place her name on the ballot. “After working tirelessly to rebuild her life and her reputation following a corrupt and malicious prosecution perpetuated by her political opponents, Judge Wooten has now been denied a place upon the March 2020 Republican Primary ballot,” the petition reads. “This application … is filed to preserve the integrity of the democratic process.” Palmer argued that Wooten could have been a “practicing lawyer” outside of Texas during that time, and that means her name should be included on the ballot. “The evidence establishes that Judge Wooten was not a ‘practicing lawyer’ in Texas. But that does not establish that she was not a ‘practicing lawyer,’” Palmer said in a written statement. “For that reason [Reid and the Collin County Republican Party] must place Judge Wooten on the ballot.”
In the response filed with the court, Reid’s attorney argued that state law only refers to lawyers who are in good standing with the State Bar of Texas. “There can be no dispute as to what these documents factually establish — Judge Wooten was suspended from the practice of law from Oct. 24, 2012 to June 7, 2017,” the response reads. “Chairman Reid correctly found that this fact is conclusively established by these documents.” Wooten’s petition was rejected Monday, but Palmer said they plan to file the case with the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 12 2019
From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/12/blind-transgender-woman-beaten-mob-teens-got-off-bus/Four teenagers the Seattle suburb of Tukwila were arrested on assault and hate crimes charges after they allegedly punched and kicked a transgender woman as she left a bus. Police said that the victim, who has not been identified in the media, was sitting at the front of the bus last night at around 10:20 p.m. The teens were towards the back and they were taunting her. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/take-action-tell-congress-to-repeal-trumps-tax-cuts-for-the-rich-and-corporations-2 TAKE ACTION: TELL CONGRESS TO REPEAL TRUMP’S TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS Target: All Members of CongressDonald Trump and the GOP said their $2 trillion in tax cuts would pay for themselves. Instead, they’re ballooning the national debt and using that as an excuse to try and make deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, education and more. In a new chartbook by Americans for Tax Fairness titled “Trump-GOP Tax Cuts Failing Workers and the Economy,” we take a look at eight key promises (ahem, LIES) made by Donald Trump and congressional Republicans that were used to scam the American people and ram their tax breaks through Congress. In 2017, we were told repeatedly that the giant, unpaid-for tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations would increase jobs, pay for themselves, give every family a big raise and really hurt rich people like Donald Trump. The evidence says otherwise. REALITY: The richest 1% are getting an average tax cut that’s 75 times more than the average tax cut of the bottom 80%―$50,000 vs. $645. REALITY: Donald Trump and his family will benefit personally by millions of dollars from five features of the tax scam: lower top income tax rates; the deep corporate tax cuts; a weakened estate tax; a tax break mostly benefiting wealthy business owners like Trump; and real-estate loopholes the tax law opened. REALITY: Median family income rose just $514 in 2018 and the annual growth rate in workers’ wages has increased just 0.3% since the tax scam became law. Both of these are well below the increases that occurred during President Obama’s last two years in office. REALITY: Almost half the benefits of this supposed “small” business tax cut are going to the tiny sliver of businesses with over $1 million in annual income. Less than a quarter is going to firms with income of $200,000 or less. REALITY: Economic growth (GDP) since the tax law was enacted has been in line with the Obama years and hasn’t come close to the 4%, 5% or 6% promised by Trump and the GOP. The Federal Reserve predicts growth of 2.2% for the full year of 2019. REALITY: The total cost of the tax cuts is estimated at $1.9 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which will be added to the national debt and is being used by Trump and congressional Republicans to try and make deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education and more.REALITY: Monthly job growth has averaged 195,000 in the two years since the tax cuts were enacted. Job growth in the last two years of the Obama Administration averaged 210,000 a month. REALITY: Instead of investing in more jobs and higher wages, capital investments are falling into negative territory in 2019. Corporations have used their tax savings for stock buybacks, which primarily benefit executives and other wealthy shareholders. Corporations bought back a record $800 billion-plus of their own shares in 2018, an increase of more than 50% over the $519 billion in stock buybacks in 2017. December 22nd marks the two year anniversary of Donald Trump signing the tax scam into law. Sign the petition to Congress to repeal the Trump-GOP tax scam and instead implement a fair share tax system that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. Sign this petition here: https://gideon.cp.bsd.net/page/signup/petition-vandyke SIGN OUR URGENT PETITIONTell Senator Collins to vote NO on Lawrence VanDyke’s confirmation for a federal judge position.
Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-tax-excessive-ceo-salaries-combat-extreme-income-inequality Sign the petition: Tax excessive CEO salaries. Combat extreme income inequality The average CEO at a Fortune 500 firm today makes close to $20 million per year—200-300x the average pay of their typical workers. This income disparity has driven the U.S. into a crisis, with rising poverty, extreme wealth inequality, and wage stagnation, which all disproportionately affect people of color. It would take a lifetime—100 years—for the average employee to earn what their CEO makes in a year. And at the 50 publicly traded U.S. corporations with the widest pay gaps in 2018, the typical employee would have to work at least 1,000 years to earn what their CEO made in just one year. While lavishing extravagant wealth on their top executives, many of these corporations pay their workers poverty wages, forcing workers to rely on taxpayer-funded social services, like public housing, SNAP and Medicaid. This means the average taxpayer is subsidizing corporate greed, all while working families struggle to put food on the table. How do we address this outrageous injustice? The Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and Rep. Barbara Lee, would pressure such corporations to close the pay gap between CEOs and working people by applying a higher corporate tax rate if they pay their CEOs more than 50x the median worker. The wider the pay gap, the higher the tax penalty. This legislation would raise roughly $150 billion over 10 years, which could be used for essential public services like healthcare and education. It would also require the Treasury Department to prevent corporate tax avoidance, and it would require privately held corporations to make public their pay-ratio data. It is time we put an end to the largest wealth gap in existence! Become a grassroots co-signer of the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act to address rising levels of income and wealth inequality. Participating Organizations:Rep. Rashida TlaibRep. Ro KhannaCivic ActionDaily KosIron PACProgress America “If America’s corporate boards can’t understand the absurdity of paying their CEO friends—in one year—more than their workers will earn in a lifetime, then the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act will help them figure it out.”— Sen. Bernie Sanders “Corporate greed is a disease that has long inflicted this country….“In 2018, for example, General Motors’ CEO made nearly 300 times more than the median income of an employee there. We have had enough.” — Rep. Rashida Tlaib “It is unjust and unacceptable that the CEOs of major corporations are making an average of 287 times more than their average worker – with some CEOs making upwards of 1000 times more.” — Rep. Barbara Lee This is not a candidate endorsement by Daily Kos. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-the-sec-to-stop-undermining-shareholder-activism/ Tell the SEC to stop undermining shareholder activism! Donald Trump’s SEC is proposing a dangerous rule change that would silence shareholders and undermine corporate accountability efforts. This move will help inoculate powerful Wall Street companies and wealthy CEOs to pressure from their own shareholders. The rule would make it harder to file shareholder petitions by increasing the ownership stake needed in order to do so by ten fold. It would also increase the percentage of support a petition would need to garner from shareholders in order to stay alive.Shareholder resolutions have been used for decades to ensure better corporate governance and to advance important causes like gay rights, gender and racial equity, and environmentalism — concerns for which the recent, much-lauded statement issued by major CEOs through the Business Roundtable implies support. For instance, employees recently used their company-issue stock to pressure Amazon to reduce its contribution to climate change because of its impact on the world and on Amazon’s own business.Now the SEC is looking to undermine shareholder proposals and make it harder advocates from constraining corporate abuses. We need to stand up and fight back to protect the ability of shareholders to shape the governance of corporations they invest in. Add your name and tell the SEC: Stop the anti-shareholder proposal rule!
GritsWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2019The iceberg’s tip: CA man walks free bc of DNA-mixture SNAFUIt’s perhaps a testament to the reduction in size of and competition among MSM outlets that nobody has yet covered the problems with DNA-mixture forensics raised by federal District Judge Janet Neff of Michigan’s Western District* (discussed by Grits here and on the latest Reasonably Suspicious podcast). That must change; some full-time reporter(s) must step up. These issues deserve high-level coverage and national context that this humble, regional blog cannot provide. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-icebergs-tip-ca-man-walks-free-bc.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 13 2019 Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/join-abigail-spanberger-in-demanding-lower-prescription-drug-prices Campaign ActionJoin Abigail Spanberger in demanding lower prescription drug prices Prescription drug affordability is one of the most critical issues facing the nation. While many know that health insurance premiums for the average family are over $1,000 per month, the cost of prescription medications is also growing. Add your name and join Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-7) in support of lower prescription drug prices and urge the Senate to act >> Paid for by Spanberger for Congress. Does not equal endorsement. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-investigate-devin-nunes Campaign ActionSign the petition: Investigate Devin Nunes Rep. Devin Nunes—ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee—sat through two weeks of Trump impeachment hearings, despite apparently being a willing accomplice in the bribery scheme at the heart of the investigation. The House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment inquiry report revealed while Nunes was sitting as the ranking member of the committee, he was also directly involved in all aspects of the scheme he was pretending to investigate. Phone records reveal Nunes had talks with Rudy Giuliani, right when he was orchestrating the move to oust the U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine. Additionally, Nunes spoke with indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas—who was tasked by Trump to investigate the Biden’s activities in Ukraine. Previously, in November 2018, Nunes traveled with three aides to the Ukraine—where he allegedly met with corrupt former prosecutor Viktor Shokin for the express purpose of supporting Trump’s conspiracy theory against Joe Biden. When Nunes chaired the House Intelligence Committee in 2017, he got caught funneling classified information to and from the Trump White House to intentionally undermine the Russia investigation. He was forced to step aside. Nunes is more than just a partisan Republican eager to defend the indefensible. He has actively sabotaged efforts to investigate intelligence breaches, and risked national security in the furtherance of Donald Trump’s whims. If the latest allegations against Nunes are proven to be true, his conduct may require criminal charges and expulsion from Congress. Sign the petition: Investigate Devin Nunes immediately. Participating Organizations:Rep. Raul GrijalvaRep. Ted LieuArati Kreibich for CongressCourage CampaignDaily KosFight for Progress PACIron PACLeft ActionLivable Communities PACNational Democratic Training CommitteePeople for the American WayProgress AmericaSara Jacobs for CongressStop Republican PACTom Winter for Congress
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 14 2019 Sign this petition here: http://act.pfaw.org/letter/urge-the-senate-to-support-election-security-funding/ Urge your senators to support election security funding!We are at a pivotal moment for our democracy and we are facing unprecedented attacks on our elections. We must make sure that Congress funds election security as soon as possible, opportunities to secure the 2020 elections are being lost each day. Election security experts are warning that our voting systems are vulnerable, and Intelligence officials have said that if we don’t act now, 2016 could be just the beginning compared to what is to come in 2020. In fact, early reports seem to indicate that Russia and other countries have already begun their attempts to meddle in the 2020 elections. Contact your senator’s office today and urge them to support election security funding! Sign this petition here: https://gideon.cp.bsd.net/page/signup/petition-rxcosts Sign our petition: Demand Mitch McConnell allow a Senate vote on lowering prescription drug costs. SIGN OUR PETITION The House of Representatives just passed Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would lower the cost of prescription drugs and give hope to the 58 million Americans who struggle to afford their medications. BUT Mitch McConnell is refusing to allow a vote in the Senate. Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/add-your-name-oppose-republican-cuts-to-our-social-security-medicare-and-medicaid [Add your name] OPPOSE Republican cuts to our Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid! >>Donald Trump is proposing MASSIVE cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — and it looks like he can count on Senate Republicans like Mitch McConnell to help him do it. We’re calling on 100,000 Democrats to sign our petition OPPOSING cuts to these critical programs, but we still need 5,502 more Democrats to add their name.Add your name now to OPPOSE Republican cuts to our Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid! Join DSCC >>
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 15 2019 Pregnant women have always been very special to me. People say pregnant women are grumpy. I just think they are so precious; they can not be unappealing in any way. I basically lost my job (illegitimately) with Blockbuster Warehouse; because I stuck up for a pregnant woman who was forced to hurt herself by a manager. AT LIBERTY PODCASTPregnancy Discrimination a Mile High This week, the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project filed a pair of federal lawsuits against Frontier Airlines for discriminating against pregnant and breastfeeding employees. Flight attendant Melissa Hodgkins and pilot Shannon Kiedrowski spoke to At Liberty about the inhumane treatment they experienced while working for Frontier, alongside senior staff attorney Galen Sherwin, about the lawsuit. Listen here → https://www.aclu.org/podcast/pregnancy-discrimination-mile-high-ep-77 A HOLLOW PROMISEThree Ways the ‘Fairness for All Act’ Doesn’t Protect LGBTQ People from DiscriminationLast week, several Republicans in the House of Representatives introduced the so-called “Fairness for All Act.” The bill’s supporters call it a compromise that protects both LGBTQ people and religious liberty, but in reality, the bill facilitates the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to enable those who would turn LGBTQ people away from jobs, health care, housing, and even taxpayer-funded programs, simply because of who they are. Read here about the three main ways the so-called “Fairness for All Act” weakens protections for LGBTQ people, and why we should support the House’s Equality Act instead. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/three-ways-the-fairness-for-all-act-doesnt-protect-lgbtq-people-from-discrimination Sign this petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/postmaster-general-privatization Save the post office from Donald Trump85% We’ve reached 85,661 of our goal of 100,000.Sign the petitionPetition to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors: “Appoint a Postmaster General who is fully committed to universal service and public ownership of the Postal Service.” Sign Petition Save the post office from Donald TrumpThe U.S. Postal Service is one of America’s most beloved institutions. It handles 47% of the world’s mail, employs half a million people, generates $1.4 trillion in annual sales, delivers more mail every 16 days than UPS and FedEx combined do all year and connects even the most remote corners of the United States.1 So of course Donald Trump wants to destroy it. Trump has already proposed privatizing the Postal Service and turning it over to unethical, greedy for-profit operators. Now, the USPS board of governors is poised to appoint a new postmaster general – who might help Trump push privatization.2 We need to speak out to make sure the new leader is a fierce advocate for public ownership of USPS. Tell the USPS board of governors: No privatizer as postmaster general. The Trump administration has proposed selling off the USPS to the highest bidder. Privatizing government services simply hands public trusts over to mercenary corporate entities who care only about their bottom line.3,4 Trump’s proposal would lead to post office closures in rural areas and layoffs for already-marginalized communities. Stamp and shipping costs would grow and the scale of the network would shrink. Republicans would like us to believe the post office is in trouble, but in fact, there’s nothing wrong with the post office that Congress can’t fix. A 2006 law requires USPS, alone among private or public agencies, to prefund its retiree health benefits for the next 75 years. That ridiculous law makes the USPS appear to be in financial trouble and gives politicians an excuse to push for privatization. If Congress repealed the law – and allowed post offices to offer new services like postal banking and notarization – the USPS would thrive.5 The push to privatize the USPS is because of its success, not because it is struggling. First-class mail is declining, but shipping is on the rise. The USPS would rank around 40th on the Fortune 500 if it were a private company and presents a major-making opportunity. Thanks to Mitch McConnell’s obstruction, the USPS board of governors lacked sufficient members for a quorum for years. Now, McConnell has helped Trump pack the board of governors with his own appointees – appointees who will pick the next postmaster general after current chief Megan Brennan retires early next year.6,7 There is a very real risk that the board of governors will install an advocate for privatization as the new head of the USPS – and we cannot let that happen. Tell the USPS Board of Governors: No privatizer as postmaster general. Thank you for speaking out. References: Bill Pascrell, Jr., “Congress Is Sabotaging Your Post Office,” The Washington Monthly, April/May/June 2019.Louis C. LeBrecque, “Postal Unions Uneasy as USPS Chief Prepares to Step Down,” BloombergLaw, Oct. 21, 2019.Katrina vanden Heuvel, “Trump’s privatization plan would destroy the Postal Service,” The Washington Post, Aug. 7, 2018.Aaron Greg, “Lawmakers press Pentagon on oversight of ‘slumlord’ housing contractors,” The Washington Post, Dec. 3, 2019.Pascrell, Jr., “Congress Is Sabotaging Your Post Office.”Eric Gatz, “USPS Regains a Functioning Governing Board for the First Time in Five Years,” Gov Exec, Aug. 2, 2019.LeBrecque, “Postal Unions Uneasy as USPS Chief Prepares to Step Down.”
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 17 2019
GritsMONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2019Monday link roundupHere are a few odds and ends that deserve readers’ attention:From the Baker Institute at Rice: Drug Treatment Gaps in Harris County, TexasTexas Tribune: Federal judge aims to get to the bottom of TDCJ heat-litigation liesDallas Observer: Sending social workers to mental-health 911 calls reduces emergency room stays. Readers may recall that Austin funded a similar, not-yet-implemented program in its current budget.CNN: Oregon police officers can no longer seek consent searches without reasonable suspicion. Here’s the relevant Oregon Supreme Court opinion. Read more and click the links here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/12/monday-link-roundup.html Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/block-the-new-trump-tax-scam Tell Congress:”The Trump administration’s policies are wrong for working families. Repeal the Trump tax cuts that benefit corporations and the wealthy and focus on policies that will directly help working families.” In 2017, FedEx owed $1.5 billion in taxes. Last year, thanks to the Trump tax scam, it owed exactly $0. FedEx lobbied hard for Trump’s tax cuts, and in return Trump and his Republican lackeys cut corporate taxes so much that the government actually owed FedEx money in 2018. The Trump tax scam is a failure – unless you’re an international corporation or a millionaire or billionaire. It is helping corporations avoid taxes and the wealthy hoard wealth by paying lower tax rates than working people. But corporations and billionaires are Republicans’ most coveted supporters, so they’re working with Trump on a tax scam 2.0 to be unveiled early in 2020 for his reelection campaign. We need to raise our voices now to stop it in its tracks. Sign this petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/trump-payday-lending-corruption One of the nation’s wealthiest payday lenders was recently caught bragging about how his donations to Trump are helping shred the rules on his predatory industry, which makes its money by trapping people into debt with interest rates as high as 400%.1 The dirty secret of the payday lending industry is that they don’t make money if people repay their loans on time. Payday lenders trick people into taking out loans with sky-high interest rates, lock them into months or years of debt, charge hidden fees and then can arrest borrowers to force them to pay. Obama-era rules cracked down on the industry, but with a grifter like Trump in the White House, industry is fighting back. And winning.2,3 The Trump administration is too corrupt to regulate predatory payday lenders. It’s long past time for Congress to step in and protect Americans with a clear, strict cap on payday loan interest rates. Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s corruption. Crack down on payday lenders. Daniel Hodges of Advance Financial donated more than $1.25 million directly to Trump, hosted a fundraiser for Mike Pence, donated almost $700,000 to Republicans in Congress and hired White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney’s former top aide as a lobbyist.3 Hodges openly admitted to the corruption, boasting that after he calls Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, “She’s been able to call over to the White House and say, ‘Hey, we have one of our large givers. They need an audience.’”3His investment appears to have paid off. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under Trump appointee Kathy Kraninger, claimed in a court filing earlier this year that it would preserve Obama-era rules that would have kept lenders’ from getting unlimited access to people’s bank accounts. In 2017, Hodges’ lobbyist met with Mulvaney more than anyone not employed by the government, and five Republican representatives all pressured Kraninger to dismantle the payment rules during congressional hearings.4 Now it looks like Kraninger is planning to do just that, despite her earlier promise. Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s corruption. Crack down on payday lenders.Democrats have better plans. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a bill that would cap all payday loans at 15%. Rep. Chuy Garcia is pushing legislation that would extend the 36% cap that currently protects all members of the military to every single American and close loopholes in the process.The best way to highlight Trump’s corruption – and save people from legally sanctioned loan sharks – is for the House of Representative to pass tough legislation cracking down on payday lenders. Can you help build momentum for these tough bills today?Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s corruption. Crack down on payday lenders.Thank you for speaking out.References:David Dayen, “How to Buy a Regulation in Six Short Months,” The American Prospect, Dec. 9, 2019.Ibid.Anjali Tsui, “They Loan You Money. Then They Get a Warrant for Your Arrest.” ProPublica, Dec. 3, 2019.Dayen, “How to Buy a Regulation in Six Short Months.”Ibid.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 18 2019 Sign this petition here: https://greenamerica.salsalabs.org/carterstoxictextiles/index.html The textile manufacturing industry uses over 8,000 chemicals and accounts for 20% of industrial water pollution. The chemicals used can harm workers, the environment, and even consumers. There isn’t full transparency or understanding what chemicals are being used, nor their effects on human and environmental health. Meanwhile, strong chemical management policies that protect workers and consumers, like adoption of manufacturing restricted substances lists (MRSL), which bans/restricts chemicals used in the manufacturing process, are still the exception, not the norm. So we’re calling on Carter’s, the largest retailer of baby clothes, to clean up its act and End Toxic Textiles in its supply chain. We’re asking Carter’s to adopt a strong, public chemical management policy that will protect workers and consumers, starting by disclosing what chemicals are being used in its supply chain. We also want Carter’s to develop plans to restrict/replace the most toxic chemicals with safer alternatives, and we want Carter’s to publicly report on its timeline and progress. Carter’s response: “We have an internal restricted chemicals list that we are working on expanding. We are also actively assessing how we can better disclose this and other environmental, social, and governance-related information to our customers and the general public.” Read more here. Carter’s customers deserve to know what toxins may be in their children’s clothes and what Carter’s is doing to eliminate those toxins. Carter’s is a leader in selling baby clothes in the country. Join us in encouraging it to become a leader in cleaner clothes that are better for people and the planet.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 19 2019 Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/add-your-name-end-mike-pences-attacks-on-pete-buttigieg Add Your Name: Stand with Pete Buttigieg against Mike Pence’s Attacks SIGN BOLD DEMOCRATS PAC’S URGENT PETITION: Stand with Pete Buttigieg Against Mike Pence’s Homophobic Attacks. Mike Pence has a DISGUSTING history of homophobia and anti-LGBTQ+ policies – and now he’s coming after Pete Buttigieg. We’re sick and tired of Pence spewing homophobic hate. No one should be ATTACKED for who they love – we must band together and deliver Mike Pence a message he can’t ignore: We stand with Pete Buttigieg against your repulsive homophobia. We cannot allow Mike Pence to continue to harass Pete Buttigieg and the LGBTQ+ community. If we stay silent, we’re letting his hateful, homophobic rhetoric win. So we’re saying this loud and clear: Mike Pence, your homophobia is not acceptable and it NEVER will be! This isn’t just about Pete Buttigieg, this is about standing up for the LGBTQ+ community EVERYWHERE and letting them know we have their backs. Sign on TODAY with BOLD Democrats PAC and STAND against Mike Pence’s homophobic attacks. Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-impeach-trump-but-dont-send-articles-to-senate-for-a-sham-trial Sign the petition: Impeach Trump, but don’t send articles to Senate until Republicans agree to a REAL trial The U.S. House is voting to impeach Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The evidence is overwhelming, and he deserves to be removed from office. But the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate is full of Trump loyalists, hell-bent on holding a sham trial that would inevitably result in his acquittal. The Constitution says all senators must try an impeachment “on oath or affirmation,” and the Senate Rules spell out the oath to “do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has no intention of abiding his oath as an impartial juror, and is even strategizing with Trump’s legal team. Other Republicans have said the same. Senator Lindsey Graham says he won’t even pretend to be a fair juror, and Ron Johnson won’t recuse himself because he calls this a “political process,” not a trial. There is a solution to this impasse, however. The House may impeach, but can withhold articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial. The Constitution does not specify when or how articles of impeachment must be sent to the U.S. Senate for a trial. But any prosecutor who knows that the jury is tainted can choose not to proceed with an indictment, until they know it will be a fair trial. Speaker Nancy Pelosi & the House leadership can withhold the articles of impeachment due to the Republican Senate’s abdication of their oath, keeping the impeachment dangling over Donald Trump’s head until the Senate is ready to act like grownups. Sign the petition: The U.S. Senate has no intention of holding a fair trial. Withhold articles of impeachment until they are ready to do so.
PETITIONINGU.S. House of RepresentativesSPONSORED BYDaily KosOur Message to U.S. House of Representatives :As much as Donald Trump deserves to be removed from office, the U.S. Senate has no intention of holding a fair trial. As members of the House, you must withhold articles of impeachment until the Senate is ready to do so.
GritsWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2019Reasonably Suspicious Christmas episode: The Grinch story “if the Whos were us,” plus the policy failure of high fines, examining recent innocence cases, and reviewing Texas’ biggest criminal-justice stories of 2019 Here’s the December 2019 episode of Just Liberty’s Reasonably Suspicious podcast, co-hosted by me and our good friend Mandy Marzullo, of the Texas Defender Service. This month includes a special Christmas poem in the intro! Listen here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/12/reasonably-suspicious-christmas-episode.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 20 2019 I got this email today and yesterday and was so impressed I had to post it here. I found where is is located online to post here. I say the same thing for all the anti LGBTQ, prejudiced laws; like the “religious liberty” legislation. When this type of inhuman propagation is put forth; real people suffer and even die. From: https://www.salon.com/2019/12/20/the-trump-administration-has-just-declared-war-on-social-security_partner/ The Trump administration has just declared war on Social SecurityAn attack on any part of Social Security is an attack on the entire system and all current and future beneficiaries DECEMBER 20, 2019 8:00AM (UTC) American workers contribute to Social Security with every paycheck. When they do, they are earning comprehensive insurance protections. Social Security insures against the loss of wages due to old age, disability, or (for the surviving family of a worker) death. While Social Security is best known as a retirement program, disability and survivor’s benefits are equally essential. An attack on any part of Social Security is an attack on the entire system and all current and future beneficiaries. The latest proposal from Donald Trump’s administration, which is designed to rip benefits away from hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities, amounts to a declaration of war on Social Security. The Trump administration proposal would require millions of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries to re-prove their eligibility for benefits as often as every six months — far more frequently than is currently the case. There is no justification for this policy. The United States already has some of the strictest eligibility criteria for disability benefits in the world. More than half of all claims are denied. We should be making it easier for workers to claim the Social Security benefits they’ve earned with every paycheck, not harder. And ripping benefits away from current beneficiaries, who rely on them to survive, is even worse. We know what the effects of the Trump proposal would be, because Ronald Reagan implemented a very similar benefit cut back in the 1980s. Reagan’s policy ripped away the benefits of 200,000 Americans with disabilities. The New York Times reported that “people with obvious physical and mental disabilities” lost their benefits “without having been interviewed.” Ultimately, Reagan was forced to reverse his attack on Social Security after massive public outcry, and bipartisan condemnation from Congress — but not before 21,176 people died, including several who died by suicide, “because their benefits were cut off.” Donald Trump himself might not be a diligent student of history, but his advisers — men like Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s chief of staff and a longtime enemy of Social Security — know exactly what they are doing. They want to resurrect Reagan’s Social Security cut knowing full well that it killed people. This could impact any of us, even those of us who are currently healthy. Imagine that you are hit by a car tomorrow, and suffer life-altering injuries that prevent you from working. You’re faced with crushing medical bills, and you’ve lost your income. In such situations, SSDI benefits are a crucial lifeline. Donald Trump wants to rip that lifeline away. Trump and Mulvaney are targeting people with disabilities first, because they perceive them as politically vulnerable. But if they are allowed to get away with this attack, it will be only the beginning. They want to destroy every part of Social Security, including retirement benefits, and turn it over to their criminal friends on Wall Street. We must stop Trump’s plan. The Social Security Administration is collecting comments on the proposal until the end of January. You can comment opposing the plan here. Everyone must also call their elected officials. Congressional condemnation played a huge role in forcing Ronald Reagan to reverse his version of the attack, and it can stop Trump in his tracks. If we let the politicians in Washington, D.C., take away some people’s earned benefits, it means they can take away all of our earned benefits.
ALEX LAWSONAlex Lawson is the executive director of Social Security Works, a non-profit advocacy group that supports expanding benefits to address America’s growing retirement security crisis. Lawson has appeared on numerous TV and radio outlets and is a frequent guest host of The “Thom Hartmann Program,” one of the top progressive radio shows in the country. MORE FROM ALEX LAWSON: https://www.salon.com/writer/alex-lawson
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 22 2019 A WAR OVER THE WEBA Little-Known Privacy Battle Is Being Waged Over Encrypting the Nuts and Bolts of the Internet An important fight is brewing over the nuts and bolts of the Internet that has significant implications for the privacy and security of all its users. The fight is complicated, but at its core are questions about control over data, centralized power, and who should bear privacy risks. This particular battle centers around a new layer of encryption that Internet technologists (including one of us) developed to further protect the privacy and security of Internet users. We believe that everyone should be able to use the Internet without being subject to mass surveillance. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/a-little-known-privacy-battle-is-being-waged-over-encrypting-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-the-internet/ December 18, 2019TAMPONS FOR THE MANYMenstruation-Related Discrimination is Sex Discrimination – We Don’t Need to Erase Trans or Non-Binary People to Make That Point Around the country and the world, people are mobilizing for menstrual equity. Central to the policy agenda is accessible and affordable period products for everyone who needs them. In forging these claims, a question emerges: How can we recognize that barriers to menstrual access are a form of sex discrimination without erasing the lived experiences of trans men and non-binary people who menstruate, as well as women who don’t? Here, we lay out the straightforward and inclusive argument that shows how barriers such as the tax on menstrual products qualify as unconstitutional sex discrimination. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/menstruation-related-discrimination-is-sex-discrimination-we-dont-need-to-erase-trans-or-non-binary-people-to-make-that-point/
December 17, 2019CASH CAPTIVESIn Oklahoma, Cash Bail is Being Used as Ransom to Keep People Who Are Poor Behind Bars If you are one of the 4,000 people arrested every year in tiny Canadian County, Oklahoma, there is one question that determines how things will go for you: Do you have enough money to pay the cash bail? Right now, ACLU client Jermaine Bradford, who was arrested for misdemeanor charges in November, sits in a jail cell in Canadian County because he can’t afford to pay his $2,000 bail. We’re suing to end this cruel and unconstitutional cycle. Jermaine – and every person locked in the Canadian County jail – deserves a public hearing presided over by a judge who asks questions about whether they have a job, and what they can pay. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/its-clear-in-oklahoma-cash-bail-is-being-used-as-ransom-to-keep-people-who-are-poor-behind-bars/ December 17, 2019UNPARDONABLETrump’s War Pardons Are Sabotaging the Military Justice System Last month, in an unprecedented move, President Trump pardoned war crimes charges against three U.S. military service members. The three men forgiven by the president had committed or were accused of committing horrifying crimes, including, in one instance, ordering the murder of two unarmed Afghan villagers. While former military leaders expressed concern that the pardons may encourage more impunity for war crimes, the U.S.’ poor record of accountability dates back all the way to the Bush administration. We owe it to the victims of America’s abuses to start grappling with the tremendous harm that our counterterrorism policies have caused and strive to repair this harm by holding perpetrators accountable. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/trumps-war-pardons-are-sabotaging-the-military-justice-system/
Of course there are fake faces using AI or simple everyday programs. Using fake faces has always been common place on the internet. Yet another article vindicating what I have been saying about social media/internet/media for years. I would not doubt that there are programs that can produce fake social media/internet/mediaaccounts by the thousands; simply by pressing enter. Programs like this have been around on the internet since it was invented. To think politicians have been manipulated by fake social media/internet/media all this time; putting us all in danger everyday. I feel sorry for all the social media people in America being manipulated by it; since most of it is probably from foreign country’s, trying to influence Americans. From: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/20/tech/facebook-fake-faces/index.html Now fake Facebook accounts are using fake faces CNN Business Updated 1:04 PM ET, Sat December 21, 2019 Dublin, Ireland (CNN Business)Artificially-generated faces of people who don’t exist are being used to front fake Facebook (FB) accounts in an attempt to trick users and game the company’s systems, the social media network said Friday. Experts who reviewed the accounts say it is the first time they have seen fake images like this being used at scale as part of a single social media campaign. The accounts, which were removed by Facebook on Friday, were part of a network that generally posted in support of President Trump and against the Chinese government, experts who reviewed the accounts said. Many of the accounts promoted links to a Facebook page and website called “The BL.” Facebook said the accounts were tied to the US-based Epoch Media Group, which owns The Epoch Times newspaper, a paper tied to the Falun Gong movement that is similarly pro-Trump.The publisher of the Epoch Times denied that Epoch and The BL were linked in emails to the fact-checking organization Snopes earlier this year. In a statement released after this story initially published on Friday, Epoch Times publisher Stephen Gregory said, “The Epoch Times and The BL media companies are unaffiliated. The BL was founded by a former employee, and employs some of our former employees. However, that some of our former employees work for BL is not evidence of any connection between the two organizations.”The BL is a publication of Epoch Times Vietnam. As can be seen in archived pages of The Epoch Times website, Epoch Times Vietnam was no longer listed as part of Epoch Media Group in October 2018.” In response, a Facebook spokesperson told CNN Business that executives at The BL were active administrators on Epoch Media Group Pages as recently as Friday morning. The dystopian revelation of the use of artificially-generated images in this way points to an increasingly complicated online information landscape as America enters a presidential election year. Silicon Valley and the US intelligence community are still struggling with the fallout from widespread online interference in the 2016 presidential election. The Facebook accounts used profile pictures that appeared to show real people smiling and looking directly into a camera. But the people do not and have never existed, according to Facebook and other researchers. The images were created using artificial intelligence technology. The same basic methods are used to produce deepfake videos — fake videos that the US intelligence community has warned could be used as part of a foreign disinformation campaign targeting Americans. From: https://bdnews24.com/the-long-read/2019/12/22/these-reporters-lost-their-jobs.-here-are-the-stories-they-couldnt-tell. The Dallas Morning News (Dallas): Nanette Light, 32 Nanette Light covered Collin County, Texas, and lost her job in January. She now works in communications for a paediatric health care foundation in Dallas. One story I reported for a long time was about an elderly couple who lived by the McKinney airport. McKinney was named “Best Place to Live in America” by Money Magazine one year, and the city wanted to grow this airport. This couple wanted to move, but it was hard to sell because who would want to live right there? The city wanted to buy it for less than they thought it was worth. I was in the middle of the reporting, and every time I think about it, I feel guilty. To me, it was a growing pains story — the growing pains of a city as it evolves from a small community to a much larger suburb, and what are the costs of that? Collin County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country. The population is a little over 1 million, and when I was on the beat, the projections were it was going to triple in size by 2050. Toyota relocated its headquarters there, it had a reputation for good schools. At one point, there was a whole bureau covering Collin County. By the time I got laid off, it was just me. And the thing is, people miss you when you’re not there. I had written some stories about a school district that weren’t super-flattering. But when I got laid off, the president of a school board said on Twitter that he had always appreciated my work. That meant a lot to me.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 24 2019
Got the above image in my email this morning.
A proposed Louisiana chemical plant may be building on the graves of formerly enslaved people. We’re saying “no.” RISE St. James, a faith-based grassroots community group, recently learned that graves of enslaved people have been found on the proposed site of Formosa Plastics in St. James Parish, a fact the company did not bring to the community’s attention while it was seeking a land use permit. They discovered the presence of graves on the proposed site after reviewing the company’s submissions to the permitting agencies, which they obtained from a public records request. The records also revealed that Formosa representatives have considered the possibility of removing remains if found on certain portions of the property, because preserving them in place would be a “difficult option” for the company. “We are going to fight for the respect [our ancestors’] resting places—and our community—deserve as we continue our fight to stop Formosa Plastics from being built at all. Governor John Bel Edwards should join us and protect our communities,” said Sharon Lavigne of RISE St. James. Learn more here: https://ccrjustice.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 26 2019 Grits
Texas Judge December 24, 2019 BRIEF From: https://www.courthousenews.com/texas-judge/ SHERMAN, Texas – A federal court in Texas ruled that exonerated former judge Suzanne Wooten has plausibly pleaded her conspiracy claim, which alleges that Collin County district attorney’s office defendants – at the request of the incumbent judge she beat in an election – acted in concert with a former assistant attorney general to investigate her.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 27 2019 You know what gets to me? Greedy, power-hungry corporations screwing over people and the planet to make an extra buck! Like Nestlé paying almost nothing to extract water it then bottles and rakes in millions of dollars from in Michigan, while people just down the road in Flint have lead-contaminated water. That they pay out the nose for. That’s disgusting! But there’s something you can do about it. You can give to Corporate Accountability during their Challenge Corporate Power Match Campaign — and your gift will be doubled. They run smart, strategic, effective campaigns to hold corporations accountable. And they win. That’s why I give to Corporate Accountability, and why you should too. Remember anything you give can help. And at a time where profit means more than humanity, help is really important. Give here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ye19
Lewis Black Thanks,
Lewis Black
SIGN the PETITION to the SEC: Don’t undermine shareholder activism! Sign here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-the-sec-to-stop-undermining-shareholder-activism/ The petition says: Do not take away our rights as investors: We urge you to reject the proposed changes to shareholder proposal and voting processes. The longstanding shareholder proposal rule facilitates the right of Americans to hold accountable the corporations that they invest in. The SEC should protect Main Street Americans, not Wall Street and big business CEOs.Sign the Coalition Petition!SEC must protect the rights of all shareholders not only the wealthy! Wealthy CEOs, Wall Street, and other Big Money interests want to block small shareholders from pressuring corporations to be accountable — and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is about to let them. The SEC has proposed a new rule that blocks shareholder resolutions which have been used for decades to improve governance and advance requirements that corporations address important causes that matter to the world at large — including whether they use secret money in elections. Now the SEC is looking to undermine shareholder proposals and make it harder for advocates to constrain corporate abuses. We need to stand up and fight back to protect the ability of shareholders to shape the governance of corporations they invest in. Prosecutors Can’t Claim Immunity From Ex-Judge’s Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit, Judge Rules Former Judge Suzanne Wooten, though, won’t be allowed to appear on a Republican primary ballot. From: https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2019/12/26/prosecutors-cant-claim-immunity-from-ex-judges-wrongful-conviction-lawsuit-judge-rules/?slreturn=20191127115716 December 26, 2019 at 02:59 PM Former Texas Judge Suzanne Wooten, who was exonerated in 2017 of a conviction that cost her a seat on the bench, will not be allowed on the Republican primary ballot this spring. The Texas Supreme Court on Monday denied Wooten’s request to declare her eligible to run as a district judge and force the Collin County Republican Party to place her name on the ballot. The party claimed she was ineligible because she didn’t have a law license for the entire four years before the election, as required by the Texas Constitution. But Wooten notched a win in federal court Monday after a judge ruled prosecutors involved in her wrongful conviction cannot claim qualified immunity from her wrongful prosecution claims. That ruling came from Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas. “Most of the case proceeds on, and we are happy with a majority of Judge Mazzant’s rulings, especially that the defendants Roach, Milner, White and Collin County are still in the case,” said Wooten’s attorney, Scott Palmer of Dallas. “We look forward to proceeding with discovery and moving this case forward.” Wooten, who was elected to Collin County’s 380th District Court in 2008, was wrongfully convicted of nine felonies in 2011, forced to resign and had her law license suspended. She was exonerated in a 2017 ruling that said even if the allegations against her were true, her actions simply weren’t a crime under Texas law. She then got her law license back.The central allegation in her conviction involved claims that co-defendants funneled money to Wooten’s campaign in exchange for her to run against the incumbent. The co-defendants wanted Wooten, as judge, to issue favorable rulings in a pending family law case. Wooten sued Collin County, former District Attorney John Roach Sr., Assistant District Attorney Christopher Milner, former Assistant Attorney General Harry White and then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott for malicious prosecution in May 2018. Mazzant’s ruling Monday dismissed Abbott as a defendant.
Mazzant ruled this spring that they were not entitled to prosecutorial immunity because they took up the robe of law enforcement investigators rather than sticking to their duties as prosecutors. That sparked an interlocutory appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is still pending. Meanwhile, Wooten was instructed to file an amended pleading with more details about her probation, arrest, and other things, to help the court decide whether qualified immunity applied. Qualified immunity protects government officials from being sued for mistakes, but not for plain incompetence or purposeful violations of the law. Mazzant’s ruling Monday concluded that qualified immunity does not apply at this stage. The judge rejected Roach and Milner’s arguments that they can’t be liable because their involvement came before Wooten’s indictment and conviction, since the attorney general’s office took over the case in 2010. The court found Wooten raised sufficient allegations that the district attorney’s office initiated criminal charges with no probable cause, which set in motion the constitutional violations. Roach and Milner also couldn’t dodge liability by arguing it was a grand jury that indicted Wooten, and a judge and jury that convicted her. The opinion noted that Wooten was claiming the defendants conducted a malicious investigation, arrested her with no probable cause and used facts they knew were untrue. Those allegations, if true, are enough for the claims to proceed, Mazzant ruled. Mazzant wrote that because Wooten received a jury trial, which is the ultimate due process, she couldn’t sue for procedural due process violations. However, he reached a different outcome regarding her substantive due process claims. Wooten alleged that even if all the facts in her underlying wrongful conviction were true, her actions were never a crime under Texas law and the district attorney defendants knew all along. Mazzant rejected Roach, Milner and White’s claim that they used a reasonable interpretation of the law at the time and didn’t anticipate the Court of Criminal Appeals would hold differently. “Any reasonable official should know that creating and pursuing a criminal investigation, for something that is not a crime, based on political motivations, thereby destroying that person’s reputation, employment, and livelihood is a violation of that person’s constitutional rights,” Mazzant wrote.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 29 2019 Grits
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2019 TX county jails seek to avoid, fail to cooperate with investigations into medical deaths, says Jail Standards Commission’s Sunset ‘self evaluation’ Grits took time this morning to read through the Texas Commission on Jail Standards’ self evaluation created as part of the “Sunset” process, through which the Texas Legislature evaluates agencies’ functions every few years. For my own purposes, I took a few notes. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/12/tx-county-jails-seek-to-avoid-fail-to.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 2 2020 Grits WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 01, 2020 More on victimization at Texas youth prisons, prosecutor loses immunity over wrongful conviction, broken-windows theory built on a hoax, and other stories (I am going to post the abuse of youths on my sex offender blog) Happy new year, folks, let’s clear a few browser tabs with a quick roundup of stories that merit Grits readers’ attention:
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 3 2020 Grits THURSDAY, JANUARY 02, 2020 Driver killed by Temple PD at traffic stop was unarmed, fingerprint fallibility, and a New Year’s #cjreform reading list Here are a few more odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/driver-killed-by-temple-pd-at-traffic.html As of Tuesday, Dec. 31, statistics from the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks the deaths of officers in the U.S. and its territories, indicate that 131 police officers have died in 2019 — the lowest annual total since 1959, when 122 were killed. read more here: https://www.foxnews.com/us/2019-is-the-least-deadly-year-for-police-in-decades-statistics-show Sign this petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/no-new-trump-tax-scam Block the new Trump Tax Scam In 2017, FedEx owed $1.5 billion in taxes. Last year, thanks to the Trump Tax Scam, it owed exactly $0. FedEx lobbied hard for Trump’s tax cuts, and in return Trump and his Republican lackeys cut corporate taxes so much that the government actually owed FedEx money in 2018.1 The Trump Tax Scam is a failure – unless you’re an international corporation or a billionaire. It is helping corporations evade taxes and the super wealthy hoard wealth by paying lower taxes than working people.2 But corporations and billionaires are Republicans’ most coveted supporters, so they’re working with Trump on a Tax Scam 2.0 to be unveiled this fall.3 We need to raise our voices now to stop it in its tracks. Tell Congress: Block the new Trump Tax Scam. The Trump Tax Scam was immoral from the start and has become more unpopular with each passing day. It sabotaged the Affordable Care Act and gave corporations a permanent tax break while individuals and families saw only temporary benefits. Two years later, its success at rewarding the rich and failure to help anyone else could not be clearer:4 Corporations dodged taxes.CEOs got rich using tax handouts for stock buybacks.Economic growth lagged behind what was promised.Business investment stalled.Predatory hedge funds got an accidental bonus tax break.The deficit grew and became an excuse to cut the safety net.Our national housing shortage got worse.Billionaires can pay a lower tax rate than working moms.13 million people were put at risk of losing any health care coverage.But according to new reports, Trump and his Republican puppets in Congress are planning a new tax scam that would give wealthy individuals the same permanent, non-expiring tax breaks that corporations got the first time around and introduce all sorts of new handouts for the well-connected. We need to stop this horrible idea before it gains momentum. Tell Congress: Block the new Trump Tax scam. Thank you for speaking out. References: Jim Tankersley, Peter Eavis and Ben Casselman, “How FedEx Cut Its Tax Bill to $0,” The New York Times, Nov. 17, 2019.Derek Thompson, “The GOP Tax Cuts Didn’t Work,” The Atlantic, Oct. 31, 2019.Erica Werner, Josh Dawsey and Jeff Stein, “White House officials ramp up new tax cut talks, as Trump seeks sharp contrast with 2020 Democrats,” The Washington Post, Oct. 31, 2019.Thompson, “The GOP Tax Cuts Didn’t Work.”
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 4 2020 Sign this petion here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-postal-sell-off-say-no-to-a-privatizer-as-the-postmaster-general Stop the Postal Sell-off: Say NO to a privatizer as the Postmaster General The public service mission of the Postal Service has made it the most popular federal agency. However, this public good is at risk if we don’t all act soon. In June 2018 the White House announced proposals to privatize the Postal Service. Now Postmaster General Megan Brennan has announced her departure as Postmaster General in January 2020. The Postmaster General has wide powers to shape the mission of USPS and there is a real risk that Brennan’s successor could hand over parts of the service to private, profit-making corporations and prepare it for a wholesale sell-off. The people will rightly expect a new Postmaster General who will uphold the Postal Service’s public mission and will work to preserve and enhance our national treasure. Add your voice. Protect our public Postal Service. Sign this petition here: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/millionaires-surtax Tax the super-rich. Pass a millionaires surtax. America’s super-rich have turned our democracy into an oligarchy. Instead of every vote mattering, the richest handful of American oligarchs use their money to distort elections and make government serve them.1 They use their wealth and power to buy politicians and push for policies like the Trump tax scam. And their investments are paying off — the richest of the rich actually pay lower tax rates than the rest of us since they supercharge their wealth with investments that are taxed at a much lower rate.2 Sens. Sherrod Brown and Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Don Beyer just introduced legislation to impose a surtax on all millionaires. The millionaires surtax will make sure the super-rich pay their fair share, help fund services for working people – and make our democracy work for the 99 percent again. Tell Congress: Tax the super-rich. Pass a millionaires surtax. The wealthiest few pay less in taxes the richer they get. That’s because the top tax bracket kicks in at $450,000 dollars, and the tax rate for investment income is just 15 percent. The richer people get, the more their income comes from investments and Wall Street speculation instead of working for a living, and the lower rate they pay overall. So a Fortune 500 CEO raking in money from Wall Street trades pays a lower tax rate than a doctor making $500,000 each year – and a far lower tax rate than the working people who make giant corporations profitable.3 A millionaire surtax is a great way to crack down on this injustice. It would:4 Narrowly target millionaires. The millionaires surtax adds an extra 10 percentage point tax to the .2% of individuals making more than $1 million, or $2 million for married couples. That would have applied to just 329,000 tax filers in 2019, leaving taxes untouched for 98.8 percent of people.Tax all income equally. No longer would millionaires pay a lower tax rate than their assistants. The millionaire surtax applies equally to income from wages and salaries and income from capital gains and dividends – covering a CEO’s sky-high salary as well as his investment portfolio.Make government work for working people. A super-majority of Americans of all parties support the millionaires surtax. Even a majority of millionaires supports taxing the richest of the rich. The surtax could raise more than $635 million over the next decade that could go into services for working people and public benefits that help all of us.Trump ran for office promising to ‘drain the swamp,’ then turned around and gave the Wall Street swamp a massive tax cut. Progressives need to show what true populism really looks like by rallying behind simple, commonsense ideas to make the richest of the rich pay their fair share. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders helped put this idea on the map as part of the presidential campaigns, and now we need to show that making the super-rich pay their fair share has massive support. Tell Congress: Tax the super-rich. Pass a millionaires surtax. Thank you for speaking out. References: Josh Bivens, “Restraining the power of the rich with a 10 percent surtax on incomes over $2 million,” Economic Policy Institute, April 12, 2019.Ibid.Americans for Tax Fairness, “Millionaires Surtax Background,” Millionaires Surtax, Nov. 4, 2019.Ibid. Grits FRIDAY, JANUARY 03, 2020 Texas’ natural experiment on marijuana shows decriminalization brings relief to an over-strained system The number of marijuana arrests in Texas has plummeted since June, when the state accidentally legalized “hemp,” even though Texas crime labs had no way to distinguish between legal hemp and illegal marijuana. The result, reported Jolie McCullough at the Texas Tribune: The number of new marijuana cases filed by prosecutors plummeted by two thirds, from an average of 5,900 per month last year to 1,919 in November. Think about that: Thanks to this happy accident, nearly 4,000 fewer people per month will be prosecuted. Less widely discussed: Texas crime labs will receive nearly 4,000 fewer marijuana samples per month for testing. That’s roughly 48,000 fewer per year. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/texas-natural-experiment-on-marijuana.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 5 2020 TORN APARTAcross the Country Harsh Sentencing Laws are Tearing Apart Families and Communities December 24, 2019 States across the country continue to apply outdated sentencing laws that keep people locked behind bars for excessively long times. Michigan is a particularly bad actor when it comes to laws that empower prosecutors to tack on unnecessary extra years to criminal sentences. Kimiko Uyeda, a single mother, was subject to these harsh laws after allegedly filing a false police report and spent six years behind bars. Thanks to Kimiko’s help, the Michigan Senate introduced three bills earlier this month that allow for judicial discretion in cases similar to hers, and limit the use of the punitive habitual sentencing penalty. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/across-the-country-harsh-sentencing-laws-are-tearing-apart-families-and-communities/ JOBS FOR ALL A Fair Chance at Opportunity: The U.S. Government Bans the Box December 20, 2019 By passing the Fair Chance Act in early December, the federal government will serve as a model for fair chance hiring, along with 35 states, the District of Columbia, and over 150 cities and counties that have banned the box policies. Following its passage, qualified workers with arrest or conviction records can now compete fairly for employment with the largest employer in the world, the U.S. government. The Fair Chance Act’s success was a critical step in the right direction in our continued work to advance additional fair chance hiring practices in local and state government and the private sector. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/a-fair-chance-at-opportunity-the-u-s-government-bans-the-box/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 7 2020 Grits MONDAY, JANUARY 06, 2020 Conflating federal/state systems to demagogue vs. bail reform The Dallas Morning News editorial board issued one of the most ignorant, counter-productive commentaries on bail reform I’ve seen in a while. They announce that: there is another type of bail “reform” that is growing into a national movement championed by some district attorneys. This type of bail reform drives toward the uncritical release, on outrageously low bonds, of people accused of violent crimes who have a history of violent behavior. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/conflating-federalstate-systems-to.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 8 2020 One thing that has always sickened me about the world is; child labor. It was the subject of my first political post I ever did on the internet, for democrat.org. Sign the petition: Demand Hershey, Nestlé and Mars end child labor practices NOW!: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-demand-hershey-nestle-and-mars-end-child-labor-practices-now Because of Hershey, Nestlé and Mars, the odds are substantial that a chocolate bar bought in the United States is the product of child labor.About two-thirds of the world’s cocoa supply comes from West Africa, and in 2015 the U.S. Labor Department reported that more than 2 million children were performing dangerous labor to harvest cocoa. These kids, some starting as young as 10, are employed at extremely low wages or even, in many cases, no wages. They are swinging machetes, carrying heavy loads, spraying pesticides — all considered the “worst forms of child labor” under international law. The link between American chocolate and child slave labor in West Africa has come under scrutiny in the past. But when a measure to create a federal labeling system to indicate whether child slaves had been used in harvesting cocoa didn’t pass, the chocolate industry—adamant that it didn’t need federal regulation to fix the problem—compromised with the federal government. Though they promised to eradicate child labor from their supply chains 20 years ago, today, these same companies say they cannot guarantee that the chocolate you buy is free from child labor — child labor remains a huge part of the supply chain! The agreement was not legally binding, and the chocolate companies were largely left to self-regulate. This is just one more example of so called ‘self regulation’ leading to business as usual. This is a gross malpractice and we must demand an end to it immediately! We must demand that Hershey, Nestlé and Mars cease child labor practices NOW! Sign the petition: Hershey, Nestlé and Mars broke their pledges to end child labor — they MUST put a stop to it NOW! Participating Organizations:Corporate AccountabilityCREDODaily KosSeeding SovereigntyPETITIONINGCEOs of Hershey, Nestlé and MarsSPONSORED BYDaily KosADDITIONAL SPONSORSCorporate AccountabilityBoston, MASeeding SovereigntyCREDO ActionProgress AmericaOur Message to CEOs of Hershey, Nestlé and Mars:You have broken your promise and continue to profit off of child labor. These children are taken from their homes and paid low or even no wages to conduct the “worst forms of child labor” under international law. We demand you stop these practices immediately! SIGN NOW: Demand a Social Security cost-of-living adjustment that reflects the real costs that we face: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-demand-a-social-security-cost-of-living-adjustment-that-reflects-the-real-costs-that-we-face/ Target: All Members of CongressThe current stingy COLA formula means that Social Security benefits are gradually eroding over time, since they are rising more slowly than inflation. The erosion of these benefits makes it harder for seniors and Americans with disabilities to get food, medicines, and other necessities—especially at a time when one-third of the average Social Security check is already going toward out-of-pocket medical expenses. The Social Security 2100 Act would update the formula used to calculate COLAs to reflect the real expenses that Social Security beneficiaries face. Sign the petition and tell Congress to pass the Social Security 2100 Act and give Social Security beneficiaries a real cost-of-living adjustment! PROTECT PREGNANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS Sign now: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/protect-pregnant-workers-rights Pregnant workers in the U.S. still lack critical protections in the workplace. Too many employers believe they can fire pregnant employees, force them to quit, or take unpaid leave instead of providing temporary accommodations that would allow them to remain productive employees and maintain a healthy pregnancy. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would help protect the health and livelihoods of pregnant workers. Tell your member of Congress to cosponsor the PWFA now.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 9 2020 Grits WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 08, 2020 Dallas PD pursuit policy wouldn’t have allowed DPS pursuit that lead to shooting, qualified immunity prevents prison-conditions suit, court records lost to history, and other storiesLet’s clear some browser tabs. Here are a number of recent items that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/dallas-pd-pursuit-policy-wouldnt-have.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 11 2020 Grits FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2020 Should Texas switch to non-partisan judicial elections? The Texas Judicial Selection Commission, created by the Legislature last year, says Lone-Star-State judges should be selected in non-partisan elections. The immediate concern is that experienced judges are being ousted by less experienced ones in partisan sweeps, leaving the state’s judiciary bifurcated along party lines. With the state’s larger counties and some appellate seats turning blue, the state’s high courts and most appellate bodies are still controlled by Republicans. https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/should-texas-switch-to-non-partisan.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 12 2020 Grits SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020 Made-up informants, prosecutor misconduct, reacting to crime in Dallas, and other storiesHere are a few odds and ends that merit Grits’ readers attention on a big football weekend: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/made-up-informants-prosecutor.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 13 2020 Grits UNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2020 On the damage done by economists to criminal-justice policy: A personal polemic In December, Grits was pleased to meet Texas A&M Associate Professor Jennifer Doleac, an economist who seeks to apply econometric methods to crime policy. Prof. Doleac runs a podcast called Probable Causation, on which she interviews economists about their criminal-justice-related work. She is an avid promoter of her profession. In her view, “if anyone is equipped to design solutions to existing problems and test whether they worked, it is economists.” Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/on-damage-done-by-economists-to.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 14 2020 In some cases I find it hard to say suicide is murder; like when a gay person kills themselves from being picked on. In this case I expound zealously that suicide is murder. If a person is willing to murder themselves it is obvious; they are a small step away from murdering someone else.
From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/01/gay-right-winger-protested-drag-queens-marriage-equality-died-suicide/ Gay right-winger who protested drag queens & marriage equality died by suicide The gay conservative was part of an “aggressive” protest at a library that spawned nationwide condemnation the day before he died. Monday, January 13, 2020 A gay student who protested against a Drag Queen Story Hour in a viral video has been found dead in an apparent suicide over the weekend. Wilson Gavin, 21, led a group of 15 to 20 protestors from the University of Queensland’s Liberal National Club (the Liberty Party of Australia is center-right) this weekend in what was called an “aggressive” protest against a Drag Queen Story Hour being held at the Brisbane Square Library in Australia.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 15 2020
Gay Republican accuses Democrats of supporting “Sharia Law” & beheading gays The Log Cabin Republican leader said that Democrats will kill LGBTQ people while Donald Trump has expanded gay rights. Tuesday, January 14, 2020 A gay Republican went on a rant filled with conspiracy theories and false accusations against Muslim American lawmakers and Democrats at a Log Cabin Republican rally in Florida yesterday. Andrew Brett is the president of the Broward County Log Cabin Republicans, a group for LGBTQ Republicans that held a rally in Wilton Manors. About a dozen people showed up for the rally, according to South Florida Gay News, and about three times as many people attended the counter-protest. Related: Former Log Cabin Republicans head publicly opposes proposed LGBTQ nondiscrimination law Brett started his speech by accusing Democrats of becoming the “party of division,” and then he launched a diatribe against Muslims and Democrats. He said that the current contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination – which include former Vice President Joe Biden, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg – favor “Socialism in which supports Sharia law.” He did not explain the connection between Socialism and Islamic religious law. “The GLBT Democratic residents of Broward County don’t understand or comprehend the catastrophic results of Sharia Law,” he said. “[Rep. Ihlan] Omar [D-MN] and [Rep. Rashida] Tlaib [D-MI] support Sharia Law and definitely do not support the GLBT community even though they claim to be Democrats. Omar and Tlaib are not friends of the GLBT community and support the execution of beheadings of GLBT people.” Omar and Tlaib are the first two Muslim women to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and neither supports imposing Islamic religious law on the U.S. And neither supports beheading LGBTQ people. Indeed, they have both publicly supported LGBTQ equality. But that didn’t stop Brett. He went on to say that Democrats’ support for modest gun control is a sign that they want to exterminate LGBTQ people. “Might I remind the GLBT community that Hitler took the guns away from 20,000 people and you saw how that played out,” he said. “The Log Cabin Republicans totally support the Second Amendment and we’ll be damned if any Socialists will take that right a way.” Brett also defended Donald Trump. “So when GLBT folks, not only in Broward County, but throughout the country say, ‘President Trump is taking our rights away.’ I always ask ‘What rights has he taken away from you when you woke up this morning?’ He hasn’t. And didn’t.” He listed several things that Trump did for LGBTQ people, most of which were promises (like Trump’s promise to end HIV), probably not true (that Trump nominated a gay judge to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals), or irrelevant (that Trump donates his presidential salary). At the end of his speech, Brett said that Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican, which is false, and specifically mentioned King’s daughter Alveda King who “carries on his legacy and his message that we were all created equal.” Alveda King is a Fox News contributor who is probably best known as the homophobic member of the King family – she has said that the devil created homosexuality, that homosexuality is “unnatural,” that legalizing marriage equality leads to natural disasters, and that homosexuality is comparable to pedophilia. Activist Michael Rajner led the counterprotest and drowned out the Log Cabin Republicans with his bullhorn, South Florida Gay News reports, because the conservatives forgot to charge the battery for their sound system. “I think it’s important to be here because generations that follow us will be subject to the horrible laws and punishments from this administration if [Trump] should be reelected,” Rajner said. “He’s appointed some terrible judges that are hostile to the LGBT community, and our protections are eroding so quickly.” “We must stand up, we must register to vote, and we must get the community to mobilize to stand up against this hate.”
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 17 2020
I got this outstanding email from NAACP this morning: You might have seen us in the New York Times, but if you haven’t, I wanted to make sure to highlight this article for you: Read more. I want to be completely clear, Richard: The fossil fuel industry is not our friend. They are not on our side, and we cannot allow ourselves to be fooled by people whose only goal is to amass wealth without regard for our planet or its inhabitants. Communities of color, low-income communities, and nations in the global south are feeling the extreme impacts of climate change first and worst. We have a moral responsibility to do everything we can to look out for communities and nations at risk, and put a stop to exploitation. It’s why we’ve invested so heavily in our Environment and Climate Justice program (it’s now our largest division), and it’s why we need your support. Can you make a contribution today to help fund the NAACP’s work in fighting climate change? We are absolutely committed to empowering our community in the fight against polluters such as the fossil fuel industry. But these groups—Exxon, the Koch Network, Duke Energy, and others—are extremely well-funded and determined. Grits THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2020 On the limits of regression analysis by economists and justice researchers Since Grits recently issued dire complaints regarding the role of economists in criminal-justice policy, the publication of this statistician’s related complaints the following day set off all sorts of wonderful, confirmation-bias-generated dopamine in your correspondent’s brain, as well as filling out a more rigorous critique of economists’ use of regression analysis only hinted at in my offering. The author, Andrew Gelman, writes about the interdisciplinary use of statistics in the social sciences. In his view Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/on-limits-of-regression-analysis-by.html Sign on if you believe that the United States Postal Service should not be privatized. Click here: https://secure.314action.org/page/s/save-the-usps
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 18 2020 Grits FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2020 Parole board now Joe Bryan’s only hope after TX CCA’s shameful rejection of his habeas writThe Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ rejection of Joe Bryan’s habeas corpus writ may rank as its most embarrassing moment since the 1990s when they refused to recognize DNA evidence exonerating Roy Criner. That episode spurred the Legislature to intervene in 2001 to create a vehicle for DNA exonerations. Will their arrogant, unexplained rejection of Bryan’s claims earn a similar backlash? Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/parole-board-now-joe-bryans-only-hope.html Campaign Action Sign and send the petition: Urge your representative to support the BE HEARD Act. Victims of workplace harassment continue to be silenced and made to feel ashamed. Sign here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-urge-your-representative-to-support-the-be-heard-act-victims-of-workplace-harassment-continue-to-be-silenced-and-made-to-feel-ashamed Harassers and manipulators have used power and privilege to escape consequences for far too long, and working people have suffered. But we can change that. The Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) in the Workplace Act is the first comprehensive federal legislation that would fix our broken laws to prevent workplace harassment and abuse—and ensure all of us are protected from harassment on the job, no matter who we are or where we work. Working people have fought for years to address the power disparities and exploitative working conditions that have allowed harassment, assault, and discrimination to persist in the workplace. These movements for change have been led by courageous women who have for too long endured harassment and violence at work, including women of color, Indigenous women, immigrants, and women in low-wage jobs—who are especially impacted. The BE HEARD in the Workplace Act would bring us much closer to the world we all deserve, where all of us can work with equality, safety, and dignity on the job. For the first time, expand anti-harassment and civil rights protections to all working people, including workers at small businesses, independent contractors, unpaid interns, volunteers, and trainees. This bill will benefit working people nationwide, across all industries and occupations. It’s what we all deserve. We’ve come so far, and we need an even bigger movement to make sure that Congress acts to pass this bold new bill. Together, let’s end workplace harassment and discrimination. Please sign the petition to members of the U.S. Congress now. Sign and send the petition to your representative: Urge House leadership to cosponsor and bring the BE HEARD Act to a vote. Sign this petition here: https://act.thejusticecollaborative.com/letter/the-justice-guarantee/ Tell your Reps: Support The Justice GuaranteeThe Justice Guarantee – a platform featuring six key policies for reform – calls for the decriminalization of drug possession and the investment of valuable resources into treatment for addiction rather than locking people in cages. Will contact your House and Senate representatives today asking them to support The Justice Guarantee? It will just take a minute. In order to send this message to your correct representative, you must provide your zip code. Sign this petition here: http://act.pfaw.org/sign/Support-ERA/Enter 555-555-5555 for mobile number if you want Tell Congress—it’s time for the Equal Rights Amendment On January 15, the Virginia legislature passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) which guarantees equal rights and freedom from discrimination to all Americans on the basis of sex. This victory shows the increasing momentum for adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment. Sign our petition to Congress emphasizing how important the ERA is for advancing and protecting gender equity. There is current legislation in Congress to remove the deadline and allow for the Amendment’s adoption—together we can ensure that the ERA is written into the Constitution and that all Americans are protected from discrimination on the basis of sex.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 19 2020NEWS & COMMENTARY Pregnant Workers Are Still Fighting for the Right to WorkIt’s time Congress passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.January 10, 2020In 2015, Michelle Durham, an ACLU client, was faced with an impossible choice: continue working and risk the health of her pregnancy or give up her paycheck.She was working as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for Rural/Metro Corporation, a company in Alabama that provides emergency medical care to people living in areas that lack basic medical services. Shortly after joining Rural/Metro Corporation in Alabama, Michelle learned she was pregnant with her first child and was advised by her health professional not to lift more than 50 pounds. She was confident the company would grant her a temporary reassignment, given her employer had a policy of giving “light duty” or “modified duty” job assignments to EMTs when they had lifting restrictions, like a back injury, and dispatcher jobs were available. Read more here: https://www.aclu.org/news/womens-rights/pregnant-workers-are-still-fighting-for-the-right-to-work/ Clearing the Record: How Eviction Sealing Laws Can Advance Housing Access for Women of Color January 10, 2020 In 2008, Ashley called the police after her ex-partner refused to leave her apartment, threatened her, and threw a rock at her window. The police issued a “trespass notice,” prohibiting Ashley’s abuser from coming back to the home. When Ashley informed her landlord about the incident, the landlord responded by filing an eviction against Ashley and her child. Because evictions based on domestic violence are unlawful, the court threw out Ashley’s eviction. But seven years later, Ashley still struggled to obtain housing because of the prior eviction filing on her record. Read more here: https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/clearing-the-record-how-eviction-sealing-laws-can-advance-housing-access-for-women-of-color/
Grits SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2020 Execution scheduled based on bogus “future dangerousness” testimony Much attention has been drawn to the example of A.P. Merillat, the Montgomery County DA investigator and TDCAA favorite son who repeatedly overstated the dangers to inmates and staff at TDCJ in the sentencing phase of death penalty trials. But over the years, many different “experts” have played that role, and he’s not the only one overstating the “future dangerousness” of capital defendants while understating TDCJ’s ability to manage them. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/execution-scheduled-based-on-bogus.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 20 2020 Grits SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020 Margaret Moore’s self inflicted wounds Is it just me, or is Travis County DA Margaret Moore behaving like someone who really doesn’t want votes in a Democratic primary? She started out her re-election campaign facing serious criticism on the first item below, but the rest seem like self-inflicted wounds. Read more: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/margaret-moores-self-inflicted-wounds.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 21 2020 Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/social-security-attack ACT NOW: PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY. OPPOSE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CRUEL POLICY. The last time this policy was implemented, 21,176 people died. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration implemented a policy resulting in 200,000 Americans losing their earned Social Security disability benefits with thousands losing their lives. At the time, thanks to a massive public outcry, they were forced to reverse this attack on Social Security. But now, without regard for history or human life, the Trump administration has proposed a similar rule that’s designed to rip benefits away from hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities. While Social Security is best known as a retirement program, disability and survivors benefits are equally essential. That’s why we’re rallying our allies across the country to fight back against this proposed rule change and save the lives of thousands of Americans. Click “start writing” to submit an official comment to the Social Security Administration and stop the Trump administration’s cruel policy before it’s implemented. We’ve provided suggested comment language, but feel free to personalize your comment to have an even greater impact. Please do not edit the subject line.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 23 2020 Sign this petition here: https://secure.foodandwateraction.org/act/keep-fracking-out-our-transportation-bill Keep Fracking Out of Our Transportation Bill! Fossil fuel companies want to use our tax dollars to prop up a massive petrochemical project in Appalachia that would make more single-use plastics and create more carbon emissions. It would be a disaster for communities in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia living near this buildout, and it would also be a huge setback for fighting the worst effects of climate change. But they’re trying to sneak in all the support they can for it, even in our federal transportation bill. Sign below to make sure House Democrats don’t include these handouts to the fracking industry! *Your elected officials require the contact information below in order to receive your message. Grits WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020Federal judge annoyed with Travis DA for recalcitrance on innocence caseRosa Jimenez, the Austin babysitter wrongly convicted of murdering a child in her care 17 years ago, is likely innocent and should be released, four different judges (two federal, two state) have now declared, despite a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruling to the contrary. But Travis County DA Margaret Moore insists she intends to re-try Jimenez, and with Attorney General Ken Paxton has petitioned the courts to stay her release. At the Austin Statesman, Chuck Lindell recorded part of the exchange: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/federal-judge-annoyed-with-travis-da.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 24 2020 Tell DA Margaret Moore: #FreeRosa sign here: https://act.thejusticecollaborative.com/signup/free-rosa/Rosa Jimenez has been in prison for 17 years for a crime she did not commit. And Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore is trying to make sure that she dies there. DA Moore has the power to free Rosa immediately by dropping charges against her. But she’s refusing to do so. DA Moore is ignoring clear evidence of Rosa’s innocence and the fact that four different judges have concluded that Rosa is likely innocent. Sign the petition: Demand Trump’s Bureau of Land Management Acting Director William Pendley resign. Protect our air, water, public lands, and communities. Sign here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-demand-trumps-bureau-of-land-management-acting-director-william-pendley-resign-protect-our-air-water-public-lands-and-communities Natural spaces, and consequently our communities, are under attack. And with the Bureau of Land Management’s Acting Director William Pendley working in lock-step with Trump and the white nationalist agenda, it’s only getting worse. The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for maintaining federal lands and resources for everyone’s benefit across the country. In a recent Las Vegas Review-Journal article, Pendley argues that “local law enforcement bears primary responsibility for enforcing state and federal laws,” amplifying the agenda of white nationalist organization Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. This alone should disqualify Pendley from public office. Yet, there’s more. Pendley recently served as counsel to San Juan, Kane, and Garfield Counties in Utah, defending reduction in lands and protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Furthermore, instead of advocating to combat oil drilling attempts on public lands or prioritizing addressing climate change’s effects on public lands, he has focused on going after wild horses. And since taking office, Pendley has had a whopping 57 conflicts of interest. As the Acting Bureau of Land Management Director, he is responsible for protecting public lands, not assisting attacks against them. Climate change is one of the gravest threats federal lands and communities across the country face. The Bureau of Land Management should be headed by a qualified public servant who will focus on protecting the natural world. Pendley is one of many Trump appointees whose beliefs are antithetical to a life of public stewardship of the environment and all communities in the U.S. And environmental advocacy organizations and their supporters are taking a strong stance against Pendley’s current appointment. We must join the coalition of over 90 organizations who submitted an open letter calling for his removal or resignation from the Bureau of Land Management. We must shine a light on his grave misdeeds. Sign the petition: Demand Acting Director William Pendley resign or be removed from heading the Bureau of Land Management. Participating Organizations:CCAN Action FundClimate Hawks VoteDaily KosEndangered Species CoalitionProtect the Wolves198 methods Supporting Organizations:Western Watersheds ProjectPETITIONINGU.S. CongressSPONSORED BYDaily KosADDITIONAL SPONSORSClimate Hawks VoteCCAN Action FundTakoma Park, MDEndangered Species Coalition198 methodsProtect The WolvesCottonwood, CAFriends of the Earth ActionOur Message to U.S. Congress: ACT NOW: PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY. OPPOSE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CRUEL POLICY. Sign here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/social-security-attack The last time this policy was implemented, 21,176 people died. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration implemented a policy resulting in 200,000 Americans losing their earned Social Security disability benefits with thousands losing their lives. At the time, thanks to a massive public outcry, they were forced to reverse this attack on Social Security.But now, without regard for history or human life, the Trump administration has proposed a similar rule that’s designed to rip benefits away from hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities.While Social Security is best known as a retirement program, disability and survivors benefits are equally essential. That’s why we’re rallying our allies across the country to fight back against this proposed rule change and save the lives of thousands of Americans. Click “start writing” to submit an official comment to the Social Security Administration and stop the Trump administration’s cruel policy before it’s implemented. Grits THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020 Meaty January episode of Reasonably Suspicious podcast: Hear federal judge scold Travis County DA; what’s the remedy for school principal convicted based on junk science?; why DPS troopers’ chase policy is a bad fit for urban policing, and more Here’s the January 2020 episode of Just Liberty’s Reasonably Suspicious podcast, co-hosted by me and Mandy Marzullo. We have a meaty, jam-packed show for you this month.: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/meaty-january-episode-of-reasonably.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 26 2020 Grits SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020 What do Greg Abbott, Croatia, the Roman Emperor Hadrian, ancient Hebrews, 6th century Greeks, Hammurabi, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders all have in common? “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” – Jesus Christ, The Lord’s Prayer What do Governor Greg Abbott and the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature have in common with Croatia, Rome’s openly gay emperor Hadrian, an ancient Hebrew religious celebration, 6th century Athenian Greeks, Hammurabi, as well as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders? Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/what-do-greg-abbott-croatia-roman.html
January 21, 2020 This ACLU article “Fighting For Justice After Execution” below, sounds like the Nazi’s lining Jewish people up, while they assassinated them; to save bullets. To save bullets, victims were lined up five deep with one shot penetrating through all five. This saved ammunition, but many victims were not killed with this method. That did not prevent the Nazis from pushing them all into the pit and sprinkling them with lime before piling more corpses on.Read more here: http://www.thefactspaper.com/liberatingletters/2016/remembering-the-holocaust.html AT LIBERTY PODCASTFighting For Justice After ExecutionIn 2017, Arkansas announced a plan to execute eight people in 10 days because the state’s lethal injection drugs were about to expire. The first person executed was Ledell Lee. He was convicted of the 1993 murder of Debra Reese and sentenced to death. But his trials and appeals were plagued by problems from the start, and a new analysis from the nation’s top forensic experts provides strong reason to believe he may have been innocent. Cassandra Stubbs, Director of the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project, joins the podcast to discuss a new lawsuit the ACLU is filing to finally uncover DNA evidence that could potentially exonerate Lee. Listen here or read → https://www.aclu.org/podcast/fighting-justice-after-execution-ep-83 By ACLU StaffJanuary 23, 2020 Texas has the 4th most pregnant teens in our country. My question is who is getting these young ladies pregnant? Why are they not on the sex offender registry? I do not even care if they are the same age; and I am amusing most times it is not. I found this up to date info here: https://powertodecide.org/what-we-do/information/national-state-data/teen-pregnancy-rate
KEEP THE COVERAGEThe Supreme Court Takes Up the Issue of Birth Control Coverage – AgainThe Supreme Court just announced that it will hear yet another case about the Affordable Care Act’s birth control coverage requirement. If you are experiencing déjà vu, you are not alone. Court battles over the birth control coverage requirement have been raging for almost a decade. We strongly support religious liberty – but allowing companies and universities to use religious beliefs to block employees’ and students’ birth control coverage is discrimination, not religious liberty. Everyone should have birth control coverage, regardless of where they work or where they go to school. Here’s a look at how we got here. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/the-supreme-court-takes-up-the-issue-of-birth-control-coverage-again/ By Brigitte AmiriJanuary 17, 2020 From: https://oag.ca.gov/ab1887 PROHIBITION ON STATE-FUNDED AND STATE-SPONSORED TRAVEL TO STATES WITH DISCRIMINATORY LAWS (ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 1887) States Subject to AB 1887’s Travel ProhibitionThe following states are currently subject to California’s ban on state-funded and state-sponsored travel: 1.Alabama 2.Iowa 3.Kansas 4.Kentucky 5.Mississippi 6.North Carolina 7.Oklahoma 8.South Carolina 9.South Dakota 10.Tennessee 11.Texas
LGBTQ people suffer when religion & government mix Christian conservatives say it’s discrimination to not let them make legal decisions based on their religion – but LGBTQ people’s beliefs are forced to the sidelines. Friday, January 24, 2020 A pair of recent decisions from two of the southern federal Circuit Courts of Appeals should be alarming us all. Instead, they’re only alarming a handful of us – because, overall, our community still clings to the inexplicable belief that religion can be our friend or, at least, a friend that we will be able to use to defend ourselves from certain others who also claim religion to be their friend. Of the two recent decisions, only one has a direct LGBTQ component. Even so, it is truly difficult to say which one is the more disturbing, though the non-LGBTQ one, United States v. Brown, probably deserves the nod. Read More here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/01/lgbtq-people-suffer-religion-government-mix/
Grits MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020 New TDCJ visitation/mail policies punitive and arbitrary The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is changing its visitation, mail and commissary policies for Texas prison inmates in ways which seem arbitrary and unnecessary. Let’s start with visitation. TDCJ will begin running a drug-sniffing dog past all potential visitors, even children, and deny entry if the dogs alert. If a dog alerts twice, that person will be denied entry permanently. Read more here:https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/new-tdcj-visitationmail-policies.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 29 2020 Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/act-now-protect-social-security-oppose-the-trump-administrations-cruel-policy ACT NOW: PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY. OPPOSE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CRUEL POLICY. The last time this policy was implemented, 21,176 people died. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration implemented a policy resulting in 200,000 Americans losing their earned Social Security disability benefits with thousands losing their lives. At the time, thanks to a massive public outcry, they were forced to reverse this attack on Social Security. But now, without regard for history or human life, the Trump administration has proposed a similar rule that’s designed to rip benefits away from hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities. While Social Security is best known as a retirement program, disability and survivors benefits are equally essential. That’s why we’re rallying our allies across the country to fight back against this proposed rule change and save the lives of thousands of Americans. Click “start writing” to submit an official comment to the Social Security Administration and stop the Trump administration’s cruel policy before it’s implemented. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-call-on-congress-to-pass-the-presidential-tax-transparency-act TAKE ACTION: CALL ON CONGRESS TO PASS THE PRESIDENTIAL TAX TRANSPARENCY ACT The American people have a right to know if the sitting president and candidates for president have any financial conflicts of interest―foreign or domestic―and if they’re paying their fair share of taxes. Right now, we have three billionaires running for president. And between them, only Democrat Tom Steyer has released his tax returns. Michael Bloomberg has indicated that he’d release his if he was to win the Democratic nomination. After three years in office, Donald Trump is still refusing to share his with the American people. We still don’t know how Donald Trump and his family are benefiting from the Trump-GOP tax scam, which handed $2 trillion mostly to the rich and corporations. We still don’t know how Trump and his family may have abused our tax laws to avoid paying their fair share of taxes over many years. And we still don’t know the full extent of the financial relationship between Trump and foreign powers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Click “start writing” to send a message to your members of Congress and tell them to pass the Presidential Tax Transparency Act, which would require the president and all major party candidates for president to release their tax returns.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 01 2020 Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-demand-congress-address-dark-money-in-politics-and-end-unlimited-spending-on-our-elections I am signing this because nothing should be done in darkness; when it comes to political elections in our country. Sign the petition: Demand Congress address Dark Money in politics and end unlimited spending on our elections Dark money continues to seep into executive, legislative, and even judicial elections, threatening the impartiality of state supreme courts across the country. Without transparency, voters don’t know who is trying to influence them or to whom a candidate is beholden. It keeps getting worse. Dark money has invaded Florida’s elections and campaigns, making it difficult for voters to receive factual information. Just this month, dark money drove Congress to kill surprise medical billing legislation, despite the fact that it was backed by a bipartisan effort. GritsFRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020Confronting racism at Austin PD, ↓ TX solitary numbers may be an illusion, driver license suspensions not enhancing collections, Big-D bail reform collapses into confusion, and other storiesHere are a few odd and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention:https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/confronting-racism-at-austin-pd-tx.html WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020DNA mixture math errors discovered in 2015 weren’t the firstGrits this week revisited the 2007 “Bromwich report” regarding what then was the Houston PD crime lab while researching DNA-mixture evidence issues and realized something I hadn’t understood at the time – or perhaps just never connected the dots: Errors calculating DNA-mixture probabilities were at the center of the years-long crisis that engulfed the Houston crime lab’s DNA section for most of the aughts. Read more: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/01/dna-mixture-math-errors-discovered-in.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 02 2020 Got this must post email this morning: February is a time to celebrate the incredible impact and accomplishments of black Americans. America has a complicated and painful relationship with race. Our history is marred by slavery, Jim Crow, and the lingering effects of institutional racism. This month is a time for us to reflect on the vital contributions black Americans made to our nation’s history and their role in shaping our democracy into a more perfect union. Shirley Chisholm: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” But it’s not enough to post on social media and send an email once a year about black history – we have to fight for black Americans too, because our current system doesn’t do enough. Dan Crenshaw? He can pay lip service to minority communities all he wants, but we see his actions. He takes away healthcare, promotes gun violence, and works against our public schools. An elected official for the people fights for ALL people in their district, not just those who look like them. And that’s what I will do as the first Congresswoman from Texas’s 2nd District. This February, consider a visit to the Houston Museum of African American Culture >>> http://hmaac.org/
ARCHIVAL OUTRAGEThe National Archives Doctored a Women’s March Photo Critical of Trump. We’re Demanding Answers.Last week, reporters revealed that the National Archives had doctored four protest signs in a photograph of the 2017 Women’s March. The photo was displayed as part of an exhibit, “Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote.” Words on the signs were blurred. Instead of documenting history, the National Archives altered artifacts to mask criticism of the president and erase our bodies. We’re demanding answers. As a first step to restoring that trust, the National Archives must be fully transparent and make public all records concerning its troubling decision to rewrite history. We won’t rest until it does. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/the-national-archives-doctored-a-womens-march-photo-critical-of-trump-were-demanding-answers/
ACADEMIC FREEDOM?The Government is Trying to Strip Student Workers of the Ability to UnionizeThe federal government recently proposed a rule that would strip graduate student workers of their ability to organize under the National Labor Relations Act, which grants most private sector employees the right to engage in collective bargaining. The National Labor Relations Board argued that allowing graduate student assistants to bargain collectively would “uniquely imperil the protection of academic freedoms.” The government is wrong. Like any other employee, student workers seek to organize to improve their working conditions – not to exert control over academic matters. “Protecting academic freedom” is just the government’s phony justification for limiting workers’ ability to unionize, and, as an organization deeply devoted to both academic freedom and free association, we won’t stand by it. That’s why we’re opposing the proposed rule. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/the-government-is-trying-to-strip-student-workers-of-the-ability-to-unionize/ Click here to sign this petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-demand-congress-investigate-rick-perry Trump’s former Secretary of Energy Rick Perry is rejoining Dakota Access Pipeline company Energy Transfer LP’s board of directors this year. His return to a pipeline company responsible for so much climate destruction is alarming. While serving as the Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry not only supported the fossil fuel industry by meeting with major coal leaders and proposing to bailout the entire coal industry, but he has been mired in Trump’s Ukraine scandal.Eventually House Democrats were left with no choice but to subpoena Perry given his negotiation of gas deals with Ukrainian leaders. As Energy Secretary during the climate crisis, Rick Perry had a duty to everyone across the country to support the expansion of renewable energy projects. But now he will return to Energy Transfer LP’s board, further enabling destructive energy projects and threatening our climate.Given this and with other Trump officials like Interior Secretary David Bernhardt standing to privately benefit from deals made as a public servant, Congress must investigate Rick Perry. Sign the petition: Demand Congress investigate Trump’s former Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Participating Organizations:CCAN Action FundClimate Hawks VoteDaily KosEndangered Species CoalitionFriends of the Earth ActionProgress America198 methods Our Message to U.S. Congress:Trump’s former Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, is rejoining pipeline company Energy Transfer LP’s board of directors this year. His return to a pipeline company responsible for so much climate destruction is alarming. The American people deserve public servants who will not use their positions to reap financial benefits. I am counting on you to exercise oversight responsibilities by investigating Trump’s former Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Grits SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 01, 2020Drug War propping up Texas criminal caseloads in a time of declining crimeThe new 2019 annual statistical report for the Texas Office of Court Administration provides these broad datapoints about the Texas criminal-justice system: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/02/drug-war-propping-up-texas-criminal.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 04 2020Grits MONDAY, FEBRUARY 03, 2020Trump Super Bowl ad bolsters red-state #cjreform prospectsIt’s a sign of changing times that two Super Bowl ads ran yesterday (worth >$5 million each) related to criminal-justice reform. One was from the NFL (on police shootings), which I suppose could be considered a house ad. But the more surprising one by far was a new commercial from President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign touting his clemency for Alice Free and passage of the First Step Act, which among other things shortened sentences for thousands of presently incarcerated federal prisoners.: Read more here:https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/02/trump-super-bowl-ad-bolsters-red-state.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 05 2020 Grits TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2020No R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Jury trials not only place for Texas criminal-defense lawyers to shed Rodney-Dangerfield image”Want to earn a prosecutor’s respect?,” asked the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association on Twitter. “Beat them in a jury trial.” So how much respect are Texas criminal-defense lawyers earning? From the 2019 annual statistical report of the Texas Office of Court Administration, here are a few data points on trials I wanted to record for my own purposes. Maybe some Grits readers will also find them interesting. Overall, reports the OCA, attorneys in Texas are taking about 5% of felony cases to trial. That’s more than I would have expected, and as I’ll discuss below, may be overstated. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/02/no-r-e-s-p-e-c-t-jury-trials-not-only.html Click here to send letter to reps: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-to-end-surprise-medical-bills-2 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2020No R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Jury trials not only place for Texas criminal-defense lawyers to shed Rodney-Dangerfield image”Want to earn a prosecutor’s respect?,” asked the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association on Twitter. “Beat them in a jury trial.” So how much respect are Texas criminal-defense lawyers earning? From the 2019 annual statistical report of the Texas Office of Court Administration, here are a few data points on trials I wanted to record for my own purposes. Maybe some Grits readers will also find them interesting. Overall, reports the OCA, attorneys in Texas are taking about 5% of felony cases to trial. That’s more than I would have expected, and as I’ll discuss below, may be overstated. Take Action to End Surprise Medical BillsIn 2019, Congress left unfinished business on surprise medical bills. Since then, roughly 10,000 Americans have been hit with an out-of-network surprise medical bill per day. In the coming months, your elected officials will get another chance to pass legislation to end surprise medical bills – and they need to hear from you. Send an email to your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative today to demand action to end surprise medical bills.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 09 2020 Using Bail as Ransom Violates the Core Tenets of Pretrial Justice Across the country, people are forced to surrender bail money to pay future debts before they’re ever convicted of a crime. In places such as Nashville, Tennessee, anyone trying to post bail on behalf of a friend, loved one, or community member must agree that the money posted is subject to garnishment for any future debts assessed in the case. In other words, anyone paying cash bail must agree that the defendant’s court costs, fines, fees, or restitution can be deducted from their deposit. These policies prevent organizations such as the Nashville Community Bail Fund from continuing their vital work. This week, we sued in federal court to stop this unconstitutional practice and ensure that bail funds across the country are allowed to keep working, uninhibited by government officials’ attempts to turn cash bail deposits into a revenue stream. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/using-bail-as-ransom-violates-the-core-tenets-of-pretrial-justice/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 12 2020 Click here to fight for cancer research and medical treatment Dear [Decision Maker], As a constituent and a volunteer for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, I’m asking you to please reject these proposed cuts in the FY2021 budget, and save more lives from cancer. The Administration’s recently proposed budget for FY2021 calls for an over $3 billion cut to medical research at the National Institutes of Health(NIH), including nearly $500 million in cuts for the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The budget also calls for almost $43 million in cuts to important cancer screening and prevention programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a constituent and volunteer with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, I ask that you reject these cuts in the FY2021 budget.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 13 2020 Grits WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 What the jury didn’t hear, against SWAT raids for routine search warrants, bail explainers, courthouse architecture, and other stories Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/02/what-jury-didnt-hear-against-swat-raids.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 18 2020 I unsubscribed from a bunch of emails asking me for money and now I am hardly getting any emails at all. I hate reading though 150 emails to find one good one, it can take hours to do this argues task. Apparently the emails I like are linked together with emails I do not like. It is very frustrating and that is why I have not been posting here as much. I am going to continue to unsubscribe out of my frustration of having to many emails. I read this email today because I have more time to read emailsrather than reading hundreds of emails to find 1 good one. I liked reading this email so much I am going to post it here: From: https://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/ashker-v-brown California prisoner class reps issue public report Last week, the “four main reps”—Todd Ashker, Arturo Castellanos, George Franco, and Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa—issued a “public report on the current state of California prisons from prisoners.” The reps planned and led the three historic 2011-2013 California mass hunger strikes that had 30,000 participants across the state. They are also our clients in Ashker v. Governor of California, the class-action lawsuit challenging long-term indefinite solitary confinement. Together we achieved a landmark settlement in 2015 and have been monitoring the situation since. In their report on the state of California prisons today, they point out, “No voice has more expertise about the experience and impact of incarceration than the voice of prisoners.” Read their statement in the San Francisco Bay View. Ashker v. Governor of California is a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of prisoners held in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at California’s Pelican Bay State Prison who have spent a decade or more in solitary confinement. The case charges that prolonged solitary confinement violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and that the absence of meaningful review for SHU placement violates the prisoners’ rights to due process. The legal action is part of a larger movement to reform conditions in SHUs in Calfornia’s prisons that was sparked by hunger strikes by thousands of SHU prisoners in 2011 and 2013; the named plaintiffs in Ashker include several leaders and participants from the hunger strikes. The case is part of CCR’s broader efforts to challenge mass incarceration, discrimination, and abusive prison policies. SHU prisoners spend 22 ½ to 24 hours every day in a cramped, concrete, windowless cell. They are denied telephone calls, contact visits, and vocational, recreational, or educational programming. Hundreds of Pelican Bay SHU prisoners have been isolated under these conditions for over 10 years and dozens for more than 20 years, causing harmful and predictable psychological deterioration. In fact, solitary confinement for as little as 15 days is now widely recognized to cause lasting psychological damage and can constitute torture under international law. In addition, the suit charges that prisoners are denied any meaningful review of their SHU placement. California, alone among all 50 states and most other jurisdictions, imposes extremely prolonged solitary confinement based merely on a prisoner’s alleged association with a prison gang. Gang “affiliation” is assessed without considering whether a prisoner is – or ever was – actually involved in gang activity. Ashker v. Governor of California amended an earlier pro se lawsuit filed by Pelican Bay SHU prisoners Todd Ashker and Danny Troxell. The case is before Judge Claudia Wilken in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. You can read more here:https://sfbayview.com/2020/02/the-four-california-prisoner-class-representatives-call-for-solidarity-and-change/ Join us in NYC for a live podcast recording! As part of our Black History Month celebration, we will be recording an upcoming episode of our podcast, “The Activist Files,” before a live audience. For “How it Would Feel to Be Free: Southern Resistance to Race and Gender Oppression,” we will be in conversation about the fights for racial, gender, and LGBTQIA+ justice that Southern leaders are spearheading. Podcast guests include Lakeesha Harris—Reproductive Justice and Sexual Health Program Manager at Women With a Vision—Valencia Robinson—CEO and founder of Mississippi in Action—and Quita Tinsley—Deputy Director of Access Reproductive Care-Southeast.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 21 2020 Grits THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 A brief hiatus I’d mentioned earlier that your correspondent recently had a cancer diagnosis and a lump removed from my neck in December, leaving an ear-to-Adam’s-apple scar that my granddaughter announced was reminiscent of Nearly Headless Nick from the Harry-Potter series. I’m now in the midst of radiation therapy and, in the last week, it has knocked me down significantly more than I anticipated. (In particular, my 1/8-ton frame was not quite ready for the abrupt, no-solid-food switch!) As such, I’m going to suspend the blog until this is finished and I’m feeling better, hopefully in 5-6 weeks. No podcast this month; we’ll see about March. It’s possible I’ll stick my head back in here a time or two if my energy improves or something urgent comes up. Otherwise, I’m focused on my health and perhaps catching up on reading and Netflix binging. Haven’t had the energy for much else. Wish me luck, folks! I’ll report back in a few weeks. My post for him on this page: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/02/a-brief-hiatus.html SOFAQ said…Prayed with my wife for you to get well and will continue to do that. I believe there is no doubt that what you do pleases God. I hope you will remember that during your recovery and that will help heal you quicker. You must do everything you can to stay in shape with your doctor’s advice. 2/21/2020 08:00:00 AM
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated February 23 2020 AT LAST, HIS DAY IN COURTU.S. Resident Indefinitely Detained Without Charge Secures His Day In CourtAdham Hassoun, a long-time U.S. resident and a father of three, will finally have his day in court. A federal judge has rejected the government’s sweeping claim that it can, on its own say-so, indefinitely imprison him without charge and without a fair trial. Adham completed his criminal sentence and was set to be released from prison almost three years ago. But the government – claiming unprecedented and unconstitutional powers – is seeking to keep him locked up indefinitely, perhaps for the rest of his life, based on executive fiat. As we argued to the court, the government cannot use the Patriot Act to circumvent Adham’s constitutional rights. If the government has reason to detain Adham, it must charge him with a crime or at least present its evidence before a court and give Adham an opportunity to mount a defense – as the Constitution demands. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/u-s-resident-indefinitely-detained-without-charge-secures-his-day-in-court/ PROSECUTORIAL POWEROur Vision to Transform What it Means to Be a ProsecutorMany players have a hand in our mass incarceration crisis, but there’s one actor with almost unlimited power to determine who ends up locked up and who goes free – the power to charge (or not), to divert people from incarceration (or not), to plea bargain (or not). That person is the prosecutor. Prosecutors not only have the power to ruin lives – they have the power to save them. As we have seen in a handful of places around the country, prosecutors committed to reform can use their discretion to choose liberty over incarceration and rehabilitation over punishment. This is our vision for the future of transformational prosecution. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/our-vision-to-transform-what-it-means-to-be-a-prosecutor/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 01 2020 REFUSAL OF CAREFebruary 27, 2020A Hospital Refused to Provide Medically Necessary Surgery Because I Am TransgenderEvan Minton, an ACLU plaintiff, was denied healthcare because he is transgender under the guise of religious liberty. Minton writes about this harrowing experience, which is just one of many cases of sex-based discrimination that the current administration is trying to allow against LGBTQ people. Less than a year after Minton’s case was filed, the Department of Health and Human Services issued the Refusal of Care Rule to support religious people and entities in limiting the care they provide. The Refusal of Care Rule will reach far beyond trans people. It will profoundly impact access to reproductive health care, particularly for the millions of patients – who are disproportionately Black and Latinx – seeking options counseling and a referral for abortion in the Title X program. Minton testified in Congress this week to defend his right and his community’s right to access healthcare. Read more →https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/a-hospital-refused-to-provide-medically-necessary-surgery-because-i-am-transgender/ February 27, 2020COMMUNITY-LED VICTORY”Do Not Kill in My Name” – How Colorado Finally Repealed the Death PenaltyColorado is about to become the 22nd state in the nation to repeal the death penalty. Its path to get there highlights the power of community-led organizing that centered the experiences of people with direct contact with the state’s death penalty system. Across Colorado, people made their voices heard: “Do not kill in my name.” This time, Colorado’s legislators were listening. As Colorado moves closer to repeal, we look to states across the country who are standing up to say that in a society that aspires for fairness and justice, there is no room for the death penalty. Read more →https://www.aclu.org/news/capital-punishment/do-not-kill-in-my-name-how-colorado-finally-repealed-the-death-penalty/
GritsSATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2020TDCJ-mail crackdown, prisons remain understaffed, how TDCJ staffing policies brought African cuisine to East Texas, and other storiesHey folks, your regular correspondent remains under the weather but our pal Keri Blakinger of the Marshall Project was kind enough to send me an email, with permission to publish, updating us on a range of Texas criminal justice stories. Since I can’t eat solid foods at the moment, this is much better than a casserole! Here’s her email in full. Thanks, Keri! Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/02/tdcj-mail-crackdown-prisons-remain.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 05 2020 Thanks to my GayUSA email for the lead on this story: http://gayusatv.org/ From: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/us/teacher-wins-lgbtq-school-settlement-trnd/index.html Teacher of the year suspended for showing students a picture of her fiancée wins $100,000 settlementCNNUpdated 5:18 AM ET, Fri February 28, 2020 (CNN)A Texas art teacher who was placed on administrative leave after talking about “her future wife” in class hopes her settlement with a school district will change the lives of other LGBTQ people. Stacy Bailey, who was on paid leave, reached a $100,000 settlement with the Mansfield Independent School District last week, her attorney said.
From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/03/texas-democrats-picked-lesbian-republicans-rejected-religious-right-candidate/ ELECTION NEWSTexas Democrats picked a lesbian while Republicans rejected a religious right candidateThe race for a Texas congressional seat shows just how purple the state is becoming.Wednesday, March 4, 2020 Texas voters proved just how purple the state is becoming on Super Tuesday. While LGBTQ candidates did extremely well statewide, the 23rd Congressional District results are particularly striking. Democrats overwhelmingly chose out lesbian Gina Ortiz Jones as their candidate in Texas’s 23rd, which covers most of western Texas. Republicans roundly rejected an oil-and-gas businessman backed by the religious right. In 2018 Gina Ortiz Jones came within just 926 votes of defeating Republican Will Hurd. Hurd is not running for re-election. Jones, who would be the first LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Texas, won with 70 percent of the vote. McFarlin came in last in a five-way race for the Republican nomination. McFarlin’s wife credited a religious right “missionary” running for Congress in California for talking her husband into running. Both men are believers in “dominionist Christianity” and they both lost their respective races. “Texans have never sent an openly LGBTQ person to represent them in Congress, but I am confident Gina will end that come November,” former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, told LGBTQ Nation. “Gina speaks openly and eloquently about her experiences and perspectives as an LGBTQ woman, first-generation immigrant, and a veteran, and that authenticity resonates with voters.” “Gina’s primary victory puts a crack in the lavender ceiling that has held back LGBTQ Congressional candidates in Texas for generations – and that ceiling will shatter on Election Night,” Parker added. “We have an opportunity to double the number of openly LGBTQ members of Congress this election cycle and Gina’s primary victory makes it that much more likely.” Four openly LGBTQ non-incumbent candidates won their Texas state House primary races Tuesday night as did all five incumbent out state legislators. I’m honored to be the Democratic nominee in #TX23. I’ve dedicated my life to public service, and I’m running for Congress to expand the opportunities that allowed me to grow up healthy, get a quality education, and serve our country. https://t.co/fmkHbLCrHe — Gina Ortiz Jones (@GinaOrtizJones) March 4, 2020
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 08 2020
FREE SPEECH RIGHTS IN PERIL March 5, 2020Will SCOTUS Protect the Right to Protest?We are asking the Supreme Court to challenge a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision which, if allowed to stand, would threaten the First Amendment rights of millions. The Fifth Circuit decision stems from protests in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after two white police officers shot and killed Alton Sterling. After the protest, a police officer filed a civil suit on allegations that a person in the crowd threw an unidentified object which hit the officer. The officer filed this suit against activist DeRay Mckesson. The Fifth Circuit’s conclusion that Mckesson could be held liable for foreseeable, unintended actions of a fellow protester would severely chill Americans’ ability to protest. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/our-protest-rights-are-in-the-supreme-courts-hands/
ANTI-TRANS BILLS EMERGE AT STATE LEVEL March 4, 2020 By ACLU StaffTrans People BelongState legislators across the country are attacking the fundamental rights of transgender and non-binary people by limiting their access to healthcare, basic services, educational institutions, and public spaces. Multiple anti-trans bills limiting trans peoples’ ability to access healthcare and participate in sports have been introduced. These bills marginalize trans athletes by compromising their privacy, health, and social and emotional development. Exclusionary anti-trans bills affect trans people of all ages and backgrounds, but disproportionately fall on Black trans women and other trans people of color – contributing to high rates of homelessness, suicidality, and violence. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/trans-people-belong/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 09 2020
From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/03/evangelical-christians-linking-lgbtq-people-coronavirus-now/ I can play the blame game too, and use the Bible to do it. Maybe we can blame the coronavirus on the Christian’s. The Bible says that the Christians on the earth right now are the worst in the history of the world. God says in the Bible that Christians today disgust Him so much that He has to spit them out of His mouth like sour milk.
Separation from church and state has never been so, so important; as it is today. BIAS WATCH Evangelical Christians are linking LGBTQ people to the coronavirus now That didn’t take long. Friday, March 6, 2020 Evangelical Christians have blamed LGBTQ people for all sorts of natural disasters and diseases, from Ebola to earthquakes, and now they’re starting to falsely link the community to the new coronavirus COVID-19. Steven Andrew from USA Christian Church has named March “Repent of LGBT Sin Month” to protect “the USA from diseases, such as the Coronavirus.” The flamboyant preacher has been nicknamed “Pastor Jazz Hands” by blogger Joe Jervis. Related: Trump puts Pence in charge of coronavirus outbreak even though he botched Indiana’s HIV epidemic “God’s love shows it is urgent to repent because the Bible teaches homosexuals lose their souls and God destroys LGBT societies,” the minister said in a video posted to YouTube. “Our safety is at stake since national disobedience of God’s laws brings danger and diseases, such as coronavirus, but obeying God brings covenant protection… God protects the USA from danger as the country repents of LGBT, false gods, abortion and other sins.” Right-wing pastor E.W. Jackson told listeners of his radio show that the “homovirus” has infected America. Jackson was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2013 and he ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 2012 and 2018. He lost all three races. “The last thing in the world the black community needs is more destruction of the family, more attacks on the family, and that’s all this whole homosexual movement amounts to,” Jackson said. “It is a virulent, violent attack. You know what? I’m going to get in trouble for this one, but this is right off the presses: It is the homovirus for the family.” “Of course, I am speaking from a spiritual and a psychological perspective. I hope that no one misunderstands my little putting together of two things, because you know we’re talking about this coronavirus. I’m not talking about physical illness. I’m not talking about pronouncing any physical curses on people.” Earlier last month, televangelist Jim Bakker said his STI cure – Silver Solution – completely cures the coronavirus in 12 hours even though “it hasn’t been tested on this strain of the coronavirus.” The product costs $115 on his website, and the website is also required by California state law to tell people that Silver Solution contains chemicals that “cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.” Bakker has been ordered to stop “making misleading claims regarding the Silver Solution’s effectiveness” by the New York Attorney General’s office. The letter demands that a representative from the show contact the office within 10 days to confirm compliance and threatens “to bring suit to enjoin any deceptive acts and practices, and to seek restitution, damages, and penalties of up to $5,000 per violation” if Bakker ignores the demand. The disgraced televangelist, who went to jail for defrauding followers and who was accused of raping a woman who worked for him, has turned his television show into an infomercial for “End Times” buckets of dehydrated foods and quack medical “supplements” and cures. A vociferous defender of President Donald Trump, he regularly promotes rightwing conspiracy theories and has warned that civil rights for LGBTQ people will lead to Americans slaughtering Christians in the streets.
From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/03/alabama-senate-passes-bill-making-felony-doctors-help-trans-youth/ If this isn’t, the one of many reasons; to avoid this state, I do not know what is. I mean; what is the plan, to let people die because they are trans? This is the most unchristian you can be. Christians should never treat any human being like this. I suspect; since it is a fact according to the Bible; that Jesus hung out with known sinners, there had to be some LGBTQ type people around him. According to the Bible Jesus died for the whole world; even trans people. It may just be that people that behave like this, are not Christian’s; just plain insane, ether way, this is anti-American. This state should be taken over by the federal government for it’s own good and all these types of bazaar laws; be rendered null and void.
Alabama senate passes bill making it a felony for doctors to help trans youth Alabama Republicans want to give doctors up to 10 years in prison for providing science-backed treatment to trans youth. Friday, March 6, 2020 Alabama senate passes bill making it a felony for doctors to help trans youth The Alabama state senate passed a bill that would make it a felony for doctors to provide gender confirmation treatments to transgender people under the age of 19, including puberty blockers. The Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act was introduced by Alabama Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R) and it would make it a Class C felony for doctors to prescribe hormone therapy or puberty blockers to transgender youth in the state and punishable with up to ten years in prison. Related: Republican lawmaker compares parents of trans kids to Nazis The bill passed the state senate by a vote of 22-3, sending it to the state house. There are currently 77 Republicans and 28 Democrats in the Alabama House of Representatives, and a House committee has already approved similar legislation. The bill would also ban gender confirmation surgery for minors, even though Shelnutt admitted that he didn’t know of any minors are actually getting gender confirmation surgery in his state. “I just don’t think and others don’t think that kids should be given experimental drugs or surgeries that could have irreversible consequences for the rest of their life,” he said. Puberty blockers are meant to delay puberty so that transgender youth have more time to assess their options before the body undergoes permanent changes, and getting puberty blockers has been linked to a lifelong drop in suicidality among transgender people who wanted them. “Kids are not fully developed until later in life,” Shelnutt said. “I think we can all agree that kids aren’t capable of making certain decisions until certain ages. And so, we want to just stop these procedures from happening in Alabama.” The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement in 2018 that affirmed the use of puberty blockers as part of a care model for young people with gender dysphoria. “Pubertal suppression creates an opportunity to reduce the distress that may occur with the development of secondary sexual characteristics and allow for gender-affirming care, including mental health support for the adolescent and the family,” the statement said. “It reduces the need for later surgery because physical changes that are otherwise irreversible (protrusion of the Adam’s apple, male pattern baldness, voice change, breast growth, etc) are prevented.” Alabama Sen. Vivian Davis Figures (D) opposed the bill because she said that the decision should be left to children and their parents, not the government. “We call on the House to treat trans children and their families with more empathy than the state senate and reject this bill as the harmful, divisive legislation it is,” said Mia Raven of the Yellowhammer Fund, a women’s advocacy group in Alabama. If the bill passes the Alabama House of Representatives, it will be sent to Gov. Kay Ivey (R). At least ten other states are considering similar legislation.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 11 2020From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/03/hiv-medication-just-used-cure-coronavirus/How ironic; the very people the evangelicals say are the reason for the coronavirus, are the ones that can save us all. HEALTH AND WELLNESS HIV medication was just used to cure coronavirus A 62-year-old man was successfully treated for coronavirus with a protease inhibitor. By Alex Bollinger Monday, March 9, 2020 A doctor with a mask holding a vial labeled A drug commonly used to manage HIV was successfully used to treat a man with coronavirus. The Spanish newspaper El País reports that Miguel Ángel Benítez, 62, was successfully treated for coronavirus at a hospital in Seville with lopinavir/ritonavir (marketed as Kaletra), a protease inhibitor. Related: Here are tips that LGBTQ people can use to deal with the outbreak of Coronavirus “It’s an experimental usage of the drug that has given good results with other viruses,” said Albert Bosch, president of the Spanish Virology Society. “One of the biggest advantages is that they are already approved for use, so there is little doubt about their safety.” Protease inhibitors are antiviral drugs that bind to certain enzymes necessary to produce parts of the virus, inhibiting production of the virus in cells. Kaletra was paired with interferon beta, a signaling protein that cells produce when they are infected and that increases resistance to viruses. “The results we have so far for the use of these drugs to treat coronavirus give us hope,” said Santiago Moreno, head of infectious diseases at Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid. Of course, success in one case does not mean that the medications will work for everyone, and further testing and research is needed. Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/add-your-name-demand-a-coronavirus-response-that-protects-working-families Campaign ActionAdd your name: Demand a coronavirus response that protects working familiesAs coronavirus rapidly spreads across the country, Donald Trump is reportedly considering new tax cuts for major corporations impacted by the coronavirus — but has not offered any relief for working families. Most workers — especially low-wage workers — have no paid sick leave, limited health care coverage, and are only one paycheck away from financial ruin. These conditions make it all but impossible to comply with medical quarantine advice. To address the White House’s lack of leadership during this crisis, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer detailed a proposal to help workers, including:Paid sick leave — workers impacted by quarantine orders or responsible for caring for children impacted by school closures must receive paid sick leave to alleviate the devastating consequences of lost wages;Enhanced Unemployment Insurance — we must ensure unemployment insurance benefits are available and sufficient for workers who may lose their jobs from the economic impacts of the epidemic;Food security — we must expand SNAP, WIC, school lunch and other initiatives and suspend implementation of any regulations that weaken federal food assistance, in order to ensure vulnerable populations do not lose access to food during this epidemic;Affordable treatment for all — patients must be reimbursed for any non-covered coronavirus-related costs, or else the epidemic will be worsened because Americans will fear they cannot afford the costs associated with treatment;Anti-price gouging protections — we must ensure that Americans are protected from price gouging of medical and non-medical essentials during this emergency; and more. We cannot allow working families to be left behind as the Trump administration drains public coffers to give major corporations tax breaks. Please add your name today. Add your name: Demand a coronavirus response that protects working families.PETITIONINGCongressSPONSORED BYDaily KosOur Message to Congress :An effective coronavirus response must consider the reality of workers and families who live paycheck to paycheck, don’t have health care coverage, and are at risk of economic and physical devastation if they come into contact with COVID-19. Please prioritize the financial and physical security of America’s families.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 15 2020 AN EPIDEMIC BEHIND BARS Are Our Prisons and Jails Ready for COVID-19? March 6, 2020Worldwide, drastic precautionary measures are being taken to prevent the spread of this new Coronavirus. But little has been said about one of the most vulnerable sectors of our population: the people in our prisons and jails. Though many people may think of jails and prisons as closed environments, they are not. Further, many incarcerated people are in relatively poor health and suffer from serious chronic conditions due to lack of access to healthcare in the community, or abysmal healthcare in the correctional system. All this means that prison and jail populations are extremely vulnerable to a contagious illness like COVID-19. Here’s a look at actions that should immediately be taken to protect people in prisons and jails. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/are-our-prisons-and-jails-ready-for-covid-19/We had a local article about this too: Sheriffs In Dallas, Collin County React To COVID-19 Threat By Not Arresting Class C Misdemeanor OffendersMarch 13, 2020 at 4:13 pm NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – In an unprecedented move, Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner sent a letter to police agencies asking officers to avoid bringing low level offenders to the jail to lower the risk of COVID-19 infiltrating the inmate population. Read more here: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/03/13/sheriffs-in-dallas-collin-county-react-to-covid-19-threat-by-not-arresting-class-c-misdemeanor-offenders/ DAMNING DATA
San Diego Police Stop Black People at a Rate 219 Percent Higher Than White People March 10, 2020 A new report commissioned by the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties offers a disturbing look at the reality faced by Black San Diegans, Black Californians, and Black Americans. In spite of California’s history as one of many destinations of refuge for Black families seeking respite from racism and violence in the South, the report’s authors found the San Diego Police Department stopped Black people at a 219 percent higher rate than white people. The SDPD was more likely to conduct searches of Black San Diegans than their white neighbors, and more likely to use force. California has begun to make headway in this regard by passing AB 392: The California Act to Save Lives, which created a higher standard for when police can use force. Now, we need to raise the standard for when police can stop and search people – in California and across the country. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/san-diego-police-stop-black-people-at-a-rate-219-percent-higher-than-white-people/
FIRST AMENDMENT FIGHT
Will SCOTUS Protect the Right to Protest? March 5, 2020 Since this country’s founding, when we’ve had something to say, we have taken to the streets. We’ve come together to celebrate our identities, to protect our land and our communities – and to push for change following injustice and tragedy. But if a recent decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals involving a Black Lives Matter protest is left standing, the right to protest will be in serious jeopardy. That’s why we asked the Supreme Court to take the case. The Fifth Circuit’s logic is dangerously flawed, and isn’t how the Supreme Court has ever looked at rules of liability in the context of protected expression. The high court should take this opportunity to make clear that it’s not how it looks at those rules now. Otherwise, we may find our streets much emptier. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/our-protest-rights-are-in-the-supreme-courts-hands/?
This Law Makes Voting Nearly Impossible for Native Americans in Montana March 12, 2020 Voting has never been easy for Native Americans living on rural reservations in Montana, which are often geographically isolated, with limited access to postal service and transportation. The passage of the Montana Ballot Interference Prevention Act (BIPA) has made these obstacles even greater, severely inhibiting Native Americans’ access to the ballot. In a state where the majority of individuals vote by mail, rural tribal communities often work with get-out-the-vote organizers who collect and transport ballots to election offices that would otherwise be inaccessible. These ballot collection efforts are often the only way Native Americans can access the vote. BIPA would effectively end the practice of ballot collection efforts, and would thus disenfranchise Native American voters en masse. That’s why we’re suing. Read more → https://www.aclu.org/news/voting-rights/this-law-makes-voting-nearly-impossible-for-native-americans-in-montana/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 17 2020New report suggests additional burial grounds of enslaved people likely exist on proposed plastics plant site On Wednesday, community members of RISE St. James submitted an expert report to the St. James Parish Council that shows as many as seven cemeteries likely containing the remains of enslaved people may exist on property slated for development of a massive facility by Formosa Plastics. Archeologists from Coastal Environments, Inc. (CEI), working on their own and behind the scenes, first alerted the Louisiana Division of Archaeology to the existence of two of the cemeteries on the Formosa site, which led to further site investigations by Formosa’s consultants and confirmation of one of the cemeteries on the former Buena Vista Plantation. Using detailed maps from 1877 and 1878 combined with a process known as cartographic regression, CEI was able to identify the likely location of three cemeteries shown on those maps on former plantations, as well as four other possible cemeteries that did not appear on the historic maps. They also concluded that Formosa’s consultants looked in the wrong place each time they searched for a cemetery on the former Acadia Plantation. “Our ancestors are crying out to us from their graves—they are telling us to not let industry disturb their burial sites. Formosa Plastics did not inform the citizens of St. James or the parish council of the existence of the graves when they knew—they don’t care, they just want to profit from St. James parish,” said Sharon Lavigne of RISE St. James. Learn more on our website. : https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/once-anonymous-archeologists-come-forward-report-indicating-more
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 18 2020 Every once and a while I like to share my opinion about things here. I took part of my email to my mom and pasted it here along with some more of my thoughts. This coronavirus; I believe was not created by God but it is definitely used by God. I think one of the first things Christians learn is; not one person dies unless God allows it. The deaths caused by this virus is used by God. Why does God allow things like this to torment people? He does it for people to cry out to Him and pray themselves back to where they should be in their walk with God. Also it causes unsaved people to be saved. I do not trust communist’s or all that is comunism and considering where all this started; that makes me distrust the origin story of this completely. They need to revial the true patitient 0. I like Chinees people and thier food and lifestyle and thier respect of thier elders: From:https://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/10-10-16-how-different-cultures-take-care-of-seniors/ How Do Different Cultures Take Care of Seniors?Posted On 10 Oct 2016 “While obligation is one of the driving factors to care and show dignity toward elderly, the Chinese culture has always stressed respect toward elders. So practices of honor and kindness toward seniors is normal life in China.” There is no way the Chinese would ever want this virus to be anleash on thier people considering thier reverance for thier elders. There is no way they meant for this virus to be unleash on people. If only the Chinees would give up on comunism. That would be a cause for world wide celibration for many years to come. Through all these hardships; maybe that should be a part of our many prayers, we have been saying lattly. Maybe that would be the one thing worth all of this suffering we have all suffered. China has saved my life; with low priced motorcycle safety gear and made me want to live long, with purchases, like my low priced electric guitar and low priced computer equipment. If it was not for China; I would have never even considered to buy these life giving and saving items. This is the first time I have seen the word coronavirus appear in spell check. That is the quickest I have ever seen a word appear in spell check.The internet AI is getting amazing. Sign this great Daily Kos petiton here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-to-congress-implement-a-national-moratorium-on-foreclosures-and-evictionsOur Message to Congress :Housing is a human right. Please include a national moratorium on foreclosures and evictions—both new and those currently in progress—in COVID-19 relief bills. No one should have to face losing their home during this unexpected crisis.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 19 2020 Thanks to http://gayusatv.org/ for the lead on this story. Trans Woman Wins Case Against Real Estate Broker Who Sexually Harassed Her And Told Her She Couldn’t Live Near ‘People Or Children’ Mar. 12, 2020 In 2015, Giana Desir of Brooklyn, New York faced the prospect of homelessness after being denied a lease renewal for an apartment she had lived in for two years. While living in the apartment, Desir began her transition from assigned male to female. Like many transgender people, Desir had difficulty finding a place to live as her authentic self. Needing assistance, Desir turned to a real estate broker. But rather than help, Henry Walter and Empire State Realty Management only offered housing discrimination and sexual harassment. Initial interactions on the phone were characterized as “jovial.” However once Desir met Walter, things quickly turned sour.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 21 2020 We need to pray! We all need to pray about this corona virus; every chance we get. My wife and I have been praying for a cure and a vaccination for the coronavirus; since we first read about it. Actually my wife was the first one to pray about a cure and vaccine and I followed immediately. I learn allot listening to my wife pray sometimes. She also opened my eyes the other day when she said she was thankful. I forget to be thankful for what we have sometimes; during trying times like these. I think we should not forget to be thankful for what we have. My wife was listening to the president the other day and I could hear it too since she sits side by side, next to me in the living room. 2 things stand out to me from hearing the president talk about the corona virus. 1) Right-to-try law:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-try_law From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Right-to-try laws are U.S. state laws and a federal law that were created with the intent of allowing terminally ill patients access to experimental therapies (drugs, biologics, devices) that have completed Phase I testing but have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Prior to the passage of right to try laws, patients needed FDA approval to use experimental drugs. Currently, 41 U.S. states have passed right to try laws. The value of these laws has been questioned on multiple grounds, including the fact that pharmaceutical manufacturers would have no obligation to provide the therapies being sought. If you or your friends and family is sick from the coronavirus; yell out RIGHT TO TRY! I am thankful for this law that stops the FDA and the pharmaceutical manufacturers form killing us. If you don’t believe me ask the old time LGBTQ folks about how many people died of Aids in the early 1980’s. 2) I guess CBS was listening to the president too and posted this YouTube video: From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93TpfCzpM3Y
‘Coronavirus drug in 6 months after producing API’| TNN | Updated: Mar 21, 2020, 09:23 IST At present, there is no treatment for Covid-19. While clinical data on HIV, anti-virals, and anti-malarials for treating coronavirus patients is yet to be established, with over 10,000 deaths globally, experimental drugs and combinations are being used. Read more here: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/virus-drug-in-6-mths-after-producing-api/articleshow/74740063.cms It is time for democrats and republicans and the pharmaceutical manufacturers to work together, or we will be posting things like this ten years latter; blaming the people that killed a huge number of people: just like Aid’s, in the early 1980’s.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 25 2020 I know I keep saying this and I will continue to do so. I keep seeing fighting in the news between the republicans and the democrats over the corona virus. I see the republicans moving one way and the democrats moving the other on the coronavirus. If this all goes bad; that will be the exact reason why. We need to all work together to defeat this terrible virus. I have no doubt we can defeat all of this; concerning the coronaviris; with our vast technology and the most advance science this earth has ever know. We need to all work together to become victorious over this virus. We are so vulnerable right now and it would not take much of a effort from our enemies to push us over the edge. The internet is full of trolls; some of whom actually get paid by there country’s to troll the internet with anti American propaganda. Like I always say these people outnumber Americans overwhelmingly even posing as Americans. During these days we need to be absolutely aware of that at all times. No laws should have ever been made; with influence from the internet as it’s premise. I have always said that and say that especially now; with the greatest emphasis, someone in my position can ever muster. “every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:”: Jesus These articles below, are ridiculous and disgusting and just plain wrong. To say things like this is fake news and conspiracy theories all rapped up in a bundle of lies. To repeat myself for the uncountable amount of times, to myself: these people; if they are Christians, they are the worst Christians ever to inhabit the earth. In fact all Christians that inhabit the earth are the most disgusting Christians to inhabit the earth; according to the Bible. God is so disgusted by Christians today; he spits them out of his mouth because they are too repulsive to him. With false judgments like these; it is no wonder there are so many Christian’s in prison. These people are more like ignorant hate groups than Christians. Church’s should never have influence over politics. Our forefathers saw this centuries ago; it is called separation of church and state. Like I always say; without our foundation as a country, our house will just fall over. :PA may declare a “State Day of Humiliation” for “presumptuous sins” to stop coronavirus pandemic deserve-hell-scaledThe “State Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer” is needed because the pandemic “may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins.” Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/03/pa-may-declare-state-day-humiliation-presumptuous-sins-stop-coronavirus-pandemic/ Trump-endorsed news outlet says it’s God’s “judgment” that a gay activist died from coronavirus rick-wilesThe site’s publisher was one of the first to say the coronavirus was part of God’s plan to kill sinners and that Christianity will protect people from the virus. Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/03/trump-endorsed-news-outlet-says-gods-judgment-gay-activist-died-coronavirus/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated March 31 2020Another edit today to my words of wisdom. Of course there are times we have to help ourselves. I put the change in bold, second sentence down. Another way to put all this is; always follow the golden rule: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule I have been wanting to post this for a while, but I have been having computer problems. That would explain would explain why I would make a extreme statement without thinking or explaining it further. When I said: No laws should have ever been made; with influence from the internet as it’s premise. (see above in my last post); I meant no law should be made by what is trending on the internet. The mob mentality of the internet; can get barbaric because of what is popular. There is always people that will cheer on a hanging; just to be part of the stupid gang. I believe in petitions and protest and the like; to help people that deserve helping. Helping ourselves is sometimes right, helping others is always right. If you follow that rule you will never commit a crime. In my opinion the basis of all crime is from being selfish. Now I am getting even more philosophical. Being extreme is the right thing to do like have a stick nutritional diet. To completely ignore the internet would be a extreme; that would not be right.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html Trump, Coronavirus Task Force hold White House press briefing | 4/2/20 – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1y9KOesF6w The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 24.6M subscribers Adam Sandler debuts a song about life during the coronavirus, shouting out essential workers and medical professionals helping everyone through the pandemic. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1axBGWFm4U Coronavirus: After shipment seized from Canada, FBI redistributing nearly 1M masks and gloves Global News Posted April 3, 2020 12:58 pm Medical supplies shipped from Canada to a New York man accused of price-gouging are now being redistributed to doctors and nurses amid the new coronavirus pandemic, according to U.S. authorities. Baruch Feldheim, 43, was arrested on Monday in Brooklyn and charged with lying to federal agents after he allegedly sold a doctor approximately 1,000 N95 masks and other medical materials for $12,000, a roughly 700 per cent markup, according to the FBI. Feldheim was also charged with assaulting FBI detectives after allegedly coughing on them during his arrest, claiming to have COVID-19, the agency said in a statement. Read more here: https://globalnews.ca/news/6773470/coronavirus-canada-fbi-ppe/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 06 2020 Grits Blakinger: Myriad pandemic updates, conflicting accounts on intra-prison transports, and one happy story to cheer you upOur pal Keri Blakinger offered up another excellent and much-appreciated email update while Grits’ blog content ramps back up. I couldn’t be more grateful, thanks Keri! Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/04/blakinger-myriad-pandemic-updates.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 08 2020 I have never prayed for so many people in my life so *wholeheartedly. I am praying for everyone effected by this terrible virus. Everyone needs to pray; this could be our greatest opportunity to defeat this virus as best we can. I am encouraged to see people making masks. Homemade masks can really help. My wife actually knows people who are doing this and gave her one. How To Make Up To !400 Face Masks From A Car Cover | Budge:https://www.budgecovers.com/how-to-make-up-to-400-face-masks-from-a-car-cover Make your own face mask—no sewing machine required …https://www.popsci.com/story/diy/make-diy-face-masks/ *From: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wholehearted :Definition of wholehearted 1: completely and sincerely devoted, determined, or enthusiastic 2: marked by complete earnest commitment : free from all reserve or hesitation Grits TUESDAY, APRIL 07, 2020’The Peter Parker Problem’: With great (judicial) power comes great responsibility What does that Spiderman story have to do with judges setting bail? From a psychological perspective, as it turns out, everything! Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-peter-parker-problem-with-great.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 09 2020 Democratic state rep. explains why she opted for unproven COVID-19 treatment, not hospital Posted: Wed 12:22 AM, Apr 08, 2020 | Updated: Wed 11:04 AM, Apr 08, 2020 FLINT/DETROIT (WJRT) – (04/07/20) – Michigan State Representative Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) was sick for weeks before she was officially diagnosed with COVID-19. ”It was just out of nowhere, like, you literally had no time to think,” Whitsett said.Whitsett described the moment her lungs filled with fluid and took her breath away. She did not want to go to the hospital, which may have been fruitless anyway because she says the two near her Detroit home were full. She also didn’t like the idea of being by herself. “You go to the hospital, you’re going with no one,” she said. “All I could think of is…if I go in here, I may not come out.” ”If he had not been pushing it on a federal level, I would have not had access to it, and I would not be alive today,” she said. After one doctor denied her request for the drug, the Detroit Democrat turned to Dr. Mohammed Arsiwala. Whitsett says she started feeling better within two hours of taking the medicine, but maintains the choice to use the drug is up to you and your doctor. She had previous success with it while treating her Lyme disease. Read more here: https://www.abc12.com/content/news/Democratic-state-rep-explains-why-she-opted-for-unproven-COVID-19-treatment-not-hospital-569461601.html The President mentioned how much he appreciates the Grocery Cashiers and Clerks See video here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03N9TyvvIo Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/prohibit-government-officials-from-profiting-off-their-positions-by-trading-stocks Prohibit Government Officials From Profiting Off Their Positions By Trading Stocks Sign MoveOn’s petition and demand that Congress pass the Ban Conflicted Trading Act – legislation to prohibit members of Congress and their staff from abusing their positions for personal financial gain through trading individual stocks and investments while in office. Last week, we learned that North Carolina Senator Richard Burr sold off up to $1.7 million in stock after receiving private, closed–door Senate briefings about the possibility of an economic crash because of the coronavirus pandemic. Profiting off of a crisis that has taken nearly 20,000 lives worldwide and led to hundreds of thousands of Americans losing their jobs is despicable. While Burr’s actions are repugnant, the fact is that both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of putting their pockets ahead of the public interest. For years, politicians have been buying and selling stocks while making decisions that affect the stock’s value. This is inherently a conflict of interest. And we must put a stop to it. Grits WEDNESDAY, APRIL 08, 2020 Litigation challenges Abbott’s executive order on COVID-19 jail releases The Texas Fair Defense Project, ACLU of Texas, and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sued Governor Greg Abbott over his executive order (GA-13) related to pretrial jail releases in response to the coronavirus, as well as Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has vowed to aggressively enforce it. The Harris County Attorney’s office has also signed onto the litigation, and 16 Harris County Criminal Court at Law judges number among the plaintiffs. It was filed in a Travis County district court. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/04/litigation-challenges-abbotts-executive.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 12 2020 Considering we are *The Laodicean Church (the worst Christians in the history of the world) it is a good idea not to go to 99% of all churches. These days it could be a matter of life or death. Although I am not a advocate; if you have to go to church why can’t people Skype it or something similar. From: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/4/1934049/-Evangelical-churches-run-smack-into-coronavirus-lethal-reality-but-some-continue-to-resist The likelihood that these evangelical churches can become major disease vectors for COVID-19 is based in immediate reality: One such church in Sacramento County, California—the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church near Rancho Cordova—is the source of 71 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, and one death so far. Overall, more than a third of that county’s 314 cases are connected to church services.*The Laodicean Church:I am amazed at how accurate Wikipedia is; when it comes to the Bible sometimes:The Laodicean Church in the Revelation of John (Revelation 3:14–22) In John’s vision, recorded in the book of Book of Revelation, Christ instructs John to write a message to the seven churches of Asia Minor. The message to Laodicea is one of judgement with a call to repentance. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (KJV). From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laodicean_Church Email I got this morning from the NAACP: Around the world, and in our community, Easter has been a longstanding tradition for many families but one that will be celebrated a little differently this Sunday. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Easter lessons of hope, faith and courage remain especially poignant this year. As a global community, we are experiencing a new normal, and our spiritual institutions continue to play a critical role in offering comfort and guidance in these uncertain times. This is a period of divine reflection for many. And although we must maintain our physical distance from our places of worship, our churches and faith centersare still providing the spiritual capacity for us to pray and reflect safely. In fact, many of our faith leaders continue to support our communities not just through sermon, but by actively addressing social needs and redressing social wrongs.
While we continue to advocate for an equitable recovery from this crisis, now is the time to uplift the plight of churches and faith centers across this nation. It is important that the sacred institutions that have long been the bedrock of the African American community receive the support that they need to continue their mission.
We all need support in these trying times, and even though things may seem bleak now, we are reminded that there is promise in tomorrow if we just have faith.
On behalf of the entire NAACP family, we wish you good health in this season. May our prayers bring forth healing and a transformative rebirth unto our nation.
Peace and Power,Derrick JohnsonPresident and CEONAACP Pray!I have learned the Bible say’s to be specific when you pray. I have realized that I should name the virus when I pray. When this first started; I would say the virus, in my prayers. Now when I pray I say the “Coronavirus”. I think I will also say COVID 19, as well; when I pray.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 14 2020 : Virginia is the first state in the South to make it illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ people”No longer will LGBTQ Virginians have to fear being fired, evicted, or denied service in public places because of who they are.” Monday, April 13, 2020 Read more: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/04/virginia-first-state-south-make-illegal-discriminate-lgbtq-people/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 16 2020
:Georgia police were reportedly using Grindr and other “web-based platforms” to entice men into fake hookups and then arresting them for prostitution when the men arrived. Police claim the nine men offered to “trade” poppers or pot in exchange for sex. The cops are publishing the men’s mugshots and charges in the local newspaper, but Project Q Atlanta has reviewed the entire Grindr conversation from one of the men arrested and it shows that there is no truth to the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office’s claims. Related: 26 men arrested in a DC sex sting that has cops posing as horny gay men The outlet shared screenshots of the Grindr conversation with the LGBTQ legal organization Lambda Legal. Greg Nevins, senior counsel at the group’s Southern Regional Office in Atlanta, said the pandering charge is nonsense. Read more here:https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/04/georgia-cops-cruising-grindr-charging-men-pandering-bring-poppers-hookup/
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2020Harris County DA: Judges cannot consider health issues as part of pretrial release decisions.We’re still waiting for the Supreme Court of Texas to rule whether Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order on COVID-related jail releases is valid (see Grits’ writeup here). Grits In the meantime, though, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has filed an “emergency motion” with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals arguing that judges do not have authority under the Code of Criminal Procedure to consider “public health matters,” including the risks associated with people catching the coronavirus in jail, when they make bail determinations. Her motion opined that:Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/04/harris-county-da-judges-cannot-consider.htmlThis just came to my wife and I:We have been praying for a cure and a vaccine for the Coronavirus. We will continue to pray that way.We should pray for the Coronavirus to end. We should pray for the COVID-19 to stop infecting people. We should pray for the Coronavirus to not infect one more person.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 19 2020 Grits SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2020 Austin PD racism, local media’s lapdog nature, all exposed by one report Grits has said many times that the local press in Austin reside, in large part, in the breast pocket of their law enforcement sources and generally do more to cover up problems than expose them. That was certainly true of initial coverage of a just-published report commissioned by the City Council regarding allegations of racism among Austin PD command staff. Headlines included: “Probe finds no proof of racist remarks by Austin police leader, but calls for change””Investigator largely unable to corroborate claims of bigotry against high ranking Austin police””Independent investigation into APD racism, homophobic allegations finds no policy violations”
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 21 2020I want to make it clear that I do not take marijuana and would never consider it; unless it was legal. This kind of thing really disgust’s me and proves what I always say about our perverted, unjust, so called justice system.: Today, we’re releasing new data on marijuana arrests nationwide. At a time when the criminal legal system is facing increasing pressure to release people vulnerable to COVID-19, this report could provide a road map to governors, prosecutors, judges, and others across the country to take steps to decarcerate – and save lives. We’ve uncovered that law enforcement made 6.1 million marijuana related arrests – the majority for possession – over the past eight years, despite reform efforts. Just as troubling, racial disparities in these arrests haven’t improved. In every state – legalized, decriminalized, illegal – Black people are 3.6x more likely to be arrested for marijuana than white people, despite similar usage rates. In fact, disparities have actually worsened in most states over the past decade.One thing is certain: There’s so much more we could be doing to ensure that marijuana is not just legalized – but done so in a way that combats racial disparities in arrests head-on. Our report outlines how to do just that. Learn more.: https://graphics.aclu.org/marijuana-arrest-report/Texas has lower-than-average racial disparity, with Black people 2.6 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people. Van Zandt County has the highest racial disparity in the state. Read more here: https://graphics.aclu.org/marijuana-arrest-report/TX Grits MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020 Snapshot of coronavirus in Texas county jails Today, as Grits catches up on all that’s happened while I’ve been under the weather, I decided to check in on the extent of coronavirus contagion reported so far in Texas county jails. Here’s an update. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/04/snapshot-of-coronavirus-in-texas-county.html We need to appreciate our community’s law enforcement more these days. My heart goes out to them; working through these days of turmoil and troubles. After reading these stories two stories in one afternoon; I had to stop and pray for our police officers with my wife: Texas Bus Hijacking Leaves 2 Officers Wounded and Gunman Dead April 19, 2020 A gunman hijacked a transit bus near Dallas on Sunday, setting off a chase and shootout that injured two officers.Credit…The Dallas Morning News, via Associated Press Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/us/dallas-dart-bus-police-shooting.html Texas police officer shot and killed, 2 others injured after domestic disturbance The two other officers are in critical condition. April 19, 2020 One police officer is dead and two others were injured after a shooting that was allegedly linked to a domestic violence incident Saturday night in San Marcos, Texas. Read more here: https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-police-officer-shot-killed-injured-standoff/story?id=70228432
Tracking the True Toll of the Coronavirus CrisisApril 21, 2020 These numbers undermine the notion that many people who have died from the virus may soon have died anyway. In Paris, more than twice the usual number of people have died each day, far more than the peak of a bad flu season. In New York City, the number is now four times the normal amount. In many European countries, recent data show 20 to 30 percent more people have been dying than normal. That translates to tens of thousands of more deaths. Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/21/world/coronavirus-missing-deaths.html
California megachurch linked to spread of more than 70 coronavirus cases Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/california-church-coronvirus-outbreak-sacramento Bishop who said “God is larger than” Covid-19 has died from the disease CNN Updated 3:14 PM ET, Tue April 14, 2020 Bishop Gerald Glenn, the pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Virginia, has died, the church announced on Sunday. Glenn had tested positive for coronavirus, according to a video posted by his daughter Mar-Gerie Crawley. Despite warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid mass gatherings and maintain social distancing, Glenn said in a sermon on March 22, “I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus,” and announced he was not afraid to die. Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/us/bishop-gerald-glenn-god-larger-coronavirus-dies/index.html Despite coronavirus risks, some Texas religious groups are worshipping in person April 2, 2020 Nearly four dozen people also were hospitalized in Washington state last week after they met for a two-and-a-half-hour choir practice in a church. Two members have died. Coronavirus has already affected his congregation directly: Parishioner T.J. Mendez died March 26 from COVID-19 at the age of 44. Mendez’s family was very active in the church; one of his daughters was an Oakwood staff member. Read more here: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/02/texas-churches-coronavirus-stay-open/ Florida pastor says he’ll keep church open during coronavirus outbreak, claims to have most sterile building in America Fri, Mar 27, 2020 at 5:11 PM On Wednesday, a Virginia pastor died from COVID-19 after saying “the media is pumping out fear” and “doing more harm than good.” Last month, South Korean authorities announced that a Christian megachurch believed to be a cult was responsible for at least 2,000 COVID-19 cases in its region. The church founder, 84-year-old Lee Man-hee, has since apologized. Read more here: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2020/03/27/florida-pastor-says-hell-keep-church-open-during-coronavirus-outbreak-claims-to-have-most-sterile-building-in-america
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 25 2020Com on people! You have to wear mask’s. I hate wearing masks too.Wearing a mask is like working out; you do it because it is good for you, not because you like it. If you can not get one; make one. A handkerchief or two; work’s really good too. More than half of Americans wear masks as coronavirus’ new normal takes hold: POLLAn overwhelming majority of Americans remain concerned about the virus. April 10, 2020, 5:00 AM9 min read here: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/half-americans-wear-masks-coronavirus-normal-takes-hold/story?id=70073942 BEST HOMEMADE FACE MASKS TO PROTECT FROM COVID-19 COMBINE COTTON AND SILK, STUDY FINDS4/24/20 AT 11:29 AM EDTRead here: https://www.newsweek.com/best-homemade-face-masks-covid-19-cotton-silk-study-1500059
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 29 2020 Grits TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2020 Number of Texas jail inmates with COVID rose 187% in 8 days Governor Abbott may want to open the economy back up, but in county jails, the problem is only getting worse. The number of Texas county jail inmates diagnosed with COVID-19 increased by 187% in just over one week! Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/04/number-texas-jail-inmates-with-covid.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 01 2020 Happy May Day: From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_DayMay Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on 1 May or the first Monday of May. It is an ancient festival of Spring and a current traditional spring holiday in many European cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the festivities. I just got this link from a email from one of my favorite radio personality’s, a good old Texan; Jim Hightower. I have not read his emails for a while because he seemed over board after the last elections. I never unsubscribed though, maybe because he does not send emails everyday or sign me up for spam like so many advocate email list’s do. I first heard and heard of Jim on the David Pakman show: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Pakman. Check out Willie Nelson here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0bB281GeMU Jim Hightower is:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hightower James Allen Hightower (born January 11, 1943) is an American syndicated columnist, progressive political activist, and author. From 1983 to 1991 he served as elected commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture. Born in Denison in Grayson County in north Texas, Hightower comes from a working class background. He worked his way through college as assistant general manager of the Denton Chamber of Commerce and later landed a spot as a management trainee for the State Department. He received a Bachelor of Arts in government from the University of North Texas in Denton, where he served as student body president. He later did graduate work at Columbia University in New York City in international affairs. I also got his link from the Jim Hightower email: Please sign this petition here:https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-during-this-pandemic-support-our-public-postal-service Tell Congress: During This Pandemic, Support Our Public Postal ServiceAs most Americans shelter in place, postal workers are delivering people’s prescriptions, keeping small-enterprises in business and connecting families. The USPS has always been our emergency distribution system when our country is in crisis. But, at this unprecedented time, that work is under threat. The Coronavirus shutdown is plummeting postal revenues while increasing costs. The Postal Service could run out of money as early as June. The loss of the USPS would shatter our response to the Coronavirus pandemic, hit already weakened businesses, and ravage communities. Our public Postal Service needs all American leaders – Democrats and Republicans alike – to provide urgent and ongoing financial support from the Federal Government during this public health and economic crisis. Add your name. Email your Congress members now. From: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/us/politics/trump-administration-intelligence-coronavirus-china.html Trump Officials Are Said to Press Spies to Link Virus and Wuhan Labs Mr. Trump made clear on Thursday evening of his interest in intelligence supporting the theory the virus emerged accidentally from a Wuhan lab. In response to a question from a reporter, the president said he had seen intelligence that supported the idea but quickly backtracked, adding that he “was not allowed” to share the intelligence and that his administration was examining multiple theories about the origin of the virus. A few scientists and national security experts have pointed to a history of lab accidents infecting researchers to suggest it might have happened in this case, but many scientists have dismissed such theories. But Richard Ebright, a microbiologist and biosafety expert at Rutgers University, has argued that the probability of a lab accident was “substantial,” pointing to a history of such occurrences that have infected researchers.Also read more here:https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/30/trump-china-coronavirus-retaliation/ https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-coronavirus-wuhan-china-evidence-who-public-relations
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 02 2020 Grits FRIDAY, MAY 01, 2020 Austin PD refuses to save overdosed addicts, nuther case overturned because of lying Houston PD narc, COVID spurs discussion of ‘new normal’ on who to jail, and other stories Here are a few odds and ends that deserve Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/austin-pd-refuses-to-save-overdosed.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 06 2020 Grits TUESDAY, MAY 05, 2020 Top Ten Failures of Austin Police Chief Brian Manley: A Compendium After more than two dozen community groups called for the firing of Austin police chief Brian Manley and assistant city manager Rey Arellano in the wake of the killing of Mike Ramos, some apologists for the department have portrayed this position as impulsive and hot-headed. Grits finds this rather insulting, given the long list of grievances to which advocates were reacting. https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/after-more-than-two-dozen-community.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 07 2020 Grits WEDNESDAY, MAY 06, 2020 CCA passes on judging forensic hypnosis, paroled but still imprisoned, Ken Paxton’s ‘lonely and misguided’ crusade, and other stories Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention:https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/cca-passes-on-judging-forensic-hypnosis.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 08 2020 THURSDAY, MAY 07, 2020 Data on waiting lists for TX competency restoration The Appropriations bill during the last Texas legislative session required the Health and Human Services Commission to periodically report on waiting lists for mental health services. Here’s the chart from the report related to forensic beds, where mentally ill folks are sent for “competency restoration” before they can stand for trial, plea, etc.: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/data-on-waiting-list-for-tx-competency.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 11 2020 10 Things Mentally Strong People Do During a Pandemic Research reveals how you can reduce your anxiety and stress during COVID-19.Posted Apr 19, 2020 1. They limit news and media exposure.2. They accept their feelings as normal.3. They carefully choose the leaders they follow.4. They limit social media and exposure.5. They display self-compassion for lack of productivity.6. They focus on facts.7. They meditate.8. They limit toxic people.9. They focus on self-care.10. They know their personality needs: introvert vs. extrovert. Also see here: What is an Ambivert? Take the Quiz to See if You’re an Introvert, Extrovert or Ambivert Find out what an Ambivert is, or if you’re one with our free quiz. Read the 6 tips for Ambiverts to leverage your personality type!: https://www.scienceofpeople.com/ambivert/ Read more about 10 Things Mentally Strong People Do During a Pandemic here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pulse-mental-health/202004/10-things-mentally-strong-people-do-during-pandemic The psychology behind why some people won’t wear masksCNNUpdated 12:53 PM ET, Wed May 6, 2020 (CNN)Most Americans have never had to wear a mask for their health before, let alone while they shop for groceries or go for a run. So, even as businesses or states increasingly require them, rebellion is natural — to a degree, says Dr. David Aronoff, director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Division of Infectious Diseases and professor of medicine. But he urges Americans to think of the mask guidance not as forced conformity, but as a necessary act of solidarity: Wearing a cloth mask could stop seemingly healthy people from infecting others with coronavirus if they’re asymptomatic.
“We’re all hopeful that this pandemic disappears,” he said. “Then we can stop doing as much risk mitigation. But for now, we really depend on the trust and kindness of others to protect our wellbeing. And that’s part of being an American.” Some think it infringes on their civil liberties Even though wearing masks isn’t compulsory in much of the US, adhering to these rules may feel like, to some, a forfeiture of their freedoms. People naturally rebel when they’re told what to do, even if the measures could protect them, said Steven Taylor, a clinical psychologist and author of “The Psychology of Pandemics.” “People value their freedoms,” he said. “They may become distressed or indignant or morally outraged when people are trying to encroach on their freedoms.” Some think it could make them look weak To some, wearing a mask means admitting a fear they may not have consciously confronted yet, said David Abrams, a clinical psychologist and professor of social and behavioral science at New York University’s School of Global Public Health. Many view the mask as a walking symbol of vulnerability that tells others you’re scared about contracting the virus. So to compensate for that fear, and as a show of strength, they may reject the masks entirely, he said. Some find the guidance confusing Within three months, masks went from unnecessary for healthy people to recommended for anyone who goes out in public. The conflicting guidance has given Americans a bit of whiplash. But that guidance has changed when researchers learned about the high probability of asymptomatic transmission. Wearing a cloth mask isn’t foolproof, but if someone is infected and doesn’t know it, the mask prevents their breath from traveling far and potentially infecting others. Some find it uncomfortable Up until this point, Americans haven’t been asked to wear masks in public. It’s a phenomenon they may associate with some east Asian countries, where wearing face masks in public is widely accepted and perhaps a reason why some of those countries have been successful in reining in outbreaks. “If everybody started wearing masks, suddenly, the old way of life is gone,” he said. “You’ve suddenly admitted that this is the new normal. But you don’t want to believe that.” Not to mention, masks aren’t physically comfortable either. That may be enough to steer some people away from them. Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/06/health/why-people-dont-wear-masks-wellness-trnd/index.html
THOUGHTS ON THE CURRENT HEALTH CRISISMARCH 18, 2020 With fear and confusion so prevalent in the hearts and minds of many believers today, and with so many theories and misinformation propagated by secular and religious media alike, allow us the opportunity to share a few thoughts regarding the situation in which we now find ourselves: This is truly a worldwide health crisis. It benefits no one to downplay or politicize the situation, argue the infection/death rates of this coronavirus v. other flu or virus strains, or embrace ridiculous conspiracy theories as to what is happening or why it is happening. People are getting sick and people are dying, and the rate of infection is clearly growing on a daily basis. These are indisputable facts. This is affecting almost everyone. As schools, businesses, and churches are finding it necessary to close for a period of time, our daily lives and routines are being drastically interrupted. People are experiencing economic hardship, and some are even finding it difficult to acquire basic needs such as food and paper products. Of course, this pandemic is taking a mental and emotional toll on everyone as well. Many Christians and non-Christians are in a state of panic and fear due to the uncertainty inherent in a situation like this. We are uncertain of the long-term economic impact, the duration of the crisis, and the odds of becoming infected. What should be our response as believers? Every person should do his or her part to use common sense with regard to heeding the advice of local authorities and doing everything necessary to slow the spread of this virus. We need to have a mindset of service and selflessness. Our “rights” are not as important as our testimony to the world and our responsibility to think of others and protect them—especially the young and the elderly. If you are a Christian believer; click here: https://www.featoday.org/thoughts-on-the-current-health-crisis/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 15 2020 If you want something to cheer you up during the pandemic check this out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Good_News Some Good News is a 2020 web series created and hosted by actor and filmmaker John Krasinski. The show, which is hosted on YouTube, is “a news show dedicated entirely to good news” with Krasinski operating inside his home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Good News debuted on March 29, 2020, and had 330,000 subscribers overnight. As of April 22, 2020, it has two million subscribers.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 18 2020 Grits SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 TDCJ population hits recent lows thanks to COVID, but the reduction is a phantom that at some point will reverse Thanks to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s cessation of intake from Texas county jails, the state’s prison population has declined to what may be a 21st century low of 135,833. (See this report documenting monthly totals.) Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/tdcj-population-hits-recent-lows-thanks.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 21 2020 Sign this petition here: https://action.aclu.org/petition/mcdonalds-give-workers-paid-leave-protections-now MCDONALD’S: GIVE WORKERS PAID LEAVE PROTECTIONS NOW Update 5/20/20: The ACLU and our partners sent a public letter to McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski requesting a meeting to discuss a paid leave policy that will protect all of its employees. Additionally, the ACLU, Fight for $15, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Poor People’s Campaign hosted a livestream rally on May 20 to urge the company to provide paid sick leave and family leave for all of its employees. You can strengthen our calls for change: add your name to our petition today.
If you do not believe that free speech is a necessity of life: please leave this blog now officially and legally as of reading this, your obligation of this statement is formally required. Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
The author of the Constitutional Rights Blog does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That doe not mean we are should not vote.
I make typos allot. I do not get paid to do this. I do not have a editor or anyone working for me at all. Sometimes it may take me more than one day to finish a article.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 23 2020
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 Texas leaders’ budget direction for prison agency makes no sense Texas state agencies have been asked to prepare budgets that include 5% cuts in light of reduced tax revenues thanks to the coronavirus and plunging oil prices, the Texas Tribune’s Jolie McCullough reported on Twitter. The TDCJ Correctional Security division and UTMB Managed Correctional Healthcare are exempt from cuts, but “Other parts of TDCJ’s budget though — like parole, education/training programs, drug treatment, executives — seemingly will have to be in proposed 5% cut.” Read here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/texas-leaders-budget-direction-for.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 24 2020 She plead guilty last year to maintaining a drug-involved premises. She was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison.But shortly after being transferred from a jail in South Dakota to a federal prison in Texas, Circle Bear died of COVID-19 while in custody, just 28 days after giving birth via C-section while on a ventilator. The 30-year-old member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota was the first federally incarcerated woman to die from COVID-19. From here: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/when-a-two-year-sentence-becomes-a-death-sentence/
I am longing for the days before the corona virus. It seems they were carefree days compared to today. I have not had a truly carefree day since around 1995 so I am a good judge of this. It seems like this past January for us; (I realize China was dealing with it before us) was a time of peace. Now we have this Minnesota problem. Let me just say when I saw a photo of George Floyd I felt very, very sad; for him and the people that loved him. He was a very large man and in my opinion a legendary type of human being. These are the exact type of people the police seem to over react to and abuse, sometimes. This is also the type of individual we all want to stand up for too. I think as that police officer had his knee on his neck, killing him; he did not resist because of his respect and admiration for our country and it’s so called justice system. In real life if he wanted to he could have broke that guys leg and pulverized him in less than a minute; if he was not handcuffed at the time. I think the image of a citizen cooperating as a police officer is killing them, while they are handcuffed; is a great example of what is wrong with our perverted, unjust so called justice system. Yes George Floyd had trouble with the law and no doubt on edge because of the Covid 19, but he is and was definitely not alone in our country of mass incarceration. The only problem I have with all this is the state of Minnesota. I have been actively warning people online for many years now about Minnesota. It seems in this most secluded aria of the united states the state of Minnesota has gone completely insane in the past 20 years or so. The government and law enforcement in Minnesota has become the worst of what our country has to offer. I think allot of it has to do with it’s proximity to Canada also. Lets face it Canada is not fond of us and is rated one of the worst places for Americans to visit. To all them in authority that has ignored the deterioration of Minnesota all these years; now is the time except your responsibility and act to bring civility to this long gone insane state of The United States of America. All these things I have been saying about Minnesota for many years online now; including my jokingly comparison to Rose Nylund depiction of Minnesota in the good old show; The Golden Girls. Think about how many years ago that was and how with a little comedy, like that; there is always some truth to it. Here is a email I got from the NAACP today. If anyone has a say in all this; they should be considered the authority and the go to people for what is going on in the (in my opinion; completely mentally ill state of Minnesota).: The murder of George Floyd by the police is an unspeakable tragedy. Black families and communities across this country are united in outrage at this moment. The protests we see are urgent responses to the racism that has afflicted and torn apart our communities for centuries. Over the last few days, these issues have now manifested in anger, sadness, fear, and confusion experienced by people after watching or hearing about the horrific footage of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of law enforcement. We are all asking, when is enough, enough? As a father, I share the fear of Black parents when our children leave the house. As a husband, I consider my wife and the life she would be left to navigate if I was prematurely taken from her and my children as yet another unexplainable death. As the leader of the NAACP, I understand just how hard it is to face the injustices that threaten our personal safety. And as a Black man, I consider how much longer I can be asked to bear the brunt of these social injustices without meeting force with force. But, as a community, we must consider what’s at stake in this moment. We must consider the lives we are attempting to forge for our families and communities, and the walls we are working to knock down that will grant future generations access to a greater and more powerful reality. From the onset, the NAACP in Minneapolis has been at the forefront in spreading awareness and fighting for justice in the death of George Floyd. In speaking with Leslie Redmond, President of NAACP Minneapolis, about the situation on the ground, the rawness in her report and the trauma she has had to face spoke to an issue much larger than Minneapolis, and much deeper than police brutality. The events in Minneapolis have confirmed the weaponization of whiteness and the criminalization of Blackness that has plagued our nation for generations.
NAACP Minneapolis President, Leslie Redmond, doused with milk after being tear-gassed by police.
I’m asking our communities in this hour to be angry, to be sad, but above all, to be measured as we battle this outrageous injustice. The NAACP will not rest until we see these officers charged and convicted for the murder of George Floyd. But we must also keep our focus on redressing the institutional racism against our communities everywhere that led to this tragedy. And we cannot afford to do so while losing more Black lives. We are done dying. What we must do now is protest peacefully, demand persistently, and fight politically. If you believe that enough is enough, join us in our fight and let’s work together to make sure justice will be ours. Fighting forward, Derrick Johnson @DerrickNAACP President and CEO NAACP
THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2020 Prosecutor-turned-TV-star cultivated ring of informants to give false testimony in cold cases, federal judge declares Imagine prosecutors cultivating a “ring” of jailhouse snitches to give false testimony in cases where there otherwise was insufficient evidence to convict the defendant. Well guess what? You don’t have to imagine. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/prosecutor-turned-tv-star-cultivated.html Florida forced medical examiners to stop reporting death results, and now we know why
Thursday May 28, 2020 · 7:40 AM CDT
Back in April, it became clear that Florida was intentionally hiding a list of daily deaths that had previously been compiled by county medical examiners. Since that time, those examiners, as well as hospitals and local officials, have complained that the number of COVID-19 deaths being reported in Governor Ron DeSantis regular updates, doesn’t match what they’re seeing in their areas. Last week, the scientist behind Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard was fired after she says she refused to alter numbers as she was told. Read more here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/28/1948035/-More-evidence-emerges-that-DeSantis-has-been-deliberately-under-reporting-COVID-19-deaths-in-Florida
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 31 2020
I love that people are disgusted with Minnesota. I love that people are protesting in backwards, insane Minnesota; I do not even care if they are bused in. They need to be bused into Minnesota. It seems Minnesotans have done nothing to stop it’s state from it repression and oppression of it’s people; through it’s unconstitutional, barbaric, cruel and unusual legal system. Please heed the advise of Joe Biden and do not let violence ruin it all:
Biden: ‘We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us’ 05/31/20 07:39 AM EDT Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is condemning the violence associated with protests over the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, saying that while the nation is in pain, “we must not allow this pain to destroy us.” Biden said in a statement early Sunday that the past few days have “laid bare that we are a nation furious at injustice.” “Every person of conscience can understand the rawness of the trauma people of color experience in this country, from the daily indignities to the extreme violence, like the horrific killing of George Floyd,” the former vice president said. He added that protesting such brutality is “right and necessary” as well as an “utterly American response.” “But burning down communities and needless destruction is not. Violence that endangers lives is not. Violence that guts and shutters businesses that serve the community is not,” he said.“The act of protesting should never be allowed to overshadow the reason we protest,” he added. “It should not drive people away from the just cause that protest is meant to advance.” Biden’s comments came after a fifth night of demonstrations over the death of Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody on Monday. Read here: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/500310-biden-we-are-a-nation-in-pain-but-we-must-not-allow-this-pain-to-destroy-us
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 2 2020
“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.”: Martin Luther King, Jr. “Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”: Martin Luther King, Jr. “That’s all nonviolence is – organized love.”: Joan Baez “Demonstrations must be dignified and nonviolent, as the overwhelming protests in Ferguson and Staten Island have been. Do not confuse anarchists who don’t want the system to work and thugs who want to exploit a situation with the majority who from day one have operated with impeccable nonviolence and clear goals.”: Al Sharpton See what could happen through non violent protest?: Michigan sheriff takes off helmet and joins protesters marching for George Floyd JUNE 1, 2020 / 12:03 PM / CBS NEWS Police officers and the National Guard clashed with protesters in several U.S. cities this weekend, as demonstrations over the death of George Floyd escalated. But in Michigan, law enforcement officers actually joined a peaceful protest in a show of solidarity. Video showing Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson taking off his helmet and joining a group of protesters in a march has gone viral. Raed more here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michigan-sheriff-chris-swanson-joins-george-floyd-protest-march/
I got this cool email from the ACLU this morning: As you come out to protest, here’s what our video notes to keep in mind: The right to protest is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment. If you get stopped, ask if you are free to go. If the police say yes, calmly walk away. You have the right to record. The right to protest includes the right to record, including recording police doing their jobs. The police can order people to stop interfering with legitimate police operations, but video recording from a safe distance is not interfering. If you get stopped, police cannot take or confiscate any videos or photos without a warrant. If you are videotaping, keep in mind in some states, the audio is treated differently than the images. But images and video images are always fully protected by the First Amendment. The police’s main job in a protest is to protect your right to protest and to de-escalate any threat of violence. If you get arrested, don’t say anything. Ask for a lawyer immediately. Do not sign anything and do not agree to anything without an attorney present. If you get arrested, demand your right to a local phone call. If you call a lawyer for legal advice, law enforcement is not allowed to listen.
Police cannot delete data from your device under any circumstances.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 3 2020
TUESDAY, JUNE 02, 2020 Did a Houston cop set up George Floyd years before Minnesota cops killed him? How militarized policing escalated protests; 50 years of ignoring ‘accumulated grievances,’ and other stories It’s been a crazy few days for those of us who work on criminal-justice reform. The news right now is filled with analysis and accounts of all the protests, so I won’t rehash it all. But here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/did-houston-cop-set-up-george-floyd.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 10 2020
I have been against the militarization of the police online for about 20 years on the internet. My father was a police officer and his police officer friends; were my good friends. Police should be member’s of our community and people we know. If a police officer conducts themselves like that; there would never be problems. Police are not the military and never should be. I was shocked almost 20 years ago; to find out we had regular armed police officers as campus security, at my college. I remember posting on the internet that it was like trying to kill a butterfly with a tank. I have also posted shocking stories of children being arrested in their schools. That can not be good physiologically for children’s futures and subsequently our future. I think the same thing for all those young people in violent protests. It must have a very bad, long lasting effect on a young person; to be in a violent protest.
TAKE ACTION: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/congress-end-police-militarization-and-over-policing-our-communities-now It’s time to divest from law enforcement as an institution. We’re calling on the House to take swift measures toward this goal and need you to join us. Please, send your message to Congress now – and specifically demand: The end to the Department of Defense’s 1033 program, which fuels the militarization of law enforcement by arming local and state police like soldiers. Weapons have no role in the policing of our communities or protests, especially military-grade weapons;The end to the COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) grants that put excessive numbers of law enforcement on the streets and in schools, where they have proven to be dangerous and divisive; The reigning in of Byrne JAG (Justice Assistance Grant) grants, as long as they continue to perpetuate police violence, the destruction of Black and Brown communities, the failed drug war, and low-level arrests. TAKE ACTION: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/congress-end-police-militarization-and-over-policing-our-communities-now
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 18 2020 Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/federal-demand-the-house-pass-legislation-to-end-marijuana-criminalization/ Federal: Demand The House Pass Legislation To End Marijuana Criminalization While it is positive that House lawmakers are debating ways to reform police tactics, we believe that they should also be debating issues surrounding police powers. Over the years, law enforcement in this country have been granted extraordinary powers — powers that often provide them with the ability to interact with citizens whenever and wherever they please. In many cases, the rationale for these ever expanding police powers has been to enforce the so-called war on drugs. One of the most common pretexts provided by police for interacting with citizens is that they suspect that someone has either used or is in possession of marijuana. Yet, the policy of marijuana prohibition itself was largely born out of prejudice and racial animus and its enforcement continues to disproportionately impact people of color. Simply put: marijuana should have never been criminalized in the first place, and law enforcement should not be able to engage with a citizen simply because they arbitrarily suspect that he or she may be possessing cannabis. That is why NORML is demanding that federal lawmakers end marijuana criminalization, by way of either including language in the police reform bill to deschedule cannabis, or having House lawmakers pass the MORE Act, which cleared the Judiciary Committee last November. Use our pre-written message and edit it as you see fit to your Representative now! Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/federal-demand-the-house-pass-legislation-to-end-marijuana-criminalization/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 19 2020 The following paragraph include the same words I have been posting on the internet for the past 20 years. This article (below) is a example why there is such terrible political unrest in out city’s. Always the city’s never our rural arias; especially the upper class neighborhoods that equal one percent of our total population, yet these arias rule our nation with a iron hand. When there is a assault or a sex crime in a rural or upper class aria; it is a epidemic that needs Nazi like, anti-American laws, that devastate community’s and effects countless citizens all in a negative way. In contrast: if someone commits a assault or a sex crime in the city; it seems like it is all part of living in the city and considered no big deal, especially to them that do not live in the city’s. Our entire country needs to face the reality of everyday life in our city’s or be destroyed by it. The following paragraph include the same words I have been posting on the internet; since the dawn of social media organized crime. Social media should be called trolling media instead or just plain organized crime. Sorry; never got into it and most likely never will. Also this article is one of many examples why I will never forget the crimes organized and perpetrated by Facebook.I especially remember the many elderly people assaulted because of Facebook. I even remember elderly people being beaten here locally here in the Dallas Metroplex aria organized by Facebook. Could be the man mentioned in the article was inspired by Facebook to commit his crime. One thing is for sure crimes like this are a small step away from committing murder or rape. CAUGHT ON CAMERAFrom: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/disturbing-video-shows-random-attack-hydrant-head-smash-of-92-year-old-woman-in-manhattan/2466659/ Serial Random Attacker Cuffed in Hydrant Head Smash of 92-Year-Old NYC Woman: CopsThe woman was taken to a hospital in stable condition after Friday’s attackPublished June 16, 2020 • Updated on June 17, 2020 at 5:45 am A senior law enforcement official tells News 4 Brimmage is a recidivist with 100 prior arrests who has gotten a desk appearance ticket for his most recent ones because of bail reform. He is an NYPD co-response client, which means police have responded with social workers when dealing with him. Brimmage has an extensive history of being emotionally disturbed in police encounters as well. Brimmage is currently a suspect in a grand larceny that happened on Feb.19 at the 116th St. train station in which a woman had $120 stolen from her purse, the senior law enforcement official said. He’s also a transit sex crime recidivist. Just got this; must post email, from the ACLU: Enslaved people in Texas were the last to learn of their freedom in this country. On June 19, 1865, more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, news of the end of chattel slavery finally made its way to Galveston, Texas. Today we celebrate June 19, aka Juneteenth, amidst an unprecedented public health crisis and national moment of reckoning over systemic racism.Advocates like you are continuing to take to the streets to protest systemic racism and the tragic death of George Floyd. With protests planned for Juneteenth, we want you to have what you’ll need to know your rights. : https://www.aclutx.org/en/know-your-rights/freedom-of-speech-right-to-protest I have been wearing a baseball cap for years from the Texas Ranger baseball team. My wife got the hat for free and I liked the way it fit on my head. I cut it in half and threw it away this morning after reading this article: The Texas Rangers have a nasty history. Why does the baseball team keep the name?“The terms ‘death squads’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’ would not enter common usage for another sixty years or so, but that was what the Rangers were and what they did.” JUNE 18, 2020 — 12:29PM “They burned peasant villages and slaughtered innocents,” he writes. “They committed war crimes. Their murders of Mexicans and Mexican Americans made them as feared on the border as the Ku Klux Klan in the South.” Later, they were a bulwark acting to hold back racial equality. When black students tried to enroll in the segregated Texarkana Junior College in 1956, angry whites barred the way, hurling gravel and racial slurs and forcing the students to leave. The Rangers stood idly by. When farmworkers, most of them Mexican-American, went on strike in 1966, some were beaten and arrested by Rangers. An old saying is: “Every Texas Ranger has Mexican blood. It’s on his boots.” Read more here:https://www.startribune.com/the-texas-rangers-have-a-nasty-history-why-does-the-baseball-team-keep-the-name/571346412/?refresh=true Do not let all this make you hate Texas. Only in Texas, would such things be revealed in the Texas media and by the Houston, Texas ACLU; like this. Texas is big, wild and free and that is always the underlying reason we all love it here. It is not easy getting used to wearing a mask. I wear a mask for one main reason; for my wife. The second reason I wear a mask to set a good example.Of course I also wear a mask for myself. After much thought I am starting to see a little bright spot in all of this. I notice how good we are becoming in expressing ourselves with our eyes. People I remember before the mask’s take on a whole new light with the masks on. You can judge a lot by looking into people’s eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul; goes the old saying. Also I am enjoying how good we all have become by using body language. I am a Sicilian and it is in my blood to talk with my hands; so this comes easy to me. I am encouraged by how we are evolving to all this. No one can improvise and innovate like Americans.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 20 2020 It is not wearing a mask that stresses me out; it is the people that I come in contact with. Also the news seems unreal. I keep reading about violent people. I never dare ask someone to practice social distancing. I see someone in my space; then I realize, if I say something, they may get violent. The people that do not wear masks; apparently, according to the news are prone to violence. This also is stressful. It does seem things are getting a little better as time goes by. Articles like this is the levelheaded words that are good to read and consider. When it comes to psychology; get what you can out of it and be wise enough to dump the rest. Not everything is about you.: 9 Ways To Stay Mentally Strong In This Chaotic World Life is not easy for most people lately. The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc, causing a brutal health, economic and jobs crisis. Since mid-March, 40 million Americans have lost their jobs. Those who hold a job are worried about its long-term safety. We’ve been locked up indoors with our homebound children, as schools were closed. Business owners watched helplessly, as their companies have been ordered to shut down, raising concerns if they’ll be financially ruined. Over the last eight days, we’ve seen well-meaning, peaceful protests held for George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer, infiltrated by people who use it as an excuse to riot, steal and commit vicious, violent acts. 1. Things may be awful, but that doesn’t mean you have to feel awful.You can control how you view, process and react to events. 2. Try to put aside your negative thoughts.We’re constantly overwhelmed with bad news lately. The negativity can be debilitating. While it’s not easy, tune out the noise. 3. Stop caring about failing.Go after what you want with gusto. No one will hand you a job or opportunity. 4. You can’t take life personally.It’s not just you. We all get rejected, doors slammed in our faces, lose out on a promotion and not get called back for a second interview. 5. No one is entitled to success.It takes a lot of time, planning, hard work, execution and luck to succeed. Sometimes luck’s not on your side. 6. Avoid getting goaded into arguments with strangers on social media.It’s a no-win proposition. Your blood pressure rises, you get aggravated and nothing gets accomplished. 7. It’s natural to be afraid of trying something new.We all worry about pursuing a new job, romance, friendship or potentially life-changing endeavor. 8. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Avoid getting roped into petty nonsense. 9. Learn to say “No.”We have a tendency to want to be liked. When you’re asked to commit to a business function or social engagement, you feel obligated to say “yes.” It’s difficult to turn down opportunities, as you risk alienating the other person, but sometimes it’s more productive to just say “no.”
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 21 2020 First, the problems courts are imagining with mass release just don’t exist when you look at the data. The people we’re asking judges to release are either elderly or have serious medical conditions. A subgroup of these people are in for “violent” offenses, which can range from murder to more benign actions like failing a urine test repeatedly. Because these people have been incarcerated for such a long time, much of their sentences have already been served. Further, data shows that most people age out of “violent crime” and older people are least likely to re-offend, making draconian sentences unnecessary and counterproductive, even in non-pandemic times. Read more here: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/we-wont-address-our-mass-incarceration-crisis-until-we-rethink-our-approach-to-violent-crime/
SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2020Policing budgets and outcomes: A Catch 22Viewed broadly, America finds itself essentially at the bottom of a thirty-year crime decline. But as police have had less crime to respond to, their budgets and staffing have ballooned, reported Politico this week.:
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 24 2020 As I have said on the internet many times: America was the hero to world in WWII. This vandalism is extremely wrong.: WWII monument in North Carolina vandalized with praise for communismBreaking News Reporter June 22, 2020 05:28 PM A World War II monument in Charlotte, North Carolina, was targeted by vandals who spray-painted a hammer and sickle over the names of soldiers who died while fighting overseas. The vandals carried out their crime on the memorial at Evergreen Cemetery sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning. They also painted the quote: “Glory to the day of heroism June 19, 1986.” The quote references a Communist Party uprising in Peruvian prisons. Wayne White, a U.S. Air Force veteran, gathered a group of volunteers and began scrubbing the monument clean on Monday morning. He told Fox 46 that he was upset by the vandalism because it covered up the 507 names of people from Mecklenburg County who were “veterans and deserve the honor, respect, and dignity.” Read more here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/wwii-monument-in-north-carolina-vandalized-with-praise-for-communism Racist who refused to wear a mask in a Lyft threatened to crush his gay driver’s skull The customer called the driver “a candy-a** fa***t” and an anti-Latino slur while threatening violence after being asked to wear a mask. Monday, June 22, 2020 Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/06/racist-refused-wear-mask-lyft-threatened-crush-skull-gay-driver/Franklin Graham attacks Anthony Fauci because “Science isn’t truth. God is.”But as Graham regularly does, he distorts the actual truth. Imagine that.June 22, 2020 Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/06/franklin-graham-attacks-anthony-fauci-science-isnt-truth-god/ TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2020Reform updates from Dallas, Houston, and Austin, a police-union hissy fit, how police spend their time, and other storiesare a few odds and ends related to policing that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/reform-updates-from-dallas-houston-and.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 25 2020 This story should calm right wing fanatics that think the democrats are behind all the violent protests. I have been warning people of fanaticism for years online; especially when it comes to politics of any kind. Also this story should help us all to see; we are all in this together, whether you are a democrat or a republican. Fanaticism Fanatics, ideologues and absolutists are humanity’s greatest scourge. Read here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ambigamy/201411/fanaticism-is-disease-alcoholism Timothy W. Carpenter is a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 3rd District since 2003. He earlier served in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 20th District from 1985 through 2003. From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Carpenter Senator Timothy W. Carpenter, said he was “Punched & kicked in the head. Might have concussion, left eye a little blurry, cheek swollen, sore neck and ribs.” Read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/24/madison-police-protest-senator/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 27 2020 “weeding out the weak” as quoted from below is a right wing conspiracy theory. The far right wing is really out of control; spreading lies about anything, that could bring about fear mongering. I do not blame the internet for trying to block them that are guilty of these lies and conspiracy theory’s; that mislead people so terribly. I think of myself in the middle. I do not consider myself left wing or right wing. I do believe in LGBTQ rights and protection of people’s rights. I also believe in equality of all people. I also believe unjustified inequalities need to be reduced or abolished. Also supporting social equality sounds good. I think if you read all my political blogs you can get a good idea of what I like to see helpful for people. Left-wing politics : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics I think because left wing politics seem not anywhere as load as the right wingers; I know less about it. At any rate I do love our country. This is the type of story that defines one of the reasons we as a nation suffer what we do. I have been posting about how nursing homes are like modern day Nazi concentration camps; on the internet for 20 year now. I also feel bad for people that work in nursing homes; because it has got to cause mental problems, for those people.: NEWS & COMMENTARYCOVID-19 Deaths in Nursing Homes are Not Unavoidable — They are the Result of Deadly DiscriminationWe as a society must reckon with our relentless marginalization and de-prioritization of people with disabilities and the people who support them. June 23, 2020 COVID-19 has ripped through nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, and other congregate settings for people with disabilities. People living in these settings make up less than 1 percent of the U.S. population, but nearly 50 percent of COVID-19 deaths. Some have said these deaths are inevitable. Some have even called for “weeding out the weak” as part of herd mentality. But these deaths are far from inevitable. They arise from decades of indifference, invisibility, and deadly discrimination against the people who live and work in these settings. They also arise from our government’s abdication of its responsibility to regulate and monitor these segregated institutions. Congregate settings for people with disabilities include nursing homes, psychiatric facilities, and intermediate care facilities for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Long before COVID-19, these facilities already had a poor track record with insufficient oversight, poor infection control, under-staffing, and inadequate training. Combined, these conditions created the powder keg. COVID-19 lit the match. How has this happened? This is the first in a series of ACLU blogs addressing this crisis, in which we will break down the causes at the institutional level and the personal effect on individuals such as staff and residents. The focus today is on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and its agency, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). Together, HHS and CMS are charged with regulating and monitoring the vast majority of the institutions where we have warehoused people with disabilities. HHS is responsible for the primary funding and for ensuring the safety of people in these facilities. And it has failed miserably in the age of COVID-19. On January 31, 2020, HHS declared a national public health emergency to respond to COVID-19. As a primary response to the pandemic, all of our medical and political leaders demanded social distancing. We closed schools and dormitories, required employees to work from home, and shuttered bars, restaurants, and ball parks. But we did not extend this disease prevention tactic to nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, and developmental disability facilities. In fact, HHS has done the opposite. It has instructed nursing homes to take new patients without first confirming that they are not infected with COVID-19, and it has waived regulations to help divert people from entering institutions. HHS has mechanisms at its disposal to reduce the overcrowding and dangerous conditions in these institutions. It can increase its funding for Home and Community Based Services and community mental health services, so people can stay in their own homes to get support. It can encourage states to advertise a provision allowing family members — so many of whom are sheltering in place without work — to take their relatives out of nursing homes and get paid to provide their care. And, it could increase the discharged planning process to move those who wish to be back in the community to move there. But it has failed on all counts. HHS also has obligations to step up infection control and safety for the people who cannot yet leave these institutions. But it has not required states to prioritize personal protective equipment (PPE) or testing for staff or residents, and it has failed to increase the consequences for facilities that violate infection prevention measures. As a result, these institutions, rather than being havens from infection, are ‘death pits’ — among the most dangerous places in the country during this pandemic. And finally, HHS should provide transparency, so that individuals and families can decide for themselves whether to enter — or stay — in an institution. Instead, more than four months passed before HHS started to require nursing homes to publicly report COVID-19 infection and death rates. And even this is incomplete — as nursing homes can choose not to report deaths before May 6, and other congregate settings — such as psychiatric hospitals, group homes, and institutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities — have no reporting obligations at all. Yesterday marked the twenty-first anniversary of Olmstead v. L.C., the landmark Supreme Court decision that recognized that “unjustified institutional isolation of persons with disabilities is a form of discrimination.” The court went on to observe that institutional confinement limits every part of a person’s life, and that such confinement “perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life.” Today, we filed a petition calling on HHS and its agencies to meet their obligations under Olmstead and under federal law. We are asking HHS to get people out of institutions as quickly and safely as possible, to provide genuine infection prevention and control measures for those who remain, and to provide true transparency as to who is living, working, and dying in these institutions. HHS must respond. Collectively, we have much more to do. As a society, we must reckon with our relentless marginalization and de-prioritization of people with disabilities and the people who support them. We must look at the tens of thousands of deaths inside congregate care settings as a collective, systemic tragedy. These victims of COVID-19 are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, grandfathers — all of us. We must end the disregard and discrimination that took their lives and that threatens — if we do not act quickly — to take many more. Read more here: https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/covid-19-deaths-in-nursing-homes-are-not-unavoidable-they-are-the-result-of-deadly-discrimination/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 01 2020 Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-we-need-masks/ The COVID-19 pandemic is still raging across America, endangering essential workers and killing seniors. One of the best tools for reducing its spread is widespread face mask use. But Donald Trump and his administration have turned this into another culture war issue. This isn’t culture―it’s science. Re-opening economies, especially ahead of the July 4th holiday, is likely to spread COVID-19 even more rapidly. We’re calling on state and local governments to enact rules to make mask-wearing mandatory when engaging in commerce. McKinney businesses must require face masks, mayor ordersMayor George Fuller said wearing a mask protects public health as well as the local economy. 11:01 AM on Jun 30, 2020 Anyone entering a McKinney business or nonprofit will be required to wear a mask to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, Mayor George Fuller ordered this week. The mayor’s declaration is similar to “mask mandates” adopted recently in Dallas County and Tarrant County, which order businesses to institute and enforce policies that require their employees and customers to wear face coverings. McKinney is the first city in Collin County to require residents to wear masks, with Plano set to vote on its own resolution today. Businesses in McKinney have until noon Wednesday to comply with the declaration, which will last a week but can be extended by the McKinney City Council when it next meets on July 7. Read more here: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/public-health/2020/06/30/mckinney-businesses-must-require-face-masks-mayor-orders/ If the so called TXDPS; plans on doing this, during the State of Disaster, The Texas Department of Public Safety may be responsible for killing people. I have been wanting to post this for a while: COLLIN-COUNTYHundreds waited for hours in heat outside McKinney driver’s license office TuesdayThose in line reported a teenager fainted while waiting to get inside the driver’s license office. Published: 5:45 PM CDT August 13, 2019Updated: 5:58 AM CDT August 14, 2019 MCKINNEY, Texas — Some people lined up outside the McKinney driver’s license office waited more than seven hours just to walk through the front door. Brandon Guillory waited for two hours Monday before he was told to try again the next day. He was in line for at least three hours Tuesday without much movement. The former professional football player was trying to get his Texas driver’s license after moving from Louisiana. He told WFAA that he waited a total of seven hours before getting inside, and once he did, he was told that he didn’t have good proof of address. Day three for Guillory starts Wednesday. “Literally seven hours,” Guillory said. “This is equivalent to training camp.” He and others in line estimated they barely moved 10 feet forward with each passing hour. About five people at a time were allowed inside the Texas Department of Public Safety office. The rest waited in a line that stretched around the building, even in the triple-digit heat. Latifi McCloud stood in line for more than four hours with her daughter. “They’re not telling us anything. They’re just taking five at a time,” she said. Some in the line told WFAA that a teenage girl fainted earlier in the morning. “Oh God, it’s so hot. I want to go sit in the car. I felt queasy and lightheaded,” McCloud said before she headed to her car. Full article here: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/teenager-fainted-in-line-to/287-453ed99b-3b3e-4be5-8ca3-cbb5c61b8694 Mike Pence spoke to 2,100 people jammed into an anti-LGBTQ megachurch in a COVID hotspotPence helped lure over 2,000 people into a Dallas church to hear him speak live, even though the city is experiencing a serious COVID-19 outbreak.Monday, June 29, 2020: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/06/mike-pence-spoke-2100-people-jammed-anti-lgbtq-megachurch-covid-hotspot/
I think we all need to read this every once and a while.: First Amendment of The Constitution of the United StatesFrom: HereCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020Advice for Texas police reform activists outside the big counties: Interview with Chas Moore, plus was George Floyd set up by a crooked Houston narcotics cop? Texas’ anachronistic ‘riot’ laws, and other stories: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/06/advice-for-texas-police-reform.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 02 2020
I voted today. The Collin County staff there were very professional. They even offered Q-tips® to use the touch screen voting machines; instead of your hands.
The death penalty is racist: *“Convictions are more likely if the accused is Black, poor, and/or if the victim is white.” The death penalty is racist and against the Bible: Exodus 20:13“Thou shalt not kill.” Sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/petition-your-us-rep-ban-the-federal-the-death-penalty-cosponsor-hr4052 Sign and send a petition to your U.S. Representative: Ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government. Cosponsor H.R.4052. On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider serious issues with the federal death penalty, allowing the federal government to resume executions after a 17-year hiatus. In response to Attorney General Bill Barr’s decision to resume the death penalty, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced H.R. 4052 — legislation to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row. As of this writing, the bill has 36 cosponsors (the late Elijah Cummings is still listed).
Barr claims he is reinstating the death penalty to seek justice for the families of the victims. But not only is he not a crime victim advocate, he’s expressly ignoring the wishes of those who do not want to use capital punishment. Instead, he re-victimizes them, and offers no support to process their trauma and grief. The Supreme Court’s refusal to consider the issues brought to them has increased the urgency of the ending the use of capital punishment. Since pharmaceutical corporations refuse to provide a drug previously used for executions, the Trump administration plans to use a dangerous, painful replacement, possibly produced by a pharmacy with questionable practices. Capital punishment is unjust. The process is rife with implicit bias, poor lawyering, and junk science. *Convictions are more likely if the accused is Black, poor, and/or if the victim is white. The people most likely to be put to death suffered traumatic childhoods, are mentally ill, or have an intellectual disability. It doesn’t deter crime or help victims grieve and heal. The death penalty has no place in a just society. The Supreme Court abdicated its legal and moral responsibilities. Congress cannot. Sign and send a petition to your U.S. Representative: Ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government. Cosponsor H.R. 4052. After reading this carefully I approve of what I read. *”transparency measures solely dedicated to ensuring that our taxpayer dollars are being awarded to those in need and spent according to the intent of the law.” What is wrong with that? Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-demand-congress-stop-corporate-abuse-of-covid-19-relief Sign the petition: Demand Congress stop corporate abuse of COVID-19 relief Congress has passed three relief bills providing critical aid to citizens and businesses struggling to stay afloat in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet from the onset, there have been major oversight issues with examples of large corporations abusing relief and our tax dollars, as well as evidence of companies with Trump administration connections benefiting from contracts and taxpayer-funded relief. The potential for further abuse is enormous, which demands further actions by Congress to protect taxpayer dollars and to ensure that the public understands whether relief funds are being spent as intended, for the good of the nation as a whole and to the needs of those most vulnerable. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, and Chris Coons, and Representatives Pramila Jayapal and John Sarbanes have introduced new legislation to beef up oversight of the administration’s COVID-19 relief effort. The Coronavirus Oversight and Recovery Ethics (CORE) Act would make it harder to fire government inspectors general, give subpoena power to the congressional watchdog tasked with monitoring coronavirus relief funds, and protect whistleblowers in the public and private sectors who come forward with evidence of fraud related to the coronavirus response. The CORE Act offers commonsense oversight and *transparency measures solely dedicated to ensuring that our taxpayer dollars are being awarded to those in need and spent according to the intent of the law. These provisions must be enacted to ensure taxpayer dollars do not serve the interests of the wealthy or well-connected to the exclusion of the American people. Sign the petition: Demand Congress support the CORE Act.Congress has passed three relief bills providing critical aid to citizens and businesses struggling to stay afloat in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Yet from the onset, there have been major oversight issues with examples of large corporations abusing relief and our tax dollars, as well as evidence of companies with Trump administration connections benefiting from contracts and taxpayer-funded relief. The potential for further abuse is enormous, which demands further actions by Congress to protect taxpayer dollars and to ensure that the public understands whether relief funds are being spent as intended, for the good of the nation as a whole and to the needs of those most vulnerable. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, and Chris Coons, and Representatives Pramila Jayapal and John Sarbanes have introduced new legislation to beef up oversight of the administration’s COVID-19 relief effort. The Coronavirus Oversight and Recovery Ethics (CORE) Act would make it harder to fire government inspectors general, give subpoena power to the congressional watchdog tasked with monitoring coronavirus relief funds, and protect whistleblowers in the public and private sectors who come forward with evidence of fraud related to the coronavirus response. The CORE Act offers commonsense oversight and transparency measures solely dedicated to ensuring that our taxpayer dollars are being awarded to those in need and spent according to the intent of the law. These provisions must be enacted to ensure taxpayer dollars do not serve the interests of the wealthy or well-connected to the exclusion of the American people. Sign the petition: Demand Congress support the CORE Act.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 04 2020 FRIDAY, JULY 03, 2020San Antonio can’t fire cops who use the N-word or feed homeless people feces: Accountability systems in Texas civil-service cities brokenIn San Antonio, recently, a fired police officer was reinstated by an arbitrator after repeatedly using the N-word to address a black suspect while handcuffing him. The head of the police union said it was no more offensive than the mayor publicly using the word, “goddamn.” I suspect that’s a minority viewpoint.: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/san-antonio-cant-fire-cops-who-use-n.html I got a July 4th email from the non violent NAACP: The hard truth is that America still has not extended the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to the Black community. And even centuries after our very own ancestors built this country from the ground up, the consequences of chattel slavery are still painfully reflected in the system of racism that is so thoroughly embedded in our nation’s social, economic, and political systems. The good news is that the recent protests are evidence that true freedom is within our grasp. We have a chance now to escalate the energy of this moment and move from protest to power to policy change—as long as those of us who care about civil rights and social justice keep up the fight. So on this Fourth of July, I’m calling on all of us to not let this moment slip through our hands. Let’s all pledge to continue doing the hard, necessary work of pushing toward a better and more just future for our families and our country.In Solidarity,Derrick Johnson@DerrickNAACPPresident and CEONAACP I posted this on my art blog on October 11, 2015. Since I have decided to post Normal petitions and articles here; I will post it here. I donate to Normal; five dollars, once a year. Normal is American earned freedom and INDEPENDENCE; in action. Although I have not used Marijuana since high school and shortly after high school. Since I have mentioned it here on my blog yesterday; I have decided to support the legalization of Marijuana online. I signed up with these folks : http://marijuanamajority.com/ Check this website out it is amazing! http://marijuanamajority.com/ Check out who supports the legalization of Marijuana on this website: John Paul Stevens Former U.S. Supreme Court JusticeDavid Koch Executive Vice President of Koch IndustriesAndrew Cuomo Governor of New York & Former U.S. Secretary of…Rick Perry Governor of TexasGlenn Beck Television and Radio HostNorm Stamper Former Seattle Chief of PoliceElizabeth Warren U.S. SenatorMichael Steele Former Chairman of Republican National CommitteeBill O’Reilly Host of Fox News Channel’s “O’Reilly Factor”Howard Dean Former Chairman of Democratic National Committee &…Richard Posner Federal Judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the…Sarah Palin Former Governor of Alaska & Republican…National Organization for Women 500,000-Member Women’s EqualityRandi Weingarten President of American Federation of TeachersPatty Murray U.S. SenatorBrian Schweitzer Former Montana GovernorRand Paul U.S. SenatorRobert Reich Former U.S. Secretary of LaborCharles Koch Chairman of the Board of Koch IndustriesTerry McAuliffe Governor of Virginia & Founder of GreenTech…Jeb Bush Former Governor of FloridaMark Cuban Owner of Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres &…Elizabeth Warren U.S. SenatorJay Nixon Governor of Missouri & Former Missouri Attorney…Nikki Haley Governor of South CarolinaCharlie Crist Former Governor of FloridaBobby Jindal Governor of LouisianaBarack Obama 44th President of the United StatesHarry Reid U.S. Senate Majority LeaderJohn McCain U.S. SenatorLouisiana VotersMinnesota VotersFlorida VotersMichael Bloomberg Mayor of New YorkPatrick Leahy U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman & Former…And thousands more… I definitely do not support any breaking of any laws; so until it is legalized; I hate even the thought of having anything to do with Marijuana. In fact any mention of Marijuana to me or any of my loved ones repulses me beyond belief; to the point of which makes me physically ill. I will always feel this way until Marijuana is legalized. I advise you take up this frame of mind also to protect yourself and the ones you love; if Marijuana is illegal where you are. I got this email from Texas Normal:July 03, 2020In a memo to the Mayor and Council Members, Austin Police Department’s Chief Manley lays out how the 2007 Cite and Summons bill, in conjunction with the 2019 Texas Hemp Program, paved the way for Austin City Council to pass a resolution that restricted city funds or city personnel from being used to create THC testing protocol and directed APD to stop citing or arresting personal possession of marijuana. After several delays: https://www.texasnorml.org/update-apd-stops-thc-testing/ due to the pandemic, the memo states that APD has now revised their enforcement policies and have a plan for training and public notification. APD will no longer cite or arrest individuals with sufficient identification for Class A or Class B misdemeanor “possession of marijuana” offenses, unless there is an immediate threat to a person’s safety or doing so as part of the investigation of a high priority, felony-level narcotics case or the investigation of a violent felony. “This is an important step forward for Austin. The City used the powers of the purse to pressure APD to do what is best for Austin, no longer waste taxpayers’ funds on these victimless crimes that have a disparately impacted communities of color. I hope this is the first step of many that will bring justice to Austin,” says Jax Finkel, Executive Director of Texas NORML. “Although the Police Chief should have made this change the day after City Council passed my resolution directing this back in January, it finally happened today because of continued community advocacy. This victory is only a small step compared to the much more transformational change that we must make this summer to our City’s budget and policing practices. Keep organizing!” said Council Member Greg Casar. Texas NORML was proud to work alongside many local organizations to help push forward this important resolution. Learn more about it here: https://www.texasnorml.org/atx-passes-pom-resolution/ .
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 08 2020 TUESDAY, JULY 07, 2020Laws on rioting an anachronistic snapshot into Texas Legislature’s anti-civil rights mentality in 1965Grits has heard of people reading someone the Riot Act, but until recently had never read Texas’ own riot act for myself. On the Reasonably Suspicious podcast the other day, Mandy Marzullo and I discussed Texas’ laws on “riots,” which were invoked via dozens of arrests around the state, including “several dozen” in Fort Worth. In Dallas, protesters have sued to challenge the constitutionality of the law.First, some historical context. Texas’ offense of “Riot” was created in spring 1965, reacting to national events like passage of the the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Harlem Riots later that year (begun after police shot a young black man). The famous 1965 Watts riots wouldn’t come until later that August, when the Legislature was no longer in session.Regardless, by then Texas had a long history of repressing black-liberation politics, often by dubbing the speaker a “Communist” to justify quashing them. Grits recently recounted examples of repression of civil-rights activism in the ’50s and ’60s in northeast Texas, including the intervention by Gov. Price Daniel in 1960 to redbait black leaders and fire all Wiley College faculty members who had not opposed a visit from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Texas state political leaders were serious about fighting communism, conflating that with desegregation to a degree that seems nonsensical with the clarity of 20/20 hindsight. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/laws-on-rioting-anachronistic-snapshot.html Send message here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/support-the-secure-and-fair-enforcement-banking-act-safe-banking-act-2 Send a message to your Senators now while these negotiations are ongoing and make your voice heard. Update: This legislation passed the House of Representatives on September, 25 2019 by a vote of 321-103 The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act), HR 1595 / S. 1200, would allow state-licensed marijuana-related businesses to engage freely in relationships with banks and other financial institutions. If enacted, banks would no longer face the threat of federal sanction for working with marijuana-related businesses and entrepreneurs. Read more here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/support-the-secure-and-fair-enforcement-banking-act-safe-banking-act-2
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 09 2020 Our representatives need to take this seriously: You live in a district that is holding a Primary Runoff Election, which is for races where no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March Primaries. The two candidates with the highest number of votes are facing off in the Primary Runoff Election to see who will represent their party on the ballot in November. We surveyed the candidates to find out where they stand on marijuana policy, including voting records for incumbents. Click here to use our interactive Texas Marijuana Policy Voter Guide!: https://www.texasnorml.org/votersguide/ Election Day: Tuesday, July 14th, 2020. Sign the petition: REJECT Corporate Immunity for COVID-19!: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-abusive-employers-must-be-held-accountable-if-they-cause-covid-19-outbreaks-reject-covid-19-corporate-immunity Tell Congress: Abusive employers must be held accountable if they cause COVID-19 outbreaks. REJECT COVID-19 corporate immunity!As Americans prepare to return to work, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding corporate immunity for companies that expose workers to the virus — which would mean companies could not be sued if people get sick on the job.Under McConnell’s plan, companies that don’t provide masks and gloves, fail to enforce social distancing, or recklessly expose customers to COVID-19 could be let off the hook, while workers and customers pay with their lives. Sign the petition: REJECT Corporate Immunity for COVID-19!: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-abusive-employers-must-be-held-accountable-if-they-cause-covid-19-outbreaks-reject-covid-19-corporate-immunity I have posting for 20 years online to support birth control. If we would only make birth control easy for everyone; there would not be so many abortions. I have been saying this for 20 years online yet still; it seems people do not see it. If anything sign this petition to support birth control: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-the-next-democratic-administration-must-rescind-trumps-anti-birth-control-regulation Sign the petition to the next Democratic administration: Sign an executive order rescinding Trump’s anti-birth control regulation on your first day in office. Everyone deserves contraception.PETITIONINGThe next Democratic administrationSPONSORED BYDaily KosOur Message to The next Democratic administration :On your first day in office, it is imperative that you rescind Trump’s anti-birth control regulation that allows a laundry list of employers to deny employees birth control coverage under religious or moral objections. Everyone deserves access to contraception, no matter where they live, where they work, or how much money they make.If anything sign this petition to support birth control: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-the-next-democratic-administration-must-rescind-trumps-anti-birth-control-regulation Another one for the hard working people: Sign this too: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-abusive-employers-must-be-held-accountable-if-they-cause-covid-19-outbreaks-reject-covid-19-corporate-immunity Tell Congress: Abusive employers must be held accountable if they cause COVID-19 outbreaks. REJECT COVID-19 corporate immunity!As Americans prepare to return to work, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding corporate immunity for companies that expose workers to the virus — which would mean companies could not be sued if people get sick on the job. Under McConnell’s plan, companies that don’t provide masks and gloves, fail to enforce social distancing, or recklessly expose customers to COVID-19 could be let off the hook, while workers and customers pay with their lives. Sign the petition: REJECT Corporate Immunity for COVID-19!: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-abusive-employers-must-be-held-accountable-if-they-cause-covid-19-outbreaks-reject-covid-19-corporate-immunity
WEDNESDAY, JULY 08, 2020Houston PD should shut down Narcotics Division based on problems revealed in (redacted) auditReaders of this blog know Grits is a solutions-oriented guy, so stick with me because I’ve got one here. Indeed, these days, when you send people to prison for a drug crime, you’re risking their exposure to the COVID 19 virus. We’ve already seen examples of Texans sent to prison for short, treatment-focused sentences who died of COVID while they’re there. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/houston-pd-should-shut-down-narcotics.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 12 2020 I actually watched this one. This guy is definitely trying to invoke violence. : Florida man loses job after Costco mask meltdown went viral amid coronavirus pandemicWednesday July 08, 2020 · 11:41 AM CDTIn a now-viral video, a Florida man was seen not wearing a mask while in a Costco in Fort Meyers, Florida, on June 27, as reported by local outlet NBC 2. The video shows a man wearing a red T-shirt and flip-flop sandals. What made the video go viral is not just his lack of a face covering, but that the video shows the man shouting at another customer after he was reportedly asked multiple times why he was not wearing a mask in the store. Costco has required employees, members, and guests to wear face coverings over both the nose and mouth since May 4, 2020. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the man in the video has since been fired from his job at an insurance agency. Watch video here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/8/1959086/-Florida-man-loses-job-after-Costco-mask-meltdown-went-viral-amid-coronavirus-pandemic?detail= SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2020 From: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/cowtown-gets-defund-police-vote.html Cowtown gets a ‘defund police’ vote The folks at the Fort Worth Crime Control and Prevention District must be kicking themselves at the timing of the voters’ re-up of their taxing authority, on the ballot this Tuesday. See quality coverage from The Appeal and Fort Worth Weekly. Basically, the question becomes, do voters make this a Black Lives Matter referendum? Do they take out all the frustration expressed during the George Floyd protests when when presented in the ballot box with an explicit opportunity to “defund police”? Only time will tell. Local defund advocates are taking the opportunity to pitch CCPD abolition with a libertarian spin. Given that supporting a sizable tax during a major recession is already a hard sell, anyway, Grits would give the opposition a puncher’s chance at sneaking an upset. Between COVID and the delayed runoffs, it’ll be an odd, unpredictable electorate to begin with. That’s the kind of wild card that could easily result in election-night surprises. Grits hasn’t followed this local, Cowtown issue before and wishes I’d realized this opportunity earlier. It’s too small a race for anyone to poll on, but if an upset occurs, the implications could be significant.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 15 2020 Please sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/sign-the-petition-to-say-i-dissent-with-this-attack-on-birth-control-coverage Sign the petition to say “I DISSENT” with this attack on birth control coverage! The Supreme Court just ruled in Trump v. Pennsylvania, giving the green light to the Trump administration’s attacks on our birth control coverage. Let’s be clear: Every body deserves birth control coverage, no matter where you work or go to school. The Trump-Pence rule that the Supreme Court just let go into effect allows employers and universities to take birth control coverage away from their employees and students. But the personal beliefs of your boss or school shouldn’t dictate the care you can access. Add your name to NARAL Pro-Choice’s petition to support birth control access and say “I DISSENT” with this ruling! Please sign this petition here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/petition-your-us-rep-ban-the-federal-the-death-penalty-cosponsor-hr4052 Sign and send a petition to your U.S. Representative: Ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government. Cosponsor H.R.4052. On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider serious issues with the federal death penalty, allowing the federal government to resume executions after a 17-year hiatus. In response to Attorney General Bill Barr’s decision to resume the death penalty, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced H.R. 4052 — legislation to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row. As of this writing, the bill has 36 cosponsors (the late Elijah Cummings is still listed).Barr claims he is reinstating the death penalty to seek justice for the families of the victims. But not only is he not a crime victim advocate, he’s expressly ignoring the wishes of those who do not want to use capital punishment. Instead, he re-victimizes them, and offers no support to process their trauma and grief.The Supreme Court’s refusal to consider the issues brought to them has increased the urgency of the ending the use of capital punishment. Since pharmaceutical corporations refuse to provide a drug previously used for executions, the Trump administration plans to use a dangerous, painful replacement, possibly produced by a pharmacy with questionable practices.Capital punishment is unjust. The process is rife with implicit bias, poor lawyering, and junk science. Convictions are more likely if the accused is Black, poor, and/or if the victim is white. The people most likely to be put to death suffered traumatic childhoods, are mentally ill, or have an intellectual disability. It doesn’t deter crime or help victims grieve and heal. The death penalty has no place in a just society. The Supreme Court abdicated its legal and moral responsibilities. Congress cannot. Sign and send a petition to your U.S. Representative: Ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government. Cosponsor H.R. 4052 At least 8 people partially blinded same day during police rampage against George Floyd protesters Tuesday July 14, 2020 · 4:54 PM CDT Witness video clips from eight different incidents of police brutality on the same May 30 date seem to prove that authorities involved in at least one of the incidents lied in official reports of what happened, according to a Washington Post investigation. Other officials were caught in apparent policy breaches highlighted when the Post evaluated slow-motion forms of witness video, traffic surveillance tapes, and other forms of video footage.In the newspaper’s probe, reporters interviewed eight victims who were all partially blinded when police used “less lethal” weapons against them at George Floyd protests from California to Ohio.Read more here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/14/1960695/-At-least-8-people-partially-blinded-same-day-during-police-rampage-against-George-Floyd-protesters#read-more
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 16 2020 From here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/sunset-review-provides-chance-to.html WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2020Sunset review provides chance to restrict who in Texas gets to have a police forceTo attempt to alter policing at a fundamental level is a vast undertaking. You’re not changing one agency but thousands of them. America has more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide.The general public rarely considers and likely barely conceives of the vast scope of law enforcement systems. Just in Texas alone, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement reports that it regulates 2,740 agencies which collectively carry 80,130 peace-officer licenses and 22,944 jailers’ licenses.Law enforcement has grown in Texas in recent decades along several axes: The number of officers employed en toto has increased. The number of agencies has increased. The types of agencies which employ officers has expanded. Their proportion of local budgets have grown. We’re not just talking about the state’s 254 county Sheriffs or its 1,800 or so municipal police departments. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 2.12 lists 35 categories of government entities that can employ peace officers, including the Dental, Medical, and Pharmacy boards, water control and improvement districts (!), and the General Services Commission (archaic: this is now the Texas Facilities Commission, which manages state properties). But wait, there’s more!Railroad companies can employ their own licensed Texas peace officers, as can the Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, whose offices are dubbed “special rangers” in the statute. Eric Dexheimer, now at the Houston Chronicle, had good coverage of this back in 2009. In counties with less than 200,000 people, security officers for private colleges can be licensed through a local-area Sheriff or police department as “adjunct police officers” – up to 50 per institution. Police employed by the Alabama Coushatta and Kickapoo tribes can be commissioned by TCOLE.”School marshals” are licensed police officers in Texas, but unlike, say, Dental Board investigators or railroad company employees, the Code of Criminal Procedure insists that, “A school marshal may not issue a traffic citation.” (At this, a light bulb went off over your correspondent’s head: Powers of any of these 35+ categories can be limited!) Thinking broadly, what is the scope of the “policing” industry in Texas? According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, Texas in 2015 spent $16 billion on criminal justice, which broke out thusly:Police: 46.2%Judicial: 17.8%Corrections: 36%So let’s assume as a rough estimate that 46 percent of overall criminal-justice expenditures in Texas, state and local combined, goes to pay for these 80,130 police officers at 2,740 agencies. None of this is new, but the problems have grown and little has been done to rein in unintended consequences from the explosion of law enforcement agencies and officers in the state. Almost 16 years ago, when your correspondent was director of the Police Accountability Project at the ACLU of Texas, I presented written testimony on this topic to the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee, the first half of which focused on the proliferation of law enforcement agencies. Several of those criticisms still very much apply: Gypsy cops: Officers with histories of misconduct move from agency to agency with no consequences, particularly in smaller jurisdictions.The pool of quality police supervisors in Texas simply is not deep enough to manage 2,540 different agencies. (Grits’ note: Today, it’s 2,740 agencies.) That means many of these special agencies are being led by managers who are frankly unqualified.Smaller forces don’t have sufficient resources for modern, high quality training or equipment for more specialized work needed to solve serious of crimes.The second part of that testimony, for those interested, discussed Texas’ string of “regional narcotics task forces” employing more than 700 officers which were ultimately defunded under Gov. Rick Perry and abolished after a six year campaign. Reading through it, the criticisms sound like those raised in the audit of the Houston PD Narcotics division!Grits remains skeptical America can ever completely “abolish” police. But I’m downright enthusiastic about abolishing certain types of police, starting with narcotics officers, school cops, and maybe while we’re at it, the dental and pharmacy boards, etc.. As the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement undergoes Sunset review, staff and legislators should consider paring back the long list of approved agencies that get their own police force. When it comes to expanding that list, we have long past the point of diminishing returns.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 17 2020 Sign this petiton here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-hold-police-accountable-end-qualified-immunitySign and send the petition: Hold police accountable. End qualified immunity.“Qualified immunity” is one of the reasons it is so hard to successfully sue police officers for abuse of power or misconduct, even in cases where they clearly acted in bad faith & unquestionably violated a person’s civil rights.This is a copy of a email I got from Daily Kos: The nation is turning against Donald Trump in a dramatic fashion. Poll after poll shows Joe Biden opening up a huge lead nationally as poll after poll after poll after poll shows swing states turning blue and traditional red states become new battlegrounds. Politicians need to wake up to the fact they could lose elections because of refusal to end marijuana prohibition.: Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-to-biden-and-trump-end-marijuana-prohibition/ Petition to Biden and Trump: End marijuana prohibition Never in American history has there been such an overwhelming consensus to end marijuana prohibition, yet neither major party nominee for President has committed to doing so. Sign the petition to tell Joe Biden and Donald Trump to include ending the failed policy of federal marijuana prohibition to their platform. Never in modern history has there existed greater public support for ending the nation’s nearly century-long experiment with marijuana prohibition. According to nationwide polling data provided by Gallup, 67 percent of Americans support legalizing and regulating the adult-use of marijuana, including outright majority support from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who support replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of adult-use legalization and regulation, as well as the interests of those residing in the majority of US jurisdictions that have liberalized their own state-specific policies in a manner that is divergent from federal law. The criminalization of marijuana financially burdens taxpayers, encroaches upon civil liberties, engenders disrespect for the law, impedes legitimate scientific research into the plant’s medicinal properties, and disproportionately impacts communities of color. Americans demand a President who recognizes this reality and who will seek to amend federal law in a manner that comports with scientific consensus, public opinion, and the plant’s rapidly evolving cultural status. That is why we call on the two major party candidates to support the following changes in federal marijuana policy: Deschedule. Expunge. Reinvest. 1) Deschedule the marijuana plant from the Controlled Substances Act so that states, not the federal government, are the primary regulators of marijuana policy and so that local governments (that wish to do so) can take steps to regulate the marijuana market unimpeded by the threat of undue federal interference. Utilize the bully pulpit to advocate Congress to prioritize and advance legislation similar to The MORE (Marijuana, Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement) Act to rectify existing state/federal conflicts over marijuana access, banking issues, and other related policies. Pledge to appoint federal officials in the positions of US Attorney General, Secretary of Health and Human Service, Director of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and other relevant agencies who will no longer oppose efforts to bring about legislative and regulatory changes to federal marijuana policy — including efforts to facilitate greater clinical research and exploration into marijuana’s therapeutic utility. Pledge to pursue executive actions to enact changes in federal marijuana policy when applicable. 2) Call for the automatic review of federal convictions specific to low-level marijuana-related offenses, and for the expungement and/or resentencing of these convictions when applicable. The stigma and loss of opportunities stemming from a marijuana conviction can last a lifetime. At a time when the nation is facing mass unemployment, the federal government can and should remove — nor promote — undue barriers to economic opportunity and prosperity. 3) Provide federal financial assistance to facilitate state and local governments to review and expunge non-violent marijuana convictions through the issuance of grants and other resources. Tens of millions of Americans currently carry the burden of a state-specific marijuana conviction. In many cases, these convictions are for activities now deemed legal under state laws. These individuals should no longer carry this undue stigma and the lost opportunities that go with it. While many state governments are now engaging in the process of reviewing and vacating some of these convictions, this process would be further facilitated with federal assistance, inducements, and resources. 4) Work to ensure that a portion of revenues derived from businesses in the marijuana sector are circulated and reinvested into those communities most adversely impacted by prohibition, and that the emerging legal industry creates pathways for ownership opportunities for local small businesses, as well as engage in practices that promote social justice and equity. Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-to-biden-and-trump-end-marijuana-prohibition/ Transgender women win elections for the first time in West Virginia & Louisiana”I’m proud to stand for transgender and gender non-conforming people in the state,” said Peyton Rose Michelle, who won in Louisiana. Wednesday, July 15, 2020 Two women who won elections this past month just became the first transgender elected officials in their respective states.Peyton Rose Michelle won a seat on Louisiana’s Democratic State Central Committee and is the first out transgender woman elected to a political position in the state, according to Big Easy Magazine. She got over twice as many votes as her opponent. Read more: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/07/transgender-women-win-elections-first-time-west-virginia-louisiana/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 19 2020I love America. Anyone that has read my blogs; knows this. I absolutely believe that every statue and everything else that honors slave owners and human rights violators and fiends, etcetera; should be done away with. Read up on all the terrible things these people have done. I can not see how any sane person would honor anyone that owned slaves or guilty of other atrocities. I looked it up and could barely stand reading it. I do not believe anyone should break the law to take down statues or memorials. We need to lobby and vote; not take part in violence or vandalism. Protests are how this country started. The greatest historically, most honorable protests on this earth; have always been peaceful protests. This is a whole new age of Americans in our country. People today are the more informed; than ever before, in the history of the world. It is one hundred percent because of the internet. I did not want to cut my Texas Rangers hat in half. I did it because it needed to be done. I do not to be wearing that hat when some poor Hispanic person had one of their family members killed by the Texas Rangers and sees my hat as a reminder of that. Dallas Morning News article: Schools honoring Confederates Robert E. Lee and John Tyler will be renamed, says Tyler school board On Thursday, the Tyler ISD school board unanimously voted to start the renaming process for both of its high schools, which both compete with Dallas-area schools in extracurricular activities. 11:08 PM on Jul 16, 2020 Robert E. Lee High School alumna Darlene Foy, left, of Arlington, Texas, stands next to Kaelyn Flowers, a freshman at the school, as people gather outside a special Tyler Independent School Board meeting on a potential name change for the school, Thursday, July 16, 2020 in Tyler, Texas. Foy drove to Tyler to support keeping the name. Flowers is in favor of changing the name. Click here to view this classic photo by Dallas Morning News. The thing I like about this photo is, that these people obviously disagree with each other; yet they are still polite enough to show civility to each other. I think it is just good old fashioned southern hospitality. The only thing I can say is; if people are so attached to statues, etcetera: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 God used people to form our great Country. God also uses Satan to do work for him: “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Matthew 4:10 Read more here: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2020/07/16/schools-honoring-confederates-robert-e-lee-and-john-tyler-will-be-renamed-says-tyler-school-board/ Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) told Trump to get his DHS lackeys and paramilitary operations out of his state of Oregon. – Get your DHS lackey and uninvited paramilitary actions out of my state. Our communities are not a stage for your twisted reelection campaign. Read more here: https://www.politicususa.com/2020/07/17/jeff-merkley-trump-oregon.html SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2020Boomer Dems backlash vs #cjreform in Austin, Prison TikTok, Texas’ first, truly ‘progressive’ DA, and other storiesHere are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/boomer-dems-backlash-vs-cjreform-in.html I liked this one most: Texans back police reformFrom that second MCM Austin Chronicle story, statewide Texas polling demonstrates that:73% of those surveyed agreed that police brutality is a “somewhat serious” or “very serious” problem. Similar lopsided majorities feel that police departments should reform their use-of-force practices, and that non-police (“other types of workers”) should be responding to “community issues such as mental health and homelessness.” A smaller majority (53%) agrees with the statement, “We need to reform the police.” Pluralities support reallocating police funding to health and homelessness (46%) and agree that police unions have too much power (43%) and that police don’t need military gear and vehicles (48%); large numbers are “not sure” in all three cases. The most I ironic thing about COVID-19 is; when you get it, it is like having to wear the scarlet letter. You become marked as someone to avoid at all cost’s; by closed minded people. Trust me the amount of closed minded people in our society is astounding and daunting. Even though being closed minded is actually a mental disorder; the huge population of them is always there. Closed minded people will avoid you like the plague if you get this deadly virus. Aids was exactly like this when it first started. Getting the coronavirus is like getting aids in the early 1980’s. The bottom line is there will always be uneducated people that think if you got the corona virus in 2020; you could be contagious, forever. However unfair it is to be ostracized like this by narrow minded people, that are completely oblivious to the actual COVID-19 virus; it is still going to be a fact of life for those that are labeled with COVID-19. Young people should think of this before they take part in high risk behavior. Another thing young people should think about is; this virus is so new that no one knows what it is truly capable of beyond a shadow of a doubt. Fauci: Young People “Are Propagating a Pandemic” by “Not Caring” if They Get Infected JULY 18, 20208:00 PM Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, says the data is clear that it is “young people” who are “driving this new surge” of coronavirus infections. While the young may feel invincible and they’re right that most of them won’t get sick, they need to understand the role they play in making sure the virus keeps spreading to others with sometimes lethal consequences. “They’re not going to get very sick. They know that,” Fauci said in an interview with WebMD’s chief medical officer John Whyte. “So what I think is happening is that, understandably, innocently, but not correctly, the younger individuals are saying, well, if I get infected, so the chances of it is that I won’t even have any symptoms, so who cares? That’s a big mistake.” Read more here: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/fauci-young-people-propagating-pandemic-coronavirus.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 22 2020 TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020 Texas agency that licenses peace officers up for ‘Sunset’ review: What needs to change to improve accountability?The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which is the state licensing agency for Texas police and jailers, is up for “Sunset” review during the next Texas legislative session in 2021. During a session when policing issues may dominate, this will be a track worth watching.*For the un-initiated, all state agencies in Texas every 12 years undergo a comprehensive “Sunset” review to analyze whether their core functions are still relevant and if the agency should continue to exist. If the agency is not proactively renewed by the Legislature, it is “sunsetted” out of existence. But seldom does the Sunset Commission make that recommendation. Instead, they identify ways the Legislature could fix the agency to better achieve its goals. That’s what I anticipate will happen with TCOLE. Texas has nearly one-sixth of the nation’s law enforcement agencies (2,740) and more than 80,000 licensed officers. So there’s a continued need to license officers and ensure that training meets minimum state requirements. But there’s also plenty of room for improvement. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/texas-agency-that-licenses-peace.html
Our politicians need to take note of this problem. Say for instance beer was illegal. Don’t you think people would vote only for politicians who wanted to make beer legal? Send a letter to your representatives here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/upcoming-vote-in-the-house-on-marijuana-policy?source=direct_link& Federal: Upcoming vote in the House on marijuana policy Later this month, there will be a crucial vote in the US House of Representatives on an amendment to protect legal marijuana states from federal interference. The passage of this amendment would be our biggest federal victory yet! But we need your help to ensure that we have the votes necessary to win. Since 2014, members of Congress have passed annual spending bills that have included a provision protecting those who engage in the state-sanctioned use and dispensing of medical cannabis from federal prosecution by the Department of Justice. The amendment maintains that federal funds cannot be used to prevent states from “implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.” It is time for Congress to expand these important protections to adult-use legalization states. Today, nearly one in four Americans reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal under state statute. Known as the Blumenauer-McClintock-Norton amendment, after Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D), a founding member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Tom McClintock (R) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the amendment removes the word “medical” from the existing language — thereby extending these protections to both qualified patients and to adults, as well as to those licensed in both the medical and recreational industries. The fix is literally that simple. This expanded language passed the House last year, but was later removed by the Senate leadership. Send a message right now to your Representative and urge them to vote ‘yes’ and fight to keep this language in the final version of the CJS appropriations bill!
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 25 2020FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020How the #txlege can pay for needed staff, reforms at Texas’ peace-officer licensing agencyGrits mentioned earlier that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) is up for Sunset review and suggested that many of the needed changes at the agency would require new appropriations. The problem arises: COVID and the oil bust have reduced state revenue and state agencies, including TCOLE, have been asked to reduce budgets accordingly. So is that realistic? TCOLE’s budget is paid mostly from the General Revenue fund and a few disparate grants. But considering they’re a licensing agency, there’s a big, gaping hole in their revenue sources: Licensing fees! Neither officers nor agencies pay licensing fees to cover the cost of state regulation. By contrast, a Master Plumber’s license costs $175 and $75 to renew every three years. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/how-txlege-can-pay-for-needed-staff.html Federal agents likely permanently blinded by Portland protesters’ lasers, White House saysJuly 25, 2020 Three federal agents who have been dispatched to Portland, Ore., to attempt to assist quell the town’s violent protests have been “likely left permanently blinded” from clashes, White House officers stated Friday. “A federal agent’s hand was impaled by planted nails, one other federal agent was shot with a pellet gun, leaving a wound deep to the bone, and tragically, three federal officers have been likely left permanently blinded by the rioters utilizing lasers pointed immediately into their eyes,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany informed reporters Friday. Read more here: https://gruntstuff.com/federal-agents-likely-permanently-blinded-by-portland-protesters-lasers-white-house-says/71482/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 27 2020
Author: KGW StaffMurder of black Trump supporter Bernell Trammell spurs call for federal investigationJuly 25, 2020 | 12:37pm The shooting death of a black Trump supporter in Milwaukee has state Republicans calling for a federal investigation. Bernell Trammell, 60, a dreadlocked activist known for carrying handmade signs through the streets reading “Vote Donald Trump 2020,” and posting them on his storefront, was gunned down by an unknown assailant on his sidewalk Thursday afternoon, police said. Read more here: https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/black-trump-supporter-bernell-trammell-shot-dead-in-milwaukee/
This guy really got to me. I mean look at the photos of him. He is just some poor guy full of spirit, going way out of his way to try to help people. I have said on the internet many times; never to be fanatical about any political person or political party. Fanatical behavior is a definite sign of mental illness and if I or a loved one was exhibiting fanatical behavior, I would be very concerned about them and do all I could to help them. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that promoting Donald Trump next to God is not God’s will or according to scripture. I absolutely do not believe all the right wing lies about the democrats and they are more and more bazaar as we near election time. I have become so sick of all it. Then again the left wing lies about the the president and his administration still keep going strong even after all this time after loosing the election. I have said it before on this blog you can not blame everything on earth that is bad on any one person. I have to agree that the Trump administration sometimes, seems anti LGBTQ human rights and that is not what God would want. I recently read a article about how to refuse homeless transgender people from a homeless shelter, for example. See here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/07/trump-administration-memo-explains-spot-transgender-woman/ I have been against this type of cruelty since I first read about it and have posted here about it too. At any rate this guy’s story really touched me and I hope they find who killed him and if it was politically motivated that would truly be a bad sign of the times. It reminds me of this story as well: Published: 1:17 PM PDT July 25, 2020Updated: 6:29 PM PDT July 26, 2020Facebook TwitterPORTLAND, Oregon — A man was arrested for stabbing another man near the scene of the Federal Courthouse protest at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Blake D. Hampe, 43, was charged with Assault II and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center. He will be arraigned in court Monday. After being called to the scene, at Southwest 5th Avenue and Salmon Street, Portland Police Bureau officers found Hampe held down by several bystanders and one male victim with a stab wound. The victim was transported to an area hospital with a serious injury. A Black conservative videographer named Drew Duncomb identified himself in a series of Twitter posts as the victim. He was released from the hospital today, he said. Read more here: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/one-stabbed-near-protests-suspect-in-custody/283-a7c49dca-37a1-48e7-bc5b-aa8a6600fa7f We need to celibate living in the Land of the Free and our right to vote and the outcome of that vote even if we do not agree with the outcome. That is what our solders died for. They did not die for violence or crime against either political party or anyone; when it crosses that line it is no longer a right; it is a crime and not just a crime against individuals, it is a crime against our entire nation.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 29 2020 I remember this story when it first came out: ‘Umbrella Man’ seen in viral video has finally been identified as a white supremacist gang member Tuesday July 28, 2020 · 12:55 PM CDT The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin sparked Black Lives Matter protests nationwide. At the start of the protests in Minneapolis, one white man sparked instant outrage after he was recorded by Javier Morillo smashing the windows of an AutoZone, part of eventual damage estimated at $100 million in Minneapolis alone. “Umbrella Man” was confronted by protesters because he stood out like a sore thumb, dressed in all black, wearing a face mask, and carrying an umbrella. He was the first to start damaging storefronts and protesters wondered aloud as they confronted him if he was an agent provocateur seeking to make the protesters look bad. Turns out, that is exactly what he was doing. Read more here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/7/28/1964542/–Umbrella-Man-finally-identified-as-a-member-of-a-white-supremacist-group-and-biker-gang
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 30 2020 I just want to say again on this blog that we pray every day for the pandemic to end. We pray like this everyday and I hope everyone is too. At least this should be all of our focus and inner intention. I know this will all end. The problem is the impatient’s and the waiting for it all to end. For my wife and I; peace comes from trusting in God and knowing no matter what, He is in control of all of this. I feel obligated to type something on this subject every once and a while, here. Got this email this morning that touched on a subject I just posted about, recently; from the great and always necessary Lambda Legal: While Lambda Legal currently fights the Trump administration’s vicious anti-transgender healthcare rule, the administration continues its relentless attacks aimed at the most vulnerable. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a new rule that would empower federally-funded emergency single-sex homeless shelters to turn away people seeking emergency housing based on whether shelter staff thinks the person appears sufficiently “masculine” or “feminine” to be housed in that facility. “The rank cruelty of this proposed rule is a new low for this administration which continues its relentless attack on the LGBTQ community and especially on transgender people, “ said Sasha Buchert, Lambda Legal Senior Attorney and Co-Director of Lambda Legal’s Transgender Rights Project. “Transgender people already suffer shockingly high rates of discrimination, poverty, and violence — the epidemic of hate and violence is especially marked for transgender women of color. But this administration seems not to care, and is all but inviting further violence by proposing to block access to critical emergency shelters.” Lambda Legal is here for you and we will continue to protect and defend the rights of the LGBTQ community. We need you to make your voice heard by submitting a public comment opposing this rule and its effects. Submit your comment until Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 11:59PM ET. The government will only respond to unique comments, so it is important to put your objections into your own words and include any experiences, perspectives, and values that inform your opinions. Submit your comments here.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 31 2020 THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020Should social workers supplement or displace police? SWAT for show, Confederate prison names, and other storiesHere are a few odds and ends to hold y’all over while I finish editing this month’s podcast: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/should-social-workers-supplement-or.html I love this Texas dude. He was great when Obama was president; less angry. He also was against the TPP even though Obama supported it; he really inspired me back then. He has a awesome Texas accent too. Since he is gripping about how much it cost’s to get health care; I will post his article previews here.:
DOWNLOAD FILE: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13248/the-exceptional-greed-of-healthcare-executives.mp3?ref=download | PLAY IN NEW WINDOW: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13248/the-exceptional-greed-of-healthcare-executives.mp3?ref=new_window | DURATION: 2:10 | RECORDED ON JULY 28, 2020 Sometimes I don’t know whether to weep uncontrollably, laugh hysterically, or just throw up. I recently did all three when I saw another gusher of greed pouring out of corporate America. This one is especially nauseating, given today’s raging health crisis, for the culprits are major healthcare corporations! One perpetrator is Larry Merlo, CEO of our country’s largest drugstore chain, CVS. In this time of COVID-19, customers are surging into the chains 10,000 stores for everything from medications to masks. Yet, the boss has blithely left many of the pharmacies so severely understaffed that they pose a danger to public health. Read more here: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast/the-exceptional-greed-of-healthcare-executives/ DOWNLOAD FILE: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13250/the-virus-thats-killing-america.mp3?ref=download | PLAY IN NEW WINDOW: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast-download/13250/the-virus-thats-killing-america.mp3?ref=new_window | DURATION: 2:10 | RECORDED ON JULY 30, 2020 The holy mantra of health professionals was coined about 2,500 years ago by the Greek physician, Hippocrates: “Do no harm.” Of course, that was before corporate healthcare took charge and asserted a new guiding ethic: “Jack up profits.” Putting this in practice, America’s largest and richest hospital chains rushed to the front of the COVID-19 bailout line this spring to pull $15 billion from the government’s emergency fund. They pocketed the taxpayers’ money despite sitting on tens of billions of dollars of their own cash reserves. Read more here: https://hightowerlowdown.org/podcast/the-virus-thats-killing-america/ I do not like to hear about voter suppression. I hope the White House is working against voter suppression in every way they can. Read the Full Transcript of Obama’s Eulogy for John Lewis Mr. Obama praised Mr. Lewis, saying “he as much as anyone in our history brought this country a little bit closer to our highest ideals.” July 30, 2020 By ending some of the partisan gerrymandering — so that all voters have the power to choose their politicians, not the other way around. And if all this takes eliminating the filibuster — another Jim Crow relic — in order to secure the God-given rights of every American, then that’s what we should do. And yet, even if we do all this — even if every bogus voter suppression law was struck off the books today — we have got to be honest with ourselves that too many of us choose not to exercise the franchise; that too many of our citizens believe their vote won’t make a difference, or they buy into the cynicism that, by the way, is the central strategy of voter suppression, to make you discouraged, to stop believing in your own power. Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/obama-eulogy-john-lewis-full-transcript.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 1 2020 Tell Congress: https://www.stopthepatriotact.org/ “Vote no on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act and reject any attempt to spy on people in America without a warrant!” ADD YOUR NAMEDonald Trump wants to be a dictator. And thanks to the post-9/11 security state, he has the powers to very nearly make himself one. For years, government officials told the public that the PATRIOT Act was an important law that helped America’s intelligence agencies fight dangerous terrorists overseas. But they were lying to us. They were even lying to Congress. In reality, the PATRIOT Act was being used to secretly spy on hundreds of millions of people across the country. Telephone calls, text messages, internet activity … nearly every kind of digital communication was being collected. SIGN NOW: Congress must STOP the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act before it’s too late! No President should have the spying powers that the PATRIOT Act creates. Americans were shell-shocked after a terrorist attack, and in that fear, our representatives gave up our freedom. It’s clearer than ever that there’s no assurance that the President will act in the interests of Americans. Instead of holding faith that the law won’t be abused, we need laws that can’t be abused! That means letting the PATRIOT Act expire! Tell Congress: STOP The Patriot Act!: https://www.stopthepatriotact.org/
SIGN THE PETITION: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-demand-us-companies-stop-contributing-to-rainforest-destruction-immediately The fires that devastated the Amazon in the summer of 2019 were deliberately set to clear land in the rainforest for agricultural purposes. What’s more, there’s evidence that this development in the Amazon is fueled, in part, by our own consumer dollars. Firms that fuel the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon openly trade with and receive financing from a range of companies and major investors in the U.S. This means U.S. companies are not only financing rainforest destruction, they also financed the disastrous Amazon fire. We must demand U.S. based companies divest and/or stop bankrolling Brazilian companies that are the source of the destruction. Sign the petition: Demand U.S. companies stop financing Amazon destruction. SIGN THE PETITION: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-demand-us-companies-stop-contributing-to-rainforest-destruction-immediately
SIGN THE PETITION : https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-ban-the-use-of-the-death-penalty-by-the-federal-governmentBack in July 2019, Attorney General Bill Barr decided to resume the use of capital punishment in federal cases — conveniently announced less than 24 hours after the testimony of special counsel Robert Mueller to two House committees during the Russia investigations. Barr claimed he was seeking justice for the families of the victims, but he actually ignored the wishes of those who do not want to use capital punishment. Make no mistake, Barr was looking for a distraction. He put lives on the line to do so. On June 29 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider the federal death penalty case, allowing the Trump and Barr to resume executions after an almost two decade hiatus. Sign the petition: Demand Congress end the federal death penalty. SIGN THE PETITION: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-ban-the-use-of-the-death-penalty-by-the-federal-government FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020Podcast: How police licensing agencies can weed out bad cops; what 911 calls EMS could take over from police: and Just Liberty and the Austin Justice Coalition unveil a new jingle aiming to oust Austin police Chief Brian ManleyHere’s the July 2020 episode of Just Liberty’s Reasonably Suspicious podcast covering Texas criminal-justice politics and policy, co-hosted by Scott Henson and Mandy Marzullo. Listen here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/07/podcast-how-police-licensing-agencies.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 3 2020 From: https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/communities-united-police-reform-moves-intervene-nypd-misconduct Communities United for Police Reform Moves to Intervene in NYPD Misconduct Database Case July 28, 2020, New York – Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff LLP, filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit brought by five New York City police unions, as well as corrections and firefighter unions, that seeks to block NYC from publishing officer misconduct and discipline information and roll back the repeal of Civil Rights Law § 50-a. MONDAY, AUGUST 03, 2020’Citizen Spying Program’ revealed in #BlueLeaks documents, Austin Chronicle reported; general ineptitude at fusion centers likely prevents worse abuses Grits wanted to flag this report from the Austin Chronicle on some of the “BlueLeaks” revelations dumped from, among other agencies, Texas fusion centers. The Chron reported that the documents “reveal a secret citizen spying program that’s active in the Austin area and across the country.” They plan to follow up with future stories. Read here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/citizen-spying-program-revealed-in.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 6 2020 After reading many of these articles; it is my assessment that most of these story’s go unreported.: From: https://www.northernpublicradio.org/post/psychology-behind-wearing-masks The Psychology Behind Wearing MasksAugust 5, 4:10 PM 2 HOURS AGO “I think a lot of that resistance can come from this almost reflexive response, that if you tell me what to do, I’m going to say no. I’m going to assert my freedom and assert my choice,” Sagarin said. From: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8595679/Former-MMA-fighter-turned-ringleader-Melbournes-anti-mask-brigade-films-tirade-officers.html Former MMA fighter turned ringleader of Melbourne’s anti …Nick Patterson filmed the confrontation at a Melbourne train station on Wednesday while being questioned why he wasn’t wearing a mask, which became … From: https://www.wkok.com/578941-2/ AAn unmasked man with a gun was in a restaurant August 5, 2020 State troopers at Montoursville, and the Lycoming County District Attorney, are looking into an incident at a restaurant where a man without a cloth mask, was confronted by restaurant staff, and showed the workers his concealed carry firearm. From: https://www.krqe.com/health/coronavirus-new-mexico/video-mask-free-new-mexico-family-kicked-out-of-hobby-lobby/ Posted: Aug 4, 2020 / 10:01 PM MDT / Updated: Aug 5, 2020 / 06:10 AM MDTALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A tense confrontation between Hobby Lobby workers and a New Mexico family over face masks was caught on video. Businesses can get slapped with fines if customers aren’t wearing face coverings, but the man who recorded the video claims Hobby Lobby workers took their mask enforcement too far. From: https://tucson.com/news/local/university-of-arizona-police-investigate-clash-over-mask-wearing-on-campus/article_137e6332-d6ac-11ea-82a3-1f0f66f768c2.html University of Arizona police investigate clash over mask wearing on campusA wave of mask-based clashes has swept the country recently.Arizona Daily Star Aug 5, 2020 Updated 6 hrs ago Officers responded to a report of a “verbal altercation,” that erupted after someone was asked to wear a mask, Aguilar told the Arizona Daily Star in a phone interview Tuesday. “We are investigating. I can’t give details of who was involved or where it occurred on campus.” A wave of mask-based clashes has swept the country recently as store clerks, food servers and grocery cashiers report run-ins with customers who refuse to cover their faces to protect against the spread of coronavirus. From: https://globalnews.ca/news/7249933/olympia-liquor-137-ave-racist-video-masks/ Globalnews.caEdmonton liquor store employee faces racist tirade after …The footage shows a man, who is not wearing a mask, move around the store and confront … The confrontation comes after new rules came into place on Aug. From: https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/face-mask-backlash-st-louis-city-business/63-8d72f3ec-2d43-4d9b-a62c-8113c8b3ae5a KSDK.comSt. Louis business backlash for face mask mandate | ksdk.comLOUIS — Wearing a face mask is mandated in St. Louis city and St. Louis County … the Incredible Pizza Company in south St. Louis County had a confrontation … WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2020Texas Commission on Jail Standards: Sunset considerationsSunset Commission staff asked to visit with your correspondent with regards to their review of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), so Grits prepared a few talking points for our visit. Find them below. (See also Grits’ writeup of the agency’s self evaluation from last fall.): https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/texas-commission-on-jail-standards.html Sign this petition here: https://action.aclu.org/petition/tell-governors-embrace-clemency-pathway-redemption TELL GOVERNORS: EMBRACE CLEMENCY AS A PATHWAY TO REDEMPTIONThe United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world. And of the 2.3 million people in America’s prisons, 1.3 million are in state prisons. The errors of the past – ‘tough-on-crime’ policies such as the War on Drugs and mandatory minimum sentencing – mean that too many people are serving sentences that would be unthinkable today. Racial disparities are glaring: Black and Latinx people make up 57% of the state prison populations despite comprising just 29% of the overall population. And states are spending $43 billion on their prisons every year, perpetuating the crisis of mass incarceration and wasting money that should be invested instead into impacted communities. Solving this problem is a moral, racial justice, and economic imperative and governors have a leading role to play. In nearly every state, governors have the power to immediately commute people’s sentences and liberate them, offering them and their families a meaningful opportunity at hope, healing, and redemption. Governors can decarcerate without waiting for legislation to be passed. That’s why the ACLU is fighting for the liberation of 50,000 people from state prisons in the next five years by pushing governors to use their existing clemency powers in new and transformational ways. Join us by urging governors to grant clemency for the tens of thousands of people in state prisons whose sentences are unjustifiable and whose path to redemption cannot be delayed a moment longer. Sign our petition today to tell your governor: 1. I support clemency for all people who are still incarcerated on a sentence that’s no longer legal or possible today2. I support clemency for all people imprisoned because of the War on Drugs3. I support clemency for all people who are in prison for violations, or alleged violations, of probation or parole4. I support clemency for all older incarcerated people, especially as the number of older people in prison is growing Sign this petition here: https://action.aclu.org/petition/tell-governors-embrace-clemency-pathway-redemption
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 7 2020 THURSDAY, AUGUST 06, 2020 Lies, jail deaths, naysaying on police budget cuts, and other stories Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention while mine is focused elsewhere.: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/lies-jail-deaths-naysaying-on-police.html I never miss a chance to show negative press about Alabama. For a long time now I have believed that Alabama is the worst state next would be Minnesota.: From: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/28/alabama-republican-lewis-kkk/ As John Lewis was honored in Alabama, a state GOP legislator celebrated a KKK leader’s birthday July 28, 2020 at 5:04 a.m. CDTAs ceremonies honoring the life of civil rights legend John Lewis began over the weekend in Alabama, one Republican state lawmaker elected to take part in a local celebration of another prominent figure in Southern history: Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate Army general and the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. From: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/arrest-warrant-issued-for-alabama-republican-who-celebrated-kkk-founders-birthday/ Arrest warrant issued for Alabama Republican who celebrated KKK founder’s birthdayPublished 19 hours ago on August 6, 2020 Alabama GOP Rep. Will Dismukes, who recently made headlines when he appeared at a celebration for Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest, now has a warrant out for his arrest for felony theft from a business where he once worked, according to a report from the Alabama Political Reporter. Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey said Thursday that the charge is a Class B felony and applies when a person steals more than $2,500. From: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2369 By the antebellum period, Alabama had evolved into a slave society, which is characterized by the proliferation and defense of the institution that shaped much of the state’s economy, politics, and culture. The defense of slavery played a significant role in Alabama’s secession from the Union in 1861. The collapse of the Confederate States of America and the end of the American Civil War (1861-1865) resulted in the emancipation of the state’s enslaved population. From: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2017/07/31/former-alabama-slaves-tell-their-tales-university-archives/518202001/ Former Alabama slaves tell their tales in university archives Until three years ago, Russell and 227 other former slaves’ accounts of their enslavement were kept safe in the archives at Louisiana’s Southern University. Safe, but out of sight. In 1999, Southern University archivist Angela Proctor began the painstaking task of reading, scanning and transcribing 228 handwritten interviews. The interviews were coordinated by former Southern University Dean John B. Cade — whom the university’s library is now named for — and conducted by students after the slaves were freed following the end of the Civil War in 1865. They’re also now available to the public.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 8 2020 I meant to ad this from this page yesterday: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2369 The Development of Slavery in AlabamaAs of statehood in 1819, slaves accounted for more than 30 percent of Alabama’s approximately 128,000 inhabitants. The slave population more than doubled during the 1820s and again during the 1830s. When Alabama seceded from the Union in 1861, the state’s 435,080 slaves made up 45 percent of the total population. The largest numbers of slaves were held in bondage in counties located in either the Tennessee River Valley or the Black Belt region. Slavery, however, existed in every county. You could say; that slaves founded and established Alabama. I am sure these numbers are not recorded correctly; of the actual slave population. After reading the above paragraph; I get the impression that black slaves outnumbered the whites. You could say that the descendants of the Alabama slaves; are the rightful owners of Alabama. From: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/no-confidence-in-you-jingle-mocks.html FRIDAY, AUGUST 07, 2020No Confidence in You’: Jingle mocks failures by Austin PD chiefThe Austin Justice Coalition and Just Liberty have put out a new jingle and video calling for the ouster of Austin police Chief Brian Manley. Check it out, and please share widely on all social media channels.
I wrote the tune. Gabe Rhodes produced it and played guitar. It was sung by Johnathan Horstmann of Urban Heat (who I thought did a really good job). João Paulo Connolly at the Austin Justice Coalition made the video and his flying cows made me LOL. Hope you like it! Regular readers are well aware of the #FireManley campaign launched after the murder of Mike Ramos in April, but for those looking for more background, see here. The Austin City Council on June 12th issued a “no confidence” vote regarding Chief Manley, but City Manager Spencer Cronk has steadfastly supported him. That must change. AJC has set up an action alert to send the city manager and council a message telling them Manley must go. Register your opinion today.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 10 2020 Once again we see social media is to blame for organized crime.: Chicago erupts with violence and looting after police shootingMore than 100 arrested after overnight looting on shopping district as mayor decries ‘an assault on our city’ Mon 10 Aug 2020 15.49 EDT Hours earlier, on Sunday afternoon, police shot a man after he opened fire on officers, according to the department. The incident apparently prompted a social media post urging people to converge on the business district, Brown said. Some 400 additional officers were dispatched to the area after the police department spotted the post. Tacoma News TribunePolice arrest man for punching 72-year-old veteran over maskThe veteran had asked the man why his girlfriend wasn’t wearing a mask, police said. Cody P. Hansen faces a charge of second-degree assault, after Spokane …https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/coronavirus/article244856392.html
WCYB4 arrested, 38 cited for violating Nashville’s mask mandate on …Police said Friday’s arrest was of a man who also had an outstanding assault warrant. Another 16 citations were issued Thursday night. Officers were on …https://wcyb.com/news/tennessee-news/4-arrested-38-cited-for-violating-nashvilles-mask-mandate-on-broadway-this-weekend-08-09-2020 You have to read this one.: From: https://www.vvng.com/altercation-over-wearing-a-mask-at-a-rancho-cucamonga-gas-station-turns-violent/ Gas station employees reported the suspect was upset because he was refused service for not wearing a mask properly inside the store and threw a display rack at the victim. The disturbance between the two escalated outside the store when the victim stood behind Thomas’ truck in an attempt to get a picture of the license plate. Thomas put his truck in reverse and accelerated, stated officials. According to a news release, the victim didn’t have time to get out of the way, so he jumped on the trailer hitch and held on to the tailgate. Thomas sped out of the parking lot with the victim holding on to the tailgate. “The victim jumped inside the bed of the truck for safety because Thomas would not slow down enough for him to jump off safely. Thomas drove erratically for about a mile, accelerating and slamming on his brakes several times before he pulled over, grabbed the victim and threw him to the ground,” stated the news release. Deputies conducted an area check and found the victim near Vintage Avenue and Rochester Avenue. Deputies also located the Thomas in his truck and attempted a traffic stop. Thomas failed to yield and continued to drive to his girlfriend’s house nearby where he was arrested. Thomas was booked in at the West Valley Detention Center where he remains in custody on $50,000 bail. A fake ‘agency’ behind an anti-mask confrontation in a grocery store was also part of a virus misinformation campaign on Facebook August 10, 2020 A video of a woman in a California supermarket claiming to be from the “Freedom to Breathe Agency” was widely shared over the weekend. It shows her telling a store employee that she is breaking the law by trying to enforce mask-wearing in store. Read more here: https://kyrnews.com/us-news/4920/a-fake-agency-behind-an-anti-mask-confrontation-in-a-grocery-store-was-also-part-of-a-virus-misinformation-campaign-on-facebook/ Ohio Woman Refuses Mask in Planet Fitness, Accuses Staffer of ‘Harassment’8/8/20 AT 7:00 PM EDT Peric accused the staffer of “harassing” her as she tried to start up a treadmill without a mask. This is Peric’s second anti-masker dispute in public in under a week. Peric posted her own video to Facebook on Wednesday in which she argued with DMV workers about why refused to wear a mask inside the government building. She repeatedly says she is within the confines of the law because she just wanted to “accompany her boyfriend.” Read more here: https://www.newsweek.com/ohio-woman-refuses-mask-planet-fitness-accuses-staffer-harassment-1523829
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 12 2020 MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2020 Don’t be fooled by the shiny new object of online jury trials This guest blog post was authored by Kathryn Dyer, clinical professor at UT Law’s Criminal Defense Clinic (for identification purposes only) and long-time public defender. The credibility determination that the jury will make comes, in part, from the witness being under pressure to tell the truth. The witness is sworn to tell the truth under oath in front of the judge, jury, and person charged. It requires the witness testify from memory about what they saw. When a witness is testifying over an online platform, with a click of a button, they can turn off the video image of the person they are accusing, the judge, or the public.A witness can read a script behind the computer, read or refer to notes, or otherwise pre-write their testimony. Other Sixth Amendment rights are also hindered by virtual jury trials, including the right to put on a defense. During a trial, lawyers and clients regularly confer with each other about what is happening and next steps. On an online platform, each player is on their own island with almost no ability to privately communicate while maintaining attorney-client privilege. Further, lawyers on both sides need to make objections to prevent impermissible questions, answers, or evidence. That is nearly impossible to do in real time over a virtual platform because of mute buttons, delays in video feeds, and the like. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/dont-be-fooled-by-shiny-new-object-of.html
Campaign ActionAdd Your Name: We need transparency on facial recognition technology Sign MoveOn’s petition and call on Congress to protect Americans’ right to privacy by passing a national biometric privacy law. Recently, it was made public that Rite Aid has been using facial recognition systems in its stores across the United States. And Rite Aid isn’t the only retail company to surveil its customers: Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Walmart are using or testing facial recognition technology in their U.S. stores. Possible shot at freedom for lifer who stole hedge clippersAssociated Press Aug 14, 2020 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An October parole hearing has been set for a Black man sentenced to lifein prison after stealing hedge clippers in a 1997 Shreveport burglary, a sentence Louisiana’s Supreme Court upheld despite its chief justice’s insistence that the punishment was excessive and rooted in racist law. The Supreme Court voted 5-1 to let the ruling stand, with five white male justices voting in favor and Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, the court’s only Black member, voting against. A seventh justice, also a white male, was recused. The court issued the decision without comment, but Johnson posted a stinging two-page dissent in which she argued that the sentence was so out of proportion to the crime as to be clearly unconstitutional. Her response drew widespread attention to the case. In her dissent, Johnson called habitual offender laws “a modern manifestation” of legislation passed after the Civil War to make it easier to convict former slaves and their descendants for minor crimes and sentence them harshly. Those laws, she said, were an attempt to “re-enslave African Americans.” Read more here: https://www.ktbs.com/news/possible-shot-at-freedom-for-lifer-who-stole-hedge-clippers/article_6c53b667-17cd-5338-a037-c8bd9a209928.html#tncms-source=infinity-scroll-summary-siderail-latest
UT drum major says she won’t lead ‘The Eyes of Texas’ when football returns After song’s racist history came to light, band members are among those who no longer feel comfortable promoting it. 3:15 PM on Aug 16, 2020 AUSTIN — Ally Morales is preparing for her second year as the Longhorn Band drum major, but she has already made her decision clear: She will no longer conduct the school’s fight song, “The Eyes of Texas,” due to its racist history, which came to light in June. No matter when they return to the stands after the pandemic, Morales and other band members say the song represents something they no longer feel comfortable promoting. “It’s not ultimately about the song, it’s about ingrained, institutionalized racism that frankly, in invisible form, takes the image of a school song,” Morales said. “Removing our alma mater is the first step to realizing the oppression that the Black students face on campus and off campus.” The phrase “The eyes of Texas are upon you” stems from former UT President William Prather, who studied law at Washington and Lee University, where Robert E. Lee served as the president. There, Prather watched Lee coin the phrase, “The eyes of the South are upon you,” while he addressed students. Prather decided to play with the phrase and took it to UT when he became the university president in 1899. Four years later, yearbook editor John Sinclair matched the phrase to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” This was then performed by white singers and dancers in blackface at minstrel shows, which were fundraisers that lasted at UT until the 1960s. As time would tell, “The Eyes of Texas” would become just as recognizable as Bevo and burnt orange as symbols for the state school, but it is now drawing national attention as its racially charged origins come to the forefront. Read more here: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2020/08/16/ut-drum-major-says-she-wont-lead-the-eyes-of-texas-when-football-returns/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 18 2020 About my last post (above). I love Texas and have proclaimed it many times online and in my life, western art, music, et cetera. I have a allegiance to this great state; that is why I create posts like this, because I care. I just don’t like racism and the stupid song; ‘The Eyes of Texas’. I never like song since I first heard it over 20 years ago. It sounds stupid and is a rip off of another song. Now that I know it’s racist origins; I have a good reason to hate it. I do not go searching for these stories; I use my emails and read through Google news and that’s it. Don’t blame me for pasting what is in the news in this blog. MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2020 What’s in Texas’ proposed ‘George Floyd Act’? George Floyd mural, 3rd Ward, Houston Last week, while your correspondent was focused on Austin’s budget battles, in Houston the Texas Legislature’s Black Caucus unveiled what’s been dubbed the “George Floyd Act,” which will be carried in the House by state Rep. Senfronia Thompson and in the upper chamber by Sen. Royce West. See initial coverage: Texas Tribune Houston Chronicle Dallas Morning News Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/whats-in-texas-proposed-george-floyd-act.html
I have been a PsychoHeresy Awareness supporter since 1988. I got tracts in the mail back then; from my soon to be church. I learned about PsychoHeresy Awareness from those tracts. I still believe psychology still has good advice for people these days and I post things like that here, now and again. I just got my issue of PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, dated September-October 2020. I quickly looked through it to post something quick here. I took a screenshot of it (above). Find the PsychoHeresy Awareness website here: https://pamweb.org/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 19 2020 MPD: Man calls Black police officers N-word and threatens to kill third officer Published: Aug. 17, 2020 at 10:04 PM CDT MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – A 19-year-old called two Black police officers the N-word and threatened to kill a third officer before being arrested in downtown Madison last Friday. According to an incident report, AEM tried to start a fighting with an officer in the 500 block of State Street just after 8 p.m. Police say M called one of the officers racist, and then started using the racial slur towards the two Black officers. M was arrested for resisting and disorderly conduct. Read here (caution has curse word tattooed his on face): https://www.nbc15.com/2020/08/18/mpd-man-calls-black-police-officers-n-word-and-threatens-to-kill-third-officer/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 20 2020 TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020Abbott: Punish cities that won’t maximize police spendingToday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott proposed legislation to cap revenue for cities that reduce police-department budgets. Read here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/abbott-punish-cities-that-wont-maximize.html WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020Police evidence rooms another function we don’t need cops to performWe’ve been lately discussing functions of police that don’t require a badge or gun to perform that might reasonably be removed from law enforcement’s purview, and Grits can’t believe I hadn’t considered the evidence room! Read here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/police-evidence-rooms-another-function.html Costco Karen Coughs on Customer Who Called Out Boyfriend for Not Wearing Mask: ‘I’ve Got COVID. You’re Gonna Get Sick’ (WATCH)AUGUST 20, 2020 “Yeah, I did, so protect yourself,” she says, before coughing repeatedly on him. “You need to get the $#@* out of our space. Like seriously, back off.” “You’re going to be staying home now, because I’ve got COVID, and you’re going to get sick,” the woman says before the video ends. Read and watch here: https://www.towleroad.com/2020/08/costco-karen-coughs-on-customer-who-called-out-hubby-for-not-wearing-mask-ive-got-covid-youre-gonna-get-sick-watch/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 21 2020 THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020 Houston civiliain-review fail, docs vs. ‘less-lethal’ munitions, Ranger revisionism?, and other stories Let’s clear a few browser tabs and share a few odds and ends that deserve Grits readers attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/houston-civiliain-review-fail-docs-vs.html The Texas Rangers’ lore spurred cultural fawning and sports namesakes that have long masked a history of violence and racism This year’s prevalent and ongoing protests against police brutality have sparked calls for the Rangers’ name to be stricken from the modern-day Texas Department of Public Safety investigative agency, North Texas’ Major League Baseball team and college mascots. AUG. 15, 2020 6 AM The Porvenir massacre is one of many past acts of violence committed by the Texas Rangers against people of color in the state, including indigenous Texans, Black Texans and Tejanos, or Mexican Americans from the South Texas region, from the 19th century through the 20th century. In the mid-1800s, the Rangers captured runaway enslaved Black people seeking freedom in Mexico through the Callahan Expedition, according to the Texas State Historical Association. In 1918, the Rangers slaughtered Tejanos during the Porvenir massacre, said John Morán González, a literature professor and the director of the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. According to the Texas Observer, the massacre occurred when a group of Rangers, U.S. Army soldiers and ranchers arrived at the Porvenir village near El Paso in pursuit of revenge for a series of cattle raids by Tejanos along the border. A 2018 El Paso Times article reported there was no evidence implicating the Porvenir villagers in the cattle raids, but the Rangers nevertheless separated 15 men and boys from their families and executed them. Decades later, in the mid-1950s, Rangers helped the Texas governor, Allan Shivers, resist a federal court order for Mansfield High School to desegregate, according to the Texas Historical Association.Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/15/texas-rangers-racist-violent-history/ Texas Rangers is a Texas anomaly. In my opinion Texas Rangers; still take cases most police will not and go way over board when it comes to law enforcement; just like TDPS does. Just search for articles like this: Police Officers, Sheriffs, Rangers, and Marshals: What’s the Difference?07/20/2015 03:38 pm ET Updated Dec 06, 2017 Rangers, at least as general-service law enforcement officers at the state level, are limited to Texas. The Texas Rangers have a history going back many years and are the top of the police pecking order in Texas. Many states will have park or forest rangers who work for their proprietary government subdivisions (division of state parks, department of forestry, etc.), and may or may not have police powers (they usually do). Where they do not have police powers, they generally function as naturalists or conservation officers. Read more here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/police-officers-sheriffs_b_7835320 Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers Hardcover – June 9, 2020by Doug J. Swanson (Author) Click here to buy this book.“Swanson has done a crucial public service by exposing the barbarous side of the Rangers.” —The New York Times Book Review A twenty-first century reckoning with the legendary Texas Rangers that does justice to their heroic moments while also documenting atrocities, brutality, oppression, and corruptionIt took the Texas Rangers almost 80 years to catch up with the rest of America in having a female police captain. Penny E. Harrington (born March 2, 1942) became the first female chief of the Portland Police Bureau, making her the first female to head a major police department in the United States. Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Harrington AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) today announced the promotion of three Texas Rangers to the rank of captain, including the first two female Ranger captains in DPS history and the first-known Ranger in modern history to hold a doctorate degree. From: https://www.dps.texas.gov/director_staff/media_and_communications/pr/2020/0818a Health officials: Evidence shows COVID-19 infections go down when mask use goes upThursday, August 20th 2020Now, health officials have new evidence showing how COVID-19 infections go down, when mask use goes up.From: https://komonews.com/news/coronavirus/new-numbers-show-covid-19-infections-go-down-when-mask-use-goes-up
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 22 2020 Sign this petition here: https://www.change.org/p/naacp-free-fair-bryant-wayne-serving-life-in-prison-for-allegedly-stealing-hegde-clippers/psf/promote_or_share?source_location=petition_show In 1997 38 year old Fair Wayne Bryant, a Black man, was stopped by police in Shreveport Louisiana for attempted stealing of hedge clippers. Since this was his fifth felony, (only one of which was violent) Bryant was sentenced to life in prison through Louisiana‘s habitual offender laws*! That was over 20 years ago! The Louisiana Supreme Court just denied review of Bryant’s case effectively closing many legal options for him. The lone descent on the Louisiana Supreme Court came from the only Black Judge, Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, who said that this practice amounted to a modern version of “Pig Laws,” created by White Southern Lawmakers after the Civil War as a way to keep Black people in poverty during Reconstruction. The Chief Justice explained these Pig Laws were a way to, “re-enslave African Americans… [by] target[ing] actions such as stealing cattle and swine—consideredstereotypical ‘negro’ behavior—by lowering the threshold for what constituted a crime and increasing the severity of its punishment.” The Governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, can grant clemency for Fair Wayne Bryant today! By doing so, Bryant, who is now over 60, can go free and and not be imprisoned under this grave injustice! Sign the Petition urging the Governor of Louisiana to free his constituent from unjust imprisonment! #JusticeforBryant #BlackLivesMatter #EndMassIncarceration To Contact the Governor’s Office go here: https://gov.louisiana.gov/page/contact To Email the Governor’s Office go here: https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/form/home/4 To Email members of the Louisiana Legislature go here: https://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_ByName http://senate.la.gov/Senators/default.asp To read Chief Justice Bernette Johnson’s decent go here: https://www.lasc.org/Opinions/2020/20-0077.KO.bjj.dis.pdf To Read some articles to know more go here: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/510722-louisianas-only-black-supreme-court-judge-condemns-keeping-man-in-jail https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/05/louisiana-supreme-court-life-sentence/ https://www.npr.org/2020/08/05/899525589/louisiana-supreme-court-wont-review-life-sentence-for-man-who-stole-hedge-clippe How can Louisiana get away with enforcing these obviously; racist laws? This is another example of how our country’s sick obsession with mass incarceration is destroying our country. Sign this petition here: https://www.change.org/p/naacp-free-fair-bryant-wayne-serving-life-in-prison-for-allegedly-stealing-hegde-clippers The Louisiana Supreme Court last week denied a request to review a LIFE SENTENCE handed down to Fair Wayne Bryant, a man convicted to LIFE in prison for trying to steal hedge clippers from a carport storage room in Caddo Parish, LA, in 1997. In a lone dissent, Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson wrote that Bryant’s “life sentence for a failed attempt to steal a set of hedge clippers is grossly out of proportion to the crime and serves no legitimate penal purpose.” Mr. Bryant was given a punishment that was extreme, excessive, and racially biased. He has already had 23 years of his life destroyed behind bars. Mr. Bryant deserves to be released from prison at once!
Black veteran walks free after almost a decade in jail over $30 marijuana sale AUGUST 21, 2020 NEW YORK DAILY NEWS A Black veteran who was sentenced to life behind bars over a petty $30 marijuana bust was set free from the Louisiana State Penitentiary on Tuesday, his lawyers said, after his prison term was revisited in court earlier this month. Prosecutors agreed to soften Derek Harris’ punishment, and District Judge Laurie Hulin sentenced him on Aug. 6 to time already served. Harris was leveled with the life sentence in 2012 after he offered less than a gram of pot to an undercover agent. The Gulf War veteran developed a drug addiction after returning to the U.S. from overseas, his lawyer Cormac Boyle said. Harris’ case made it to the Louisiana Supreme Court this summer, and the top court granted him a new hearing in district court. The Promise of Justice Initiative, which represents Harris, shared a video of him smiling after his release from the maximum-security prison at Angola.Read more here: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2020/08/black-veteran-walks-free-after-almost-a-decade-in-jail-over-30-marijuana-sale/ LOUISIANA VETERAN SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR SELLING $30 WORTH OF WEED WILL BE FREEDAugust 21, 2020 A Louisiana veteran serving a life sentence for selling less than $30 worth of marijuana will soon be released from prison. Derek Harris, who was arrested in 2008 in Louisiana for selling .69 grams of marijuana to a police officer, was re-sentenced to time served after serving nine years in prison. Harris was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison according to CNN. In 2012 however, Harris was re-sentenced to life in prison under Louisiana’s Habitual Offender Law*. The law allows judges to impose stricter sentences on someone who’s been charged before. Prosecutors in Vermilion Parish agreed to release Harris after the State Supreme Court granted him a new trial in July, according to Harris’s lawyer Cormac Boyle. Boyle also noted that Harris developed a substance abuse issue when he returned from Desert Storm which led to his convictions. https://www.blackenterprise.com/louisiana-veteran-sentenced-to-life-for-selling-30-worth-of-weed-will-be-freed/ The Habitual Offender Law* is the same racist law they used on Fair Wayne Bryant. FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2020Dallas police chief receives lesson on post-#GeorgeFloyd political landscapeThe Public Safety Committee at the Dallas City Council this week lambasted the city’s first black-woman chief over DPD’s 85-page “after action report” following the George Floyd protests, reported the Dallas News. Watch the videos embedded in that story, some of the council members were remarkably angry.: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/dallas-police-chief-receives-lesson-on.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 23 2020 Sociopaths Are More Likely to Refuse Wearing a Mask and Other COVID-19 Measures, Study Finds August 23, 2020 A new study from Brazil has found that people with sociopathic traits are more likely to not comply with mask-wearing and other measures to limit the spread of coronavirus. The study investigated the relationship between antisocial personality traits and compliance with COVID-19 measures using a sample of 1,578 Brazilian adults aged between 18 and 73. Between May 21 and June 29, participants completed a test that assessed maladaptive personality traits as well as assessments on apathy and compliance with coronavirus-related measures. The findings were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/sociopaths-are-more-likely-to-refuse-wearing-a-mask-and-other-covid-19-measures-study-finds/ar-BB18hcwd Sociopath – from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/sociopathy : Sociopathy refers to a pattern of antisocial behaviors and attitudes, including manipulation, deceit, aggression, and a lack of empathy for others. Sociopathy is a non-diagnostic term, and it is not synonymous with “psychopathy,” though the overlap leads to frequent confusion. Sociopaths may or may not break the law, but by exploiting and manipulating others, they violate the trust that the human enterprise runs on. America’s Prisons Are Outrageously Unjust and Need Immediate Attention If America really values freedom and respects human rights, its high time it rethinks and corrects outrageous injustice in the name of prison laws. 23/08/2020 One such excruciatingly painful case was reported on by the ACLU in 2013. Rayvell Finch was arrested in Louisiana at age 22 for trespassing; a search of his person uncovered heroin, for which its possession he was convicted of in 1997. He was never accused of distribution, yet was sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parole under *Louisiana’s habitual offender statute, as he had two prior ‘strikes’ against him (possession of stolen property in 1993, and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in 1994). He was only 23 years old when he received a life sentence—the same amount of time he has now spent in prison for his non-violent crime. Appellate Judge William H. Byrnes stated that the sentence was “clearly excessive, and designed to cause needless suffering.” Finch has said that being separated from his family “feel[s] like my soul has been pierced and assaulted.” Read more here: https://www.thenewleam.com/2020/08/americas-prisons-are-outrageously-unjust-and-need-immediate-attention/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 25 2020
In this April 9, 2013, photo, Chief Justice Bernette Johnson of the Louisiana Supreme Court speaks in Baton Rouge, La., to a joint session of the legislature. An October 2020 parole hearing has been set for Fair Wayne Bryant, a Black man sentenced to life in prison after stealing hedge clippers in a 1997 burglary, a sentence Louisiana’s Supreme Court upheld despite Johnson’s insistence that the punishment was excessive and rooted in racist law. Arthur D. Lauck/The Advocate via AP
That system went on for decades until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Cases like Fair Bryant’s are just a new version of the same old Pig Laws. About 80% of people in Louisiana incarcerated under the habitual offender laws are Black. Such laws are, without a doubt, a driver of mass incarceration. Read more here: https://www.concordmonitor.com/Fair-Wayne-Bryant-35806627
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 27 2020 Even though I have been down on Louisiana; I sure do not want storm damage to them. I have been praying with my wife about the hurricane’s since they started. I have never done this till now; we are praying for the hurricanes to stop. It worked for the 1st one Marco. We should all pray like that. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2020 Why does the number of Texas police shootings keep increasing? Here’s one for the Suspicious Mysteries segment on the podcast: Why have police shootings in Texas continued to rise when police contacts with criminals and the public are way down? Just a few years ago, Grits highlighted reports that police shootings had increased over the course of the prior decade. Now, the Texas Justice Initiative analyzed police shooting reports and found that they continued to rise from calendar-years 2016 through 2019.Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/why-does-number-of-texas-police.html Man Faces Charges After Anti-Mask Tirade At Minnesota Bar POLICE SAY THE MAN TOLD A BOUNCER HE WOULD “PUT A BULLET THROUGH HIS HEAD” & THREATENED HIM WITH A STREET SIGN August 26, 2020 From: https://www.kvrr.com/2020/08/26/man-faces-charges-after-anti-mask-tirade-at-minnesota-bar/ MANKATO, Minn. — A Twin Cities real estate agent faces charges after getting kicked out of a Mankato bar for refusing to wear a mask. August 26, 2020 21-year-old Samuel Wocelka of Prior Lake is charged with felony threats of violence, assault and disorderly conduct. Police say Wocelka was thrown out of 507 Saturday night. He told a bouncer he would “put a bullet through his head” before returning with a no-parking sign and threatening to hit him with it. Officers say Wocelka tried to punch a bar employee but got hit in the face. He’s also accused of spitting blood at hospital staff.
Passenger Tramples Gate Attendant at Seattle Airport After Mask Run-In, Police Say Aug 27th, 2020 The first time a California man tried to board his Alaska Airlines flight at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, attendants informed him he couldn’t fly without a face mask. When he returned to the gate for the Sitka, Alaska-bound flight at 12:30 p.m. Monday, the 47-year-old passenger had a mask but was now too drunk to fly, KIRO reported. The man tried to board anyway, knocking over an airline gate agent, KOMO reported. “(He) essentially walked right through her and over the top of her as she fell down onto the ground and tried to continue on through to the jetway,” said Perry Cooper, a Port of Seattle spokesman, according to the KIRO. Read more here: https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/news/21152008/passenger-tramples-gate-attendant-at-seattle-airport-after-mask-runin-police-say
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 28 2020 Got a new email from the NAACP:
There has never been a more urgent time to demand justice for the Black community. From the unjust killings of innocent African Americans to the disproportionate impact of a global health pandemic, Black people have been getting attacked on all fronts. The time to take action is now. https://2020march.com/watch In Solidarity, Derrick Johnson@DerrickNAACPPresident and CEONAACP
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 29 2020 Sign this petition here: https://secure.everyaction.com/NLBgG9tBaEauXZ1cPyDsXA2 Tell Ben Carson: Trans People Deserve Safe Emergency ShelterThe Trump administration is once again attacking LGBTQ people, this time by removing critical equal access protections and regulations for transgender people. The HUD Anti-Trans Shelter Proposed Rule would violate the Equal Access Rule and is an egregious attempt to prevent transgender people from accessing federally funded emergency shelters and services. Send HUD Secretary Ben Carson a message below to let him know that you oppose such government-sanctioned discrimination. Sign this petition here: https://secure.everyaction.com/NLBgG9tBaEauXZ1cPyDsXA2 Write a letter to your senators here: https://norml.org/act/federal-the-marijuana-opportunity-reinvestment-and-expungement-act (MORE) Act, HR 3884 / S. 2227, which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act. The bill has already passed in the House Judiciary Committee on November 20th with a bipartisan vote of 24-10. If enacted, the MORE Act would decriminalize the substance at the federal level and enable states to set their own policies. The MORE Act would also allow the existing state-legal marijuana industry to no longer be barred from accessing financial services or standard tax treatment as every other legal business. The Act would also make several other important changes. For example, it permits physicians affiliated with the Veterans Administration to make medical marijuana recommendations to qualifying veterans who reside in legal states and it encourages states to move ahead with expungement policies that will end the stigma and lost opportunities suffered by those with past, low-level cannabis convictions. If approved, the MORE Act also allows the Small Business Administration to support entrepreneurs and businesses as they seek to gain a foothold in this emerging industry. The ongoing prohibition of marijuana financially burdens taxpayers, encroaches upon civil liberties, engenders disrespect for the law, impedes legitimate scientific research into the plant’s medicinal properties, and disproportionately impacts communities of color. Never in modern history has there existed greater public support for ending the nation’s nearly century-long experiment with marijuana prohibition. According to nationwide polling data done by Gallup in October 2018, 66% of US voters endorse regulating the adult-use of marijuana. Write a letter to your senators here: https://norml.org/act/federal-the-marijuana-opportunity-reinvestment-and-expungement-actArizona woman charged with assault for clawing mask off restaurant manager’s facePublished on August 29, 2020 On Saturday, ABC 15 reported that a woman has been charged with assault during an altercation over COVID-19 restrictions at the 92 Drinks + Eats restaurant and karaoke bar in Scottsdale, Arizona. According to manager Nicole Dinkel, the woman, who was in a party of four and unmasked, escalated when she got up and blew in Dinkel’s face. “On Friday, ABC15 confirmed the Scottsdale Police Department filed assault charges against one woman,” reported Nicole Valdes. “No arrests have been made. Instead, the charges are being sent to prosecutors with a notice for the woman to appear in court.” Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/arizona-woman-charged-with-for-clawing-mask-off-restaurant-manager/ Amazon driver hits 73-year-old man in the face after being ‘asked to wear a face mask’ while delivering packages The driver has not been identified or charged “Then he came back with a mask on, and I thought ‘Ok, not so bad’ and I open the door and I let them in,” Mr Breslin said. “He brings his phone up like that and smashes me in the face.” Mr Breslin pointed out to the driver that the entire encounter had been caught on surveillance video, which prompted the man to flee the scene with the packages. Mr Breslin’s lawyer, Michael Grieco, said the the incident was “felony battery,” explaining that any time someone hit someone over the age of 65, it was considered a felony.* Mr Breslin filed a victim’s report with the local police, but the driver has yet to be identified or charged. Amazon said it sent an apology letter to Mr Breslin. The driver worked for a company that contracted with Amazon to deliver its packages. According to Amazon, the driver no longer works for the delivery company. Read more here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/amazon-driver-hit-elderly-man-face-mask-a9694971.html * We need that law in Texas; especially after that Facebook organized random crime against senior citizens here in Dallas.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 30 2020 Bodega customer slashes goods after being asked to wear a mask: video: video: https://nypost.com/2020/08/30/bodega-customer-slashes-goods-after-being-asked-to-wear-a-mask-video/ August 30, 2020 | 10:53am | Updated An enraged customer went on a rampage slashing goods in a Bronx bodega after being asked to wear a mask, the owner said Sunday. Lizbeth Supermarket owner Wascar Sotos said the woman caused more than $7,000 worth of damages after refusing to comply with mask rules at the store on Watson Ave. near Croes Ave. “I thought it was simple, I ask everyone coming into my bodega to wear a mask,” Soto said in a statement. “Some argue, some curse, some want to fight, some simply slam the door and leave but this person was different. She pulled out a butcher knife and stabbed soda cans, plastic soft drinks, sacks of rice — you name it she stabbed it.” Surveillance video showed the woman going through one of the aisles puncturing drink containers with the knife. “It went on for some time before a dozen cops arrived,” Soto said. When the cops responded, they watched the woman destroy more products in the store before arresting her, according to the United Bodegas of America (UBA).
The Black Women Behind the Ongoing Fight for SuffrageAs we ring in the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment this month, it’s essential to reflect on who was excluded in practice if not on paper, and what the popular historical record of this movement leaves out. “Black women know as 1920 unfolds that many of them are still going to be disenfranchised,” professor and author Martha S. Jones tells At Liberty. “That’s not a secret. That’s an open premise of the 19th Amendment.” Jones joined the podcast this month to discuss how the history of voting rights has led us to this moment. Listen Now: https://www.aclu.org/podcast/black-women-behind-ongoing-fight-suffrage-ep-115 From Punishment to Promise: The Power of RedemptionThis month, the ACLU launched the Redemption Campaign, a nationwide effort to release 50,000 people from state prisons over the next five years by executing state-level campaigns that push governors to use their existing clemency powers in new and transformational ways. Preston Shipp, the former prosecutor who sent Cyntoia Brown to prison and later lobbied for her release, shares his experience with her case and what he has learned about redemption. Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/from-punishment-to-promise-the-power-of-redemption/ Right on ACLU!:The U.S. Postal Service Was Never a Business. Stop Treating it Like One. Recent news that the Postal Service’s financial condition is being used as a pretext for degrading its service – including allowing mail to go undelivered for days and scaling back the hours of or closing post offices – threatens to degrade that constitutional baseline as well. But the U.S. Postal Service was never a business; it is an essential government service guaranteed to the American people by the U.S. Constitution and it should be preserved accordingly. At this critical time, Congress should do everything in its power to ensure the USPS remains vibrant and strong. Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/the-u-s-postal-service-was-never-a-business-stop-treating-it-like-one/ How Conservatorship Threatens Britney Spears’ Civil RightsBritney Spears has recently been in the news for her ongoing conservatorship and civil liberties battle with her father, Jamie Spears. This month, Britney asked a California court to keep her father from being her conservator and having broad control over her life decisions and career. But what exactly is a conservatorship, and what are the implications of it? We sat down with Zoe Brennan-Krohn, staff attorney with our Disability Rights Project, to discuss Britney, conservatorship, and why this is a disability rights issue on our radar. Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/how-conservatorship-threatens-britney-spears-civil-rights MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020Houston’s early police chiefs: The Thief, the Chief Who Wouldn’t Be Fired (sound familiar?), and the Mysterious Disappearance of John Proudfoot Here’s an update on my search for the history of early Texas police chiefs. As it turns out, there is a book-length history of the Houston Police Department, a high-end vanity piece commissioned by the Houston Police Officers Union, written by Mitchel Roth and Tom Kennedy. On the questions I’ve been asking – what is the relationship between slave catching and antebellum policing or Jim Crow enforcement after the war? – it’s of scarce little use. But it gives us a few more details about these early characters. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/08/houstons-early-police-chiefs-thief.html Analysis: Push to revise parole survives despite gov’s vetoAugust 31, 2020 11:27:37 AM In an email last week, the Center for Public Policy wrote about Mississippi habitual-offender laws that keep people imprisoned for years. It cited the case of Tameka Drummer, who received a life sentence in 2008 after she was pulled over for an expired license plate in Alcorn County and officers found a small amount of marijuana in her car. Drummer was sentenced as a habitual offender because of previous convictions. “Multiple bills that would have impacted habitual offender laws did not make it past the finish line this session and another bill that would have reformed parole for up to 2,000 prisoners was vetoed by Gov. Tate Reeves,” the center wrote. “That shouldn’t be the last word. We know much needs to be done.” Alesha Judkins is the Mississippi director of FWD.us, a group that published a report last year saying that Mississippi’s habitual offender laws are causing “extreme” prison sentences. Judkins said Aug. 20 that the vetoed bill would have brought Mississippi in line with states such as Texas, Utah and Louisiana that have broad parole eligibility. Read more here: https://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=83238 OPINION: Life Sentences for Non-Violent Crimes?by Special to the Post | Aug 31, 2020 | Opinion/Letters Bryant was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole, under the habitual offender statute, due to four prior felony convictions. While an appellate court determined that to deny Bryant the possibility of parole was actually illegal, there are in fact over three thousand prisoners serving life without parole for non-violent offenses. This is a human rights issue, and the shame of it should shock every American possessed of conscience. A 2013 ACLU report found that roughly seventy-nine percent of those 3,278 prisoners, “were sentenced to die in prison for non-violent drug crimes.” Other infractions were as minor as “siphoning gasoline from an 18-wheeler, shoplifting three belts” or “breaking into a parked car and stealing a woman’s bagged lunch…” Read more here: https://pagosadailypost.com/2020/08/31/opinion-life-sentences-for-non-violent-crimes/ Louisiana’s habitual offender law is cruel and unjustJust because something is legal doesn’t make it morally right.August 31, 2020 Louisiana is famous for many things—Cajun and Creole culture, jazz festivals, zydeco music, not to mention being the birthplace of several current Century editors. More infamously, Louisiana has been dubbed “the world’s prison capital”—it has the highest incarceration rate in the US. The state’s harsh sentencing laws have made incarceration its default response to crime. In particular, Louisiana’s habitual offender law, under which subsequent convictions are accompanied by longer and longer sentences, provides a convenient way to imprison a lot of poor, nonviolent offenders for life. Eighty percent of those convicted as habitual offenders are black. Read more here: https://www.christiancentury.org/article/editorpublisher/louisiana-s-habitual-offender-law-cruel-and-unjust
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 3 2020 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2020 Early Texans couldn’t get enough slave patrols, but didn’t want to pay for them. A bit more on slave patrols, which county commissioners courts were authorized to enact in the 1st Texas Legislature in 1846, the year after Texas became a state. We’ve discussed these antebellum slave-catcher patrol operations briefly: Created by county commissioners courts, comprised of local districts, sometimes many of them, with 4-6 officers in each. But I wanted to know more about them. Here are some related anecdotes from early Texas newspapers in the 1840s and ’50s, found online at the University of North Texas’ excellent “Portal to Texas History” site. Slave patrols were designed to enforce apartheid and thwart the Underground Railroad to Mexico, not for general crime prevention. Using tools created for the one problem to apply to the other lies at the root of many 21st century criminal-justice conundrums For most white Texans, patrols were controversial not because of their brutality but because they were expensive. In 1851, Bexar County employed 108 people covering 18 districts across the county. Grits has yet to find records of slave patrol districts from other counties, so I have no idea to estimate a statewide count, much less how much they were paid. But if Bexar County’s numbers are indicative, these were easily the largest local law enforcement outfits in the state during the 1840s and ’50s. No Sheriff or Constable had that many staff. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/early-texans-couldnt-get-enough-slave.html St. Louis man opens fire after being told to leave store for not wearing mask, charges say September 2 2020 ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man opened fire this week outside a Family Dollar store in the Gravois Park neighborhood after being told to leave for not wearing a face mask, authorities said. According to charges, employees of the Family Dollar store at 341 South Jefferson Avenue told Perry and a shopper he was with Monday to leave the store for not wearing masks “in accordance with public health standards imposed” by the city health department. Court documents say Perry and the second person reacted by insulting staff and threatening “to shoot up this place” before leaving the store. A person walked outside to see if the pair had left the property and Perry responded by pulling a firearm from his bag and firing at the person, charges say. The person was not hit and returned fire, striking Perry in the hip, police said. Neither police nor court documents said if the person was a store employee. Police soon found Perry in the 3600 block of Iowa suffering from a gunshot wound, police said. He told officers he had been shot in a drive-by shooting. Charges say Perry’s criminal history includes a conviction in federal court in St. Louis for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-man-opens-fire-after-being-told-to-leave-store-for-not-wearing-mask/article_3b293ede-f6c1-50b9-bf20-f7c695594ff3.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 4 2020
Hate crime charges filed after 3 trans women were beaten, robbed & mocked in the street People passed by and did nothing as the men allegedly attacked the trans women and laughed about it. September 3, 2020 Video went viral of a brutal attack on transgender Instagram influencer Eden the Doll and her friends Joslyn Flawless and Jaslene White Rose last month, and now prosecutors have filed hate crimes charges against two men in connection to the attack. Carlton Callaway, 29, and Davion Williams, 22, face charges including robbery, assault, and grand theft for allegedly attacking and robbing the three women and filming themselves laughing about it, while police officers and other passersby did nothing to help the victims. Each man is also facing hate crime enhancements because of the suspected anti-transgender nature of the crime. Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/09/hate-crime-charges-filed-3-trans-women-beaten-robbed-mocked-street/ N.Y.C. to Pay $5.9 Million in Death of Transgender Woman at Rikers Layleen Polanco had a fatal epileptic seizure while in isolation, an investigation found, spurring calls to end solitary confinement and close the jail complex. Aug. 31, 2020 New York City has reached the largest settlement recorded over an inmate’s death at the Rikers Island jail complex, agreeing to pay $5.9 million to the family of a 27-year-old transgender woman who died there last year while in solitary confinement. Layleen Polanco was found unresponsive in her cell in June 2019 after having an epileptic seizure. Her death prompted protest marches to draw attention to the discrimination transgender people say they often face in the criminal justice system. Her case also spurred Mayor Bill de Blasio to call for an end to solitary confinement in city jails altogether. The settlement, which is still being finalized, resolves a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by Ms. Polanco’s family in August 2019. Still, her sister, Melania Brown, said in an interview on Monday that it was “just the beginning of justice.” Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/nyregion/layleen-polanco-settlement-rikers-transgender.html Thanks to GayUSA for the lead on this story. I was contemplating not posting this story because New York is such a mess these days. Nevertheless it should be a warning to other insane people who would treat another human being so terribly. MONTGOMERY COUNTYMaryland Man Accused of Assaulting Liquor Store Manager Over Mask Requirement The incident allegedly began after a friend of the suspect was refused service for not wearing a mask Published September 4, 2020 According to charging documents, the victim suffered serious injuries, including a broken jaw, missing teeth and bruised skull. Police have charged 31-year-old __________ of Silver Spring with two counts of assault. He faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty. Read more here:https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/maryland-man-accused-of-assaulting-liquor-store-manager-over-mask-requirement/2410728/ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 03, 2020Amidst many proposals, police reform in Houston seems stalled outSo, here are the basics regarding police reform in Houston so far as I understand them.The Mayor has created a task force to suggest reforms but no one expects much of it. Five council members this week came out with a letter demanding 25 reforms, some big (eliminate the 180-day rule and the 48-hour rule), some small (video recording walk-throughs at the scene of police shootings), and some perhaps deviating from the spirit of recent protests (“Mandatory community engagement hours in predominately minority areas for all patrol officers.”) Knowing all that went into achieving Austin’s budget cuts and related reforms, it’s not surprising to me that few other cities went as big. It wouldn’t have happened here if Brian Manley weren’t near-universally distrusted and hadn’t rallied his foes before the George-Floyd protests ever began. And still, even in Austin, most of the change remains in front of us and could easily be derailed in the coming year or three. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/amidst-many-proposals-police-reform-in.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 5 2020 Sign this petition here: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/tell-congress-to-stop-ignoring-veterans-who-are-sick-and-dying-from-toxic-burn-pits TO: House of Representatives, Senate, White House, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense Tell Congress to stop ignoring veterans who are sick and dying from toxic burn pits Campaign created by Jon Stewart and John Feal Hundreds of tons of waste produced on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan were doused with jet and diesel fuels and burned in massive burn pits—as American soldiers lived, worked, and slept next to the toxic fumes. Now that they are home, hundreds of thousands veterans are sick and dying from lung diseases, cancers, and respiratory illnesses. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense continue to ignore our veterans’ suffering and deaths caused by their neglect despite their own statistics which show burn pits as the source of these health problems. Sign our petition to tell Congress it must pass a bipartisan bill so veterans will no longer be denied the care and benefits our government owes them for their service. Why is this important?There’s a reason it’s against the law to burn hazardous waste in your own backyard in America. It’s common sense. Burning regular household waste releases carcinogens, neuro-disruptors, and heavy metals that can have devastating effects on the lungs, heart, brain, thyroid, and immune system. It’s also a scientific fact. Federal and state government agencies compiled decades of research linking toxins from burn pits to diseases and birth defects. But the US military paid private companies like Halliburton subsidiary KBR billions of dollars from taxpayer funds to burn human waste, aerosols, Styrofoam, medical waste, biohazardous materials, body parts, trucks, and explosives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then troops got sick and started dying. It’s haunting and a reminder that these forever wars have long-lasting consequences. For every soldier returning with horrific health defects, there are untold numbers of servicemembers who continue to be subjected to burn pit sites and toxic smoke to this day. The DoD and VA must acknowledge the reality and gravity of the problems toxic chemicals from burn pits have caused and take immediate action to end the use of the active burn pits once and for all. In addition, Congress must make health care and compensation available to veterans and servicemembers who are suffering exposure-related health effects. And, we must pass legislation that grants surviving families of deceased veterans the benefits they deserve. We have worked together to pressure Congress to acknowledge the bipartisan need to care for the 9/11 community suffering from cancers and other health problems after those deadly attacks nearly 20 years ago. Washington moves too slow for the families who need our government’s help. We only got that done last year, and it took all the help people like you were able to provide signing petitions, making phone calls, chipping in to cover costs, and organizing in your local communities. We’re taking this fight about burn pits to Congress and want to work even more quickly. We want to work together with anyone willing to help those who served in the military and came home feeling abandoned after their government used them to fight wars and risk their lives. Sign the petition as one step to help provide health care and compensation to those suffering from exposure to toxic burn pits. Let’s fix this and stick up for the families who are fighting for health care and accountability from the same government that sent them into harm’s way. We will update you on the upcoming bill and other actions you can take as the campaign develops so please stay tuned. Police: Man asked to wear mask threatens store employee, throws knife at officers https://www.insidenova.com/news/crime_police/police-man-asked-to-wear-mask-threatens-store-employee-throws-knife-at-officers/article_3e75cdc0-eefb-11ea-aed9-fb65a82ddff1.html Sep 4, 2020 LATEST NEWS on coronavirus in Northern VirginiaA McLean man asked to wear a mask at a Giant grocery store faces assault charges after, police say, he threatened a store employee at knife point and threw the knife at responding police officers. Police were called to the store at 1454 Chain Bridge Road on Aug. 31 just before 1 p.m. for the disturbance. Fairfax County police say the customer threatened an employee with a knife after being asked to wear a mask. He then stole an item from the store and ran away. Officers found the man nearby and approached him to investigate. He threw the knife at the officers, but missed, police said.
__________________, 33, was then arrested and charged with two counts of assault, police said. ________ was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and one officer was treated for a minor injury at the scene, police said. Man charged for aggressive behaviour after being asked to wear a maskSeptember 5, 2020 From: https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/09/05/man-charged-for-aggressive-behaviour-after-being-asked-to-wear-a-mask/ A 50-year-old man from a Nicosia village was arrested on Friday afternoon after attacking police officers at Larnaca airport for asking him to put on a mask. The man according to police, was in the departures area of the airport without a mask on. After officers asked him to put his mask on, he refused and started shouting. He allegedly attacked the officers, leading to his arrest. He was charged for assault and causing unrest and was released. He is to present in court at a later stage. A 60-year-old Key West man was arrested Friday night after police said he attacked a man who insisted he wear a face mask on Duval Street. __________ slapped __________, of Key West, in the face and then shoved him to the pavement the night of Aug. 27 outside an ice cream shop in the 1100 block of Duval, according to the arrest affidavit. The reason? _____ told ____ and his friend they needed to put on face masks, police reported. ____ said he was only trying to protect his town in the time of COVID-19, according to the arrest warrant. Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article245511110.html Being told to wear face mask spurs man to attack Turlock bus driverUpdated: Sep 4, 2020, 9:36 PMA Turlock man was arrested for assault and battery after attacking a bus driver who refused to let him ride without a mask, the Turlock Police Department reported. The suspected was identified by the police department as -_____, 41, of Turlock. The incident was reported to the police department at 1:20 p.m. Aug. 28 in the 800 block of Lander Avenue. Read more: https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/crime/being-told-wear-face-mask-spurs-man-attack-turlock-bus-driver/ INSIGHT: Louisiana Has Chance to Restore Justice for 1,300 Convictions Sept. 1, 2020, 3:00 AM Listen Overturning “Jim Crow Jury” decisions in Louisiana is one of the most fundamental ways of dismantling the systemic racism that continues to plague us, New Orleans attorney Bradley Egenberg contends. He says the state must act and the U.S. Supreme Court has the chance next term to address the suffering of those who remain imprisoned due to non-unanimous jury verdicts. Read more here: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/insight-louisiana-has-chance-to-restore-justice-for-1-300-convictions
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 8 2020 Business owner receives threats over mask mandate Owner of Vintage Arts Decor Studio says customers have cursed at her, threatened her, spit on her and set fires outside her business when asked to wear a mask. Published: 8:02 PM EDT September 6, 2020Updated: 11:21 PM EDT September 6, 2020 First Coast News cameras were rolling Sunday afternoon as Holly _______, the store’s owner, spoke to two Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers to make a report of harassment and threats by a customer at her business. “When he threatened to rape me and my other female employee, I called 911,” _______ said. _______ says the same customer set a notebook on fire and threw it against her door, in addition to setting her dumpster on fire in August. Read more here: https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/jacksonville-business-owner-files-police-report-over-threats-from-customers-when-asked-to-wear-a-mask/77-352510e2-21a3-43a5-9d4a-9029eff12fa8 U.S. airlines ban 700-plus over masksBy Hugo Martín, of the Los Angeles Times Sep 6, 2020 Updated Sep 6, 2020 If you ignore the requirement to wear a mask on a commercial flight, you could join the more than 700 passengers who have been banned from flying on the nation’s largest airlines. Delta Air Lines leads all carriers, having placed 270 passengers on its “no fly” list for flouting its mask policy. It’s followed by United Airlines, with 150; Spirit Airlines, 128; Frontier Airlines, 106; Alaska Airlines, 78; and Hawaiian Airlines, six. Read more here: https://lmtribune.com/coronavirus/u-s-airlines-ban-700-plus-over-masks/article_17bade2a-583f-532c-ac69-31f8f7d80c13.html Did Allegiant Remove A Passenger For Asking Crew To Mask Up? September 7, 2020 On Monday, reports and accompanying footage emerged of how a man was supposedly removed from an Allegiant Air flight. The passenger was made to disembark before take-off from Punta Gorda, Florida, after repeatedly telling the flight attendant making the preflight safety announcement that she should put her mask on. Reports of the social media kind have surfaced on how Allegiant Air removed an elderly passenger from one of its flights, leaving Punta Gorda on Monday. Apparently, there was an issue with a mask, which, these days, is not that surprising. Only, it seems the lack-of-mask in question was not that of the man being removed. This time, the cause for disruption in the matter of proper onboard mask etiquette was a flight attendant. Read more: https://simpleflying.com/allegiant-passenger-mask-request/
Posted at 5:13 PM, Sep 06, 2020 and last updated 8:39 AM, Sep 07, 2020 MORRISANIA, the Bronx — A bodega clerk who was attacked by a customer is concerned mask laws will get someone killed, he said Sunday. _____ ____ and _____ _____ were in a Morrisania bodega several weeks ago when they were attacked. _______ was stacking the shelves when he asked a customer to put on a mask. The customer punched him in the face. Read here: https://www.pix11.com/news/local-news/i-dont-want-to-die-in-the-bodega-workers-attacked-for-enforcing-mask-rules-in-the-bronx
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 9 2020 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 08, 2020Podcast: Update from the March on Washington, slave patrols and Texas policing, the politics of police budgets, and other storiesIn the September 2020 episode of Just Liberty’s Reasonably Suspicious podcast, the Austin Justice Coalition’s Chas Moore substitutes for Mandy to co-host with Scott Henson. This month, we discuss:The March on Washington and protesters’ theory of changeSlave patrols and the history of Texas policingThe politics of Austin’s police budget cutsIn the Last Hurrah segment, Chas and I took up:Austin PD’s 911 call data analyzedDallas Chief under fire in protest aftermathTexas’ George Floyd ActAs always, I’ve ordered a transcript and will add it below the jump when it comes back. Enjoy! Passengers forced to deplane from US flight after woman refuses to wear mask AOL.com8 September 2020 According to Mailloux, she was approached around three times to wear a mask once on the plane. When she refused, the announcement was made for the passengers to all start deboarding the flight, which is when the other passengers became very frustrated. The 23-year-old photographer added: “We got up to start to deboard the plane and she decided that now was the time she was gonna get off and everyone else can stay on. Well, half the plane already had deboarded before she got off.” The woman eventually left the plane and the other passengers were allowed to return, and the flight left safely without the woman on board. Read more: https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/passengers-forced-deplane-us-flight-160200632.html Utah police shooting of 13-year-old autistic boy under investigationASSOCIATED PRESS |SEP 08, 2020 AT 8:49 AM SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities in Utah are investigating the shooting of a 13-year-old autistic boy by police in the Salt Lake City area. Police said they were called to a home in Glendale Friday night with a report of a boy who had threatened people with a weapon. The boy reportedly ran and was shot by an officer after being pursued by police. The boy’s mother, Golda Barton, told KUTV-TV that her son has autism and she had called police because he was having a breakdown and needed a crisis intervention team. Barton claimed she told police her son was unarmed and warned them that he did not know how to regulate his behavior. A few minutes after two officers who had arrived went through the front door of the home, Barton said she heard an order to “get on the ground” and several gunshots. Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-utah-police-shooting-autistic-boy-20200908-isqebb5ic5epbmkrr2yrpdo4gq-story.html If you hate all social media like I do; then you will love this article. This proves what I have been saying for years; that social media is violent, organized crime. The definition for mob mentality should be a definition for social media. What is most bazaar; is it shapes or politics in our country. it effects all of our lives; even though there are 100’s of millions of fake accounts and people that are not even from our country, having the biggest influence on it all. I very much recommend people read this whole article: Another Facebook worker quits in disgust, saying the company ‘is on the wrong side of history’Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s stances on hateful and racist speech prompted the engineer to resign. September 8, 2020 at 1:13 p.m. CDTFacebook software engineer Ashok Chandwaney has watched with growing unease as the platform has become a haven for hate. On Tuesday morning, it came time to take a stand. “I’m quitting because I can no longer stomach contributing to an organization that is profiting off hate in the US and globally,” Chandwaney wrote in a letter posted on Facebook’s internal employee network shortly after 8 a.m. Pacific time. The nearly 1,300-word document was detailed, bristling with links to bolster its claims and scathing in its conclusions. Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/08/facebook-employee-quit-racism/ This is another great article I must take my hat off to: Rethinking America US Prisons: Outrageously UnjustThe time is overdue to reform the US prison system. It reflects very poorly on the country‘s moral values. September 9, 2020 Even a cursory review of the US prison system reveals the outrageous inhumanity to which hundreds of thousands of prisoners — especially young adults — are subjected to. Many of them are imprisoned for non-violent crimes — sometimes for life. Some of the cases I came across are simply heart wrenching, bringing tears to my eyes. The over-policing of the United States, which results in the disproportionate incarceration of people of color, and the numerous flaws in the judicial system, most particularly highlighted in sentencing disparities by race and class, and habitual offender (aka three-strikes) laws, have contributed greatly to the travesty of the U.S. prison system. Read more here: https://www.theglobalist.com/united-states-prison-system-criminal-justice-reform-racism-blacks-minorities/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 10 2020 When I read the caption for this article it made me laugh out load.:
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 13 2020 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2020 In Dallas, #DefundThePolice becomes epithet to describe any cut, even amidst COVID revenue shortfalls Debates over “defunding the police” became even sillier this week with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson trotting out the phrase to oppose a $7 million cut to police overtime that’s almost trivial in the scheme of a) the overall Dallas police budget and b) COVID-driven revenue shortfalls. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/in-dallas-defundthepolice-becomes.html Pennsylvania Rite Aid worker fired for dialing 911 on customer who turned violent when asked to wear face mask Security footage in the store showed the customer pushing the store display to the ground and knocking the cash register over Published on : 07:56 PST, Sep 12, 2020 customer turned violent and even pushed the cashier into a magazine rack nearby. Security footage in the store showed the customer pushing the store display to the ground and knocking the cash register over. Recently, in Logan Township, Pennsylvania, an Altoona man threw frozen pizzas at the store manager of a convenience store when he was asked to wear a mask. According to the Logan Township Police Department, cops were called regarding a disturbance on August 13. The man, 35-year-old _______, attacked the manager and fled from the scene. Read more here: https://meaww.com/pennsylvania-rite-aid-worker-fired-customer-wear-mask-defense-call-cops-violent
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 14 2020 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020Dallas chief resigns; Manley remains:Grits should have mentioned Dallas police Chief Renee Hall’s resignation in yesterday’s post about the Dallas budget, but it seemed like a separate topic. She wasn’t resigning over budget cuts, like the chief in Seattle. Rather, she left after a half dozen city council members declared they’d lost confidence in her leadership, largely as a result of a tone-deaf after action report that seemed to pre-exonerate officers for misconduct while overstating protester “violence.” I wrote at the time: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/dallas-chief-resigns-manley-remains-wtf.html I kept noticing these story’s taking place again and again in the news. So I decided to start posting them here; when ever I was able to spot them. I find it weirdly odd that these things are a violent event; not to mention so often. Like I said weeks ago here most of these stories must go unreported; because most of these stories involve businesses and the exchange of money. I am not trying to be mean and focus in on people to mock them in anyway. If someone were to ask me to wear a mask I would not be offended in anyway. I can not imagine why anyone would be triggered to violence over putting on a mask. I post these stories because in my opinion; it has no explanation, that is why it deserves attention. White Woman Goes On Racist Tirade Against NYC Verizon Employee Who Asked Her To Wear MaskShe yelled the n-word and threw a trash can at the Black employee. September 13 2020 While visiting a Manhattan Verizon store in New York City, a woman who was asked to put on a mask in the store went on a racist rant after refusing to do so. “You don’t tell me what to do, you don’t grab my f—ing hand, you f—ing fat ugly n—-r,” she said. Verizon has asked the public to help identify the woman so that she can be banned for life from their stores. The company also said that they will “terminate her ability to do business with us.” Read more: https://www.bet.com/news/national/2020/09/13/-white-women-assaults-n-word-nyc-verizon-employee-refusing-wear-mask.html Coronavirus: 70-Year-Old Man Brutally Assaulted, Dragged by Hair, Spit Upon by Youngster Over Mask Row In another outrageous incident of violence related to COVID-19, an elderly man was left bloody and battered by a youngster in Orlando, Florida Updated September 13, 2020 20:28 +08 In another outrageous act of violence related to taking necessary measures for avoiding spread of COVID-19, a man, 70 years old, was left battered for the simple crime of asking a younger man to maintain social distancing and wear a mask. The incident occurred in Orlando, Florida at a gas station. The assailant has been identified as _____ _____, 24 years old. The police have arrested him and leveled charges of aggravated battery against a person above the age of 65. The bail bond value has been set at $30,000. The accused has been lodged in Orange County Jail. Read more: https://www.ibtimes.sg/70-year-old-man-brutally-assaulted-dragged-by-hair-spit-upon-asking-youngster-take-covid-19-51462
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 16 2020 Video captures anti-COVID-19 rant at Calgary fabric store Posted Sep 15, 2020 1:11 pm MDT Last Updated Sep 15, 2020 at 1:26 pm MDT She later goes on a rant calling the COVID-19 pandemic a hoax and is tired of the public health guidelines. She tells staff and other customers in the store to “educate themselves”, stating “no one is sick”. Read more here: https://www.660citynews.com/2020/09/15/video-captures-anti-covid-19-rant-at-calgary-fabric-store/ Citations: Northwest Side sports bar cited 4 times for violating COVID-19 order1:51 pm CDT, Tuesday, September 15, 2020 The City of San Antonio has issued more than 2,900 warnings and 230 citations for violating the emergency declarations, according to an enforcement report. Officials had received over 13,300 calls reporting violations as of Tuesday. Read more: https://www.mysanantonio.com/coronavirus/article/Citations-Northwest-Side-sports-bar-cited-4-15187448.php RACE IN AMERICABreonna Taylor case: Louisville to pay $12M in settlement, reform police department Updated September 15 2020 2:50 PM LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The city of Louisville will pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor and reform police practices as part of a lawsuit settlement months after Taylor’s slaying by police thrust the Black woman’s name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed in April by Palmer, alleged the police used flawed information when they obtained a “no-knock” warrant to enter the 26-year-old woman’s apartment in March. Taylor and her boyfriend were roused from bed by police, and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, has said he fired once at the officers thinking it was an intruder. Investigators say police were returning fire when they shot Taylor several times. No drugs were found at her home. Read more: https://abc7chicago.com/louisville-to-pay-$12m-to-breonna-taylors-mom-in-settlement/6423703/ NEWS SEPTEMBER 15, 2020Brutal assault of bartender caught on video over alleged mask dispute at San Diego barThe bartender says he was sucker punched The doorman refused them entry because they violated the city’s face mask restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Aversa, who is also a manager of the bar, went over to help the doorman when someone ran at him and sucker punched him. “I immediately knew my nose was broken,” Aversa told KTTV. “I could hear it pop,” he added. “I kind of went black for a second. I immediately felt blood gushing out of my nose all over the cement, all over my hands.” Read more: https://www.theblaze.com/news/video-bartender-assault-sandiego-mask Man spit in bank manager’s face after being asked to properly wear mask, police sayUpdated Sep 15, 2020; Posted Sep 15, 2020 Police are looking for a man who is accused of going into a bank in the Township of Union and spitting in an employee’s face after he was told to properly wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic. Read more here: https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/09/man-spit-in-bank-managers-face-after-being-asked-to-properly-wear-mask-police-say.html Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 17 2020 NEWS17/09/2020 7:42 AM AESTAnti-Maskers March Through Shop Chanting ‘Take Off Your Mask!’ Before the protest, Gomez had promoted it with a graphic on her Facebook page, calling it an “anti mask flash mob.” Nearly 200,000 people have died from coronavirus in the United States. Florida has logged more than 12,700 deaths. Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/anti-maskers-march-through-target_au_5f6286b2c5b6ba9eb6e9111b Transgender woman makes history by speaking at DNC Washington (CNN)Transgender activist Sarah McBride announced Tuesday that she’s running for a Senate seat in her home state of Delaware. Updated 6:21 PM ET, Tue July 9, 2019 McBride, 28, would become the first transgender person elected to a state senate if chosen to represent Delaware’s 1st District. Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/politics/transgender-activist-sarah-mcbride-delaware-state-senate/index.html Sign this petition here: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/support-just-marijuana-legalization
SUPPORT JUST MARIJUANA LEGALIZATIONSupport the MORE ActUpdate 9/11/2020: The House is back in session and plans to bring the MORE Act to the floor for a vote on the week of September 21. We need to ensure that House Leadership follows through on this commitment and that Members vote YES on this important legislation. Send a message to your representative today. While an increasing number of states are moving to decriminalize and legalize marijuana, arrest rates – and racial disparities in arrests – are not improving. In some parts of the country, they’re getting even worse. It’s past time that we not just legalize marijuana but do so in a way that tackles racial disparities head-on. The MORE Act will do just that. Message Recipients: Your U.S. House Representative
YOUR MESSAGESubjectPass the MORE Act (H.R. 3884)As your constituent, I urge you to vote YES on the MORE Act so marijuana can be legalized in a way that addresses racial disparities, which continues to persist in every state. Even with an increasing number of states adopting marijuana reform, arrest rates are staggering and disproportionately target Black people. Sign this petition here: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/support-just-marijuana-legalization
Let me speak in the local language of the land of the Bible belt: Do you think Jesus would turn a homeless person away into the cold because they are a transgender? Send message here to help everyone that is homeless and get them all the help they need: https://myresourcecenter.org/campaign/example-targeted-action/ At an unthinkable time during a global pandemic, the Trump Administration has proposed gutting the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Equal Access Rule for transgender individuals in shelters. This critical protection ensures that transgender people are treated in an affirming and equal way at a time when they need help most. Studies have shown that 1/3 of transgender and non-binary individuals experience homelessness at some point in their life. They may be fleeing domestic violence or unsafe conditions and are in need of shelter away from harm. Preserving access to gender segregated facilities does not put others at risk. However, denying access to transgender individuals it further puts them in harms way. Take a moment to stand with us and say NO to discrimination! We have started a message to oppose this rule for you but please feel free to add your own thoughts and experiences. Send message here to help everyone that is homeless and get them all the help they need: https://myresourcecenter.org/campaign/example-targeted-action/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 18 2020 I did not want to post this article but since I love the band Twisted Sister and Dee Snider rules; I will post it. I saw Twisted Sister around 1983 with Rat. It was a great concert. Twisted Sister is a great metal band to this day. By The Associated PressUpdated September 17, 2020 3:14 PM Snider said the group doesn’t have his “permission or blessing to use my song for their moronic cause.” Target was fined for not enforcing the county’s mask law and citations were mailed to the protesters, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported. “We’re Americans, breathe,” a woman yelled. “It’s all a lie!” Another woman screamed that a customer should take the mask off. “You don’t need it,” she said. “Any additional participants from the video that are able to be identified will also receive $100 citations in the mail,” she said. Read more: https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/dee-snider-anti-maskers-twisted-sister-1.49427492 Anti-mask Karen couple yells at bystanders recording them in Walmart Neither shopper chose to don a mask inside the store.Sep 17, 2020, 9:03 am* In case there weren’t enough Karen videos floating around the web, a fresh clip of angry, entitled anti-maskers has gone viral on Twitter. They even attempt to block her path. “I’ll knock you the fuck out if you touch me,” Karen exclaims. She then demands that employees “get her to leave,” despite the fact that the woman in grey is following the store’s mandate. Read more: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/walmart-karen-couple-anti-mask-video/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 20 2020 Protest for Black family becomes clash between Detroit Will Breathe and Trump supportersMACOMB COUNTYThe Detroit NewsSeptember 19 2020 What was expected to be a protest to defend a Black family targeted with racially motivated attacks on Saturday ended up as a standoff between Black Lives Matter proponents and Donald Trump supporters. During the same time, a Back the Blue rally was held across the street on Hoover Road with people holding Trump 2020 flags. At one point, a woman who Tristan Taylor, a Detroit Will Breathe organizer, said was not part of the group was walking on the Trump supporter’s side and got in an altercation with supporters. The woman was holding onto a flag while multiple men tried to take it out of her hands, pulling the woman around on the ground. Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2020/09/19/protest-black-family-becomes-standoff-between-detroit-breathe-and-trump-supporters/5839022002/ Sometimes you need just the right words to do a search. I heard the words gun violence on public radio this morning and sure enough I found a web site with all the statistics. I have searched on my own and never found it until I entered those two words.:
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 21 2020 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2020Can police patrol function be separated from racist slaver legacy? Maybe notDid early policing begin with slave patrols?In Texas, slave patrols were established (just) after the creation of more traditional law enforcement offices like Sheriffs, Constables, and City Marshals (the early Texan name for what would become municipal police chiefs). But slavery began late here and lasted less than 50 years. In other states, particularly in the Carolinas, patrols preceded those forms. That’s why you hear people say American policing originated with slave patrols. Some places, it did. Man Beat Clerk Who Asked Suspect To Maintain Social Distancing, Cops Say SEPTEMBER 19, 2020 A man was arrested for allegedly beating a Freeport gas station attendant who asked the suspect to maintain social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nassau County police said. Said the victim asked the suspect to step back because he got too close when paying for gas at 10:35 p.m. Friday. got mad, got a metal bar out of his car, and hit the 67-year-old victim in the head, ribs, and leg, police said. Read more: https://www.longislandpress.com/2020/09/19/man-beat-clerk-who-asked-suspect-to-maintain-social-distancing-cops-say/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 22 2020The dangerous relationship between cops and right-wing militias PUBLISHED: September 21, 2020 at 3:49 p.m. | UPDATED: September 21, 2020 at 3:52 p.m. Also note that the recent “Back the Blue” rally in Red Bluff was sponsored by a right-wing separatist Jefferson State group in conjunction with the Tehama County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Police participation with right-wing extremist, separatist and paramilitary groups makes me nervous. And it is wrong. Read more: https://www.redbluffdailynews.com/2020/09/21/the-dangerous-relationship-between-cops-and-right-wing-militias/ Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 23 2020
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 Taking the easy way out: When they choose, Austin cops take the lowest risk assignments and spend lots of time on them Looking at the 911 call center data discussed in the last post, a notable data point jumps out: When Austin police officers self assign themselves to an activity, they appear to choose the most low-risk, anodyne tasks and spend longer at those than they do ones they’re assigned by 911 dispatchers. Technically these are not “calls,” in that they are activities that an officer chooses to do and then puts into the “call” system independently of dispatch. They represent about a third of “call” activity. Here we see that most officer-initiated calls are for Priority 3 incidents, which are defined as “life or property not at risk; immediate response not req’d.” Perhaps removing the 911 call center from control of the police department (as Houston has already done, btw) will help impose more discipline on how officers spend their time. Honestly, these aren’t liberal/conservative questions so much as good-government/managerial ones. Read more:https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/taking-easy-way-out-when-they-choose.html Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 24 2020
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 25 2020 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 Governor hopes pro-police push will distract from COVID failures The Governor today held a press conference calling for a half-dozen new laws aimed at increasing penalties for protester violence and people who harm cops. Thing is, Texas already did this in 2015 after the Ferguson protests, boosting penalties for assaulting police officers and requiring high school students to watch a video teaching them how not to make police angry (I kid you not: they did that because it would offend cops to tell them not to shoot the kids – Democrat Royce West carried the legislation).: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/governor-hopes-pro-police-push-will.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 26 2020 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 Slave patrols as apartheid enforcers in addition to chasing runaways When your correspondent began researching the history of Texas slave patrols, I considered them mainly a way the government collaborated with slave owners to control black people and punish them for violating rules. But it turns out, slave patrols were as much about enforcing apartheid as protecting property rights, and they were empowered to arrest white folks for various co-mingling considered inappropriate. Grits’ slave-patrol research homed in on Guadalupe County, in large part because records there have been preserved. I’m not the only one to take advantage of that serendipity. In Mark Gretchen’s remarkable 2009 genealogical volume, “Slave Transactions of Guadalupe County, Texas,” he included a comprehensive list of slavery-related criminal charges from Guadalupe County criminal court records. Almost all (20 out of 28) involved white defendants, not black ones. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/slave-patrols-as-apartheid-enforcers-in.html Here are the links from Grits from yesterday. Grits has gone free speech wild lately and I like it. @scottbraddock Sep 24 As Gov @GregAbbott_TX speaks on police budgets today, it’s relevant that his office is sitting on nearly $6 billion in federal relief money allocated to Texas that must be allocated by Dec 31. His office has articulated *no* reason for hoarding that cash #TxLege: Read more: https://twitter.com/scottbraddock/status/1309099443699023873
Editorial: Pledge easy, but policing issues aren’tExpress-News Editorial Board Sep. 17, 2020 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks before signing a “Texas Backs the Blue Pledge.” It’s a gimmicky approach that serves Abbott’s immediate political purposes.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks before signing a “Texas Backs the Blue Pledge.” It’s a gimmicky approach that serves Abbott’s immediate political purposes.: Read more: https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-Pledge-easy-but-policing-issues-15576078.php Abbott unveils proposals to strengthen penalties for rioting Posted Sep 24, 2020 at 11:34 AMUpdated Sep 24, 2020 at 5:03 PM In a Dallas news conference Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced several legislative proposals that would stiffen penalties for people participating in riots. Abbott invoked protests that turned violent in Dallas and elsewhere in Texas over the summer, and a move last month by the Austin City Council to reduce police funding, although unlike other recent proposals unveiled by Abbott, his ideas Thursday did not address the funding issue.: Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20200924/abbott-unveils-proposals-to-strengthen-penalties-for-rioting POLICE BRUTALITY IN TEXASGov. Greg Abbott wants to raise the stakes for protesters during a divisive Texas electionAbbott’s campaign event came after a majority of likely Texas voters in a recent poll said that law and order is a bigger issue than the pandemic. Yet they were also more likely to say that racism in the criminal justice system is a larger problem than riots in American cities. SEPT. 24, 2020UPDATED: 4 PM At a campaign event in Dallas on Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott laid out a string of new legislative proposals to raise penalties and create new crimes that would require jail time for offenses committed at protests. Abbott isn’t on the Nov. 3 ballot, but the event was the Republican governor’s latest move in a national political battle during a tumultuous election that has pitted police officers and fears of rising crime against calls for an end to police brutality and systemic racism. Recent Texas protests against police brutality have largely been peaceful as the four-month mark of George Floyd’s in-custody death in Minneapolis nears. Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/24/greg-abbott-protests-brutality-police-budget-cuts/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 29 2020 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2020Massive police response over anti-cop bumper stickers, public opinion and #BlackLivesMatter, deep policing history, and other storiesLet’s clear a few browser tabs and run down a few links Grits wanted to record and other items that may interest Grits readers. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/massive-police-response-over-anti-cop.html MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020Debtors Prison Blues: Homeless rack up tens of thousands of tickets and warrants that everyone knows they can’t pay Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/debtors-prison-blues-homeless-rack-up.html MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2020From the archives: Primer on police-union politics and contractsIn 2017, Just Liberty’s former Policy Coordinator, Sukyi McMahon, who now works for the Columbia University Justice Lab, created three, short videos based on Reasonably Suspicious podcast segments that constitute a primer for reformers on police-union politics and debates surrounding their labor contracts. Lately, I’ve received inquiries on the topic from folks in other cities looking at what Austin did this summer, so I thought it worthwhile to re-up this little-discussed background to the recent budget fights: Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/from-archives-primer-on-police-union.html
Read more here: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020Want to improve police oversight? Settle in for the long haulThe “Independent Police Oversight Board” for the Houston Police Department arguably represents a worst-case scenario when it comes to reform efforts: It took years for advocates to install and, by providing a veneer of meaningless oversight, probably does more to obscure episodes of police misconduct than illuminate problems. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/want-to-improve-police-oversight-settle.html Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-no-more-war-on-drugs-demand-congress-repair-harms-to-communities-decriminalize-marijuanaCampaign ActionSign and send the petition: No more War on Drugs. Demand Congress repair harms to communities & decriminalize marijuana. State after state has boldly legalized medical or recreational use of marijuana. Thousands of Americans are building livelihoods in the growing cannabis industry. Yet federal laws have not kept pace, and communities of color are disproportionately harmed. While marijuana consumption is similar across racial groups, studies show that Black and Brown communities are much more likely to be arrested and incarcerated for marijuana possession. For immigrant community members, marijuana-related charges require mandatory detention and often lead to deportation and create barriers to U.S. naturalization. Between 2007 and 2013 alone, over 34,000 people were deported whose most serious offense was possession of marijuana. In 2013, the number one drug crime for which immigrants were deported was simple possession of marijuana. As states move to decriminalize marijuana, we need federal lawmakers to also begin to repair the harm and destruction of the War on Drugs. And now, Congress is finally considering the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and — critically — expunge or resentence marijuana-related convictions. This would be a huge step toward racial equity and restorative justice. The MORE Act also includes a tax on marijuana sales that would provide services to communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs, as well as small-business loans for people of color to enter the marijuana industry. The War on Drugs has targeted Black, Brown, and immigrant communities and has rendered millions of people second-class citizens and residents We need to show Congress that there’s widespread support for marijuana decriminalization and restorative justice in the MORE Act. Sign and the petition: Demand the U.S. House and Senate deal justice to Black, Brown, and immigrant communities by passing the MORE Act! Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-no-more-war-on-drugs-demand-congress-repair-harms-to-communities-decriminalize-marijuana
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 1 2020I collected a few more mask attack stories. I am not happy to see people upset; in a attempt to help I decided to write about it. I think people that are prone to stress due to the pandemic should take stress vitamins. I noticed they are available in the vitamin section of the stores these days. I have not taken them for years but Hyland’s Calms was one of my favorites. Find them here: https://www.hylands.com/products/adults/stress-sleep From: https://wnyt.com/troy-new-york-news/police-woman-accused-of-attacking-her-boss-during-argument-over-masks-west-sand-lake-rensselaer-county-/5877883/ Created: September 29, 2020 10:04 AM Police: Woman accused of attacking her boss during argument over mask A woman from West Sand Lake is accused of attacking her boss during an argument about face masks. State police say Tina Hock was asked to wear a mask while at work, as is required. Troopers say she got angry and threw things all over the business and after her manager, injuring him. She’s facing multiple charges including assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. From: https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/sandwich-karen-subway-no-mask-video/ September 29, 2020 ‘Sandwich Karen’ Won’t Wear a Mask and Freaks Out In a …A Reddit video shows a “Sandwich Karen” having a temper tantrum in Subway because he’s asked to wear a mask. The viral video, uploaded to Reddit this …
From: https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitoba-man-arrested-following-alleged-assault-over-wearing-a-mask-1.5125315WINNIPEG | NewsManitoba man arrested following alleged assault over wearing a mask Published Tuesday, September 29, 2020 3:07PM CS WINNIPEG — A 52-year-old man from the Rural Municipality of St. Clements has been arrested following an alleged assault at a Walmart in Selkirk over face masks. RCMP said on Sept. 23, officers were called to the store around 3:45 p.m. after receiving reports of an assault. According to RCMP, a man inside the store was not wearing a mask and an employee told him he should be wearing one.
RCMP said the man ignored the employee and walked down an aisle. The employee followed the man with RCMP saying the man was again asked to wear a mask. RCMP said while being asked a second time, the man turned around and pushed the employee and threatened him.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 2 2020 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020Want to improve police oversight? Settle in for the long haulThe “Independent Police Oversight Board” for the Houston Police Department arguably represents a worst-case scenario when it comes to reform efforts: It took years for advocates to install and, by providing a veneer of meaningless oversight, probably does more to obscure episodes of police misconduct than illuminate problems. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/want-to-improve-police-oversight-settle.html THURSDAY, OCTOBER 01, 2020Task Force on reforming Houston police: Empower oversight board, remove civil-service barriers to accountability at #txlege, and have someone besides the DA prosecute police misconduct (Grits has a suggestion)”The loss of public trust and credibility makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the police to forge partnerships in local communities, let alone expect community cooperation in criminal investigations,” declared the Houston Mayor’s Task Force on Policing Reform (TFPR), which issued its recommendations this week. Even if your correspondent might have gone further, or may quibble with their suggestions (as indeed, I will, below), they’re more significant than Grits had anticipated. Good for them! Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/task-force-on-reforming-houston-police.html As I have stated many times on the internet; I have always loved Spanish people from South America. When I have been back on the East Coast, where I am originally from; one of my favorite things about living there was visiting with my fellow Sicilian family members. I do not have a extreme Sicilian accent at all. When I get with my family; I immediately go into a mode where I have a extreme Sicilian accent. When ever I talk with Spanish people from South America I have a perfect Spanish accent that is very similar to a Sicilian Accent. It is like hanging out with my family back east. Also Spanish people from South America look like my Sicilian family back East. One of the first human rights issues I posted on the internet was about the missing women in Warez Mexico. I care very much about South America and should be posting more often about our southern neighbors. I was listening to public radio recently and heard a story that touched me. No one should be starving in the world never mind just south of our border. COVID may kill more thru starvation than infection As many as 132 million more people than previously projected could go hungry in 2020, and this year’s gain may be more than triple any increase this century. The pandemic is upending food supply chains, crippling economies and eroding consumer purchasing power. Some projections show that by the end of the year, COVID-19 will cause more people to die each day from hunger than from virus infections. Read more here: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/708479-covid-may-kill-more-thru-starvation-than-infection Also I heard this story: The pandemic threatens to push more people in Mexico into poverty Oct 1, 2020 According to Mexico’s government, nearly half the country’s population lives below the poverty line. And the coronavirus pandemic threatens to make those numbers worse. Marcelo Delajara, an economic researcher at the think tank Centro de Estudios Espinosa Yglesias, said about 46% of Mexico’s population is low-income. The country has high inequality and low social mobility. “So it’s an economy much poorer than the U.S.,” he said. Read more here: https://www.marketplace.org/2020/10/01/covid-19-pandemic-mexico-poverty-economy/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 3 2020 The Law That Sent a Man to Prison for Life for Stealing a Pair of Hedge Clippers – and What Prosecutors Can do About It Habitual offender statutes, known in some states as “three strikes” laws, are a relic of failed “tough on crime” policies that have had devastating consequences for families and communities across the country. October 2, 2020 Last month, the Louisiana Supreme Court refused to review the life sentence of Fair Wayne Bryant, who was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to steal a pair of hedge clippers more than 20 years ago. Bryant’s sentence was the result of Louisiana’s extreme “habitual offender” law, which allows people to spend life in prison for minor offenses. While the court should have reviewed the sentence, the legislature should abolish this law, and until then, Orleans prosecutors should refuse to seek it. Habitual offender statutes, known in some states as “three strikes” laws, are a relic of failed “tough on crime” policies that have had devastating consequences for families and communities across the country. Both racist and punitive in their nature, these enhancements drive out of control prison populations in states that have some of the highest incarceration rates in the world, Oklahoma and Louisiana among them. Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/the-law-that-sent-a-man-to-prison-for-life-for-stealing-a-pair-of-hedge-clippers-and-what-prosecutors-can-do-about-it/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 3 2020Family says Jonathan Price killed in Wolfe City officer-involved shooting while breaking up fight October 4, 2020 WOLFE CITY, Texas – The family of Jonathan Price says he was fatally shot during an officer-involved shooting in Wolfe City on Saturday while he was breaking up a fight. Authorities have released few details at this time, but said an investigation is underway into the officer-involved shooting in Wolfe City, which is about 15 miles north of Greenville in Hunt County. The Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting, and the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave until the investigation is completed. Price’s family said he was the person shot by a Wolfe City police officer, and that he died as a result of the shooting. They said he was at an Exxon gas station, when he saw a confrontation between a man and woman. He then tried to break it up, and an officer pulled up Price’s family said the officer may have thought the two men were fighting. Read more here: https://www.fox4news.com/news/family-says-jonathan-price-killed-in-wolfe-city-officer-involved-shooting-while-breaking-up-fight
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 6 2020 MONDAY, OCTOBER 05, 2020 With one, unanswered question, Chris Wallace debunked weeks of Texas media coverage on Austin, Fort Worth, crime trends, and partisanship Grits can hardly convey my delight that, during the mostly unwatchable Presidential debate, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price found herself hoisted on her own petard, with moderator Chris Wallace questioning whether rising murder rates in cities with Republican mayors like Fort Worth and Tulsa show that crime isn’t a partisan issue. Read more: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/with-one-unanswered-question-chris.html Video shows ‘Freebirds Karen’ threatening to hit woman who asks her to wear maskFreebirds Karen also claims to have attended not only Brown, but also Harvard.Oct 6, 2020, 10:28 am “You think you go to UT [University of Texas], when I went to fucking Brown, bitch,” Karen yells. “I went to fucking Harvard. I went to fucking Harvard!” (The showdown likely took place in Austin, home to several Freebirds locations and the University of Texas.) Read more here: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/freebirds-karen/ WATCH: Fight Breaks Out on Flight Over Mask Dispute https://coed.com/2020/10/06/watch-fight-breaks-out-on-flight-over-mask-dispute/ October 6, 2020, 11:15 am “While the passenger was being escorted off the plane, he had an altercation with another passenger. Law enforcement was called to assist,” Allegiant told The Arizona Republic in a statement. Fight breaks out on Allegiant Air flight from Mesa after man refuses to wear mask Arizona Republic A fight broke out between two passengers on an Allegiant Air flight from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on Oct. 3 after one passenger confronted another for allegedly refusing the flight attendant’s request to wear a face mask in addition to a face shield. Flam said the fight ensued after an airline supervisor asked Honaker to leave the plane. As he grabbed his backpack and exited his row, Honaker reportedly elbowed the other passenger in the head and accused the man of getting him kicked off the plane. Read more here: https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/airlines/2020/10/05/fight-breaks-out-allegiant-air-passenger-refuses-to-wear-mask/3627755001/ Pennsylvania Real-Time News80-year-old former Marine dies after confrontation with bar patron not wearing a maskUpdated 10:39 AM; Today 10:39 AM The death of Rocco Sapienza is being investigated as a homicide. In a report by WKBW ABC7 in Buffalo, the incident took place at Pamp’s Red Zone Bar and Grill in West Seneca, New York, on Sept. 26. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office in New York says Sapienza got into an argument with 65-year-old Donald Lewinski, who was not wearing a mask. Here: https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/10/80-year-old-former-marine-dies-after-confrontation-with-bar-patron-not-wearing-a-mask.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 7 2020 This lady should do what my wife and I did when visiting the Hollywood aria. Take a wrong turn and end up in East LA. If you are even thinking the N-Word there; the local people there will read your mind and take you down many pegs, before they let you leave. Me; when I was there there staring out my Ford Escort car window at all those East LA people in the park; I wish I could have got out of my car and absorbed their discontent to strengthen my resolve. I wrote about this exact East LA event on the internet before. Racist woman bites Black security guard in wild brawl – but fails to escape after bystanders intervene Published 2 hours ago on October 7, 2020 KTLA reports that security guard Natosha Lawson said she intervened when she saw Duran arguing with her father, but Duran then turned her anger towards her. “She gets a water bottle and she throws it at me and says get the f— out of here,” Lawson said. During the course of the confrontation, Duran lobbed the N-word at Lawson more than once. “Then she catches my finger in her mouth and proceeds to chomp down on my finger,” Lawson said. Read more here: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/woman-arrested-after-ing-black-security-guard-and-calling-her-the-n-word/ A white police officer charged with murder in the death of a Black man at a gas station in Texas had been a police officer for less than six months at the time of the shooting. Oct. 7, 2020, 1:55 PM CDT The officer, Shaun Lucas, 22, was arrested Monday night and had his bail set at $1 million. He is accused of shooting Jonathan Price, 31, on Saturday night in the small east Texas town of Wolfe City, authorities said. Read more here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-police-officer-charged-fatal-shooting-jonathan-price-had-been-n1242428
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 9 2020 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2020 Rangers rule police shooting ‘murder,’ searches at traffic stops mostly fruitless, Sheriffs behaving badly, and other stories Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of the Texas Rangers announcing a shooting by a police officer constituted “murder,” as they did in the case of Wolfe City Police Officer Shaun Lucas’ killing of Jonathan Price. Either this summer’s events have changed attitudes at DPS, the facts of case are especially egregious, or maybe both. Read more: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/rangers-rule-police-shooting-murder.html October 09, 2020In Texas, citizen-initiated ballot propositions are not allowed, so elected officials at the state and federal levels are responsible for upholding or reforming current marijuana laws. Elections offer an opportunity for voters to decide who will represent them when these decisions are made! We worked with our friends at Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy to survey candidates seeking the Democratic and Republican nominations for the Texas House, Texas Senate, U.S. House, and U.S. Senate. Here’s our Texas Marijuana Policy Voter Guide for the 2020 General Election.: https://www.texasnorml.org/votersguide/ Please make a donation to support this important program!: https://shop.texasnorml.org/donate/ POLITICAL REPORTHOW NEW ORLEANS ACTIVISTS ARE PUSHING D.A. CANDIDATES TO END MASS INCARCERATION Oct 08, 2020 The retirement of a notoriously harsh DA has opened the door for criminal justice reform in New Orleans. In New Orleans, the office of the district attorney has a fraught reputation. Former prosecutor Jim Williams, while photographed for Esquire in 1995, showed off a model electric chair he kept on his desk with the photos of men he had placed on death row. Longtime District Attorney Harry Connick was criticized by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for displaying indifference to the rights of defendants. And the office is broadly known for its aggressive prosecution tactics. Current District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, who was first elected in 2008, has followed suit. He has attacked efforts to bail people out of jail pretrial, fought to retain nonunanimous jury convictions, vowed to put more children in jail, and used habitual offender laws to increase sentencing. He is also facing an ongoing lawsuit that alleges his office issued fake subpoenas to jail crime victims and to pressure witnesses to cooperate. When Cannizzaro announced he would not run for re-election this year, it threw open the city’s DA race. Criminal justice reform advocates see it as a golden opportunity to bring change to New Orleans and its pervasive reliance on incarceration. The race has come to be defined less by the four candidates who are running, and more by a group of criminal justice reform organizations that joined to form the People’s DA Coalition, driven by the diagnosis that this prosecutor’s office has been pivotal in fueling Louisiana’s record-high incarceration rate. Read all of this here: https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/new-orleans-district-attorney-election/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 12 2020 This is only the second article I could find like this. These back the blue people are tough to find breaking any laws. The police are covering up for them; I strongly suspect. I think that is a bad idea. It is just a matter of time before they go off the deep end. The amount of weapons they have at their social events; is enough proof of that, for me. I will keep looking and I hope other people will do the same.: WATCH: Antifa and pro-police protestors clash in Seattle Network (@PTNewsnetwork) October 10, 2020 The event was organized by “Back The Blue-Washington” and was staged in a public park near a children’s playground. Some neighbors were not happy about the event being held where their kids play and where they walk their dogs and said that organizers should have anticipated the violent response from Black Bloc activists. Read more here: https://thepostmillennial.com/watch-antifa-and-pro-police-protestors-clash-in-seattle
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 16 2020Sign this petition here: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sign-petition-tell-congress-ban-reverse-search-warrants/ Petition to Congress:Ban police from using reverse search warrants, like keyword searches and geofence location data. If you use Google, cops can see where you go and what you search for online. Police departments are increasingly leaning on Google to get access to internet search history and location data. And Google is rolling over and giving it to them, sacrificing your privacy in the process.1 This is a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment, which is why Congress needs to step up and stop this dead in its tracks. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to ban reverse internet search warrants! Rather than obtaining search warrants for a specific person–and demonstrating probable cause for committing a crime–police are demanding Google give them IP addresses of everyone based on “keyword warrants.” That means random and curiosity-driven googling could land you in a police database. That’s already frightening, but it gets even worse: In the past few years police have increasingly badgered Google for “geofence warrants,” leading Google to hand over location data of anyone who happened to cross a specific location. Your internet search history and your physical whereabouts are your personal business. Unless police can demonstrate probable cause, they shouldn’t be allowed access to what you’re typing into search engines or where you’re going. Technology is rapidly changing our lives and Congress can’t keep sleeping at the wheel as governments and tech companies stomp all over our constitutional rights. That’s why you need to speak up now to stop Google. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to ban reverse internet search warrants! Sources:1. Cnet, “Google is giving data to police based on search keywords, court docs show,” October 8, 2020. Sign this petition here: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sign-petition-tell-congress-ban-reverse-search-warrants/ YEAH!: Fair Wayne Bryant granted parole, ACLU of Louisiana responds Posted: Oct 16, 2020 / 11:55 AM CDT / Updated: Oct 16, 2020 / 11:55 AM CDT BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – A 3-0 vote means that 63-year-old Fair Wayne Bryant has been granted parole. Bryant was serving a life sentence for stealing a set of hedge clippers. The ACLU of Louisiana released this statement about the decision: “While nothing can make up for the years Mr. Bryant lost to this extreme and unjust sentence, today’s decision by the parole board is a long-overdue victory for Mr. Bryant, his family, and the cause of equal justice for all,” said Alanah Odoms, ACLU of Louisiana executive director. “Now it is imperative that the Legislature repeal the habitual offender law that allows for these unfair sentences, and for district attorneys across the state to immediately stop seeking extreme penalties for minor offenses.” Read more here: https://www.brproud.com/news/fair-wayne-bryant-granted-parole-aclu-of-louisiana-responds/ Woman says she was harassed for not wearing mask at Goshen vote center October 15 2020 She said she suffers from asthma and anxiety due to her asthma, and that is why she did not want to wear a mask. However, due to her anxiety, she decided to comply and wear the mask. “I am an anxious person, and since I had already been confronted twice, I am like, I need to vote. That is why I am here and that is what I am doing.” She added that she felt that if she did not don the mask, “He was going to tell me to leave.”
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 17 2020 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2020 Texas prison pop reaches 21st-century lows, but jail populations rising again Keri Blakinger brings word that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice a) has shuttered three additional prison units and b) has witnessed the prison population dip to 120,709, which is the lowest it’s been since before the turn of the century. That’s mainly because county jails for several months stopped sending new inmates to TDCJ, says Blakinger, but they started taking them again in June. I’m a bit surprised that they wouldn’t have caught up four months hence. ADD YOUR NAME NOW: Demand Congress take action to close the $50 trillion income inequality gap!
Income inequality is a massive problem in the United States, and it has gotten much worse in recent decades. A new report from the RAND Education and Labor found that the bottom 90% of earners in this country have lost $50 TRILLION to the top 1% since 1975. Without skyrocketing inequality the typical U.S. worker would be earning $42,000 more every year.
This number is no accident: It is the result of deliberate, trickle-down policies that have decreased public investment, weakened labor rights, and slashed taxes on the rich at the expense of everyone else.
For decades, politicians have enabled this gross capture of wealth, and we can’t allow that to continue. That’s why we’re calling for 100,000 grassroots supporters to add their names and demand that Congress take action to help everyday people by combating the United States’ rampant inequality. Sign this petition here: https://petitions.signforgood.com/RAND-Report-Top-1
ADD YOUR NAME NOW: Demand Congress take action to close the $50 trillion income inequality gap!
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 18 2020 This one had me extra sad. A inner tear got shed by me; for this sad story. :Pregnant Woman Fatally Shot In Jeffery Manor; Baby In Critical ConditionOctober 13, 2020 at 5:10 pm CHICAGO (CBS)– A pregnant woman was killed in a shooting in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood early Tuesday morning. According to police, officers responded to a home, in the 2100 block of East 95 Place just after midnight, and found a 35-year-old woman unresponsive on a porch. Police said the woman, identified as 35-year-old Stacey Jones, was shot twice in the back and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans confirmed Jones was an adult probation officer. Police later confirmed the woman was eight months pregnant and hospital doctors were able to deliver the baby. Read more here: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/10/13/pregnant-woman-fatally-shot-in-jeffery-manor-baby-in-critical-condition/ BREAKING: Baby Dies After Fatal Shooting Of Pregnant Woman In Jeffery ManorOctober 18, 2020 at 12:06 pm CHICAGO (CBS) — The baby who survived after its mother was shot and killed Tuesday in Chicago’s Jeffery manor neighborhood has died, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirms. The woman, 35-year-old Stacey Jones, was found unresponsive on the porch of a home in the 2100 block of East 95 Place just after midnight Tuesday. Jones, who was eight months pregnant, had been shot twice in the back, and was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition. She was later pronounced dead, but doctors were able to deliver the baby Read more here: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/10/18/breaking-baby-dies-after-fatal-shooting-of-pregnant-woman-in-jeffery-manor/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 19 2020 Video shows male ‘Karen’ bullying pedestrians, scared off by man in suit A new Reddit video shows an insufferable male Karen—a “Daren”—getting angry over being asked to wear a mask and getting punked for being a bully. Oct 19, 2020, 9:11 am The guard walks away, realizing he has to do his job without putting hands on anyone unless physically threatened. He does, however, demand that Daren take his camera out of his face, which is just what he wanted to hear. Daren follows the guard and continues taunting him: “What are you gonna do? Are you gonna beat me up? Is security gonna beat me up? Is that what you were gonna do? You’re gonna intimidate me and beat me up?” Daren asks who the suited man is, to which he replies, “Someone who doesn’t like bullies.” Daren feigns a gasp and says incredulously, “I’m the bully?” Read more here: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/male-karen-scared-man-suit-video/ Mask-free Trump fans ‘cough’ on Biden supporters as president attends swanky fundraiserPublished 1 day ago on October 18, 2020 Fans of President Donald Trump on Sunday were seen coughing on supporters of Democratic nominee Joe Biden. The confrontation occurred in Newport Beach, California, where President Donald Trump was holding a fundraiser. Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/mask-free-trump-fans-cough-on-biden-supporters-as-president-attends-swanky-fundraiser/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 20 2020 MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020″I wonder why black folks don’t want to join Waco PD?,” cops telling on themselves in social media, SWAT excesses in Nacogdoches, and other storiesHere are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers’ attention: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/i-wonder-why-black-folks-dont-want-to.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 21 2020 Send message here: https://norml.org/act/federal-the-marijuana-opportunity-reinvestment-and-expungement-act Federal: The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act (HR 3884 / S. 2227) is bipartisan legislation that removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus decriminalizing the substance at the federal level and enabling states to set their own policies.The Act would also make several other important changes. For example, it permits physicians affiliated with the Veterans Administration to make medical marijuana recommendations to qualifying veterans who reside in legal states and it incentivizes states to move ahead with expungement policies that will end the stigma and lost opportunities suffered by those with past, low-level cannabis convictions. If approved, the MORE Act also allows the Small Business Administration to support entrepreneurs and businesses as they seek to gain a foothold in this emerging industry. Progress so far for The MORE Act in Congress: – The bill was introduced on July 23rd, 2019- Approved in the Judiciary Committee on November, 20th, 2019 with a bipartisan vote of 24-10- The Small Business Committee announced a waiver for the bill on January 5th, 2020.- A legislative hearing in the Energy and Commerce Committee was held on January 15th.- On August 28th, it was reported that the House is preparing for a full floor vote on the MORE Act.- On September 17th, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer publicly committed that the House will hold a vote on the MORE Act this year. It is expected that the vote will not take place until after the November elections. Enter your information to tell your members of Congress to sign on as a cosponsor and vote for this monumental legislation. Sponsored by: Normal Send message here: https://norml.org/act/federal-the-marijuana-opportunity-reinvestment-and-expungement-act I believe in this cause. I quote myself from this page on, Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 04 2020: I definitely do not support any breaking of any laws; so until it is legalized; I hate even the thought of having anything to do with illegal Marijuana. In fact any mention of illegal Marijuana to me or any of my loved ones repulses me beyond belief; to the point of which makes me physically ill. I will always feel this way until illegal Marijuana is legalized. I advise you take up this frame of mind also to protect yourself and the ones you love; if illegal Marijuana is illegal where you are. Also, I am saddened to see so many people getting arrested for illegal Marijuana with it legal in so many states. That is not right and against our constitution. We need to change the country to make it right. It is definitely a game changer at the ballot box and I predict more and more so. WATCH: Karen screams “F*ck Black Lives Matter” after barista asks her to wear a maskOctober 21, 2020 Starbucks. One of the women wore a “Trump 2020” mask over her chin, but not her nose and mouth. When Alex asked her to wear her mask correctly, the Karen went off. “You’re discriminating against me because I’m a Trump supporter,” the woman growled. “F*ck Black Lives Matter.” “It’s not a law,” the woman continued to whine. “It’s not a law and I can show you the penal code and everything. It’s a hoax. I don’t have to wear a mask. I’m not going to wear a mask. This is America and I don’t have to do what you say. Trump 2020!” Read more here: https://www.queerty.com/watch-karen-screams-fck-black-lives-matter-barista-asks-wear-mask-20201021 If this one does not make you sad there is something wrong with you. This is a good one to help fight domestic abuse too.: Police officer two weeks from retirement is killed, another cop wounded, and suspect’s child shot in deadly standoff by Ellen Killoran October 21, 2020 According to the report, Preston lived with his aging parents, taking care of them in their senior years. He was also engaged to be married. KHOU reports that Preston was only two weeks away from retirement. The Houston Police Department is planning his funeral. Read more here: https://www.crimeonline.com/2020/10/21/police-officer-two-weeks-from-retirement-is-killed-another-cop-wounded-and-suspects-child-shot-in-deadly-standoff/ Police seek man after assault at Clark-Fulton Burger King The suspect threw a large yellow cone at an employee and struck her in the head. He became enraged after being asked to put on a mask October 21, 2020 at 4:46 PM EDT – Updated October 21 at 4:46 PM CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Cleveland Police are asking the public to help them identify a man who allegedly assaulted a Clark-Fulton Burger King employee after being asked to put on a mask. Read more here: https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/10/21/police-seek-man-after-assault-clark-fulton-burger-king/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 22 2020
I have not missed a vote in over 25 years here in Collin County and I have never seen a ballot like this; ever. Normally you have to choose verbally whether to vote Democrat or Republican. You may get to vote for 3 people for Democrat or 50 people Republican. About 30% on the Republican ballot would be only one person running for office because they are running unchallenged by Democrat or Republican. This time almost every office had a choice Republican or Democrat; with only about 3 or 4 unchallenged. Lots of great stuff in my email today. I have not seen it like this in a while. Could it have something to do with me voting today? If you love this country and have made your millions here, why would you protest paying your fair share of taxes;? You could take your millions to another country and see how happy you will be there.
Sign the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-make-donald-trump-and-the-ultra-rich-pay-their-fair-share-in-taxes Our tax code is fundamentally flawed and in need of major reform because it’s rigged in favor of the rich and powerful with special breaks unavailable to ordinary citizens. One major reform is for Congress to enact a wealth tax, which would annually tax the net worth of the super-rich. It would be similar to the taxes on real estate and, in some places, personal property like cars that millions of Americans pay each year. A wealth tax would curb the phenomenal growth in wealth that the country’s nearly 650 billionaires have reaped since the beginning of the pandemic, which has taken the lives of over 209,000 Americans and infected 7.4 million. These billionaires have seen their wealth increase by $845 billion—or 29%—between mid-March and mid-September as 50 million people lost their jobs, 30 million went hungry and 12 million lost their employer-provided health insurance. America’s nearly 650 billionaires now have more than twice as much wealth as the bottom half of the population—165 million people. A wealth tax would annually tax the net worth of these billionaires and a whole lot of multi-millionaires. Different versions of a wealth tax have been proposed by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. One version would assess a 3% tax on wealth between $50 million and $1 billion, and a 6% tax on wealth above $1 billion. It would raise more than $2 trillion, and only the wealthiest 0.1%—or 75,000 households—would be subject to the tax. Nine years ago, 12% of millionaires’ tax returns were audited. Now, it’s just 3%. Remarkably, the very poorest taxpayers—those eligible for the poverty-fighting Earned Income Tax Credit—are about as likely to get audited as the wealthiest 1%. Sign the petition demanding Congress make millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes by enacting a wealth tax, and fully fund the IRS to hold tax cheats like Donald Trump accountable. Sign the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-make-donald-trump-and-the-ultra-rich-pay-their-fair-share-in-taxes Thank you to http://gayusatv.org/ for the lead on this awesome website: https://outforamerica.org/ it screenshotted this image there today:
As we all know, demands to end anti-Black police violence have been growing across the country for months – and even amidst this most pivotal election time, we cannot stop speaking out until the brutality ends. Sex workers need to be a part of that conversation. Police regularly target, harass, and assault sex workers – or people they think are sex workers, such as trans women of color. That’s why it’s time to talk about decriminalizing sex work – something the ACLU has supported since 1973. Advocating for sex work decriminalization is advocating for personal autonomy, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, decarceration, immigrants’ rights, racial justice, and equal access to the right to life and security. You can visit here to find our latest research brief on the issue, policy recommendations, ways you can help, and more. But first, here’s a quick lesson on some of the reasons to decriminalize sex work. It would: Reduce police violence. Police abuse against sex workers is common, but police rarely face consequences for it. That’s partly because sex workers fear being arrested if they come forward to report abuse.Deter violent clients. Like the police, sex workers’ clients know they can rob, assault, or even murder a sex worker – and get away with it – because the sex worker does not have access to the same protections from the law.Provide access to health care. Some sex workers will forgo medical care because they are afraid that if medical staff find out about their jobs, they will be poorly treated or even arrested. In some states, carrying condoms can be used as evidence of intent to do sex work, so many sex workers opt not to carry condoms to avoid arrest.Advance LGBTQ and women’s equality. Cis and trans women and members of our LGBTQ communities make up a large portion of sex workers and face disparate impacts in criminalized settings. Trans women of color are the most impacted – police often profile them as sex workers and subject them to harassment.Fight mass incarceration. The criminalization of sex work feeds the mass incarceration system by putting more people in jail unnecessarily. Those incarcerated tend to be trans and/or people of color, two groups that are already disproportionately incarcerated.Richard, sex work is real work. Period. You should be able to maintain your livelihood without fear of violence or arrest. You should be afforded access to health care and other services without discrimination. And you should be able to seek justice when you are harmed. It’s time we push for a world where all people – including sex workers – are ensured those basic legal protections. You can start now by educating yourself on this important issue and joining the fight ahead. Thank you.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 23 2020 Sign this petition here: https://resourcecenter.salsalabs.org/socialworklgbt/index.html As your constituent, I demand that your office direct the Behavioral Health Executive Council to reinstate protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and disability in the code of conduct for social workers. I am dismayed that your office would direct the council to remove the protections without any public input. This move is nothing short of an attack on the rights and dignities of LGBTQ Texans. Further, it is out of step with the overwhelming majority of Texans that support equal rights and legal protections for the LGBTQ community. During a global pandemic, you should focus on creating access to life-saving services such a social work, not creating more roadblocks. Social workers help those most in need. At a time like this, removing protections for vulnerable populations will only undermine efforts to get people back on their feet. Please direct the council to reinstate these critical protections immediately. Sign this petition here: https://resourcecenter.salsalabs.org/socialworklgbt/index.html THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2020 Four stories let public peer into soul of Houston justice system The justice system can be difficult to understand for experts and darn near impossible for laypeople. Grits believes that’s in part because the public best understands issues of crime, punishment and justice through storytelling. But there are too many stories emerging from the system which often seem to produce contradictory moral conclusions. Which story one latches onto may tell more about the storyteller (or the listener) than the system. Yet at the same time, the stories are important and without them, the public can’t comprehend what’s happening and drowns in a sea of policy recommendations. Read more here: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/four-stories-let-public-peer-into-soul.html ‘Boogaloo Bois’ member charged in connection to shooting at Minneapolis police station during George Floyd protestsProsecutors say Ivan Harrison Hunter, 26, fired 13 rounds from an AK-47 during Minneapolis protests in late May. Oct. 23, 2020, 2:15 PM CDT Federal prosecutors charged a far-right extremist in connection with a shooting at a Minneapolis police station during protests sparked by George Floyd’s killing, authorities said Friday. Read more here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boogaloo-bois-member-charged-connection-shooting-minneapolis-police-station-during-n1244562 Boogaloo adherents say they are preparing for, or seek to incite, a second American Civil War, which they call the boogaloo. Groups belonging to the boogaloo movement organize on mainstream online platforms including Facebook Read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo_movement
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 25 2020 You mean to tell me his body convulsed from being tasered and the police officers saw this as a threat to them? “When police arrived, I’m told, he raised his hands and attempted to explain what was going on. Police fired tasers at him and when his body convulsed from the electrical current, they ‘perceived a threat’ and shot him to death,” Merritt wrote. Read more here: https://www.bet.com/news/national/2020/10/05/jonathan-price-texas-police-facebook-post.html CBS Dallas / Fort Worth 3-Year-Old Texas Boy Dies After Shooting Self During His … PORTER, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A 3-year-old Texas boy was killed after he shot himself accidentally at his own birthday party, sheriff’s officials said. Read more here: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/10/25/3-year-old-texas-boy-dies-shooting-self-birthday-party/ Report: Texas named among the ‘most hated states’ in America 3:54 PM, Oct 24, 2020 and last updated 2:46 PM, Oct 25, 2020 CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A lifestyle website has some harsh news for the residents living in Texas. According to Best Life, Texas was named one of the “most hated” states in the United States. New Jersey took the number one spot according to the study. Texas finished second on the list of the most hated states in America. It is rare to see so much violence like this in this aria in one weekend.: CBS Dallas / Fort Worth Shooting At Dallas Club Leaves 3 Dead DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A shooting at a club on northwest Dallas early Sunday left three people dead, police said. Police said they responded to the … https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/10/25/shooting-northwest-dallas-club-3-dead/ 2 Dead, 3 Injured After Shooting During Party At Fort Worth Home October 25, 2020 at 2:04 pm…..https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/10/25/shooting-northwest-dallas-club-3-dead/ 1 person dead after shooting at Texas Renaissance Festival Authorities in Grimes County are investigating a shooting that left one person dead at the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission Sunday morning….. https://www.kagstv.com/article/news/local/shooting-investigation-texas-renaissance-festival/499-f46a21c6-eab1-4d25-8ecd-cdc5e12ce526 NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth 1 Dead, 1 Wounded in Denton Shooting – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort … 1 Dead, 1 Wounded in Denton Shooting. Police were notified of a possible second victim who had a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Published 2 hours ago • … https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/1-dead-1-wounded-in-denton-shooting/2466404/ 2 Dead, 3 Wounded in Shooting at Fort Worth House Party … Two people were killed and three were wounded in a shooting early Sunday at a house party, Fort Worth police say. Officers were called at 1:16 a.m. to the 1900 … https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/1-dead-4-wounded-in-shooting-at-fort-worth-house-party-police/2466380/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 26 2020 We’re urging SCOTUS to hold U.S. corporations liable for international violations On Wednesday, we joined 15 international human rights organizations and submitted a brief to the United States Supreme Court in support of holding U.S. corporations complicit in serious human rights violations liable in U.S. courts. The case, Doe, et al. v. Nestlé USA, Inc./Cargill, Inc., concerns Nestlé USA’s and Cargill’s alleged role in child slavery and forced labor in the Ivory Coast for decades. The case risks rendering the United States a safe haven for corporate human rights abusers by allowing American companies immunity from liability in U.S. courts when the injury is committed abroad. “Our brief makes clear: international law recognizes that companies can, and should, be held accountable for human rights violations like child slavery and forced labor,” said Senior Staff Attorney Katherine Gallagher, who serves as counsel for the human rights organizations. “Just like other countries that hold their own companies accountable for serious harms, the Supreme Court should find that these former enslaved children can sue U.S. companies in U.S. courts.” For more information, visit our case page.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 27 2020 MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 A chance to expand police oversight: Why Texas should begin charging cops and jailers licensure fees Readers may recall Grits recommended over the summer that the agency licensing Texas peace officers, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), begin charging licensing fees to Texas cops and jailers. The idea was that they could use the “extra” money to expand their oversight role. But a new document from the Legislative Budget Board shows that TCOLE may need to begin charging licensure fees just to keep its funding at current levels. Here’s why: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-chance-to-expand-police-oversight-why.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 28 2020Sign the petition: All formerly incarcerated citizens deserve the right to vote: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-all-formerly-incarcerated-citizens-deserve-the-right-to-vote Formerly incarcerated people deserve the right to vote. Mass incarceration is racist and destabilizes communities. Our government disproportionately incarcerates Black, Latinx, and Indigenous adults and children, stripping millions of people of their right to vote even after the completion of their prison sentences. Instead of exploiting incarcerated citizens — who make obscenely low wages fighting forest fire, picking produce, and much more — we must put an end to felony disenfranchisement. Every other year, important issues like healthcare, education, and workers’ rights are on the ballot and they directly impact ALL citizens. Politicians cannot continue to make decisions that affect formerly incarcerated people and their communities while stealing their votes. Right now, only eighteen states and the District of Columbia immediately restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated people. In other states it can take years for formerly incarcerated citizens to regain access to the ballot box. And in only two states, Maine and Vermont, do incarcerated citizens never lose the right to vote. This is not nearly enough. We need to make serious strides to undo the destruction this form of voter suppression has done to Black, brown, and Indigenous communities. It’s time for Congress to pass sweeping national legislation granting voting rights to all formerly incarcerated people, thus restoring the franchise to millions of people who are currently barred from voting. Sign the petition: Urge your federal lawmakers to support legislation restoring voting rights to formerly incarcerated U.S. citizens.PETITIONINGCongressSPONSORED BYDaily Kos Liberation LeagueOur Message to Congress :The Constitution establishes voting as a fundamental right of citizens. Felony disenfranchisement is a racist practice that disproportionately impacts Black, brown, and Indigenous people. No person should be denied the right to vote based on a criminal record or sentence of incarceration. End felony disenfranchisement and restore voting rights to thousands of citizens deserve to exercise their voice.
Texas reverses rule allowing social workers the “right” to refuse LGBTQ clients The state’s Republican governor insisted social workers allow anti-LGBTQ discrimination. After a national outcry, the decision has been reversed. Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 30 2020 An Elected Official Handcuffed a Woman for Putting Black Lives Matter Stickers on Trump SignsEddie Kabacinski, a city councilman, is facing charges of impersonation, assault and battery.October 28, 2020, 2:12pm At some point that afternoon, the 47-year-old Kabacinski encountered a 24-year-old woman…Kabacinski handcuffed her. Once police arrived, they immediately took the woman out of restraints, according to the Free Press, which reported that she is not facing criminal charges. The handcuff incident is just Kabacinski’s latest controversy. He was one of the “Back the Blue” supporters who showed up to counter an anti-racism protest in Warren last month. The protest was organized by local activists after the home and car of a Black couple, both veterans, were vandalized in an alleged hate crime, potentially due to their own Black Lives Matter sign. At the counterprotest, Kabacinski was armed and in military gear Read more here: https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7vwaq/an-elected-official-handcuffed-a-woman-for-putting-black-lives-matter-stickers-on-trump-signs Republican candidate apologizes for wearing KKK regalia & terrorizing Black students”I just remember being petrified to the point of tears,” said a Black woman who witnessed the KKK event.Thursday, October 29, 2020 A Republican candidate in Arkansas has apologized for terrorizing classmates – including several Black women – in high school by wearing a KKK outfit. They say they remember when he dressed up as a Klansman for Halloween in 2000 at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. “I just remember being petrified to the point of tears,” said Victoria Brown, a Black woman who attended the school with him. Beckham and his friends weren’t just wearing bedsheets, but actual KKK clothes with insignias. “He was serious,” said Alana Nichols, another Black woman in the dorm at the time. She said it didn’t seem like a prank. Jennifer Leigh Ann Jackson, a white woman who attended the school at the time, said that Beckham and his future wife were seriously into “Rebel pride.” “This was not some isolated event, like maybe he had a bad moment,” she said. Another Black woman who attended the school, Safira McGrew, said that both Beckham and his girlfriend at the time had Confederate flags hanging in their dorm rooms. Beckham said: ““I am a Christian”
One from my inbox today: Texas NORMLOctober 30, 2020Early Voting : October 13-30, 2020 | Election Day: November 3, 2020.In Texas, citizen-initiated ballot propositions are not allowed, so elected officials at the state and federal levels are responsible for upholding or reforming current marijuana laws. Elections offer an opportunity for voters to decide who will represent them when these decisions are made! We worked with our friends at Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy to survey candidates seeking the Democratic and Republican nominations for the Texas House, Texas Senate, U.S. House, and U.S. Senate. Here’s our Texas Marijuana Policy Voter Guide for the 2020 General Election.: https://www.texasnorml.org/votersguide/ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020Hemp law radically reduced pot prosecutions in Texas: Don’t go backReaders will recall that the Texas Legislature last year legalized “hemp” without a way for prosecutors to distinguish between legal hemp and illegal marijuana, which come from the same plant. To successfully prosecute, police would need to test the plant’s THC levels, but few jurisdictions have the equipment to perform the task, much less staff to handle the extra work. The result: marijuana arrests and prosecutions plummeted statewide, with many jurisdictions eschewing them altogether. Grits dubbed it the Great Texas Hemp Hiatus. The Texas Department of Public Safety now has technology to perform the testing, but not sufficient staff; they have refused to provide testing for misdemeanor marijuana possession cases. In this light, the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence was given an “interim charge” to study the questions raised by the hemp law, but COVID has prevented much progress. So they solicited written testimony, due next week, in lieu of holding a hearing. I wrote a short, two-page missive on the subject on behalf of Just Liberty. Anyone interested should give it a read. Here’s a notable excerpt arguing that, when pot arrests declined, many good things happened: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/10/hemp-law-radically-reduced-pot.html Texas Marijuana Policy Voter Guide for the 2020 General Election.: https://www.texasnorml.org/votersguide/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 31 2020 Why are Police the Wrong Response to Mental Health Crises? This month on our podcast, we dug into a topic that has gained more attention in the wake of Daniel Prude’s death in March at the hands of the Rochester Police Department and the fatal shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. by Philadelphia police this week: the startling connection between mental health-related 911 calls and police brutality. Listen here: https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/why-are-police-the-wrong-response-to-mental-health-crises
Racial Justice Demands That Every Vote Is CountedThis year, ensuring every mail-in ballot is counted is more important than ever. Anticipating the surge in absentee voting, new ACLU analysis finds discounting mail-in ballots would disenfranchise communities of color and distort election outcomes in key counties in four battleground states. We must keep an eagle eye on the counties identified in our report and make sure the mail-in vote is counted completely and accurately. Read more: https://www.aclu.org/news/voting-rights/racial-justice-demands-that-every-vote-is-counted/ I like Arizona and always have. I also like pointing out when people use the internet/media to lie. I drove through Arizona 2 times and always considered Arizona to be a very laid back modern forward thinking type place. It has a easy going look to it and it seems like it is where many iconic country folk come from. We broke down with a flat there and these Native Americans came out of no where and saved my wife and I and we even camped out at their drive way for a night on our way to California; in the late 1980’s. I wrote about it on the internet before. This is a really good article and the opposition people that are publishing these lies should get in trouble for it. Read the whole article here: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/arizona-marijuana-opponents-release-five-misleading-attack-ads-ahead-of-legalization-vote-next-week/ POLITICSArizona Marijuana Opponents Release Five Misleading Attack Ads Ahead Of Legalization Vote Next WeekPublished 2 days ago on October 29, 2020 A campaign opposing a marijuana legalization initiative in Arizona recently released a series of ads imploring voters to reject the proposal. The digital spots—which range from 16 to 42 seconds in length—argue that cannabis reform would negatively impact young people, increase impaired driving and create workplace risks. In doing so, they make misleading claims about what the proposed Arizona law would allow and what has occurred in other states that have already enacted legalization. Here’s each ad and script, along with some broader context on the accuracy of the claims: “When Washington State legalized marijuana, I wasn’t too concerned. What began happening with students, however, was alarming. Marijuana possession increased. We maintained a zero drug policy in our district, and parents and students became confused when students were disciplined for possession of marijuana. Suspensions increased and students lost valuable classroom time. If I could give one piece of advice from this Democrat, school principal from Washington to my new Arizona neighbors vote ‘no’ on 207. It won’t provide the support needed to deal with the problems this law will create. Vote ‘no’ on Prop. 207.” Actually, a study published last year by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that youth marijuana use declined in Washington State’s largest metropolitan county after legalization. Other research has reached similar conclusions. “Marijuana use damages the developing brain of teenagers. Unfortunately, where marijuana is legal for adults, more teens get it and use it. Under Prop. 207, marijuana-laced candies, cookies and vape pens—all very appealing to teens—are not only legal but marijuana marketers can advertise them on TV, radio and social media, a teen favorite. Vote ‘no’ on Prop. 207.” The Arizona initiative states that any advertising “involving direct, individualized communication or dialogue shall use a method of age affirmation is twenty-one years of age or older before engaging in that communication or dialogue.” “Police pull over the driver next to you for swerving, but there’s no standard of impairment. It’s 2021, and using marijuana is legal right under Prop. 207. There’s no roadside test to gauge marijuana impairment, so they let it go. Nearly 70 percent of marijuana users in Colorado admit to driving stoned. Their traffic deaths doubled after legalization. Keep stoned drivers off Arizona roads. Vote ‘no’ on Prop. 207.” The Arizona initiative explicitly states that it “does not allow driving, flying or boating while impaired by marijuana to even the slightest degree.” “When you drop your child off at daycare, you expect the caregiver to be sober. Under Prop. 207, employers can only prohibit using marijuana at work. There’s nothing stopping employees from using and then heading to the daycare or elderly care facility or the worksite. Prop 207. ties the hands of employers who want to keep a drug-free workplace. Vote ‘no’ on Prop. 207.”
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 3 2020 Video shows ‘Costco Karen’ calling hospital workers ‘ignorant’She believes that COVID-19 is ‘a lie.’Nov 3, 2020, 12:30 pm Another employee, who looks to be a manager, hands the woman a printed copy of the mask mandate from their governor. But the woman, who is wearing a red Trump hat, insists the mandate is irrelevant because “the governor is not a dictator.” Read more here: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/video-costco-karen-hospital-workers-ignorant/
Sign the petition to U.S. Governors and state election officials: You must keep counting EVERY vote Voting rights are the foundation of our democratic process, and counting every vote is key to our democracy. People vote, every vote is counted, and then the candidates who win represent us. Voters determine elections. Every eligible voter who cast a ballot this election has the inalienable right to be heard — whether that ballot was cast in person or by mail. More people voted by mail than ever leading up to Election Day. That means it’s going to take longer to count all the votes and certify a winner for the election — and that’s okay. What’s wrong is the possibility of some people’s votes being thrown out. Election officials must take the time needed to ensure every vote is counted accurately. Governors must ensure those election officials have the resources they need to do their democratic duty. On Nov. 1, Republican politicians and conservative activists tried to throw out over 127,000 early ballots cast via drive-through locations in Harris County, TX. The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court and U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen rejected their case of blatant voter suppression. On Nov. 2, the Trump reelection campaign and state Republican officials tried to stop mail-in ballot counting in Clark County, NV, where 70% of all voters reside. A Nevada judge rejected their lawsuit which included installing cameras to “monitor” the ballot counting process. These legal schemes to invalidate ballots from eligible voters are tactics that undermine our democratic elections. There will be other efforts to disrupt or bypass a complete count of all votes. We’re calling on all governors and election officials to ensure that ALL eligible votes — every early vote, mail-in ballot, provisional ballot and Election Day vote — are counted. Many states are still counting ballots and every single one must be counted. We must demand our leaders do their job: America is watching. With our democracy on the line, we’re counting on you to ensure the U.S. election is fair and accurate. Sign the petition: Every vote must be counted! Sign this petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-and-send-the-petition-to-us-governors-and-state-election-officials-you-must-keep-counting-every-vote Sign these petitions too: Sign the Count On Us Pledge to ensure every vote in Wisconsin is counted.https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/wisconsin-count-every-vote Sign the petition to U.S. governors and state election officials: You must continue to count EVERY votehttps://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-to-us-governors-and-state-election-officials-you-must-continue-to-count-every-vote WE GO TOGETHER Our commonwealth and country should be places where everyone counts and where every vote is counted. Everyone who wants to cast a ballot must be free and encouraged to do so without intimidation, disinformation, or disenfranchisement.https://wegotogetherpa.com/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 5 2020 Our voting system needs perfecting and with technology today I believe that is possible. Until that day we need to wait every time for the vote to get sorted out and investigated if necessary. Here are some more petitions I have signed:Sign the petition: Count every vote!Petition to election officials in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, and Wisconsin:We expect you to resist Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the election and our democracy and instead count every vote. Last night’s election isn’t over yet. Several crucial states remain too close to call, with millions of ballots left to count — and Donald Trump wants to stop them from being counted. We need to make it extremely clear to those who oversee elections in these states that they must count every vote. Can you send that message to them right now? Sign the petition: Count every vote!: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/count-all-the-votes/ It’s not over. Demand that every vote is counted!We knew this would take time. We must make sure election officials are allowed to do their job. The voters will decide this election — not the candidates. It’s CRITICAL now more than ever that we stand up and defend our democracy. Sign the Count Every Vote petition to make sure every vote is counted. >>: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/its-not-over-demand-that-every-vote-is-counted
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2020 Austin Police Monitor proposed rule changes to discourage officer discourtesy When one digs into the details of complaints at most police departments, the category that stands out by volume isn’t “use of force” but “rudeness,” or some variant thereon. But most police-oversight discussions focus on beatings, shootings, etc., not the nasty, personal interactions that generate the greatest volume of grassroots antipathy. So Grits was pleased that Austin’s Office of Police Oversight in September put out recommendations to upgrade APD’s Personal Conduct policy regarding officers’ maintaining an “Impartial Attitude and Courtesy” in their interactions with the public. https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/11/austin-police-monitor-proposed-rule.html TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2020 San Antonio to #txlege: Fix the 180-day rule, stop arbitrators from overturning police firings, and make police-disciplinary records public The San Antonio City Council added some police-reform-oriented items to the Alamo City’s 2021 legislative agenda, reported the Express News’ Joshua Fechter. Here are some of the items approved by the mayor and council: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/11/san-antonio-to-txlege-fix-180-day-rule.html MONDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2020 House committee considering Class C misdemeanor debt, arrests In lieu of a public hearing (with the capitol still closed off from COVID), the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee announced it would accept written testimony regarding its Interim Charge #2 regarding Class C misdemeanor arrests, debt, and the use of citations in lieu of arrest for certain low-level Class Bs. I prepared testimony for the committee on behalf Just Liberty, check it out here. Here’s a notable excerpt framing the situation through data (endnotes in original): https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/11/house-committee-considering-class-c.html
Urge Your Election Officials – COUNT EVERY BALLOTThis has been one of the most historic elections of our time and with so many ballots cast before Election Day, it is crucial that states count each and every ballot. No state ever reports final results on election night, and no state is legally expected to. Mail-in ballots take longer to process than in-person votes. This year, because of the pandemic, 61 million mail-in ballots have been returned—with 30 million ballots still outstanding. The NAACP expects all election officials AND all courts, to follow state election laws and ensure that every American who casts a ballot has that ballot counted. For our democracy to work, every voter must have their voice heard and their ballot counted. Contact your Secretary of State today and demand that they count every single ballot, whether mail-in, provisional, or otherwise.: https://support.naacp.org/a/count-every-ballot
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 6 2020
I think God is punishing all the republicans for all their lies and conspiracy theories. Proof of this is; even now they are using lies and conspiracy’s to accuse democrats of fraud: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-11-05/trump-false-claims-of-stolen-election : NOV. 5, 20206:21 PM WASHINGTON — Speaking publicly for the first time since election night, a somber-faced President Trump stepped behind a White House lectern Thursday evening to spread baseless accusations of voter fraud as his reelection appeared in increasing doubt.
If you believe it is ok to deny registered sex offenders human rights or U.S. Constitutional rights. If you do not believe registered sex offenders are denied their human and constitutional rights or if you are against free speech. Please leave this web page now. Thank you.
By remaining on this web page you here by acknowledge that you support human rights and United States constitutional rights for registered sex offenders and that you support freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
This blog is not for people to be critical of what is posted here and if the reader is critical of anything here than that means they did not read the disclaimer on the top of each of the pages here and are not welcome here and should stop reading and leave this blog upon my request and in the name of freedom of speech, and my rights as a American citizen.
No sexual abuse is ever acceptable. Sex offense laws and policies should be based on sound research and common sense, not fear, panic or paranoia. Current laws and policies that paint all sex offenders with one broad brush are counter- productive, wasteful, and cause needless harm. Each offense must be judged on its own merits with a punishment that fits the crime and does not waste taxpayer dollars. The public sex offender registry and residency restriction laws do not protect children but instead ostracize and dehumanize individuals and their families. Money spent on purely punitive measures would be better used for prevention, healing, and rehabilitation.
The author of SO FAQ does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That doe not mean we are should not vote.
You can translate the text from this page in any language here: https://translate.google.com/ here is a graphic I made of all the languages you can translate to:
Hey, this blog looks real nice on a cell phone; as I have recently discovered. If you are against anything you read here; then you did not read the disclaimer above and on every page of this blog and on every link to this blog on Google.
My Story Updated November 5 2020 I have been trying to not post this but it has stuck with me since; like a sliver in my finger. The police came to my neighborhood on a Saturday on the day of Halloween. They upset my neighbors and gave my poor wife a terrible ingestion attack that night. The officer was nice but I could tell he did not want to be there nor did not think the world of me; despite my candor. It is a fact and I have mentioned it here on this blog many times; that I have been proven not to be attracted to children at all (through the 11 years of unconstitutional, draconian, Collin County police style psychotherapy; from 1996 till 2008.) My so called sex offence had nothing to do with children; in fact was the opposite of children as mentioned on this blog many times. Also; I can not help but think of the possibility that I am being harassed because of my political blogs that are many times against the republican right wing. If I am being targeted because of my political beliefs that is not only anti-American but a violation of my rights to free speech. Whatever the reasons; it is clearly not right and unfair in every sense of the word. My father was a police officer for over 25 years until he retired with honors and was well liked by the community. I am not and will not ever be prejudice against police; that is not who I am. I am also a good American and will never fail to defend my rights as a American; not ever just for me but for all of my fellow Americans; that is who I am. My Story Updated September 7 2020 Here is some more info on Senate Bill 145: ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER SENATE BILL 145 ON AUGUST 20August 18, 2020 The Assembly Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider Senate Bill 145 (SB 145) on August 20, 2020 on the Assembly floor starting at 10 a.m.. The Committee will consider more than 100 bills during that hearing and seating for the hearing will be very limited. The public can view the hearing on the Assembly’s website at https://www.assembly.ca.gov/todaysevents. If passed, SB 145 would exempt from mandatory registration individuals convicted of certain offenses involving minors if the person is not more than 10 years older than the minor and if that offense is the only offense requiring the person to register. Judges would retain discretion to require registration if he or she believes registration would be appropriate. “ACSOL has supported SB 145 in the past and continues to support that bill,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “We thank those who have testified in favor of the bill in the past and note that there will be limited opportunities to testify in support of or in opposition to the bill during this week’s hearing.” Sen. Scott Wiener is author of this bill as well as the Tiered Registry Bill that was passed by the legislature in 2017 and becomes effective in 2021. The Senator has received threats of violence for his authorship of SB 145. The threats are from individuals who believe the bill will lead to or increase homosexual behavior. CA: COMMITTEE PASSES SB 145 DESPITE CHAIR’S OBJECTIONAugust 20, 2020 The Assembly’s Appropriations Committee today passed Senate Bill 145 despite objections to that bill expressed by Committee Chair Lorena Gonzales Fletcher and despite death threats made to its author, Senator Scott Wiener. “We commend Senator Wiener for his courage in the efforts required to obtain passage of Senate Bill 145,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Belulcci. “The Senator faced down not only death threats but also the opposition of the chair of a powerful legislative committee.” Because SB 145 was passed today, it will soon be voted upon by the full Assembly where the bill is expected to be approved. If approved by the full Assembly, the bill would become effective on January 1, 2021. “ACSOL has supported and continues to support SB 145 because it provides judges with discretion to determine whether an individual should be required to register as a sex offender if that person is convicted of performing certain sexual acts,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein CA LEGISLATURE PASSES SENATE BILL 145September 1, 2020 On the last day possible, the California legislature passed Senate Bill 145. The bill now goes to the Governor who has up to 30 days to sign or veto it. “Senate Bill 145 has been controversial since its introduction,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Due to the dedication of its author, Senator Scott Wiener, Senate Bill 145 was passed over the objections of the Appropriations Committee chair and despite multiple threats of physical harm.” If the Governor signs the bill, judges will have discretion regarding whether to require an individual who performs certain sexual acts with a person 10 years or younger to register as a sex offender. In the past, judges have lacked discretion in that area and as a result many gay men have been added to the sex offender registry. ACSOL has supported Senate Bill 145 since its introduction and more than 100 members of ACSOL have testified in support of the bill during committee hearings. Related:https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/what-would-qanon-debates-look-congress-california-offers-clue-n1239217 My Story Updated September 4 2020 I am posting this here because it is similar to my so called sex crime; that was consensual. It is similar to my case because it proves; even in California, LGBTQ people are discriminated against; when it comes to sex crimes. Concerning my case, if I was a female; I doubt any of my case would have ever made it to court. When I lied to plead guilty to this so called sex crime, by justifying to myself that forcing myself on my so called victim, was because I was working as a health care worker for him and was in charge; in the eyes of most people judging me. I lied to plead guilty partly because there was a part of me as a LGBTQ human rights activist; that just wanted to protest the whole thing. What is a more profound way to protest something, than to stand up and say yeah I did it; knowing in my mind and in the minds of any fare people involved with the case then; I should not have been charged with a crime in the first place, because technically I did not commit a crime.
California’s legislature just passed a bill to treat LGBTQ & straight sex offenders the same From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/09/californias-legislature-just-passed-bill-treat-lgbtq-straight-sex-offenders/ September 3, 2020 Two bills affecting the LGBTQ community passed California’s legislature this week, including one that makes the punishment for certain sex crimes the same for queer and straight offenders. The other increases protections for people living with HIV. The first bill was introduced gay California Sen. Scott Wiener (D) gives judges leeway to keep LGBTQ teenagers off the state’s public sex offender registry if the teens are of similar ages, the same leeway the state already gives straight teens.. Currently, it’s illegal in California for people above the age of 18 to have sex with anyone under the age of 18. Wiener’s bill doesn’t change that. Judges have discretion to keep offenders who aren’t that much older than the minors they had sex with – for example, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old – off the state’s sex offender registry… but only if they had penile-vaginal sex. This means that a lot of LGBTQ young people aren’t eligible for the same judicial discretion, and Wiener’s law would simply amend existing law to make it LGBTQ-inclusive. After introducing his legislation, Wiener had received death threats by right-wing trolls who falsely claimed that he was trying to legalize pedophilia. He was inundated with comments on social media that called him a “pedophile,” falsely said that his bill would legalize sex with 10-year-olds, and attacked his Jewish heritage, claiming that “Jews are at the forefront of promoting pro-homosexual and pro-pedophile propaganda.” “There is so much misinformation about SB 145 — similar to misinformation about COVID, vaccines, masks, and the like — and it’s hard to track where it starts,” Wiener wrote in a Facebook post. “Those who think homophobia and antisemitism are over are not paying attention.” The second bill, sponsored by California Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D), would make it easier for people living with HIV to get life and disability income insurance, according to Metro Weekly. “I am very grateful for the support of my Senate and Assembly colleagues on this critical legislation,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “This is a huge step to ensure that Californians living with HIV and their families have equal access to life and disability income insurance coverage.” The bill, entitled the Equal Insurance HIV Act, says that the life expectancy for HIV-positive people has nearly doubled since 1996. As a result, the bill requires that insurance for HIV-positive people be treated similarly to insurance for HIV-negative people. It also requires insurance companies to get informed consent before testing for HIV and creates rules to keep the testing results confidential. “This legislation is a critical step toward eliminating stigma against people living with HIV and finally ending the epidemic,” wrote Equality California, a state LGBTQ rights organization that supported Gonzalez’s bill. Both bills have passed the California Assembly and Senate, and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is expected to sign them both. My Story of A Life Sentence Of Injustice: My Story Updated July 13 2020 Received a mailer from a local psychotherapy organization that I found objectionable and I think it deserves to be recorded here. I am doing very well mentally in these these days of the corona virus and country wide violent protests. Mostly, I attribute my mental health to scriptures like this: 2 Timothy 1:7 – For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Fear is the psychological reason for most of our problems in our country. Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “Nothing to fear but Fear Itself”, and that is especially true today. I have had 11 years of intense psychotherapy that I only needed about one year (forced on me by Collin County court in 1997), so I am extremely well versed in psychology. I also am consistently reading about psychology on the internet for my blogs and my emails to my family. The local psychotherapy organization is run by a very bad person ( TM ). I have encountered ( TM ), and would encourage anyone to avoid her; that needs mental health care. I have (actual paper work on her); for now I offer this, from this page: http://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/about-what-i-have-been-through.html : (( TM ) is referred to as TM) ( TM ) has told me on several occasions that she thought I had mental problems and should be in inpatient treatment. I disagree with that and anyone that knows me can see that! ( TM ) was my therapist at MHMR for the first year of my sex offender court ordered psychotherapy at MHMR. Psychotherapy at MHMR was disbanded for sex offenders shortly after that, because state run agency’s are not aloud to treat SO’s by law. ( TM ) and I never seemed to get along; every time we had a individual session she would start shouting at me. ( TM ) recommended I see the physiologist there at MHMR for a physiological exam. The Physiologist did not find me in need of any immediate treatment though and told me I seemed quit normal. I have always refused to lie in group though. It is a known fact in my group (with ( TM )) that you must lie and say terrible things about yourself although they are not true. Or if a therapist like ( TM ) says things about you that is not true you must agree with them and I have always refused to do this. ( TM ) encouraged me to divorce my wife in a private session and when I agreed; my wife cried like I never saw her cry in my life. I vowed never to make her cry again after ( TM ) evoked her to cry. After over 33 years of marriage; I have and always been happy, with the love of my life. My Story of A Life Sentence Of Injustice: My Story Updated June 20 2020 Email to TXDPS June 13, 2020
My response to a email sent to me from the so called TXDPS:
In other words I can not apply for a renewal now. Why don’t you just say that? Why do you offer a link for me to click in your awful, long winded, confusing email? At least you are consistent with the awful, huge, long winded, confusing; TXDPS website.
I do not understand why you people that run TXDPS; do not change the laws and allow everyone to renew their licences online. It is obvious you have changed many laws; that make things more inconvenient for Texas citizens; that need to renew their licences. Why not change the laws to make things more convenient; during The State of Disaster? Considering there is a chance people could die while renewing their licences; changing laws at this time is more than warranted.
The email they sent:
DLD_Customer_Service
Fri, Jun 19 at 10:00 AM
Hi,
An individual who is a Classified Sex Offender is unable to renew online, by mail, or by phone by Texas law. License offices are starting to open with limited services available, please check the DPS website on updates and office information. For more on COVID-19 click here. Appointments are required for all transactions that take place in a license office, if you would like to schedule an office visit, please click here. If the type of appointment is not available you may need to either attempt to schedule at another location or wait for the option to become available.
Currently appointment services are prioritized to assist customers with no driver license or identification card. Appointments for renewals and replacements are not available.
If you would like a checklist of required documents for renewal to bring into a license office, you may print the DL-32 for the renewal of the card. Allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery. Click here for information on any applicable fees.
By order of the Governor, the Texas Department of Public Safety is extending the expiration dates of Texas Driver Licenses, IDs, CLP and CDL cards, and Election Certificates. This is a precautionary measure due to the ongoing spread of the Novel Coronavirus and the issued State of Disaster. The extension letter can be found here.
The DPS considers a Texas issued card displaying an expired date valid if both of these conditions are met:
The expiration date on the driver license or ID card is on or after March 13, 2020. The current date is within 60 days of the end of the State of Disaster.
This extension applies to the expiration date only. A person who is not eligible to drive due to an active enforcement action (suspension, revocation or denial) may use the card for identity purposes only. DPS has notified law enforcement agencies and has asked for their understanding and cooperation in this matter.
We are creating a faster, easier and friendlier driver license experience and a safer Texas.
This message contains information which may be confidential and privileged. Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive for the addressee), you may not use, copy or disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in the message. If you have received this in error, please delete the message.
Did you know there is a way to make things faster & easier before visiting a driver license office? Click here to check your online options OR here to watch how-to videos.
My Story of A Life Sentence Of Injustice: My Story Updated June 13 2020 Email to TXDPS June 13, 2020
TXSPS is endangering people’s lives by not allowing EVERYONE; to renew their licenses by internet! When I have to go and wait in line and be in the very small waiting room, crammed with people, in my town, it is not right for anyone to have anyone remove their masks for the photos. I do not want the country and state; that I love to be held accountable, for killing innocent citizens. If you do not believe any of this than you need to research the corona virus more. I am going to send this email to all my representatives as well.
My Story of A Life Sentence Of Injustice: My Story Updated May 6 2020
This is a edited version of a complaint email I sent to the powers that be. The reason I am posting it now is because of my problem with TDPS. I have tried to make it sound nicer for the internet. My complaints are always meant to help. I complain because I care.
I had to go to the police for my annual sex offender registration during the height of the coronavirus pandemic about 3 weeks ago. My so called offence; that was consensual; something I have said since 1996, when I was arrested for it. Through about 15 polygraphs, while I was on probation for 11 years; I always said; my so called offence was consensual. I was told I have to go to this website to make changes by the sheriff on the phone. This can not be legal. (I suspect this site is owned by the very people that publish my name and police record online for all the world to see) I did it and made updates on things like my hair kept short. I do what the police dept. say’s; even though I am sure, it is not the law. My father who was a police officer raised me to respect police. He used to tell me a police officer can do just about what ever they want concerning the law. All my problems with registering started, when a police secretary processed me. That police secretary latter instituted; that I need to tell the sheriffs department my vehicles vin number. I have never had a problem registering; until this police secretary processed me. Everyone before her I got along with3. When I 1st met with her she handed the pen to me like it was a dead mouse by the tail. I remember seeing her at the at a restaurant I worked at before I met her at the police department and she gave me a look like she wanted to kill me from the drive threw window. I never forgot that look so when she processed me I knew right away it was her. That really made me feel uneasy; especially sine I worked 3rd shift. Having to register my and my and my wife’s vehicles is not the law at all; I looked it up. I was on the toughest probation known to man and never had to register my vehicles. I have been registering with the local police for 18 years, before that, the city police; who was always polite and calm. This so called offence is over 24 years old. I should not have to report things; unless it is the law. No laws are ever retro active; that is illegal by the Constitution and the Texas Constitution. My father was a great police officer of the law and his police friends were my friends. I am 100 percent on the side of the law 24-7 and always have been; in all of my adult life.
Also I noticed that they rate my risk level on the paper work I have to sign; even though they are not supposed to by law. If you look up my info online it never measures my risk level online. On a separate sheet of paper it measures my risk level as moderate. How many so called sex offenders are measured as moderate that have been married once to the same woman to this day for 34 years? This rating was just dreamed up by someone at the police department. Who rates a person like this? It is like a movie like Minority Report. It is that bazaar. You can not predict if someone will commit a crime!
I realize that I am far from the only person that experiences law enforcement requiring citizens to do things that have nothing to do with the law. I know that there are probably many people in America that are subjected to laws that are being used against them retro actively and having nothing to do with the law.
It is clearly against the law to apply laws to American citizens that are retro active or just simply made up.
My question is this.: How can you uphold the law in all good conscience; if you can not obey it?
I am only trying to help. Believe me things were 100 times worse here in McKinney, Texas, in the heart of Collin County, in 1994; when my wife and I moved here from Killeen, Texas after her active duty in The United States Army. They moved us here so she could continue to do her 6 years of reserve time in Seagoville Texas. Things are way better here now; because of people like me.
Also I am in the process of complaining about my yearly visit to the Texas Department of Public Safety during the Covid 19 pandemic.
I used to visit Austin Texas many times and even spent a couple weekends there when my wife was in the Army in Killeen Texas. It is my favorite city in all of Texas. The people are all so friendly. I have a long history of complaining about the Texas Department of Public Safety on this blog. My posting of https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/ who also has complaints against the TDPS is always a on going thing on my blog also. They are a state entity and should be able to process complaints with extreme tactfulness. In my opinion because they are of the state; it should be without any regret to anyone that would complain to them. I think it would be a sign of mental illness that it would be taken personal by a state employee that someone like me would complain to them. It is all politics not personal. I suspect that they are ruthless when it comes to the law; from the contacts I have had with them through email and the phone. It seems like when I have contact with them they are usually lawyer types. To use the state against someone like me that is complaining; is the definition of harassment; from my position. I always say if I did not care; I would not complain. I complain to try to make things better; because I care. I decided to send the email I sent to my representatives, to my contact list of TDPS addresses in my contacts. This woman who has returned my email before responded; I think she is either a lawyer or a high ranking police officer or both or a secretary to someone like that. All that combined with the corona virus pandemic is not good. If there is ever a time the TDPS should be lenient; it is now, because of the coronavirus. I have never seen the TDPS lenient; the only way I have ever seen them; is extremely strict and ruthless. When visiting the TDPS; it is like waiting inline for in a communist dictatorship country. I am sorry, but to me; it seems they enjoy torturing people or have no regard for human decency; making people wait so long. It should make everyone ashamed. It would not surprise me if you are old and weak that you might just pass out waiting in line. I worked for motor vehicle on the east coast; in a work school program. This is not motor vehicle. It reminds me of my recent post on New Blogs Part 12 Updated May 05 2020. It is like prison has taken over our every day lives here. The only thing nice I can say about my visits to the TDPS is; I really like the people I wait in line with and the people that work there always congenial and make me laugh most every time. I can tell you that these lines have not always been bad like this either. I guess about 6 years ago there was no lines. I get the impression they read my blog and hold it against me when I deal with them on the phone or in email. If this is true they must be ignoring the disclaimer on the top of every page of this blog. My impression of the TDPS in Austin; is that they are extremely mean people, unlike my impression of the rest of Austin, Texas.
My email to her or her boss:
You need to let everyone get their licences renewed online until the pandemic is over.
This is the response I got from the TXDPS agent I mentioned above:
During this period of DL office closures, some registered sex offenders will be unable to renew, update or apply for an annual renewable DL, CDL or ID card as required under Chapter 62, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Affected registrants should immediately notify their primary registration authority of their intent and inability to comply with this requirement and seek instructions from that local agency on how to proceed. These registrants are also advised to continue to monitor DPS sponsored publications related to any public notice on when DL offices are scheduled to reopen. Once offices are in operation, the registrant must appear at their local DL office and conduct any annual renewable DL/ID maintenance before the expiration of the extended expiration date or apply for the initial issuance of an annual renewable DL/ID.
Sincerely,
Sex Offender Registration Bureau
Law Enforcement Support Division, Crime Records Service Texas Department of Public Safety
I have been blogging and posting online for sex offender human rights since 2001; it is what I do. Not too many people do what I do and stick with it as long as I have. Many people that read things on this blog may be angered by it; my best advice for them is to read the disclaimer on the top of the page and find something else to read. Just change the channel; it is as simple as that.
SHERMAN, Texas – A federal court in Texas ruled that exonerated former judge Suzanne Wooten has plausibly pleaded her conspiracy claim, which alleges that Collin County district attorney’s office defendants – at the request of the incumbent judge she beat in an election* – acted in concert with a former assistant attorney general to investigate her.
* ( Sandoval ) who; against the law tried to take my deferred adjudication away and sentenced me illegally to 6 months in the county jail through Christmas and New years of 1999. I also believe he could have tampered with my records. I will also forever believe the entire case was brought against me suspiciously. When Wooten ran for Judge I did all I could to get her elected. I sent emails to people I knew in college and created a buzz. I asked a random class mate about Sandoval, at the time ( who I did not email ) and they said they heard he was bad. I also sent out bulk emails to people in Collin County about how he was anti Christian. I have proof and witnesses about this statement. I suspect my whole case was very suspicious the timing was unreal; just after my father died. At the time of the election someone from his campaign or a close friend of his; contacted me to my yahoo email. He said Sandoval was a devout Catholic and he new this first hand. So emailed him back immediately with my story of how I came to the conclusion that Sandoval was anti Christian. Then I sent a copy of that email to my former lawyer. The acquaintance of Sandoval never emailed me back; after I told him my experience with Sandoval that seemed very anti Bible and therefore anti Christian. When I first read this article I told my wife about it and asked her if she remembered how Sandoval behaved anti Christian to me and she agreed wholeheartedly. Back then and concerning my case when I first was on probation everyone I encountered seemed anti Christian. I have to say towards the end it did not seem that way. Even to the last day, I still tried never to bring up my beliefs because I still believed; it might me cause me problems. Ok; I am going to tell you exactly what Sandoval did that proved to me that he was anti Christian. I have never shared this online, this is the first time. As with things like this I am always hoping to use it in a legal way against the perverted legal system; hell bent on inflicting cruel and unusual punishment against American citizens; then at the same time lying and saying they are not. This is a curse on our entire country of what we are speeding to our end; see my blog here: https://amnnow.blogspot.com/ for more info on that. After waiting about a year for my final trial my lawyer told me and my wife that the judge told him that I was not to speak of anything having to do what the Bible or anything like that. I was so offended by this; I was determined to myself, silently, not to do that, the minute I was told not to. Here is this man about to pass judgement on me; in a huge amount of power over me and others and he is telling me not to express my faith as a resolve to myself being a better person. First thing that comes to mind is this is very anti American. We have religious freedom in America; that is what makes us great. The next thing is the obvious conclusion that this man is anti Christian and is threatening to use his perverted power over me to punish me for expressing my beliefs. So after his judgement against me in court he asked me what I was going to do now. I said I was going to read the Bible more. He shouted: what? I said I was going to read the Bible more and go to college. I did go to college for 8 years. Thanks to my church from the east coast sending me Bible studies, I studied the bible allot too. I still study the Bible to this day on the internet because of it’s extreme popularity online. I use the Bible to see into the future through my studies of The Book of Revelation. I studied The Book of Revelation in a church/ministry I was a volenteer at; for two years. You could say I have a college degree on The Book of Revelation. That is the reason behind my blog https://amnnow.blogspot.com/ . Judge Sandoval was known for making up his own law; a law against freedom of religion in the sight of our perverted justice system over people is blatant hatred and restriction towards Christians, faith and religion of all kinds. If that does not make Sandoval anti religion hence anti American; I do not know what does. Then there is another way to look at this; that Sandoval considers all religiously devoted people hopeless sex offenders or criminals; with no hope of changing themselves for the better.
I want to dedicate this updated page of January 16 2020 seen above in highlighted yellow and bold to:
National Religious Freedom Day
January 16
National Religious Freedom Day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly’s adoption of Thomas Jefferson’s landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on January 16, 1786.
Exonerated district judge asks Texas Supreme Court for spot on Collin County primary ballot From: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/12/10/exonerated-district-judge-asks-texas-supreme-court-for-spot-on-collin-county-primary-ballot/ A lapse in her law license — from October 2012 through June 2017 — is what Collin County Republican Party chair Mark Reid cited when declaring Suzanne Wooten ineligible for the 2020 ballot. Former Judge Suzanne Wooten, center, talks with the media as her husband Wes Wayland, left, and son Cal, right, listen after her 2011 convictions are vacated in the 416th District Court in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. She had been convicted by a jury in 2011 on six counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with a government record. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)Former Judge Suzanne Wooten, center, talks with the media as her husband Wes Wayland, left, and son Cal, right, listen after her 2011 convictions are vacated in the 416th District Court in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. She had been convicted by a jury in 2011 on six counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with a government record. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)
9:17 PM on Dec 10, 2019 A former district judge who wants to return to the bench is asking the Supreme Court of Texas to force Collin County Republicans to put her name on the 2020 primary ballot, despite claims that she is ineligible. Three years ago, former District Judge Suzanne Wooten was exonerated from charges stemming from what she called a politically motivated investigation into her Collin County campaign. Her license to practice law in Texas — which was suspended after she was convicted — was reinstated in 2017 when she was exonerated. But that lapse — from October 2012 through June 2017 — is what Collin County Republican Party chair Mark Reid cited when declaring Wooten ineligible for the 2020 ballot. A district judge candidate must be a “practicing lawyer” for four years before the election date, according to the Texas Constitution. Former judge Suzanne Wooten is pictured after her 2011 convictions are vacated in the 416th District Court in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. She had been convicted by a jury in 2011 on six counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with a government record. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)Former judge Suzanne Wooten is pictured after her 2011 convictions are vacated in the 416th District Court in McKinney, Texas, on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. She had been convicted by a jury in 2011 on six counts of bribery, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, one count of money laundering and one count of tampering with a government record. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer) The Texas Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that she is not entitled to have her name on the ballot, but Wooten’s lawyers said Tuesday they plan to take the case to the Supreme Court of Texas to get her on the ballot. “The issue here is not complicated, and I expect that the Texas Supreme Court will see that,” Scott Palmer, Wooten’s lawyer, said in a written statement. In a response filed with the Fifth Circuit, however, Reid’s attorney argued that the court order that exonerated Wooten didn’t change the fact that she was not able to practice law after her conviction. “This [exoneration] is insufficient to controvert the historical fact that Judge Wooten was not in good standing with the Bar and was prohibited from practicing law,” the response reads. “The Order had legal effects, it does not change the historical facts.” Conviction and exoneration Wooten was elected in 2008 after a landslide Republican primary victory over longtime District Judge Charles Sandoval. She didn’t face opposition in the general election and took office in January 2009. According to Wooten’s most recent court filing, Sandoval went to the Collin County district attorney’s office the day after her victory to complain about her win. The DA’s office, led at the time by John Roach Sr., then opened an investigation into Wooten’s campaign, with help from then-attorney general Greg Abbott’s office. Normally, law enforcement officials begin criminal investigations and pass evidence and charges off to the DA’s office for prosecution. Wooten says no law enforcement agency was involved in the investigation into her campaign. Wooten, 51, filed a lawsuit last year against Abbott, Roach, Collin County and two other prosecutors. The suit alleged that the defendants “conspired to wrongfully obtain an indictment and prosecute plaintiff by inventing and perverting law, misleading judges and juries and taking apart plaintiff’s life and career one piece at a time.” At least five grand juries considered the case between 2009 and 2011. One even sent a letter to the presiding judge, saying the case “was unnecessary, a waste of taxpayer dollars and that no crime had been committed,” the suit states. But in 2011, Wooten was convicted on charges of bribery, conspiracy, money laundering and tampering with a government record. She was accused of accepting funds from a University Park couple, funneled through her campaign manager, to run against Sandoval. As a judge pointed out in her exoneration in 2017, even if that were true, it is not illegal. In the order that vacated the convictions against Wooten, the judge also said that “any legal disabilities rendered against [Wooten] as a result of the convictions in this cause are void.” Her license to practice law was reinstated a few weeks later. ‘Practicing lawyer’? On Nov. 7, Wooten applied to be on the Republican primary ballot for the 401st Judicial District Court. On Nov. 25, according to a court filing, Reid wrote to Wooten, saying he “simply [doesn’t] have the discretion to act any other way under the law and must declare you ineligible for a place” on the ballot. Reid declined to comment as the case is still working its way through the courts. Wooten filed a petition with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday, asking the court to mandate Reid place her name on the ballot. “After working tirelessly to rebuild her life and her reputation following a corrupt and malicious prosecution perpetuated by her political opponents, Judge Wooten has now been denied a place upon the March 2020 Republican Primary ballot,” the petition reads. “This application … is filed to preserve the integrity of the democratic process.” Palmer argued that Wooten could have been a “practicing lawyer” outside of Texas during that time, and that means her name should be included on the ballot. “The evidence establishes that Judge Wooten was not a ‘practicing lawyer’ in Texas. But that does not establish that she was not a ‘practicing lawyer,’” Palmer said in a written statement. “For that reason [Reid and the Collin County Republican Party] must place Judge Wooten on the ballot.” In the response filed with the court, Reid’s attorney argued that state law only refers to lawyers who are in good standing with the State Bar of Texas. “There can be no dispute as to what these documents factually establish — Judge Wooten was suspended from the practice of law from Oct. 24, 2012 to June 7, 2017,” the response reads. “Chairman Reid correctly found that this fact is conclusively established by these documents.”
Wooten’s petition was rejected Monday, but Palmer said they plan to file the case with the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.
From: https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2019/12/26/prosecutors-cant-claim-immunity-from-ex-judges-wrongful-conviction-lawsuit-judge-rules/?slreturn=20191127115716 December 26, 2019 at 02:59 PM Former Texas Judge Suzanne Wooten, who was exonerated in 2017 of a conviction that cost her a seat on the bench, will not be allowed on the Republican primary ballot this spring. The Texas Supreme Court on Monday denied Wooten’s request to declare her eligible to run as a district judge and force the Collin County Republican Party to place her name on the ballot. The party claimed she was ineligible because she didn’t have a law license for the entire four years before the election, as required by the Texas Constitution. But Wooten notched a win in federal court Monday after a judge ruled prosecutors involved in her wrongful conviction cannot claim qualified immunity from her wrongful prosecution claims. That ruling came from Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas. “Most of the case proceeds on, and we are happy with a majority of Judge Mazzant’s rulings, especially that the defendants Roach, Milner, White and Collin County are still in the case,” said Wooten’s attorney, Scott Palmer of Dallas. “We look forward to proceeding with discovery and moving this case forward.” Wooten, who was elected to Collin County’s 380th District Court in 2008, was wrongfully convicted of nine felonies in 2011, forced to resign and had her law license suspended. She was exonerated in a 2017 ruling that said even if the allegations against her were true, her actions simply weren’t a crime under Texas law. She then got her law license back.The central allegation in her conviction involved claims that co-defendants funneled money to Wooten’s campaign in exchange for her to run against the incumbent. The co-defendants wanted Wooten, as judge, to issue favorable rulings in a pending family law case. Wooten sued Collin County, former District Attorney John Roach Sr., Assistant District Attorney Christopher Milner, former Assistant Attorney General Harry White and then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott for malicious prosecution in May 2018. Mazzant’s ruling Monday dismissed Abbott as a defendant.
Mazzant ruled this spring that they were not entitled to prosecutorial immunity because they took up the robe of law enforcement investigators rather than sticking to their duties as prosecutors. That sparked an interlocutory appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is still pending. Meanwhile, Wooten was instructed to file an amended pleading with more details about her probation, arrest, and other things, to help the court decide whether qualified immunity applied. Qualified immunity protects government officials from being sued for mistakes, but not for plain incompetence or purposeful violations of the law. Mazzant’s ruling Monday concluded that qualified immunity does not apply at this stage. The judge rejected Roach and Milner’s arguments that they can’t be liable because their involvement came before Wooten’s indictment and conviction, since the attorney general’s office took over the case in 2010. The court found Wooten raised sufficient allegations that the district attorney’s office initiated criminal charges with no probable cause, which set in motion the constitutional violations. Roach and Milner also couldn’t dodge liability by arguing it was a grand jury that indicted Wooten, and a judge and jury that convicted her. The opinion noted that Wooten was claiming the defendants conducted a malicious investigation, arrested her with no probable cause and used facts they knew were untrue. Those allegations, if true, are enough for the claims to proceed, Mazzant ruled. Mazzant wrote that because Wooten received a jury trial, which is the ultimate due process, she couldn’t sue for procedural due process violations. However, he reached a different outcome regarding her substantive due process claims. Wooten alleged that even if all the facts in her underlying wrongful conviction were true, her actions were never a crime under Texas law and the district attorney defendants knew all along. Mazzant rejected Roach, Milner and White’s claim that they used a reasonable interpretation of the law at the time and didn’t anticipate the Court of Criminal Appeals would hold differently. “Any reasonable official should know that creating and pursuing a criminal investigation, for something that is not a crime, based on political motivations, thereby destroying that person’s reputation, employment, and livelihood is a violation of that person’s constitutional rights,” Mazzant wrote.My Story of A Life Sentence Of Injustice My Story Updated November 10 2019 (see bottom of this post):
I keep thinking about posting this in July and decided to check back on it and edit it; so it is better understood to the reader. This subject disgusts me in every way; and like everything on this page, I find it extremely hard to write about. I will put changes in bold.
I was writing a email to a family member, (after I found out about my brothers daughter, that got into a very bad car accident) 2 days ago and thought it would make a positive addition to this page:
It was so nice to read about my brother’s family. Being a registered sex offender has ruined my life in the eyes of our perverted justice system and made me under constant suspicion by people* as a result of these perverted laws of our justice system. ( No where does this hit home more that having to contact the sheriff’s department when and if I have to travel somewhere. I have had to miss many *funerals of dear loved ones for this reason. I can not go home when there is problems with my family. I always have to explain to them why I can not travel to see them and that hurts even worse. The huge checklist I have to initial every time I register with the sheriff’s department is absurd and a encroachment on me constitutionally. Seeing things on that list that are obviously retro active effects me as well; since it has been established by that that is against the law by the courts. That and the yearly photo’s of me are degrading; especially since they are illegally published all over the world on the internet, like a advertisement. For all these reasons and more I feel a constant suspicion by people* over my entire life. ) I am not to blame for these bazaar laws so I do not feel guilty about myself at all. I live my life quilt free everyday; I think because I am not complacent enough to sit back and say something like ” I can not make a difference; so why try?). Not only am I not guilty of subscribing to our disgusting treatment of all people who commit sex crimes; I am against this inhumane treatment of United States citizens and have actively protested it for going on 25 years now. These type’s of Nazi like laws; causes a person to be caught up in so much strangulating, red tape; that it is impossible to escape. These insane law makers and supporters of these laws; may have to wait to the next life of eternity, to discover how wrong they have been. Until then I know that this type of behavior by our perverted justice system; is under constant judgement by God against our country. I have been warning against this since I started this blog in 2012 and having my new bloghttps://amnnow.blogspot.com/helps me keep a close eye on our coming and inevitable end as prophesied**; our time is running out. I do not ad to Alternative Military News Now, often; most things repeat itself, allot. By some strange coincidence; I had a unprecedented 3 articles to ad today. 3 is the number of completion. Search the page for: October 04 2019; to read them. My Story Updated November 4 2019: *I missed my childhood friend and first cousin; October 17, 2019. He had the same first name as me. He was almost the exact same age as me. His funeral had so many people there was a line around the building. This is a copy of a email I sent my family; after I found out he died: My favorite memories of my cousin is when we were kids. We were best friends for many years. I loved hanging out at the farm up the road from him. We used to make huge intricate hay bale forts at the barn. I used to love to ride his little minibike when I visited him. I hiked all over that land and climbed all the rocks there too, it was so naturally beautiful there. I will never forget one time he tricked me into touching a cow fence and I got a electric shock. At least I never did that again. We were just two typical boys that hung out with each other. I think my first close dance with a girl was at a school dance at my cousin’s school. I think her name was Sharleen; I swore I was totally in love with her.
My favorite memory of my cousin was when we lived with Grandma. We used to catch the bus for school in some obscure spot near in the middle of Wesleyan University. When we started to walk down the hill to the bus stop there was this bully at the bus stop that would bully me. As soon as he saw me and I saw him I would get very afraid. He would focus in on me in a atack mode as soon as he saw me; like a attack dog. One time my cousin was at Grammy’s and he was with us when we walked to the bus stop. My cousin at the time was much bigger than me. We were at the mailbox the street over from miles avenue at the top of the hill before the bus top midway down the hill in the back of the Wesleyan Science Center. I asked my cousin that when he saw the bully guy to talk to him for me and ask him not to bully me. As he talked to him I could see the bully considered my cousin his equal immediately. As soon as they stopped talking I could tell things had changed already. That dude never bothered me again. From that moment on I was never intimidated by bullies again. I was bullied again since then too.
I wrote this in the email; that is why I mention the address of this page. You can read my story here: http://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/my-story.html It has been on that web page since the year 2012. If you read my complete story you will see I was not guilty of a sex offence and that it was a consensual sex act; not matter how embarrassing it my be to our anti- LGBTQ society member’s, in our country. ( There is no one that loves living here in Collin County; more that me. I have no doubt none the less; that there are many anti-LGBTQ people as our leaders here in CC that are incapable of obeying separation of church and state. The fact that people like this are in authority over me is not healthy for me at all. )You can read my legal page that have also been there online for all the world to see; since the year 2012 here: http://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/about-what-i-have-been-through.html Reading this page; will also prove I was not guilty of a sex offence. I have never forced myself on anyone sexually; my entire life and have never committed a sex offence. In the eyes of our perverted justice system a sex offender is a danger to all children. ( I missed out in my nephew and nieces life as a result of this barbaric, uneducated; way of thinking concerning my case and many like me. ) I regret what I did but not because it was a sex offence but because I was working there and should not have gotten involved with a patient like that.
I have avoided my brother’s family because of the aforementioned, above. Even though it makes me sad I must conduct my life according to the Nazi like stranglehold of our perverted justice system on my life.Our perverted justice system has made a shame of the world of psychotherapy that has come up with way’s to torture people to make them money. I still love my brother and his family and will always love them and do my best to honor them like I would my wife or my father and mother.
**I have wrote about our country’s demise many times on my art blog and this blog. Our country is not mentioned in The Book Of Revelation. Many country’s are mentioned, we are not; in anyway. Why would a major power on this earth not be mentioned in the end times? I think it is because we are not just gone; we are long gone and completely forgotten. How and when we meet our end; is in God’s hands and he is more patient than we can comprehend.
My Story of A Life Sentence Of Injustice My Story Updated November 4 2019:
Collin County can learn from this; and not to apply conditions that violates the federal prohibition against ex post facto laws. PA: Internet dissemination provision of SORNA II violates the federal prohibition against ex post facto laws October 23, 2019 Summary from FAC: A Pennsylvania Appeals Court has found that the dissemination of persons who have been convicted of sexual offenses’ information on the internet (Megan’s Law) violates the ex post facto clause of the Constitution for individuals whose offenses pre-date the ordinance. Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court had a prior landmark decision (Commonwealth v. Muniz, 164 A.3d 1189 (Pa.2017)) finding similarly, so this new opinion… Read more here: http://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Superior/out/J-A12038-19oA.pdf?cb=1
Maria Ines Ramírez Mexican female lynched in early May 1880 Collin Co. She was lynched (burned) for alleged Witchcraft
This is from this book:
Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence against Mexicans in the United States, 1848-1928 Carrigan, William D. & Clive Webb New York: Oxford University Press, 2013
Silvestre Garcia Ramírez⸬ Mexican female lynched in early May 1880⌖ Collin Co.She was lynched (burned) for alleged Witchcraft
My Story Updated November 10 2019:
I just posted this on my art blog. I thought it might be good here; since the so called offence that I was not technically and according to law guilty of and was never technically and according to law convicted of was in 1996 right after my wife got out of the Army. Right in the middle of the most stressful years of my life. Also you should know my father the police officer died around 1994.:
I usually dedicate Veterans Day to my wife and father (during Vietnam) and the WWII Vet; my grandfather. I think I will dedicate this Veterans Day to me this year. My wife liked to go to the library allot when we lived within walking distance of the beach in California. One day she came home from the library and said she would like to join the army, so it would pay for college. At first I vehemently objected. After about a month of her continually reminding me of her intentions to join the army; I agreed. I have been very patriotic since I was born on a Air force Base in Montana. How could I not agree? I knew when she joined she would do well. We have a whole wall of awards and plaques and battalion coins to prove it; including her honor graduate diploma from AIT. At first when she went to basic; I thought it would be cool to be on my own for a month. It was not; it was a living hell. I ended up driving across the United States to Fort Gordon to be with her for her last month of AIT. Then they moved us to Texas; literally they moved our apartment to Killeen, Texas. They loved her and she was so great at her duty’s, they did not want her to go. I learned how to press a uniform and deal with her coming home with barely enough time to sleep; for years. I leaned to live with the heartache of her going to training exercises; for weeks at a time. They would warn her of the possibility of being severely injured or dead; during those weeks in the field. After her active duty she chose to be assigned in Seagoville Texas for her reserve time; so she could go to College in Collin County. We searched all the colleges in Texas and that was the best one. The reserve was no better for me. In fact it was worse. She was going to the reserve and college at the same time and was hardly ever home. My head was spinning; I hated my life but knew I was sacrificing for our country. My job in McKinney; when we first moved here in 1995; was a living nightmare, as well. I was at my wits end; twenty four seven. Finally in 1999 she ended her reserve time. She was 4 years over her obligated time, so they let her go. I think they new she needed to be with me more. She was in there for over 7 years. After a year of being a civilian, 911 took place and one year after that; her reserve unit was activated in Iran.
So I dedicate this Veterans Day to the loved ones of all out military folks.
My Story of A Life Sentence Of Injustice
My Story Updated May 04 2016:
I am posting this story as a example of how oral sex is not the same as actual sex, not to mention just touching the mouth to someone’s privates is not the same as oral sex; to any sane person. This story is a example of how the bar is lowered legally by oral sex. This kind of thing will continue to build as sanity will eventually take hold of our legal system. This type of open mindedness this will grow like a snowball into the future guarantied. Anyone that study’s the future can only come to the conclusion that openness about sex an sexuality is a inevitability.
Now I understand that there are many closed minded people out there who judge false judgments no matter what. I always implore people like that to be very careful not to lie to themselves as they spout lies about others; because this will be held against you by karma or what ever religion you subscribe to; or just plan common sense. I used to be a very closed minded person against any type of LGBT behavior. Now for over 20 years now; I have been on the forefront of fighting for LGBT rights! I had to learn the hard way! I do not wish the destructive tragedy that has befallen me and them that care about me; on my worst enemies.
Oklahoma court: oral sex is not rape if victim is unconscious drinking:
The ruling sparked outrage among critics who argue the judicial system engaged in victim-blaming and upholding outdated notions about rape and sexual assault
The dean of the CUNY School of Law called the Oklahoma rape ruling ‘appropriate’ but the law ‘archaic’. Photograph: Spencer Weiner/LA Times via Getty Images Wednesday 27 April 2016 16.47 EDT Last modified on Wednesday 27 April 2016 17.48 EDT An Oklahoma court has stunned local prosecutors with a declaration that state law doesn’t criminalize oral sex with a victim who is completely unconscious. The ruling, a unanimous decision by the state’s criminal appeals court, is sparking outrage among critics who say the judicial system was engaged in victim-blaming and buying outdated notions about rape. But legal experts and victims’ advocates said they viewed the ruling as a sign of something larger: the troubling gaps that still exist between the nation’s patchwork of laws and evolving ideas about rape and consent. The case involved allegations that a 17-year-old boy assaulted a girl, 16, after volunteering to give her a ride home. The two had been drinking in a Tulsa park with a group of friends when it became clear that the girl was badly intoxicated. Witnesses recalled that she had to be carried into the defendant’s car. Another boy, who briefly rode in the car, recalled her coming in and out of consciousness. The boy later brought the girl to her grandmother’s house. Still unconscious, the girl was taken to a hospital, where a test put her blood alcohol content above .34. She awoke as staff were conducting a sexual assault examination. Tests would later confirm that the young man’s DNA was found on the back of her leg and around her mouth. The boy claimed to investigators that the girl had consented to performing oral sex. The girl said she didn’t have any memories after leaving the park. Tulsa County prosecutors charged the young man with forcible oral sodomy. But the trial judge dismissed the case. And the appeals court ruling, on 24 March, affirmed that prosecutors could not apply the law to a victim who was incapacitated by alcohol. “Forcible sodomy cannot occur where a victim is so intoxicated as to be completely unconscious at the time of the sexual act of oral copulation,” the decision read. Its reasoning, the court said, was that the statute listed several circumstances that constitute force, and yet was silent on incapacitation due to the victim drinking alcohol. “We will not, in order to justify prosecution of a person for an offense, enlarge a statute beyond the fair meaning of its language.” Benjamin Fu, the Tulsa County district attorney leading the case, said the ruling had him “completely gobsmacked”. “The plain meaning of forcible oral sodomy, of using force, includes taking advantage of a victim who was too intoxicated to consent,” Fu said. “I don’t believe that anybody, until that day, believed that the state of the law was that this kind of conduct was ambiguous, much less legal. And I don’t think the law was a loophole until the court decided it was.” To focus on why the victim was unable to consent, he continued, puts the victim at fault. But several legal experts declined to fault the appeals court, saying instead that the ruling should be a wake-up call for legislators to update Oklahoma’s laws. Michelle Anderson, the dean of the CUNY School of Law who has written extensively about rape law, called the ruling “appropriate” but the law “archaic”. “This is a call for the legislature to change the statute, which is entirely out of step with what other states have done in this area and what Oklahoma should do,” she said. “It creates a huge loophole for sexual abuse that makes no sense.” Jennifer Gentile Long, who leads a group, AEquitas, that guides prosecutors in sexual and domestic violence cases, agreed. She said the Oklahoma law was an example of a gulf that still exists in some places between the law and evolving notions around consent and sexual agency. Oklahoma has a separate rape statute that protects victims who were too intoxicated to consent to vaginal or anal intercourse, Long noted. But “there are still gaps in the ways laws are written that allow some cases to fall through the cracks,” she said. “This case” – because it did not involve vaginal rape but an oral violation – “seems to be one of them”. In the wake of the ruling, Fu has said he will push for lawmakers to change the code. Many states have engaged in a broad overhaul of their rape laws in recent years, Anderson said, part of a movement to fall in line with the modern understanding of rape. “There is a recognition that social mores have changed, that the law should now try to protect sexual autonomy as opposed to sexual morality,” she said. Often, the law changes after an outcry over unpopular court rulings. The Oklahoma appeals court declined to make the ruling a precedent. But Fu said he has learned that other defendants are nevertheless making the same argument in other parts of Oklahoma to avoid charges. The defendant’s attorney, Shannon McMurray, was not available for comment. She told Oklahoma Watch, which was first to report the ruling, that prosecutors were clearly in the wrong to charge the young man with forcible sodomy, and not a lesser crime of unwanted touching. “There was absolutely no evidence of force or him doing anything to make this girl give him oral sex,” McMurray said, “other than she was too intoxicated to consent.”
Over the years, the definition of rape has evolved with a changing society. In many parts of the world, the acknowledgement and prosecution of rape has not progressed beyond the time when women were listed as property along with slaves and horses and, therefore, unable to be violated. For much of human history, rape, if acknowledged at all, was usually reserved for married women in the upper echelons of society who were violated by men that were not their husbands. In the United States, progress has been made, albeit slowly. Victims are still blamed for being raped and prosecutions are rare due to the evidence (or lack thereof) being reduced to a “he said/she said” dichotomy. As a nation of laws that are, in theory, designed to bring fairness in the pursuit of justice, much of the debate around rape has centered on semantics. This was never more clearly illustrated by recent decision by an appeals court in Oklahoma. The case involved a 17-year old boy accused of forcible oral sodomy on a 16-year-old girl who was unconscious, having passed out after a night of drinking. The girl had no memory of consent, and was only aware that she had been raped when she awoke in the midst of the sexual assault examination. Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/oklahoma-law-says-its-sometimes-not-rape-if-the-victim-is-unconcious.html#ixzz47hbfno2v
On Friday, in his National Journal column, noted legal writer Stuart Taylor questioned whether Clinton chose that construction to artfully allow the possibility that he had engaged in oral sex with Lewinsky. (In similar scandals, other politicians have claimed that extramarital oral sex did not constitute adultery—a distinction that some allege Clinton has made as well.)
My Story of A Life Sentence Of Injustice
My Story Updated November 17 2017:
The more I experience the internet the more I am convinced it is controlled by self righteous Christians, or those that believe they are Christians. The sad fact is about 50% of those who believe they are Christians are not. Those who believe they are Christians that are banging away on their keyboards seeking to kill all sex offenders with all their false judgments about people; will here this is in the end “I never knew you: “depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” I hope I will get to see this if I am in the next life at that time. I also hope I can see all those so called Christians that find out they are not saved after the rapture and try to make amends, and become saved. These people will experience what the sex offenders; they helped create, experiences by not being able to: buy or sell. At any rate; we all get what we have coming to us. 99% of Christianity is not only condemned by Satan but of the very God they think they worship; while torturing the RSO with out any regard of human decency.
Having said all that. The greatest comedian that has ever lived, in my opinion; who is also being condemned to death by the media, for consensual sex acts; brought something to light for me. I have been saying for years that I put Mr. K’s penis in my mouth for 30 seconds. After seeing Luis CK on stage acting out a penis in his mouth for 20 seconds; I now say it was 5 seconds tops.
Then go to 3 minutes and and 6 seconds. It is 6:00 before the Netflix ends; in case you have to use another link.
Again the name of this special is: Louis C.K Netflix special filmed in Washington D.C. and premiered April 4, 2017 Here is the script from: http://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2017/04/08/louis-c-k-2017-full-transcript/: “And then decide. Just for like 20 seconds. [woman] Whoo! That’s a long time. That’s 20 seconds. That’s a long time to have a dick in your mouth… that you’re ambivalent about. [audience laughing] It’s 20 sec… If you have a dick in your mouth for 20 seconds, you are not deciding. Twenty seconds. This is… I’ll show you. This is 20 seconds with a dick in your mouth. [audience laughing] [audience applauding and cheering] No. [audience laughing] No. Yeah, I decided not to suck that dick… that’s been in my mouth all day. [audience laughing]”
The best advice I can give anyone these days is; to distance yourself from anything or anyone called Christian. Put as much space as you can between you; and it or them.
My Story of A Life Sentence Of Injustice
My Story Updated May 04 2016:
There was this American artist who was labeled a artist since he was old enough to use a pencil. This artist practiced his whole life to be great enough to live up to his name. Always learning what to do and not to do and what to accentuate in the form of art. He took drafting in every year of high school only to be better at art. He started sending art work to skateboard company’s in California from the east coast in the 1980’s. This artist moves to Vista, California in the late 1980’s with his one and only wife till this day. This artist actually gets a contract for working for a multi million dollar skateboard company doing graphic design art work; with no college at all. His wife joins the army to get money for her to go to college and gets moved to Killeen Texas by the US Army. Then he gets put behind bars for a sex offence he never committed in the center of Collin County, Texas. He then goes to college for seven years and learns and masters every form of art: all forms of digital art, three d art, animation, printing, water color, oil painting, acrylic painting and of course what he has always mastered drawing. He ends up with 3 diplomas in graphic design and every art coarse there is; taken 3 times over, and 3 life times worth of art saved up. All of this for nothing and due to sex offender registration maybe the most awesome artist around is the most shunned with no future at all in any form of art; with no hope ever in finding a job in any kind of art ever. The only reward for a life time of reaching and practicing to be the best artist ever; is a endless attack by people he never met on the internet and in the media and the law. What a sad, sad, sad story it is.
April 18 2016:
I did a researched my record and found that the Texas Department of Public Safety took my records out of the Collin County Court House that I was tried in. They must not like this page: http://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/sex-offenders-information-exploited-on.html, or free speech of the constitution of Texas or the Constitution of the United States.
They requested these 20 year old files from the court house in 2014. It just so happens that RVW: http://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/if-you-believe-it-is-ok-to-deny_23.html processed me that same year and after 18 years of processing; 2014 was my worst visit to the McKinney Police and the CC Sheriff’s Department; I ever had. I began to be treated as if I was on probation or parole in 2014; by RVW. I should have been treated as if my so called offence was 20 years old and I was given deferred adjudicated! Deferred adjudicated is not a conviction at all; by law! I should not even have to register as a sex offender per my lawyers home page here:
March 31 2016
I found this great quote that I thought fit me and people like me that believe they were charged with a sex offence they never committed:
A Film By Thiago Da Costa & Owen Cooper A Figura Media Release, HD, 75 minutes
COMING UP IN 2016: TRUTH, RACE & BLUES (A TV SERIES)
While completing a feature film about Daryl Davis’ work with racists in the past, the filmmakers, along with Daryl have also created a TV series idea with Daryl as its host. This project is conceived as a tour of American where Daryl and his band travel the country playing in different towns by night and investigating issues related to racism in those same towns during the day.
March 27 2016
I just sent a email to my mom who is helping my favorite uncle; as he may have to prepare to the after life:
I do not know how to respond to your last email. I do not like death. I am so happy I do not have to care for dying people. It transcends me and not for the better to have the burden of taking care of dying people. Why it never haunts people that doing the job I was assigned to do in Texas, and being amerced in caring for dying people; had something to do with me loose myself, and end up with a life time of sex offender registration. I still hold out hope that the local law enforcement here; would at least try to do the right thing concerning my case, and anyone like me if they exist.
dy·ing /’diiNG/ adjective adjective: dying on the point of death. “he visited his dying mother” synonyms: terminally ill, at death’s door, on one’s deathbed, near death, fading fast, expiring, moribund, not long for this world, in extremis; More informalon one’s last legs, having one foot in the grave “his dying aunt” •occurring at or connected with the time that someone dies. “he strained to catch her dying words” synonyms: final, last; deathbed “her dying words” antonyms: first •gradually ceasing to exist or function; in decline and about to disappear. “stone-cutting is a dying art” synonyms: declining, vanishing, fading, ebbing, waning; informalon the way out “a dying art form” antonyms: thriving
My Story Updated December 09 2015:
I dedicate this blog to the book and the movie: Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 – YouTube – Trailer Video for fahrenheit 451 (film)? 4:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9n98SXNGl8 Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 movie adaptation. … The film is good, a good adaptation of Bradbury’s novel … My Story Updated November 16 2015:
A photo of the award given to me in my great year of 2013.
I want to cover 3 points about my character the first thing I want to cover is my ability to not be aroused by pornography. Basically that this is true. The Plethsmograph is quit a different story I had to imagine my self with my wife to get aroused by that. I can not be aroused by porn simply watching it. One of the first things I did besides become a democrat when I was falsely arrested for a consensual sexual act between two adults of sound minds: I became very politically active.
November 30 2015: My dad died just before I got arrested for the sex offence that I never committed and of is the reason behind this entire blog. I have always held to the belief that my dad’s death lead to me being arrested for all these lies. I loved my dad. I did not understand him him during my childhood because of a bad divorce that I am sure he had his hand in. In my adult life I learned that my dad was the least of the problem. Who care; the bottom line was I finally reconciled with my dad and that gave me great strength in my life. All children of parents should at least forgive their parents to succeed in life and have peace with themselves. My dad was the strictest man on earth. My friends called him the general. Anyone that knew my dad during my childhood would agree with me that my dad was a police officer twenty four seven. He always drove the speed limit for instance; even on long trips to go skiing up north. He knew the law and obeyed it to the letter and this is what I have based my life on also. My father is a part of who I am. He is in my blood and I am a police officer in a way. He was a police officer for half my life. He retired with glory and the admiration of all his friends on the force. They loved him and hung out with him years after he retired. I heard story’s about how he jumped of a parking garage structure to catch bad guys and hurt his back and how some guy clobbered him with a chair also hurting his back. He ended up with a desk job he got really good at and even traveled training for it. I had my life threatened at least twice for being a cops son. I was poor when I first started out on my own and lived in some bad parts of town. My home town where my dad was a cop. I also was almost beat up pretty bad for being a cops son. Such was life in the 1970’s and early 80’s a few miles from New York City. When you almost die or get beat up just because your a cops son makes you learn to hate crime.
When I was blogging on the democrat.org site I was one of the first people to stand up for women’s rights. When you bloged there it would have suggestions for tags you wanted to ad. I was the first person to ad women’s rights as a tag. Once I realized this, I got really into it. It is like one of those things. you say this is a great cause with not enough people acting on it. It seems bigots need to hate someone and since gays and blacks are arrest able offences today they have moved on to sex offenders and the always expectable prejudice: women. The year of 2014 holiday season commercials by Wal-Mart boggled my mind at how sexist they were. The man sat in a easy chair while the woman slaved in the kitchen cooking the turkey and on and on. I hooked up with people like women’s law center and the rest is internet history. I even have a certificate acknowledging this by Amnesty International. This kind of thing and my trying to make a career out of body building has made me immune to pornography. One of the first steps in women’s rights excepting the exploitation of women and the bigoted womanizing objectifying of women. The more you focus on this the more you realize how repulsive porn is. Let’s face it porn is all about objectifying women. When you do as much research in women’s rights and how we exploit women in society; that is the first thing you think of at the mere mention of porn.
I do not know how many deranged people are into weird porn like children or animal sex. In my opinion and what has always been my outspoken opinion and polygraph certified as well; is that animal porn and children porn are the same. I do not pretend to understand why people are at aroused by children or rape or exposing themselves in public. I have always thought that you may as well have sex with a animal or a slab of meat then to have sex with anyone under 21 years old. The reason is that when you are to young to even know what sex is about; what is the difference between a young person and a pork roast. Sex is for love only. Also I have never understood how someone can force themselves on someone else and be sexually aroused. I have always froze up in public as well, never mind expose my self and actually being aroused by this. I have always proclaimed this while attending the forced upon me; college of learning about sex offences, of my 11 years of the strictest probation in our country.
It astonishes me to this day when you here something in television shows and movies about the internet; you almost always here something about porn. It is no secret that Hollywood loves to demonize transgender people and sex offenders and the internet and women and more. Also I have never cursed in the thousands of pages I have posted on the internet. I have always thought of cursing on the internet like exposing yourself and just plain gross. Unless you are a paid entertainer why would you curse on the internet? To show others how uneducated you are? I have always only seen the positive: necessary peace keeping aspects of the internet. Since the internet has become more excepted by our society there have never been less human rights violations in the history of the world. The only people against the internet are the people who want to hurt other people. Now if we can only get rid of the haters trolling the internet.
I started to trying to make a living from bodybuilding around 1982. I even had a pro bodybuilder as my coach; Jerry Augustine. He actually appears in the first addition of the book Pumping Iron. He is pictured in a dark room oiling up before a show in Massachusetts I think. He was a great man and was a body builder in Vietnam search and destroy Army; like my wife. He actually had dumbbells on his back pack. I started obsessively lifting weights when I was 13 years old and did not stop until I left my job as a professional artist in 1990. I then started again in 1999 and did not stop until 2008. I now do aerobic style work outs combined with isometric style stretching as I am now too old to use weights without the high probability of injuring myself. The point I am trying to make is even though I am embarrassed to admit it I am obsessed with my own body. I am so obsessed that if I were to watch porn the first thing I see is the flaws in other humans. All I can thing of is excrement coming out of them or blemishes and the basic abnormalities every human possess. I also am too critical of the human body to enjoy watching others have sex and be aroused by that.
The other two points I wanted to make was being raised as a decorated police officer’s son in my small hometown and being married to my one and only wife for 30 years now who is a honored US Army vet. I will try to find time to expound on this some more latter. Until then if you search for this on this blog you should find a bevy of information on these subjects.
I refuse to put a new date on something that is old news. From now on if I post updates to the page that is not new I am not going to put a new date. When I post things like the following it is just my war song. Things I tell myself as I battle with injustices not just of those that are tangible; but the intangible as well.These are things I tell my self while I deal with the injustices that have been dealt to me and mine. I do not believe in dealing with the thoughts of opposition against me like this, on a physical plane; but rather where all the true power of the world exists; on a spiritual level. This is not a excuse to not vote or write my senators and representatives, sign petitions and stay politically active and support people like the ACLU; of whom I am still a card carrying member. Cursing my enemies on a spiritual level takes allot more of my time and energy to protect me and my loved ones. I am not trying to force my beliefs on anyone; because I believe in our country, and freedom of religion, and separation of church and state.
This blog is not for people to be critical of what is posted here and if the reader is critical of anything here than that means they did not read the disclaimer on the top of each of the pages here and are not welcome here and should stop reading and leave this blog upon my request and in the name of freedom of speech, and my rights as a American citizen.
I always planed on being a professional artist. I was a professional artist in the late 1980’s; years before my arrest in 1996 for a sex offence; I basically never committed and have had to register as a sex offender ever since then. I was arrested in McKinney Texas when it still was a small sized city with barely 40,000 people and still steeped in prejudice and homophobia and the like in 1995 when we moved here. McKinney Texas was the last town to legally publically hang someone before it was given charge of by the state.:
I have only one so called sex offence that has pretty much ruined my life. No problems before and no problems to this day 20 years latter in my entire life with the law. I was taking a sculpture class in Collin County in 2003 and I mentioned to someone in class I believed I could make a good living from my art and she said to me who do you think you are Lizzie Borden? In other words are you going to use you so called crime to help sell your art. This was a staff member who like everyone that worked there knew of my having to register without me telling them. Most likely as the years go by; it seems she was right. I made almost two thousand dollars in two transactions selling my art back in the late 1980’s. Now that I have 3 diplomas and over 120 credit hours in college at a 4.0 grade average in graphic design; I have not made one penny selling my art since my job in the late 1980’s. Being a artist with all the ability anyone could ask for and also paid my dues in college and having no possibility of ever prospering from it is the definition of cruel and unusual punishment. All the heartache and the pain on this page is something I would never wish on any human on earth. Yet thanks to media and the internet; mob mentality rule keeps heaping injustices on citizens of our country without regard for the constitution of our country or basic human rights.
Before you read this page*.you should remember my dad. My father was a highly decorated police officer of our great country; who would have given his entire life to make this all go away, and rightfully so. I am not a sex offender and never was! I do know this; the people who our country label as sex offenders are not sex offenders; they are human beings who 88% of the time, have gone astray and that is it, no mystery or philological anomaly.
My dad died only a few years before I was arrested for a sex offence; I never committed. I was living in Killeen, Texas when he left this earth; waiting for my wife to be released from The United States Army. The land that I love.
*.any further you should know I have never committed a sex offence in my life. If I said this before I was arrested for my so called sex offence by a overly zealous detective in the redneck small town that I had just moved to back in 1995; I would not know what I was talking about. But after being on the strictest probation know to man for 11 years and attending shock psychotherapy once a week for all that time; never missing 1 week for fear of prison.
I would like to correct this part. I do not believe in fear and blame fear for the torture of all registered sex offenders in our country which will eventually be part of the reason of why we will eventually fall unless we change our foolish paranoid self destructive human rights violations.
Why am I explaining myself to you? If you read the disclaimer at the top of the page of every page on this blog; I dedicate this to you and my bro who left the south :
YELAWOLF LYRICS
“American You”
Man you got it all worked out, don’t you? Old pair of shoes Never wear your heart on your sleeve cause it don’t go with the suit You got a bad, bad woman with a young little pretty face They told you not to go get married but you went and did it anyway Singin’, oh sweet sounds of American you Never miss a Sunday service, never got tattoos Every time we drive by wavin’, I see right through Doo doo doo doo doo doo, f@ck you too Mama said steer clear of the devil so you never played in the road Always lookin’ on the bright side, so you never see the potholes You got a house on a hill, big news, that’s a big deal Big party with your big time friends, man imagine how that feels Singin’, oh sweet sounds of American you Never miss a Sunday service, never got tattoos Every time we drive by wavin’, I see right through Doo doo doo doo doo doo, f@ck you too Doo doo doo doo doo doo, f@ck you too I believe in the modest dream, ain’t lookin’ for a pot of gold A 6 pack and some good marijuana I can watch my mama roll I believe I can buy a few things like a house with a nice pool Invite my nobody friends to the party and we’ll be in it, f@ck you You got a blue collar father who drinks Budweiser out the bottle 20 dollars, an old Impala, a baby’s mama You work hard, you don’t beg, you don’t borrow Night at the factory, daytime job at McDonald’s Your daddy told you that girl was nothin’ but a problem But you fell in love cause to you she was like a supermodel And they told you not to go get married but you went and did it anyway It ain’t no problem You make something out of nothing, you make money for a living Pushing buttons, digging ditches, flipping burgers in the kitchen With a vision you been dreaming, you been savin’ You been givin’ nothin’ but sh@t You take it cause you’re patient in this prison f@ck everybody dissing, it ain’t them who’s gotta live in this skin With all these tattoos that you got, it f@cking offends them If it’s you that I’m speakin’ to, you must be my extension I take my drink up and sip it, take my hat off and tip it Slumerican Oh sweet sounds of American you Never miss a Sunday service, never got tattoos Every time we drive by wavin’, I see right through Doo doo doo doo doo doo, f@ck you too Doo doo doo doo doo doo… Oh sweet sounds of American you Never miss a Sunday service, never got tattoos Every time we drive by wavin’, I see right through Doo doo doo doo doo doo, f@ck you too Doo doo doo doo doo doo, f@ck you too
Come back to south Yela and fall like the rest of us; because that is how freedom is won.
I know what your saying. He must be thinking there must have been some kind of conspiracy against him. Then think back not long ago:
“In addition, it now seems clear that during the era of the Atlantic slave trade, many and perhaps most of the enslaved were kept in Africa. It is imaginable that as many as 60 million Africans died or were enslaved as a result of these various slave trades.”
If the south had a hand in killing 60,000.000 people; who am I? 60,000.000 makes the Holocaust pale in comparison.
I want to ad this one more thing. When I access this blog on a cell phone the counter on this blog does not count it. That is why I added the extra counter on the bottom of each page of this blog and it does not count that either.
I am a expert on sex offences from those 11 years of soaking it all in like a sponge. Even my so called physiotherapist said after going over my sexual history with me for about a month said I never committed a sex offence before my arrest (his exact words were “I never did anything illegal”. I was polygraphed right after my sexual history interrogation and passed it with flying colors. I had searched my soul a million times since my life was basically destroyed by being labeled a sex offender back in 1996. About 3 years ago; I thought long and hard and decided to pray from that moment on about all them that call me a sex offender and to include in those prayers that I have never committed a sex offence. I do not play around when I pray it is and always has been a very serious thing to me. Today I was mulling over all of that and thought maybe it was time for me to share this online. Because I had no idea about sex offences before I was condemned; I am a firm believer in prevention of sex offences through education. Unfortunately I believe this is a unwelcome idea in our country when it seems like people would just like to wait till someone commits a offence so we have someone to destroy, someone to hate, someone to demonize. Condemning sex offenders has become the new prejudice. It is really no different than the Roman coliseums. Rome fell for reasons exactly like this and we may have to fall before we learn. There is always hope though. and everyday is a chance to turn it all around.
I have more I papers I wrote on my job, my neighbors and the college I went to, and how people treated me, while I had to register. These papers are huge and are equal in size to What I have Been Through updated May 4 2015 and My Story Updated April 29 2015 . I hope someday people will look back on this information as how someone was continually persecuted by the mob mentality of the right wing religious fanatics that have been given great political power in this day and age we all live in. A lesson well learned by our society as a whole; to help everyone prosper and learn to be great by learning from other’s mistakes. Religion and politics do not mix, we must learn from our forefathers of our great country; who saw the importance of separation of church and state.
Also I added a new web counter today.
April 29 2015:
I never mentioned anything about social networking here. I do not want to put anyone down for it; that would be un-American. In America we believe how ever we want; as long as we do not hurt our self or others. Belief it self is very powerful. I believe love is the most powerful force.
I have never been interested in social media. Obviously to a certain extent I must be wrong. It is just what I have always been comfortable with. I had to get a My Space account back around 2003. I really wanted to be in this cool art gallery down in Deep Elem. I saw it when I was at the art bar. I was in the last art bar show. It was called we killed the art bar. I made up the name. I never liked bar’s either and hated having my art there. After the show I visited a gallery called The Kettle; I think. The only way to email the Kettle was to have a My Space account. I had opened and closed this account in about a couple weeks time. I never liked the friends thing. I used to always be suspicious if I aloud a friend and they were bad people then other people would think I was bad. The gallery went out of business like most great gallery’s and I no longer cared about having a social media account since. I always protest online if a human rights organization uses a social media only as a way of communicating. When you protest to the protester and you are right; things get done, that is a fact I have learned. I love the internet; I do. I believe and will always believe the internet and free speech is how peace on earth could be possible. I used to have a security program; when I first got into the internet that would block all social media pages and classified them as dating websites. I always thought well I am happily married so why bother with that? That’s all I can say. Like I said I am comfortable with not being apart of social media and that’s ok for me. I support what is ok with people and I hope that people around me would always support what is ok with me. In Texas it is not hard to find people who are oblivious to the internet, I love these folks, really. Think of it? I am kind of jealous of them. I guess I am a record keeper, I believe in documenting things and it’s importance. That is why I need to have a blog or a website; if for no one eels for my own records and learning.
I never looked at social media that way till, I saw the movie Birdman. Yes I think Birdman was the best movie for that year and can see why people protested it when I was not nominated. There is a scene in the movie when one of the characters talks about Facebook. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn48hUyFrKQ Some people actually think your a bad person if you do not have a Facebook account. The dad seems like me; oblivious to this. I am so glad they did not have a scene, where the dad started a Facebook page. It is just a movie. To enjoy a movie I can never take it serious; as well as all art from Renoir paintings to comic books to YouTube; the only way for me to enjoy entertainment is to not take it serious; at all. I think most people are like this without even knowing it. If you take all entertainment as reality you really need to talk to someone, very badly. Someone famous person said that you should never take love songs seriously. If you base any part of your relationship on love songs you will never have a successful relationship. I thought it was John Lennon, but I can’t find who. I believe that way about entertainment in what ever form it takes. I believe this is the healthiest way a person can think for their own well being in life.
April 28 2015: Listen up everyone! “Living well is the best revenge”: George Herbert I am putting this on my page because it is the only page I have not updated as of this date, that is most recent: Do you want the last thing you do on this earth to be murder? No of course not! I have been saying this since I started this web site, since I started it as Joe Dork in 2001. I have been saying since 1997; that 20 percent of the people arrested for a sex offence; kill themselves in the first 2 years. I think I read a newspaper article stating that statistic.
Owen Wilson* tried to kill himself; they say: Great comics almost always create public humor from private pain. But in the decade since Owen Wilson ambled onto the Hollywood radar as a bumbling burglar in the cult comedy Bottle Rocket, the laid-back surfer dude with the crooked nose and the slow Texas drawl has always seemed different: wry, loopy, kind and light. “He’s divine,” says Rocket producer Polly Platt of her longtime friend. “Just an angel.” So it was with true shock that Platt and Wilson’s other friends and family learned that on Aug. 26, Wilson had slashed his wrists at his home in Santa Monica in an apparent suicide attempt. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20060242,00.html
Posted: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 2:00 am Wanted sex offender John E. Reynolds deliberately stabbed himself in the heart with a letter opener as he apparently tried to escape arrest early Saturday, according to information from law enforcement agencies and the coroner. Reynolds, 25, was convicted of a sex crime in Ohio in 2011 and was the subject of a recent Akron Police Department warrant alleging unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. At about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Olathe Police Department officers were called out on a “Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately” complaint. They saw a car speeding and pulled it over at mile marker 81 on U.S. 50, Olathe Police Chief Justin Harlan said.
I was inspired today; to share this about myself:
This is me, not yeah right; it is that’s right: what is even more amazing is I made this gif file from my video I took of myself October 11, 2012. In reverse! Go to Eldorado Mazda, McKinney and look out the back. That is where I sk8ed that faithful day. You should have seen me from 1986 to 1990 in Southern California. I was sk8ing with all the big pro’s back then. That is what happens when you move to California and get a contract selling artwork to the biggest skateboard company in the world at the time.
I sk8ed with almost every pro there was between 1987 to 1990 in southern California. I never sk8ed with Christian Hosoi though. That was a big downer for me cause I was raised on those amazing air photos of him in Thrasher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrasher_(magazine) and Transworld http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transworld_Skateboarding. I did sk8 with this deaf dude from team Hosoi; he was amazing. I remember sitting there with him and his girlfriend; while he put these weird stickers on his board.Also I never sk8ed with Mark Gator Rogowski though.:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rogowski I did own his board with pink paint. I gave it to someone I think. It looked just like the one pictured here. I bought it back east before I left for the west.
I know all my fellow country folk friends could care less about hippy sk8boarders. You all k now full well I am a motorcycle expert. I proved that for 7 years of stunt riding up and down that highway. Maybe I will go looking for some of those stunt videos my wife took of me and post them up here. I used to look like the characters from the video game Halo. I bought Halo when it 1syt came out in 2001 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(series) .
an account of incidents or events a statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question I do not like talking about my past and I find it very difficult to read this. I do not have regrets that much; because basically I am a good guy and have been all my life, I live a very normal life and stay busy everyday. I help my wife everyday, it is not easy to live where we live and she needs me. I have been married for three decades now. I love my wife and tell her that vocally every 3 hours at least. My dad the police officer for 3 decades of my life; used to tell me never to be afraid to tell your wife you love her. She is a part of me and without her I would die of loneliness and a broken heart. We yell at each other just like any couple. My grand Parents on my dad’s side; who I loved and looked up too like movie stars, would argue allot and they where happily married for over 50 years. My grandmother died a couple months after he died, I believe from a broken heart. My grand parents on my mothers side where also my hero’s my grandfather on my mothers side literally built most of the buildings in my home town. I always looked up to senior citizens and respected them. I am well into my senior years my self now. I have a pretty normal life and am very happy other than having to register as a sex offender; which I believe to be a travesty of justice. In fact the only thing not normal in my life is having to register as a sex offender. Not to be forgot; having to endure 11 years as a ostracized human victim of the harshest place to be on probation in the United States; has left it’s scares on me and made me get old a lot faster. Never the less I am a very optimistic person and have always been all my life. I have looked on the bright side everyday of my life. I think my grandfathers influence on me when I was young has allot to do with that.
People need to know I never raped anyone. The charge that I am charged with; basically is rape. There many things I learned during my 11 years of torturous treatment on probation, I learned every thing: I was a sponge. I knew that if any one wronged me; I would write about it like I am doing now. Like I said I am certainly not a danger to children and sex with children repulses me beyond believe. I liken sex with children to sex with animals; and that sickens even more. Rape is the most disgusting thing I could think of also. I will never understand how someone can rape someone and be aroused by that; I have believed this all my life. I also do not understand how someone could be aroused by exposing themselves. I believe that way for every sex offence there is.
April 25 2015:
If there should ever be a exception to the rule concerning The Adam Walsh Act it should be me. I am sure this testament of mine being on the internet; is a thorn in the side of the powers that be. Well America was a thorn in the side of Britain not long ago.
I will never condone changing the constitution and believe it is treason to say the least. A sex offence is emotional to say the least. That must have been a hot summer and tempers must have been raging; in the all republican controlled Washington DC; on it’s way out. Believe me there are a lot of former and current, big time republican sex offenders. I can not explain what was going on: From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Walsh_Child_Protection_and_Safety_Act The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act[1] is a federal statute that was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on July 27, 2006.
Do you know why my offence was charged as aggravated assault instead of sexual assault (what it should have been)? Adam Walsh makes me register for life verses 10 to 25 years; because his penis went in my mouth for 30 seconds and because he was over 65 (a law in only a few southern states that makes it as if this burly guy was a 13 year old child. I guaranty; hardly anyone knows that. That is why this statement needs to be on the internet for all to see.
I know I say bullying and homophobia was at a all time high in McKinney Texas in 1995 when my wife and I moved her and it was. I assure it is still alive and well:
“I opened the door and immediately feel my stomach in my chest,” Arthur, who came out when he was 18, told WFAA ABC 8. “[I’m] vulnerable, scared, confused… I think every emotion I could possibly feel at the time it was happening.” In September 2014, Money magazine ranked McKinney the “Best Places to Live in the United States.” Still shaken, Arthur bought a security system on Wednesday. “If they feel it’s okay to do that to your property, what’s keeping them from taking it a step further?” he asked.
I asked my wife about HS’s statement to me that he was sure we would win a jury trial and she remembered when exactly he said that. It was just after I walked out of the room refusing to sign the paper work that said I forced him to do put his penis in my mouth. I will forever proclaim that this was a completely consensual act and have been polygraphed on that over 11 times. You can read about it in detail in this document.
April 22 2015:
Part of a email from a email I sent a political person; protesting online identifiers, the same email this blog is registered to. The argument is Texas keeps online identifiers from being posted. It does not matter. Just about anyone can get this info by filling out a online form. The bottom it is demining and degrading and wrong. To say that online identifiers do not effect free speech makes no sense and is not right. So much of this stuff should not apply to someone if their offence has nothing to do with children, or if they have deferred adjudicated, or should not have retroactive laws applied to them; and on and on.
When it comes to the justice system keeping info from us (that might incriminate them for instance) it is ok; yet about 10 different websites at any given time including DPS to list sex offender registration on Google. Google is the central search engine so I always mention them; of coarse there are many other search engines too. Every other person that lists sex offender registration on the web sites, beside DPS are making some kind of profit from it perverting that what is perverted even more.
As always I find the treatment of United States citizens who have committed a crime related to sex; cruel and unusual, to say the least.
As always I would like to see the deferred adjudicated disposition upheld in my case as it legally should be. I knew at the time of my offence either I get deferred adjudicated probation or prison and it was solely up to the victim I was accused of molesting’s family to decide. My case only gave deferred at that time, or prison.
If our only choice was prison we would have plead not guilty of coarse. I always think I should have plead not guilty, because I actually had to lie to plead guilty. I have been saying that from the beginning. I just highlighted it in yellow on this page where I said that. HS was convinced we could win if we pleaded not guilty and told my wife and I that several times. He worked hard on the case and was prepared for a jury trial. I always got the feeling he was disappointed we did not plead not guilty. I was overwhelmed with the case as many people are when facing being accused of a sex crime. I am convinced no human goes through this life without committing or fantasizing about committing a sex offence like exposing themselves or having public sex, it’s in movies and music all the time. I am sure there are many more story’s like mine; of people not guilty going to prison and being punished for sex crimes they did not commit. This is why I believe we will all be judged someday for our ignoring our constitution and perverting our justice system. History has shown governments that oppress it’s people eventually fall. I love our country and that is why I work on this blog so much.
Added April 10 2015:
I was never convicted legally. I received deferred adjudicated and that is not a conviction legally. Like every thing else concerning registered sex offenders in our country; the perversion of the law is common place.
I hope this will at least drum up some support for my plight on the internet. I can not imagine that it would not. If you are one of the few people out there that has not turned their back on me over the years I hope this internet post gives you a must deserved pat on the back.
I told someone very important about a week ago I would send them a copy of my statement again. The more I thought about it the more I considered sending it to the entire World Wide Web. So I did.
I posted the whole truth and nothing but the truth on the web for the first time since 1997. I did my best to edit it this morning, it took me 3 days altogether. Here it is:
Now all I need is some top notch legal people who love to read. If you know some out there please let them know about this:
I have sent this to almost every newspaper there is, lawyers human rights organization senator and politician, the local police, and on and on. I have sent this statement in the form of snail mail about 400 times. I have sent this in email at least well over 3,000 times. I had this posted on the internet around 1996 and 1997. This is the first time I have shared this publicly since then. I have removed most of the names of all involved; because I believe in peoples ability to change and it has been 20 years. Who knows what these people are like now.
Some revisions have been made to this document as of April 10 2015. I find this difficult to read so I did not revise everything as thoroughly as I would like.
The offence I served 11 years and 7 months in the jail and have to register for life; is 20 YEARS OLD. In 2016 it will be official I was arrested and started court in 1996. The court case took a little less than one year. I plan to challenge my life time registration but want to prove to all what has always been true: I am a law abiding citizen; who continually contributes to society in a upright and kind nature. As hard as I try I am reminded of my offence, because of the media and the internet trying to make money from sex offenders, and politicians that try to get votes from fear mongering, and of course the bazaar behavior of my neighbors.
If I protest sex offender laws it has nothing to do with the police. My father and friends from back home were police officers. I blame politics and that is why I write my representatives and try to stay active in politics even though I find it very confusing. I appreciate our good people in politics here even though I vote democrat when I can. Most police back east are democrat.
When someone is accused of a sex offence it is many times founded on nothing more than emotions and many times people are arrested for offences they did not even commit. I am one of those people.
What are ya gonna do? This is just one of those things that is a unfair about my life and a burden I would not wish on anyone.
This story is rooted in prejudice against me and straight up bullying by the legal system here in 1995; that is 100% politically and religiously motivated. My lawyer HS at the time called it a modern day witch hunt and unconstitutional to the judge Charles CS (the worst judge in Collin County in the local press here). See D Magazine DEC 2009 http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2009/december/the-worst-judge-in-dallas-county
This image from D Magazine shows CS making things up on the bench. I have experienced this to the extreme; in the form of cruel and unusual punishment concerning my case to this day.
If you have even a small amount of empathy and read this page I have no idea how you can humanly disagree with this statement.
My depiction of CS is not as nice on my Sex Offender Comics page I depict him as the grim reaper and a snake. I depict him as a snake because a swear I was staring at him as he was saying something in court one time during my case and his eyes looked like snake eyes at one point.
“The Collin County Bar Association surveyed its membership. On things such as impartiality, availability, ability to set aside personal biases on race and politics, consistency, comprehension of the law, and overall performance, attorneys rated CS at the bottom of all Collin County judges. Not just once but twice. He actually got the lowest approval rating in the history of the survey: 12 percent.”
“When CS received a newspaper’s Freedom of Information Act request for all documents related to the Prometa testing program, he replied that he didn’t keep such records”
There is no record of me serving over my limit of probation or over my limit of jail time of 1 month. Legally he could not give me over 10 years or 6 months. I researched this extensively. I have a copy of my court records.
First this I want to say is my father was a police officer all my life. He was so tough my friends would call him the general. He was my hero. His policemen friends were my friends and I learned allot about heroic things he did from them because he never bragged about himself.
I can not vouch for all the text here! Same for What I have Been Through page. I am the king of typos for one thing, as I have stated on the internet many times. Believe it or not I am not a good typist. These documents are huge and I have trouble reading them because they remind me of the past: that I would prefer to forget. I have done my best to edit the names out of this. If any of my friends on the internet spot any mistakes I have made please email me them.
Added 04 15 2010
The act between Mr. X and I was completely consensual. He wanted me to what I did at the time so I did it, one time only for 30 seconds. 30 seconds that destroyed my life. 30 seconds that took from America one of the greatest American artist of my time! He felt guilty about it latter and told his family about it. The agency called the police, not the family. I believe the family never wanted the police called. My lawyer HS followed the letter of the law and required the family to agree with me being put on deferred adjudicated probation (not legally considered a conviction) and the family agreed. If I pleaded not guilty I was sure at the time the family would refuse to come to court.
Statement_12_05_2008_hard_copy
As of December 05, 2008 I have revised this letter one last time. As this is such a difficult subject for me to talk about I can not seem to say what I want to say. This is the third time I have revised this letter and probably not the last.
I have sent this letter to many, many people. I sent this letter to people mostly while I was in the jail. It was very rare I remember sending this letter by email. If Judge CS is going to get the full picture of his judgment over my family and I then he should read this. I am thankful that this letter would be kept in my records so that I would not be lumped together.
Prelude:
To properly present this story, I must tell the following. I do not like to talk about the past, especially since it is of so personal nature as this. These things I must say to give the reader as full a picture, as I can. My pride will probable keep me from telling every thing I can say, to defend myself. I was a completely different person then. I have not been that person for many years now. I have forgotten what it is like to act like that and to think like that. I do not think I will ever go back to that life style again, because of what I have learned the hard way, and put into practice in my everyday life. I was living a lifestyle of lies, lies that lead me to believe it was ok to do what I did. I have put many safe guards in my life to keep me from going back to that life style. I have a conversation with my wife at least once a month.
I wrote this letter at the time of my hearing in 1996. The only time I have added to it is to show more current things need mentioning. This letter was updated on 9 14 2007 while I was serving my last year of probation. I served a total of 11 years of probation. I should have a doctorate in sex offender relapse prevention. I am a excellent student and have 120 credit hours at Collin County Community College, with a 4.0 out of 4.0 grade average, over the past 7 years. This is proof of my ability to learn. I basically graduated 3 times and have 3 certificates in graphic design. Although I have filled out at least over 300 applications no one will hire me because I am a registered sex offender. Probation cost me 60,000 dollars to complete and college required by probation cost me almost that much as well with no job to show for it.
I want to make it clear that although I made a bad decision to do what I did I am not a rapist, although my charge would lead you to believe this. I am not a child molester, I have had 2 plathismographs that prove this, with Lyles Anderson. I also have had about 15 polygraphs over my 11 years of probation that prove this also. The first plathismograph had naked men and I failed it the second had naked women and I passed it. I have never had a sexual thought about a child and have said this before every polygraph I have ever taken. That means I never had a sexual thought about a child yet according to the law I am a threat to all children. My offence was this; one day while I was putting Mr. X’s pants on, after I gave him a bath I put my mouth on his penis for less than 20 seconds. I asked him do you like that? He said; as not to spill the tobacco out of his mouth in a southern ascent, “that’s real nice“. I remember this fact as if it was yesterday, and have been saying it since I was first placed on probation, and have passed polygraphs based on this fact. That means Mr. X wanted me to do what I did and enjoyed it. As soon as I did this I went to the kitchen to wash my mouth out; because I was so grossed out about what I did. This was a consensual act, however embarrassing it may be to some people.
I actually lied to plead guilty. I went into the room to plead guilty and read that Mr. X had no choice but to let me do what I did and I over powered him to do what I did. I do not remember the exact words. I have a copy of my court records though. I left the room and told my Lawyer, HS, the senators husband, I can not sign this, I would be lying. He said that it did not matter that if the court knew about the offence I would be found guilty, and could serve 20 years in prison. I actually lied to plead guilty to get probation. I thought I would not have a problem with probation since I am a good guy and never break the law. Probation was like 11 years of boot camp non the less, very hard on me and my family.
The 65 or older law that made my offence aggravated basically says if you are over 65 it is the same thing as if you are under thirteen. I have always thought this law is bazaar. Think about it this means if some that is 64 and has sex with someone that is 65 this is illegal. This is a new law and was made 5 years before my offence and only exists in a few southern states.
My Judge at the time Judge CS was known for making up laws from the bench. I have a long list of things he did against me that are against the law. Their also has to be penetration to make my offence aggravated the penetration was his penis in my mouth for les than 20 seconds. This also has seemed bazaar to me. Basically Judge CS gave me the highest sentence he could, including making me serve one year over the maximum amount of probation time. He also broke many laws by adding on many other things to my sentence. It was illegal at the time to make me register as a sex offender. He made it a condition of my probation that I do this, even thought the law was not even in affect at the time. It is illegal that I am made to register as a sex offender. It is against the Texas Constitution to make any law retroactive. The argument some make that registering as a sex offender is not a hardship. This not only a lie it is insane to think that registering as a sex offender is not a hardship, it literal destroys a person.
Always keep in mind when reading this letter the family never called the police. The agency who hated me and desperately want to fire me called the police. I would have never have received probation if it were not for the family agreeing to it. Basically the Kemp family stuck up for me.
I have been married for over 20 years now to my one and only wife a honorable veteran of the US Army. I was into off and on from about 1992 to 1996 when I was arrested for my offence. Mr. X at the time I cared for him out weighed me by at least 60 pounds or more, I was 140 pounds, he was 210 pounds plus. I am sure this can be verified by medical records from him and me. He could have probably knocked me out. I will never forget when my mom’s dad, my grandfather hit me. I do not think I have ever been hit that hard. My grandfather, was about 80 at the time and had cancer. Mr. X was not ill at all and in very good shape for his age.
I became a Certified Nurses Aid around 1993. I attended school in Texas at Action Training. I got all A’s and scores almost 100% on the state test. I scored the highest score out of my whole class. I trained there in a nursing home as part of my schooling. I went on to work for Haven nursing home for about four months. I liked working for Haven we always worked in teams and I liked working with the other nurses aids. They liked me and would testify of my good nature and work. I received a excellent reference Action Nurses Training. I had to leave Killeen, Texas, cause I moved to McKinley Texas so my wife could attend College here. After my wife got out of the Regular, US Army, in Killen, Texas we decided to stay in the state to save money on out of state fees. My wife excelled in the army with a huge amount of awards and commendations as I was by her side supporting her every way I could. We decided to stay all this time mostly in my mind so that I could prove myself to the people of Collin County as the good person I know I am. I have become a very well known artist in this area. I have been in the Dallas Morning News 6 times for my art work and they new I was charged as a sex offender at the time, they never printed one bad thing about me relating to my art. She did attend Collin County Community College. She had a 4.0 average ad received a Associates of Science and a certificate for animation she took with me. She attended CCCCD two years with me because she felt so strongly about me going to college.
After my wife and I left Killeen in late 1993, I got a job with COC Home health out of Arlington TX. I worked for a Mr. Cec Easth this was about 1995 – 1996. I went to his house to care for him 5 Days a week 3 1/2 hours per day. At the time there would be someone who would come and bath him for 1 hour per day. This person was in the process of Quitting his position. I inquired about taking the job and began working for Ad Health out of Allan TX. You need to understand about Ad Health, they hated me and never wanted to hire me. I had tried to apply to them long before they hired me and they told me no. They felt they had to hire me, maybe because I had done so well with Cec Eastham. During the time I worked for them we fought allot.
I was given two clients to care for (bath only) Mr. Easth and a Mr. X (my accuser) by home health out of Allen TX. I made more money working for home health out of Allen TX in 4 hours than I did with COC all week. I worked for Ad Health 4 hours per week with Mr. Easth and Mr. X.
I saw Mr. X 2 hours per week Tuesdays and Thursdays. I never had any problems with Mr. Easth and have a very good reference from Concepts of care. Ever health care job I ever did until Mr. X. I got great references from every one I worked with until then.
I did have problems with Ad Health though. They wanted to put a feeder in Mr. Easth’s stomach and I was against it. Mr. Easth was 300 plus lbs! To consider him starving was ridiculous. I think his wife was angry with him for not eating. I got along well with Mr. X and his wife and was sad to leave them. Make no mistake about it I got into home health to help people and any one that worked with me except Advance Home Health would tell how good I was at helping people.
I do not think Advance Home Health cared concerning the feeder in Mr. Eastman and was only interested in making more money. Advance Home Health wanted me to do nurses work though I was not certified to do so. They wanted me to clean and change the feeder that was surgically implanted in Mr. Eastman. A nurses aid is not certified to do this. This began problems with the head nurse who I suspect of steroid abuse, who looked more like a professional wrestler than a nurse. He was the key person in Advance Home Health calling the police on me about Mr. X. I refused to work the feeder and when I did Ad Health forced me to quit Mr. Easth as their client. This was shortly before I was arrested. I had no choice but to continue working for Advance Home Health because I still had Mr. X as a client. The head nurse muscle dude hated me most because I refused to change the feeder for Mr. Eastman.
I never understood why I was caring for Mr. X he seemed to be in good shape. I never like going to his home (more like a shack), it was in the bad part of town.
Mr. X never seemed to be a problem, until shortly after I worked for him he began to say sexually perverted things to me every time I cared for him.
He would say things over and over. He would say things to me like, he thought my charge nurse the blond haired muscle dude was a homosexual and was interested in me. It was kind of weird but since I was I was using cognitive distortions during this time I used this to fuel my problem of being prejudiced against. Also Mr. X would Constantly brag about the size of his neighbors penis. He would describe the size of his penis with his hand and arm and also insinuate that his Neighbor (George) was a homosexual and was interested in me. He would say things like you should go see George and have sex with him. He would also say He’ll shake it at you meaning George’s Penis. Mr. X would also repeatedly say things like you’d make a good one meaning a homosexual. Allot of this was because I would pretend to be gay in front of the live in caretaker Ms. B. J.. Never the less Mr. X was inappropriate. Mr. X was not mentally ill and this was proven by the private investigator my lawyer HS hired.
Basically everyday I went to the Kemp’s it was like this, I would come in the door and first give him his vitals then we would go to the bathroom, where he would take his cloths off. I would usually wait out side the door his favorite thing to say to me about that time was are you ready? He would shout it, but he would say it in such a way as to sound perverted. Sometimes he would shout it on the porch when I arrived I would not doubt if George his neighbor could hear it from time to time Because he lived across the street. Anyhow when he was undressed I would go in then he would get into the tub where there was a shower chair he would sit in the chair exclaiming, “are you ready“. I first washed his head and face. It was about now that he would start to talk perverted to me saying all the things I have described in this letter over and over again about the muscle dude charge nurse and his neighbor and the like. I washed his entire body completely it was my job. As stupid as it seemed, knowing he could bath himself. I think the family had me do this so they could use it to scam a insurance company. They lived in what I could see a unbearable poverty.
He would like to say What a good job I was doing while I was bathing and dressing him. I always thought he was talking about how I washed and dressed him good but I believe now he was trying to be perverted. Again this seemed to be a way do make me worse as far as my problem with my cognitive distortions at that time. My problem mostly steamed from having to deal with homophobia as a whole County. On April 09, 2015 I read a that bullying is alive and well in McKinney Texas. You have to understand McKinney, Texas was really homophobic 20 years ago.
I am going to quote the only media who is telling the truth about this storie The Dallas Voice; found in all the cool stores I used to love to visit in the BIG D; like the big Half Price Books store. Dallas County and Collin County share a border but politically you would never know it. I still love it here; so much I stay here; we need people like me here. That is my biggest gift to the lovely Collin County. They better stop developing everywhere though or that beauty will be gone some day.
Here is the quote:
“Raymond Howell Jr., 14, was found dead of an apparent suicide near a culvert beside busy Eldorado Parkway in McKinney on Thursday, April 2. The McKinney Boyd High School freshman is believed to have committed suicide after being bullied by older students.
According to CBS 11, Howell had recently asked for a transfer to a different school to escape the bullying.
School districts throughout Texas have anti-bullying policies as a result of a series of suicides in the fall of 2012, including several in Texas and Oklahoma. It was during that period that Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns rose to national attention with his story of being bullied as a teen.
The McKinney police public information officer didn’t return a call today to confirm whether the bullying that led to Howell’s death was LGBT-related.
The Trevor Project hotline is a toll-free 24 hour LGBTQ suicide prevention line at 1-866-488-7386″
I would ask him to stand up and I would wash his bottom and the shower chair. Then I would ask him to sit down and the last thing I would do is his penis aria at first I would ask him to do it himself he would not do a good job. I found this frustrating because of the fact that this was a important part of men’s health. He was uncircumcised and would need me do it to clean himself properly. One of his tentacles was the size of a tennis ball.
When I cleaned him he would become aroused overtime it usually did not offend me. His penis was small even when hard and it was covered with his fat so you could hardly see it. He would become erect every time I washed him. At This point I would Dry him off sometimes in the shower some times outside of the shower. For most of the time I worked there, I would dry him standing up. When I would dry his feet and legs he would kind stick his penis out at my face. I guess it did not bother me so much because you could not really see his penis cause it was so small, it is like covered with fatty tissue and kind sucked up in his cavity. I know from trying to clean him it was difficult. Also one of his testicles was the size of a tennis ball and the other was large too. This would stretch that fatty tissue across his private aria. I know this from trying to clean him according to state regulations it was difficult and always took too long. Yes I actually had a class on how to clean a penis in school.
Especially after his shower I would sometimes (not all the time cause I was afraid of getting him excited) put lotion down there because it would look red. I was always afraid he might have a sexual transmitted disease or the like. And I was always careful of disease. That is why I always wore gloves. I had owned a bulk size box of these rubber gloves at home all the time. To this day I have some of these gloves and do my oil painting with them. You could ask anyone that was at the Kemps when I was bathing him I always wore gloves. Also at the nursing home everyone knew I wore gloves all the times. I am trying to explain I was not the type of person to put myself at risk.
He could not see his penis because his belly was in the way and his penis was so small. it seemed to be attached to his pelvic aria. My charge nurse who I suspected of steroid abuse had observed me and given me good marks on the revue sheet I remember pointing out to him Mr. X’s large testicle. The charge nurse knew I was a good worker cause we had worked together on Mr. Cec Easth(my other client with Ad Health) on many occasions. The charge nurse I suspected of steroid abuse turned against me in the end and I believe he was on steroids. He had told me this in a couple of conversations we had. I would think even Advanced would say I was a excellent worker at that time, even though they were so resentful of me. In fact I know they would because K. the owner would continually give me compliments on how good I was doing. K. was the person who originally refused to hire me.
For the last month I was caring for Mr. X I had him sit on the toilet on a towel while I dried him off. I don’t think he liked this because he could not stick his penis out at me. Infect that last day I cared for Mr. X he was on the toilet when he started to get violent towards me shouting hurry up. Then I would assist him getting dressed all I had to do was help him put his pants on and his underpants. I did not like to do this because also like to stick his penis out at me while I was doing this. Then for the rest of the time I would sit and talk to him and his wife who would ramble allot like him saying the me things over and over. I really liked to talk to the live in caretaker B.J. who would like me to talk about my cognitive distortions so much I would make things up. I would spend hours on the phone with her like this. I told her I had a boyfriend and was having sex with him just as a phone sex thing, She was really into it. Living someplace that is so closed minded to anything homosexual is why I was considered such a threat to people at that time. I am fortunate I did not get burned at the stake or stoned to death by the religious fanatics that really had a hold on McKinney in 1995 – 1996. I believe they are still working in the background till this day. I do not hate Jesus or God and have always found some common ground with religion and that is why I have never been thrown to rot in prison. All in all as of 2015 and all I have been through I am still free, that has to be a testimony to the fact that this truly was and is a miscarriage of justice in the most extreme example.
Mr. X hated his family and would tell me this allot. He would tell me how much he wanted to move away. I would say to Mr. X you should try harder to get along with your wife and Betty, give your wife a kiss every once and a while and tell her you love her. I would try very hard to have them get along mostly because B.J. would tell me how he would get violent with her and her mom.
Mr. X kept a pistol locked in a box under his bed. B.J. asked me to get the key to the locked box that contained the fire arm. She knew I could search through his clothing while I dressed him. They ere afraid he would shoot one of them and maybe me. I found out from the private investigator that Mr. X was arrested and went to jail, in the 1970’s for beating some one up.
I had met (George a Mexican) on several occasions. I believe George was a prejudice man who hated most white people. I believe George turned Mr. X against me for what ever reason. George was a very angry man in general. He would hang out on Mr. X’s front porch allot so I would say hi to him as I entered the Kemp’s house. That was about as much as I talked to him.
One time I went to Georges house because Mr. X was sitting on Georges front porch and it was time for his bath. His house was located about 50 feet in front of Mr. Xs house right across the street. George sells bikes to the illegal aliens, and he showed me his bikes that he had that one time when I had to get Mr. X for his bath. I think he was going to assault me that time. After realizing I was a good guy he changed his mind.
I thought it was good Mr. X had a friend at that time, so I tried to encourage him to be nice to him.
He would say things like you should see George’s penis over and over again to me until I would get sick to my stomach. Like I already mentioned in this letter.
Also one time he offered a banana to me and hold it like a penis in my face. He would talk to me like this when his wife was in the other room and he was alone with me in the kitchen and the bathroom. But there was one time he did it and his B.J. (his step daughter) was in the room and she laughed. This woman seemed to never tire of thinking I was a homosexual. I am very happily married an am not a homosexual or do I or would I ever be interested in a homosexual relationship. I have been happily married for almost fifteen years at the time I cared for Mr. X. I would have never consider any sexual thoughts toward Mr. X it was always the farthest thing from my mind that is the plain truth. B.J. seemed addicted to hearing about my cognitive distortions and I would make up stories and tell her to satisfy her. You see the fact that I needed a women shows all the while even then I was attracted to women not men. I am a danger to no one yet I am listed on the internet in about 10 different websites found on Google as of 2015 as a desperate sexual predator.
When I would clean Mr. X’s penis aria he would become aroused every time. Like his sexual comments, I would do my best to ignore him. You run across people like this quit often in this profession so you do your best to shrug it off and get on with your job. I thank God I was trained like thin in Action Nurses Training. It really prepared me.
I now wish I had said something to my boss. The live in caretaker B.J. (the step daughter) was a nice lady and I would talk to her allot and try and encourage her to keep her spirits up. I knew that it must be hard take care of Mr. X and Mrs. Kemp.
Mrs. Kemp would have problems with her feet from time to time.
Mr. X seemed in very good health to me. He would do allot of work outside. He would use the lawnmower allot. He had a lawn mowing business at one time. Mr. X would do more work outside, than I could ever do myself at that time. I actually showed up at the Kemps one day and saw Mr. X mowing his neighbors yard in the middle of summer with no shirt on. This was a very big lawn. The way he kept his lawn was beyond neat. He would spend most of his time out side, I think because he hated his wife and B.J.. He had a shed with lawn mower parts and such he would work in allot.
His step daughter, B. J. would warn me of his dark side. I never had a problem with that. She would tell me she was afraid of him and that he had a gun locked in a metal case and she was afraid he would shoot her and her mother. She was trying to get him a apartment to try and get him out, and away from the two of them. I do remember the last time I cared for Mr. X that he did become kind of violent with me.
Mr. X would always brag about how good a job I was doing this is another one of the things Mr. X would say over and over again. Unlike the sexual things he said to me I would not mind it as much. Now that I look back on it I think he was trying to say something sexual then too.
I must say that I would dread going to his home overtime, to care for him. I just figured that it was part of the job. I was paid $15.00 dollars per visit. Needless to say the bathing part of my visit went by fast every visit I would rush trough it as quickly as I could every visit. There was always someone there while I was at the Kemps either the step daughter, B.J. or the wife. It was a very small one bedroom house and I would always leave the door open mostly because it was summer, for the most part of the time, I worked for Mr. X. It wasn’t until the last few days I worked there that I would close the door to keep the heat in. Maybe that is what set Mr. X off and why he finally became violent against me that last day I was there.
I would never compromises on the quality of my work as any of the people I worked with would tell you.
Ad Health called me one day and told me that I would not be caring for Mr. X any longer, and that there was going to be an investigation against me. At that point I had already had disputes with Ad Health and offered my resignation. They took this as me running from my problems. The truth is I could not wait to quit.
I had already given COC my two week notice because of problems with Advance Home Health.
About a week latter the investigator from the McKinney police called and said she wanted to talk to me about a case in which I was a suspect. She asked me to come down to the police station to talk to her. I agreed and went there Monday at 8:00am and talked with her for about 1 hour. I told her about my past where I have been living. When she first told me about why I was there I could not believe it. She said I was accused of putting my mouth on Mr. X’s penis. I started to laugh because it seemed that ridiculous to me. She tried very hard to get me to say I did it. I insisted that I did not. She said no matter what I said I would be found guilty and that they would believe Mr. X. She described him as a feeble old man which he was not, he was bigger and stronger than me at the time I cared for him. I had started to quit my cognitive distortions by the time I talked to the investigator. I have always said that just the embarrassment of all this was enough to learn my lesson, and to this day I believe this to be true. I did not need 11 years of probation hell and 7 months of so called therapy that nearly killed me.
She said that she was going to get a warrant for my arrest. This investigator was none for being way over the top extreme at this time.
She insisted that I was guilty no matter what I said. after about 1hour I walked out and terminated the interview because it was obvious I was getting nowhere. Any one that knew the investigator back then knows she was over zealous over her job. I remember just after she arrested me she arrested a video store owner in McKinney, Texas and was going to try to put him in prison for 99 years said the McKinney Newspaper.
I had been planning a trip to go see my Grandparents in Florida all year and had purchased the tickets 1 month before I talked to the investigator.
We left two weeks after my interview with the investigator. My wife and I had not heard anything from the investigator so we decided to go ahead with our trip. While I was in Florida 2 investigators came to my apartment complex looking for me. The investigator was given a phone number to contact me at my Grandparents by the apartment managers. She called me at my Grandparents house and said, she needed to see me right away, to my step mom. I told her I was in Florida she did not believe me, she had a 1800 number. She talked to my step mom and hung up. We got back on the 30th of December 1996, like I told the investigator on the phone in Florida. On the 6th of January 1996, about 8:30pm I heard a loud bang on the door I could see it was the Police threw the peep hole. They damaged the door with that knock. It was a heavy metal door and they dented it. I let them in immediately They would not let me get dressed, handcuffed me tightly and took me to the prison in my pajamas were I was held on 17,000.00 bail. I made my bail and was released the next morning.
Sincerely,
01/07/97
Since then I have served 7 months in the local jail as a condition of my probation and had my life turned upside down. I have spent enough money to buy a house on probation fees and psycho therapy for over 10 years now. It has driven my wife and I close to bankruptcy many times.
My grandparents who were my favorite people in the whole world dead 2 years ago. When I was a child my grandparent on my dads side would buy me any thing I wanted. I would spend many weekends with them up until I graduated from high school. They moved to Florida after retiring and would fly me down many times. I am convinced they died sooner than normal because of my ordeals while on probation that I believe have exceeded cruel and unusual punishment with probation officers like M. S. And J. W.. I mention these two because they had a out spoken reputation of being cruel.
One thing I have learned is you must do things for yourself first in this life; then comes those you love most.
I will admit that I was using cognitive distortions at that time of my arrest. Since then I have quit using cognitive distortions all together. I have no regrets about this because of the love I have for my wife. I am a good person and like most good people I look on the good side of things. My wife a highly rewarded veteran of 6-7 years of service 3 and a half years in Killen, and 3 and a half years in Seagoville, Texas. My wife has cried many times because of the McKinney, Probation Department’s unreasonable treatment of me. She told me she cried every day of the 7 months I was in the Collin County jail. She has been ill every time I suspect it is the stress of my ordeal. Every illness I have now did not start until the day I was released from the jail.
I spent about 80,000 dollars while on probation in McKinney Texas for the eleven years I served on probation. This ruined us financially in ways we may never recover as long as we live.
If you believe it is ok to deny registered sex offenders human rights or U.S. Constitutional rights. If you do not believe registered sex offenders are denied their human and constitutional rights or if you are against free speech. Please leave this web page now. Thank you.
By remaining on this web page you here by acknowledge that you support human rights and United States constitutional rights for registered sex offenders and that you support freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
This blog is not for people to be critical of what is posted here and if the reader is critical of anything here than that means they did not read the disclaimer on the top of each of the pages here and are not welcome here and should stop reading and leave this blog upon my request and in the name of freedom of speech, and my rights as a American citizen.
No sexual abuse is ever acceptable. Sex offense laws and policies should be based on sound research and common sense, not fear, panic or paranoia. Current laws and policies that paint all sex offenders with one broad brush are counter- productive, wasteful, and cause needless harm. Each offense must be judged on its own merits with a punishment that fits the crime and does not waste taxpayer dollars. The public sex offender registry and residency restriction laws do not protect children but instead ostracize and dehumanize individuals and their families. Money spent on purely punitive measures would be better used for prevention, healing, and rehabilitation. The author of SO FAQ does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That doe not mean we are should not vote.
Hey, this blog looks real nice on a cell phone; as I have recently discovered.
Please ignore the official counter on this blog. Shortly after I put this counter on every page of my blog it became impossible to update with it in the html of this blog. I had to take it off all my blog pages. I just realized today it is still on my untouched SOFAQ homepage still and I believe it is true, counting not only computer hits but phone hits as well. I am pasting a copy of it here:
That’s right; the home page of this blog registers 215,050 hits. check the bottom of this page to see for yourself: https://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 20 2018 FL: RON BOOKS LOBBYING FIRM RAKES IN THE CASH FROM PRIVATE PRISON COMPANIES May 18, 2018[floridaactioncommittee.org Florida’s lobby firms filed their first quarter results this week and the three-person firm of Ronald L. Book, P.A. came in as one of the highest paid lobbying firms in the State, behind much larger firms Ballard and 200-person firm, Southern Strategy Group. According to the firm’s first quarter report, filed Tuesday, Ron Book’s firm took in $3.4Million for lobbying legislators during the period of January 01, 2018 – March 31, 2018, (source: https://floridalobbyist.gov) Among his top clients… private, for-profit, prison companies GEO Group and Correct Care Solutions, which runs the Florida Sex Offender Civil Commitment Center. It’s no wonder that in his work for the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust he pushes so hard to lock up sex offenders. It’s also no wonder why his daughter, Senator Lauren Book, sponsors legislation imposing harsher punishment and mandatory minimum sentences for registration violations! Read more: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/ron-books-lobbying-firm-rakes-in-the-cash-from-private-prison-companies/ CO-OWNERS ARRESTED ON EXTORTION CHARGES May 19, 2018 [arstechnica.com 5/17/18] Two alleged owners of Mugshots.com—Sahar Sarid and Thomas Keesee—have been arrested in south Florida on a recently issued California warrant. The notorious website publishes mugshots and then demands payment for their removal. On Wednesday, the attorney general of California brought criminal charges against not only Sarid and Keesee, but also Kishore Vidya Bhavnanie and David Usdan. The quartet has been charged with extortion, money laundering, and identity theft. Bhavnanie was arraigned by a Pennsylvania state judge also on Wednesday—his bail was reportedly set at $1.86 million. According to Tania Mercado, a spokeswoman for the California Attorney General’s office, Usdan is also in custody. “This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit off of someone else’s humiliation,” said Attorney General Becerra in a statement. “Those who can’t afford to pay into this scheme to have their information removed pay the price when they look for a job, housing, or try to build relationships with others. This is exploitation, plain and simple.” Read more: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/05/all-of-mugshots-coms-alleged-co-owners-arrested-on-extortion-charges/
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 22 2018 CO: POLYGRAPH TESTING AND TREATMENT OF SEXUAL OFFENDERSMay 20, 2018 [jenniferkamorowski.net 5/19/18] On May 9, the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 1427, which prohibits individuals with a vested economic interest in administration of polygraph tests from serving on the sex offender management board (SOMB). Beyond the issue of conflict of interest, there are other reasons to keep polygraph out of sex offender treatment decisions. The primary reasons are issues with reliability and the coercive nature of compelling disclosures about thoughts and activities (legal or illegal). Polygraph testing in post-conviction sex offender treatment (PCSOT) is used in approximately 80% of community-based sex offender treatment programs.[1] This high rate of use continues despite the fact that in 2003 the National Research Council found little support for the accuracy of polygraph, particularly when used for screening purposes, as it is in PCSOT.[2] The lack of scientific support for polygraph testing is why the results are generally not admissible in court. Despite this lack of scientific support, some proponents of polygraph are unconcerned with the accuracy, reliability, or validity of the testing as long as it gets people to confess to deviant thoughts and “risky” behaviors. There is no objective way to measure the accuracy of the polygraph[4], but proponents claim the value is in increased disclosure of information and deterrence of offending.[5] However, claims about the value of polygraph as a deterrent to offending are not supported by research.[6] Increased disclosure of information is also not supported as having either treatment or deterrence value. In fact, a 2007 study found that there was no difference in recidivism rates between sexual offenders who were subjected to polygraph and those who were not.[7] Contrary to the purported value of increased disclosures, there is no evidence increased disclosures means decreased offending. Read more: https://jenniferkamorowski.net/2018/05/19/polygraph-testing-and-treatment-of-sexual-offenders/
WV: TWEAKS TO ENFORCEMENT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR COMPLEX SEX REGISTRY LAWMay 20, 2018 ·1 Comment[wvnews.com 5/19/18]During a recent sentencing hearing, Harrison Circuit Judge Thomas A. Bedell read sex offender registry rules to a defendant. Bedell was reading at a steady pace, and it still took 14 minutes. The Legislature requires that judges read the rules to defendants after they’re convicted, ostensibly to avert the possibility later of offenders saying they never were informed of the requirements. A judge reading the document aloud in court creates an official record. And it also takes away the possible illiteracy defense from an offender. But what it doesn’t do is help offenders get a grip on what they’re facing either for the next decade, or the rest of their lives. They’re focused on the sentence that’s about to be imposed, or the one that already has been. While most taxpayers aren’t going to shed a tear for sex offenders, what should be of interest to them is what this can mean to their bottom line. Read more: https://www.wvnews.com/theet/opinion/columns/tweaks-to-enforcement-should-be-considered-for-complex-sex-registry/article_d1aa1463-7b5f-5152-889d-cf33b87bb147.html GA: PARDON LIFTS REQUIREMENT TO REGISTER AS SEX OFFENDERMay 21, 2018 Georgia’s highest court says a man convicted of sexually abuse no longer must register as a sex offender after receiving a pardon. Full Article: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/georgia/articles/2018-05-21/court-pardon-lifts-requirement-to-register-as-sex-offender Tips on Writing to Your Elected Officials by Florida Action Committee | May 20, 2018 | Articles, Featured Articles Letters and faxes are an extremely effective way of communicating with your elected officials. Many legislators believe that a letter represents not only the position of the writer but also many other constituents who did not take the time to write. These tips will help increase the effectiveness of your letter: Keep it brief: Letters should never be longer than one page, and should be limited to one issue. Legislative aides read many letters on many issues in a day, so your letter should be as concise as possible. State Who You Are and What You Want Up Front: In the first paragraph, tell your legislators that you are a constituent and identify the issue about which you are writing. If your letters pertains to a specific piece of legislation, it helps to identify it by its bill number (e.g. H.R. ____ or S. _____). Hit your three most important points: Choose the three strongest points that will be most effective in persuading legislators to support your position and flesh them out. Personalize your letter: Tell your elected official why this legislation matters in his community or state. If you have one, include a personal story that shows how this issue affects you and your family. A constituent’s personal stories can be the very persuasive as your legislator shapes his or her position. Personalize your relationship: Have you ever voted for this elected official? Have you ever contributed time or money to his or her campaign? Are you familiar with her through any business or personal relationship? If so, tell your elected official or his staff person. The closer your legislator feels to you, the more powerful your argument is likely to be. You are the Expert: Remember that your legislator’s job is to represent you. You should be courteous and to the point, but don’t be afraid to take a firm position. Remember that often your elected official may know no more about a given issue than you do. From: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/tips-on-writing-to-your-elected-officials/
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 22 2018Venezuela’s hungry hunt wildlife, zoo animals, as economic crisis grows21 May 2018 I can not view the starving zoo animals in this article. If you have a strong stomach I suggest you see this page: https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/venezuelas-hungry-hunt-wildlife-zoo-animals-as-economic-crisis-grows/ Venezuela is suffering a disastrous economic crisis. With inflation expected to hit 13,000 percent in 2018, there has been a collapse of agricultural productivity, commercial transportation and other services, which has resulted in severe food shortages. As people starve, they are increasingly hunting wildlife, and sometimes zoo animals. From : https://www.trtworld.com/americas/crime-rate-sours-in-venezuela-17654 Recently, the Venezuelan government has stopped publishing numbers of crimes and homicides around the country. But according to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, last year alone has seen nearly 27,000 deaths – putting Venezuela in second place among countries with most lethal violence. Guess Where The 10 Most Violent Cities In The World Are Located?March 8, 2018 From: https://www.newsamericasnow.com/guess-10-violent-cities-world-located/ News Americas, MIAMI, Fl, Fri. Mar. 9, 2018: The list of most violent cities in the world is out and according to analysts at the Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice, most are in Latin America. Here are the Top 10: 1 Los Cabos, Mexico 2 Caracas, Venezuela 3 Acapulco, Mexico 4 Native, Brazil 5 Tijuana, Mexico 6 Peace, Mexico 7 Strength, Brazil 8 Victory, Mexico 9 Guiana, Venezuela 10 Belém, Brazil The new study underscored that Latin America remains one of the bloodiest swaths of the planet. The 10th annual ranking was released this week and measures murder rates in cities with more than 300,000 people.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 23 2018I have known about this in the news for about one month now:‘World War III’ worries me more than economic sanctions do, Russia’s VTB Bank chief saysFrom: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/world-war-iii-worries-me-more-than-sanctions-do-says-vtb-bank-chief.html Diplomatic tensions and the “aggressive policy” of the U.S. toward Russia are of more concern than sanctions, Andrei Kostin told CNBC.”People, at least in Russia and probably in America also, have started to feel that there is more danger of World War III,” the president and chairman of Russia’s VTB Bank said. Published 7 Hours Ago | Updated 4 Hours Ago CNBC.com Diplomatic tensions and the “aggressive policy” of the U.S. toward Moscow are of more concern than economic sanctions, the president and chairman of one of Russia’s largest lenders said Tuesday. “What concerns me more than any economic sanctions, that for the first time since the Cuban (missile) crisis — people, at least in Russia and probably in America also, have started to feel that there is more danger of World War III,” Andrei Kostin, the president and chairman of Russia’s VTB Bank told CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore in Moscow. “There is a recent public opinion poll (in) Russia (that) showed that 55 percent of Russians now believe or think that World War III is possible because of the aggressive policy of the United States,” he added.
“It’s very, very serious to reflect on what’s happening in national affairs. The world is becoming a much more dangerous place to live,” he said. “And that’s a great concern.” Kostin’s comments come amid a cold front — the coldest in a while —between Russia and the West. Among the sources of tension are Russia’s support for the authoritarian regime in Syria, a suspected Moscow-directed nerve agent attack on U.K. soil, and alleged meddling in elections in the U.S. in 2016, alongside accusations of state-sponsored cyber warfare. Russia is already experiencing ongoing Western-led economic sanctionsfor its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its perceived support for a pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine that same year. Moscow denies having any part in the U.K. spy nerve agent attack or in political interference in the U.S. Nonetheless, in April, the U.S. Treasury announced more sanctions on Russian individuals — including VTB’s Kostin — who it deemed to be government officials, as well as oligarchs and entities that it said wereclose to President Vladimir Putin. VTB is majority-owned by the Russian state. Kostin said the most recent sanctions, which essentially prohibit him from doing business with U.S. entities and citizens or travel to the country, had so far not affected his daily life. But he called the restrictions “unfair” and denied he was a government official, saying “I am a banker.” On a wider level, although Kostin conceded that economic sanctions had weakened the Russian economy — which went through a recession in 2015 and 2016 amid sanctions and low oil prices, but grew in 2017 — it had helped to unify the population. “Unfortunately, they strengthened anti-American feelings inside the Russian society,” he said.
From: http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/Kostin-World-War-III-worries-me-more-than-sanctions-do.htmlKostin: ‘World War III‘ worries me more than sanctions do 23 May in 10:20 Kostin: World War III worries me more than sanctions do Diplomatic tensions and the “aggressive policy” of the U.S. toward Moscow are of more concern than economic sanctions, the president and chairman of Russia’s VTB Bank Andrei Kostin said. “What concerns me more than any economic sanctions, that for the first time since the Cuban (missile) crisis — people, at least in Russia and probably in America also, have started to feel that there is more danger of World War III,” Kostin told CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore in Moscow. “There is a recent public opinion poll (in) Russia (that) showed that 55% of Russians now believe or think that World War III is possible because of the aggressive policy of the United States,” he added. “It’s very, very serious to reflect on what’s happening in national affairs. The world is becoming a much more dangerous place to live,” he said. “And that’s a great concern.” I just do not like India lately, since they were so quick to try to buy Venezuela’s oil; after we made sanctions against Venezuela. From: https://www.how2shout.com/news/india-planning-to-use-artificial-intelligence-to-develop-weapon-systems.htmlworld warIndia Planning to use Artificial intelligence to develop weapon systems Last Updated: May 23, 2018/ news/ No Comments Indian government officials planning to use the artificial intelligence (AI) technology to develop weapons, defense and surveillance systems. “The world is moving toward artificial intelligence-driven ecosystems, and India is taking the necessary steps to build our defense forces for future wars,” said Indian Defense Minister Ajay Kumar in a statement. Say. According to the Times of India report, a 17-person working group is currently developing an artificial intelligence roadmap for the Indian military. In the next two years, the working group will recommend the government ways to apply machine learning to the air force, navy, army, cybersecurity, nuclear, and biological resources. Specifically, it will involve areas such as autonomous weapon systems and unmanned surveillance. The above-mentioned 17-member team is headed by Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, and also includes members of the Indian Army, Navy, Atomic Energy Commission and Ministry of Finance. It is expected that the group will submit its first report to the Indian government within the next three months. “The working group will make recommendations… establish tactical deterrence in the region, study potential revolutionary weapons, and develop smart, autonomous robotic systems while strengthening cyber defenses,” an Indian official told the media. In April of this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated at the national defense expo held in Chennai that artificial intelligence and robots will become the most important determinants of the military in the future. He said that India will use its position in the field of information technology to make full use of artificial intelligence technology. However, previously, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and the late astronomer Hawking all calls that the use of artificial intelligence in the development of autonomous weapons, saying that this move is likely to trigger an arms race or even trigger World War III.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 27 2018 Click here to send email to Director Collier Tell Director Collier to budget for fewer, safer prisons! Crime in Texas dropped precipitously over more than two decades. We now have more prisons than we need, and many of them are hard to staff or require millions in repairs. THIS MONTH Texas agencies are building their new budget requests. Tell Executive Director Bryan Collier to budget for fewer, safer prisons. Taxpayers can have a prison system that costs less and is also better, by consolidating the shrinking inmate population and shuttering two prisons. The remaining system will be better staffed and safer for everyone. But government won’t shrink itself. You have to demand a smaller system or TDCJ will try and solve its problems by asking for even MORE money. An understaffed prison is an unsafe prison — unsafe for the guards, unsafe for the inmates, unsafe for the surrounding community. Last year, staff turnover in the Texas prison system hit 28%. Some units lost half their staff in a single year. Prisons struggle to fill those open positions and the state has thousands of open guard jobs right now. Because the jobs are located in distant rural areas or the facilities have serious safety issues, these are often jobs no one wants. Texans would rather dig an oil well, haul off trash, or change bedpans than live in temporary housing far from family in order to guard inmates four days out of seven. Some of the prisons that are located close enough to population centers to hire staff are also among the oldest facilities in the state and need millions of tax dollars invested to make them safe for both guards and inmates. Last session, Collier asked lawmakers for more than $50 million in repair costs alone. Tell Collier to present lawmakers with a budget that shrinks the size of our prison system, closing at least two prisons and consolidating populations among facilities that can be staffed more effectively. We’ve made it easy to send a message to the head of the prison system! Executive Director Collier doesn’t get a lot of email from the public. He will notice and he will need to respond. He is building his new budget request NOW. Help him do the right thing! Click here to send email to Director Collier
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 29 2018
Don’t Destroy Beautiful National Park With Oil FrackingClick here to sign petitionTarget: Brian Steed, Deputy Director, Policy and Programs, Bureau of Land Management Goal: Abandon plans to lease over 4,200 acres of land near a national park to oil and natural gas companies. A beautiful national park in Arizona may soon be facing dangerous destruction at the hands of fracking. President Donald Trump has proposed auctioning off 4,200 acres of natural land for oil and gas fracking. The very little untouched natural world our country has left should be protected, not destroyed. This proposed 4,200 acres of land is adjacent to the Little Colorado River and Petrified Forest National Park. The river is home to valuable groundwater that could be polluted, as well as endangered fish. Human and animal life is in danger. Action must be taken now to protect our country’s endangered species and the habitats they call home. Sign the petition to demand Trump’s proposal be abandoned. PETITION LETTER: Dear Mr. Steed, About 4,200 acres of beautiful habitat in Arizona are for sale to the highest bidder. A lush river and beautiful petrified forest will be destroyed if fracking comes within miles of the Little Colorado River and Petrified Forest National Park. Fracking has been proven to pollute drinking water, cause illnesses for both humans and animals, deplete natural landscapes, lead to long-term economic bust after short-term booms, and even cause explosions. Do not allow one of America’s rich national parks and invaluable natural landscapes to be destroyed.Click here to sign petition
Demand Justice for Eleven Lions Poisoned and Killed in National ParkClick here to sign petitionTarget: Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, Governor of Uganda Goal: Find the people that poisoned and killed eleven lions in Uganda. Eleven lions at the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda were poisoned. Villagers believe that the three lionesses and eight cubs were at fault for killing a cow, which is why the incident occurred. After the poisoning, only about nineteen lions are left in the park, and these lions have the potential of becoming extinct in Africa. Action needs to be taken to stop people from killing lions when there are so few remaining. The lion population in Africa has fallen drastically and more efforts need to be taken in order to preserve these creatures. A ranger with the authorities, Richard Kamara, posted on Facebook that “all communities living in the park must not have any domestic animals. Or they should be relocated.” The people responsible for the revenge killing of these beautiful creatures need to be caught so they cannot harm any more of the lions in the park. Demand the people involved be found and prosecuted. PETITION LETTER: Dear Governor Tumusiime-Mutebile, Villagers poisoned and killed eleven lions at the Queen Elizabeth National Park. There are only nineteen remaining. The three lionesses and eight cubs were victims of revenge for allegedly killing a cow. This is not the first time poisoning has occurred at the Queen Elizabeth National Park, as there has been at least one other incident. These killings cannot be taken lightly. These tree-climbing lions are severely endangered and can only be found in two places throughout the world. These beautiful creatures need to be rescued from this terrible fate. This revenge killing was cruel and the people responsible for this heinous act need to be found and prosecuted for their horrific and deadly actions. We demand these people be found and prosecuted for their cruel actions.Click here to sign petition
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 30 2018Click her to send message. The last time you were pulled over by a police officer, did you feel nervous for just a moment? Most of us do. Then we breathe a sigh of relief as we drive away. No arrest for ticketable violations! Thousands of Texans each year don’t get to drive away from a traffic stop. Instead of getting a ticket, they are pulled from their cars, arrested and then booked into jail on that same traffic charge, even though jail is not an allowable punishment for a traffic violation. It’s time to stop these unnecessary arrests! That’s right. People are arrested for a traffic ticket that is punishable by a fine. The arrest takes up officer time, jail time, and your time — with no public safety benefit. You still just get a ticket. For some departments, every traffic stop is an opportunity to investigate the driver. In such a stop, the officer starts to ask personal questions about your destination, your job or your family. The officer might ask if he can search the car or instead might just arrest you for that traffic violation and conduct a search “incident to arrest.” Finding nothing, the officer takes you to jail for the original traffic charge. Sometimes, drivers think their rights are being violated and resist, making that traffic stop more dangerous for both the officer and the driver. Tell your Senator to file a bill that returns traffic stops to their original function — enforcing the traffic laws. Lawmakers are thinking about their priorities for next session now! Click her to send message.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 30 2018 NC: Appeals court reverses twice-convicted sex offender’s lifetime GPS monitoring May 22, 2018 [wect.com 5/15/18] NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) – A state appeals court has reversed a ruling that would have required a twice-convicted sex offender wear a GPS monitoring bracelet for… .
Why Reporters Should Stop Using “Predator” May 22, 2018 [floridaactioncommittee.org 5/22/18] “The anonymity of the Internet has allowed predators to easily hide or misrepresent themselves.” – ABC News, August 2017 “Concerns about sexual predators have led communities in 30 U.S. states to adopt laws limiting where registered sex offenders can live.” – Reuters, November 2015 “Convicted Sexual Predator Allowed to Stay in Hotel During Cancer Treatments” – WFTV 9, May 2017 In May, the AP Stylebook changed its guidelines for how reporters should refer to people with substance abuse problems. “Avoid words like alcoholic, addict, user and abuser unless they are in quotations or names of organizations,” says the 2017 version. For those with addictions, that change won’t just shift how they’re portrayed but how they’re treated. A piece by Zachary Siegel in Slate last month noted that even veteran clinicians were more likely to recommend punitive measures for people described as “substance abusers” and rehab-oriented treatments for those referred to as “people with substance abuse disorders.” Even when people’s conditions are the result of personal choices, reporters avoid charged labels—that’s why those with diabetes aren’t described as “sugar abusers,” Siegel says. Read more: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/life-on-the-list-why-reporters-should-stop-using-predator/
SC: Charleston sheriff unplugs mugshot websites May 28, 2018 postandcourier.com – 5/26/18] Once upon a time, we named and shamed by putting the accused in stocks on the town square. Now we put them on the internet. I am omitting the names because it is impossible to sort the innocent from the guilty. “South Carolina Hottie Bookings,” on a website called Arrests.org, isn’t troubled by such details. On this one website, there are mugshots of 1,000 women arrested in South Carolina over the past two years, many on nothing-burger charges. Mind you, not one of them was convicted of anything when her mugshot was published. There is the 21-year-old arrested on New Year’s Eve in Charleston for public intoxication. The baby-faced 18-year-old arrested in Myrtle Beach for trying to buy beer. And the 18-year-old from Florence with the ubiquitous “charges unknown.” But no matter, it’s the “hottie’s” mugshot that matters. And there is a place for sometimes lewd comments. Police mugshots have been around forever — it’s the internet that has changed everything. Nothing in the Constitution requires county jails around the country to post arrest mugshots online, but they do because they are public records. This has spawned an entire industry of websites that run mugshots. Some charge hundreds or thousands of dollars to take them down. Last week, the California attorney general filed extortion and money laundering charges against four men alleged to be behind Mugshots.com. Two years ago, the South Carolina Legislature made a good-faith effort to do something by requiring websites to delete the arrest information if the accused can show they have been cleared. The legislation has done little to nothing to slow websites, many of them offshore, or shakedown artists who prey on people desperate to salvage their reputations. While these efforts are overdue, there is a simpler answer and it is no farther away than your local county jail. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office just made a change that may save countless people years of grief. Other South Carolina counties should follow suit. Read more: https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/commentary/charleston-sheriff-unplugs-mugshot-websites/article_68d11b08-5ec3-11e8-8f4b-d3aa71c2d2f9.html
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 31 2018I used to tell people at my job at a fast food place, that if you see a guy at night with his penis out; he is not peeing. The lady’s at the drive through would say they must be peeing. They were exposing themselves; it was the first thing I thought of, when I was told this took place at the drive through. I point out sex offences to people when ever I can and always encourage them to call the police asap. If I guy masturbates in front of someone without their consent; that is a sex offence and needs to be treated that way. Exposing your self and peeping tom’s could be the first stages leading to rape. That is why I am compelled to post this: WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2018#MeToo among Texas women prison guardsGo read Keri Blakinger’s new Houston Chronicle story on the topic. Keri writes that, “female officers also have to contend with harassment from coworkers, masturbating inmates and fear of retaliation if they complain, according to lawsuits, state records and interviews.” Here are the crux of the allegations:“You think it’s the inmates you have to worry about,” said one former employee, who asked not to be identified, “but it’s actually the people you work with.” Some women told the Chronicle of enduring lewd comments or inappropriate contact from co-workers. One female employee said she and other women guards picked jobs working around inmates to avoid having contact with the men who supervised them. The latest allegations come after the department reached a $250,000 settlement last year in a lawsuit accusing a male lieutenant of raping an officer he supervised — a claim reminiscent of former assistant director Sammy Buentello, who retired in 2004 amid criminal charges and a high-dollar lawsuit by multiple women accusing him of sexual harassment and assault. TDCJ officials, however, say that sort of workplace environment is a thing of the past. “Any days of a male-dominated culture are long gone,” said Lorie Davis, director of TDCJ’s Institutional Division and the highest-ranking woman in the agency. “We have a lot of women that move up through the ranks.”Ms. Davis seems to think that because, as a division manager, nobody sexually harasses her, that it’s not a problem at the agency: “I haven’t experienced sexual harassment as a female in our agency in years,” she said. “Years and years, not since I was a corrections officer literally 30 years ago.” Does anybody really believe that, in Texas’ predominantly rural prison system, where guards are paid roughly half the wages of the counterparts in California, for example, and more than one in four positions turn over annually, that the “days of a male-dominated culture are long gone”? That seems awfully hard to swallow.POSTED BY GRITSFORBREAKFAST AT 4:46 PM
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 31 2018Anyone hear of separation of church and state; the foundation of our country?:“Separation of church and state” is paraphrased from Thomas Jefferson and used by others in expressing an understanding of the intent and function of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an …Separation of church and state in the United States – Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_Statesday at the California Great America’s Redwood Amphitheatre in Santa Clara and at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Cesar Chavez Park on the Berkeley waterfront.The blue wall of California, Mr. Graham told the gathering, represents secular values that have taken root on the country’s west coast. “Progressive?” he went on, “That’s just another word for godless.” Now is the time for churches to “suck it up” and vote.…[His] mission, Mr. Graham says, is about faith and Jesus, but the parallel political message is just as resounding: Support candidates who will advance the socially conservative causes dear to many evangelicals — especially opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage — and get to the polls and vote for them. The article shows how white evangelicals are still playing the persecution game, pretending that evangelicals are underdogs in the political sphere, even though they currently control everything (and the country’s gone to shit because of it). No matter how much scandal Donald Trump is mired in, Graham believes he can still use the old playbook of finding wedge issues that will get Christians to the poll, while ignoring all the injustices going on because of the man they elected in 2016. But notice how he frames the fight: He says “progressive” is “another word for godless.” He’s right in one respect. Countries where religion doesn’t have a stronghold are indeed progressive in all the right ways. Sociologist Phil Zuckerman has pointed this out very thoroughly: Those societies today that are the most religious — where faith in God is strong and religious participation is high — tend to have the highest violent crime rates, while those societies in which faith and church attendance are the weakest — the most secular societies — tend to have the lowest. … It is the highly secularized countries that tend to fare the best in terms of crime rates, prosperity, equality, freedom, democracy, women’s rights, human rights, educational attainment and life expectancy. (Although there are exceptions, such as Vietnam and China, which have famously poor human rights records.) And those nations with the highest rates of religiosity tend to be the most problem-ridden in terms of high violent crime rates, high infant mortality rates, high poverty rates and high rates of corruption.
In the societies where godlessness is a choice, and people choose it en masse, people fare much better. So cheers to the progressive agenda!But Graham also implies that Democrats — the progressive party, relatively speaking — somehow embrace godlessness. That’s not true in any meaningful way. Democratic candidates bend over backwards to get religious votes all the time — and they almost always avoid atheists and the non-religious vote. Hillary Clinton, someone Graham would no doubt claim is progressive, said the most influential book she’s ever read is the Bible, and she selected a former missionary as her 2016 running mate. There is currently one openly non-religious member of Congress, and the Congressional Freethought Caucus has a grand total of five members. Even thought Republicans can count on the Religious Right turning out in their favor, the Democrats take our votes for granted yet do little to no specific outreach to organizations promoting non-theism. So to suggest that progressive candidates would automatically promote atheism, as Graham did, makes no sense at all. I wish they would! But they don’t. They actively stay away from us because they still believe it’s toxic to associate with atheists. Democrats spend far more time wooing progressive Christians than liberal atheists. I’ll give Graham credit for one thing, though: He knows that winning congressional races isn’t the only game in town. … In California, one clear goal is to change the makeup of school boards. “Can you imagine if your school boards were controlled by evangelical Christians?” he asked the pastors in Pasadena, a not so subtle reference to conservative religious protests of California’s new sex education curriculum, which includes lessons on LGBTQ sexuality. And school boards are just the start. He wants Christians to run for city council, for mayor, and every level of government. Graham and other conservatives are well aware that local elections have far more consequences on our lives than what someone in D.C. can do on a regular basis. They are working to have evangelical candidates in those races, and because so many of them get little attention, it doesn’t take that many votes to decide who’s in charge of local governments. Graham and the people who support his anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-Jesus agenda may lose a lot of races next week, but he’s well aware that the long-term game lies in local elections that are under the radar. We’d be wise to follow his lead, find sensible candidates for those offices, and support rational thinkers over evangelical theocrats.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated May 31 2018ACTION ALERTSign eBay’s Petition to Support Fair Tax Policy for US Sellers and Buyers Join more than 368,000 people who have already signedLast week we alerted you to a very important petition. If you’ve been following eBay Main Street recently, you know that the U.S. Supreme Court will make a decision in the coming weeks that could give states the right to tax every small business on the Internet. The issue is just as urgent on Capitol Hill, as states, shopping centers, and large retailers lobby hard to increase taxes on small businesses and their online customers. There has never been a more critical time to stand against new and unfair Internet taxes. Our leaders in Washington, D.C., and in state capitals across America need to know how you feel about these new and harmful Internet tax burdens. If you have not already done so, please digitally sign this petition to show political leaders that you stand with us against these new taxes. It should take less than three minutes. We’ll deliver your signatures to President Trump, key members of Congress, and select state governors.As always, thank you for taking a stand for millions of small businesses across America.Sincerely,The eBay Government Relations TeamSign the Petition Now >
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 05 2018 I have been a AARP Member for many years now. I was a main contributor to the anti fraud map website about 3 years ago. My name is some where on this web page: https://action.aarp.org/site/SPageNavigator/FraudMap.html I get emails from the AARP every day. I am a AARP supporter for life. I had to post this video from AARP about online identity exploitation: AARP takes action to stop statewide internet fraud – New Day NW https://www.king5.com/video/entertainment/television/programs/new-day-northwest/aarp-takes-action-to-stop-statewide-internet-fraud-new-day-nw/281-8139348 AARP recently launched a consumer campaign in response to a survey revealing that Washington State online users are failing to protect their online identities. Published: 1:13 PM PDT May 24, 2018 It seems RSO’s are not the only ones concerned about online identity exploitation.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 07 2018 NJ Supreme Court Bars Retroactive Application of Megan’s Law Amendments May 30, 2018 [law.com – 5/30/18] The New Jersey Supreme Court on Wednesday held 2014 amendments to Megan’s Law enhancing certain penalties for sex offenders who violate parole requirements unenforceable against four defendants based on the ex post facto clauses of both the state and federal constitutions. Read more: https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/2018/05/30/nj-supreme-court-bars-retroactive-application-of-megans-law-amendments/
MI: Unexpected comments from a prosecutor June 6, 2018 [floridaactioncommittee.org – 6/6/18] Ingham County (Michigan) Prosecutor Carol A. Siemon, issued a statement concerning the sentencing of former Michigan State football players in connection with a sexual offense. Below is an excerpt from her statement, quoted directly: The sex offender registry is a blunt instrument that I believe needs to be reformed and streamlined so that law enforcement can make better use of the information. It would be more effective as a law enforcement tool to keep the public safe if it targeted the cases that are most likely to result in recidivism – child abuse and child sexual assault, for example, or serial rapists. The sex offender registry is just one example of the types of cases where we have laws that are well-intentioned, but go too far from their original intent – and don’t allow our courts to provide a proportionate response. From:https://floridaactioncommittee.org/unexpected-comments-from-a-prosecutor/
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 07 2018A Republican who filmed herself harassing a trans woman lost her election. By a lot. A Republican candidate for California’s house just lost her primary. In May, Jazmina Saavedra streamed video of herself harassing a transgender woman in a Denny’s bathroom. For half an hour, Saavedra paced in the restaurant, shouted at the transgender woman through the stall wall, and laughed with a friend about how she carries a stun gun and pepper spray for situations like that. “So, that guy is violating my right to use the ladies’ room here, and he’s saying he’s a lady! Stupid guy,” Saavedra said in the video, which Facebook removed. On Tuesday, Saavedra soundly lost the primary election for California’s 44th House District, getting 10% of the vote behind Democrat Nanette Barragan (66%) and Democrat Aja Brown (17%). California has a “top two” primary system where candidates of all parties run in the same election, and the top two vote-getters face off in the general election. In some districts, this results in general elections with two candidates from the same party. Since conceding, Saavedra has shown no remorse for harassing a transgender woman in the bathroom. The only tweet she sent out since the election misgendered the victim and referred to her as a “drug addict.”
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 07 2018 Researchers show people who hate gays are generally less intelligent A study published in the journal Intelligence found a correlation between cognitive ability and anti-LGBTQ attitudes. The study, led by Francisco Perales at The University of Queensland, examined data from 11,654 individuals in Australia. According to PsyPost, the researchers used three tests for cognitive ability: the National Adult Reading Test, the Symbol Digits Modalities Test and the Backwards Digit Span Test. They then asked participants if they agreed with the statement “Homosexual couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples do.” The researchers found a correlation between disagreeing with that statement and performing worse on the tests, especially when it came to verbal ability. Cognitive ability still affected homophobia even when demographic variables (including education) were controlled for. “Altogether, the findings provide clear evidence that cognitive ability is an important precursor of prejudice against same-sex couples,” Perales wrote. The researchers found that both education and cognitive ability affect levels of homophobia, and suggested education as a way of “counteracting prejudice towards same-sex couples and LGBT people.” The National Adult Reading Test is used to assess intelligence levels in people who have dementia and is correlated with IQ. The Symbols Digits Modalities Test is used to assess brain damage from injury and disease. The Backwards Digit Span Test is a memory test.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 11 2018 Click here to sign petition.https://act.credoaction.com/sign/fox-social-security?t=3&akid=28860%2E4914083%2E8nGujuDemand corrections from FOX affiliates for Social Security propaganda71% We’ve reached 71,483 of our goal of 100,000.Sign the petitionPetition to: News directors at local Fox affiliates Issue an on-air correction to your recent report saying that Social Security benefit cuts are imminent. Instead of scaremongering that Social Security will go broke in 2022, you should report the truth: Social Security has a $2.9 trillion surplus, can pay out 100 percent of benefits owed for the next 17 years and approximately 80 percent of benefits owed after that. In fact, we could afford to not only protect benefits well into the future, but expand Social Security, simply by asking the wealthy to pay the same rate into Social Security as everyone else.
Demand corrections from FOX affiliates for Social Security propagandaMore than 60 Fox affiliates just launched a coordinated assault on Social Security. They aired similar versions of a news report claiming that Social Security is in crisis and benefit cuts are imminent. The truth – that the program can pay out full benefits for almost two decades and we can protect and expand benefits by making the wealthy pay their fair share – was nowhere to be found.1 This was a synchronized propaganda push intended to spread fears about Social Security in local markets across the country, and we need to demand immediate, on-air corrections. Demand corrections from Fox affiliates for Social Security propaganda. Local news is where right-wing, corporate interests like Fox and Sinclair are at their most insidious: pushing propaganda and outright lies on overworked, underfunded local stations and an unaware public. The progressive media accountability organization Media Matters caught more than 60 Fox affiliates airing a misleading doomsday report about Social Security with only minor variations. Across the country, local viewers heard that Social Security was in an imminent crisis that would inevitably result in benefit cuts as soon as 2022.2 But these reports deliberately refused to tell the truth:3 Social Security trustees have long anticipated any shortfall due to baby boomer retirementsThe nearly $3 trillion trust fund built up for exactly that reason will protect benefits until 2034 – not 2022Asking the wealthy to pay their fair share by removing the cap that exempts income over $128,400 from being taxed would allow us to protect and even expand Social Security.Fox affiliates engaged in dangerous fear-mongering at best and outright right-wing propaganda at worst. That’s why we’re joining our friends at Social Security Works to show these local stations, dependent on viewers and sensitive to public pressure, that we won’t let them get away with it. Demand corrections from FOX affiliates for Social Security propaganda. Thank you for speaking out. References: Zachary Pleat, “Dozens of local Fox affiliates run misleading segments pushing Social Security benefit cuts,” Media Matters for America, May 30, 2018.Click here to sign petition.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 11 2018I have always compared Nazi Germany to perverted sex offender laws. I am far from the only one to use this comparison. I have also always said that the LGBTQ community and American’s of color, and women, experience the same prejudice and ignorance; that so called sex offenders experience. It puts everyone in the same boat; theoretically. That is why I blog the way I do here. I got a email today with a reference to Nazis to LGBTQ folks. I think the only difference between me and most people is I read allot. I just want to scream at people sometimes; READ! I have always had the ability to have a super comprehensive ability; when it comes to reading things that interest me. I don’t want to say this with too much emphasis, it seems as though sometimes; everything I read I memorize. That, and believe it or not; I have a unwavering ability to maintain a extreme moral conduct; above and beyond the norm. If you meet me you will know this immediately. Like I have said before here on this blog, I will call you on your lack of sensibility’s; especially when it comes to anything inappropriate about sexual behavior. When I meet people I can almost read them after about 3 minutes, this has plagued me since childhood. My dad having been a very strict police officer 24/7; all his life, must be the reason I am like this. It must have been passed down to me. I am going to list quotes from this email link comparing LGBTQ folks to victims of Nazi oppression. “Nazis acted on and eventually extended Paragraph 175, the section of the German Penal Code dating back to 1871 with the unification of Germany: Unnatural vice committed by two persons of the male sex or by people with animals is to be punished by imprisonment; the verdict may also include the loss of civil rights.” “Nazi ideology rested on the assessment that homosexuals (males) lowered the German birth rate; they endangered, recruited, enticed, and corrupted youth; that a possible homosexual epidemic could spread; that homosexuals are “potential oppositionists” and enemies of respectable society; and that sexual relations between people of the same sex impairs their “sense of shame” and undermines morality, which inevitably will bring about the “decline of social community.” While Nazi ideology and practice rejected lesbianism as well, they did not criminalize same-sex sexuality between women, as they had in Germany’s Paragraph 175 of the Penal Code, because they believed that so-called “Aryan” lesbians could produce Aryan children for the “New Germany.” On the other hand, Heinrich Himmler, Gestapo head and chief architect of the Reich’s anti-homosexual campaign, justified his actions by arguing that male homosexuals were “like women” and therefore, could not fight in any German war effort. Subsequently, he conducted surveillance operations on an estimated 90,000 suspected homosexuals, arrested approximately 50,000, and transported somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 to several concentration camps throughout the Nazi dominion. Very few survived. Hitler also proposed eliminating all sexuality education from the German school system and encouraged parents to take on the primary responsibilities for sexuality instruction within the home.” “The common thread running through Nazi ideology regarding sex, gender expression, and sexuality was their intense campaign to control individuals’ bodies and the bodies of members of entire communities in an attempt to control their minds. Throughout history, examples abound of patriarchal domination over the rights and lives of women and LGBT people, whom they have been constructed as second-class and even third-class citizens not merely in Nazi Germany, but today as the current political climate indicates. Within a patriarchal system of male domination, cisgender heterosexual male bodies matter more, while “othered” bodies matter less. These “othered” bodies include female and intersex bodies, and bodies that violate the “rules” for the reproduction and maintenance of the dominant patriarchal system, such as trans, gender non-conforming, and gay, lesbian, and bisexual bodies, and bodies with disabilities. In addition, within many Western societies, non-European-heritage bodies are regarded also as abject bodies – bodies that, to use Judith Butler’s phraseology, do not matter, or, at least, do not matter as much as “white” bodies. Butler reminds us that the term “abjection” is taken from the Latin, ab-jicere, meaning to cast off, away, or out. On a social level, abjection designates a degraded, stigmatized, or cast out status. In psychoanalytic parlance, this is the notion of Verwerfung (foreclosure). Butler states that “we regularly punish those who fail to do their gender right,” and similarly punish those who fail to do their “race” right. Doing one’s “race” right often depends on doing one’s socioeconomic class right. The regulatory regimes of “sex,” “sexuality,” “gender,” “ability,” “race,” and “class” are inimically connected, and these connections are socially maintained.”
Denver’s South Broadway Christian Church is stirring controversy following the Supreme Court’s decision in favor of antigay evangelical Christian baker Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In a narrow ruling, the court ruled in favor of Phillips, saying the civil rights commission didn’t respect his claim that he was discriminating for Jesus by refusing to make a cake for a gay couple. The baker’s store is located in Lakewood, and is part of the Denver metropolitan area. The church’s pastor, Dustin Adkins, however, disagrees with Phillips logic and, as an empathetic man of God, he would seem to be an authority. Adkins points to the Bible’s recounting of Christ’s life as the basis for his stance that the Christian savior would embrace LGBTQ people. “Jesus worked with folks on the periphery of society, mistreated and marginalized,” Adkins told television station KUSA. “Those folks are the ones he welcomes the most.” Phillips claimed his religious freedom was being suppressed by forcing him to serve the public equally. The Supreme Court punted on whether or not “religious liberty” includes a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people, instead they sent the case back for reconsideration. The commission could still resolve the case in favor of the gay couple. this pic of a sign (📷 by: reyrey5280 from Reddit) from a Denver church near me really says a lot of things, and this is…
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 14 2018I know I have said this on this blog before. It still amazes me how many crimes are committed every day in our country; at fast food restaurants. I just looked up Fast Food Crime in Google News and found several crimes; just from today alone. Just put the words Fast Food Crime in Google News; (then press sort by date in tools) and see for yourself.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 15 2018Some good stuff to report: ID: SEX OFFENDERS SAY IDAHO LAW HURTS THEM. JUDGE REPLIES: PROVE ITJune 8, 2018 [idahostatesman.com – 5/30/18]BOISE, Idaho A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s sex offender registration laws, but the 134 anonymous sex offenders who brought the lawsuit have the option to refile the case if they can show the current laws caused them actual harm. That could be difficult, U.S. District Judge David Nye warned, because several common arguments have already been shot down in previous court cases. “Common arguments in this area are that the registration requirements are embarrassing, invasive and burdensome. These challenges, however, have been unavailing as none are based on recognized fundamental rights,” Nye wrote in the ruling made earlier this month. http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article212105009.html MN: SEX OFFENDER WHO SUED WEST ST. PAUL TO GET $84K IN SETTLEMENTJune 11, 2018 A sex offender who sued West St. Paul over its 2016 ordinance that restricted where he could live will receive $84,000 as part of a settlement agreement approved by a federal judge Monday. Full Article: https://www.twincities.com/2018/06/11/sex-offender-who-sued-west-st-paul-to-get-84g-in-settlement/
CO, LA, VT: MORE STATES ENACT MAJOR “SECOND CHANCE” REFORMSJune 12, 2018[ccresourcecenter.org 6/11/18]In recent weeks, three more states — Colorado, Louisiana and Vermont — have enacted laws intended to make it easier for people with a criminal record to find and keep employment, or otherwise to regain rights and status. We are just now noting Wyoming’s amendment in March of more than a dozen occupational licensing laws, to impose new limits on how criminal record may be taken into consideration by licensing agencies. In the first five months of 2018 alone, a total of 21 states have enacted legislation to improve opportunities for people with a criminal record, with more similar laws evidently on the way. States have enacted several different types of “second chance” laws this year. On May 25, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law an expansion of the state’s expungement authority for both adult and juvenile offenders, reducing waiting periods and other eligibility criteria for qualifying felony and misdemeanor convictions. The new law also authorizes courts to expunge non-conviction records 12 months after the conclusion of the case, without need for a petition from the defendant, and without regard to the nature of the offense. This is the third time in recent years that Vermont has extended eligibility for expungement. Read more: http://ccresourcecenter.org/2018/06/11/three-more-states-enact-major-second-chance-reforms/ CANADA: MARNI SOUPCOFF: SEX-OFFENDER REGISTRIES MAY BE DOING MORE HARM THAN GOODJune 12, 2018[nationalpost.com – 6/11/18]To call the state of New Hampshire’s computer sex crime law excessive is an understatement. Just a couple of weeks ago, the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the felony conviction of a young man who, at age 18, went online and propositioned a 15-year-old girl (whom he knew) for sex. Because of the conviction, the computer sex crime law dictates that he’ll be on the state’s public sex-offender registry for life. If he’d actually had consensual sex with the underage girl, instead of propositioning her online, he’d have been charged with a misdemeanour and wouldn’t have been placed on the sex-offender registry at all. It makes little sense. But then, sex-offender registries in general make a lot less sense than we tend to assume they do. The problem isn’t with their goal, which is to prevent future offences by sexual predators (the point of the public registries in the United States), or to make it easier to apprehend sex offenders (the point of the Canadian registries, which are accessible only by police). Read more: http://nationalpost.com/opinion/marni-soupcoff-sex-offender-registries-may-be-doing-more-harm-than-good Haunted by a mugshot: how predatory websites exploit the shame of arrest Sites are collecting people’s mugshots, then charging huge sums to remove them. Should Google be doing more to stop it? https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/12/mugshot-exploitation-websites-arrests-shame Tue 12 Jun 2018 03.01 EDT Last modified on Tue 12 Jun 2018 18.54 EDT Mugshots are often the first thing to appear when someone is Googled, even if innocent, and have serious consequences on work, housing and relationships. Mugshots are often the first thing to appear when someone is Googled, even if innocent, and have serious consequences on work, housing and relationships. Gregory Rakoczy was asleep in his van at a Maryland campsite when six police officers knocked on his door. A fellow camper had Googled his name and found a mugshot indicating he was a felon on the run. He was not. Rakoczy was arrested and held for 20 hours. Afterward he immediately Googled his own name and found that his picture had recently gone up on Mugshots.com for criminal charges he had faced 15 years ago. At that time Rakoczy ran a company that installed audiovisual equipment in homes. He was charged with fraud after his firm sold dozens of clients one model of TV but installed a different one – a mistake he said was made by a distributor, but one he should have noticed. Say cheese: men who allegedly published thousands of mugshot photos arrested for extortion Most of the 90 charges – one for every person sold the wrong TV – were dismissed after he replaced the TVs, and he spent five years on probation for the remaining ones. He contacted Mugshots.com to take the picture down and they demanded $399, which he paid. But the next day he saw his picture was still on the site and he called them again. “They told me it was $399 for every charge,” he said. He refused and the mugshot has haunted him ever since. Rakoczy is one of a growing number of people demanding that lawmakers and search engines do more to clamp down on the predatory industry that has emerged around mugshots. It’s a complex debate that raises questions about public records in a digital age, shame culture and the responsibility of platforms like Google. Last month the alleged owners of Mugshots.com, one of dozens of sites that publish booking photos and demand payment for their removal, were arrested on charges of extortion, money laundering and identity theft. But the site remains online, along with dozens of others like it. Gregory Rakoczy says he was swindled by Mugshots.com.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gregory Rakoczy says he was swindled by Mugshots.com. Photograph: Courtesy of subject“It’s really a good sign that finally they’ve been able to get charges against some of the people behind these sites,” said Paolo Cirio, an artist and activist who has dedicated the last few years to campaigning against mugshot extortion. “But it’s a small drop in the ocean.” Since that incident in May 2012, Rakoczy, who is now an author, has been falsely detained six more times – at the beach, at dinner with his editor, at three other campsites and most recently, in November 2017, he was detained while dining with friends in Alabama. In every case, someone had Googled his name and seen the outdated and inaccurate mugshot record that appears among the top results. “I’m an old school New Yorker, so every time I am introduced to somebody I say my own name. But then I think ‘oh crap, I’m going to get a knock on my door in 24 hours’,” said Rakoczy, who recently finished his first novel. Eroding the presumption of innocenceAt a federal level, mugshots are not considered public records; they are deemed to be an unwarranted invasion of privacy. But since the early 2000s, local law enforcement agencies in every state – with the exception of Georgia –have shared digital booking photos on their websites as a public notification service. According to Eumi Lee, a UC Hastings law professor, this shift to the internet transformed mugshots of ordinary citizens from “public records that generally fell into ‘practical obscurity’” into “commodities posted for entertainment and commercial gain”. Many of the government websites were designed not to be indexed by Google and kept updated. However, sites like Mugshots.com, Busted Newspaper, and Arrests.org, as well as state-level ones like Florida.arrests.org and Phoenixmugs.com, scrape these sites or submit freedom of information requests to get hold of millions of booking records. The sites then use search engine optimisation techniques to ensure the mugshots rank highly in Google search results – even if the charges were subsequently dropped or the person was arrested due to mistaken identity or law enforcement error. Thomas Keesee and Sahar Sarid are accused of extracting more than $2m in mugshot-removal fees from over 5,000 people.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Thomas Keesee and Sahar Sarid are accused of extracting more than $2m in mugshot-removal fees from over 5,000 people. Photograph: Palm Beach sheriff’s office/Broward sheriffs’ officeNot only do these pages humiliate their subjects, but they also damage their chance of finding a job, housing or even potential dates because mugshots create a powerful visual association between the subject and criminal activity, regardless of guilt. (The association is deemed so powerful that courts try to avoid showing mugshots to juries to avoid prejudice.) Beyond the mugshot sites, there’s an entire ecosystem that profits from the humiliation of those arrested, including reputation management firms, mugshot removal services, media companies that publish mugshot galleries and search engines like Google. It can be a lucrative business. The founders of Mugshots.com are accused of extorting at least 5,703 individuals in the US to rake in more than $2.4m. “These websites have made people live in terror of their digital reputation,” said Sarah Lageson, a sociologist who studies the criminal justice system. “People opt out of society and avoid social situations that might result in Google search.” ‘My reputation is everything’Kim (not her real name), a Canadian in her 30s who runs her own design company, is scared that prospective clients might see her mugshot, which was taken after a violent – and what she alleges was wrongful – arrest as she was leaving a gay bar in Florida in 2014. Police officers were trying to move the crowd along, but Kim had become separated from her friend so took shelter in a doorway. She explained to a nearby police officer why she was waiting, but he insisted she move. She opened her mouth to protest and within seconds, she alleges, the police officer grabbed her wrist and spun her into the cuff position, slamming her face into the door. These websites have made people live in terror of their digital reputationSarah Lageson, sociologist“My eye was split open, my face pressed against the glass with blood streaming down my face,” she said. “All the people in the crowd started screaming ‘police brutality’.” Kim was taken to hospital for several stitches above her left eye (the Guardian has seen photos of her injuries) before being taken to jail where she was charged with resisting arrest. The charges were dropped days later. About a month after the incident, Kim’s lawyer called her to say her photo had been posted online. She turned to Google in a panic. Although her charges were dismissed weeks before, her battered face was staring back at her from several mugshot websites. “It was mortifying. I’d just started my own company and my reputation is everything,” she said, adding that she feels “revictimised” every time she sees the picture. She started to pay fees of between $200 and $450 to remove photos. Each time her photo was taken down from one site it would pop up on another. It was an expensive game of whack-a-mole. “I spent $3,000 in total before realising it was a big scam. The second they see you are sucker enough to pay for one it’s up the next day on another,” she said. Kim had the resources to hire lawyers and pay the take-down fees, but many aren’t. “We know that people who are not white and people who are poor or mentally ill are disproportionately more likely to be arrested,” Lageson said. “Mugshots are simply a reflection of police discretion.” Google’s responsibilityThe Italian activist Paolo Cirio, who launched a campaign group called Right2Remove, wants Google to either de-index the mugshot websites or massively down-rank them in search results – offering Americans a similar right to those in Europe, where there is a regulation granting the “right to be forgotten”. “Google is the gatekeeper. It would be great if they acknowledged that these websites are bad actors and demoted them,” he said. Google has down-ranked mugshot websites in the past. In response to a 2013 New York Times article, Google tweaked its algorithm to dramatically reduce the sites’ prominence in search results. Since then, the sites appear to have worked around the changes and bubbled back to the top. Google ads for mugshot removal services.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google ads for mugshot removal services. Photograph: Google“We recognise that this is a sensitive issue,” said a Google spokeswoman. “Since 2013, we have had systems that work to decrease the visibility of mugshots for searches for people’s names, while being careful not to inadvertently suppress information that is in the public interest, such as sheriff department sites or sex offender registries.” It’s a tricky problem because even if the mugshots websites are down-ranked, if an arrestee doesn’t have much of a digital presence their mugshot may still be the first result when someone Googles their name. Facebook accused of conducting mass surveillance through its apps Read moreCirio argues that Google is dragging its feet over the issue because it gets paid a small fee every time someone clicks on an ad for the reputation management companies that appear when people search for “remove mugshot” or something similar. In light of Google’s recent decisions to ban advertising for bail bonds and high-interest payday loans, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume they could extend the ban to mugshot extortion sites. And some point to how the company has taken a strong line with other types of photo-based extortion such as revenge porn. Google said it bans content that “seeks to exploit others”, which includes extortion and blackmail. However, searches reveal it still features many ads promising to remove mugshots for a fee, including one that imitates an official Google website. This ad looks like it’s an official Google service, but it’s not.Facebook Twitter Pinterest This ad looks like it’s an official Google service, but it’s not. Photograph: GoogleSome members of Cirio’s group are taking matters into their own hands, using the dark arts of search engine optimisation and cyber-sleuthing to identify the people who run the sites and attempt to tarnish their reputation online. For others, regulation is the only solution. So far, 18 states have introduced laws to ban removal fees or insist on accurate postings. However, these still place all the burden on the individual to find their mugshots online, contact the company with proof of the status of their case, and negotiate the removal of the picture. Eumi Lee proposes a different solution: excluding mugshots from the public records, except when there is a specific law enforcement need or by court order. “We are at such a pivotal mark in terms of criminal justice reform and also at this point of starting to fear the commercialisation of consumer and government data,” the law professor said. “Society must recognise the greater privacy interests at stake in the digital era.” Rakoczy remains pragmatic. “I am not trying to hide the fact I was arrested, but I have a problem with everyone having such easy access and these sites wanting a buttload of money to take it down.” WA: COUNTY TO PAY $115K TO MAN MISTAKENLY LISTED AS SEX OFFENDERJune 14, 2018[kimatv.com – 6/14/18]YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. – The county has agreed to settle a lawsuit involving a man who was wrongfully listed as a sex offender. Yakima County will pay local man Damian Garza Cantu $115,000 after someone else’s criminal convictions of third degree rape were mistakenly placed on his record. Read more: http://kimatv.com/news/local/county-to-pay-115k-to-man-mistakenly-listed-as-sex-offender Related links: WA: County to pay $115K to man mistakenly listed as sex offender [floridaactioncommittee.org – 6/14/18]
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 19 2018MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2018The Intercept: State DA association understates extent of prosecutor misconductA recent Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee hearing covered that panel’s fourth “interim charge” – essentially a study assignment the House Speaker gives committees in between Texas’ once-every-two-years legislative sessions – related to both prosecutor misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel (aka, defense misconduct). Grits had analyzed the key debates from that hearing related to ineffective assistance. And now, my neighbor Jordan Smith has a report on the prosecutor-misconduct portion of that debate for The Intercept. Jordan explored in some depth, and ably refuted, the state prosecutor association’s claims that legislators should interpret the low number of prosecutors sanctioned for misconduct as evidence that prosecutorial misconduct doesn’t (or barely) exists. Between those two reports, one can get a decent sense of the terms of debate presented to the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee surrounding that interim charge. POSTED BY GRITSFORBREAKFAST AT 11:19 AM Transgender woman awarded for equal rights advocacyJennifer Fletcher has spent five years advocating for equal rights in the Alaska state health care coverage plan. Fletcher is a transgender woman who filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the State of Alaska on June 5.. In the federal lawsuit, filed on behalf of Fletcher, it alleges Fletcher “has been denied coverage for medically necessary transition-related care because she is transgender.” “It became abundantly clear to me that I would have to do something,” Fletcher, 36, of Juneau, said. “And it would be a regrettable necessity.” Fletcher is a legislative librarian at the state Legislature and has been working there for four years. She began her process about five years ago and has been petitioning for health care rights ever since. Her fight against the state health care system, AlaskaCare Employee Health Plan, recently earned her an award. Last Sunday, SouthEast Alaska Gay and Lesbian Alliance (SEAGLA) awarded Fletcher with this year’s Mildred Boesser Equal Rights Award during its annual Pride Picnic. Boesser was a long-time supporter and advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer (LGBTQ) rights in Juneau. This is the third year of the award. Past winners include former city manager Kim Kiefer and current City and Borough of Juneau Assembly member Jesse Kiehl.. SEAGLA’s Facebook post said the group honored Fletcher for her work in the lawsuit and referred to her actions as “truly in the spirit of the late Mildred Boesser.” “Jen’s work on this issue has spanned from the tedious background slog to the loud and proud demanding of equal protection under the law,” SEAGLA’s post said. Fletcher said the award meant a lot to her and that the response from her peers has been positive. “To be honest, it is quite the honor,” Fletcher said. “It is quite amazing and everybody has been amazingly supportive.” In April, two Wisconsin residents also filed a federal lawsuit against the state over the same issue. Peter Renn, who is a Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal and one of Fletcher’s lawyers, said the court will decide financially how much money Fletcher would be due from out-of-pocket medical fees and emotional distress. He added that the lawsuit goes beyond financial retribution. “Jennifer just wants to make sure no one else will go through what she went through,” Renn said in a phone interview. “She wants all transgender employees to be treated fairly.” In an email to the Empire Wednesday, Alaska Department of Law spokeswoman Cori Mills said, “We are in the process of reviewing the complaint and determining our response.”
http://juneauempire.com/local/ news/2018-06-17/transgender- woman-awarded-equal-rights- advocacy Local group seeks transgender acceptance When Maureena Benavides helped start Out in West Texas last year, she found there to be a lack of need for the care of transgender individuals — a need she said is growing. Transgender individuals, those who identify with a gender other than the one they were born with, ended up having to go to Austin or Dallas for medical transitioning. There was a lack of knowledge in transgender affirming-practices in the medical and mental health field, as well as the legal field, something Benavides said Out in West Texas is seeking to change. “It’s not that transgender people are just coming into existence, they’ve always been here,” Benavides said. “Now, because of media exposure, they have a name for it, and they can understand it and talk about it in a way that was before very difficult.” It’s this lack of education on transgender issues that Benavides said can cause a negative stigmatization to occur. “Unless you break out of that with education and advocacy, then it will continue to exist, because people just don’t know, and they don’t know how to talk about it,” Benavides said. To fight that stigmatization, Benavides and Out in West Texas have been talking to local health professionals, for help talk with transgender patients who may look to transition, and legal professionals, for those who may want to change their name or their gender on their driver’s license. They’ve been talking to faith communities to help them better understand the transgender community, and have also been talking with school officials at Midland ISD and Ector County ISD to help school counselors deal with children who may be struggling with their gender identity. “A lot of kids start identifying as early as age 4, whether that identity stays with them,” Benavides said. “Definitely by teenage years, there’s greater prevalence for kids coming out as transgender and needing some kind of assistance.” Out in West Texas will have an event at 7 p.m. July 20 at the Recovery Room, 2802 N. County Rd. W., called Sally’s Project. The event will be a fundraiser and storytelling event, with stories from transgender residents of the Permian Basin telling their stories of coming out, including local drag queen Stella Darling. The funds raised will go to the organization’s major projects, including lunch and learn trainings for local companies and their two-day educational symposium in November. Benavides is co-director of Out in West Texas alongside Kerry Manzo, who himself is transgender. Manzo identifies himself as genderqueer, meaning he doesn’t feel like that he falls under man or woman, but said he feels more masculine most of the time. Manzo said he wants Out in West Texas to help find and bring together transgender individuals in the Permian Basin, of which about 50 have been found so far. “We’re out here as a beacon for the transgender community,” Manzo said. One of those individuals is 22-year-old Kaz Gonzales of Odessa, who came out about two years ago. But growing up, being transgender was something that took some time for Gonzales to come to terms with. “I feel like I had to battle against a lot of internalized transphobia,” Gonzales said. “I’m Latino, so I grew up in a very strict, Catholic home. We didn’t talk about being trans, we didn’t talk about being LGBT of any kind, and if we did it was sort of in a negative light.” Gonzales said he was never into girly things growing up, choosing instead to hang out with her brother, playing video games and going to skate parks. “I didn’t feel like I could identify with girls when I was young, but I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t,” Gonzales said. Gonzales said he still has some fear about being openly transgender in Odessa, and feels that many people still have misconceptions about transgender people. “We’re just people like everybody else,” Gonzales said. “We’re not like some weird, different species. We just want to do what’s best to make us feel more comfortable.” Venus Smith, 57, is another member of Out in West Texas who has lived in Midland for the past 40 years, and came out as transgender two years ago on March 31, International Transgender Day of Visibility. Since then, she has gone out every day wearing what she wants, often wearing a dress and make-up. Walking around the store, Smith said she often receives positive comments from other women on her clothing. “It seems like everything is really starting to take shape and change in West Texas,” Smith said. Smith said she was raised by women, without much interaction with her father, and didn’t really adoptany male characteristics. She followed the women’s rights and LGBT movements of the ‘60s and ‘70s but never felt it was the right time to come out as transgender until a couple of years ago. “It’s just great to finally be myself,” Smith said.
Any first amendment victory is is great. If this is a 1st amendment victory imagine what else is. First Amendment victory is Florida man’s second at Supreme Court WASHINGTON — A Florida man who won a Supreme Court decision about a floating home five years ago won again Monday on a more important subject: the First Amendment. The high court ruled 8-1 that Fane Lozman can pursue his claim that the city of Riviera Beach retaliated against him when it arrested him more than a decade ago for disturbing a government meeting. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the decision; Justice Clarence Thomas dissented. But the justices set a high bar for Lozman to win his case in lower courts: He may have to prove that city officials “formed a retaliatory policy” in a private meeting and had no other basis for arresting him. Lozman has been a perpetual thorn in their side since 2006, when the city tried to use eminent domain to redevelop the marina where Lozman lived in a floating home. Ultimately in 2009, officials seized and destroyed the home by claiming it was a boat. Lozman won that Supreme Court case in 2013. During the course of the battle, officials had him arrested at a City Council meeting when he refused to stop speaking about public corruption. Unfortunately for them, the incident was preserved on YouTube. “I found the video pretty chilling,” Chief Justice John Roberts said during oral argument. Lozman, 56, claimed he was arrested out of retaliation for his actions against the city’s redevelopment plan. The city claimed it had probable cause to arrest him — if not for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, charges that later were dropped, then for disturbing a government meeting, a misdemeanor under Florida law. His lawsuit attracted support from major media organizations and defenders of the First Amendment, who worried that a ruling against him could make it easier for police to arrest journalists covering protests. At oral argument in February, nearly all the justices found little basis for Lozman’s treatment. But they worried that a ruling in Lozman’s favor could cause problems for police who make split-second decisions to arrest people who they believe are committing more serious crimes. Jeffrey Wall, the Trump administration’s principal deputy solicitor general, warned the justices that a ruling for Lozman could implicate some of the 10 to 11 million arrests made each year by police who “aren’t lawyers. They arrest based on conduct.” But Pamela Karlan, co-director of Stanford Law School’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, said approving Lozman’s arrest would allow “every vengeful city council in America to go after people when they demonstrate against abortion clinics, when they demonstrate about police, when they protest zoning decisions.” In his ruling, Kennedy agreed that police “need the safe harbor of probable cause in the First Amendment context to be able to do their jobs effectively.” At the same time, he said, “there is a risk that some police officers may exploit the arrest power as a means of suppressing speech.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/18/florida-man-wins-second-supreme-court-case-speech/594594002/
I was just thinking this morning that as a kid growing up in school in Connecticut; it was a given that all southerners were stupid rednecks who hated all northerners. After listening to southern rock albums like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Marshall Tucker and Charlie Daniels; I longed to live in the south and the west. I always had a fantasy, about one day being a good guy cowboy. I guess I rebelled against the peer pressure. I just assume that since we are a more enlightened society; that this is not true today, up north. Actually if I had to focus on my earliest memories of anti south peer pressure in high school it would be; just to never drive through southern states because police would arrest you for nothing at all and maybe you would not make it back home. Other young people would warn me like this. This is far from peer pressure; this is actual teaching in class’s. I will say this much for my history class’s growing up in private and some public schools, in Connecticut. The emphasis was always on the heroics of the people who fought and died; for freedom from the British. This should be the main emphasis for all history class’s, in our country. Texas Freedom Network Two big issues dominated last week’s State Board of Education meeting about fixing the deeply flawed and heavily politicized social studies curriculum standards for Texas public schools: the whitewashing of slavery’s role in causing the Civil War and exaggerations of the influence of religion on the American founding. One thing was clear: far-right board members still don’t want to teach #TeachTheTruth to Texas students. Check out our recap of the public hearing and board discussion here. Today, as we commemorate the end of slavery on Juneteenth, let’s remember the importance of getting history right in our public schools. What’s next?The state board will consider final recommendations from teams of teachers and scholars in September. The board has set a final vote on the revised standards in November. What can you do?Plan to speak out at the September public hearing on the revised standards. We will keep you informed about the date and how to register to testify http://tfn.org/Click here to sign this very important petition!
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 21 2018Galatians 6:7-9 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. I just wanted to use this quote here on behalf of all those who think that can treat other people with prejudice and hate and get away with it. People who support perverted Nazi laws, just made to torture so called sex offenders, with cruel and unusual punishment; whatsoever a you soweth, that shall you also reap. Same goes for LGBTQ folks, and people of color and of all races and God’s chosen people the Jewish community.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 23 2018 FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2018 From the mighty Grits for Breakfast. Reversing mass incarceration brick by brick: Podcast features #cjreform planks proposed to the Texas Democratic Party platform Having produced a special podcast promoting #cjreform planks in the Texas state GOP party platform, it’s only fair that Just Liberty return the favor for the Dems. Here’s a discussion among Democrats and liberal reformers about justice-reform planks being proposed to the Democratic platform. Click here for podcast. What are the key justice priorities for Democratic constituencies this year? Reform leaders say transparency and accountability for police misconduct, rolling back mass incarceration and the drug war, and eliminating regressive government policies that mainly harm the poor. This special episode promotes reform planks proposed to the Texas state Democratic platform in 2018 via local precinct resolutions. It features original music and interviews with state Rep. Gene Wu, Austin Justice Coalition executive director Chas Moore, as well as Sukyi McMahon and Kathy Mitchell with Just Liberty.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 25 2018Yea, yea. You know how many times I stuck my neck out for democrats. As far as I am concerned; all those hundreds of posts, I created, with the sweat of my brow, were worthless. Texas, especially Collin County; where I live, is hopelessly republican. I would describe the people of Collin County as militantly republican or viciously republican; better yet, fanatically* republican. That is not American! That is not a democracy! Don’t ask me how I know, because I will not tell you. I got a email once from a very high ranking republican political person that questioned whether we live in a democracy; because all that wins is republicans. Let me just quote myself from things I have posted; way too many times online: I just want to shake people, and tell them; you are voting for the very people that oppress you! I think even the republicans are scratching their heads sometimes, saying; are you sure you want this? Are you sure you want me to oppress you? This is also a good read; for people who support perverted Nazi laws, just made to torture so called sex offenders, with cruel and unusual punishment; whatsoever a you soweth, that shall you also reap.:*Fanaticism Is a Disease Like Alcoholism Fanatics, ideologues and absolutists are humanity’s greatest scourge. Whether they’re the leaders or the followers, fanatics are people who indulge in a heady, intoxicating and toxic concoction of self-affirming, know-it-all confidence that they have unique access to absolute truths, truths so perfect that they have to impose them on everyone. The absolute truths that fanatics latch onto might be religious or political, right wing or left wing, Christian or Islamic, libertarian or communist, new age spiritual or old-time religious. It’s not what they believe that makes them fanatics but how they believe it, that they have final word, no need to consider further evidence, no need to ever wonder or doubt themselves again. Fanaticism is a drug. Let loose on society it’s like crack cocaine or alcohol only worse. Fanatics drive through life like alcoholics driving under the influence. They think they’re perfectly fine driving. They kill innocent bystanders, sometimes by the thousands or millions. Read more at this link:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ambigamy/201411/fanaticism-is-disease-alcoholism
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 25 2018 Now for the article that lead me to post (the above post) in the first place: More great stuff from Grits for Breakfast http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/06/tx-dem-platform-prioritizes-cjreform.html: TX Dem platform prioritizes #cjreform Having detailed #cjreform planks added to the Texas state GOP platform, let’s now turn to the Democratic platform approved this week in Fort Worth. Criminal-justice reform was the first section in the final platform document (see here), an obeisance not afforded the subject in many a year among Democratic opinion leaders.The differences in the R and D platforms in large part stemmed from differences in process. The Republican party platform is a completely grassroots affair, with resolutions bubbling up from the precinct-convention level and the final product looking like a hodge-podge list of unrelated and frequently disconnected suggestions. By contrast, the Democratic platform committee re-wrote the #cjreform section from scratch. So it reads more coherently and includes fewer jarring non-sequiturs than some of the platform planks on the R side. But it’s also less of a direct expression of grassroots opinion within the party, for whatever that’s worth. In all, some version of ten of Just Liberty’s proposed platform planks ended up in the GOP platform, and about 15, in some form, made it in on the D side. In many ways, though, the Dem platform goes further than Just Liberty’s resolutions. It more systematically gives candidates at different levels – justices of the peace, constables, sheriffs, prosecutors, and judges – issues they could potentially run on as Democrats. And it’s a pretty good list, much better developed than the less-reform-minded 2016 version. The various subsection titles include: Bail reformRe-entryMass incarcerationSchool-to-prison pipelineJuvenile justicePolicing and improving community partnershipsEliminating private prisonsCriminalizing intentional prosecutor misconductThe reformist approach expressed in the Democratic platform is more comprehensive and fully developed than its GOP counterpart, but because of the party’s seemingly permanent minority status, it’s also perhaps less consequential. Still, the Democratic platform had not significantly embraced a reform mindset on criminal-justice in years past. Now, they’re suggesting cutting edge reforms and distinctly new approaches. For example, “Treating drug use as a public health challenge rather than a crime,” and “Reducing possession of small amounts of controlled substances to a misdemeanor, even when it is a repeat offense.” They also endorsed, echoing a plank in the GOP platform, “Ending the practice of sending poor people to jail or prison for inability to pay fines or court costs.” Soon, Grits will follow up with a post detailing points of agreement between D and R platforms and speculating on prospects for bipartisan #cjreform in the 2019 Texas Legislature.
We just have to tell the democrats we like them; but… We do not want to totally sell out our country to foreign influences! If we have a choice between voting democrat and supporting things like, TPP; we will vote republican. TPP:Trans-Pacific Partnership – Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_PartnershipThe Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 29 2018Every little victory; is still a good one. It may not be obvious to courts that SO registry is cruel and unusual punishment; it is to thee omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God.: IA: SUPREME COURT – REGISTRATION FOR JUVENILE SEX OFFENDERS IS PUNISHMENTNew Blogs Part 10 Updated June 29 2018The boy’s lawyers argued that the fact that registration as a sex offender was mandatory constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The court’s majority opinion written by Chief Justice Mark Cady found that registration for juvenile sex offenders is punishment, but is not cruel and unusual. Article – towards the bottom; click here Decision; click here
New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 30 2018http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/06/should-government-give-high-risk.html FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2018Should the government give high-risk offenders gaming systems to reduce crime?Regular readers will recall that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick responded to the school shooting in Santa Fe by suggesting that Texas eliminate subsidies aimed at luring video game companies to the state. Grits responded by disputing the purported link between video-game violence and violent crime. The more I think about it, though, I wonder if video games might be part of a solution to violent crime? Here’s an outside-the-box (but not the Xbox) suggestion for reducing crime that’s cheaper than incarceration and gives authorities a better tool to help offenders comply with probation: Give young people at high risk of committing serious crimes gaming systems as part of probation terms and make taking them away a punishment for violating conditions. Several different strands of thought led me to this idea, which I’ve not seen proposed elsewhere. In recent years, we’ve seen pilot programs where law enforcement identified the people at the highest risk of committing violent crime and simply paid them not to. And it seems to work! Some of the methods for identifying the most high-risk folk can be pretty sophisticated. At the same time, we’ve seen studies showing that youth playing violent video games (or really, any video games) tend to commit less crime because of the voluntary incapacitation effect: The kid playing Grand Theft Auto for hours doesn’t have time to be out stealing my car. (On Twitter, John Pfaff recently pointed to a paper showing a similar voluntary incapacitation effect related to violent movies.) My personal belief is that the rise of video games and online entertainment caused a much greater proportion of the crime decline witnessed in the past quarter century than most observers have considered. Young males through about their mid-to-late twenties are the highest risk population group for committing crime. This is also the group with whom video games are most popular. So what if we combined these observations to create a correctional strategy? What if high-risk young male offenders on probation were given a PlayStation or Xbox and a few popular games when they went on supervision, and allowed to keep the equipment if they successfully completed their probation term? I see several benefits: 1) The incapacitation effect: The more time these youth spend playing video games, the less likelihood they’ll get into trouble. 2) Incentive for good behavior: Just like payment is a positive incentive not to commit crime in the pilot programs described above, access to a video game station is a significant incentive not break the law or violate probation rules, as well as to complete probation. 3) Tool to address rules violations: Similarly, taking access to the video game system away is a significant additional negative incentive, a tool that could be used to punish technical non-compliance (half of all revocations to prison from probation in Texas are for technical violations). 4) Economics: Gaming systems are cheaper than paying a monthly stipend, as in the above-cited examples, and the project could be scaled up more easily. The complaint would come from people who say, “My kids don’t have a Playstation, why should the government buy one for criminals?” But since the answer is so firmly rooted in public-safety goals – particularly if the tactic were reserved for the most serious, high-risk probationers – IMO it could be justified. We spend a lot of money already on these high-risk populations. The same parental controls that keep young kids from accessing inappropriate stuff could be used to limit improper use of the system (contacting victims, etc.), and of course improper use could be punished by taking it away. IMO this could reduce crime among the population eligible for the program and make it easier to get people to comply with their probation terms. The cost of each system is significant (~$300 + games), but a lot less than incarceration, and I bet under such circumstances the state could get a bulk-purchase discount. This is a brainstorming post, not a fully formed policy suggestion. But as cost-effective public safety solutions go, this idea seems to check a lot of the boxes.POSTED BY GRITSFORBREAKFAST AT 1:26 PM New Blogs Part 10 Updated June 30 2018ACLU We were flooded with news this week. We’re sure you’ve been paying attention. One thing’s for certain: It’s never been more important to stay informed. We want to make sure you’re among the first to know about At Liberty, the ACLU’s brand-new podcast. Subscribe for weekly commentary from ACLU experts and leaders like Cecile Richards, Patrisse Cullors, and more: LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN For this week’s episode, we talk with Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project and the attorney who’s on the front lines of the fight against family separation. Lee analyzes the recent court decision to reunite immigrant families and the effect that public pressure has had on this issue. He also walks us through the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Muslim ban and the role of the courts in immigration policy. Thanks for tuning in, ACLU
New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 01 2018From the great and mighty Grits for Breakfast:http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/06/harris-bail-ruling-released-problem.html Harris County bail ruling released: click for full storyYesterday, federal District Judge Lee Rosenthal released her revised ruling in the Harris County bail case, the Houston Chronicle reported. I can’t find a copy online yet, but this is an important moment: Now, every county in Texas is on notice that they must give individualized bail hearings and can’t simply rely on a bail schedule to decide whom to release. Most counties in the state use some version of the same system, so look for county-by-county chaos resulting in either a new legislative framework created for pretrial release in 2019, or else much more litigation as policies are changed through the federal courts county by county. Harris County has spent nearly $7 million in attorneys fees defending their unconstitutional system. Deaths spur federal litigation vs. Galveston jail click here for full :storyhttps://cw39.com/2018/06/27/watch-live-federal-lawsuit-filed-against-galveston-jail-after-series-of-inmate-deaths/ The Galveston County Jail faces new federal litigation alleging that several recent inmate deaths resulted from sub-par medical care.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 06 2018 I read this recently on Girts for Breakfast and it stuck in my mind:http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/07/study-bad-cops-immune-to-criticism-need.html Leaving aside the small sample sizes described there, and the VERY small sample sizes from which the opinions of subsets of officers would be drawn, as it turns out, the peculiar definitions of “liberal” and “conservative” may underlie the conclusions in this study. Here’s what they were measuring when they say “liberal” and “conservative”: More-liberal individuals believe in creating communal relationships between authority figures, like employees, and the people over whom they hold power, while more-conservative individuals believe in maintaining the dominance of authorities and us-versus-them power dynamics. First off I am not a liberal. I am middle of the road type voter. I am always open to vote democrat. I never vote 3rd party because it is a wasted vote. If we do not have a choice between two party’s then we are not a democracy! My father was a highly decorated police officer half my life and what seemed like; his entire life. My dad’s friends were my friends and are still on the force today. I have never had trouble talking to police; because my dad was a regular guy. He was a quit man and always well dressed especially; when he was in uniform, that was dry cleaned every week. He was actually well liked in the community. Not only was my dad your average guy; but he was allot like me, and I am allot like he was. When I see a police officer I do not see the uniform; I just see another American citizen like me. I would not be good in a protest; because I would take the police officer’s side in a second, if it had to be done.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 07 2018 AUSTIN COPS SAID THEY SHOT A MAN WHO FIRED ON THEM–BUT IT TURNS OUT HE DIDN’T FIRE A SHOT
He still faces aggravated-assault-with-a-deadly-weapon charges even though police now admit no such assault occurred.Full Story: Click here
White police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager: From: https://freespeech.org/stories/cop-charged-antwon-rose-jr/: In an unusual outcome for an increasingly common occurrence, a white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager is now facing criminal homicide charges in Pennsylvania. Michael Rosfeld was officially sworn into the Pittsburgh Police Department just 90 minutes before he fatally shot Antwon Rose, Jr., three times in the back. Video corroborated witness accounts confirming that Rose was unarmed, and showed the officers his raised, open hands before he turned to run from the officers who had pulled over the car he was riding in, incorrectly believing it was a vehicle involved in a drive-by shooting earlier that day.
Advocates and politicians are renewing calls for civilian oversight of Allegheny County’s more than 100 municipal police departments in the wake of the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II in East Pittsburgh. Read More: Click here
ACLU of Texas From: https://action.aclu.org/volunteer/da-day-smart-justice-workshop-0Make decisions as Dallas’ top prosecutor for a day. Dallas DA for a Day Sat., July 21, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.TYRO Champion Center8500 N. Stemmons Fwy., Ste. 1050Dallas, TX 75247 As our community’s top prosecutor, the district attorney decides whether someone will be charged with a crime, which crimes to prosecute, and who deserves a second chance. Find out if you can handle being in one of the most powerful elected positions in our community. SO YOU WANT TO HAVE A REGISTRY FOR COMMUNITY SAFETYJuly 1, 2018 New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 07 2018[sosen.org – 6/30/18]For those of you who believe we have to have a registry to protect our citizens. I have from time to time thought hard on this and I recognize the fact that there are people out there that just aren’t going to change their beliefs and attitudes towards other people and will continue harming others, so here’s my solution. If we have to have a registry, which I believe is unconstitutional, then let’s limit it to the most dangerous people. In order to be legal within the Constitution it cannot be limited to just one class of crime or criminal. Plus it must be proven that they are the worst of the worst and a danger to society. So here’s how we go about that. First of all it has to be a hands on crime, that is it has to have a real victim who has physically been harmed. the claiming of mental or emotional harm without physical harm is unrelated in that we all suffer mental and emotional damage from our daily lives. But were looking for the worst of the worst. It follows that those that have hands-on crimes involving a victim that suffers physically, mentally and emotionally are the worst. So what would fall within this guideline.The first thing that comes to mind is rape and sexual assault but we can’t stop there that is only one class of crime. We would have to include murder and assault, that could also included home invasion if the victims in the home were physically harmed. This could also include armed robbery or even carjacking if physical harm came to a victim. Also included in this would be things such as DUI, DWI if there was injury to either people in the vehicle that the drunk driver was driving or in another vehicle. I think you get the gist so now we’ve laid out the guidelines for what type of crimes would be on the registry. Read more: https://sosen.org/blog/2018/06/30/so-you-want-to-have-a-registry-for-community-safety.html PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND ACCOUNTABILITYJuly 3, 2018 [sosen.org – 7/3/18]What would happen if we would require our government employees to be able to pass a written tests where they had to show proof that they understood the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, as well as other matters pertaining to citizenship within this country? Then after these people became employees of the government they would be held accountable both civilly and criminally for actions that violated other people’s constitutional protected rights. No more immunity for people in the government, I believe at that point in time we would start seeing all our government officials doing a better job of protecting all our constitutional rights. Of course after this opening statement, the first question that comes to my mind is how many legislators and their staff could pass one of these tests? Lets say one not only that included the US citizenship test that must be passed by new citizens immigrating to this country, but also a test that has specific questions about the Constitution and Bill of Rights of the United States. One that would not put together by politics or politicians but by independent law professors and historians. These questions would be designed to find out if people working in government actually understand that these documents were designed to protect INDIVIDUAL freedoms. Failure to pass these tests would result in a person being unemployable by the government. Read more: http://all4consolaws.org/2018/07/public-officials-and-accountability/ THOMAS JEFFERSON: AMERICA’S MOST ESTEEMED CHILD PREDATORJuly 5, 2018[narsol.org – 7/4/18]By Robin Vander Wall . . . July 4th. A sex offender died today. Well, not precisely. But, on this day 192 years ago, a sex offender passed away. This was no common sex offender. In fact, he was more remarkable than most men who’ve ever lived. Governor of Virginia. Minister to France. First Secretary of State. Second Vice President. Third President of the United States. And, perhaps most importantly of all, the person responsible for writing the Declaration of Independence. Yes, Thomas Jefferson was a sex offender. Or at least he would be. Here are the relevant facts: Two years after the death of his wife, Martha, from complications with the birth of their sixth child—an event that profoundly affected the remainder of Jefferson’s life—Congress sent Jefferson to Paris to replace Benjamin Franklin as minister to France. Jefferson took his oldest daughter Patsy with him. It was 1784, eight years after the fledgling nation declared independence from Great Britain and five years before the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Late in 1787, Jefferson received word about the passing of his youngest daughter, Lucy, and immediately sent for his other daughter, Mary, who had remained at Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia. Sally Hemings, one of Jefferson’s slaves, was sent along with Mary to accompany her. Mary was 9. Sally was 14. In the parlance of the time, Sally Hemings was a mulatto. Her mother was a slave. Her father, John Wayles, was a white owner of slaves. Sally became the property of Thomas Jefferson when Mr. Wayles died and his daughter, Martha, Jefferson’s wife, inherited the property. Let me unpack that for you. Sally Hemings and Martha Jefferson were half sisters because they shared the same father. By all accounts, Sally was a light-skinned woman whose features were exceptional. And in Martha’s passing, it is likely that Jefferson grew closer to Sally as a means to fill the void created by the tragic and untimely death of his young wife. We now know that Sally’s living quarters were adjacent to Jefferson’s bedroom. Read more: https://narsol.org/2018/07/thomas-jefferson-americas-most-esteemed-child-predator/ TITLE: EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT INTERVENTION AND PROGRESS SCALE (SOTIPS) [PAPER ON ASSESSING RISK]July 5, 2018 [nij.gov – 5/2018] This report that details findings from a study designed to follow sex offenders on probation over time in two geographically diverse settings to assess recidivism and the predictive accuracy of Evaluation of the Implementation of the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS). Results indicate that SOTIPS is a promising instrument for assessing dynamic risk factors in sex offenders on probation. Download the paper: https://nij.gov/publications/pages/publication-detail.aspx?ncjnumber=251747
New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 10 2018 click to sign:https://act.credoaction.com/sign/stop_war_on_social_security Stop the secret Republican war on Social Security 70% We’ve reached 70,436 of our goal of 100,000.Sign the petitionPetition to Congress: “Support the Social Security Administration Fairness Act, which would give the Social Security Administration the funding it needs to provide the earned benefits beneficiaries have paid for and deserve.” Stop the secret Republican war on Social SecuritySocial Security is one of the most successful government programs in U.S. history, helping to keep tens of millions of Americans out of poverty over the past 80 years. But Republicans have been plotting for decades to undermine Social Security any way they can. Their latest scheme involves quietly slashing the Social Security Administration’s operating funding, which the agency uses to maintain offices and provide people with access to the benefits they’ve earned. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. John Larson have a smart new plan to fight back and protect Social Security by increasing its administrative budget and making it easier for people to access their earned benefits without unnecessary delays.1 Add your name to our petition now to help build support for this crucial new legislation. Tell Congress: Stop the secret war on Social Security. Republicans’ systematic underfunding of the Social Security Administration has real consequences for senior citizens, people living with disabilities and other Social Security beneficiaries. Despite an increase in the total number of people receiving Social Security benefits, budget cuts have forced the agency to reduce its staff size and close more than 10 percent of all Social Security field offices nationwide. The closures mean that people with business at a Social Security field office – many of whom are elderly – are being forced to wait in long lines – some outside in unsafe heat.2 The Social Security Administration Fairness Act includes several commonsense provisions that would reverse this troubling trend and make it easier for Americans to access their earned benefits. It would: Impose a moratorium on the closures of Social Security field offices.Increase the Social Security Administration’s administrative budget.Eliminate arbitrary and misguided waiting periods that deny people the earned benefits they deserve.CREDO is proud to be joining our friends at Social Security Works, the AFL-CIO and countless other organizations to build support for the Social Security Administration Fairness Act. I hope you’ll add your name to our petition today to help build support in Congress for this vital new bill. References: The Office of Sen. Bernie Sanders, “Sanders, Larson Introduce Bill to Improve and Restore Social Security Service,” June 27, 2018.Rudy Trevino, “Occupancy limit has residents lining up in heat at Social Security office,” KIII TV, July 5, 2018. click to sign:https://act.credoaction.com/sign/stop_war_on_social_security Presented by Texas Freedom Network, Equality Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Resource Center Invite:Monday, July 16 at 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM CDTNext Week · 26–38° Sunny Resource Center5750 Cedar Springs Rd., Dallas, Texas 75235 Worried about the fallout after the Supreme Court ruled for the baker in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case? We’re headed to Dallas to answer your questions and strategize about how to fight back! Join us in Dallas on July 16 to learn more about how Masterpiece affects the fight for equality and what you can do to protect yourself. Since the Masterpiece decision earlier this month, the opponents of equality have been proclaiming victory, asserting that the Court handed them a big win. The decision has clearly emboldened anti-LGBTQ groups and their supporters, leaving LGBTQ Texans to wonder if it’s open season for discrimination: Does the Masterpiece decision create a license to discriminate? If you’re turned away for being gay or transgender, what can you do? Is it too late to stop anti-LGBTQ activists from passing more religious refusal laws targeting communities they don’t like? Get the answers you need from the experts. Join us in Dallas on July 16 for this FREE event. RSVP now at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dallas-masterpiece-town-hall-tickets-47477415227
New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 16 2018 From: http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/07/isolated-incident-at-tdcj-means-things.html I just got this in my email yesterday; from the fourteenth. I have no idea what is wrong with my AT&T owned Yahoo email lately. I think they are unsubscribing me without me knowing. What is up with the new pop up window that lists my emails and suggest’s I should unsubscribe from them? If you use Yahoo email you know what I am talking about. Try and contact Yahoo; I have and gave up. If you have ever gone to the AT&T website, it is the most unfriendly website ever. The pages take forever to load. My family is not getting my email sometimes. I checked my Yahoo email yesterday; I should have seen this email referring to the following story at least yesterday not today. SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2018″Isolated incident” at TDCJ means things that happen to lots of people all the timeNot long ago, Grits parsed statements from Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman and concluded that his consistent pattern of responding to systemic problems with claims that they’re “isolated incidents” amounted to a “practice of deflection and deception,” corrorborating what a whistleblower called a “culture of coverup” at the agency. Here’s a good example: An article by the indefatigable Keri Blakinger at the Houston Chronicle – focused on a major and three guards who were indicted for planting evidence on inmates and then filing false grievances – included a reference to this now-routine, “isolated incident” response:A Texas prison spokesman last month called the screwdriver-planting scheme an “isolated incident.” Since then dozens of inmates and their families have reached out to the Chronicle, the Office of the Inspector General and Texas Inmates Families Association with similar allegations. “Officers planting drugs, weapons, and other forms of contraband is a fairly regular occurrence in TDCJ,” one inmate said, after detailing another alleged evidence-planting incident he says he witnessed at Ramsey Unit. In the past five years, there have been more than 75 arrests or charges of tampering with evidence or records filed against TDCJ officers, records show. That figure only includes cases investigated by the Office of the Inspector General, and it doesn’t indicate how the cases were ultimately resolved.Sound like an “isolated incident” to you? The agency lessens its credibility when it responds to legitimate criticisms of systemic failures by scapegoating the lowest level individuals instead of accepting accountability for things that go wrong. This is why advocates have called for independent oversight at the agency, a point made in the story by Jennifer Erschabek of the Texas Inmate Family Association:”We’ve been fighting for independent oversight for years and haven’t been able to get any traction,” said Jennifer Erschabek of the Texas Inmate Families Association. “They always say there’s the ombudsman, the House Corrections Committee, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, the board – but that’s never been effective for us because we never get the transparency or accountability we need on these issues. It takes the news media to get to the bottom of this and get to facts.”
New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 16 2018 In the process of posting a reply to the above post; I found the following post. I have been posting about this online for years; it is good to finally find some web site on the subject. Although I could not find a exact match to the Cognitive Distortions I have studied in the past; I am posting what I found. I am sure if you want to spend some time you can find more. The internet being true to itself; “these days” making it hard to find valuable information for free. I posted this, this morning and have read through these several times. I like these very much. I will continue to read these over an over. This is a great way to better yourself. Using this as you post online can only help. Trolls need read this. I really think Trolling is a serious mental handicap and hope it is recognized as so; in the US, soon. Trolling is illegal in many country’s. From: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-practice/201301/50-common-cognitive-distortions 50 Common Cognitive DistortionsA giant list of ubiquitous cognitive distortions.Posted Jan 17, 2013 Becoming mindful of these common cognitive distortions will help you understand yourself and other people better, and improve your decision making. 1. Personalizing. Taking something personally that may not be personal. Seeing events as consequences of your actions when there are other possibilities. For example, believing someone’s brusque tone must be because they’re irritated with you. (Tips for not personalizing.) 2. Mindreading. Guessing what someone else is thinking, when they may not be thinking that. 3. Negative predictions. Overestimating the likelihood that an action will have a negative outcome. More info in my book here. 4. Underestimating coping ability. Underestimating your ability cope with negative events. 5. Catastrophizing. Thinking of unpleasant events as catastrophes. 6. Biased attention toward signs of social rejection, and lack of attention to signs of social acceptance. For example, during social interactions, paying attention to someone yawning but not paying the same degree of attention to other cues that suggest they are interested in what you’re saying (such as them leaning in). 7. Negatively biased recall of social encounters. Remembering negatives from a social situation and not remembering positives. For example, remembering losing your place for a few seconds while giving a talk but not remembering the huge clap you got at the end. 8. Thinking an absence of effusiveness means something is wrong. Believing an absence of a smiley-face in an email means someone is mad at you. Or, interpreting “You did a good job” as negative if you were expecting “You did a great job.” 9. Unrelenting standards. The belief that achieving unrelentingly high standards is necessary to avoid a catastrophe. For example, the belief that making any mistakes will lead to your colleagues thinking you’re useless. 10. Entitlement beliefs. Believing the same rules that apply to others should not apply to you. For example, believing you shouldn’t need to do an internship even if that is the normal path to employment in your industry. 11. Justification and moral licensing. For example, I’ve made progress toward my goal and therefore it’s ok if I act in a way that is inconsistent with it. 12. Belief in a just world. For example, believing that poor people must deserve to be poor. 13. Seeing a situation only from your own perspective. For example, failing to look at a topic of relationship tension from your partner’s perspective. 14. Belief that self-criticism is an effective way to motivate yourself toward better future behavior. It’s not. 15. Recognizing feelings as causes of behavior, but not equally attending to how behavior influences thoughts and feelings. For example, you think “When I have more energy, I’ll exercise” but not “Exercising will give me more energy.” 16. All or nothing thinking. e.g., “If I don’t always get As, I’m a complete failure.” 17. Shoulds and musts. For example, “I should always give 100%.” Sometimes there are no important benefits of doing a task beyond a basic acceptable level. 18. Using feelings as the basis of a judgment, when the objective evidence does not support your feelings. e.g., “I don’t feel clean, even though I’ve washed my hands three times. Therefore I should wash my again.” (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder example). 19. Basing future decisions on “sunk costs.” e.g., investing more money in a business that is losing money because you’ve invested so much already. 20. Delusions. Holding a fixed, false belief despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. For example, believing global warming doesn’t exist. Or, believing you’re overweight when you’re 85lbs. 21. Assuming your current feelings will stay the same in the future. For example, “I feel unable to cope today, and therefore I will feel unable to cope tomorrow.” 22. Cognitive labeling. For example, mentally labeling your sister’s boyfriend as a “loser” and not being open to subsequent evidence suggesting he isn’t a loser. 23. The Halo Effect. For example, perceiving high calories foods as lower in calories if they’re accompanied by a salad. 24. Minimizing. e.g., “Yes I won an important award but that still doesn’t really mean I’m accomplished in my field.” 25. Magnifying (Cognitively Exaggerating). For example, blowing your own mistakes and flaws out of proportion and perceiving them as more significant than they are. Making a mountain out of a molehill, but not quite to the same extent as catastrophizing. 26. Cognitive conformity. Seeing things the way people around you view them. Research has shown that this often happens at an unconscious level. See the Asch experiment. (video) 27. Overgeneralizing Generalizing a belief that may have validity in some situations (such as “If you want something done well, you should do it yourself.”) to every situation. This is a type of lack of psychological flexibility. 28. Blaming others. 29. Falling victim to the “Foot in the Door” technique. When someone makes a small request to get a “Yes” answer, then follows up with a bigger request, people are more likely to agree to the big request than if only that request had been made. 30. Falling victim to the “Door in the Face” technique. When someone makes an outlandish request first, then makes a smaller request, the initial outlandish request makes the smaller request seem more reasonable. 31. Focusing on the amount saved rather than the amount spent. e.g, Focusing on the amount of a discount rather than on whether you’d buy the item that day at the sale price if it wasn’t listed as on sale. 32. Overvaluing things because they’re yours. e.g., perceiving your baby as more attractive or smart than they really are because they’re yours. Or, overestimating the value of your home when you put it on the market for sale because you overestimate the added value of renovations you’ve made. 33. Failure to consider alternative explanations. Coming up with one explanation for why something has happened/happens and failing to consider alternative, more likely explanations. 34. The Self-Serving Bias The self-serving bias is people’s tendency to attribute positive events to their own character but attribute negative events to external factors. (Tips for overcoming the self-serving bias.) 35. Attributing strangers’ behavior to their character and not considering situational/contextual factors. 36. Failure to consider opportunity cost. For example, spending an hour doing a low ROI task and thinking “it’s only an hour” and not considering the lost potential of spending that hour doing a high ROI task. 37. Assumed similarity. The tendency to assume other people hold similar attitudes to your own. 38. In-group bias. The tendency to trust and value people who are like you, or who are in your circle, more than people from different backgrounds. 39. “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Getting external feedback can help you become aware of things you didn’t even know that you didn’t know! 40. The tendency to underestimate how long tasks will take. 41. The belief that worry and overthinking will lead to problem solving insights. In fact, overthinking tends to impair problem solving ability and leads to avoidance coping. 42. Biased implicit attitudes. Psychologists use a test called the implicit association test to measure attitudes that people subconsciously hold. Results show people subconsciously associate fat with lazy etc. It’s useful to be mindful that you may subsciously hold biased attitudes, then you can consciously correct for them. 43. The Peak-End Rule. The tendency to most strongly remember (1) how you felt at the end of an experience, and (2) how you felt at the moment of peak emotional intensity during the experience. Biased memories can lead to biased future decision making. 44. The tendency to prefer familiar things. Familiarity breeds liking, which is part of why people are brand loyal and may pay inflated prices for familiar brands vs. switching. 45. The belief you can multi-task. When you’re multi-tasking you’re actually task (and attention) shifting. Trying to focus on more than one goal at a time is self-sabotage. 46. Failure to recognize the cognitive benefits of restorative activitIes and activities that increase positive emotions. For example, seeing humor or breaks as a waste of time. 47. Positively biased predictions. For example, expecting that if you sign up to a one year gym membership you will go, if this hasn’t been the case in the past. 48. Cheating on your goals based on positive behaviors you plan to do later. For example, overeating today if you expect you’ll be starting a diet next week. Often the planned positive behaviors don’t happen. 49. Repeating the same behavior and expecting different results (or thinking that doubling-down on a failed strategy will start to produce positive results). For example, expecting that if you nag more, your partner will change. 50. “I can’t change my behavior.” (or “I can’t change my thinking style.”) Instead of telling yourself “I can’t,” try asking yourself how you could shift your behavior (or thinking style) by 5%. How to Become Mindful of Your Cognitive Distortions? Try printing this article and highlighting the cognitive distortions you think apply to you. I suggest you then pick one cognitive distortion at a time and keep a running list for a week of how that cognitive distortion manifests in your life.
From: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-second-noble-truth/201805/top-20-ways-you-are-lying-yourself?amp Fundamental Attribution Error: In this bias, we attribute our mistakes to circumstances, but others’ mistakes to flawed character. I often use driving as an example for this. When one cuts someone off, it’s a mistake, by accident, or there was little choice. But when someone cuts you off, they are a selfish jerk. Self-Serving Bias: This bias enhances or preserves self-esteem by viewing oneself in an overly positive manner. With this bias credit for accomplishments is due to hard work, but failure is due to external factors. Egocentric Bias: People see the world from their own lens and accept it as reality. Over relying on one’s own perspective, which everyone naturally does, is egocentric bias. In-Group, Out-Group Bias: With this bias people give preferential treatment, and feel more positively, about people they perceive as similar to them, while looking negatively upon others they see as different. Halo Effect: This is the inclination to attribute positive character traits to those we find attractive. Someone beautiful is also thought to be kind, smart, compassionate, etc. Doppelgänger Bias: I’ve only recently heard of this bias (Fagan, 2018). This, according to studies by Oriel Feldman Hall, is the propensity to trust someone who looks like someone who, in the past, you found trustworthy. Mere Exposure Effect: This is the tendency for one to like something simply because it becomes familiar. This explains some songs’ growing popularity, or how one becomes more attracted to people one is around. Implicit Egotism: This is the affinity to gravitate toward people like ourselves, such as having the same numbers in one’s birthday, or gravitating toward a job like one’s last name (Bakers being a baker, etc.) (Vedantam, 2017). Self-fulfilling Prophecy: This is the tendency to enact what one believes. For example, if you believe you’ll fail, you do. I write about this in, “You, and the manifesting of reality”. Stereotype Effect: This is similar to the above. When a group is reminded of a negative stereotype (for example women being bad at math) they do more poorly on tasks. In an interesting study related to how beliefs affect performance, Adam Galinsky and Hajo Adam, demonstrated that wearing a white lab coat believed to be a doctor’s coat led to participants performing better on an attention task. When participants wore the same coat, but believed it to be a painter’s coat, they performed significantly worse (Rosin, H., Miller, L.). Backfire Effect: This is the idea that telling someone facts that counter their beliefs will change their beliefs. In actuality, the person becomes more tied to their beliefs. The podcast, “You’re Not So Smart” has dedicated 4 episodes to this phenomenon (which seems more pronounced in our political times). Cognitive Dissonance: One holds conflicting beliefs, or acts against one’s beliefs, and experiences cognitive dissonance. Then, due to feeling uncomfortable psychologically, “The person then becomes strongly motivated to lessen the discomfort caused by this conflict, and must either adjust the existing belief to fit the new information, or distort the new information to fit the existing belief”. (Goud, p.156). People might rate something as more pleasurable than they initially thought, simply because they can’t explain why else they did it. Illusion of Control: This occurs when one overestimates the amount of control one has in life. An example is victims blaming themselves because it is easier to believe they have control than the world is chaotic and horrible things can happen without reason. Negativity Bias: I’ve written about this one a good amount in other posts. It is the tendency of the human mind to give more weight to negatives than positives. Some psychologists (Gottman, Hanson) have rated the ratio as taking five positives to equal one negative. Confirmation Bias: The tendency to focus on information that supports one’ beliefs and / or remembering confirming information more than information contradicting one’s beliefs. Dunning-Kruger Effect: When unskilled people are overconfident about their answers or ability, and remain unaware due to the lack of metacognitive ability to recognize their shortcomings. Hindsight Bias: When one “feels he knew something all along” this is Hindsight Bias. In experiments, when presented with an outcome such as, “studies indicate 71% of American’s fear financial ruin” (a made-up statistic and study) overwhelmingly people will report that this makes sense and why. However, if you reversed it (studies indicate 71% of people feel financially secure) they will express similar knowing that statistic to be true. Affective Forecasting: Daniel Gilbert has studied the tendency for one to believe, and overestimate, that her preferences today will remain the same in the future. (For more on this, see my post, “You don’t know what you want”). Projection: This is my favorite defense mechanism. I have written a good deal about projection (see, “Your dream world”). Projection is taking something that resides in your unconscious and believing another possess it. For example, you are afraid of your dark thoughts, unconsciously suppress them, then see the world as very dangerous. The final, and, in some ways, ultimate way people are lying to themselves is sometimes referred to as confabulation. This usually means creating false memories, and though the malleability of memory is another way we distort reality (through distorting our personal history), in this case it is creating, and believing, reasons for our behavior without realizing the true motivation. In, “Selfie” (You are Not So Smart podcast) author Will Storr and host David McRaney describe the left-brain interpreter as confabulating reasons for behavior. Storr posits that we have a voice in our heads that is explaining our behavior, but it has no access to the parts of the brain that control what we do. According to Storr, “It’s basically making stuff up. We really have no access, we have no idea, why we do what we do.” (McRaney, 2018, 5:49-5:55). The best example of this comes from split-brain studies. Robert Wright (2017) points out several studies that demonstrate this type of confabulation. To explain how this works, people with severe epilepsy are given surgery that separates the two hemispheres of the brain. Though functioning normally most of time, the surgery allows data to be sent to only one side of the brain through that side’s vision field (the opposite eye) (p. 78). In an interesting experiment that utilizes this phenomenon, the command “Walk” was given to right hemisphere. The subject got up and walked. “When the left hemisphere is asked to explain behavior initiated by the right hemisphere, it tries to generate a plausible story.” In one case, the subject replied he got up and walked to get a soda. (p.79). “And the person who comes up with the improvised explanation-or, at least, the person’s left hemisphere, the part of the person that’s doing the talking-seems to believe the story.” (p. 79). This is true of those whose brain remains intact as well. Wright cites another well cited experiment: Experimenters noticed when people were asked to evaluate four pair of pantyhose, they had a tendency to pick the pair on the far right. When asked to explain why, they discussed the quality of the fabric as well as other explanations. However, all the pantyhose were exactly the same. (p. 80). Wright concludes, “people are capable of convincing themselves of whatever stories about their own motivation it’s in their interest” (p.99). This last implication that we are making up our reasons for behavior, and are unaware we are doing so, alone could make one question the confidence he has in thinking. The other nineteen (and the dozens I left off the list) just add to the evidence. Whether confabulation is a conglomeration of all the ways one deceives oneself, or the icing on the cake, if you have any faith in science at all, you have to be questioning your thinking. You might wonder, as some of my students do, “why are you trying to convince us we can’t trust our thinking?”. It is a scary prospect: if you cannot trust your thinking, what do you trust? The best answer I can offer returns me to the Ram Dass quote, “The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” (See, “Talk your brain into being a better servant” for more on this). If you become aware of how inaccurate your thoughts can be, how your mind is biased, egotistical, and creates a sense of self where none truly exists (see, “You aren’t you at all”), you are less attached to your mind, your perceptions, and your idea of self. If you are less attached to these, you are more open to genuine, authentic experience. You are more Zen, more mindful, more present. You become what Tolle calls, “the observer”, (p.31) or operate from what Wright calls the default mode (p.45). You are able to detach from thinking, make a more objective decision, or handle things without as much emotion. Additionally, this ability to step out of thinking leads to more mindfulness, which leads to more peace and mental well-being. This overcoming (to the extent we are able) of ego is a step to enlightenment and self-actualization. It all begins by realizing your mind is full of it.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 17 2018Jesus could have had some LGBTQ people around him according to the Pharisees: Mark 2:16“And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?” Thumbs up to the democrats for fighting these bazaar laws: Two Congressional Democrats have introduced bills in Congress to ban the gay and trans panic defenses. Representative Joseph Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced the Gay & Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act in their respective chambers. The bill would ban the gay and trans panic defense in federal courts. While it’s not an officially recognized defense strategy, the gay panic defense is used in cases where a straight person assaults or kills a gay person. Instead of saying they didn’t do it, the defendant argues that they were so upset that a gay person made a sexual advance towards them that they momentarily lost control, helping them to claim insanity or diminished capacity. The related trans panic defense argues that the defendant lost control when they found out that the victim is transgender. Kennedy said that admitting to killing someone because they’re gay or transgender “is not a defense, it is a hate crime.” “Legal loopholes written into our laws that seek to justify violent attacks against our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender neighbors should never have existed in the first place,” Kennedy said. In April, the American Bar Association sent a letter to Markey asking for the gay and trans panic defense to be banned. “These defenses have no place in either our society or justice system and should be legislated out of existence,” the letter said. The American Bar Association adopted a resolution calling for an end to the defense in 2013. The gay panic defense has been used in several prominent cases. It gained national attention in a 1995 case where a gay man, Scott Amedure, told his straight friend Jonathan Schmitz that he was attracted to him on the Jenny Jones Show. Three days later, Schmitz shot Amedure and turned himself into police, and he argued in court that he was “embarrassed” on national TV. He avoided a first-degree murder conviction and was convicted of second-degree murder. The men who killed Matthew Shepard also tried to argue that they were “enraged” to the point of murder because Shepard made a sexual advance toward them. The judge did not allow that defense, and they later changed their story. The trans panic defense was used by the three men who killed Gwen Araujo in 2004. After having sex with the transgender teen, the men found out that she was transgender. They called it “a sexual violation ‘so deep it’s almost primal’.” Their first trial ended in a jury deadlock. California, Illinois, and Rhode Island have already banned the gay and trans panic defense.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 18 2018 I made these graphics from this great website. I am going to email the maker of the amazing website and compliment them. http://crimedatatool.com/index.html
New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 24 2018 It is like I have illustrated here lately: What would Jesus do?:Got this cool email from LGBTQ Nation Daily Brief. I used to really like visiting Glastonbury, Connecticut. I worked at a very fancy Italian restaurant there as well in the early 1980’s. It was right across the street from a very touristy place. They had a great health food restaurant there that I loved to shop at. I got stuck in the snow there and some church member’s rescued me at let me stay at their house. My manager, the owners son, was a gay man; as a matter of fact. At the time I was deeply into religion and seeking a wife; my manager was very respectful of that and was always a good guy to me. He liked me because I was so much against drinking he could trust me to look after the huge alcohol supply. People were always nice there in Glastonbury; so this does not surprise me. : From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/07/mcdonalds-throwing-shade-chick-fil-antigay/
A Glastonbury, Connecticut, McDonalds is throwing shade at their soon-to-open competitor, Chick-fil-A, with a sign that subtly highlights the chicken chain’s notorious anti-LGBTQ history.
From: https://www.statesman.com/news/local/prosecutors-drop-charge-against-man-who-police-accused-pointing-gun-officer/HPFWdjtUZRL0gRjPAG2EGO/Good news: A man in Austin sat in jail for 15 months on charges that he pointed a weapon at officers, but authorities have known for much of that time that, in fact, he did not. Once the defense found out about the contrary evidence, they were allowed to plead to a lesser offense and the defendant was released with a sentence of “time served.” The man’s attorney told the paper the case “exposes how broken our bail system is and is used as a tool of oppression.” From: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Heat-wave-sparks-concerns-in-sweltering-Texas-13089898.php First big summer heat blast hits after TDCJ lost temperature litigation After settling the lawsuit over heat-related deaths at the Pack Unit, acquiescing in most of the plaintiff’s demands after the Fifth Circuit refused to grant summary judgment, TDCJ officials must be sweating (pun intended) over the possibility that more inmates could die in un-air-conditioned units thanks to the record setting heat this summer. Maybe that will mean they’ll do a better job of providing ice and water, but for people kept essentially in metal boxes in 105+ degree weather – both inmates and staff – that’s hardly much comfort. This Houston Chronicle story considered the issue. “Overall, just 29 Texas prisons provide air-conditioned living units, while another 75 facilities do not have it.” RSO articles I picked out:New Blogs Part 10 Updated July 24 2018GA: CONVICTED SEX OFFENDERS REMOVED FROM REGISTRYJuly 10, 2018 A little over two decades ago, ____ ____ stood before a judge and pleaded guilty to aggravated sodomy with his 6-year-old daughter. “____ ____ molested his biological daughter,” Chatham County Chief Assistant District Attorney Greg McConnell said. “He admitted that he made her perform oral sex on him but said it was accidental.” ____ , who was 37 at the time, was sentenced to 10 years — two to be served in prison — followed by eight years of probation. ____ served his time. And in 2014 the state of Georgia, saying he was rehabilitated, forgave him. The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles granted ____ a pardon, an “order of official forgiveness” that recognized his “good reputation in (his) community following the completion of (his) sentence.”” Full Article: https://www.myajc.com/news/crime–law/court-ruling-removes-pardoned-sex-offenders-from-registry/bpbCHXQFt6NL7CsjXhO2XN/NE: SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY RESTRICTION DROPPED BY COUNCILJuly 20, 2018 ·8 CommentsAn ordinance that would have banned convicted/registered sex offenders from living within 500 feet of a school or child care facility in York was given a second public reading and then dropped for good. Full Article: https://www.yorknewstimes.com/news/sex-offender-residency-restriction-dropped-by-council/article_8e55ce2c-8c19-11e8-93c3-afe4f5684bcd.html PA: JUDGE UPENDS SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATIONJuly 23, 2018 WEST CHESTER >> A Common Pleas Court judge has ruled that a West Goshen man convicted of forcing himself sexually on a sleeping woman will not have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. In an order signed July 10, Judge Anthony Sarcione found that the law that defendant ____ ____ was required to report to state police as a sex offender was unconstitutional. He said the law, the Sexual Offenders Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), violated the fundamental right to reputation under the state Constitution, as well as federal guarantees of due process. Full Article: http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20180723/judge-upends-sex-offender-registration
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 05 2018I made a new splash page logo. I am really into salvation lately and spreading the good news. I have not changed anything about myself though. Nothing has changed about me. I have been a Christian since 1979. I was saved by my mother witnessing to me. She was at her wit’s end with me when I was 18 years old. She got saved and thought it would help me too. She was right. She kept giving me Chick Tracts and I memorized John 3:16 the minute I saw it. I got saved by Chick Tracts. Being a artist I could not help but admire the amazing artwork in those old tracts. I can John 3:16 so fast to this day that it sounds like a auctioneer; thanks to that Chick Tract I read in 1979. That was on January 19th 1979, I remember the date; after all this time. I would have never made it this far without the Lord. Out of respect for the Lord, all I can say, if it was not for the Lord; this Blog would not exist.Putting the gospel tract I used to hand out to people back in 1992 under my logo on this blog; is a perfect fit. My logo is supposed to be me under the weight of people’s lack of intelligence concerning RSO’s. Actually the SO FAQ logo is me under a giant cement brick; trying to keep it from crushing me. I worked really hard on that logo; when I started this blog. What better thing underneath me than the gospel; supporting me to lift the weight of ignorance. What better foundation is there? 1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 08 2018I am not posting this because of China. I am posting this because every time I email my mother Apple blocks and deletes it. Ever since my mom got a IPad instead of a PC I have been unable to email my mom. That is sick! I also suspect Apple of blocking all my websites. Check this out, I just found out about it:From: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-apple-icloud-insight/apple-moves-to-store-icloud-keys-in-china-raising-human-rights-fears-idUSKCN1G8060TECHNOLOGY NEWSFEBRUARY 23, 2018 / 11:14 PM / 5 MONTHS AGOApple moves to store iCloud keys in China, raising human rights fearsStephen Nellis, Cate Cadell8 MIN READ SAN FRANCISCO/BEIJING (Reuters) – When Apple Inc begins hosting Chinese users’ iCloud accounts in a new Chinese data center at the end of this month to comply with new laws there, Chinese authorities will have far easier access to text messages, email and other data stored in the cloud. That’s because of a change to how the company handles the cryptographic keys needed to unlock an iCloud account. Until now, such keys have always been stored in the United States, meaning that any government or law enforcement authority seeking access to a Chinese iCloud account needed to go through the U.S. legal system. Now, according to Apple, for the first time the company will store the keys for Chinese iCloud accounts in China itself. That means Chinese authorities will no longer have to use the U.S. courts to seek information on iCloud users and can instead use their own legal system to ask Apple to hand over iCloud data for Chinese users, legal experts said. Human rights activists say they fear the authorities could use that power to track down dissidents, citing cases from more than a decade ago in which Yahoo Inc handed over user data that led to arrests and prison sentences for two democracy advocates. Jing Zhao, a human rights activist and Apple shareholder, said he could envisage worse human rights issues arising from Apple handing over iCloud data than occurred in the Yahoo case. In a statement, Apple said it had to comply with recently introduced Chinese laws that require cloud services offered to Chinese citizens be operated by Chinese companies and that the data be stored in China. It said that while the company’s values don’t change in different parts of the world, it is subject to each country’s laws. “While we advocated against iCloud being subject to these laws, we were ultimately unsuccessful,” it said. Apple said it decided it was better to offer iCloud under the new system because discontinuing it would lead to a bad user experience and actually lead to less data privacy and security for its Chinese customers. As a result, Apple has established a data center for Chinese users in a contractual arrangement with state-owned firm Guizhou – Cloud Big Data Industry Co Ltd. The firm was set up and funded by the provincial government in the relatively poor southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou in 2014. The Guizhou company has close ties to the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party. The Apple decision highlights a difficult reality for many U.S. technology companies operating in China. If they don’t accept demands to partner with Chinese companies and store data in China then they risk losing access to the lucrative Chinese market, despite fears about trade secret theft and the rights of Chinese customers. BROAD POWERSApple says the joint venture does not mean that China has any kind of “backdoor” into user data and that Apple alone – not its Chinese partner – will control the encryption keys. But Chinese customers will notice some differences from the start: their iCloud accounts will now be co-branded with the name of the local partner, a first for Apple. And even though Chinese iPhones will retain the security features that can make it all but impossible for anyone, even Apple, to get access to the phone itself, that will not apply to the iCloud accounts. Any information in the iCloud account could be accessible to Chinese authorities who can present Apple with a legal order. Apple said it will only respond to valid legal requests in China, but China’s domestic legal process is very different than that in the U.S., lacking anything quite like an American “warrant” reviewed by an independent court, Chinese legal experts said. Court approval isn’t required under Chinese law and police can issue and execute warrants. “Even very early in a criminal investigation, police have broad powers to collect evidence,” said Jeremy Daum, an attorney and research fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center in Beijing. “(They are) authorized by internal police procedures rather than independent court review, and the public has an obligation to cooperate.” Guizhou – Cloud Big Data and China’s cyber and industry regulators did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Guizhou provincial government said it had no specific comment. There are few penalties for breaking what rules do exist around obtaining warrants in China. And while China does have data privacy laws, there are broad exceptions when authorities investigate criminal acts, which can include undermining communist values, “picking quarrels” online, or even using a virtual private network to browse the Internet privately. Apple says the cryptographic keys stored in China will be specific to the data of Chinese customers, meaning Chinese authorities can’t ask Apple to use them to decrypt data in other countries like the United States. Privacy lawyers say the changes represent a big downgrade in protections for Chinese customers. “The U.S. standard, when it’s a warrant and when it’s properly executed, is the most privacy-protecting standard,” said Camille Fischer of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. WARNED CUSTOMERSApple has given its Chinese users notifications about the Feb. 28 switchover to the Chinese data center in the form of emailed warnings and so-called push alerts, reminding users that they can choose to opt out of iCloud and store information solely on their device. The change only affects users who set China as their country on Apple devices and doesn’t affect users who select Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan. A man looks at the screen of his mobile phone in front of an Apple logo outside its store in Shanghai, China July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Aly SongApple doesn’t require an iCloud account to set up and use an iPhone. But if the user enables iCloud during set up, the default settings on the iPhone will automatically create an iCloud back-up. Apple declined to comment on whether it would change its default settings to make iCloud an opt-in service, rather than opt-out, for Chinese users. Apple said it will not switch customers’ accounts to the Chinese data center until they agree to new terms of service and that more than 99.9 percent of current users have already done so. Until now, Apple appears to have handed over very little data about Chinese users. From mid-2013 to mid-2017, Apple said it did not give customer account content to Chinese authorities, despite having received 176 requests, according to transparency reports published by the company. By contrast, Apple has given the United States customer account content in response to 2,366 out of 8,475 government requests. Those figures are from before the Chinese cyber security laws took effect and also don’t include special national security requests in which U.S. officials might have requested data about Chinese nationals. Apple, along with other companies, is prevented by law from disclosing the targets of those requests. Apple said requests for data from the new Chinese datacenter will be reflected in its transparency reports and that it won’t respond to “bulk” data requests. Human rights activists say they are also concerned about such a close relationship with a state-controlled entity like Guizhou-Cloud Big Data. Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China, said the Chinese Communist Party could also pressure Apple through a committee of members it will have within the company. These committees have been pushing for more influence over decision making within foreign-invested companies in the past couple of years. (Corrects paragraph 7 to read “contractual arrangement” instead of “joint venture”; corrects to show that Apple does not require an iCloud account to set up an iPhone) Reporting by Stephen NellisEditing by Jonathan Weber and Martin Howell Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. BUSINESS NEWSAUGUST 7, 2018 / 8:38 PM / UPDATED 7 HOURS AGOApple tells lawmakers iPhones are not listening in on consumersDavid Shepardson, Stephen Nellis3 MIN READ (Reuters) – Apple Inc told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that its iPhones do not listen to users without their consent and do not allow third-party apps to do so either, after lawmakers asked the company if its devices were invading users’ privacy. A man holds an Apple iPhone as he walks on a street in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas JacksonRepresentatives Greg Walden, Marsha Blackburn, Gregg Harper and Robert Latta wrote to Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook and Alphabet Inc chief executive Larry Page in July, citing concerns about reports that smartphones could “collect ‘non-triggered’ audio data from users’ conversations near a smartphone in order to hear a ‘trigger’ phrase, such as ‘Okay Google’ or ‘Hey Siri.’” In a letter to Walden, an Oregon Republican who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Apple said iPhones do not record audio while listening for Siri wakeup commands and Siri does not share spoken words. Apple said it requires users to explicitly approve microphone access and that apps must display a clear signal that they are listening. The letters, in which lawmakers cited reports suggesting third-party applications had access to and used ‘non-triggered’ data without users’ knowledge, followed congressional hearings in April into Facebook Inc’s privacy practices, which included testimony by its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Alphabet did not respond to questions about whether it had replied to lawmakers. Apple declined to comment beyond its letter, which was seen by Reuters. A spokeswoman for the Republican majority on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said “both companies have been cooperative thus far. The Committee looks forward to reviewing and analyzing the responses as we consider next steps.” Apple wrote that it had removed apps from its App Store over privacy violations but declined to say whether it had ever banned a developer. It also said it was up to developers to notify users when an app was removed for privacy reasons. “Apple does not and cannot monitor what developers do with the customer data they have collected, or prevent the onward transfer of that data, nor do we have the ability to ensure a developer’s compliance with their own privacy policies or local law,” Apple wrote. The iPhone maker’s App Store has generated $100 billion in revenue for developers over the past decade. Apple told lawmakers in its letter that it rejected about 36,000 apps from among the 100,000 submitted each week for violations of its guidelines. Also check out this breaking news story: The SwitchYouTube, Apple, Facebook and Spotify escalate enforcement against Alex Jones 2:52Alex Jones’s content stripped from YouTube, Apple, Facebook and Spotify Apple, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify have moved to remove the content of prominent right-wing talk show host Alex Jones for violating hate speech policies. (The Hollywood Reporter) By Hamza Shaban, Craig Timberg and Isaac Stanley-BeckerAugust 6Email the authorThis post has been updated with a statement from Google, which owns YouTube. Apple, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify took their most aggressive steps yet to penalize conspiracy theorist and prominent right-wing talk show host Alex Jones for violating their hate speech policies. Late Sunday, Apple stripped the majority of podcasts published by Jones’s website Infowars from iTunes and its podcast apps. “Apple does not tolerate hate speech, and we have clear guidelines that creators and developers must follow to ensure we provide a safe environment for all of our users,” the company said in a statement to The Washington Post. “Podcasts that violate these guidelines are removed from our directory making them no longer searchable or available for download or streaming. We believe in representing a wide range of views, so long as people are respectful to those with differing opinions.” Apple’s decision came after other popular tech platforms, including Spotify, Facebook and YouTube, had removed some of Jones’s offending content. But Apple’s move was the most sweeping yet. The company’s decision to pull the Infowars podcasts was first reported by BuzzFeed. Apple removed five of the six Infowars programs from its listings, including “The Alex Jones Show” and “War Room.” YouTube on Monday terminated the Alex Jones Channel, telling The Post in a statement, “All users agree to comply with our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines when they sign up to use YouTube. When users violate these policies repeatedly, like our policies against hate speech and harassment or our terms prohibiting circumvention of our enforcement measures, we terminate their accounts.” In a series of text messages to The Washington Post, Alex Jones called the decisions to remove him from Apple, Facebook and Spotify “a counter-strike against the global awakening.” He accused Apple and Google of colluding with the Chinese government, mainstream news organizations, the Democratic Party and establishment elements of the Republican Party to misrepresent his views and deprive him of platforms that allow him to spread his messages. “We’ve seen a giant yellow journalism campaign with thousands and thousands of articles for weeks, for months misrepresenting what I’ve said and done to set the precedent to de-platform me before Big Tech and the Democratic Party as well as some Republican establishment types move against the First Amendment in this country as we know it,” he said. “You’re on the wrong side of history mainstream media,” Jones said in a text message to The Post. “You sold the country out, and now you’re going to pay for it.” [Spotify removes Alex Jones’s podcasts, citing policy on ‘hate content’] Jones’s Infowars, an outlet known for spreading baseless information and promoting conspiracy theories claims a massive audience. Its YouTube channel, for instance, has more than 2.4 million subscribers and Jones has gained influence in recent years through his endorsement of Donald Trump. Jones has also drawn intense criticism. He claimed that the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax and now faces defamation lawsuits brought by some of the families whose children were killed. Jones has also spread conspiracy theories about teenagers who survived the massacre at a high school in Parkland, Fla. and more recently claimed that the left was on the verge of starting another U.S. civil war. Early Monday, Spotify hardened its stance against Jones. The company announced that “The Alex Jones Show” podcast was banned from the platform. Last week, Spotify removed only certain episodes of the podcast, but the music-streaming company said the program continued to defy its rules against hate content. “We take reports of hate content seriously and review any podcast episode or song that is flagged by our community,” the company said in a statement to The Post. “Due to repeated violations of Spotify’s prohibited content policies, The Alex Jones Show has lost access to the Spotify platform.” [Facebook removes Alex Jones pages for hate, bullying] Facebook, too, escalated its enforcement. In a blog post Monday, the social-networking platform said it removed four of Jones’s pages for violating its community standards. Facebook previously erased four videos hosted by these pages, but the company said users continued to report offensive content published by them. Now Facebook has unpublished the pages for glorifying violence and “using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies,” the company said. Facebook took down the Alex Jones Channel Page, the Alex Jones Page, the Infowars Nightly News Page and the Infowars Page. Last month, Facebook suspended Jones for 30 days. from: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2018/08/07/Alex-Jones-appeals-to-Infowars-fans-after-bans-by-Apple-Facebook-YouTube-and-Spotify/stories/201808070184
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 10 2018
TEXAS IS READYFrom: https://action.aclu.org/petition/texas-ready? Texas’ addiction to incarceration is ineffective, unfair, and expensive. That’s why we’re fighting for smart justice reforms to make Texas a fair and equal place for all. Add your name to support smart justice reforms. Here’s what smart justice means: Reforming our for-profit bail system that discriminates against low-income Texans.Voting for your local district attorney — the most powerful elected official you may not know.Ending the failed War on Drugs that wastes hundreds of millions of dollars and results in racially disparate arrests.Reforming re-entry so that people returning home have the tools they need to succeed in life after prison.The tide is turning against incarceration as a one-size-fits-all solution to crime. Conservatives and progressives alike are supportive of thoughtful deincarceration policies. Smart, effective reform is possible. Sign the petition to show that Texans are ready for smart justice.
In Texas, 1 out of every 4 adults has a felony conviction on their record. And the costs to the state are staggering—not only for taxpayers burdened with funding our overcrowded prisons, but also for those facing sometimes insurmountable challenges as they return to our communities. Formerly incarcerated Texans have difficulty finding and maintaining gainful employment, finding housing, securing occupational licenses to apply their trade, and face a multitude of other obstacles long after their sentences have been served. These impacts are not just felt by individuals, but by the families they support and care for and the communities in which they live. It is time to make smarter decisions across the board and make our justice system one that prioritizes the long-term strength of communities over the short-term impulse to punish. Sign the petition: Tell your representatives that Texas is ready for smart justice policies. Thanks for getting involvedStatus messageThank you for signing the petition to support Smart Justice reforms in Texas. Stay involved with the Smart Justice movement at www.aclutx.org/smartjustice
RSO articles I picked out:New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 10 2018 NJ: COURT STOPS RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF LIFETIME REGISTRATION LAW August 9, 2018 An appellate court in New Jersey has ruled that the state government cannot retroactively apply a new law that requires life-time registration to registrants who had the possibility of relief from that registration at the time they pled guity. According to the Court, the restroactive application of the new law would be “manifestly unfair” to registrants. “Although the New Jersey court based its decision on the intent of the state legislature and not on the ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution, it reached the right decision when it protected registrants from the application of laws passed many years after their conviction,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. The registrants in the case met the requirement for relief from lifetime registration under the prior law because they were offense free for at least 15 years. In addition, trial courts had found that both registrants “no longer pose a threat to the safety of others.” In its decision, the Court acknowledged that the requirement to register for life places registrants in danger, including both potential criminal liability (for failure to register) and public opprobrium (shame or scorn). This in turn, “eliminates an incentive integral to Megan’s Law remedial purpose.” The Court also noted that two state courts — Maine and New Hampshire — have determined that the retroactive application of a lifetime registration requirement violated their state constitutions. The decision includes a discussion of SORNA registration requirements and how New Jersey laws fail to comply with that federal law and therefore is not eligible for federal funding related to those requirements. Ex Post Facto – New Jersey – Aug 2018: https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Ex-Post-Facto-New-Jersey-Aug-2018.pdf WA: JUDGES DENIES LAKEWOOD’S REQUEST TO STOP SEX OFFENDER RELOCATION August 8, 2018 [patch.com – 8/6/18] LAKEWOOD, WA – A Pierce County judge has denied Lakewood’s request to stop the transfer of three sex offenders from McNeil Island to a private residential adult treatment house in the city. On Friday, Lakewood officials asked Pierce County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Martin to stop the transfer. Although Martin denied that request, the city’s is still engaged in a lawsuit against the state to stop the transfer of sex offenders from facilities like Western State into residential treatment facilities. Read more about this important precedent : https://patch.com/washington/lakewood-jblm/judges-denies-lakewoods-request-stop-sex-offender-relocation NC: COURT DETERMINES GPS TRACKING DEVICES UNCONSTITUTIONAL August 8, 2018 The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the state government’s requirement that registrants wear a GPS tracking device is an unreasonable search which violates the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Court’s decision is based upon the state government’s failure to prove that GPS tracking is “effective to serve the State’s interest in protecting the public against sex offenders.” “This is a courageous and wise decision,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Our hope is that courts throughout the nation will choose to follow it.” In its decision, the Court stated that unless GPS “is found to be effective to actually serve the purpose of protecting against recidivism by sex offenders, it is impossible for the State to justify the intrusion of continuously tracking an offender’s location for any length of time, much less for thirty years.” The registrant in the case was required to wear a GPS device for a total of thirty years. Also in its decision, the Court noted that “the continuous and dynamic location data gathered by (GPS) is far more intrusive than the static information gathered as a result of sex offender registration.” The Court also noted that GPS data reflects details about a registrant’s familial, political, professional, religious and sexual associations. Further, the Court noted that it had criticized the state government in a prior case for its lack of empirical evidence to support the premise that GPS use protects the public from sex offenders. In addition, the Court cited favorably a recent decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals which held that social science, scientific research, or legislative findings were required in order to uphold another type of sex offender law. Decision : https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/State-v-Griffin-17-386-1-Sex-Offender-Satellite-Monitoring.pdf Related Media http://amp.sacbee.com/news/article216246910.html http://my40.tv/news/local/new-nc-court-ruling-against-sex-offender-tracking-devices-has-mixed-reactions MA: COURT RECOGNIZES HARM TO REGISTRANTS, RULES IN THEIR FAVOR August 6, 2018 The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Council, the state’s supreme court, has ruled in favor of registrants who were trying either to terminate their duty to register or to change the tier level on which they were situated. In doing so, the Court recognized that there are significant challenges facing registrants including stigma and legal restrictions that make it more difficult to find stable housing or employment. The Court also recognized that the effects of registration are “continuing, intrusive, and humiliating” and could lead to threats of physical harm. Further, the Court recognized that dissemination of a registrant’s personal information and photo on the internet magnifies these effects. “The Court’s rulings in these two cases are truly monumental,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “They speak the truth that so many courts have avoided.” In addition to its recognition that the requirement to register causes harm to registrants, the Court determined that registrants have a right to counsel in court hearings when they seek either to have their requirement to register terminated or reclassification to a lower tier. The Court also determined that the government, not the registrant, bears the burden of proving that a registrant poses a current risk of re-offense as well as a degree of dangerousness by “clear and convincing” evidence. “This is a tougher standard than the ordinary preponderance of evidence applied in ordinary civil cases,” stated ACSOL Board Member and recently retired law professor Ira Ellman. In its decision, the Court noted that over classification of registrants into higher than necessary tiers “strains public resources.” In the State of Massachusetts, a total of 38 factors are considered in order to determine whether a registrant is required to continue registering. By comparison, the widely used Static-99 uses only 10 factors. Both of the Court’s decisions were issued on the same day. Separate links to both cases follows below. Doe v. Sex Ofndr Reg Board – Mass 2018 (terminating registration)https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Doe-v.-Sex-Ofndr-Reg-Board-Mass-2018-terminating-registration.pdf Doe v. Sex Ofndr Reg Board – reclassif – Mass – 2018https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Doe-v.-Sex-Ofndr-Reg-Board-reclassif-Mass-2018.pdf Related MA: Court: Board needs proof in sex offender reclassificationhttps://all4consolaws.org/2018/08/ma-court-board-needs-proof-in-sex-offender-reclassification/ FAILURE-TO-COMPLY ARRESTS REVEAL FLAWS IN SEX OFFENDER REGISTRIES August 1, 2018 In one Pennsylvania county, more than three times as many people on the registry were charged in 2016 with failing to follow registry requirements than were charged with a new sexual offense. Full Article: https://theappeal.org/skyrocketing-charges-for-failing-to-comply-with-sex-offender-registries-reveal-their-flaws/ PA: SEX PREDATOR LAW CHALLENGED BY BILL COSBY TO GET COURT REVIEW August 1, 2018 Pennsylvania’s highest court will consider whether the state can lawfully designate certain sex offenders as sexually violent predators, as it’s seeking to do in the case of Bill Cosby. Cosby’s attorneys also are challenging the constitutionality of the law. But the state Supreme Court’s decision Tuesday to review the statute was made in response to an appeal by the state in a different case, not Cosby’s challenge. A lower court judge had found the process by which offenders are deemed predators unconstitutional. Full Article: https://lancasteronline.com/news/pennsylvania/sex-predator-law-challenged-by-cosby-to-get-court-review/article_73a614f1-2ab5-5256-b972-e0aab6958b46.html HAWAII ALLOWS DOZENS OF SEX PREDATORS REGISTERED AS LIVING IN OAHU PARKS July 28, 2018 Hawaii’s sex offender registry is meant to keep people safe by requiring convicted sex criminals to submit their address to an online database. On the site, the public can check to see if a sex offender lives nearby. But a Hawaii News Now investigation has revealed some alarming gaps in the system, including vague addresses and dozens of convicted sex predators living places where you hope children can be safest. Full Article: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38743071/dozens-of-sex-predators-are-registered-as-living-in-oahu-parks-review-shows SEX OFFENDERS ACCESS TO SCHOOLS TO VOTE July 25, 2018 [timesunion.com – 7/24/18] ALBANY — Schools are generally off-limits for sex offenders, but not when it comes times to vote. A carveout in the state’s criminal trespass laws allows sex offenders to enter a school for the specific purpose of voting, including school district votes and other government elections, where the school is the polling site. The issue has jumped into the public’s consciousness as the result of outcry by some Republicans about conditional pardons recently issued by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo that could speed up the restoration of voting rights for sex offenders on parole. “Registered sex offenders who have been released are allowed to vote,” Albany County Board of Elections Republican Commissioner Rachel Bledi said. “Obviously you have a problem when the polling place is at a school. … We’ve never really had this issue raised.” Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Sex-offenders-able-to-visit-schools-to-vote-13098230.php
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 11 2018 More bazaar reports from my emails from LGBTQ Nation Daily Brief.: Florida’s plan for bullied LGBTQ kids? Send them to Christian schools. By Alex Bollinger · Friday, August 10, 2018 From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/08/floridas-plan-bullied-lgbtq-kids-send-christian-schools/ This past March, Florida became the first state to create a private school voucher program just for bullied students. The Hope Scholarship Program gives students who report being bullied $6,700 towards tuition at a private school, or $750 for transportation to another public school. Anti-bullying activists in Florida opposed the bill, pointing out that bullying occurs in private schools at about the same rate as it does in public schools, that bullies will just pick new targets if their victims leave, and that private schools aren’t closely regulated when it comes to bullying so students will find they have few tools to remedy a situation at a private school. Now a new analysis by the Huffington Post found that many of the private schools that students can attend in the program would just join in the bullying of LGBTQ students. Around 70 private schools have signed up for the program to take in bullied public school students. Of these schools, 10% have explicit “zero tolerance” policies when it comes to homosexuality. For example, Trinity Christian Academy’s student handbook says students are required to refrain from “Any action involving pornography or homosexuality.” Harvest Academy calls homosexuality an “abomination” in its parent/student handbook. An LGBTQ student is unlikely to find much help at these schools. Moreover, 30% of the schools use curricula that teaches that homosexuality is wrong. For example, some of these schools use textbooks from Abeka. The company’s 8th grade U.S. history textbook calls gay rights a “moral evil.”
DC church encourages ‘shaming & shunning’ LGBTQ people as loving ‘Christian response’By Bil Browning · Friday, August 10, 2018From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/08/dc-church-encourages-shaming-shunning-lgbtq-people-loving-christian-response/ Capital View Baptist Church in Washington, DC, isn’t your typical church in the live-and-let-live city. While other denominations and churches participate in the local pride parade and hang banners welcoming everyone, the predominantly black church has written discrimination into their constitution. The Washington Blade reports that the church was forced to turn over a copy of its constitution as part of an investigation by city authorities into the group’s not-for-profit status in the District. The document was also produced as part of separate court cases brought by 15 former church members. “Every Member, Attendee and Participant at Church Events should be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity while on church premises,” the constitution’s Article VII states. “Hateful, harassing, intimidating, mocking behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual or group of individuals at Church Events is to be repudiated and is not considered in accord with Scripture nor the Doctrines of the Church.” “Yet, Shaming and Shunning are acceptable Christian responses to the outward practice of any form of ungodly behavior such as sexual immorality (adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, transgender, or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, and/or engagement in any other such) described in the Bible as sinful, and are considered offensive to God and man.” The clause is in the church’s Christian Code of Conduct section and stipulates that compliance is mandatory. “All persons employed by the Church and serving the Church in any capacity, as Members, Volunteers, Interns, Apprentices, etc., should agree with the Christian Code of Conduct and conduct themselves accordingly,” it says. The section concludes with a ban on same-sex marriage, declaring “marriage to be a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a human being (homo sapien), husband or wife.” Earline Budd, a local trans activist and person of faith, condemned the church’s bigotry. “I mean to know that they, meaning their incorporators, agreed that it would be alright to shame someone who is a part of the transgender or gay community is sad,” Budd said to the Blade. “But I never in my dark dreams thought that someone would incorporate this type of hatred into their articles and have a church practicing under these criteria – sad, sad, sad.”
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 18 2018 You think RSO’s, People of Color, LBGTQ folks, The Jewish Community and the like; got it bad? Now they want to throw people in prison for being a Christian: From: https://onenewsnow.com/legal-courts/2018/08/17/atheist-group-lock-up-usaf-commander-for-his-faith Atheist group: ‘Lock up’ USAF commander for his faith Friday, August 17, 2018 Christian flag over US flagThe atheistic Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) filed a complaint contending that a Christian commander with the United States Air Force should be fired and imprisoned for expressing his faith. Earlier this week, MRFF – led by Michael “Mikey” Weinstein – filed the formal complaint with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, accusing the newly installed commander at California’s Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), Brig. Gen. E. John Teichert, of multiple crimes. “[Teichert] engaged in] intolerance/proselytizing; violations of DoD diversity & civil liberties policies; and Air Force standards violations,” MRFF’s complaint states. Criminalizing Christians The anti-Christian group also launched a public smear campaign, insisting that Teichert should not just be relieved of his military duties, but also be thrown in jail. “[Teichert] should be doing time behind prison bars – not commanding a wing wearing general’s stars,” MRFF’s press release issued Monday reads. “[The commander] has denigrated LGBT individuals, slammed American society at large, and, of course, delivered election voting mandate directives wherein he has effusively urged that only HIS type of approved Christian should ever be elected to American public office.” MRFF also attempted to take a multicultural and religious “tolerance” approach by insisting that 41 members of the Edwards AFB community belonging to a wide array of faith groups found the commander’s profession of faith offensive. “The military personnel who have complained … include Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and atheists,” CBN News reported, pointing to MRFF’s release. MRFF particularly has a problem with Teichert portraying himself as a Christian, as evidenced by the group calling his recent prayer request “one of General Teichert’s sermons” – quoting it as if were proof of his criminal activity as a military leader. “I would ask for your prayers for wisdom in my life of leadership, and discernment and understanding and knowledge for influence over the nation’s senior leaders that I get to rub shoulders with,” Teichert was quoted in MRFF’s press release. “My desire in my life is to maximize my impact on people in our country for the Lord.” Not mentioned in the release were dozens of honors and accomplishments achieved by the decorated general while serving his country. “[Teichert] has directed the F-22 Combined Test Force and commanded the 411th Flight Test Squadron – responsible for F-22 Raptor developmental,” his biography posted on Edwards AFB reads. “[He also] commanded the 53d Test Management Group – providing operational test and evaluation of USAF fighters, bombers, combat search and rescue systems – remotely piloted aircraft, aircrew training devices, aircrew flight equipment, weapons and space systems. [Most recently, he] commanded the 11th Wing and Joint Base Andrews – responsible for the security, personnel, contracting, finance, medical and infrastructure support for five wings, three headquarters and over 80 tenant organizations, as well as 60,000 Airmen and families in the National Capital Region and around the world.” Problem with prayer … Looking past Teichert’s stellar military track record, an MRFF attorney put together what could be considered a rap sheet of the commander’s “offences” over the past several years. “The ‘demand letter,’ addressed to Mattis by MRFF legal counsel Don Rehkopf, alleges various thought crimes and newspeak violations by the general – most of which were culled from Teichert’s website, Prayer at Lunchtime for the United States (PLUS),” PJ Media reported. Rehkoph insisted that such a display of faith by a leader in the U.S. Armed Forces is unacceptable and punishable by military standards. “Sometime in early 2013, he created a public webpage and the blog – along with social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter) – to promote his fundamentalist, dominionist ‘Christian’ beliefs,” MRFF’s demand letter allged. “He created an acronym for this he called ‘PLUS,’ which stands for Prayer at Lunchtime for the United States. [This conduct is a violation of Air Force policy] especially [with its] absence of disclaimers and manifested intolerance for religious diversity. MRFF suggests that one does not need a ‘crystal ball’ to see that [how] Brig Gen Teichert is using both his military rank – as well as his position and status as an Air Force officer – to aggressively promote his brand of religion, clearly giving the appearance, if not outright impression, that he, in his official status, is endorsing, if not outright proselytizing, his particular brand of politico-religion.” The atheist group was also greatly disturbed that Teichert called for prayer that America would return to its Christian roots, as the general expressed below. “Ultimately, I pray this tool [PLUS] will prompt Christians to be faithful in prayer such that it will spur widespread revival in our nation,” Teichert wrote on his website. “The goal is to change our national spirit so that the Lord can change our national direction. I’m concerned about our country’s drift away from the foundation on which we were built. I personally believe that those who call themselves Christians are largely to blame because we have failed to stand up for the cause of Christ in our country. We have failed to pray. We have failed to put into practice the principles in 2 Chronicles 7:14. On our watch, we have allowed our country to slip away from its founding Christian principles while it has become increasingly intolerant of Christianity.” MRFF pulling out America’s Christian roots? It is argued that MRFF has a problem with anything tracing back to Christianity – especially America’s heritage. “Weinstein – bigot that he is – has a problem with this kind of religious talk,” PJ Media’s Paula Bolyard asserted. “[MRFF’s letter is] trying to make the case that boilerplate Christian professions are intolerant and in violation of Air Force policy … [and] quibbles about Teichert’s telling of history. The letter then detours to include a lengthy diatribe attempting to scrub Christianity from America’s past.” MRFF attempted in its letter to discredit Teichert and rewrite history according to its atheistic worldview. “He openly (but falsely) advocates that America was founded as a ‘Christian nation,'” the atheist attorney claimed. “Brig. Gen. Teichert and his source ignore commonly known facts – at the ‘beginning of the Revolutionary War,’ there were no Americans, except the Native Americans, and few of them were Christians. [The statements] demonstrate that Brig. Gen. Teichert’s many religious rants simply have no historical basis.” Weinstein accused Teichert of deliberately misrepresenting U.S. history to those opposed to Christianity. “[Weinstein] complains of ‘historical falsehoods’ directed toward ‘agnostics, atheists and other non-believers’ – even though he’s not addressing any of those groups,” WND reported. end article
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 19 2018Do not ever forget to say: “What’s Next”. The ACLU knows what I am saying; ask them, if you don’t believe me.The mob mentality of the media/internet, perverting our justice system; with a lust for putting people in prison; never say “What’s Next” when it comes to, so labeled, Registered Sex Offenders. I have blogs about so called conversion therapy that sound like horror movies. The “What’s Next” here is forcing people to undergo so called conversion therapy.Then “What’s Next” maybe we should have conversion therapy for men with long hair or women with short hair. So I say: Right on California!California moves closer to classifying ex-gay therapy as ‘fraudulent business practice’ From: my emails from This Week on LGBTQ Nation: By Bil Browning · Friday, August 17, 2018 California has taken another step toward banning the dangerous “ex-gay conversion therapy” promoted by the religious right to “cure” homosexuality. While California already bans the practice for minors, the state Assembly passed legislation that would encompass adults earlier this year. After amending the bill, the state senate also passed it. It now goes back to the Assembly for a concurrence vote. It is expected to pass easily. The new law would classify the practice as consumer fraud and would allow anyone who paid for the “service” to recoup their payment. There is no scientific basis for the practice and psychological experts say it does more harm than good. “We, as legislators, have a responsibility to protect Californians from harmful and deceptive practices,” Assemblymember Evan Low, the sponsor of the bill, said in an emailed statement. “All Californians should be celebrated, cherished, and loved for who they are. I am grateful to my colleagues in the Senate for affirming their support for those in the LGBT community who need it most by voting for this bill.” Christian activists have angrily defended the practice despite the lack of success. They have gone as far as saying the bill would ban the Bible and have vowed to perform civil disobedience. The dangerous practice remains legal in most parts of the nation. Only nine states and Washington DC have banned it. Far right Maine Governor Paul LePage is the only governor to veto a ban on the practice. From: my Net Neutrality email: We’ve run into a new obstacle in the fight to save Net Neutrality: Democrats. Seventeen Democrats in Congress are siding with Comcast and refusing to sign on to the effort to overrule the FCC and save Net Neutrality.1,2 If we’re going to win the fight to overrule the FCC and save the free and open Internet, we can’t afford to have Democrats siding with Big Telecom. That’s why we’re putting up billboards to expose those Democrats to their constituents. It’s a simple plan: We call them out. They switch sides. Then we win. Poll after poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly want their Internet free and open—no website blocking, data throttling, or hidden fees. That includes 75 percent of Republicans and 89 percent of Democrats.3 It’s a big reason three Republicans joined with Democrats in the Senate to vote to overturn the FCC’s repeal of Net Neutrality. And it’s why we have a real chance to convince the House to do the same. But Big Telecom is pulling out all the stops to block a vote. They’ve filled congressional campaign coffers with over $100 million. They’re sponsoring fake “conservative groups” against Net Neutrality.4 They’ve got an army of lobbyists wooing members every day. We need every single Democrat on our side. We simply can’t afford for Congresspeople like Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona—who’s taken $134,000 from Big Telecom—to vote the wrong way.5 https://openmedia.org/
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 26 2018TDCJ budget ask spends less than half on healthcare what providers say is needed for ‘minimum standards’ The Texas Department of Criminal Justice put out its Legislative Appropriations Request today, requesting $7.3 billion for the coming FY 2020-2021 biennium. Grits will discuss the LAR more thoroughly later, but off the top wanted to point out the health-line item (see exceptional item #6), and TDCJ’s comments about what might happen if prisoner healthcare is not adequately funded. The agency said that: an estimated $247.2 million is required to bring the FY 2020-21 funding to the projected levels of expense incurred for the delivery of services currently provided. Funding less than this level, which takes into account the rising costs of health care, could require elimination of services. Mission critical hardware and software systems are well beyond their life cycle and are obsolete. Without these significant upgrades, university providers face serious threats of system failures and security breaches, compromising patient care and safety. However, that’s not all. “According to university providers, additional funding of $281.3 million is critical to ensure effective overall quality of care within the system and deliver the level of services required by minimum standards.” So TDCJ is asking the state spend less than $250 million per biennium but the medical providers say they should be spending $528.5 million to meet “minimum standards.” That “minimum standards” comment is significant. University administrators have been telling the Legislature for years that the system was barely constitutional – “on a thin line,” UTMB vice president Ben Raimer has said. Now we learn that the funding to maintain a current level of service is less than half what university providers say they need to “deliver the level of services required by minimum standards.” Well, the only minimum standards that apply to prison healthcare are constitutional standards set by the Supreme Court through federal lawsuits. So these data impl- Read More Here – http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/08/tdcj-budget-ask-spends-less-than-half.html
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 30 2018 Don’t Trade Away the Internet in NAFTA Click Here To Send Email The U.S. just announced its new plan for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),1 and it puts our digital rights at serious risk. The proposal includes a notice-and-takedown regime, and extending copyright terms to 75 years — and that’s only what they’re telling us. Even more disastrous measures could be hidden in the secret details. Trump is trying to reclaim what he gave away when he walked away from the TPP: the most restrictive copyright rules in the world.2 Don’t let that happen. Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland is in Washington RIGHT NOW negotiating Canada’s position on NAFTA, and she’s our best chance to stop this dangerous proposal. Send the letter below, and tell Minister Freeland that our digital rights are worth standing up for! North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), puts digital rights at serious risk. Click Here To Send Email The proposal includes a notice-and-takedown regime and extending copyright terms to 75 years — and that’s just what they’re telling us. Even more disastrous measures could be hidden in the secret details. OpenMedia is fighting back by rallying opposition both in the U.S. and Canada. And right now, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland is our best chance to stop this dangerous proposal. She’s in Washington RIGHT NOW negotiating Canada’s position on NAFTA. If we can convince her to stand strong against these dangerous new rules, we have a real chance to stop them completely. Tell Minister Freeland to not let an IP Chapter into NAFTA. ACT NOW! Trump is trying to reclaim what he gave away when he walked away from the TPP: The most restrictive copyright rules in the world.2 He thinks he can pressure Canada into signing the deal, having already reached an agreement with Mexico, and he is threatening to leave Canada behind if they don’t sign on by tomorrow!3 But there’s still hope! Canada set a precedent that it won’t accept bad copyright proposals when it rejected the IP Chapter in the TPP. And Prime Minister Trudeau has said no deal is better than a bad deal when it comes to NAFTA4 — and this IP Chapter is definitely a bad deal. We’ve won on this before, and we’ll do it again.
P.S. NAFTA negotiations are moving quickly and it’s going to take everything we’ve got to keep up with whatever comes next. Will you chip in to help us ensure we have the resources we need to keep up the fight? Footnotes: [1] United States–Mexico Trade Fact Sheet: Modernizing NAFTA to be a 21st Century Trade Agreement: Office of the United States Trade Representative [2] Let’s Talk TPP: OpenMedia [3] Pressure on Canada to forge new trade deal within days after U.S. and Mexico reach two-way agreement: National Post [4] NAFTA deal by Friday? ‘Only a possibility,’ Trudeau says: CTV News Click Here To Send Email
RSO articles I picked out:New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 30 2018IL: APPELLATE COURT REVERSES SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION CONVICTIONAugust 27, 2018 An Illinois appeals court reversed a man’s conviction after he was accused of failing to register as a sex offender. The Fifth District Appellate Court, in reversing former judge John Baricevic, found the state did not provide enough evidence that ____ had to continually register as a sexual offender on the date of his offense. Prosecutors conceded there was no indication if Kitterman’s imprisonment or subsequent conviction changed the required registration date. The three-judge panel ruled ____, who represented himself, proved the the Sexual Offender Registration Act (SORA) requires the offender to meet the registration responsibilities on the date of the incident. Full Article Decision NATIONALTX: PASTOR CONVICTED OF CHILD PORN GETS PROBATION, MUST POST SEX OFFENDER SIGN AT HIS HOME August 30, 2018An associate pastor who told police he kept child porn on his computer as part of research for “a possible lesson involving Cupid, love and human trafficking” has been sentenced to eight years’ probation. ____ ____, 79, also was ordered by Judge Mollee B. Westfall to post a sign at his Hurst home that says, “A person on probation for a child sex offense lives here.” Full Article
My comment on story’s like this: I have been saying this since I started this blog: we only hear about sex offence’s when it effects rich people. I am convinced that sex offences take place every minute in our country. Sex offence reporting seems to be a selective priority in our community’s. Sex offences and sexually offensive behavior, is a part of everyday life; especially in our city’s. Yet when a rich person is effected by a sex offence; it always makes front page news. Second to rich people it is anyone involved in Christianity. What better person do we all want in prison than the Christian. Sad to say the average Christian is a self righteous Christian in our present day, ranting and railing against LGBTQ folks (for instance) saying “I hope you burn in hell” are making headlines all the time. Let me just say, saying: “I hope you burn in hell” is the most un-Christian thing anyone could say. In fact it may be safe to say it is highly unlikely that a Christian would be able to say that. There are different degrees of suffering in hell and I suspect that those who say: “I hope you burn in hell” may end up in the deepest part of hell. Not to mention all those Christians that act like Nazi’s to blend in with the media/internet and it’s lust to put people in prison. Society picks and chooses who it wants to be branded as a RSO, whether conscious or subconsciously. If we locked up every little sex offence of every kind; it would shame us all. Yet we as a country have prioritized our which hunt’s of sex offences and have become a country known for it’s sex offences. Our efforts to seek out sex offences; especially in our church’s, will bring God’s wrath on us all. China is delighted as they see our church’s as labeled as sex offender producing machines. Check this article out.: https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2160441/sex-abuse-us-churches-stain-americas-human This becomes; promoting killing and torching Christian’s in other country’s; and that will bring God’s rage and wrath against our country. Yet the church of the future according to the Bible will be a house of fornication. This will be the church of the blood thirsty Anti-Christ. Could the devil in his dealings with the future one world church make it illegal to report sex offences? I suspect that could be true. Revelation 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Revelation 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 30 2018Here is a copy of the article mentioned in the previous post above:
Sex abuse in US churches is a stain on America’s human rights record, and China should point that out Religious group finds claims of 55 more incidents, half of them allegedly committed by pastors, after firing of church leader who admitted inappropriate behavior The Chinese government is regularly subjected to charges of human rights abuses. The latest came earlier this month in the form of accusations by a UN human rights panel that 1 million ethnic Uygurs in China were being held in what resembles a “massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy”. China rejected the report’s findings last week, insisting that freedom of religion in Xinjiang is protected. The issue will not end here, though. Scrutiny of the way China treats Uygurs will continue, as it should, as will similar inquiries into the rights of Tibetans and other groups in the country that have challenged the central government. But, last week, Beijing got a new counterargument against the US, if the foreign ministry chooses to use it against critics there, in the form of a 900-page report by a grand jury in Pennsylvania. The report unveiled the systematic abuse of more than 1,000 children by “predator priests” in the state over a period of 70 years. At first glance, you might point out that judicial bodies in the US are publicising the abuse, and therefore conclude that America is doing the right thing. But that conclusion would overlook several facts. Explainer: high-profile cases of sex offences in the Catholic Church For one, only two among hundreds of the perpetrators of the abuse revealed by the report will ever be brought to justice. The reason: too many years have elapsed since they used the smokescreen of the Catholic theological theatre – the incense, the stained-glass windows, the Latin incantations – to keep their paedophilia rackets going. Also, similar scandals by “predator priests” sheltered by Catholic Church leaders at the highest levels have been brought to light by the media in the past in Boston, Nebraska and Philadelphia, among other areas. Very few convicted church paedophiles have gone to jail and, more importantly, the churches responsible for these atrocities will continue operating, tax free, as though no one was harmed by them. The psychological scars of sexual abuse last a lifetime, crippling many people, but Catholic dioceses get away with it. Christianity – whether Catholic, Baptist or any of its many other denominations – gets special treatment in the US, often in contravention of the constitutionally mandated separation between church and state. Churches need to act on claims of abuse Despite US founding father Thomas Jefferson’s insistence on this separation, religious figures in the US government have found ways to undermine it, helping to keep the church’s darkest deeds from view for decades. In 1954, Congress added the words “under God” to the American pledge of allegiance. “In God we trust” is emblazoned on US currency. These transgressions against the separation Jefferson wanted are both a reflection of, and pretext for, much of the harm churches inflict on vulnerable Americans. Not only are Catholic lives destroyed by priests, who are often unable to keep their vow of celibacy and therefore prey on minors. Countless people – women and children in particular – suffer in the US under strict interpretations of the Bible. The Mormon church, America’s home-grown version of Christianity, has been hit with a series of sexual abuse scandals only recently for crimes that stretched over decades. If an incident of sexual abuse ever surfaced in a class run by the Confucius Institute in the US, you can bet that the matter would have the attention of law enforcement officials right up to the FBI within hours. The pattern of abuse within America’s religious communities undermines its authority in human rights In some fundamentalist Christian communities, the misogyny and homophobia, efforts to keep congregations pliant, and the general disdain for civil society, mirror the restrictions faced by many in theocratic states like Saudi Arabia. The pattern of unacknowledged mental and physical abuse within America’s most devout religious communities undermines its authority in the area of human rights. Using these incidents as a defence does not excuse the Chinese government for the increasing pressure it puts on Uygurs to abide by and conform to the Chinese Communist Party’s political agenda. It would, however, expose yet another example of American inconsistencies around what constitutes a human rights violation and would force the US government to take abuse in its most sacred communities more seriously. Those who criticise China for its one-party rule would need to question whether living in a nation “under God” is any better. This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Sex abuse in US churches exposes double standards
New Blogs Part 10 Updated August 31 2018Hard to believe TDCJ when they make self-interested claimsWhen TDCJ was arguing before the federal courts against having to require air conditioning in the Wallace Pack Unit, they claimed it would be unreasonably expensive, estimating it would cost more than $20 million. Later, reported the Texas Tribune, “Before settling the lawsuit, the department conducted its own research and the cost dropped to $11 million.” At yesterday’s House Corrections Committee hearing, however, TDCJ executive director Bryan Collier said the agency now estimates the cost to install air conditioning at $4 million, a more than 80 percent reduction from their original estimate. (Notably, the agency spent more than $7 million fighting the lawsuit!) The agency is rapidly earning a reputation for promoting false, self-interested information, not just to the press and the public but in this case, to the courts. From: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/29/texas-prison-heat-air-conditioning-cost-drop/ Unfunded maintenance piling up at Texas prisonsGrits had highlighted underfunding of prisoner health services in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Legislative Appropriations Request, and the Dallas News’ Lauren McGaughy detailed unfunded facilities-maintenance costs from the same document. The agency has identified $400 million in maintenance needs, and requested funding for $146 million of that. However, in the current biennium, the Lege appropriated only $40 million for maintenance, and the larger amount was requested in the agency’s “exceptional items.” From: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2018/08/24/texas-spend-millions-fix-old-prisons-before-become-public-safety-issue-officials-warn
New Blogs Part 10 Updated September 5 2018 My problem is I usually rely on the emails title to read it. I realized this morning there are allot of great recent petitions out there. Sign PetitionStop Taking Advantage of Female Consumers Target: Andrew Smith, Commissioner of Bureau of Consumer Protection Goal: Stop charging more for “feminine” products than their male counterparts. Female consumers are constantly being taken advantage of: in the grocery store, at the pharmacy, and even at the dry cleaner’s. A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office unveiled that women’s products cost more than those of their male counterparts more than 50% of the time. Meaning that if you have two shampoos and one is considered masculine and the other feminine, the feminine one will likely be more expensive. In fact, women’s shampoos have been found to be often 48% more expensive than men’s, along with other prices like dry cleaning bills, deodorants, pants, and razors. This price gouging is a clear attack on women by the industries that sell these products and reflect a cultural attitude of clear disrespect toward women. Consumer taxes like this are not only unfair to shoppers everywhere, but they also set an unnecessary precedent in the marketplace. There is no reason that products made with the same materials should cost more, especially when produced by the same brand. We need consumer protection to ensure that this price gouging stops on a fundamental level. Sign the petition below to demand accountability within consumer practices. PETITION LETTER: Dear Mr. Smith, We need consumer protection against price gouging of women’s products by greedy corporations who seek to tax women just for existing. The products being sold at a higher cost are often far more expensive and inaccessible than those of their male counterparts. This comes after the fact that women historically make less than men too, so who has the right to rob them even further? In order to protect the marketplace, we need to be sure that there is equitable access to consumer products all across the board, not just the “male” ones. Stand with us on the right side of history and demand a change today. Sign Petition Sign Petition Justice For Child Who Committed Suicide Due to Homophobic Bullying This should be for all people who commit suicide because of bullying! Target: Tom Boasberg, Superintendent of Denver Public Schools Goal: Hold parents accountable for their children’s alleged taunts that drove a gay classmate to suicide. A Denver student committed suicide just four days after coming out as gay, allegedly due to intense bullying from his classmates. After successfully coming out to his supportive mother, nine-year-old Jamel Myles felt “proud” enough to come out at school, only for his pride to be shot down by other students’ reactions. According to the boy’s sister, other children reportedly told Myles to kill himself for four days straight. This is yet another tragic, meaningless suicide caused by the horrors of bullying and homophobia. An innocent child is dead because too many children have been taught that it is okay to harass and harm others because of their sexual orientation. Too many children have taken their own lives due to bullying in recent years, a good number of them being members of the LGBT community. Despite the growing LGBT rights movement, people are still cruel and intolerant and are all too happy to teach their children that this kind of behavior is acceptable. It is not just the bullies who must be held accountable for the death of Myles, but their parents as well. Anti-bullying laws must be enforced more strongly to instantly hold parents accountable for the actions of their children. Sign this petition to see that justice is obtained for Myles so his death was not in vain. PETITION LETTER: Dear Superintendent Boasberg, A nine-year-old student at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School committed suicide mere days after coming out as gay. Despite support from his family, he was reportedly harassed and told to kill himself by his schoolmates for four days straight. The school is doing as much damage control as possible, but it does not change the fact that Jamel Myles is another victim of bullying-related suicides on a list already too long. It is the fault of parents who have not taught their children better than to hurt others because they are “different.” Even with LGBT rights on the rise, people are still intolerant and refuse to accept LGBT people as human beings, and teach their children that this is the correct way to behave. These parents must be held accountable by the school, as well as by the law, to send the message that such cruelty will not be tolerated. It is too late to save Myles, but there is still time to prevent other such tragedies.Sign Petition Sign Petition Stop Senator’s Dangerous Bar Bill Experiment Target: Jerry Brown, Governor of California Goal: Stop a potentially hazardous bill that could increase alcohol-related incidents. Alcohol-related incidents in California may increase dramatically due to a new bill that will increase bar hours from 2 a. m. to 4 a. m. in nine cities. This bill was passed by the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee, despite evidence brought forth last year by Alcohol Justice on how two extra hours of alcohol sales could lead to an increase in street violence, crowding in hospital emergency room, drunk driving, and even death. The state currently has over 10,500 deaths related to alcohol every year. The California Office of Traffic Safety reported that fatal drunk driving incidents are chronic and worsening problems in the state, and that number will potentially only increase with the successful implementation of Senator Wiener’s bill. Sign this petition to ask the governor of California to veto the potentially harmful “4 a. m. Bar Bill.” The health and safety of the public should be prioritized over the wealth and success of California’s alcohol-related businesses. PETITION LETTER: Dear Governor Brown, The “4 a. m. Bar Bill” that Senator Scott Wiener introduced into legislation has allegedly brought much shock and alarm to individuals concerned about California’s public health and safety. The bill, which will extend bar hours by two hours in nine cities, completely disregards warnings by Alcohol Justice, medical doctors, local government officials, public health experts, law enforcement professionals, and other concerned parties. The bill could potentially increase the number of alcohol-related incidents in the state. Please think about the public’s safety and veto this potentially harmful bill. The public’s health is much more important than bar owners’ pockets.Sign Petition Sign Petition Punish Man Who Allegedly Shot Women Drivers He Thought Were ‘Incompetent’ Target: Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney Goal: Prosecute man who allegedly shot six female drivers in road rage incidents. A man reportedly shot a female driver in Katy, Texas. The woman was allegedly one of six women that Nicholas D’Agostino has shot based solely on the fact that she was a woman. According to the police, D’Agostino claimed it was self-defense, but his pattern speaks a different story. Detective Dennis Palmer describes the man’s posts on social media as being “rants and rambles on about female motorists and how incompetent they are and that their sole purpose is to give birth to male children.” This type of hate for women cannot be allowed. This alleged shooter could’ve killed six women. He needs to be prosecuted for his actions. Sign this petition to demand that this alleged shooter, Nicholas D’Agostino, be prosecuted. PETITION LETTER: Dear District Attorney Ogg, A man allegedly targeted six women because he saw them as “incompetent” drivers. The suspect, Nicholas D’Agostino, originally told police that he was acting in self-defense because the woman was “trying to swerve into his lane.” However, according to police, he has shot six different women driving in their cars. If D’Agostino’s alleged actions are true, he is a danger to women and society. We demand that D’Agostino either be prosecuted or receive mental health care.Sign Petition
New Blogs Part 10 Updated September 7 2018From: DemandProgress.org Brett Kavanaugh just testified that he thinks net neutrality is illegal and that he stands by his opinion that the courts should throw it out as unconstitutional.1 This is a HUGE deal. If the Senate allows Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court, net neutrality would be gone forever, no matter who the president is or who controls Congress.2 This week’s hearings are crunch time in the fight to stop Kavanaugh. If we’re going to stop him and save net neutrality, we must make our voices heard now and show the Senate that the voters do NOT want a Supreme Court that will let Comcast control what we see and do online. Kavanaugh’s radical, extremist view is that ISPs have a First Amendment constitutional right to control what we see and do online. Not only does Kavanaugh think corporations are people with First Amendment rights, he thinks that blocking data and throttling website speeds is a form of “speech.” Kavanaugh tried to block net neutrality when he was on the D.C. Circuit Court, but he was overruled by the other judges on the panel. But on the Supreme Court, he and the other four right-wing justices would have the final word. As Senator Richard Blumenthal explained after the hearing, “Make no mistake Judge Kavanaugh would cripple net neutrality… for decades to come. Even if Congress decided to act on the subject of net neutrality, Judge Kavanaugh would still view it in violation of the Constitution.”3 Here’s the good news: 53 Senators have voted in favor of net neutrality, including three Republicans.4 If just two of those Republicans join every Democrat in voting no on Kavanaugh, his nomination is finished. This is an uphill fight, but we can win if we keep up the pressure. There are more than enough undecided senators to block Kavanaugh. He is already the least popular Supreme Court nominee in history, and his opposition to net neutrality puts him on the wrong side of 80 percent of the American people.5 Sources: 1. Broadcasting & Cable, “Kavanaugh Defends Dissent in Net Neutrality Decision,” September 5, 20182. Mother Jones, “Here’s Why Kavanaugh Could Be Bad News for the Internet, Too,” September 4, 20183. Ibid.4. The Washington Post, “Senate approves bipartisan resolution to restore FCC net neutrality rules,” May 16, 20185. Vox, “Brett Kavanaugh is a very unpopular Supreme Court pick,” September 1, 2018 Let me just say that the internet is the wave of the future and I believe that is a Biblical fact. Let me just quote my last Bible post:“Warning speculation here:The image of the beast could be a computer image. It could also a human animated by computers. When I was in college one of my professors was working on a project that would make a human like interactive android, like human; pupated by computers. I think it is more likely to be a completely interactive human graphic that can be viewed on any cell phone. You can ask it questions and interact with it. At the end of the, over 1 year year long bible study class on Revelation, that my wife and I took under The Pastor of the FBC; The Pastor told my wife and I, he thought the image of the beast was a computer generated image. It was about 1990; before the internet as we know it, when he said this to my wife and I.”
Do we want to be the nation that destroys the internet? Do we want to hinder the inevitable future of the internet. What would that mean to our future as a nation? Until the day the internet is controlled by Satan it is still a great tool for helping one another. I am not trying to say, like allot of my old country brethren probably still say: “the internet is the devil”.
New Blogs Part 10 Updated September 11 2018 I can not get this story out of my head since I read it. It sounds almost exactly like a movie like One Flew Over the Coo Coo’s Nest. :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo%27s_Nest_(film) I complement the Houston Chronicle https://www.chron.com/ for covering this story: Click Here Claim of planted drill bits sparks another investigation at Texas prison An allegation that Texas corrections officers planted drill bits in an inmate’s cell at a southeast Texas prison has sparked another investigation at the same Brazoria County lock-up where earlier this year four officers were indicted. The current case – apparently involving at least one of the same officials accused of planting screwdrivers in a cell in the spring – stems from the earlier incident documented in a letter from an inmate tipster to an East Texas state representative. “They said it wasn’t personal, just doing what they were told to do,” the prisoner at the center of the claim later wrote the Chronicle. “The whole unit knew what happened to me, but no one spoke up for fear of losing their job or being set up as well.” The investigation is just the latest in a string of troubles at the Rosharon unit, where leaked emails earlier this year revealed a short-lived disciplinary quota system and led to a statewide audit, several demotions, and the decision to toss more than 600 disciplinary cases. In an unrelated matter, the warden – before he was demoted and transferred – was written up for allegedly neglecting maintenance at the aging facility, records show. To read more: Click Here
New Blogs Part 11 Updated September 12 2018I take back what I said about wealthy people in our country being the number one target of our s I think this is a great idea. You can not deny the LGBTQ folks, overall; are geniuses:From: Here It’s World Suicide Prevention Day & we want you to stay safe By Gwendolyn Smith · Monday, September 10, 2018 The ‘flag we should not be proud of’ reflecting suicide statisticsGay Times Today is World Suicide Prevention Day, and the statistics for LGBTQ people remain grim. Two in six LGBTQ youth are at risk of suicide, which led to a video featuring Olly Alexander from the group Years & Years to speak out, holding a pride flag with two stripes ripped away, unveiled today. According to The Trevor Project, suicide remains the 2nd leading cause of death among 10-24 year olds, with lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth contemplating suicide at nearly three times the rate of straight youth. Among transgender people, a study published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine showed that the rate of attempted suicide is anywhere from 32% to 50% across all countries, largely due to stress factors around a lack of acceptance, harassment, and bullying. If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of suicide, please consider reaching out. Here are some places you can call for help. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline1-800-273-8255 The Trevor Project1-866-488-7386You can also text the word “Trevor” to 1-202-304-1200 Trans Lifeline1-877-330-6366 (United States)1-877-330-6366 (Canada) Every one of us deserves to live, and has value. Please stay safe. I take back the following (see below in bold after reading the following): I have been saying this since I started this blog: we only hear about sex offence’s when it effects rich people. I am convinced that sex offences take place every minute in our country. Sex offence reporting seems to be a selective priority in our community’s. Sex offences and sexually offensive behavior, is a part of everyday life; especially in our city’s. Yet when a rich person is effected by a sex offence; it always makes front page news. Second to rich people it is anyone involved in Christianity. What better person do we all want in prison than the Christian. Sad to say the average Christian is a self righteous Christian in our present day, ranting and railing against LGBTQ folks (for instance) saying “I hope you burn in hell” are making headlines all the time. Let me just say, saying: “I hope you burn in hell” is the most un-Christian thing anyone could say. In fact it may be safe to say it is highly unlikely that a Christian would be able to say that. There are different degrees of suffering in hell and I suspect that those who say: “I hope you burn in hell” may end up in the deepest part of hell. Not to mention all those Christians that act like Nazi’s to blend in with the media/internet and it’s lust to put people in prison. Society picks and chooses who it wants to be branded as a RSO, whether conscious or subconsciously. If we locked up every little sex offence of every kind; it would shame us all. Yet we as a country have prioritized our which hunt’s of sex offences and have become a country known for it’s sex offences. Our efforts to seek out sex offences; especially in our church’s, will bring God’s wrath on us all. China is delighted as they see our church’s as labeled as sex offender producing machines. Check this article out.: https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2160441/sex-abuse-us-churches-stain-americas-human This becomes; promoting killing and torching Christian’s in other country’s; and that will bring God’s rage and wrath against our country. Yet the church of the future according to the Bible will be a house of fornication. This will be the church of the blood thirsty Anti-Christ. Could the devil in his dealings with the future one world church make it illegal to report sex offences? I suspect that could be true. Revelation 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Revelation 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
:I think second to rich people and Christians; LGBTQ folks are the number one target of our country’s community’s; to be charged with sex offences. I also think religious folks against adultery, are most likely to have their live’s destroyed by the sex offender registry. Of course as always the minority’s are always the most popular as well to be charged with these types of crimes. Just like the death penalty. My point is our so called justice system is perverted! Our so called justice system continues to become more and more perverted by our emotionally, mob mentality, internet/media; fueled laws, concerning sex offences.
New Blogs Part 11 Updated September 13 2018From: http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/09/prison-educator-tdcj-inmates-reading.html WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018Prison educator: TDCJ inmates’ reading and math on a 5th grade levelThe average Texas prison inmate’s reading and math skills are at a fifth grade level, the superintendent of TDCJ’s Windham School District told the Senate Criminal Justice Committee this morning. Large numbers of the nearly 70,000 inmates leaving Texas prisons every year, he told the committee, do so without a GED. The agency grants about 5,000 GEDs per year. Chairman John Whitmire briefly raised the question of computer proficiency among inmates leaving the system, and I found myself wishing the superintendent had discussed it more. The ability to use a computer – particularly word processing and spreadsheet software, but even basic internet search functions – can be essential these days, even for retail or service work. For that matter, in 2018, searching for a job most frequently means searching on the internet. That’s harder to do if, first, one has to learn how to ACCESS the internet. Those skills should be taught in prisons.POSTED BY GRITSFORBREAKFAST AT 10:55 AM
New Blogs Part 11 Updated September 14 2018 Sign The Petition Click Here This lady has to learn her lesson. She is trigger happy. She shot some guy for taking her taser and now this. If she is let go with no punishment, most; likely this type of behavior will repeat itself. The internet/media’s attempt to discredit the man that was killed by reporting marijuana was found in his home (not apartment) is media hype for rating’s and Facebook like’s; as always from the media/internet’s mob mentality. “Botham Shem Jean was not a silhouette. He was a Godly man.. And Botham Shem Jean belongs to Jesus Christ our Lord.” – friend Dane Felicien at Jean’s funeral @wfaa Prosecute Off-Duty Officer Who Entered Neighbor’s Home and Killed Him https://forcechange.com/513414/prosecute-off-duty-officer-who-entered-neighbors-home-and-killed-him/ Target: Faith Johnson, Dallas County District Attorney Goal: Prosecute Amber Guyger to the full extent of the law for shooting and killing her neighbor. Dallas police officer Amber Guyger walked into the apartment of a neighbor, Botham Shem Jean, and proceeded to shoot and kill Jean when he did not follow her verbal commands. Guyger was off duty and has claimed that she accidentally mistook his apartment for hers. When she encountered Jean, she assumed that he was an intruder in her own apartment. Jean was unarmed, and his family claims that he did not do anything wrong: he was in his own home and, according to Guyger’s own accounts, he was not expecting anyone to enter his apartment. The case is being sent to a grand jury, which will decide on charges. Sign this petition to urge the Dallas County District to prosecute Guyger to the full extent of the law. PETITION LETTER: Dear Ms. Johnson, Earlier this week, Botham Shem Jean was in his own home when off-duty police officer Amber Guyger entered his apartment. Although Guyger was his neighbor and Jean was unarmed, the situation ended with Jean dead. Guyger’s explanation of events is that she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own and, upon entering, believed that Jean was an intruder. When he did not follow verbal commands, she shot him. These accounts point to a mistake, but a very costly one. An unarmed black man was killed in his own home by a white, off-duty police officer. I urge you to prosecute Guyger to the full extent of the law.
New Blogs Part 11 Updated September 21 2018This kind of border madness has always got to me since; I first read about: Female homicides in Ciudad Juárez https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_homicides_in_Ciudad_Ju%C3%A1rezThanks to: LGBTQ National Daily Brief: click here The third victim of a serial killer in Texas has been identified as a transgender woman. Janelle Ortiz, 28, was the third woman killed by Juan David Ortiz (no relation) in his string of misogynist murders. Janelle Ortiz was one of two women killed this past Saturday in Loredo, Texas, after authorities had already been alerted to Juan David Ortiz, 35, by a victim who escaped. According to court documents, Juan David Ortiz told police that he planned to “eradicate all the prostitutes.” All five of his victims – the four women he killed and the one who escaped – were sex workers. Juan David Ortiz, a Border Patrol agent, started killing on September 3, when he shot Melissa Ramirez, 29. Ten days later, he killed Claudine Ann Luera, 42. On Friday night, the third victim escaped from his truck and reported him to a state trooper. Within hours, though, Juan David Ortiz killed two other people: Janelle Ortiz and a fourth victim, who has not been publicly identified. Police say that all the women were shot in the head “execution-style” after Juan David Ortiz drove them to the country and forced them out of his truck. All the victims knew him, and police believe that he deliberately gained their trust so that he could kill them. Janelle Ortiz’s body was found at 1 a.m. on Saturday morning. At 2:30 a.m., he was found in a hotel parking lot. He wanted to die and hoped a police officer would kill him, so he pretended his cell phone was a gun as the SWAT team approached. That didn’t work. He was arrested and has confessed to killing the four women. He provided police with details about the killings, including the location of the bodies of the Janelle Ortiz and the fourth victim. “We’re certain we have the right individual,” Webb County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Fred Garza said. “I hurt a lot. All I want is justice. I want that guy to die in jail for taking the life of my daughter,” said Maria Cristina, the mother of the first victim. He is being charged with four counts of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and unlawful restraint. Police deadnamed Janelle Ortiz when her identity was announced, and the Aguero Funeral Home deadnamed her, used “he” pronouns, and used an old picture of her in their Facebook announcement of her funeral.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated September 26 2018I do not want Kavanaugh to get appointed anymore than the next guy. As posted on this page on September 7 2018; I am against Kavanaugh because he has a “radical, extremist view is that ISPs have a First Amendment constitutional right to control what we see and do online.” As I have commented on this blog before I consider the term “gang bang” to be the same as the term “gang rape” and anyone that is or has been a part of a gang like that is really a rapist and should be in prison. I am sure that if Kavanaugh was involved in something like this; he most likely considered himself a gang bang participant. Alas though at least 90% of the population of our country has gotten away with some type of sex offence and never been charged. Now we as a society, choice carefully who we like to charge sex offences with. As I always say there are different levels of suffering for souls in hell and different forms of rewards in heaven. There are going to be many Christians in heaven that end up being very sorry for getting on the band wagon of taking human dignity, human rights and constitutional rights away from so called, labeled sex offenders; even if they are just people like politicians, Christians, rich people, minority’s and who ever else; we do not like at the moment. Being paranoid and Nazi like now; in your cruel and the unusual punishment of them with the scarlet letter or the Jewish Nazi armband; and suffer for eternity for it latter. Make no mistake about it I am a middle of the road voter. If the Democrats get any kind of momentum going I am going to be right there with them full steam ahead. For now the way it is, is the republican’s are lying about the democrats and the democrats are lying about the republicans. Meanwhile all our enemy’s: most of the world; is claiming a victory, with their control of the internet\/media. I am not against Kavanaugh because he is republican, at all. That is why I have been reluctant to voice my opinion against Kavanaugh; solely upon our convenient choice, of sex offence accusations; from the very people most likely of being not only sex offenders but the loudest against sex offences. Then again like I said; I consider most humans of committing sex offences in their lifetimes. Now that I have made myself sick again; let me just say if Kavanaugh was involved in a gang bang, in other words gang rape; that should be proof enough, of him not making the nomination. Red more here: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2018/09/25/oh-my-god-did-porn-lawyer-avenatti-get-pranked-by-internet-trolls-on-kavanaugh-gangrape-ring-allegation-n2522495 There is another allegation lobbed against Brett Kavanaugh. It hasn’t been given much oxygen because, well, the cast of characters is suspect. Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti reportedly has information that Kavanaugh and Mark Judge had a gang-rape ring that operated in the 1980s. Judge is a man Christine Blasey Ford cited in her allegation of an attempted sexual assault by a drunken 17-year-old Kavanaugh at a high school party. Judge and everyone else mentioned as a potential witness has refuted her story. There are no witnesses, there’s no evidence, and Ford can’t remember key details about the incident, like why there was a party in the first place, how she got there, and who owned the house where it was held to some 30-plus years ago. The allegation is thin. It’s evidence-free—but it’s plunged the whole nomination into chaos. There’s a hearing on this development set for Thursday. But back to Avenatti, Leah has more: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2018/09/24/avenatti-tweets-n2521963 Toothless prisoners’ liquid dietThe Texas prison system has all but stopped giving dentures to toothless inmates, preferring to put their food through a blender and feed them liquids, instead, reported the Houston Chronicle’s Keri Blakinger. That seems particularly callous, and unnecessarily chintzy. click here to read more This is a example of a sex offence report against someone; people liked at the time, going practically unreported. Imagine if every sex offence that has ever been committed was reported and imprisoned. We would have to lock up so many people in our country, it would be, one big prison; like it practically is known for now. See above comment I made to used as a comparison to this comment. Elizabeth Bruenig would be a real asset to the woman’s rights folks. Back to schoolElizabeth Bruenig is a badass, journalistic hero. Hard to overstate from how many angles I admired her coverage of a rape twelve years ago, and the resulting ostracization and torment inflicted upon the victim, that took place during her high-school days in Arlington. Immaculate reporting, sparkling prose. What a story. And one that could be written, I bet, for a lot of high schools, including my own.click here to read more ‘So many people sitting in jail’In Waco, apparently oblivious to the possibility of reducing pretrial detention through bail reform, McLennan County officials will pay for an extra, associate judge to process cases faster. According to the latest report from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, currently more than 85 percent of McLennan County Jail inmates are being held pretrial. One commissioner lamented, “We’ve got so many people sitting in jail that could plea,” ignoring the fact that the District Attorney’s tough-on-crime plea positions play a big role in that calculus. It takes two sides to make a plea deal. click here to read more Beating by prison guard led to inmate deathA 22-year old Texas prison guard who allegedly beat an inmate to death has been charged with aggravated assault after the man died from his injuries two weeks later. After an episode earlier that day where the inmate allegedly spit on him, the guard’s supervisor told him to stay away from the man. Instead, the guard took him to the inmate shower and gave him a beating. In a case resulting in death, that seems awfully intentional to get only an agg assault charge and not manslaughter, or even murder. click here to read more I have been saying this long before I started this blog online: Evidence of racial bias in justice system overwhelmingRadley Balko makes the case that, “the evidence of racial bias in our criminal-justice system isn’t just convincing — it’s overwhelming.” See his comprehensive summation. click here to read more
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated September 26 2018No fix in sight for nixed crime lab feesAfter Gov. Greg Abbott rescinded new fees authorized by the Legislature last year after they cut the agency’s crime lab budget, nobody has ever come up with the extra money, leaving Texas DPS crime labs poised to run out of operating funds before the end of the fiscal year. Here’s a brief overview from the Legislative Budget Board, published in April. It indicates caseloads have grown 21 percent over the last two biennium, despite the recent budget cut. Most larger agencies operate their own crime labs or pay for lab functions via fee for service. The agencies responsible for using the most DPS crime lab services are mid-sized agencies: Corpus Christi PD, Lubbock PD, the Montgomery County Sheriff, Plano PD, and the Midland PD.http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Documents/Publications/Presentation/5207_Crime_Labs.pdf Understaffed prison unit needs to closeThe Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Connally Unit in Kenedy County is so understaffed they’re having to bus in guards from 200 miles away. In a rational system where prison closures were matched to the agency’s biggest staffing and management problems, the Connally Unit would probably be the next unit closed.https://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_ca0a06dc-bda0-11e8-aa48-cb023ec5445d.html When prosecutors hold the Thin Blue LineTwice, the San Antonio PD asked District Attorney Nico Lahood to prosecute one of their own for on-the-job mendacity. Both times, his office declined, reported the SA Express-News.https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/SAPD-said-he-altered-evidence-and-lied-about-it-13248857.php The ever expanding sex-offender registryThe sex-offender registry in Texas includes nearly 100,000 people. The Austin Statesman has a feature about how it’s become so bloated, and the fight over rules changes that apply lifetime registry requirements to offenders who were told when they pled guilty that wouldn’t be the case.https://www.mystatesman.com/news/crime–law/for-some-sex-offenders-their-deal-with-the-state-wasn-really-deal/iPyEx9Mk27DGdGBnI6hjuM/ The reason we have so many people on our sex-offender registry list; verses states like Oregon; is because we have really great police officers, who do their job, above and beyond the normal. This is not such a bad thing. I do not know about you but I love the fact that I am being protected above and beyond; any so called, normal amount. The problem is when our police have to waste thier time because a bunch of Facebook, Twitter, internet/media, Nazi, murder maniac mob mentality, lynch mob, fanatics, that just need someone to hate and be prejudice about. These KKK like; in denial, hatemongers, would normally be burning crosses and killing homosexuals for fun. Since the overthrowing of normal governments by the foreign controlled American internet; many laws of our country have been perverted beyond all recognition. Not only has our legal system become perverted and soiled by the internet gone wild; our very government, of what our constitution has upheld and made our country a oases has ceased to exist. However we try to sweep it all under the rug, it is still there haunting us day and night, strangling us all with unrelenting guilt. That combined with the fact that we are a house divided against itself, to the delight of all our enemy’s; at least eighty percent of the rest of the world; all spells certain and sure impending doom on the horizon. I can not forget to mention our country is not mentioned in The Holy Bible during the tribulation as being in power or even remembered by world history at all. The most powerful nation in the world not mentioned during the tribulation at all? That can not be good for our future. Pervertingand flat out disobeying our laws, and taking away human rights and constitutional rights of so called sex offenders can only speed up our eventual demise.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated September 29 2018 First off I want to say I am not a politically savvy person. I am a middle of the road voter. I never miss a chance to go to the poles, though. I fail to see how this is any different than Mitt Romney : From: click here
Is Mitt Romney Making Money Selling Surveillance Cameras to China? MAR 16, 2012 A front page story in The New York Times today attempts to tie Mitt Romney to Chinese state repression, but it really says more about the complexities of international business than his investment strategies. read more: click here
If you want to get really picky: Is this any different than going to the store and buying a product made in China? I have no idea what happens to our country. One thing is a fact; we are not mentioned in any way during the GREAT TRIBULATION. I have a bad habit of always amusing the worst; like we are blown up. What if we just become the property of China, instead? From: https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/26/technology/google-dragonfly-senate-hearing/index.html Google has finally admitted that a “Project Dragonfly” is indeed in the works. But that’s about all a Google executive was willing to divulge Wednesday about the codenamed plan, which has been widely reported to be a search product the company is developing for China — one that would need to comply with government censorship. The rumored existence of the Chinese search engine came up repeatedly during a Senate committee hearing in Washington, where several major technology and telecommunications executives were testifying about a potential federal law to regulate data privacy. The prospect of a Google-sanctioned search engine for China has become a hot-button issue. Reports began surfacing last month that Google was working on a product that would block sensitive websites and search terms in accordance with Chinese censorship. The New York Times later reported that more than a thousand Google employees have questioned the plan. That criticism is ongoing — The Times reported early Wednesday that a former Google research scientist blasted the Chinese search product in a letter to lawmakers this week. However, Google had refused to comment until Wednseday, when Google (GOOG) chief privacy officer Keith Enright joined executives from AT&T (T), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Twitter (TWTR) and Charter Communications (CHTR) at the Senate hearing (AT&T owns CNN.). The point of the hearing was for the executives to outline what they want out of any new US regulatory proposal — they largely opposed any law as restrictive as the recent data privacy reforms adopted or passed by the European Union and California. But lawmakers fixated on Enright. They lobbed questions at him about all kinds of controversies facing Google and the rest of the tech industry, privacy-related or otherwise. Enright did not link “Dragonfly” to the reports about developing a Chinese search engine. He name-dropped it only when pressed about the existence of a “Project Dragonfly” by Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican. “I am not clear on the contours of what is in scope or out of scope for that project,” Enright added. When Cruz prodded Enright for more information, the privacy officer would only reiterate what CEO Sundar Pichai has already said about the rumored product. “I need to be clear for the record that my understanding is that we are not close to launching a search product in China,” Enright said. “And whether we eventually could or would remains unclear.” Though Google received a lot of the attention at Wednesday’s hearing, the other companies did not entirely escape scrutiny. Lawmakers peppered the executives with questions about how they use consumer data, and how they define what is private and what is not. The concept of a federal law that governs data privacy has become increasingly important to lawmakers, especially in recent months. The European Union made waves earlier this year when its General Data Protection Regulation went into effect. Those rules forced companies that operate in that region to revise their data privacy policies. Then in June, California passed the toughest data privacy law in the US. When that law goes into effect in 2020, it will grant consumers the right to know what companies like Facebook and Google are collecting from them, why those companies are collecting it and who they are sharing it with. Consumers will also be able to bar tech companies from selling their data. AT&T’s Len Cali, the senior vice president of global public policy, cited a “host of burdens” associated with the GDPR during his testimony Wednesday. “Perhaps if it existed at the the companies at this table started, we wouldn’t be here, none of them would be here,” he said. Other executives argued along similar lines, adding that whatever law is passed should not be so cumbersome as to hurt innovation, especially at small and medium-sized companies. Many also wanted a law that pre-empts state statutes, like the one California just passed. Consumer advocacy groups have opposed the industry’s objections to GDPR and the California law. In a letter to the Senate committee that conducted the hearing, the American Civil Liberties Union called for legislation that would install safeguards for consumers. “In the last year, we have seen countless data breaches, sharing of sensitive data without consent, and reports that companies have misled consumers regarding their data practices,” the ACLU wrote. “It is past time for Congress to right the imbalance in our laws that has failed to protect consumers from industry practices that strip them over control of their data in the interest of profit.” Senator John Thune, the chairman of the commerce, science and transportation committee and a South Dakota Republican, said Wednesday that lawmakers intend to hold a second hearing next month. He added that a California privacy activist and the head of GDPR enforcement have already agreed to testify. CNNMoney (New York)First published September 26, 2018: 3:44 PM ET Weird, huh?
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated September 30 2018Top Bexar jailer resigns amidst crime spree by subordinates From: click hereThe SA Express-News reported that the top supervisor at the Bexar County Jail has resigned “amid a troubling year for the Sheriff’s Office, which has struggled with escape attempts from the jail and the arrest of 20 deputies on a variety of criminal charges, including domestic abuse, assaulting inmates and driving while intoxicated.” Good Lord! Local jails deserve a lot more media attention. Austin PD shoots too many mental-health patients From: click here and hereAustin PD has “the highest per capita rate of fatal police shootings involving persons believed to be experiencing a mental health crisis” among comparable cities studied, according to a recent audit. The probe also found, according to the Austin Monitor, that “the department did not track and review crisis intervention incidents to improve outcomes and was not providing what are considered the best-practice elements in its training of crisis intervention officers.” Moreover, “APD dispatchers were not automatically sending one of APD’s mental health officers to lead in responding to mental health-related calls.” See also Austin Statesman coverage. The Austin Justice Coalition has been urging the city to stop using APD as the lead agency on mental-health calls, using an approach being piloted in conjunction with the Meadows Foundation in Dallas – a matter on which the find themselves in agreement with Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn, interestingly enough.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 02 2018Thanks to my GayUSA email I got a couple days ago I am posting this:You know me I have to put in some work for the LGBTQ folks. I am dedicated to LGBTQ rights till I die. Why? Because it is the Christian thing to do. I stand up to the world, and say: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at” any LGBTQ human being!. John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.From: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/2-Men-Beaten-on-U-Street-in-Possible-Hate-Crime-Police-494083821.html 2 Men Beaten on U Street in Possible Hate Crime: Police One man was knocked unconscious after four males and a woman attacked, the victims say Published at 7:28 PM EDT on Sep 23, 2018 Police are searching for five suspects who beat two gay men in the U Street nightlife area, knocking one of them unconscious, in a possible hate crime. The two men were walking westward on U Street about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16, crossing New Hampshire Avenue, when a car turning right nearly hit them, according to a police report. “The car, you know, almost his us, wasn’t anything that crazy,” one of the victims told News4. They wished not to be identified. One of the men slammed his open hand into the car and yelled at the driver. Police say that driver left, but another car with five or six people inside rolled up. “They were yelling homophobic slurs at us. We ignored them, cause, you know, it happens,” the second man said. Then, things escalated. “Five people got out of the car and just attacked us,” he said. He says four males and a female began beating them. The man who hit the car was knocked unconscious and bled profusely from his face, police said. The other suffered a minor injury to his face. They were bruised and cut and said some of their belongings were taken. Witnesses called 911, and the victim who was knocked out was taken to a hospital. “I remember waking up, my friend being upset, them trying to get me into the ambulance,” he said. Police got a description of the car but were unable to find it. The two men are recovering now, but say the incident was disturbing. “It’s terrible, but there are ways to get through it and maybe prevent it from happening to someone else,” one of the men said. From: https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/09/2_nj_men_attacked_in_hate-crime_outside_brooklyn_g.html 2 men attacked in alleged hate-crime outside gay bar in N.Y. Updated Sep 26; Posted Sep 24 Two men were beaten in an unprovoked bias attack outside a gay bar in Brooklyn, New York early Sunday and the search is ongoing for the attacker, police said. The man police say attacked two Brooklyn residents outside a bar early Sunday. (Photo: NYPD)The Brooklyn residents had just departed the Metropolitan Bar in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn around 1 a.m. when a man approached them and made anti-gay comments, New York City police said. The assailant punched the 34-year-old victim in the face and threw the 29-year-old against a tree before fleeing on foot. The younger man broke his finger, while the older fractured a shoulder. Both lost consciousness. A bystander took a photo of the alleged attacker and police are asking for the public’s help to identify him. He was wearing a black shirt, beige pants and black and white sneakers. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All information is kept confidential. Editor’s note: The post has been updated to reflect information from the NYPD that the victims are from Brooklyn. From my email from: LGBTQ Nation Daily Brief · Oct 1, 2018: Web Page Link: Click Here
If these Nazi like people were not from Switzerland, they would have most likely been jailed before this attack. You can now go to jail for being homophobic or transphobic in Switzerland Monday, October 1, 2018 Switzerland has voted to impose the strictest penalties in the world for trans- and homophobia, putting them on par with racism. Those found guilty of either could face up to three years in prison. The Swiss National Council voted 118 to 60 to change their penal code, making it illegal to discriminate based on gender identity or sexual orientation. “Victory!” said Mathias Reynard, a national councilor who has fought for over half a decade on the law. “By 118 against 60 and 5 abstentions, the National Council accepts my parliamentary initiative against homophobia and Transphobia! A great success for human rights!” The move comes amidst criticism of Switzerland’s legal landscape surrounding LGBTQ people. Marriage is still not legal in the country, meaning that same-sex couples lack legal standing for adoption, welfare, and taxes. As a result, the country dropped three places in its rankings on the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association’s (ILGA) annual Rainbow Index in 2017. This legal change opens the door for a renewed push for marriage rights in Switzerland. At current, Switzerland only allows for civil partnerships for same sex couples.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 06 2018 As always I cannot read a multi post of Grits without seeing something as a Must Post: As anyone that reads this must know: I hate the death penalty!: Capital-punishment explainerThe Justice Collaborative has produced a lengthy, abolitionist-oriented explainer document on capital punishment with a lot of good information in it. Check it out Clicking here is a must if you care about humans. You must also know I love Philadelphia Freedom! If I had my way I would move the White House to Philadelphia.: The very model of a modern reform prosecutorIn Philadelphia, a couple of items related to new District Atttorney Larry Krasner caught my eye: 1) He is prosecuting police officers for civil rights violations in non-shooting cases, including inappropriate stop and frisks, and 2) he released an video/conversation with sujatha baliga, on the topic of prosecutors and restorative justice. Both are important developments. Click here to read more.and here. Police-involved deaths by raceA new study estimates the risk of police-involved death by race: “Police kill, on average, 2.8 men per day. Police were responsible for about 8% of all homicides with adult male victims between 2012 and 2018. Black men’s mortality risk is between 1.9 and 2.4 deaths per 100 000 per year, Latino risk is between 0.8 and 1.2, and White risk is between 0.6 and 0.7.” click to read more
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 10 2018 From: https://www.statesman.com/news/20181006/texas-reneging-states-expansion-of-sex-offender-laws-challenged At least four sex offenders in Texas have floated a new argument that has earned early legal victories. When the Beaumont police detective called him in 2014, Curtis wondered what the officer might want. His only run-in with the law had been half a lifetime ago. In 1985, he had been charged with indecency with a child, his stepdaughter. Curtis, then 34, struck a deal with prosecutors: He would plead guilty — but, if after 10 years he kept out of trouble, the conviction would go away. He paid his fees, performed his community service and attended sex offender counseling. The charge was dismissed in 1996. Curtis said his crime stayed with him: “It never leaves me; it’s always in front of me.” (The paper is not using his last name, because he is fighting to keep it private and it does not appear in court documents.) He kept a low, steady profile. Over the next three decades, he raised his three boys in the house in which he’s always lived. He worked at a nearby chemical plant until his retirement in 2009. So, the news from the detective was alarming. Despite the deal he’d cut with the state of Texas 30 years ago, Curtis was dismayed to learn that he now would have to register as a sex offender. His name and photo and details of the crime would appear on the state’s public website. He would need to check in with police regularly. The new rules, the detective informed Curtis, applied for the rest of his life. Donnie Miller had struck a similar deal with Travis County prosecutors. In 1993, when he was 23, the Wimberley native was charged with sexual assault against a woman outside Exposé, a gentleman’s club on South Congress Avenue. “I was young, and I was stupid, and I was drunk,” he said. At his trial, the jury couldn’t agree on a verdict. Facing a second trial and owing more than $20,000 in legal fees from the first one, Miller, like Curtis, signed a deal with prosecutors. In exchange for a guilty plea, his record would be cleaned if he stayed out of trouble for 10 years. Although he’d have to register as a sex offender for that decade, he said the lawyers assured him that his name would be removed after he successfully completed his probation. With his plan to become a licensed paramedic derailed by his sex offender status, Miller built a career in sales. Court records show he did well enough that he was granted permission to exit probation early. So, he, too, was surprised to receive a phone call a year later informing him that, contrary to the terms of the deal he’d made a decade earlier, Texas had changed the rules. Whatever he had agreed to then was irrelevant. He would now be on the sex offender registry for life. “If I’d known, why would I have taken a plea deal?” said Miller, now 48. “I would have borrowed the money for the retrial.” Over the past 20 years, state and federal lawmakers have passed ever-stricter laws for sex offenses that require more people to be listed on public sex offender registries — typically for life. In some cases, the new laws have reached back to include those whose crimes occurred years before the statutes were enacted, and counter the deals they struck with prosecutors. The U.S. Constitution prohibits new laws that pile additional punishments onto old crimes. In the past, government lawyers have successfully sidestepped that by arguing that retroactively requiring sex offenders to register for decades-old crimes is not really a punishment. Instead, they contended, it is merely a regulation that promotes public safety. Now, however, at least four older sex offenders in Texas have floated a new argument that has earned early legal victories. They say the deals they agreed to in the past were essentially contracts between them and the state. “I felt like it was a legally binding agreement with the district attorney’s office, the state,” said Miller. By being forced to follow new terms that, in some instances, the men were specifically promised they would never face, “it’s the state of Texas reneging on their deal,” said Richard Gladden, an attorney specializing in sex offender laws. A growing list The number of registered sex offenders in Texas climbs by nearly a dozen every day. Although the state has created a legal path to get off the list, the number of successful applicants is inconsequential. Today, according to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which tracks lists in all 50 states, Texas’s sex offender registry includes about 100,000 people — 3.5 per 1,000 residents, considerably above the national average. Most of its registrants are considered low-risk. Spurring the growth are new laws requiring more sex offenders to be added to the list, for longer periods. Like most states, Texas has adopted a series of increasingly severe statutes, often in response to horrific, high-profile crimes against a child. The state’s initial sex offender registration law, passed in 1991, applied only to those convicted of certain sex crimes. Two years later, Texas legislators passed another law requiring defendants who, like Curtis and Miller, had received so-called deferred adjudication deals for their sex crimes, to register as well. The rules applied only to new offenders charged after the law passed. But, in 1997, Texas expanded its sex offense laws again — this time reaching backward. Now, anyone who had been convicted of — or who received a deferred adjudication deal for—sex crimes since 1970 had to register as an offender on Texas’ public list. The rules still limited the retroactive portion to offenders who were still in prison or on probation when the law passed. But, in 2005, that clause was repealed when the Legislature decided to broaden Texas sex offense laws once again. According to the new statute, no matter what state prosecutors had promised — or when or how many years the offender had been out of prison or off probation — every qualifying sex offender was ordered onto the state’s registry. Since 2006, the Texas Department of Public Safety has doubled the number of employees working on the registry and quadrupled its budget. The law’s author, Ray Allen, a seven-term state representative from Grand Prairie who left the Legislature in 2006, said that wasn’t the goal. “At the time we were writing the laws, we were trying our best to find the really dangerous people,” he said. “And, I think we threw the net way too wide. I’m not sure we got the right people. But, we didn’t change the laws back.” It is difficult to determine how many current registered sex offenders fall into the same category as the men who argue that Texas broke its word when prosecutors struck deals years ago that did not include the registration requirement. In a recent Texas Supreme Court filing, lawyers for the DPS warned that if Curtis won his case, it would relieve “numerous other sex offenders of their duty to register.” An American-Statesman analysis of the Texas registry identified just over 2,800 sex offenders who, according to the terms of their probation, were no longer required to register, yet remain on the list. Gladden said he suspected many of those fell into the same category as Curtis and Miller. “I’ve had a lot of (similar) cases, and I’m just one lawyer,” added Scott Smith, an Austin lawyer who specializes in representing sex registrants. A “profound” punishment Jack Hearn qualified. Accused of sexually assaulting a young woman in 1992, he was offered a deal by the Tarrant County district attorney’s office: If he pleaded guilty, he would be on probation for five years, during which time he’d have to complete community service and pay fees and fines. “They told me that after that, it’ll be as if nothing happened,” he said. “It’ll all go away. I thought that sounded good.” But, in 1998, just before he was to get off probation, Hearn said he received a call from his probation officer, who told him he needed to come in. “He told me I needed to get a mug shot and fingerprints,” Hearn said. “When I got there, he had some paperwork spread out on his desk. He told me it was for the sex offender registry, and that I now had to register for the rest of my life.” When Hearn objected, noting his plea deal specifically promised he’d be clear of all his obligations after probation, he said his officer shrugged. “He said, ‘Sign the son of a bitch, or I’m going to have you arrested.’” When Texas passed its reach-back sex offender laws, “I was very surprised the Legislature made them retroactive,” said Keith Hampton, an Austin civil rights attorney who has studied the statutes. “A plea bargain is essentially a contract. If one side just changes the rules, you can’t have any sort of contract law for that.” Texas wasn’t alone in expanding its sex offender statutes to include those who thought their social debt had been cleared years earlier; most states passed laws that roped in offenders from old cases. Lawsuits protesting the laws violated the Constitution’s prohibition against additional punishments for old crimes began almost immediately. That argument was effectively quashed in 2003, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Alaska’s law retroactively requiring old sex offenders who’d completed their sentences to register was legal because the registry wasn’t intended to be punitive. To Hearn, that made little sense. Now 60 years old with a beefy physique that recalls his early career as a professional wrestler, he remembered an incident soon after he was released from probation when a factory he’d been working in as a contractor told him he was no longer permitted on the premises. In 2006, he was arrested for failing to comply with the state’s sex offender requirements that, according to his plea deal, prosecutors promised he’d never be subjected to. Hearn said he was living in Kerr County but spending a lot of time working in neighboring Kendall County, so police charged him with failing to notify them of a new home address. He was placed back on probation. The registry continues to affect Miller’s life, too. A facilities maintenance contractor, he cannot enter schools for work. Earlier this year, he was prohibited from entering an Army base. “And every Halloween, Comal County police show up at my house” for their annual sex offender compliance check, he said. Recent studies have demonstrated that public lists can have severe consequences on registrants, from public shaming to limited job opportunities to restrictions on where they can live. Prosecutors concede they use the threat of registration as a bargaining chip in plea negotiations; defense attorneys say it often informs what deals their clients will accept. “The punitive effects are profound,” said Jill Levenson, a professor at Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla., who has examined the registries. “With most crimes, whether you steal something from the store or kill someone, there’s a line,” Hearn said. “There’s a beginning and an end. And, whether you go to prison, or whatever, the line eventually ends. But with sex crimes, the line is written as a circle. It never ends.” New studies bust perceptions Sex offenders have long held a reputation as among the most dangerous and incorrigible offenders, feared and reviled by the public. For politicians, that has meant little risk in passing ever more restrictive laws and no appetite for dialing them back. Allen said he’s approached more than a dozen legislators in recent years to discuss dialing back the registration laws he authored, but “nobody has wanted to touch that.” Yet, since the Alaska decision, much of what policymakers thought they knew about sex criminals and the effectiveness of the laws used against them has been shown to be inaccurate. Research has demonstrated the claim such offenders were an especially dangerous variety of criminal — the Supreme Court called their recidivism rate “frightening and high” — is not accurate. Other studies suggest the registries have had little — if any —effect on public safety. The updated findings have started appearing in court cases, and several states in recent years have eliminated their retroactive sex offender clauses. Court rulings in Maryland, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and even Alaska, among others, concluded their reach-back registration laws unfairly stacked new punishments on those convicted before the laws existed. In 2016, federal judges found Michigan laws passed in 2006 and 2011 that retroactively required offenders in old cases to be placed on its sex offender registry were illegal. “As dangerous as it may be not to punish someone,” the justices found, “it is far more dangerous to permit the government … to punish people without prior notice.” The states have since removed old-case offenders from their public registries. Miller’s former prosecutor still remembers his case and the terms of the plea deal Travis County offered him. Making a case that Texas later violated the agreement “is an interesting argument,” said Maura Phelan, now an attorney in private practice. But, she added, “you can never anticipate what the Legislature is going to do.” Besides, Phelan said, the government often changed laws to the detriment of citizens banking on earlier versions. Property owners who purchase a lot zoned for one use might feel they’ve been cheated if local lawmakers later make zoning more restrictive. Enforcement of immigration law shifts depending on the opinions of each presidential administration. “When we passed the law, we must have been told by our legal counsel there was no legal issue,” added Florence Shapiro, who as a state senator from Plano sponsored the 2005 legislation. Now retired, she added she still strongly supported the expanded registry to include as many offenders as possible. Still, the idea of old plea deals being reopened so the state can add new conditions is worrisome enough that the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association two weeks ago filed a brief supporting Curtis’s lawsuit, now in front of the Texas Supreme Court. In it, San Antonio attorney Angela Moore noted that 94 percent of criminal convictions are disposed of with pleas. “By undoing them, the plea bargains aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on,” she said. Back in Beaumont, such broad policy concerns are far from Curtis’ mind. He said many of his family members remain oblivious of his single criminal act more than a generation ago. “The biggest punishment you could put on him is for this to come out,” said his attorney, Ryan Gertz. “It would destroy everything he’s done with his life. He paid his price.”
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 14 2018Prison guard beat handcuffed inmate to death The inmate beaten to death in the shower by a Huntsville prison guard this summer was handcuffed when he was attacked, reported the Houston Chronicle’s Keri Blakinger in an update. The guard was charged with aggravated assault, but those facts read like a minimum of manslaughter, to me, and outright murder doesn’t seem much of a stretch, given the clear intent. The CO had been ordered by a supervisor to stay away from the inmate after a confrontation earlier in the day, but he allegedly violated orders, took the inmate into an empty shower area, and beat him to death.Read More: https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Huntsville-prisoner-allegedly-killed-by-guard-was-13297577.php?t=96e6874a7e Where are police disciplinary records public? Check out an analysis of the relative openness of police disciplinary records in all 50 states. Texas would have been among the most open 30 years ago. Today, we’re among the middling group with “limited availability” of those records. “Limited” is definitely the operative word.Read More: https://project.wnyc.org/disciplinary-records/
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 16 2018Thanks to another great but bazaar email from: LGBTQ Nation – Daily Brief · Oct 15, 2018: The reason I am posting this is because, the protesters like so many people believe to this day’ that LGBTQ folks are the same as sex offenders or commit “pedophilia.”* This is a extreme example of how paranoid we have all become by anything we deem as abnormal sexual behavior; being a sex offence.I think this type of sex offence paranoia, is a testimony of the lynch mob mentality of the media/internet; that plaques our society and brings us all down like a rock and chain around our necks, in the deep ocean of The Lord’s Recompense. Hebrews 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/10/police-use-tear-gas-water-cannons-protect-pride-parade-vicious-mob/ Police had to use tear gas & water cannons to protect a pride parade from a vicious mob Monday, October 15, 2018 The first pride parade in Lublin, Poland, faced violence from counter-protesters until police used tear gas and water cannons to force them away. Lublin is a city of around 350,000 in eastern Poland. Around 1500 people showed up to the Equality March this past Saturday. Police estimate that around 200 counter-protesters came as well, throwing stones and bottles and lighting fires. It took less than an hour for the police to ban the counter-protest, but the counter-protesters didn’t leave right away. So police used water cannons and tear gas to get them out. “We have arrested several people but I am sure that number will increase,” said a spokesperson for the Lublin police. “During the gathering we provided security for the participants despite the numerous illegal actions of their opponents.” Police say that two officers were injured by the counter-protesters. Several days ago, the mayor of Lublin banned the march, citing “security concerns.” Local reports said that the regional governor opposed the pride parade because it promoted “sexual behavior incompatible with nature” and “pedophilia.”* The ban was overturned by a court of appeals last week.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 17 2018 This is a good illustration of a innocent Christian in prison: From: https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/pearse/the_story_of_a_prayer_meeting_and_what_came_of_it.htm By: Mark Guy Pearse The trembling Church clings about Peter. And now Peter is carried off to prison; and Herod is going to put him to death as soon as the Passover is over. Many a man can fight the good fight of faith, who cannot sleep the good deep of faith. Now suddenly the dungeon is illuminated as with the glory of the Lord. Then Peter saw the angel, he felt the fetters loosened, and forth he went. Then the angel was gone, and Peter stood under the starry heavens — free. From: https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/spurgeon/the_deliverance_of_peter.htm By: C. H. Spurgeon III. WHEN GOD COMES TO DELIVER HIS PEOPLE, ALL, THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH SEEM TO GO AGAINST THEIR DELIVERANCE SHALL ONLY TEND TO SET FORTH THE MORE HIS GLORY. What contempt He puts upon chains, etc. I know of nothing that seems to illustrate more God’s splendid triumph over man’s cunning than the resurrection of Christ. So, Christian, rest assured that everything that looks black to your gaze now, shall only make it the brighter when God delivers you. IV. NO DIFFICULTY CAN EVER OCCUR WHICH GOD CANNOT MEET WHEN HE MAKES BARE HIS ARM. The chains are gone, the warders are passed, but there is that iron gate. You get fretting for months about the iron gate, as those holy women did for hours, who went to the sepulchre and said, “Who shall roll us away the stone?” There was no stone to roll away! And when you go to this place, you will find that there is no iron gate there, or it will open of its own accord. Oh, how often have we had to wonder at our own folly. I know enough about our perverted justice system to know that new sex offender laws are made to kowtow to the insane internet/media’s lust for the torment of people.They do this for ratings and their own personal entertainment. Charging people with sex offender crimes, to take away from the crimes they commit to accomplish what ever goals they desire. Making those sex offender crimes having bizarrely long sentences to keep the prison system going. There is no doubt that there are many Christians caught up in this madness. Some Christian’s quietly turn inwards to get misguided sexually and sometimes it results in sex crimes. The internet/media is always there to stoke the fires of the already paranoid public to make these crimes seem like mass murder. The politicians will do anything for votes for their party so this is always a great cop out for our dishonest political system; to get votes. The point I am trying to make is many Christians are wrongly spending time in prison. I think when a devout Christian is wrongly imprisoned it is something that is not lightly taken by the Lord. Peter in prison is a great example of that. Acts 12: 7-10 7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. 8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. 9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. If you read this and are not amazed at how God freed Peter from prison, then you must be dead. I think this is a very fine example of how God must feel about Christian’s wrongly imprisoned. For all of these reasons and more we have Gods wrath poured out upon us all. Considering that our country is not even mentioned at all during the Great Tribulation in the Bible, it does not look good for our future. I think it will have to be many decades after America no longer exists in order for the world to have the country’s it has during the Great Tribulation. I also think that America stands in the way of any formation of the governments described during The Great Tribulation. All of this and much, much, more means to me; that very soon our country will no longer exist, very, very soon. Maybe not though; only God knows. Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 18 2018 OCTOBER 12, 2018 10:04AM From: https://www.cato.org/blog/states-cant-make-new-laws-punish-old-conduct-just-because-they-call-them-civil States Can’t Make Up New Laws to Punish Old Conduct Just Because They Call Them “Civil” By ILYA SHAPIRO and Nathan Harvey Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution provides that “[n]o State shall … pass any … Ex Post Facto law.” The Ex Post Facto Clause was incorporated into the Constitution to prohibit states from enacting retrospective legislation, which the Framers believed to be inherently unfair and contrary to the principles of limited, constitutional government. Despite the Framers’ clear aversion to retrospective lawmaking, the Supreme Court has since adopted the view that states are uninhibited from enacting retroactive civil penalties. So long as a retrospective law contains a discernable legislative purpose and a “civil” label, retroactive application will not run afoul of the Ex Post Facto Clause. Consequently, states have imposed increasingly burdensome retroactive penalties on convicted sex offenders under the guise of civil regulatory laws. Even after offenders have paid their debts to society, they continue to face excessive registration requirements and other onerous civil penalties. Back in 2004, 19-year-old Anthony Bethea was convicted of six counts of sexual activity arising from non-forcible, consensual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl. He pled guilty and agreed to be sentenced to up to 48 months of imprisonment, complete a sex offender treatment program, and register as a sex offender for 10 years. He successfully completed the treatment program in 2006 and his period of probation in 2007. Beginning in 2006, however, North Carolina drastically transformed its sex offender statute, adding a laundry list of additional burdens on previously convicted sex offenders. Today, Bethea is subject to numerous restrictions that did not exist at the time of his plea agreement, such as limitations on where he can go, where he can live, and what jobs he can hold. Perhaps worst of all, the new restrictions have prevented him from being a father to his children. Due to his continued registration, Bethea has been forced to miss his son’s graduation ceremonies, parent-teacher conferences, and school field trips. Bethea should have been off the registry four years ago, but North Carolina retroactively lengthened his registration period from 10 to 30 years. In 2014, 10 years after he registered, Bethea petitioned the North Carolina courts to be removed from the registry. He argued that retroactively applying the statutory provisions enacted after Bethea’s conviction violated the Ex Post Facto Clause. Although the court found that Bethea was in no way a threat to public safety, his petition was denied. On appeal, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that the state’s sex offender statute was civil, rather than punitive, and thus did not constitute a violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause. The North Carolina Supreme Court denied review and Bethea has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take his case. Cato has filed an amicus brief supporting that petition, arguing that the Court must return to an original understanding of the Ex Post Facto Clause guided by its twin historical aims: to prevent vindictive legislation targeted at unpopular groups and provide sufficient notice of the consequences in place. Without a principled foundation in original meaning and historic purpose, the Court’s multi-factor ex post facto analysis has come to rest on shaky ground, supplying unimpeded deference to legislative intent. The Court’s continued unwillingness to invalidate statutes for their retroactive punitive effect has given states a perverse incentive to enact increasingly burdensome civil penalties that alter the legal consequences of previously committed conduct without constitutional accountability. The Supreme Court should take up Bethea v. North Carolina and eaffirm that the Constitution’s prohibition against ex post facto lawmaking forbids states from skirting constitutional scrutiny by simply labelling increasingly burdensome retrospective penalties as “civil” regulatory laws. Also from CATO:Coercive Plea BargainingFrom: HerePolicy ForumOctober 18, 2018 12:00PM to 1:30PM EDTADD TO CALENDARHayek Auditorium, Cato InstituteFeaturing Scott Hechinger, Senior Staff Attorney and Director of Policy, Brooklyn Defender Services; Bonnie Hoffman, Director of Public Defense Reform and Training, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Somil Trivedi, Staff Attorney, ACLU Trone Center for Justice and Equality; moderated by Clark Neily, Vice President for Criminal Justice, Cato Institute.Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has observed that “criminal justice today is for the most part a system of pleas, not a system of trials.” Although nowhere mentioned in the text of the Constitution, plea bargaining has become the default mechanism for resolving criminal charges in the United States. Indeed, some 95 percent of criminal convictions today are obtained through plea bargains, which raises a number of serious concerns, including why so few people choose to exercise their hallowed and hard-won right to a jury trial. When one considers the many tools available to prosecutors to encourage defendants to accept plea offers, together with the incentive to resolve as many cases as efficiently as possible, one cannot help but ask how many plea agreements are truly voluntary and how many are the result of irresistible coercion. Are there constitutional or ethical limits on coercive plea bargaining, and if so, are they being properly enforced? And what should we make of an institution that has practically eliminated the criminal jury trial and with it the Framers’ painstaking efforts to ensure citizen participation in the administration of justice? We will discuss these and other important questions raised by the evolution of plea bargaining within our justice system. If you can’t make it to the event, you can watch it live online at http://www.cato.org/live and join the conversation on Twitter using #CatoCJ. Follow @CatoEvents on Twitter to get future event updates, live streams, and videos from the Cato Institute.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 18 2018You can’t use our fingerprints, get your own!The Texas Department of Public Safety and Department of Criminal Justice are in a spat. DPS won’t give the prison agency permission to include fingerprints for “pen packets” prosecutors prepare when a defendant is sent to prison. Full Article: https://www.tdcaa.com/node/15820 ‘The Love Story that Upended the Texas Prison System’Awesome long form historical perspective on Texas’ prison litigation in the 1970-80s from Ethan Watters at Texas Monthly, told through the lens of a romance. Full Article: https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/love-story-upended-texas-prison-system/ Studying state jail feloniesThe Texas Criminal Justice Coalition just issued a new report on state-jail felonies that goes on Grits’ to-read list. Full Article: https://texascjc.org/node/8709/download/713277690abbecd6eda82afc3feb7d5a
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 23 2018 The least-discussed vulnerable Republican on the ballotGrits does not expect Beto O’Rourke to win. But if he were to pull off the upset, many other dominos could fall in succession as a result, with at least three Republican senators, Texas’ Attorney General, and potentially even the Lt. Governor at risk. Another race likely to flip if Dem turnout goes that high is Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Incumbent Sharon Keller won her primary with only 52% of the vote, and CCA races have consistently been among the lowest vote-getters over the years among Republican statewide officials. There is no Libertarian in the race, so the Democrat, Maria Jackson, should get all the anti-incumbent vote. If, on election night, the US Senate race at the top of the ticket is competitive, or heaven forbid, Beto pulls an upset, check down the ballot for this race; it may flip, too. full story here: https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/editorials/article/Court-of-Criminal-Appeals-endorsements-13321804.php A Look at How the Texas Legislature May Address Criminal Justice Reform State and local leaders—politicians, a Dallas police assistant chief, the head of the state’s prison system—gathered Friday morning and gave a glimpse at what we might expect. OCTOBER 19, 2018 12:34 PM In the Texas Legislature, criminal justice reform is among the last Big Issue Kumbayahs that Democrats and Republicans have left. Which means that it’s one of the few that you’ll likely see some movement on in each legislative session. Like, despite the population growth the state’s incurring, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has closed eight units, four of which shuttered amid last session’s steep budget cuts. A rare win for budget hawks and criminal justice reform advocates alike. On Friday morning, a room of about 200 or so people gathered at the Belo Mansion for a day-long symposium organized by Unlocking DOORS, a Dallas-based nonprofit that helps ex-convicts re-integrate in society. Kicking off the event was a speech from Brody Burks, Gov. Greg Abbott’s top criminal justice policy advisor. Burks was an assistant district attorney in mostly rural parts of Texas for the better part of a decade. “I had no idea how many people I incarcerated,” he said. “But with the exception of one or two or three, they’re all coming out. As they should be.” “Another man asked about how the state could address sex offenders—they wind up with a Scarlet Letter for life, he said, unable to find work and a place to live. And, indeed, in Texas, many offenses—from the minor to the most serious—make it incredibly difficult for ex-cons to escape their past, even if they’ve been rehabilitated and served their time.” Read full story here: https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2018/10/a-look-at-how-the-texas-legislature-may-address-criminal-justice-reform/ Them againTwo judges in Harris County are responsible for 20 percent of all youth prison commitments statewide, the Houston Chronicle’s Keri Blakinger reported. full story here: https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-judges-responsible-for-1-in-five-13322222.php I hate the death penalty. If you don’t believe me search all my blog pages for the subject death penalty. This is a great example: Texas can’t execute schizophrenic manTexas has seen a rash of scheduled executions delayed, primarily for two reasons: Erroneous forensics exposed by Texas’ junk science writ, and SCOTUS overturning Texas’ outdated standards over executing mentally ill and developmentally disabled defendants. The latest execution to be put off falls in the latter category. full story: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/10/19/kwame-rockwell-stay-execution-texas-court-of-criminal-appeals/ The Guilty Plea ProblemThe national Innocence Project has put up a new website called “The Guilty Plea Problem.” Texas’ Clay Chabot case is prominently featured. full story: https://www.guiltypleaproblem.org/ The Eyewitness ID ProblemEyewitnesses are more likely to pick the wrong person if fillers aren’t chosen which look similar to the suspect. full story: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235355603_The_Effect_of_Suspect-Filler_Similarity_on_Eyewitness_Identification_Decisions_A_Meta-Analysis
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 24 2018
This could be a warning to us all and the land that we love; so I made this graphic.
Isaiah 1:7 “Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.” Hondurans burn American flag as caravan of migrants grows ahead of push into Mexico https://www.mystateline.com/news/national/growing-caravan-of-migrants-pushes-deeper-into-mexico/1540977992 MyStateline.com-Oct 23, 2018 TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) – Thousands of Central American migrants resumed an arduous trek toward the U.S. border Monday, with many bristling at suggestions there could be terrorists among them and saying the caravan is being used for political ends by U.S. President Donald Trump. The caravan’s numbers have continued to grow as they walk and hitch rides through hot and humid weather, and the United Nations estimated that it currently comprises some 7,200 people, “many of whom intend to continue the march north.” However, they were still at least 1,140 miles (1,830 kilometers) from the nearest border crossing – McAllen, Texas – and the length of their journey could more than double if they go to Tijuana-San Diego, the destination of another caravan earlier this year. That one shrank significantly as it moved through Mexico, and only a tiny fraction – about 200 of the 1,200 in the group – reached the California border.
The same could well happen this time around as some turn back, splinter off on their own or decide to take their chances on asylum in Mexico – as 1,128 have done so far, according to the country’s Interior Department. While such caravans have occurred semi-regularly over the years, this one has become a particularly hot topic ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm elections in the U.S., and an immigrant rights activist traveling with the group accused Trump of using it to stir up his Republican base. “It is a shame that a president so powerful uses this caravan for political ends,” said Irineo Mujica of the group Pueblo Sin Fronteras – People Without Borders – which works to provide humanitarian aid to migrants. Some have questioned the timing so close to the vote and whether some political force was behind it, though by all appearances it began as a group of about 160 who decided to band together in Honduras for protection and snowballed as they moved north. “No one is capable of organizing this many people,” Mujica said, adding that there are only two forces driving them: “hunger and death.” Earlier in the day Trump renewed threats against Central American governments and blasted Democrats via Twitter for what he called “pathetic” immigration laws. In another tweet, he blamed Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador for not stopping people from leaving their countries. “We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid routinely given to them,” he wrote. A team of AP journalists traveling with the caravan for more than a week has spoken with Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans, but has not met any Middle Easterners, who Trump suggested were “mixed in” with the Central American migrants. It was clear, though, that more migrants were continuing to join the caravan. Ana Luisa Espana, a laundry worker from Chiquimula, Guatemala, joined the caravan as she saw it pass through her country. Even though the goal is to reach the U.S. border, she said: “We only want to work and if a job turns up in Mexico, I would do it. We would do anything, except bad things.” Denis Omar Contreras, a Honduran-born caravan leader also with Pueblo Sin Fronteras, said accusations that the caravan is harboring terrorists should stop. “There isn’t a single terrorist here,” Contreras said. “We are all people from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. And as far as I know there are no terrorists in these four countries, at least beyond the corrupt governments.” The migrants, many of them with blistered and bandaged feet, left the southern city of Tapachula in the early afternoon Monday under a burning sun bound for Huixtla, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away. In interviews along the journey, migrants have said they are fleeing widespread violence, poverty and corruption. The caravan is unlike previous mass migrations for its unprecedented large numbers and because it largely sprang up spontaneously through word of mouth. Carlos Leonidas Garcia Urbina, a 28-year-old from Tocoa, Honduras, said he was cutting the grass in his father’s yard when he heard about the caravan, dropped the shears on the ground and ran to join with just 500 lempiras ($20) in his pocket. “We are going to the promised land,” Garcia said, motioning to his fellow travelers. Motorists in pickups and other vehicles have been offering the migrants rides, often in overloaded truck beds, and a male migrant fell from the back of one Monday and died. “It is the responsibility of the driver, but it is very dangerous, and there you have the consequences,” Mexican federal police officer Miguel Angel Dominguez said, pointing to a puddle of blood around the man’s head. Police started stopping crowded trucks and forcing people to get off. Caravan leaders have not defined the precise route or decided where on the U.S. border they want to arrive, but in recent years most Central American migrants traveling on their own have opted for the most direct route, which takes them to Reynosa, across from McAllen. Late Sunday, authorities in Guatemala said another group of about 1,000 migrants had entered that country from Honduras. Red Cross official Ulises Garcia said some injured people refused to be taken to clinics or hospitals. “We have had people who have ankle or shoulder injuries, from falls during the trip, and even though we have offered to take them somewhere where they can get better care, they have refused, because they fear they’ll be detained and deported,” Garcia said. Roberto Lorenzana, a spokesman for El Salvador’s presidency, said his government hopes tensions over the caravan decrease after the U.S. elections. “We have confidence in the maturity of United States authorities to continue strengthening a positive relationship with our country,” Lorenzana said. Asked if he thinks Trump will follow through on his threat to cut aid to El Salvador, he said, “I don’t know. Of course the president has a lot of power, but they will have to explain it there to the different government structures.” Lorenzana added that El Salvador has significantly reduced violence, a key driver of migration, and that the flow of Salvadoran migrants has dropped 60 percent in two years. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said large numbers of migrants were still arriving in Mexico and were “likely to remain in the country for an extended period.” The first waves of migrants began arriving in the southern town of Huixtla after an exhausting eight-hour trek and quickly staked out grassy spots in the town square to bed down overnight. Marlon Anibal Castellanos, a 27-year-old former bus driver from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, roped a bit of plastic tarp to a tree to shelter his wife, 6-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. Castellanos said the family walked for six hours until they could go no farther. They saw the dead man who fell from the truck, and the danger of being on the road was troublesome, out in the middle of the countryside far from an ambulance or medical care should the kids to pass out in the heat. “It’s hard to travel with children, Castellanos said.” ___ Associated Press writers Peter Orsi in Mexico City, Edie Lederer at the United Nations and Marcos Aleman in San Salvador, El Salvador, contributed to this report.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 25 2018 I got this email today titled: No Water for Thanksgiving?: Sign Petition Click Here A shocking Food & Water Watch study has unveiled a massive hidden water affordability crisis in the United States.1 In a first-of-its-kind survey, we contacted the two largest water systems in each state to do a nationwide assessment of water shutoffs for nonpayment. And we found that an estimated 15 million people had their water shut off in 2016 — that’s 1 in 20 households! Water is a human right, and the people in this country need policies that address this emergency now. Take action with our sister organization, Food & Water Action, by urging your Congressperson to co-sponsor the WATER Act today!
Widespread water shutoffs are a public health nightmare. They leave folks unable to bathe or flush toilets. They can make homes uninhabitable, forcing families to move or even become homeless. They can disrupt education for kids who are forced to change schools frequently. And in some states, a lack of running water can even be considered child neglect! Tell Congress:Pass the WATER Act Now! Despite the serious consequences, water shutoff data is not easily available, because there’s no systemic process in place for tracking it. In fact, water utilities aren’t even required to disclose it; while 93% of public utilities were willing to share their shutoff data with us, 91% of private utilities surveyed refused to disclose!2 Tell Congress to act now by supporting the WATER Act.As economic inequality in the U.S. worsens and the price of drinking water increases, millions are forced to choose between rent, food, water and other life necessities. This disastrous situation is a direct result of misguided priorities and federal tax cuts that have led to a critical water infrastructure crisis over the past two decades. And we know that this is probably the tip of the iceberg, because we only have data from public utilities. Tell your congressperson to co-sponsor the WATER Act to provide cities with the funding relief needed to ensure that everyone has access to safe and affordable water service. Food & Water Watch champions healthy food and clean water for all, and we think it’s appalling that essential water service has become a luxury in this country. We deserve policies that set up affordability programs, that mandate transparency from water utilities and that provide funding relief to ensure that everyone in this country has access to water, which is central to all of our lives. Urge Congress to pass the WATER Act today! Sign Petition Click Here
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 26 2018From: https://employmentdiscrimination.foxrothschild.com/2018/10/articles/general-employment-discrimination/phrc-will-accept-discrimination-complaints-from-lgbt-employees/ PHRC Will Accept Discrimination Complaints from LGBT Employees By Brian McGinnis on October 23, 2018 POSTED IN GENDER DISCRIMINATION, GENERAL EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION, SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION, TITLE VII The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC), Pennsylvania’s leading agency that investigates and enforces Pennsylvania’s employment discrimination laws, has voted to accept complaints of discrimination from lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Specifically, the PHRC has stated it will interpret complaints alleging workplace discrimination against LGBT individuals to fall under state law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “sex”: The term “sex” under the PHRA may refer to sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, transgender identity, gender transition, gender identity, and/or gender expression depending on the individual facts of the case. The prohibitions contained in the PHRA and related case law against discrimination on the basis of sex, in all areas of jurisdiction where sex is a protected class, prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, transgender identity, gender transition, gender identity, and gender expression. The Commission will accept for filing sex discrimination complaints arising out of the complainant’s sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, transgender identity, gender transition, gender identity, and gender expression using any and all legal theories available depending on the facts of the individual case. Discrimination complaints identifying “sex” as the protected class and specifying allegations related to sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, transgender identity, gender transition, gender identity, and gender expression will be evaluated on a case by case basis throughout the Commission’s filing, investigation, and adjudication processes. While the City of Philadelphia already prohibited workplace discrimination on these grounds, the PHRC’s actions extend protected status to LGBT employees throughout the Commonwealth. Our blog has previously discussed the question of whether laws prohibiting sex discrimination inherently protect sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the context of Title VII. While many observers expect the Supreme Court to eventually weigh in on the Title VII issue, the question remains in flux as a matter of federal law. In light of the lack of clarity in the Title VII case law, states are beginning to take action. For example, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission took action earlier this year, unanimously voting to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The PHRC’s action can be viewed as part of the trend of state agencies taking action to interpret their own state laws independently of federal court guidance. This is significant because even if the Supreme Court ultimately rules that Title VII does not protect employees’ sexual orientation and/or gender identity, these state agency interpretations would not be overruled. State court challenges to these agency interpretations, however, remains a possibility and warrants monitoring. The takeaway for Pennsylvania employers is more straightforward: assess your hiring, equal opportunity, and anti-harassment policies, programs, and practices to make sure they include sexual orientation and gender identity or expression as protected characteristics and reflect non-discrimination and non-harassment principles as it applies to LGBT employees and applicants.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated October 30 2018
1600 dailyThe White House • October 29, 2018 America has no room for the ‘vile, hate-filled poison of anti-Semitism’ The American flag is flying at half-mast above the White House today as our Nation grieves the 11 victims of a despicable act of mass murder Saturday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “Anti-Semitism and the widespread persecution of Jews represents one of the ugliest and darkest features of human history,” President Donald J. Trump said from Indiana on Saturday. “The vile, hate-filled poison of anti-Semitism must be condemned and confronted everywhere and anywhere it appears.” What unites Americans is our common destiny, President Trump continued. “We mourn for the unthinkable loss of life that took place today, and we pledge in their name to fight for a future of justice, safety, tolerance, morality, dignity, and love. We must all rise above the hate.” President Trump and the First Lady will visit Pittsburgh tomorrow to meet with family members of the victims and mourn with the entire Pittsburgh community. The 11 Jewish-Americans killed “represented the very best of our Nation,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said from the White House today. The President “adores Jewish-Americans as part of his own family,” which includes his daughter, son-in-law, and several grandchildren, she noted. As always in moments such as these, America’s heroes in law enforcement do some of the most difficult work. Four of these brave officers were wounded while confronting the attacker this weekend. “They do so much for us,” President Trump said. “And they’re really unsung heroes. They don’t get the credit they deserve.” Watch President Trump’s response to the tragedy in Pittsburgh. Here More: Press Secretary Sarah Sanders delivers an update this afternoon. Here
Photo of the Day
Official White House Photo by Carlos Fyfe
The American flag is flying at half-staff above the White House as our Nation grieves the victims of the shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh | October 29, 2018
South China Sea CRISIS: US issues chilling warning to Beijing – ‘we’ll meet more AND MORE’ CHINA has clashed with the US on the highly disputed South China Sea triggering further tensions between the two power nations. Oct 30, 2018 Chief of US Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson warned the United States and China “will meet each other more and more on the high seas” after a Chinese warship came close to a US vessel in the hotly disputed waters. The Chinese vessel came within an eye-watering 45 metres of the USS Decatur during a “freedom of navigation” sail, US Vice President Mike Pence said. The US mission was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, where Chinese, Japanese and some Southeast Asian navies operate. The latest warning comes just days after the Chinese government ordered its military command to “concentrate preparations for fighting a war”, sparking World War 3 fears across the world. While touring the Southern Theater Command, one of the country’s five war zones, Xi Jinping, China’s President, said on Thursday: “We have to step up combat readiness exercises, joint exercises and confrontational exercises to enhance servicemen’s capabilities and preparation for war. He also added the command has a “heavy military responsibility” to “take all complex situations into consideration and make emergency plans accordingly.” Xi continued: “You’re constantly working at the front line, and playing key roles in protecting the national territorial sovereignty and maritime interests. “I hope you can fulfil such sacred and solemn missions.” China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea, through which about $3trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. But neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims, which raises tensions. Despite the US are not claiming the sovereignty on the territory, Washington demands free access to the sea for geopolitical purposes. These claims add up to the already high tensions between China and the US, which are currently entwined in a harsh trade war launched in March by Donald Trump. So far, the US president has issued billions-worth tariffs, aiming at crippling the Chinese market and bring Beijing to the negotiating table to discuss what Mr Trump called fairer export conditions. In August, Washington issued tariffs on $200 worth of exported Chinese goods. From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1038319/china-usa-south-china-sea-Admiral-John-Richardson-Mike-Pence-USS-Decatur US-Russia tensions spike as FURIOUS Moscow accuses Washington of STEALING political alliesTENSIONS between Russia and the US have escalated after the Russian Foreign Ministry furiously accused Washington of attempting to sway Armenia’s allegiance away from Moscow. Express.co.uk-Oct 29, 2018 The Russian government was responding to comments made by White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, during his visit to Armenia’s capital Yerevan last week. The US official is believed to have praised the new government for their efforts to tackle corruption in a meeting with acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian after he led a “people’s revolution” in the Spring to oust Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, who was regarded as being close to Moscow. According to the US Embassy in Armenia, Mr Bolton said: “The US supports the new government’s efforts to address corruption, increase judicial transparency and enhance the government’s accountability to its citizens in ways that strengthen democracy, rule of law and regional stability.” The US official also hailed the meeting on Twitter, writing: “Yesterday I had a nice visit to Armenia, an important friend in the region. Bolton did not forget to advertise US weapons that Armenia should buy instead of Russian weapons Russian Foreign Ministry “I enjoyed productive conversations with the Prime Minister and his national security team.” The Russian Foreign Ministry responded defiantly to Mr Bolton’s remarks, and accused the US of “openly” calling for Armenia to renounce its historical bond with Russia. In a statement, released on October 29, they said: “Bolton demanded openly that Armenia renounce historical patterns in its international relations and hardly bothered to conceal the fact that this implied Armenia’s traditional friendship with Russia. “Naturally, he did not forget to advertise US weapons that Armenia should buy instead of Russian weapons.” Russia maintains military bases in Armenia, and has long supported the diminutive nation in its ongoing dispute with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory. Bolton pledged to support Armenia to find a peaceful resolution over the territory with its neighbour. However, it is believed that both officials also discussed the possibility of the US selling arms to Armenia. Questioned on the issue, Prime Minister Pashinian said: “The Armenian government is not constrained by anything. “If there is an offer from the United States that is good for us, we will discuss it.” The Armenian leader also signalled increasing support for his US counterparts, stating that US-Armenia relations could reach a “new level”. Commenting on his encounter with Mr Bolton, he said the discussions had been held in an “extremely positive atmosphere”. “I think there is a real opportunity to bring Armenia-US relations to a new level. And we are ready to take advantage of this opportunity,” Pashinian added. From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1038686/World-War-3-Russia-US-relations-latest-Moscow-accuses-Washington-stealing-political-allies
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 01 2018WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018 Forgotten by the system: State has no idea how many Texas youth have incarcerated parentsI just ran across this presentation from the Texas Legislative Budget Board to the Texas House Corrections Committee from May regarding children of women incarcerated in Texas state prisons. The main thing Grits took away from the presentation was that Texas doesn’t appear to keep track of this issue very closely. They provided national estimates I’d seen before on how many incarcerated women have kids, but TDCJ doesn’t know how many prisoners are mothers (or fathers) or how many children each has, much less where those kids are. Nor does Child Protective Services keep track of how many removals involve children with incarcerated parents. The schools, certainly, aren’t keeping track. What little Texas does know about these kids is unimpressive. For example, they know how many women gave birth after entering TDCJ: 561 over the period 2015-17, with 9.3 percent ending up with CPS and 71 percent with the fathers. A mentoring program aimed at children of incarcerated parents, Amachi Texas, had a two-year budget of $1.3 million for FY 2018-19, said LBB. But that’s not much annually for a statewide program with tens of thousands of kids potentially eligible. Anyway, since no one has bothered to identify children with incarcerated parents, clearly the Amachi program couldn’t locate most of them to mentor, regardless, and isn’t funded to meet such a gaping need. Though it’s not an original line, I’ve repeated many times on this blog that you cannot manage what you can’t measure. Given the extent to which having an incarcerated parent is a significant risk factor for children to later engage in crime, providing support for them while their parent is away conceivably could have significant crime-deterring effects. But Texas can’t even define the scope of that problem, much less measure inputs and outcomes to see what works best to prevent crime among these youth. They have been forgotten by the system. With just a bit of ramp-up time, it wouldn’t cost TDCJ or CPS much to identify youth with incarcerated parents. As soon as they began, we’d understand a lot more about the scope of the problem and the state could begin planning to address the needs identified. In addition to mentoring, some kids may need tutoring, transportation assistance, clothing vouchers, access to summer programs, jobs and internships; there is all sorts of stuff youth in that situation might need. And anyone interested in promoting long-term public safety should be anxious for the state to help. Without better information about them, though, it’s a pretty safe bet nothing will happen. From: https://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Documents/Publications/Presentation/5258_Impact_Children_Incarcerated_Mothers_Parents.pdf
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 03 2018 World War 3: Putin is more dangerous than Stalin or Khrushchev From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1028456/world-war-3-putin-stalin-khrushchev-world-danger Vladimir Putin is “potentially more dangerous” to the West than an enraged, unstable Stalin in his final months of life or a nuclear-brandishing Khrushchev during the Cuban crisis, according to a leading Russian commentator. Respected political analyst Andrey Piontkovsky gives a deeply alarming view of a lurch towards a new world war. By Will Stewart in Moscow 13:45, Mon, Oct 8, 2018 | UPDATED: 15:01, Mon, Oct 8, 2018 Sir Tony Brenton warns of ‘genuine danger’ from Putin threats Putin, 66 yesterday, has shown himself ready to use military force – for example in Crimea and eastern Ukraine – and in future this can include atomic weapons, he predicted. The Kremlin leader has the “ability” in a single step “to confront the West with an unthinkable choice between humiliating capitulation or hybrid nuclear war”, said Piontkovsky, a top applied mathematician and former director of the Strategic Studies Centre in Moscow. Putin’s blunt message for the West – he claimed – is: “I aim to win a hybrid war and make you kneel, despite me being weaker than you in everything. “Because, unlike you, I have a decisive advantage. “When attacking you I am ready to use a nuclear weapon, and when defending yourself, you are not. “This is why you’ll retreat and capitulate.” The problem for Western leaders is that Putin “lives in an alternative reality” and does not think the way they do, said Piontkovsky, a longtime critic of the Russian ruler. Calling Russia a “kleptocracy”, and Putin a “smotryashchiy” – or thieves’ boss in Soviet jail-speak – he claimed the Kremlin supremo “has turned out to be potentially more dangerous than the Stalin of winter 1952, or the Khrushchev of Autumn 1962”. At the time the manic Stalin was close to death and seeing enemies everywhere, while a decade later Khrushchev was embroiled with America in the near-catastrophic Cuban missile crisis. “The post-Soviet political construction turned out to be more primitive than the Communist,” he said. Andrey Piontkovsky, a longtime critic of the Russian ruler “It doesn’t have an insurance against inadequate behaviour by the top person. “There is no Politburo which was able to catch Khrushchev’s hand at critical moment, or grab Comrade Stalin by his throat.” He warned: “Putin is also dangerous because despite his boasting, his hybrid crusade of the ‘Russian World’ against the West is based on the deepest inferiority complex – and on an understanding that Russia cannot compete with the West in anything substantial, including in the military sphere.” Recalling a tsarist era description of Russia, Piontkovsky said: “The Russian World is an icy desert where a dangerous person walks about – this time not with an axe but a nuclear bomb.” Claiming the planet had come through the Third – Cold – World War, he claimed Putin was bent on an “agenda” for a Fourth World War. This did not involve the “destruction of the hated USA as its main goal” “This agenda is a lot less ambitious – a maximum expansion of the ‘Russian World’, breakup of Nato, and discrediting of the US as the guarantor of Western security. “Overall, this is revenge for the USSR’s loss in the Third (Cold) World War, just as World War Two was the Germans’ revenge bid for defeat in the First World War”. Piontkovsky – now living in exile – claimed US defence secretary Jim ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis was one of the few Western leaders who understood the Putin threat. “Perhaps Mattis is the first Western state official who heard the message …and didn’t ignore it,” he wrote for Radio Svodboda. The Kremlin is “a real threat” to the US and the “whole world”, he said. He forecast Putin will ‘test” Nato’s resolve. “In October 1962 John Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev recoiled from the edge of an abyss on a very last moment, because they both realised that there is no rational definition of ‘victory’ in their nuclear collision. “After more than half a century a man has appeared who has his very own definition of victory in nuclear war.”
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 06 2018From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1041078/WW3-china-news-south-china-sea-destoyer-luyan-uss-decatur-spratly-island-world-war-3 WW3: China fires furious ‘CONSEQUENCES’ warning to US in South China Sea warship FACE-OFF A CHINESE naval commander warned a US warship those on board would “suffer consequences” if it did not change course in the run-up to a near-miss in the South China Sea, according to military documents obtained by the MoD. PUBLISHED: 12:38, Mon, Nov 5, 2018 | UPDATED: 17:30, Mon, Nov 5, 2018 The Luyang destroyer issued the verbal warning to the USS Decatur seconds before the Chinese ship passed 45 yards from the vessel in a manoeuvre Washington called “unsafe and unprofessional”. According to a timeline obtained from defence official in London, the Chinese commander told his US Navy counterpart: “You are on a dangerous course. “If you don’t change course you will suffer consequences.” According to the transcript the US vessel responded by saying: “We are conducting innocent passage.” If you don’t change course you will suffer consequences Chinese naval commander US Pacific Fleet officials complained the “unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre” by the Chinese destroyer forced its vessel to change course to avoid a collision. They insisted the USS Decatur was deployed on a “freedom of navigation” patrol near the Spratly Islands in a disputed region of the South China Sea at the time of the clash on September 30. China insists the US vessel illegally entered Chinese waters and described its actions as provocative. A Beijing defence ministry official defended the crew of the Luyang, saying they “took quick action and made checks against the US vessel in accordance with the law, and warned it to leave the waters”.
Bill Hayton, an associate fellow with the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House in London, said the Chinese actions may have been a deliberate decision to “raise the level of antagonism”. He said: “To my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had a direct threat to an American warship with that kind of language. “In the past, it just had language about ‘you are entering Chinese waters, keep away’ or something like that. “This, I think, is the first time we’ve had the idea of ‘suffering consequences’. So that does seem to be an increased level of intimidation.” South China Sea: Beijing claims US ship ‘threatened security’ The close encounter came as US and Beijing ramped up the rhetoric surrounding navigation rights in the South China Sea as their ongoing trade war intensified. China’s defence ministry said it respected freedom of navigation but “resolutely opposes” moves by other countries to challenge China’s sovereignty and security. US Admiral John Richardson has called on Beijing to follow a code of conduct for unplanned sea encounters, days after insisting Washington would continue freedom of navigation patrols to highlight its stance against “illegitimate maritime claims”.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 07 2018 SCOTUS: JUSTICES ADD THREE NEW CASES TO THIS TERM’S DOCKET October 27, 2018 In United States v. Haymond, the justices will weigh in on a challenge to the constitutionality of a federal law that requires additional prison time for sex offenders who violate the terms of their supervised release. Full Article: http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/10/justices-add-three-new-cases-to-this-terms-docket/ OK: POLICE OPPOSE NEW SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS [VIDEO]November 1, 2018[newson6.com – 11/1/18]Tulsa police say that the new laws will prevent registrants from living in the entire city of Tulsa. The law affects the entire state [1:35]. Watch the video: http://www.newson6.com/clip/14672845/tulsa-police-concerned-about-new-sex-offender-laws
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 07 2018
China ‘tests terrifyingly powerful Dongfeng-41 nuclear missile’ which could destroy London in HALF AN HOUR 19:12, 21 APR 2016 From: https://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/china-tests-terrifyingly-powerful-dongfeng-7803132 China has allegedly tested a weapon of mass destruction capable of hitting London and other major European or American cities in just 30 minutes.The People’s Republic reportedly fired a nuke called the Dongfeng-41, which has the longest range of any missile in the world. It can carry up to 10 warheads over a distance of roughly 7,450 miles in just half an hour before hitting several targets at once. This would mean Beijing could destroy the whole of London – which is slightly more than 5,000 miles from the Chinese capital – or wipe out any city in the West. Pentagon sources told the Washington Beacon that the nuke had been detected by American satellites. The development is likely to make American military chiefs extremely nervous. Previous reports have indicated the Dongfeng-41 could be operational at some point during 2016. Mark Stokes, an expert on the Chinese military and ex-Pentagon analyst, said: “China and Russia are increasingly coordinating their military forces against the United States and that China’s program of enabling North Korea and Iran to become nuclear missile powers is nearing completion.”
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 08 2018 Russia Says It Will Soon Deploy Mach 20 Avangard Hypersonic Weapon From: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia-says-it-will-soon-deploy-mach-20-avangard-hypersonic-weapon-35377 November 7, 2018 Moscow fears America’s missile defenses. But does it really need to? There is never a dull weapon in Vladimir Putin’s arsenal. On top of previous boasts of a nuclear-powered cruise missile and a nuclear-powered robot submarine with a 100-megaton warhead , Putin recently announced that Russia would soon deploy Avangard hypersonic weapons. Avangard is a boost-glide vehicle that is lofted high into the atmosphere atop an ICBM such as Russia’s heavy Sarmat missile, and then glides down at hypersonic speed (faster than Mach 5). Avangard reportedly can glide down at Mach 20, and unlike the fixed trajectory of ballistic missile warheads, can maneuver to avoid anti-missile defenses. It may be armed with a single warhead of as much as 2 megatons. “We know for certain, it’s an obvious fact and our colleagues realize it, that we surpassed all our competitors in this area,” Putin said. “Nobody has precise hypersonic weapons. Some plan to test theirs in 18 to 24 months. We have them in service already.” Putin blames the need for new Russian nuclear weapons on U.S. ballistic missile defense, which Russia fears will destroy its nuclear deterrent against American attack. “Responding to the development of anti-ballistic missile systems by the U.S., we are improving our strike capabilities,” Putin said. “Some are already in service, others will be deployed soon.” But what does Russia really gain from hypersonic missiles, not to mention bizarre weapons like nuclear-powered rockets? Russia has approximately 528 land-based and submarine-based ICBMs, as well as nuclear-armed bombers, only a fraction of which are needed to destroy the United States as a functioning nation. Even assuming the most paranoid Russian scenario, such as the Kremlin’s fear in 1983 that the U.S. was about to launch a surprise nuclear attack , it would take only a few surviving Russian missiles to devastate the U.S. Hypersonic missiles are fast and they fly through the upper atmosphere rather than outer space like ICBMs, which means they might not be detected by early warning radars designed to track rockets as they arc through space. Thus, Russian hypersonics stand a better chance than ICBMs of penetrating U.S. ballistic missile defenses. Except the U.S. doesn’t really have meaningful ballistic missile defenses. So far, the U.S. is only trying — with limited success — to develop a capability to shoot down a few ballistic missiles launched by a minor power such as North Korea. Despite attempts to develop an anti-ICBM shield — the 1960s Safeguard system, Reagan’s 1980 “Star Wars” program — no sane or sensible person believes that any foreseeable missile defense system would be so leak-proof that it could stop every single incoming warhead descending on American soil at 20 times the speed of sound.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 11 2018 From: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2018/11/01/it-is-our-desire-lift-up-name-jesus-trumps-evangelical-advisers-meet-with-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5ebc80483d60 Acts of Faith Trump’s evangelical advisers meet with Saudi Crown Prince and discuss Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, “human rights,” spokesman says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with author Joel Rosenberg, part of a delegation of American evangelical leaders. (Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Reuters) (Handout/Reuters) November 2 A group of prominent U.S. evangelical figures, including several of President Trump’s evangelical advisers, met Thursday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose role in the killing of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi remains unclear. In a statement that included photos of those present smiling, a member of the group said “it is our desire to lift up the name of Jesus whenever we are asked and wherever we go.” The meeting at the royal palace in Riyadh comes amid widespread questions about the role the prince played in the operation that left Khashoggi dead after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Allies of the crown prince are trying to rally support for him. In the statement, the group said it was the first time the crown prince had met with American evangelicals. [One month after Jamal Khashoggi’s killing, these key questions remain unanswered] White evangelicals have been among Trump’s most devoted supporters and have met in recent months with other Middle Eastern leaders whom they see as allies in pressuring Iran. The evangelical leaders believe they will gain more tolerance for Christian minorities in their diplomatic efforts in places such as Egypt, where the same group went last fall to meet with President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, and the United Arab Emirates, where they stopped for four days of meetings with top leaders before going to Saudi Arabia. Critics note that government-sponsored discrimination against Christians continues in the region, especially in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and that there is intense repression in those countries of political prisoners and journalists held without trial.
A Bloodbath for Christians, No Response from Egypt November 11, 2018 at 5:00 amFrom: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13282/egypt-christians-bloodbath Seven pilgrims were shot to death, “just because they were Christian,” said Pope Francis after the attack. “The pilgrims were killed in such a savage and sadistic way, as if they were enemy combatants, when they were just simple Christians come to get a blessing from a monastery.” — Coptic Bishop Anba Makarios of Minya, Egypt. While it may be understandable that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi cannot eliminate terrorism entirely, there is evidence that the government itself participates in the persecution of Egypt’s Christians. “The minimum response expected from president El-Sisi is to dismiss the head of State Security and the governor of Minya, as a clear sign of holding officials accountable. Furthermore, given the government’s continued failure to protect the Copts, Coptic Solidarity vigorously calls for an independent inquiry by the UN to evaluate the Copts’ situation and to recommend necessary measures to alleviate their increasingly perilous situation…” — Coptic Solidarity, Washington, DC.
On November 2, heavily armed Islamic terrorists ambushed and massacred Christians returning home after visiting the ancient St. Samuel Monastery in Minya, Egypt. (Image source: Roland Unger/Wikimedia Commons) Seven pilgrims — including a 12-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy — were shot to death. More than 20 were left injured with bullet wounds or shards of broken glass from the buses’ windows. “I pray for the victims, pilgrims killed just because they were Christian,” said Pope Francis after the attack. Pictures posted on social media reveal “bodies soaked in blood and distorted faces of men and women.” In one video posted, a man can be heard crying, “The gunshot got you in the head, my boy!” and repeating, “What a loss!”
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 12 2018Updated the 13th I have to tell you when it comes to politics and war history and other history; not covered by me, in school, I do not know to much. I have trouble with states sometimes too. Like Minnesota, you know where Rose Niland is from. From Golden Girls? Rose acts like she is a very stupid person because she is from Minnesota. That is because Minnesota is from the middle of know where! They are also only surrounded by only obscure states as well. Then I find out where Minnesota is; after not knowing. At the same time Minnesota practically controls psychology in our country. I suspect that Minnesota has been taken over by the Canadians and they use us like a hand puppet from Canada and control our Physiology to undermine us. Sorry but even though this is a weird thing to say ( and probably not true ); I do not trust the Canadians. Look at where Minnesota is on the map. They could be taken over by Canada and know one would know; they are so desolate. So I am reading the news yesterday and I see that North Korea is doing away with their borders. I think right away. oh that is great North Korea is doing away with communism. Then I did some studying and found out the North Korea was born from evil war and continues to be reborn from more and more corrupt murderess wars. After glancing over a CNN article. Then I think of how many of our solders died; so there could be a free South Korea. I still don’t know really what I am talking about politically. I recently finally figured out the difference between World War I and World War I, if that is not stupid I do not know what is. It could be a act of war that North Korea is doing away with their borders.I do not know, and do not like to comment on things like that; because I do not trust my knowledge about the subject. I always try to remind people I make mistakes and that I am not getting paid for any of this. Sorry but not getting paid for something is obviously a huge difference; especially form a old Sicilian like me. I may have signed petitions and supported causes that are counter productive; because of my confusion about politics. My motto is if I do not understand it quickly; I do not post it. I saw this page on Grits’s: http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/11/viewing-2018-mid-terms-through-texas.html I would have posted it, but I looked at it and said; forget it. Politics are not my forte at all, in fact I have some kind of aversion to it. I am just being honest here. People should know this about me if they read my blog. Check out these links and you figure it out: https://sivtelegram.media/the-two-koreas-began-to-demolish-the-stations-on-the-common-border/63990/ https://www.news24.com/World/News/north-and-south-korea-begin-destroying-border-guard-posts-20181111 This sure seems like a very big deal. I can not figure out why it is not in the news that much. Has what I have predicted; could be our fate as a country, come true? Have we become so broken down that we are powerless against any such thing, like this? It seems, like that concerning, North Korea and all the country’s that have nuclear weapons; no matter how hard we try to regulate them. It seems like any country that wants nuclear weapons; gets them. Are we ineffectual concerning crucial world events like this? When we no longer except the fact that our perverted justice system has ignored the Constitution of the United States for a long time; we reap what we sow. Our perverted justice system is the very definition of cruel and unusual punishment concerning RSO’s any many of the prison population; we call our country. Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 13 2018 Let me start by referring you all to Grits. They have a story about rape investigations. No one should ever get away with raping our precious Texas women: http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/11/whistleblower-austin-pd-fudged-rape.html I want to say I am sorry for saying North Korea is evil. ( I just updated it ) That would be prejudice; and that is one thing, I am not. I would not doubt there are many Christians in North Korea; maybe even in the North Korea army. Christians are the strength and rock, this world constantly depends on; to get things done. I got this email this morning, I want to share:
Friend— On Veterans Day, we pause as a nation to give honor and respect to all who have worn the uniforms of our Armed Forces, sacrificing themselves to uphold and defend the freedoms etched into our founding documents. We honor the brave troops who fought to free others around the world even when they were not truly free at home and those who answered America’s call to serve even when it was unpopular to do so. And we celebrate the courageous women and men who have chosen to serve in the midst of war in recent decades. On behalf of the staff here at the NAACP, I thank all who have served to keep America safe and wish everyone a happy Veterans Day. Sincerely,Derrick JohnsonPresident and CEONAACP
My wife told me most of the men in her family died in the Korean War. They were Canadians. When she visited them as a child; she asked where were all the men and she was told they died in the Korean War. She has told me many times about visiting her relatives in Canada and how they actually had a outhouse and a pump well for water. I guess like my family they were country folk. I found this site for dummies like me:North Korea for Dummies: From: https://www.dummies.com/education/history/world-history/a-brief-history-of-north-korea/A Brief History of North Korea When World War II ended in 1945, Japan lost control of Korea to Allied forces. In much the same way that Germany was split after the war, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel, with the Soviet Union administering the northern half and the United States administering the southern half. Korean division turns into war The foreign administration of North and South Korea was intended to be temporary, and plans had been laid for free elections in the two districts. However, in 1948, Kim Il-sung, communist-aligned leader of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), convinced Soviet leaders not to allow UN (United Nations) authorities north of the dividing line. So the election never took place in North Korea. By the end of 1948, two new nations had been formally established: •The Republic of Korea was established in the south, led by the democratically elected President Syngman Rhee. •The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was declared in the north, with Kim Il-sung established as Premier (with support of the USSR). Most US forces had left South Korea by the summer of 1949, leaving behind a weak government and inexperienced army. North Korea, on the other hand, had the financial and military backing of the USSR and China and had built up a strong army. The separation point between the two factions — the 38th parallel — was a focus of constant bloody skirmishes for two years. Then, on June 25, 1950, North Korea made a surge into South Korea. The Korean War that followed pulled in forces from the United Nations, the United States, and China, as well as military advisors from the USSR. It lasted until 1953, when the Commander-in-Chief of UN forces, the Supreme Commander of the KPA, and the commander of the Chinese People’s Volunteers signed the Korean Armistice Agreement. (Note that neither South Korean nor U.S. leadership were involved in the signing.) The Korean Armistice Agreement re-established the line of division at the 38th parallel, with a demilitarized zone extending two kilometers in both directions. After the war, Kim Il-sung set out to purge North Korea of his enemies, both real and imagined. By 1961, the last vestiges of opposition to Kim had disappeared. The organizational structure of North Korea was modeled after that of Stalinist Russia, with a large focus on military build-up and heavy industry, especially mining. Kim stuck with his Stalinist philosophy even as his communist neighbors evolved their governments, first in 1956, when Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev made sweeping denouncements of Stalin, followed 10 years later by Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in China. North Korea’s post-war economy and politics In the 1970s, North Korean mining production had reached its peak. Sudden rises in the price of foreign oil combined with falling prices for North Korea’s native minerals hit the economy hard. Surrounding nations began building up economies based on computers and other technology, a shift that North Korea — so focused on mining and military might — was unable to keep up with. Kim made the tough decision to take on foreign debt to keep the economy afloat. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, relations between North and South Korea, as well as between North Korea and the rest of the world, were a veritable roller coaster. Discussions about reunifying split families, co-hosting the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and economic cooperation started, stalled, restarted, and failed. International tensions mounted, too, as North Korea announced its growing nuclear program, which included experiments in uranium enrichment, a first step in the creation of nuclear weapons. Both North Korea and South Korea officially joined the United Nations in September 1991. The 1990s were characterized by unkept promises from North Korea to shut down or freeze various parts of its nuclear program and to allow international inspectors to examine their nuclear capabilities in exchange for oil and aid. Using their nuclear program to elicit international aid would become a common theme in the decades to come. Kim Il-sung died of a sudden heart attack on July 8, 1994. Although the means of succession had not been strictly set down, Kim’s son, Kim Jong-il, succeeded his father by becoming the chairman of the most powerful state institution in the country, The National Defense Commission. Kim Jong-il adopted an ideology known as Songgun — “Army First” — which transformed the country from a traditional communist government to a military dictatorship. North Korea’s nuclear ambitions were overshadowed by famine in the late 1990s after the country suffered first through horrific flooding and then through drought. Because of famine, a failing economy, and a disintegrating infrastructure, North Korea now relies on international aid to keep its citizens fed. In 2005, North Korea announced that it had completed its first underground nuclear test, and its ongoing nuclear program continues to be a point of contention in the international community. Outcry over unconfirmed violations of human rights by the North Korean government has also stymied international acceptance. Kim Jong-il died on December 17, 2011, and his son, Kim Jong-un, took power. How this new, young leader will guide his country and interact on the international stage remains to be seen.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 18 2018ACLUBest reads from the front lines of the fight for civil liberties. AT LIBERTYPodcast: What’s the Deal with Florida? Florida seems perpetually to be at the center of the national conversation and news cycle. The current recount to determine the results of Florida’s Senate and gubernatorial races is just the latest in a series of high-profile elections and attention-grabbing cases in the Sunshine State. This week’s guest, Howard Simon, has had a front row seat to it all as the executive director of the ACLU of Florida for over 20 years. We’re asking Howard for his insights into a state that reflects a lot of the divisions in this country. Listen here → By ACLUNovember 15, 2018
FINAL INSULTBefore Resigning, Jeff Sessions Handcuffed the Justice Department’s Ability to Police the Police In his final move as attorney general, Jeff Sessions issued a new policy that all but eliminates federal oversight of state and local law enforcement agencies that engage in unconstitutional and unlawful policing. His decision to sabotage the legal instruments of federal civil rights enforcement will harm people and communities of color for years to come. Read more → November 9, 2018
PROFITING OFF OF PROBATIONHow Georgia’s Probation System Squeezes the Poor and Feeds Mass Incarceration Charles “Skip” Eckartz, a 63-year-old disabled veteran, and his wife were arrested in their Georgia home for manufacturing marijuana. Although all of the charges were dropped against his wife, Skip accepted a plea agreement that allowed him to avoid a felony conviction for probation. But poor Georgians like him are falling victim to probation policies that enrich private companies and contribute to recidivism rates in the state. Read more → November 13, 2018 DO NO HARMSecret CIA Document Shows Plan to Test Drugs on Prisoners We’ve won the release of a 90-page account of the CIA’s Office of Medical Services role in the CIA torture program – a secret history written by the top CIA medical official, whose identity remains classified. The history reveals that CIA doctors were hunting for a “truth serum” to use on prisoners as part of a previously secret effort called Project Medication. Read more → November 13, 2018 BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FORThe Costs of Forcing an Online Haven for Racists Off the Internet In late October, a gunman, apparently fueled by virulent anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories fed by the president, opened fire on a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Shortly before the shooting, he had posted on Gab, an alternative social media site. Afterwards, private companies refused to do business with Gab. But we should be very careful before we accept a world in which a few big companies can drive speakers off the internet at their discretion. Read more → November 13, 2018 CAPTIVE LABORPrisoners Are Getting Paid $1.45 a Day to Fight the California Wildfires As firefighters in California battle the deadliest wildfires in the state’s history, they are joined by unlikely allies against the blaze. About 200 prisoners in California’s Conservation Camp program are fighting the fires alongside civilian employees, earning just $1.45 a day for their work. The prisoners battling the fires in California deserve the same wages and protections that civilian workers receive. Read more →
Sign This petition Click HereTarget: Martí Batres Guadarrama, President of the Senate of Mexico Goal: Implement a nationwide nationwide to protect animals from unnecessary and undue suffering. Cruel cockfighting could soon be banned across Mexico, thanks to a recent ruling by the country’s Supreme Court. By making cockfighting illegal, helpless animals are protected from mental and physical injury, and even death. Sadly, though, this protection is far from universal. It is still legal in many places in Mexico for animals to be abused this way for the sake of “entertainment” and “sport.” The state of Veracruz implemented a cockfighting ban that was challenged by the cockfighting industry, but the court upheld the ban as constitutional and legal. The ruling said, “Although cockfighting is the expression of a certain culture, no practice that involves the mistreatment and unnecessary suffering of animals can be considered a cultural expression protected by the [federal] constitution.” As the executive director of Humane Society International, Anton Aguilar, states, this sets “significant precedent for animal protection in our country….According to polls, 86% of Mexicans oppose animal spectacles, and 95% oppose animal cruelty. Without a doubt, our culture, our politics and our laws are shifting away from animal cruelty.” Sign below to support this decision and to demand it be extended to protect animals across the country. PETITION LETTER: Dear Senator Batres, Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice has rightfully ruled to uphold Veracruz’s cockfighting ban, protecting animals from cruelty, injury, and death for the sake of human “sport” and profit. This is a huge victory for animal welfare and provides a critical opportunity. This ban on cockfighting must be extended to all of Mexico’s states, thus protecting the nation’s animals, honoring the values of its people, and setting an example for other countries. Polls show that the vast majority of Mexican citizens oppose both animal spectacles and animal cruelty. You have an obligation to those people, as well as to the animals being exploited, sometimes illegally. As Anton Aguilar of Humane Society International states, “We congratulate the Supreme Court of Justice for this landmark decision, which sets a significant precedent for animal protection in our country. There are clearly no constitutional grounds for animals to be abused for so-called ‘entertainment.’” I urge you to save these animals and to implement a nationwide cockfighting ban. Sign This petition Click HereFrom: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/742951/world-war-3-putin-soviet-military-base-cuba-donald-trump-usa-russia WW3: Putin re-opening Soviet-era military bases on CUBA as Trump ramps up nuke threat RUSSIA is reactivating a Soviet-era signals intelligence base in Cuba and experts think even more could open to increase its surveillance on the US. Published 17th November 2018 Concern has been raised among the West that the plans are Russian retaliation after the US announced it was pulling out of the bilateral Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. According to The Jamestown Foundation – a Washington DC-based institute for research and analysis, founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors – the re-opening of the base would “duplicate rather than significantly add to Russian abilities to monitor US activities in the Caribbean”. But the think-tank warns: “If the Kremlin leader should decide to establish additional bases in Cuba, as some Russian commentators are now suggesting, that would be a different matter altogether—particularly if he succeeds in this goal.” The move by Russian president Vladimir Putin comes with strengthening ties between Moscow and Havana. Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel met with Putin in Moscow and said he wanted to give “a new impulse” to bilateral relations. The leaders discussed matters such as healthcare and tourism, but also military cooperation as well. The Jamestown Foundation added: “This led to speculation in both Russia and the West that this meant Moscow was about to reopen the Lourdes monitoring site that it closed 16 years ago, and possibly open additional bases on the island as well.” This was coupled with Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who oversees Russia’s military-industrial complex and military-technical relations with foreign countries, visiting Cuba. The two countries agreed on contracts worth more than $265million in the military sphere alone, according to Russian paper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. Russian military expert who served in Cuba in the 1980s, Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandr Ovchinnikov, said “the deepening of cooperation between Moscow and Havana was entirely expected”. He added it is especially so given US President Donald Trump’s threat to leave the INF treaty. But he stressed that the Kremlin may not have the resources to develop any “major military bases in Cuba”. The 1987 INF treaty means neither Russia nor the US is allowed to build ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500km (310 to 3,417miles). But the US claims Russia has been violating the deal by building a new cruise missile. And now it looks like the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) is caput, sparking fears of a new arms race between the superpowers. The location of Putin opening bases on Cuba is especially alarming over the memory of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis in which the USSR was caught trying to ship nuclear missiles to Cuba – which is only 780km (484miles) from mainland America. The incident is generally considered to be one of the most major crises in the Cold War and the closest that the two superpowers came to all-out nuclear war. From: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/robot-soldiers-invisible-jets-fight-13605860 20:48, 17 NOV 2018 Robot soldiers and ‘invisible’ jets to fight future US wars amid China WW3 fears Weapons under development in the US include hypersonic missiles that travel five times the speed of sound and and directed energy lasers that could one day zap missiles, aircraft and satellites from a distance A war battled out with robot soldiers, ‘invisible’ jets and lasers that shoot missiles from the sky may sound like something out of a sci-fi film – but this is already becoming a reality. At a sprawling high-security army research base dedicated to reshaping the US military over the next 50 years scientists are preparing for high-tech wars of the future over fears of an impending World War 3 with China. The US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), based at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, is creating emerging tactical offensive warfare in cyber and electronics, with the tagline of “making today’s army and the next army obsolete.” The advance of artificial intelligence brings with it the prospect of robot-soldiers – like the battlefield ‘Minitaur’ -battling alongside humans, self-directed drones and even wars being ‘fought out’ in space. Other weapons reportedly under development in the US include hypersonics, which are missiles that travel at five times the speed of sound and and directed energy weapons such as lasers that could one day zap missiles, drones, aircraft and satellites silently from a distance. You [could] kill multiple inbound missiles with a single laser,” says Trey Obering, former head of the Missile Defense Agency told the Financial Times.
These efforts to fast-forward the US Army into the future come as many believe the prospect of full-blown war between technologically advanced and nuclear-armed super powers are back. “[China] is building the most capable and well-funded military in the world, after our own,” says the US national security strategy, issued in December. “The document accuses China of spreading “features of its authoritarian system” and rejects Beijing’s protestations that it has sought only a “peaceful rise”. In January US defence secretary Jim Mattis warned at the launch of the national defence strategy that the US was losing its military edge “in every domain of warfare”, citing air, land, sea, space and cyberspace. This resulted in Congress voting through more military spending, which was $700bn this year – eclipsing China’s defence budget by more than three to one. However, by 2035, some in the US believe that it may be unable to stop Beijing if it launches military operations off the Chinese mainland after president Xi Jinping has already developed a barrage of precision-guided missiles the US has never fought before. But many in the US military are confident they are too far ahead of China for them to catch up. One machine already in place is the F-35 stealth jet that enables its pilot to “see through the skin of the aeroplane” using six infrared cameras, according to test pilot Billie Flynn. “It’s Tony Stark, it’s Iron Man,” he added. It can jam enemy radars via electronic attack, carries its weapons – two missiles and two bombs – and fuel inside to minimise detectable heat output and is shaped and painted to avoid radar detection But its real strength is as a flying data-collection and distribution centre that can move in and out of enemy territory undetected collecting and distributing the important data that it can use against them. “We fly now in a sanctuary where no one sees us but we see absolutely everybody, everything that exists,” says Flynn, who adds that he can see can see 300km to the horizon at 9,000m in the air. More than 2,000 of the jets are due to be manufactured over the next two decades, including 330 already delivered. Fears have risen over space attacks over beliefs that Russia and China are developing ways to disable (US) satellites. Rick Ambrose, who leads Lockheed Martin’s space division, says satellites need to become “much smarter” after US satellites came under attack in August. The attack, played out from behind computer screens, sparked fears that World War 3 could also be played out in space. Potential attacks could see jammers block satellites that the military depend on for intelligence and navigation and cyber warfare could target electricity grids, water networks, financial systems, hospitals and the families of military commanders. In response US president Donald Trump decided to split off space as a separate, sixth branch of the military, which has carried out space exercises already. “We have to be able to fight,” General John Raymond, head of Air Force Space Command, told a conference in September. “I am convinced that if we are up against a peer adversary, we are going to have to fight for space superiority.” Mattist acknowledges that some things may have so profound an effect that he cannot be sure how war will change, but one thing he is sure of is that eventually robots will take over. He added: “For the near future, there’s going to be a significant human element, obviously. Maybe for 10 years, maybe for 15,” he tells me. “But not for 100.”
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 19 2018 From: https://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/are-mexico-and-russia-starting-a-modern-day-cuban-missile-crisis/ Are the Russians amassing tanks in the jungles of Mexico in preparation for a “Red Dawn” type of invasion of the American Southwest. In the history of The Common Sense Show, has such an allegation gained such traction among the rank and file followers of the Independent Media. Have the Russians engaged in a substantial military buildup just south of our border? Is Russia receiving help from Latin America? These are the topics of this article. What Is Known The following are well-established facts previously published at the CSS. There are substantial terror cells residing inside the United States including ISIS which has a cell in all 50 states- James Comey the Former FBI Director, stated on July 4, 2016. In the 2008-2015 time frame, the Russians engaged with a type of lend-lease of military weaponry to Central and South America. What follows in this article is a report of thousands of Russian tanks in Mexico. This could be a true report. However, the operators of these tanks may just be Honduran or Nicaraguan. The Sanchez-Parades Drug Cartel (AKA the Peruvian Army and national bank, which is now known as the Shining Path) is the conduit between Middle Eastern terror groups (ie Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, ISIS, et al) and the Central American drug cartels (eg MS-13, Sinoloa Cartel, Juarez Cartel, etc). This is a significant contingent of te Red Dawn invasion force. Together the Middle Eastern terror groups train at base camps primarily in El Salvador and in Honduras. Thanks to Kathy Rubio for providing much of this documented evidence.During the previous Central American invasion of the United States in 2014, it was revealed by US Border Patrol to the CSS, that MS-13 were being captured and ordered release by personnel from DHS and the United Nations for points unknown inside the United States. Please note that MS-13 is used as the hit men for the drug cartels. It is a well-established fact that the Communist Chinese military has a strong presence inside the United States. The Port of Long Beach is well known among the researchers in the Independent Media (IM) for being controlled by the Chinese and being seen as the conduit for covert Chinese troop deployment. Further, it has been a well-established fact that the solar energy farms are run by front groups controlled by the Chinese military. California Governor, Jerry Brown, and former President Obama, allowed the Chinese to occupy the inland ports in California. With regard to the Calexit movement, the Chinese have come to dominate California agriculture and are one of the primary forces behind the move to separate California from the United States and place the state under the protection of the US. The presumed purpose for such a move is provide a Chinese, or a potential Chinese-Russian-United Nations take down of the US. Paul Martin’s covert sources, as revealed in a recent interview on the CSS radio show, established that there are predetermined weapons caches that would be available to 5th column invasion forces at a critical time, such as the commencement of a Red Dawn invasion force. Presumably, these forces would be used to carry out political assassinations, infrastructure disruption and attacks upon key military installations to prevent a full mobilization by US military forces in opposition to a Red Dawn scenario that would follow. As revealed in a series of interviews of the CSS and Paul Preston, the President of the New California movement, revealed that the previously discussed Shining Path, was suspected of being engaged in a plot to assassinate President Trump in a visit planned for April of 2018. As covered on the CSS, it was also revealed that following the President’s canceled visit to South America, he began to fortify the border with military assets this past April. Subsequently, it is safe to say that the President has actively been preparing for war on our Southern border for the past seven months as previously documented on the Southern border. The CSS has provided 419 links to the abovementioned topics over the last 4.5 years. Let’s Just Let the People In Despite CNN’s Acosta’s unprovoked and wholly false claim that the the journo-terrorist made while he disrupted a recent White House press briefing, that the so-called caravan was hundreds of miles away is no longer true. The vanguard of this force showed up at the Tijuana border in the past 24 hours. And now that Acosta’s lies have been publicly revealed, that hasn’t stopped the liberal mantra that we should let in anyone who wants to come here, terrorist or not. Here is a short video reporting on the first of the caravan that has arrived on the border. Granted, there are some immigrants in need of asylum, but they are being used by numerically superior forces to further the goals of an invasion force. How extensive is this invasion force? Some claim to have seen thousands of Russian tanks in the jungles of Mexico. However, the source is not credible. However, there is an informant I use that say its possible, because Russia has already assisted Mexico in the development of their defense industry including the manufacture of tanks and airplanes. This claim, however, remains an open question. Would I be surprised if it were true? I would be surprised if it were not true. I believe that Putin is hedging his bets and playing both ends against the middle. Russia’s Potential Role in the Red Dawn Invasion Before heading down the path of proclaiming that “the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming”, it is important to note that Putin has been extraordinarily patient with the United States and their Deep-State inspired provocations of the Russians. The CSS has extensively covered Putin’s threats made toward the globalists in which he recently threatened to nuke them. It is clear to me that Putin wants to partner with both China and the United States against the globalists. If one doubts the veracity of this claim, then please provide an answer to the claim that the EU, and in particular, French President Macron, has stated that a Euro army is necessary to fight against China, Russia AND THE UNITED STATES. This was a verbal declaration of war. A few days later, the European Union stated that they needed to act more like an empire. The culmination of these facts clearly indicates that a war is brewing between nationalist nations and those beholding to the creation of a New World Order. And this fact unmistakably establishes the fact that this division is what underlies the differences in America which could lead to a civil war. Despite the fact that it is clear that Putin desires a coalition to fight against the NWO and he sees China and the US as his potential partners, he also knows that the US is on the verge of being taken over by a Deep State coup in which elections are stolen and Deep State implants are internally destroying the government while the media promotes the kind of division that could lead to a civil war. Putin must have his doubts as to whether he can ally or must fight the United States. It is the belief of the CSS that if Putin determines that Trump cannot control his own government, then he must attack the US because the US would be his most adept adversary should be have to fight globalist-serving nations. In light of this fact, the CSS presents the following as to how Russia may have determined that an alliance with Trump would be meaningless. On one hand, we have the known belief and the fear of the globalists that Putin wants to ally with the US. On the other hand, we are getting reports of massive Russian tanks in Mexico. Further, I received information yesterday that states that Russia is building factories in Mexico to manufacture war planes and tanks. If true, this would be a prudent move because a Cuban Missile Crisis type of interdiction of war material coming out of Russia to this hemisphere could be interdicted. However, if true, this is very much a Cuban Missile Crisis. Conclusion It would be a brilliant move to hide military intentions behind the distraction of an invading immigration force. In all the confusion, a formidable mechanized force could stream across our border. However, it is clear that Putin’s actions have alerted the Europeans as to his anti-globalist intentions and desire to align with Russia and China. Which is true, are we going to be invaded by Russia or are we going to be a partner with Russia. I don’t think Putin is one of the purposes of the knows yet. However, if he determines that Trump cannot get his government under control, he will attack as he is a leader that is clearly hedging his bets. As a concluding and cautionary note, we must guard against forming false conclusions created by false flag propaganda. Ask yourself, what is one of the purposes of the Mueller’s Russian-Delusion-Collusion investigation? It is undoubtedly designed to keep America and Russia apart. Can we really discount the false flag scenario that could be present here with the objective to create mistrust among the two nations?Which is true? I am not sure, however, I know we are not going to have wait long to get the answer. From: https://www.defenseone.com/news/2018/11/the-d-brief-november-15-2018/152855/ PDF here: https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2018-11/providing-for-the-common-defense.pdf Defense One Summit day!; Bleak assessment of war with China and Russia November 15, 2018 The U.S. military would very likely lose a war against Russia or China, according to a 116-page report (PDF) from the National Defense Strategy Commission. The blunt assessment: “If the United States had to fight Russia in a Baltic contingency or China in a war over Taiwan, Americans could face a decisive military defeat.” Why, in short: “These two nations possess precision-strike capabilities, integrated air defenses, cruise and ballistic missiles, advanced cyberwarfare and anti-satellite capabilities, significant air and naval forces, and nuclear weapons—a suite of advanced capabilities heretofore possessed only by the United States.” On war with Beijing: “America could probably defeat China in a long war, if the full might of the nation was mobilized. Yet it would lose huge numbers of ships and aircraft, as well as thousands of lives, in the effort, in addition to suffering severe economic disruptions—all with no guarantee of having decisive impact before Taiwan was overrun.” And losing access to the South China Sea, where “14 percent of America’s maritime trade” passes would almost immediately raise U.S.“consumer prices, and manufacturing and agricultural communities.” On defending against an ICBM attack from North Korea: “U.S. missile defenses offer only uncertain protection.” Yehp. Hear also our podcast interview with @armscontrol wonk Jeffrey Lewis saying pretty much the same terrifying thing. (BTW: Read his book on the subject, if you haven’t already.) Predicting a war with Russia? That, too, is almost unspeakably terrifying. Among some of the scenarios that could follow: “Russian submarines attack trans-Atlantic fiber optic cables. Russian hackers shut down power grids and compromise the security of U.S. banks. The Russian military uses advanced anti-satellite capabilities to damage or destroy U.S. military and commercial satellites. The domestic consequences are severe. Major cities are paralyzed; use of the internet and smart phones is disrupted. Financial markets plummet as commerce seizes up and online financial transactions slow to a crawl. The banking system is thrown into chaos.” Perhaps the most fundamental concern is this: “The United States is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously.” Reminder: The U.S. military has already deployed personnel and equipment in conflict fronts spanning Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Niger, and Ukraine. There are still more throughout Africa, Korea (lots there) and the Philippines, along with classified operations in other conflicts zones like Yemen. And oh yeah, there’s also those nearly 6,000 active duty troops laying down wire along the U.S.-Mexico border… What we would need to win: For the Army: “More armor, long-range fires, engineering and air-defensive units, as well as additional airdefense and logistical forces.”The Navy: “expand its submarine fleet and dramatically recapitalize and expand its military sealift forces.”The Air Force “will need more stealthy long-range fighters and bombers, tankers, lift capacity, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms.”And the Marine Corps cannot afford to reduce its end strength of 202,000. Lots of more recommendations to sift through in the report. Pick up the conversation about remedies on PDF page 50, here. From: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/troops-trump-deployed-to-border-should-be-home-by-christmas-military-announces ·Published 8 mins ago ·Last Update 3 mins ago 11 19 2018 Troops Trump deployed to border should be home by Christmas, military announces DOD: US troops at southern border have peaked at 5,900Video Defense Secretary Mattis says the number could go as high as 7,000 during his visit to Texas; Jennifer Griffin has more details on the operation to address the migrant caravan. All of the 5,800 active duty military troops President Trump ordered deployed to the border with Mexico to confront the migrants attempting to enter the U.S. from Central America will be home by Christmas, a top Army commander confirmed Monday.
The Pentagon could begin drawing down its troop levels at the border as early as next week, Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, who oversees the mission on the southern border, told Politico. His comments came just hours after the U.S. was forced to partially close its busiest Mexican border crossing at Tijuana, Mexico to install additional security measures. “Our end date right now is 15 December, and I’ve got no indications from anybody that we’ll go beyond that,” Buchanan said. He also confirmed that the Pentagon had rejected a Department of Homeland Security request for armed troops to back up Border Patrol authorities, saying that was a law enforcement function that the military cannot legally provide. HOMELAND SECURITY: MIGRANT CARAVAN HARBORING MORE THAN 500 CRIMINALS Operations officials at United States Army North, which Buchanan oversees, did not immediately return Fox News’ request for clarifications on the timeline of the troop drawdown. The largest troop deployment to the border has mostly involved engineers installing and enhancing security measures, and the military has said in the past several days that it expected that work to conclude soon. “Once we get the rest of the obstacles built, we don’t need to keep all those engineers here. As soon as I’m done with a capability, what I intend to do is redeploy it,” Buchanan said in the interview. “I don’t want to keep these guys on just to keep them on. … Now that things are set down here, we don’t need as many troops to actually build base camps and things like that, because the base camps are built.” However, on Thursday, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters at the Pentagon that date “could always be amended.” Some quick-response troops will remain longer as engineers begin to head back home, Buchanan said.
Young Honduran migrant Daniel Gamez waits with his family in a line for a meal after arriving with the Central America migrant caravan in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. Members of a migrant caravan started to meet some local resistance as they continued to arrive by the hundreds in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, where a group of residents clashed with migrants camped out by the U.S. border fence. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Young Honduran migrant Daniel Gamez waits with his family in a line for a meal after arriving with the Central America migrant caravan in Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. Members of a migrant caravan started to meet some local resistance as they continued to arrive by the hundreds in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, where a group of residents clashed with migrants camped out by the U.S. border fence. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) But even as troop levels are apparently set to decline, tension has ratcheted up on the border. The nearly 3,000 people who reached the Mexican border with California in recent days have been met with marked hostility. On Saturday, about 400 Tijuana residents waved Mexican flags, sang the Mexican national anthem and chanted “Out! Out!” referring to the migrant caravan that arrived in the border city last week.
“Our end date right now is 15 December, and I’ve got no indications from anybody that we’ll go beyond that.”— Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey BuchananOn Monday, the U.S. closed off northbound traffic for several hours at the busiest border crossing with Mexico to install new security barriers, and also closed one of two pedestrian crossings at the San Ysidro crossing in a move apparently aimed at preventing any mass rush of migrants across the border. U.S. border inspectors are processing only about 100 asylum claims a day at Tijuana’s main crossing to San Diego. Asylum seekers register their names in a tattered notebook managed by migrants themselves that had more than 3,000 names even before the caravan arrived.
FILE – In this Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018 file photo, members of a U.S Army engineering brigade place concertina wire around an encampment for troops, Department of Defense and U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel near the U.S.-Mexico International bridge in Donna, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) FILE – In this Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018 file photo, members of a U.S Army engineering brigade place concertina wire around an encampment for troops, Department of Defense and U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel near the U.S.-Mexico International bridge in Donna, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Some Tijuana residents supported the migrants, but many complained about how the caravan forced its way into Mexico, echoing President Trump’s rhetoric and calling it an “invasion.” And they voiced worries that their taxes might be spent to care for the group. TIJUANA RESIDENTS PUSH BACK AGGRESSIVELY AS CARAVAN MIGRANTS ARRIVE The majority of migrants, who have been on foot for more than a month, are sleeping on a dirt baseball field at an outdoor sports complex in Tijuana by the newly-fortified barbed wire fence that separates Mexico from the United States. A truck parked on the street is providing showers for women, while the men are told to use newly established outdoor showers near the field. Alden Rivera, the Honduran ambassador in Mexico, has said 1,800 Hondurans have returned to their country since the caravan first set out on Oct. 13, and that he hopes more will make that decision. The Mexican Interior Ministry reported Friday that 2,697 Central American migrants have requested asylum in Mexico under a program that the country launched on Oct. 26 to more quickly get them credentials needed to live, work and study in southern Mexico.
Demonstrators with signs that read in Spanish: “No more Caravans”, and “Let’s save Tijuana, no more caravans,” stand under a statue of indigenous Aztec ruler Cuauhtemoc to protest the presence of thousands of Central American migrants in Tijuana, Mexico, on Sunday. Demonstrators with signs that read in Spanish: “No more Caravans”, and “Let’s save Tijuana, no more caravans,” stand under a statue of indigenous Aztec ruler Cuauhtemoc to protest the presence of thousands of Central American migrants in Tijuana, Mexico, on Sunday. (AP) The angry reception at Tijuana has left many in limbo – afraid to return to their homeland, which for the vast majority is Honduras, yet unwelcome in Mexico and uncertain if their U.S. asylum requests will be granted. The U.S is said to be processing around 100 claims per day. Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum has referred to the arrivals as “bums” and questioned whether a referendum in the city of 1.6 million is needed to determine whether or not they should be allowed to stay. “Human rights should be reserved for righteous humans,” Gastelum said last week. In addition to the 5,800 active duty troops in the border area, about 2,100 National Guard troops have been providing border support since April.
Residents stand on a hill before barriers, wrapped in concertina wire, separating Mexico and the United States, where the border meets the Pacific Ocean, in Tijuana, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. Many of the nearly 3,000 migrants have reached the border with California. The mayor has called the migrants’ arrival an “avalanche” that the city is ill-prepared to handle. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) Residents stand on a hill before barriers, wrapped in concertina wire, separating Mexico and the United States, where the border meets the Pacific Ocean, in Tijuana, Mexico, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. Many of the nearly 3,000 migrants have reached the border with California. The mayor has called the migrants’ arrival an “avalanche” that the city is ill-prepared to handle. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) Asked whether he believes there is a security threat at the border that justifies the use of the active duty military, Defense Secretary James Mattis said this week that he defers to the judgment of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who joined him at the border Wednesday to speak with senior U.S. commanders and address rank-and-file troops. Mattis said the short-term objective is to get sufficient numbers of wire and other barriers in place along the border as requested by Customs and Border Protection. The longer-term objective, he said, is “somewhat to be determined.” Mattis said the mission, which does not include performing law enforcement tasks, was reviewed by Department of Justice lawyers and deemed a legal undertaking. “It’s obviously a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrolmen,” he said. “The eyes of the world right now — certainly all of the Americans — are on you,” Mattis told the soldiers he met with, adding that they are part of a “non-traditional” mission. “We’re here because of the number of illegals who say they are going to illegally try to cross into our country.”
Russia ‘will send missiles to Cuba’ as US withdrawal from nuclear treaty is ‘way to WAR’ VLADIMIR Putin will be forced to deploy missiles to Cuba if the United States sent nuclear weapons to European countries, a former Russian general has said. Published 20th November 2018 Trump announces plan to pull out of Russian nuclear deal Retired Russian lieutenant-general Evgeny Buzhinskiy said several landmark nuclear disarmament treaties between Moscow and Washington are on the “verge of collapsing”. He said the administrations of successive US presidents have “ruined” the “whole construction of nuclear arms stability”, including Donald Trump, who has threatened to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Buzhinskiy, chairman of Moscow-based think tank PIR Center, believes US nuclear missile build-up will resume in Europe if Trump unilaterally withdraws from the INF treaty. In response the Russian president, Buzhinskiy said, will have no option but to deploy nuclear-tipped missiles to Cuba, whose ruling Communist Party retains close diplomatic ties with the Kremlin. Buzhinskiy, who served with the Russian army for 16 years, said tit-for-tat missile deployments could result in a second Cuban Missile Crisis in the “worst case scenario”. CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS 2.0: Russia is poised to retaliate if the US withdraws from the INF treaty “It’s a way to war, I’m sure about that,” he told Daily Star Online. “For us, it will be an existential threat. “Of course, we will try to deploy this class of missiles in Cuban. “The US wouldn’t be happy, but I don’t think Russia would be happy if they deployed nuclear missiles along our border.” The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union that was deemed to be the closest the world ever came to a global nuclear conflict.
Related Articles China unveils DEVASTATING J-20 stealth fighter jet missile strength in MAJOR show of force Royal Navy sends HUNTER KILLER submarine to STALK Russia in warning to Vladimir Putin ‘Wake up call’ US to suffer MASSIVE casualties in war with Russia and China, warn experts SHORT WAR: Evgeny Buzhinskiy has said nuclear war between Russia and the West is ‘inevitable’
“It’s a way to war” Former Russian general Evgeny Buzhinskiy The Crisis, also known as the October Crisis of 1962, came to a head when the US deployed ballistic missiles to Italy and Turkey and Russia responded in kind by sending them to Cuba. Both nations eventually agreed to dismantle their weapons after long and tense negotiations between then US President John F. Kennedy and former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. Buzhinskiy believes a similar crisis could ensue if US nuclear-tipped missiles are sent to European military bases in the event the INF treaty collapses.
MEETING: Vladimir Putin summoned his war chiefs to discuss the nuclear threat
Relations between Havana and Washington thawed after former US president Barack Obama eased a trade and travel embargo on the Caribbean island. But relations have hit the rocks once more after his successor, Trump, announced new restrictions. Cuban president Diaz-Canel earlier this year took aim at the US economic blockade of the country, terming it “the main obstacle to the development of the country”. Putin convened a meeting of senior Russian defence officials on Monday to discuss the possible collapse of the INF treaty. Signalling his intent, Putin said Washington’s decision to withdraw from the agreement “cannot and will not be left unanswered”. He said Russia is not interested in an arms race with the US.
GLOBAL CATASTROPHE: Vladimir Putin has said Russia would only launch a ‘retaliatory strike’
Related Articles Putin has 75,000 spies in BRITAIN after chilling surge: ‘West needs to WAKE UP’ Midterm elections WW3 threat? Trump faces MAJOR Iran and Russia problems if he loses ‘Prepare for WAR’ Brit troops join NATO in Russia ‘battle plans’ Rather, Russia’s response would involve the “balanced development” of the military – including the army, navy and air force – and the use of hypersonic weapons “capable of penetrating any missile defense”, he said. Buzhinskiy said Russia’s missile technology has advanced to such an extent, an nuclear arms race would not be necessary. He said: “We already have weapons. “If the United States wants to increase its nuclear stockpile, it’s up to them. “We remember the lessons of the 60s, it’s not necessary to destroy these weapons 10 times, only once. “I don’t think there will be a nuclear stockpile on the Russian side.”
VETERAN: Evgeny Buzhinskiy served with the Russian army for 16 years Meanwhile, Russia is thought to be reactivating a Soviet-era signals intelligence base in Cuba, according to Washington DC-based think tank The Jamestown Foundation. Experts believe the re-opening of the base would “duplicate rather than significantly add to Russian abilities to monitor US activities in the Caribbean”. The think-tank warned: “If the Kremlin leader should decide to establish additional bases in Cuba, as some Russian commentators are now suggesting, that would be a different matter altogether – particularly if he succeeds in this goal.” From: https://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/the-fight-for-americas-survival-begins-when-the-caravans-arrive/ The Fight for America’s Survival Begins When the Caravans Arrive Before the real invasion of the United States commences, there are going to have be 5th column forces who are absolutely dedicated to establishment of LaRaza’s pipe dream of a taking several states from the United States and creating their own nation. Perhaps America’s greatest domestic strength lies in taking in immigrants and assimilating them into our country as Americans. However, what Obama wants and is in the midst of doing, is nowhere near what we bargained for as a nation. There are two groups who have repeatedly called for the seizure of several states and make them into an independent country, and these two groups are La Raza and The concept of Aztlan has been sanctioned by the UN.This is the same UN that is transporting military grade vehicles within the United States. This,, too, is a violation of our immigration laws, not to mention national security.MEChA.
These groups have historically taught that Colorado, California, Arizona, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon and parts of Washington State make up an area known as “Aztlan”, a fictional ancestral homeland of the Aztecs before Europeans arrived in North America. MEChA’s founding principles are contained in these words in “El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan” (The Spiritual Plan for Aztlan): “In the spirit of a new people that is conscious not only of its proud historical heritage but also of the brutal gringo invasion of our territories, we, the Chicano inhabitants and civilizers of the northern land of Aztlan from whence came our forefathers, reclaiming the land of their birth and consecrating the determination of our people of the sun, declare that the call of our blood is our power, our responsibility, and our inevitable destiny. … Aztlan belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops and not to the foreign Europeans. … We are a bronze people with a bronze culture. Before the world, before all of North America, before all our brothers in the bronze continent, we are a nation, we are a union of free pueblos, we are Aztlan. For La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada. Chicano is our identity; it defines who we are as people. It rejects the notion that we…should assimilate into the Anglo-American melting pot…Aztlan was the legendary homeland of the Aztecas … It became synonymous with the vast territories of the Southwest, brutally stolen from a Mexican people marginalized and betrayed by the hostile custodians of the Manifest Destiny.” (Statement on University of Oregon MEChA Website, Jan. 3, 2006). Miguel Perez of the Cal State-Northridge’s MEChA chapter stated: “The ultimate ideology is the liberation of Aztlan. Communism would be closest[to it]. Once Aztlan is established, ethnic cleansing would commence: Non-Chicanos would have to be expelled — opposition groups would be quashed because you have to keep power.” The National Council of La Raza and its allies in public office make no repudiation of the radical MEChA and its positions. As recently as 2003, La Raza was actively funding MEChA, according to federal tax records. However, since La Raza began to receive federal funds, La Raza has adopted a less militant stand, at least publicly, where they say that they no longer support Reconquista de Aztlan. However, when one examines where proposed federal money was designed to go, under S. 744, and to go in the pockets of La Raza and MEChA, it is impossible to believe that at its core, La Raza does not truly support the concept of Aztlan. This is where Atzlan started. And now it is exploding. Enter the CALEXIT movement run by globalists. They have promised these radical groups, that most Hispanics oppose, the entire Southwest in exchange for their violent participation designed to force the United States to let go of California. This is the terrorist muscle needed by Calexit. And in exchange, they will perpetrate unparalleled violence in our country. THIS IS WHERE and HOW THE BREAK UP OF THE UNITED STATES STARTED Some people say “who cares if California exits the country?” That is an ignorant question. California agriculture dominates the US. Similarly, California retail makes up 30% of the nation’s entire retail revenue. A departed California will economically devastate this country and produce widespread food shortages. This is the globalist goal and when the caravans arrive, this plan will kick into high gear. If you want to understand the dynamics of California and how, under Governor Jerry Brown, we are all under threat from the Chinese and their related interests. This is not an easy document to review as one will have to work to absorb massive amounts of documentation which demonstrates how California is being sacrificed, who is behind it and for what reason.
I previously reported the following with regard to California’s attempt to become a separate and independent nation under the control of El Presidente, present California governor Jerry Brown.
The Forces of Darkness According to Paul Preston and his embedded sources, reports are coming in that numerous state legislators from California, including “California Senate pro tem Kevin de Leon), State representatives from Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Colorado have been meeting with members of La Raza, the Mexican government ( consulate), Mexican Mafia (“La EME”), California’s violent Mexican gangs (Nortenos /Sureños/ Sur 13), La Familia (Nuestra Familia) and religious leaders (Catholic / Jesuits) to come up with a plan to separate from the United States the above mentioned states”. Governor Brown, his aides, and the Bank of China have been in attendance in several of these meetings designed to sever California from the US. Further, The Common Sense Show has learned, independent of Paul Preston, that George Soros is bankrolling some of the costs associated with this movement as is the Bank of China. And not surprisingly, Eric Holder has become the spokesperson for CALEXIT. What is significant here is that if CalExit does not happen peacefully, the radical gangsters listed above, will force the California exit through the use of violence. Paul Preston and his sources have learned that many of the abovementioned groups will begin to execute white people and force a mass exodus of this population group from California. This information comes from an embedded eyewitness to many of the meetings. The manifestation of this insanity was beta-tested at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas massacre event and some of these groups along with Philippines-based ISIS and MS-13 were also involved. The execution of this plan was manifested at the massacre of the country and western bar in Thousand Oaks, CA. This was just the first of many of false flag events that will pass the public’s way in the coming weeks and months. I have learned from a member of the intelligence community that Holder is not the only former Obama Administration refugee. Many members of the Obama administration may become roadkill in the purge against the most criminal administration in American history. The former members of the Obama administration that are joining the CALEXIT team are as follows:1.Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch2.Disgraced and former Obama czar and present CNN celebrity, Van Jones3.Former DHS director, Janet Napolitano, who is presently running the California university system.4.Mayor of Chicago and former advisor to Obama, Rahm Emanuel. The Common Sense Show has learned that CALEXIT has as a target date to exit the country of 2019. The United Nations is at the Center of This Conspiracy After the aforementioned groups perpetrate enough false flag violence, the United States will be forced to let go of California. The violence is going to be exacerbated by the arrival the various waves of caravans presently making their way to the United States. This will exponentially increase the violence and force a settlement in which California is allowed to exit the United States. Paul Preston, through his inside informant, we call “Mike”, revealed the brains behind the Calexit movement is actually the United Nations. The above photo depicts a press conference held in Moscow in which the Independent Republic of California was introduced. It was announced that California will operate as a protectorate of the United Nations. When California exits the Union, they will be largely controlled by the Chinese, but will be under the political control of the UN with Jerry Brown as their leader. And as you will soon see, that California’s food supply is being handed over to the Chinese. If we don’t quickly come to believe that the Chinese will become militarily involved, we are fooling ourselves. The Chinese Factor The Chinese are no stranger to teaming up with a group to attack another group in order to garner a significant increase in food supply. Their participation with the South African’s government stealing the land of White South African farmers without compensation is a case in point. As previously covered on the CSS, the Chinese will take all food from the seized farms and a portion of the minerals in exchange for the use of Chinese technology and military might should the west decide to intervene. The Chinese are pursing a similar aggressive policy in California. Obama’s EPA previously stepped in and declared that all irrigation to the San Joaquin Valley was illegal because it endangered a 2 inch smelt fish. The farmers went bankrupt. In came Richard Blum, the husband of Diane Feinstein and he sold the land to the Chinese. And now, magically, the water rights have been restored. The food of course will be sent to China. As previously covered on the CSS, the solar energy farms in the West, are all owned by front groups for the Chinese military. We know that the Chinese military has a presence at the inland ports at Sacramento and Stockton, CA. It is clear that these subversive movements will soon have Chinese military muscle behind them. Conclusion The forces of darkness are all in place. The trigger event will come from the caravans as they enter into the United States. The opposition to their illegal entry will become violent and MS-13 will be behind the violence. As you can see, this will involve a lot more than California. Soon every city will fall victim to this terrorism from the embedded terrorist cells in our country. We are truly entering the dark ages of our country’s history. Finally, is anyone still naive enough to believe that the caravans are about immigration? Also Grits has a new multi news page, I recommend reading over:http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/11/texas-voters-think-justice-system.html
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 22 2018 Happy Thanksgiving! Remember God loves to thanked. Thanking The Lord will benefit you and yours.What can you do for God?
From: http://www.defenseworld.net/news/23720/Russian_Defense_Ministry_to_Spend__15M_to_Prolong_Lifecycle_of_Ballistic_Missiles Russian MoD To Spend $15M To Prolong Life-Cycle Of Ballistic Missiles The Russian Defense Ministry plans to spend $15 million to prolong the life cycle of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) Topol-M, Voyevoda and UR-100N. ICBM missiles are primarily used for the nuclear warhead delivery and have a minimum range of 5500km. Modern designs support Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs), allowing a single missile to carry several warheads, each of which can strike a different target. The contract will be carried out by three approximately equal instalments in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Work is expected to be completed by November 10, 2020, TASS reported Wednesday. From: https://www.oodaloop.com/briefs/2018/11/21/u-s-military-targets-growing-russian-and-chinese-influence-in-latin-america/ U.S. Military Targets Growing Russian and Chinese Influence in Latin America “U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, returning from a trip to Colombia, said over the weekend that the Trump administration is making a push to strengthen alliances across Latin America as part of an effort to counter rising Chinese and Russian influence in the United States’ backyard. In an interview with Foreign Policy, Goldfein said Colombia and other Latin American countries risked being locked out of U.S. and allied operations if they stopped buying military hardware from the United States and turned to other markets instead. ‘While there may be other cheap hardware out there that might be available on the market, at some point it becomes really hard to make it connect and share within the system,’ Goldfein said by phone Saturday while flying home from Colombia. His trip was part of a broader administration effort to reinforce alliances across Latin America as the region grapples with a range of security threats, from narcotrafficking and terrorism to Venezuela’s economic collapse and ensuing refugee crisis.” From: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/us-b-52s-fly-past-chinese-outposts-in-the-south-china-sea-2018-11 US Air Force B-52s ignore Beijing’s ‘great wall’ of missiles with South China Sea flights The head of US Indo-Pacific command recently accused China of building a “great wall of [surface-to-air missiles]” in the South China Sea. Despite the deployment of Chinese military equipment to the strategic waterway, the US continues to fly and sail through the South China Sea. A pair of US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers reportedly flew past Chinese-occupied territories in the South China Sea Monday. Two US heavy long-range bombers tore past Chinese-occupied territories in the contested South China Sea Monday, demonstrating America’s determination to continue its activities in the region despite China’s militarization of disputed areas. A pair of US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress out of Andersen Air Force Base on Guam conducted a routine training mission in the vicinity of the South China Sea, Pacific Air Forces told CNN Tuesday, explaining that the “recent mission is consistent with international law and United States’ long-standing commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.” The US military regularly sends bombers through the contested waterway in support of the deterrence-oriented Continuous Bomber Presence mission. China, which claims the majority of the South China Sea, tends to typically react with sharp criticism of US activities, even when the US is simply transiting planes from its bases across the Pacific. Beijing has previously called these flights “provocative,” accusing the US of militarizing the region, a counter to US accusations. China has deployed surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), electronic jamming equipment, and anti-ship missiles to military outposts in the South China Sea, allowing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to keep US ships and planes in the region under threat of missile fires that outrange them any time they operate in the strategic waterway. Deployments, according to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, include HQ-9 SAMs and YJ-12 and YJ-62 anti-ship missiles, among other weapons systems. “The PLA secretly deployed anti-ship missiles, electronic jammers, and surface to air missiles,” Admiral Phil Davidson, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, said last week at the Halifax International Security Forum. “So, what was a ‘Great Wall of Sand’ just three years ago is now a ‘Great Wall of SAMs’ in the South China Sea,” he said, stressing that these developments give China “the potential to exert national control over international waters and airspace through which over three trillion dollars in goods travel every year, along with commercial air traffic, as well as information and financial data through undersea cables.” China has demonstrated increased resistance to US military activities in the region, especially near Chinese-occupied territories. A Chinese warship confronted a US Navy destroyer during a routine freedom-of-navigation operation in the Spratly Islands in September. The Chinese naval vessel nearly collided with the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur in an incident widely considered China’s most aggressive response to a a US ship to date. Despite escalated tensions in the South China Sea, the US and Chinese militaries are attempting to restore relations through military exchanges. Following a visit by Chinese military personnel to the USS Ronald Reagan, the aircraft carrier and several of its escort ships made a port call in Hong Kong Tuesday. NOW WATCH: Briefing videos From: https://sputniknews.com/military/201811211070019107-china-building-nuclear-attack-subs/ China Building More Nuclear Attack Subs Than US Knew About – Report Military & Intelligence23:56 21.11.2018(updated 00:33 22.11.2018) US think tanks and the Pentagon have underestimated the number of Chinese nuclear submarines under construction, a new analysis suggests. Pictures taken of the Bohai Shipyard and Longpo Naval Facility show that China has more nuclear attack subs in development than previously believed, Defense One reported Tuesday. The report said there is one extra submarine under construction that the Pentagon previously did not account for. Nevertheless, there are fewer operational nuclear subs than Western institutions believed, namely the US Department of Defense and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the report says. CSIS and Pentagon estimates of China’s ocean-going nuclear force pegged the number of operational Jin- or 094-class submarines at four. Yet two of these underwater boats “appear not to be in operation,” said Catherine Dill of the James Martin Center of Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, as quoted by Defense One. Notably, the Pentagon’s 2018 China Military Report and CSIS’ China Power group both stated that four 094-class submarines are active. By comparison, Russian nuclear forces feature nine strategic nuclear submarines “that provide continuous military patrols in the sea,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in May 2017, Sputnik reported. “The Russian Navy is also planning to increase the number of strategic nuclear submarines to 13, including seven ‘Boreys’ with ‘Bulava’ missiles,” he said. The US nuclear-armed submarine fleet features 14 Ohio-class submarines, which are comparable in size to Russia’s Borey-class and China’s 094-class subs. Another great Grits page with something interesting; for everyone:http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/11/reasonably-suspicious-podcast-tx.html
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 24 2018From: https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/11/china-has-more-nuclear-subs-west-believed/152984/ https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/11/satellite-photos-show-china-is-building-5-more-nuclear-submarines.html November 23, 2018 Planet Lab satellite photos reveal that two of China’s four JIN (or 094)-class subs are undergoing maintenance or repairs at the Bohai shipyard. Three submarines are being built at Longpo and two subs are being built at the Bohai shipyard. Analysts Catherine Dill and colleague Jeffrey Lewis found that China had one more nuclear submarine in development than previously believed. This was reported by Patrick Tucker at Defense One. There’s an extra sub under construction, but no permanent nuclear deterrent at sea — yet. Western observers have likely underestimated the number of Chinese nuclear submarines in development, but overestimated how many are operational, a new analysis suggests. In particular, only half of China’s nuclear-armed SSBNs appear to be in operation. Photos of the Bohai Shipyard and the Longpo Naval Facility produced by Planet Labs suggest that “China does not yet have a credible sea-based deterrent,” said Catherine Dill of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Two of China’s four JIN (or 094)-class subs “appear to not be in operation and are undergoing maintenance or repairs at the Bohai shipyard, suggesting to us that credibility is still in question.” That rebuts the Defense Department’s 2018 China Military Report and CSIS’s Chinapower group, which had stated that China had four operational 094s. But Dill and colleague Jeffrey Lewis also found that China had one more nuclear submarine in development than previously believed. They observed a total of five hulls in production, three at Longpo and two at the Bohai shipyard, suggesting that China is well on its way to meeting its goal of eight. “China is continuing to modernize its nuclear weapons program, broadly,” Dill said. “There’s a big emphasis on the SSBN program because all of their deliverable nuclear weapons are on land-based systems. Expanding into these SSBNs gives China more flexibly and credibility.” She added, “These observations would not have been possible without the high cadence of the Planet imagery, which gave us 244 days of exploitable imagery to monitor from July 2017 to November 2018.”
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 25 2018I have always thought of Syria to be a excellent example of what Russia would do here. I think they would wait for us to have a civil war; so they could finish it off ; just like Syria. From: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/11/24/us-russian-forces-have-clashed-repeatedly-syria-us-envoy.html US, Russian Forces Have Clashed Repeatedly in Syria: US Envoy Operation Inherent Resolve coalition advisers prepare for another night of fire missions at an outpost near Dashisha, Syria on June 8. According to a recent report, a U.S. envoy told Russian journalists that American and Russian forces have clashed a dozen times in Syria — sometimes with exchanges of fire. 24 Nov 2018Stars and Stripes American and Russian forces have clashed a dozen times in Syria — sometimes with exchanges of fire — a U.S. envoy told Russian journalists in a wide-ranging interview this week. Ambassador James Jeffrey, U.S. Special Representative for Syria Engagement, offered no specifics about the incidents, speaking to the Russian newspaper Kommersant and state-owned news agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday. Jeffrey had been asked to clarify casualty numbers and details of a February firefight in which U.S. forces reportedly killed up to 200 pro-Syrian regime forces, including Russian mercenaries, who had mounted a failed attack on a base held by the U.S. and its mostly Kurdish local allies near the town of Deir al-Zour. None of the Americans at the outpost — reportedly about 40 — had been killed or injured. Jeffrey declined to offer specifics on that incident, but said it was not the only such confrontation between Americans and Russians. “U.S. forces are legitimately in Syria, supporting local forces in the fight against Da’esh and as appropriate — and this has occurred about a dozen times in one or another place in Syria — they exercise the right of self-defense when they feel threatened,” Jeffrey said, using an Arabic term for the Islamic State group. “That’s all we say on that.” Asked to clarify, he said only that some of the clashes had involved shooting and some had not. “There have been various engagements, some involving exchange of fire, some not,” he told the journalists in remarks confirmed on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow website. “Again, we are continuing our mission there and we are continuing to exercise our right of self-defense.” Both Russia and Iran back the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s civil war, now in its eighth year. The U.S., which Jeffrey said regards Assad as a “disgrace to mankind,” has deployed hundreds of troops and equipment to eastern Syria as part of the coalition to defeat the Islamic State. Since 2015, Washington and Moscow have broadly maintained a “deconfliction line” to communicate the locations of U.S. and Russian air and ground forces in the country. Pentagon officials had no immediate comment on the ambassador’s statement. Jeffrey also criticized the Russians supplying Syria surface-to-air missile systems in Damascus, which he called a “dangerous escalation,” noting that it had already led to tragedy — the downing of a Russian spy plane and its crew of 15 — and could lead to more mistakes in the future. Earlier this week, the U.S. announced sanctions intended to curb Russian and Iranian oil shipments to Syria. Jeffrey said the U.S. had also sought Russia’s help to urge the withdrawal of Iranian-commanded forces from the country. “We need to see a de-escalation of the fighting in Syria,” Jeffrey said. “This has been a terrible conflict that has pulled in many outside powers, including Russia and the United States.” Stars and Stripes
From: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/north-korea-reveals-nuclear-emp-attack-plans Washington Secrets North Korea reveals nuclear EMP attack plans November 24, 2018 12:08 PM In a sign that North Korea is not planning to give up all its nuclear arsenal, the communist government has revealed plans to use the weapons to launch EMP attacks that effectively dismantle technology and computers in the blast area. A report on the new document distributed by the government shows the acronym for electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, clearly printed in July. The Daily NK, which obtained the documents, suggested that a target would be South Korea. “EMP attacks lead to the destruction of electronic circuits in semiconductors, affecting the use of TVs, mobile phones and computers in the area. The widespread failure of South Korea’s mass communications system due to an EMP attack and its effect on national infrastructure and military command systems could lead to widespread chaos, experts warn, and they are calling on the government to take measures to prepare for such attacks,” it said. But it also said that the propaganda report was meant to assure supporters in the countryside that it wasn’t giving up all nuclear weapons in any deal with the United States. “Some experts say that the authorities added the section to propaganda materials handed out to farmers as a way to emphasize that the regime will not give up its nuclear weapons,” said the report. U.S. officials have recently warned that North Korea’s offensive war plans include the use of EMP weapons and that the United States is a target. The report and the U.S. experts said that North Korea would deliver the weapon either by satellite or on a ship fitted with a rocket launcher. The weapon would then be detonated 30 to 100 kilometers high which would give the electronic pulse a wide area that could dismantle technology and the electric grid on the East Coast. A congressional report has warned that an EMP attack could last a year and lead to the deaths of 90 percent of those in its blast area as people struggle to live without electricity, running water, and medical facilities as well as chaos. The Pentagon has recently begun working on the issue. Other countries eyeing EMP weapons are Russia and Iran. North Korea has a track record of interfering with electronics in South Korea, added the report. It said that the North has jammed GPS in South Korea several times.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 26 2018 The perversion of our justice system marches on; as our enemies get more and more powerful and we slowly creep toward becoming a third world country: The ‘Frightening and High’ Factoid About Sex Offender Recidivism Still Stalks Courts Across the Land,Completely Untethered From Actual Numbers https://reason.com/blog/2018/11/14/the-frightening-and-high-factoid-about-s/amp?__twitter_impression=true November 14, 2018 Arizona Supreme Court overturned a state ban on bail for people accused of sexual assault “when the proof is evident or the presumption great,” concluding that the categorical exclusion violated the constitutional right to due process. Critics of that decision are urgingthe U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case, Arizona v. Goodman, and their arguments highlight the continuing influence of misconceptions about the… Wow! I used to be a big fan of David. I used to complain to him allot about being against sex offender rights. I guess maybe I influenced him. Maybe, I can become a fan again. DAVID COMES OUT AGAINST SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY [DAVID PAKMAN SHOW ON YOUTUBE]November 13, 2018 [YouTube – 11/4/18]After receiving a question from a viewer last week, David comes out against the sex offender registry. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FStdCWjCKCo FL: Over 1 Million Felons Win Right To Vote With Amendment 4November 7, 2018 https://www.npr.org/2018/11/07/665031366/over-a-million-florida-ex-felons-win-right-to-vote-with-amendment-4In a key ballot initiative, Florida will restore voting rights to citizens convicted of certain felonies after they have served their sentences, including prison terms, parole and probationary periods, AP has projected. Voting rights will not be restored to those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses. From: https://en.brinkwire.com/news/ww3-warning-as-iran-could-have-nuclear-bombs-in-months-after-weapons-deal-crisis/ WW3 warning as Iran could have nuclear bombs in MONTHS after weapons deal crisis November 25, 2018 Brinkwire IRAN could have a nuclear weapon within a matter of months if the country pulls out of the 2015 deal, according to shocking claims made by Israeli intelligence agents. A secret Iranian archive seized by Israeli agents earlier this year suggests the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme was more advanced than the West had thought, according to a nuclear expert who examined the documents. It suggests if Iran pulls out the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal, that Donald Trump has abandoned, it could produce a bomb in a matter of months, according to physicist David Albright from Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, DC. Mr Alrbight told Foreign Policy: “The archive is littered with new stuff about the Iranian nuclear weapons programme.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 27 2018I read a article about how we do not need to spend money on space defense. There is no way I am posting it. China and Russia is way more advanced than we are. We are becoming insignificant. I predict that soon Russia and China and others will just start attacking other country’s with no regard to us. Either we better get on the ball quick or that’s it; game over man!. Maybe we can spend less money on thing’s like torturing RSO’s and more on defense. Somethings like the oppression and torture of people have a spiritual application and are judge by God.
Romans 12:19 Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1050712/world-war-3-royal-navy-hms-duncan-russian-fighter-jets-black-sea-crimea-ukraine Royal Navy warship swarmed by 17 Russian fighter jets in Black SeaTHIS is the dramatic moment 17 Russian fighter jets swarmed around a Royal Navy warship in the Black Sea near Crimea. PUBLISHED: 19:48, Mon, Nov 26, 2018 The remarkable footage shows HMS Duncan being ‘buzzed’ by the Russian jets as it led a NATO fleet through the disputed region earlier this year. The government labelled the incident, which happened in May, an act of “brazen hostility”. In the footage, which was filmed as part of a Channel 5 documentary, Russian jets can be seen circling around HMS Duncan and the NATO fleet. see video here: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1050712/world-war-3-royal-navy-hms-duncan-russian-fighter-jets-black-sea-crimea-ukraine The jets, which are a mix of fighters and bombers, are shown coming so close to HMS Duncan the crew is worried their high-powered radars might scramble the jets’ computer systems causing them to crash.
From: https://www.newsweek.com/russia-new-missiles-war-arctic-us-looks-north-1231985 Russia’s Defense Ministry said that the country’s armed forces adopted their first Tor-M2DT anti-aircraft missile systems, a weapon capable of handling the extreme temperatures and terrain of the Arctic region. Debuted during May 2017’s Victory Day parade in Moscow, the equipment is a white-and-gray-camouflaged update to the Tor M2 systems and was said to have a range of up 15 kilometers (9 miles). Russia and China have been particular sources of concern for the U.S., given that the two powers have sought to expand their own bilateral economic and military cooperation. Moscow launched the world’s first nuclear icebreaker ship in September 2017, and China devoted a white paper in January to reshaping the country’s Arctic policy. Likewise, Moscow fortified new military positions in the country’s extreme north, while China has eyed new opportunities for the so-called “Polar Silk Road,” an addition to President Xi Jinping’s wider One Belt, One Road initiative. For its part, the U.S. has begun taking measures of its own to bolster its Arctic presence. Defense Secretary James Mattis said during a visit in June to Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska that “certainly America has got to up its game in the Arctic” and U.S. Coast Guard commandant Admiral Karl Schultz told the Center for Strategic and International Studies that the U.S. was “working on a rewrite” of the U.S. Arctic strategy in August. The U.S. has also moved in on parts of the European Arctic, seeking closer defense relations with Norway, a founding member of the NATO Western military alliance that has largely been supported by the Pentagon. Oslo has asked the U.S. to increase the presence of Marines based near the Scandinavian country’s border with Russia, a move decried by Moscow. Ahead of the month-long Trident Juncture, the largest NATO exercise in decades that wrapped up earlier this week, Russia Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova criticized calls for more U.S. Marines in Norway and Western military moves as “a violation of all time-tested traditions of good neighborliness and against the policy of the Norwegian government established way back in the Cold War period on self-restraint.” “We have to state that such irresponsible actions will inevitably destabilize the military and political situation in the north, increase tensions and undermine the fabric of Russian-Norwegian relations,” she added at the time. “All these NATO preparations cannot be ignored, and the Russian Federation will take the necessary tit-for-tat measures to ensure its own security.” Oh yeah and do not forget to check Grits multi subject indie news page:http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/11/prison-reform-pioneer-passes-bail.html
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 28 2018From: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2503419/world-war-3-2019-north-korea-syria-russia-putin-isis-trump-missile/ GLOBAL THREAT Why World War 3 could happen in 2019 – threats from North Korea, Syria and Putin are worse than during the Cold War Many observers now believe the world could be in even more peril than the Soviet vs West face-off during the Cold War 27th November 2018, 2:34 pmUpdated: 27th November 2018, 4:08 pm RISING tensions around the globe along with spectacular war games and weapons testing have increased fears of a major military conflict breaking out in 2019. Here we look at trouble spots which could be potential World War 3 flash points. Our map shows the flashpoints where there are currently military standoffs which could suddenly turn nasty and bring the major powers into conflict with each other. Experts believe the Baltic States, Ukraine and Syria are danger zones in a world more unpredictable than during the Cold War. This is because of Russian meddling as President Vladimir Putin attempts to recreate a superpower sphere of influence it lost after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Meanwhile in Asia, China has unveiled its largest rise in defence spending in three years as it bids to dominate the world with a vast superpower military. Could war break out between the West and Russia? Why is Syria regarded as a World War 3 flashpoint? Could the US and China go to war in 2019? Could war break out between America and Iran? Is North Korea really a threat to world peace? North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Trump pledged to work towards denuclearisation at their landmark June summit in Singapore. Will Donald Trump risk starting a world war? APOCALYPSE NEWS: PREPARING FOR WAR How to prepare for World War Three – official nuclear bomb survival guide ON THE BRINK As tensions grow are we heading for World War 3 and who would win? KAMIKAZE TANKS China unveils tanks with ‘self-destruct’ button to destroy captured vehicle OUT OF AFRICA US pulling troops from Africa despite Russia and China’s growing presence FLASH OF MIGHT Why laser weapons will be future of warfare after Pentagon funding boost ‘PREPARE FOR WAR’ Brit troops lead ‘battle’ at massive NATO war games amid Russia tension FIGHTING TALK China’s military ordered to ‘prepare for war’ as tensions with West grow ANGEL OF DEATH Secret Chinese hypersonic nuke aircraft ‘creates stunning plumes of light’ REDS ALERT UK stages war games with 5,500 troops while rehearsing Putin cyber strike ‘MOVING FAST’ Trump says 2nd summit with Kim will happen ‘soon’ after ‘beautiful letter’ From: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/27/18114566/trump-trade-war-china-farm-bankruptcy US farms are going bankrupt at an alarming rate. Trump’s trade war is partially to blame. More than 80 farms in the upper Midwest have recently filed for bankruptcy. Nov 27, 2018, 5:30pm EST President Donald Trump’s trade war with China is making life harder for struggling American farmers. A total of 84 farms in the upper Midwest filed for bankruptcy between July 2017 and June 2018, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. That’s more than double the number of Chapter 12 filings during the same period in 2013 and 2014 in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana. The problem has gotten so bad that the Trump administration launched a $12 billion aid package for US farmers coping with retaliatory tariffs that foreign countries have imposed on their products. In September, the government cut $25 million worth of bailout checks to the agriculture industry. But even the bailout may not be enough to keep farms open. Bankers in the Midwest are worried that too many farmers are falling behind on loan payments.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 29 2018 From: http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20181128/wwiii-will-be-economic-war This is what I keep saying: WWIII will be an economic war Posted at 11:33 AM November 28, 2018Updated at 11:33 AM November 28, 2018 To the Editor: China has been winning an economic war with America for decades. Unfair currency maneuvers, tariffs, stealing of technology/intellectual property, and tariff-like burdens have been China’s war machine against America for a long time. Such economic victories over America have enabled them to build-up their military might. From: https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-russian-s-400-crimea-ukraine-aggression-on-the-open-waters-will-have-consequences-1.6697059 Analysis // Russian Aggression Against Ukraine May Not Start WWIII, but Hints at Troubled Waters for Putin Twenty-four Ukrainian sailors are being held by Russia following Sunday’s incident on the Black Sea when three Ukrainian vessels were captured, but no one knows what the Kremlin will do next Nov 28, 2018 12:50 PM Unsurprisingly, President Donald Trump’s response has been feeble. In yet another instance of the U.S. president seemingly not knowing a thing about what he’s just been asked, he responded to a question about the incident by saying: “We do not like what’s happening either way. And hopefully it will get straightened out,” refusing to condemn Russia’s aggression. I am going to miss emailing the Sam Johnson team. I hope his replacement is as good as he was; I don’t know if that is possable. SAM JOHNSON JOURNAL: THE FINAL EDITION To the good folks of the Third District of Texas: With Christmas fast approaching, I would like to take this time before the holidays to say a few words of gratitude as well as offer a farewell as your Congressman. As Texans, we are a blessed to live in the best state in the greatest nation in the world. And I believe we are also uniquely blessed to call the Third District of Texas “home.” We have great schools and a thriving, business-friendly economy, both of which contribute to our cities frequently being named some of the top places to live in the country. But it is the people of the Third District who create this successful environment. The close-knit community of this area is what drew my wife, Shirley, and me to move here prior to my second deployment in Vietnam. And when I was shot down during a combat mission in 1966 and taken captive by the North Vietnamese, this community was there for Shirley and our three children. What’s more, when I came home after nearly seven years as a Prisoner of War (POW) in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, the Third District welcomed me back with open arms. I will be eternally grateful to this community for their love and support during that most difficult time, which is why it is one of the highest honors of my life to give back to the Third District by representing you in Washington, D.C.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated November 30 2018
From: https://www.newsmax.com/peterpry/dhs-h-bomb-kcna-nikkei/2018/11/29/id/892465/ North Korea Prepares EMP While US Dawdles Thursday November 29, 2018 North Korea is educating its workforce, including industrial workers and farmers, about nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. This further confirms warnings by the Congressional EMP Commission that North Korea has a sophisticated understanding of EMP and contingency plans to attack the U.S. and its allies. Pyongyang’s Workers Party of Korea is circulating an official internal document on EMP, obtained and photographed by the Daily NK, as reported by Mun Dong Hui (Nov. 23, 2018): “An internal document recently obtained by Daily NK has a section on the power of nuclear EMP attack. The notebook explains in detail what a nuclear EMP attack is and what kind of damage such an attack can do.” For example, the document accurately assesses, if a nuclear weapon “explodes 30-100 kilometers above the ground, electronic machines and devices are severely damaged or their electricity cables are destroyed beyond repair.” “Combined-arms cyber warfare, as described in the military doctrines of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, may use combinations of cyber, sabotage, and ultimately nuclear EMP attack to impair the United States quickly and decisively by blacking-out large portions of the electric grid and other critical infrastructures.” The EMP Commission warns that North Korea has two satellites orbiting over North America that could be armed for surprise EMP attack. In 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2016, North Korea used a non-nuclear “EMP cannon” to jam South Korean communications, cars, and over 2,000 aircraft. From: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/china-striving-for-air-force-that-could-defeat-the-us-without-actually-fighting-report China striving for air force that could defeat the US ‘without actually fighting. November 29, 2018 11:42 AM China is focused on revamping its own air force so that it could challenge the U.S. Air Force and defeat the U.S. “without actually fighting,” according to a report. A study conducted by the Project Air Force team at the Rand Corporation claims the Chinese air force’s goal is to advance their military air power such that it would crush the U.S. if the forces went head-to-head. This could be accomplished by emulating the United States’ military capabilities and through their own innovation. “The main driver for Chinese military aerospace power development is the [People’s Liberations Army’s] view that it needs to be prepared to deter and, if necessary, defeat the United States in a high-end clash,” the report said. Additionally, the report noted that the People’s Liberation Army is striving to develop their military aerospace sector to the point where the Chinese could defeat the U.S. without “actually fighting.”
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated December 01 2018 From: https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/419090-us-starting-to-realize-its-in-an-economic-cold-war-with-china US starting to realize it’s in an economic cold war with China 11/30/18 12:00 PM EST A generation removed from the first Cold War, a new one has begun. The new cold war has the U.S. engaged with China, not the USSR. The new cold war is primarily an economic one, not a military one. From: https://sputniknews.com/asia/201811301070278641-beijing-washington-south-china-sea-warships/ Beijing Sends Warships to Warn US Over Its ‘Provocation’ in S China Sea 16:08 30.11.2018 The warning came after the US Pacific Fleet said that its guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville had sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea to challenge what it described as Beijing’s “excessive maritime claims.” Beijing has lodged a protest against a US navy ship sailing close to the disputed islands in the South China Sea, according to Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang. He said that the US ship had entered Chinese waters without permission and that Beijing had made its position known with its “stern representations”. Geng added that the Chinese military “had sent its ships to watch the US vessel and to warn it to leave the area.” “Beijing urges the American side to immediately stop such provocative actions, which violate China’s sovereignty and threaten security,” he underscored. Earlier on Friday, US Navy Commander Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet, told CNN that the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville “sailed near the Paracel Islands to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways, as governed by international law.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated December 02 2018https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1053038/World-War-3-Iran-fires-ballistic-missile-latest-Michael-Pompeo PUBLISHED: 16:58, Sat, Dec 1, 2018 | UPDATED: 18:33, Sat, Dec 1, 2018 Iran FIRES ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads IRAN has test fired a ballistic missile that is capable of carrying multiple warheads, violating UN resolutions. He said Iran could resume enriching uranium to 20 percent purity, if it fails to see economic benefits from the 2015 deal that curbed its nuclear program. https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1053043/World-War-3-Iran-US-Trump-Rouhani-stealth-warship Iran unveiled its latest addition to its range of firepower – the Sahand destroyer, which can destroy “any approaching target” within two kilometres. The stealth destroyer is the Iranian regime’s most advanced warship ever added to its naval fleet. The Sahand destroyer can sustain journeys of up to five months without resupply missions and is capable of radar evasion. The Sahand has a flight deck for helicopters, torpedo launchers, anti-aircraft and anti-ship guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and even electronic warfare capabilities. From: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/us-army-gearing-potential-fight-102846530.html Business Insider 30 November 2018 The US Army is gearing up for a potential fight with Russia, and it just put a crucial defensive weapon back in Europe permanently The US Army in Europe has made a number of changes in recent months as part of a broader effort by the Pentagon to prepare for a potential fight against an adversary with advanced military capabilities, like Russia or China. The Pentagon has been focusing on preparations for a potential clash with a peer, or near-peer, adversary like Russia. Amid heightened tensions with Russia, the US Army in Europe has made a number of changes to how it operates. The most recent change was the return of an air-defense unit stationed on the continent permanently. The latest move came on November 28, when the Army activated the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, in a ceremony at Shipton Barracks in Ansbach, near the city of Nuremberg in southern Germany. From: Defense One Shortly after Russian forces seized three Ukranian warships and detained several of their crew in the Sea of Azov over the weekend, the Ukrainian General Staff posted what they call intercepted communications between the Russian sailors and their commanders ashore. In the recording, one sailor says that theattack was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian diplomats in the United States confirmed that the audio and accompanying YouTube video had come from the Ukraine government. A researcher from the open-source investigatory organization Bellingcat said that they knew of the existence of raw files that support the claim of the Ukranian government. In it, one of the Russian sailors says Medvedev is “panicking,” adding, “We should assault them. We have to destroy them,” and “It seems that the President is in control of all of that sh#t.” The reference to Medvedev could either refer to Dmitry Medvedev, a Russian politician and close Putin ally, or more likely, Adm. Gennady Medvedev, the deputy head of the FSB Border Service. The reason the whole would seems to be building their military against us and seems to be able to destroy at any second is for unconstitutional, perverting the law; like this: From: https://www.kxan.com/news/investigations/federal-lawsuit-culture-of-corruption-at-texas-dps/1628252573 Federal lawsuit: “Culture of corruption” at Texas DPS To protect and serve: Harassment and discrimination at DPS Texas Ranger pulls gun on driver who flipped him off AUSTIN (KXAN) — Just weeks after a KXAN investigation revealed nearly 500 official allegations of harassment, discrimination and retaliation at the Texas Department of Public Safety since 2013, a federal lawsuit has been filed alleging a “culture of corruption” at the state agency. The 24-page lawsuit was filed by Ty Clevenger on behalf of Darren Lubbe, a retired special agent with the state Criminal Investigation Division (CID) at DPS. Lubbe says he was retaliated against after he filed a formal harassment complaint. Then he says he was harassed into taking an early retirement. According to the lawsuit, Lubbe was a DPS investigator in 2014 when “his captain began pressuring him to attend the captain’s ‘cowboy church.'” Lubbe refused, which he says resulted in harassment by the captain and his colleagues. In 2016, Lubbe reportedly filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Office (EEO) at Austin’s DPS headquarters. He said “that only made things worse.” Nineteen defendants are named in the lawsuit — many of whom are high-ranking officials at the state agency. Among them is DPS Director Steven McCraw, DPS Inspector General Rhonda Fleming, and members of the Texas Public Safety Commission. The lawsuit sources a number of instances wherein the plaintiff alleges multiple DPS Rangers took part in various illegal activities but DPS officials wanted to protect them and cover it up. East Texas murder investigation allegedly compromisedThe May 20, 2016 unsolved murder of prominent Longview businessman, Ronnie Horaney, was referenced in the lawsuit as evidence of alleged corruption at DPS. The plaintiff points to the reported discovery by DPS supervisors in January 2018 that a Ranger was “involved in an ongoing sexual relationship” with Horaney’s widow. The suit states that the Ranger was also heading up the murder investigation. The suit alleges that the Ranger “badly compromised the murder investigation, rendering his testimony worthless at trial and raising questions about whether he diverted investigative attention away from [the woman].” It also states that the Ranger was subsequently demoted to DPS Trooper as a result and that he can reapply for Ranger status in January 2019. Texas Ranger pulls gun on driver who flipped him off A Texas Ranger exercised “poor judgment” in a February 27, 2017 incident where he pulled over and pointed his gun at a driver who flipped him off in traffic in Round Rock, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The lawsuit classifies it as a “road rage incident,” adding that the Ranger had no probable cause to initiate the traffic stop. After the incident, the civilian driver told officers he wanted to talk to the Ranger’s boss, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. “I want the director of DPS down here to talk to this guy. He doesn’t deserve to be doing that and then when I ask him who he is, all I see is a gun,” the man said. According to the lawsuit, the Ranger lied to police at the scene about what happened, and states that the incident was “kept quiet” until July 14, 2017 when our KXAN story aired. At the time, DPS released a statement. It reads, in part, “While exiting the vehicle, the Ranger placed his weapon in a low, ready position, due to a perceived threat.” “The traffic stop initiated by the Ranger was lawful; however, his actions failed to reflect the high standards expected of our employees. The Texas Department of Public Safety Office of Inspector General conducted a thorough and independent review of this incident. The findings concluded our employee acted inconsistent with policy, exercised poor judgement (sic), and conducted himself in an unprofessional and discourteous manner – all of which are unacceptable and fail to meet the high standards of conduct required by the department. The department has taken corrective action with this employee regarding the policy infractions.” The lawsuit is critical whether other employees at DPS would not receive harsher punishment than this Ranger did. The lawyer who assisted Lubbe in filing the lawsuit says these cases are evidence of a larger issue. “My belief is there is a systemic problem, top to bottom, and particularly top, senior commanders have allowed this kind of culture to flourish, and so I think the legislature needs to get involved,” Ty Clevenger said. “I’m hoping the Texas Legislature, in the upcoming session, will take a hard look at DPS and hold some hearings on this.” With lawmakers already looking into the issue, there’s discussion about whether how the agency’s investigation division operates should be changed. DPS Director Steven McCraw told KXAN in October, “People know and within the department we’ve made it very clear that EEO matters and we take it very seriously. If it’s criminal, the Texas Rangers will investigate it, and we have the Office of Inspector General that reports directly to the [Public Safety] Commission and she will do an independent investigation. And, if it’s found that there’s a violation, we’ll terminate people. Period. Make no mistakes.” McCraw told us while the agency has the processes and procedures in place to handle allegations, employee reporting — of any and all allegations — is crucial. “If you know of it, if you’ve seen it, you have an obligation to report it — whether it’s against you or somebody else,” said Director McCraw. “If there’s some people that you’ve talked to that feel that way, again, the only way to eliminate that feeling is for them to come forward.” When KXAN reached out to DPS for comment regarding the specific federal litigation, we were sent this statement: “The department looks forward to refuting these spurious claims through the proper legal proceedings.” – Media and Communications, Texas Department of Public Safety Data by the numbersIn the past five years, there have been hundreds of allegations of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and retaliation at DPS. The most frequent of the four categories was discrimination with 220 allegations between 2013-2017. Also during that time, there were 129 allegations of harassment and 69 allegations of retaliation. Allegations of sexual harassment were the least frequent of all, with only 26 allegations since 2013. To protect and serve: Harassment and discrimination at DPSClevenger, a New York attorney from Longview, Texas was once a deputy sheriff in East Texas and was also a reporter. In a blog post he wrote about Tuesday’s filing, Clevenger said, “My own sense is that the Rangers Division has become too concerned about its image and not concerned enough about its integrity.” I posted this years ago about the DPS:Here: https://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/sex-offender-information-exploited-on.htmland here: https://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/subject-online-identifier-required-by.html Here is a copy and paste of what I posted about the DPS in 2013: Texas DPS Breaks it’s own Laws Everyday:
No offence Texas DPS; but I believe making sex offender registration public: especially to allow web crawlerslike Google to access it by bypassing this page :https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/sexoffender/PublicSite/Application/Search/Caveats.aspx?SearchType=Name These are legal rules DPS has set forth itself. This a absolute abuse of that law passed by President Johnson.They read:TxDPS Sex Offender Registry Effective immediately, the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry will no longer display a registrant’s employer name, address or telephone number. This is in accordance with Senate Bill 369 passed during the 83rd Regular Legislative Session (2013). This amendment modified Article 62.005 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to make this information non-public.
Caveats
Pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 62.005, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) establishes this website as the official internet public access to the DPS sex offender registration computerized central database.All information on individual registrants is based on registration information submitted by Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Youth Commission, or various local criminal justice agencies. DPS cannot guarantee the records obtained through this site relate to the person about whom information is sought. Searches based on names, dates of birth, or other alphanumeric identifiers are not always accurate. The only way to positively link an individual to a specific sex offender record is though fingerprint verification. However, if you feel there is an error on a sex offender registration record, please report this to the local law enforcement agency the sex offender has verified their information with. The verification agency is listed in the sex offender registration information. All information provided through this website is open record. It may be used by anyone for any purpose. However, it is your responsibility to make sure the records you access through this site pertain to the person about whom you are seeking information. Extreme care should be exercised in using any information obtained from this website. Neither DPS nor the State of Texas shall be responsible for any errors or omissions produced by secondary dissemination of this information. The Texas Legislature mandates the following information regarding the offender not be public record: social security number, driver’s license number, telephone number, online identifiers, ( see this page: http://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/subject-online-identifier-required-by.html for more on this subject ) and any additional information required by DPS for law enforcement purposes. Pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 62.301 and judicial orders, not all offenders are available on the public access sex offender database. Anyone who uses any information on this website to injure, harass, or for any other unlawful purpose may be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability.Your supposed to click; I have read and agree to the above statements. to look up sex offender information.Not find it randomly on Google!
1] It was originally signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, despite his misgivings,[2] on July 4, 1966 as 5 U.S.C.§ 552 and went into effect the following year.[3]
I know on thing for sure that Lyndon B. Johnson would have never signed it into law knowing that someday people’s personal information would all be published world wide on the internet. It should be illegal to do that. You should have to go to the court house to get that stuff just like it was intended to be in 1966.
How to prevent your content from appearing in Google Search results.
You can prevent a page from appearing in Google Search by including a noindexmeta tag in the page’s HTML code. When Googlebot next crawls that page, Googlebot will see the noindex meta tag and will drop that page entirely from Google Search results, regardless of whether other sites link to it.The noindex meta standard is a useful tool if you don’t have root access to your server, as it allows you to control access to your site on a page-by-page basis.To prevent most search engine web crawlers from indexing a page on your site, place the following meta tag into the section of your page:To prevent only Google web crawlers from indexing a page:You should be aware that some search engine web crawlers might interpret the noindex directive differently. As a result, it is possible that your page might still appear in results from other search engines. Also not to mention the fact that websites like this copy and paste this sensitive information for profit and often offer sex offenders opportunity to take said information off their websites for money. web site like this: http://www.publicrecordrepository.com http://mugshots.com http://www.bustedoffenders.com https://www.justmugshots.com
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated December 03 2018 From: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/745771/russia-nuke-submarine-ukraine-black-sea-world-news Sun Dec 2, 2018 Russia developing MORE nuke submarines as tensions with West fester RUSSIAN Navy officials have announced it will develop two more nuclear-capable submarines as tensions between Moscow and the West fester. The Kremlin has backed a project to build the vessels at the Sevmash Shipyard, bringing Russia’s total number of nuke-powered subs to 10. “Five of them will be operational in the Northern Fleet and the other five in the Pacific Fleet” Related Articles Russian tanks ‘just 11 MILES from border amid fears of imminent INVASION’ Ukraine BANS Russians from entering country citing fears of land INVASION Ukraine readies troops as Russian tanks just ’11 miles from border’ From: https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/12/02/581738/Russia-Syria-air-defense Russia expands air defense network in Syria to US dismay: Report Sun Dec 2, 2018 09:04AM Russia has reportedly completed an advanced anti-access/area denial network in Syria, posing a challenge to US military presence in the Arab country and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Including: Russian S-300 missile defense system. Moscow has deployed S-300 and S-400 missile defense systems as well as four unique electronic warfare systems to Syria. It also stationed at least one advanced 1L122-1E targeting radar and Barnaul-T mobile command-and-control system for short-range air defense systems in the war-torn state, the report added. The report further noted that Russia opted to expand its air defense network in Syria following the April 14 western missile strike on Syria and the September 17 accidental downing of an Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft in the country. From: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/745562/world-war-3-china-nuclear-submarines-094-jin China unleashes deadly new NUKE submarines in race to be next SUPERPOWER CHINA has constructed two terrifying new nuclear subs as it laps the West in the international arms race Published 2nd December 2018 China currently has a goal of eight nuclear submarines and the photographs suggest it is well on its way to achieving this. “US military superiority is no longer assured and the implications for American interests and American security are severe,” it says.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated December 04 2018 I am really getting sick of reading stories like this Neighbors watched as gay couple stabbed & beaten in yard. No one would help.“Neighbors, everybody just looking,” he said. “Nobody called the police.”:https://lgbtqnation.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ecab442566f15d8d4dcf64b0d&id=4dfc4c1f5a&e=a4e25fdf5a A lesbian student was left with broken ribs after being attacked at school nwesthigh-323×183.jpgSchool officials say they can’t identify the alleged perpetrators.:https://lgbtqnation.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ecab442566f15d8d4dcf64b0d&id=22b640b3a5&e=a4e25fdf5a I am not surprised at this behavior; at all though. Our society seems based on hate; no one knows that like a RSO human rights advocate, like me. I hope the day never comes when we all have to look back in regret and think: we should have listened to the warnings like, if they can do things like this to sex offenders they can do it to anyone. It may be too late by then. From: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/745910/ww3-news-russia-ukraine-vladimir-putin-world-war-3 Published 3rd December 2018 UKRAINE’S president has claimed Russia’s military has around 80,000 troops on his country’s border as war tensions between the two nations are ratcheted up From: https://www.newsweek.com/china-sends-warning-us-more-intense-naval-activity-taiwan-1240768 China Sends Warning to U.S. With More Intense Naval Activity Off Taiwan 12/3/18 at 9:09 AM The island nation’s defense ministry said Monday it had recorded an increasing number of patrols in the western part of the Taiwan Strait, beyond what would normally be expected, The South China Morning Post reported. The ministry’s statement came in response to unconfirmed reports in Taiwan’s China Times newspaper Sunday that so-called “irregular” patrols by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy warships have become “routine.” China subsequently increased naval patrols and military exercises to reiterate its message that if necessary, it would be willing to use military force to take control of Taiwan.
New Blogs Part 10 – 11 Updated December 05 2018From: https://finexaminer.com/2018/12/04/12th-edition-of-chinas-zhuhai-air-show-opens-its-doors-to-the-world/ 12th edition of China‘s Zhuhai Air Show opens its doors to the world December 4, 2018 This event has grown into the largest defense and aerospace exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region by far. exhibitors aren’t shy to show off lethal weaponry. When it comes to selling weaponry, China does not abide by the same degree of ethic standards as others do unmanned systems, missiles, rockets, space technology, land vehicles and much more besides. With China a keen buyer of Russian technology, including recent deliveries of S-400 air defense missile systems and Su-35 fighters, the Russians are very well represented too with companies such as the United Aircraft Company and Russian Helicopters. From: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/report-china-aims-defeat-us-war-37792 December 4, 2018 Report: China Aims to Defeat the U.S. In a War “The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] is focused not merely on competing with the United States or other nations as a goal in and of itself, but instead on competing as a means to achieving the policy outcomes identified by the CCP [Communist Party of China] From: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6458745/Has-Russia-just-secret-weapon-orbit-New-launch-prompts-security-concerns.html Has Russia just put a secret weapon in orbit? New launch prompts security concerns after FIVE orbital bodies are propelled into space instead of four •The US military has raised concerns about the mysterious Russian launch•They found five orbital bodies leaving the rocket instead of four, as suggested •Either rocket’s upper stage broke, or Russia had kept part of the launch secret Published: 07:55 EST, 4 December 2018 | Updated: 08:11 EST, 4 December 2018 The US Combined Space Operations Centre (CSpOC) believe that either the rocket’s upper stage broke in two, or the Russians had kept part of the launch secret. These satellites are believed to be weaponised and could pose a serious threat to the orbital operations of other countries. Russia may be proof the country is readying a ‘combat laser system’. Russia’s intention to militarise space with offensive weaponry
If you believe it is ok to deny registered sex offenders human rights or U.S. Constitutional rights. If you do not believe registered sex offenders are denied their human and constitutional rights or if you are against free speech. Please leave this web page now. Thank you.
By remaining on this web page you here by acknowledge that you support human rights and United States constitutional rights for registered sex offenders and that you support freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
This blog is not for people to be critical of what is posted here and if the reader is critical of anything here than that means they did not read the disclaimer on the top of each of the pages here and are not welcome here and should stop reading and leave this blog upon my request and in the name of freedom of speech, and my rights as a American citizen.
No sexual abuse is ever acceptable. Sex offense laws and policies should be based on sound research and common sense, not fear, panic or paranoia. Current laws and policies that paint all sex offenders with one broad brush are counter- productive, wasteful, and cause needless harm. Each offense must be judged on its own merits with a punishment that fits the crime and does not waste taxpayer dollars. The public sex offender registry and residency restriction laws do not protect children but instead ostracize and dehumanize individuals and their families. Money spent on purely punitive measures would be better used for prevention, healing, and rehabilitation. The author of SO FAQ does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That doe not mean we are should not vote.
Some of these articles are just plan communist propaganda. I apologies for posting them. I am posting them to show how our enemy’s are trying to justify itself on the verge of destroying us all. Fighting communism is a worthy fight and always has been during the course of our great country; sailing it’s way through the sea’s of country’s and governments that are our enemies. Then there is Russia; not communism anymore but still seemingly our enemy. I suspect Russia of being just plane paranoid enough to start a war with us, then there is always the sin of man to blame. Lets look at all of this for what it is, and what I have been saying all along and all these years online. Our dream country of The United States of America; where we live free, may not have been meant to be in the first place.Maybe the world let it be to see if we could keep the Great Tribulation from beginning, a while longer. Why hasn’t the tribulation begun; with so many signs of it’s beginnings all around us? Could be one answer, our country: America. Is that why The Bible had so much to do with the founding of our country. I say that is exactly why. This is where I remind any Christians that we only have to wait for one sign (according to God’s Word) and that is the rapture; where we are taken from earth to be with the Lord. So don’t every believe in conspiracy theories like blood colored moons having anything to do with the tribulation. I think our country is the one reason the tribulation has not begun. If you look at The Great Tribulation and the ruthless governments that rule the earth during The Great Tribulation it seems easy to see why our country is so focused on escaping reality through drugs and all of our other vises. To face what America is all about; makes us like the Angles, responsible for all the world and its very survival. That is a huge responsibility and burden. So when it comes down to the us and them’s and why we are enemies with the Russians and the Chinese: I quote myself from: New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 23 2018 to explain: “There are only 4 ruling country’s mentioned during the time of The Great Tribulation. 1 The King of the North Russia 2 The King of the West the revived Roman Empire 3. The King of the South African nations and tribes 4. King of the East the Assian races America is not mentioned at all. How long do we have till The Great Tribulation? Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. No one knows when the rapture will take place; therefore no one knows when The Great Tribulation will begin.” When it comes right down to it the reason there are enemies in this world these days is because of what country’s will fight during the tribulation on the side of Satan our not. Sounds like a worthy fight to me to fight against The Anti Christ’s rule over earth; while there is still real time to do so. If you really want to put it all into plane words; America has always fought on the side of good and right. That is the right thing to do and nothing has been more worthy a fight to fight.
Hey, this blog looks real nice on a cell phone; as I have recently discovered.
Please ignore the official counter on this blog. Shortly after I put this counter on every page of my blog it became impossible to update with it in the html of this blog. I had to take it off all my blog pages. I just realized today it is still on my untouched SOFAQ homepage still and I believe it is true, counting not only computer hits but phone hits as well. I am pasting a copy of it here:
That’s right; the home page of this blog registers 215,050 hits. check the bottom of this page to see for yourself: https://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 06 2018 First thing I want to say the only reason I mention the Bible on this blog is because I am concerned with the fact that America is not mentioned in the Bible after the tribulation. I believe the tribulation can be very soon to come to pass according to the Bible. That means that very soon America could not exist. This is why I have started to post about China and Russia and all their new weapons that are obviously designed to take us out. That is the only reason I have begun to quote the Bible on my New Blogs pages. Satanist are in the news again. Today’s Christian has nothing to be concerned about the Satanist of today. After the tribulation; that will be a completely different story. Satanism is not a bad religion. Like all religions it is peaceful and meant to be good to it’s followers. The one thing that fascinates me about Satanism; is the fact that Anton Lavey took the time to carefully explain the importance to his believers, to never force themselves on anyone sexually. In the 1960’s there was a very strong creed having to be against sex offences in the Church of Satan. Think about that and come up with your own conclusions. Here is the link:https://www.newsweek.com/satanic-statue-holiday-decorations-illinois-statehouse-1245107 The Satanist’s are basically protesting Separation From Church and State. I am and will forever support our founding fathers and Separation From Church and State. I believe any depiction or Christ even the Nativity is blasphemy according to the Bible. I also think it is against the Bible to display the cross as a Christian symbol. Displaying the cross is like displaying the electric chair. Non of these thing do not offend me though. I am not offended by people and things that are around us everyday; that is just plane reality. From: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/419883-us-destroyer-sails-near-russia-claimed-waters-in-sea-of-japan “On Dec. 5 (local time), guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) conducted a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the Sea of Japan,” Pacific Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Rachel McMarr said in a statement. “McCampbell sailed in the vicinity of Peter the Great Bay to challenge Russia’s excessive maritime claims and uphold the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea enjoyed by the United States and other Nations.” I read somewhere you can barely see these missiles move. I also read we have many of them ourselves. I have also read we have nothing to fear from foreign country’s weapons. It still is good to be on our toes. This is all up to date and worth keeping track of. Here is a great link on the new weapon’s budget for our country from yesterday and I think it is a great idea to spend as much as we can on military defense. We must never turn our backs on the well being of our citizens; at the same time as spending money on defense. No spending on the military should ever be done at the expense of the well being of the people of our country that made it great. Quit frankly I do not trust our country when it comes to spending 700 billion dollars on military defense. What most likely will happen is a few people will get filthy rich and a uncountable amount of citizens will suffer poverty. There needs to be a extreme over site to make sure we get the most bang for our buck, so to speak. https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2018/12/would-700-billion-budget-really-sink-pentagon/153291/?oref=defenseone_today_nl From: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/746385/russia-hypersonic-missiles-inf-treaty-nuclear-putin-trump-ww3-news Russia warns hypersonic missiles ‘cannot be intercepted’ as nuclear treaty nears collapse VLADIMIR Putin has a hypersonic missile system that “cannot be intercepted” at his disposal, a Russian general has warned Published 5th December 2018 Putin has today said Russia “will react accordingly” to US withdrawal from the INF Treaty. The missile is at the disposal of Moscow should the US pull out of a landmark nuclear disarmament treaty. From: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/746316/iran-news-world-war-3-nuclear-weapon-site-ww3-rouhani-regime-change Iran secret NUCLEAR sites REVEALED THE Islamic regime in Iran is harbouring hidden nuclear weapons sites as it continues its secret arms programme — a dissident group has claimed. Published 5th December 2018 On Tuesday Iranian warships were scrambled as a US aircraft carrier headed for the Persian Gulf. While last week Tehran launched a radar-evading stealth destroyer warship. From: https://gizmodo.com/russia-shows-off-new-laser-weapon-after-u-s-threatens-1830874116 Published 5th December 2018 Russia Shows Off New Laser Weapon After U.S. Threatens to Pull Out of Missile Treaty Russian state media published video earlier today of its latest laser weapons system, the Peresvet. Grits also has a great page again. One article is about going after the corrupt Texas so called Department of Public Safety:http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/12/federal-suit-challenges-tx-driver.html
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 07 2018 I added this to the above post: We must never turn our backs on the well being of our citizens; at the same time as spending money on defense. No spending on the military should ever be done at the expense of the well being of the people of our country that made it great. Quit frankly I do not trust our country when it comes to spending 700 billion dollars on military defense. What most likely will happen is a few people will get filthy rich and a uncountable amount of citizens will suffer poverty. There needs to be a extreme over site to make sure we get the most bang for our buck, so to speak. From: https://defenceaviationpost.com/pakistan-acquires-sh-15-nuclear-capable-howitzer-artillery-guns-from-china/ Pakistan Acquires Sh-15 “Nuclear-Capable” Howitzer Artillery Guns From China On December 6, 2018 SH-15 will be the best ‘shoot and scoot’ artillery guns for the use of nuclear shells — easy to hide and easy to use against troop concentration. Pakistan has been working on the miniaturisation of nuclear weapons since 1984. The US nuclear artillery shell W-48 uses 10kg high-density alpha-plutonium with a sphere of barely 54mm. From: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/north-korea-is-still-developing-nuclear-warheads-but-that-doesnt-mean-trump-is-failing North Korea is still developing nuclear warheads December 06, 2018 12:11 PM North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear warhead development rolls on. From: https://www.theblaze.com/news/satellite-images-show-expansion-activity-at-two-north-korean-missile-bases December 06, 2018 Two North Korean missile bases have been active and expanding, according to analysis of satellite images by CNN. According to CNN, satellite footage shows the Yeongjeo-dong base is still active, and another base seven miles away is being upgraded.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 08 2018 From: http://tass.com/defense/1034760 India interested in training its military in Russia Military & Defense December 06, 19:15 MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. India is interested in training its military at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, the Russian Defense Ministry informed on Thursday on the outcomes of the visit by India’s Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba. From: https://www.thelivemirror.com/exercise-hand-hand-armies-india-china/ Exercise Hand-in-Hand between armies of India and China set to begin By Anurag Singh December 6, 2018 Exercise Hand-in-Hand between armies of India and China will be conducted from 10 to 23 December at Chengdu, China. The exercise will involve tactical level operations in an International Counter Insurgency/ Counter Terrorist environment under UN mandate.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 09 2018 From: https://sputniknews.com/military/201812081070516941-j20-in-georgia-image/ Has China’s J-20 Stealth Fighter Been Spotted at a US Airbase? The Aviationist has published a photo of an unidentified combat aircraft which looks strikingly similar to a J-20, claiming the photo was taken at the Savannah-Hilton Head Airport in the US state of Georgia. The person who provided the image, who claimed to have taken the photo from the airport’s parking lot on the morning of December 5, asked to remain anonymous. However, according to the authoritative military aviation website, cross-referencing the image with satellite photos of airports in the Georgia area seemed to confirm that the mystery ‘plane’ did appear at the airport in question, with profile images also appearing to match objects at the airport such as roof color and texture with those in the photo. From: https://arynews.tv/en/chinese-troops-arrive-in-pakistan-for-joint-military-drill/ Web Desk On Dec 8, 2018 Last updated Dec 8, 2018 Chinese troops arrive in Pakistan for joint military drill RAWALPINDI: A special forces contingent of People Liberation Army China arrived in Pakistan on Saturday to participate in Pak-China joint military exercise ‘Warrior –VI 2018’. From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1056112/world-war-3-iran-news-hassan-rouhani-donald-trump-nuclear-deal-sanctions Dec 8, 2018 Iran threatens Trump with ‘BOMBS AND TERRORISM’ over sanctions IRAN’s firebrand president has warned the West will be flooded with “a deluge of drugs, asylum seekers, bombs and terrorism” due to Donald Trump’s sanctions against Tehran. From: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russias-new-radar-can-track-5000-objects-including-hypersonic-missiles-38177 Dec 8, 2018 Russia’s New Radar Can Track 5,000 Objects (Including Hypersonic Missiles) This radar can chart the flight path of any aircraft target at a distance of about 3,000 km, and can simultaneously track over 5,000 airborne objects of different types, including small [aircraft].”
Published 1 hour ago 2pm December 9, 2018 Russia building up forces near Crimea amid tensions with Ukraine, satellite photos show satellite images obtained exclusively by Fox News on Sunday show that additional forces may be headed to the region. The Ilushin-76 cargo planes are used by the Russian army to deliver outsized or heavy cargo. (ImageSat International)
From: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1131036.shtml China-US relations heading toward uncharted waters dominate Global Times annual conference Published: 2018/12/9 18:48:40 Second, the US is offensive, while China is defensive. The anxiety of the US made it take irrational actions in its general strategy. China hopes to maintain a stable relationship with the US. The US opened three battle lines in the political, military and economic fields against China. The US keeps meddling in China’s affairs, so why can’t China go to areas like Hawaii where the US is “dominant.” The initiative over the South China Sea and Taiwan should rest with China.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 11 2018 From: https://www.businessinsider.com/south-china-sea-chinesenavy-ram-us-ships-2018-12?r=UK&IR=T Dec 10 2018 A People’s Liberation Army Air Force senior colonel argued at a conference Saturday that the Chinese PLA Navy should ram US Navy warships that try to conduct freedom-of-navigation operations in “Chinese waters” in the South China Sea.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 12 2018 From: https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8597101&postID=4885185106009150640 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2018Conflation of punishment with price system distorts justice in sex-assault casesWe live in an era when “justice” has been defined largely in terms of the price system, as though it were subject to laws of supply and demand. The root theory behind our modern justice system, in large part, holds that punishments are a “price” paid for misconduct and, if they do not deter, it’s because the “price” wasn’t high enough. Defining punishment abstractly as the “price” of crime generates perverse cultural meanings for victims, prosecutors, jurors, and others engaged with the system. Under the price-system mindset, harsh punishment by the state (which monopolizes the currency of punishment) is evidence that the victim is valued, while more lenient outcomes are evidence that they are not, that a lower “price” has been placed on their suffering. This implicit pricing model distorts nearly every part of the justice system, but particularly regarding sexual assault. Certainly, some women want maximal punishment for their rapist. But because the overwhelming majority of women know their perpetrators, often including beloved family members, harsh punishments can also perversely prevent some women from reporting crimes against them. For them, defining the “value” placed on their suffering vis a vis the “price” of punishment harms their interests, making them less safe and abnegating their needs rather than meeting them. This is why Grits has often thought that restorative justice tenets may ultimately provide a viable, alternative path for how to confront these horrible situations. Such interventions focus on the questions, “Who was harmed? What do they need? Whose obligation is it to meet those needs?,” which seems like a more constructive approach than one-size-fits-all punishment regimens. But the pricing model is what we’ve got, and a couple of recent, high-profile cases help demonstrate how treacherous this terrain can be. In Waco, the town is in a furor over outgoing DA Abel Reyna’s office agreeing to a plea bargain for a former Baylor frat president, Jacob Walter Anderson, indicted by a grand jury on four counts of sexual assault. Under the deal, he pled to a third degree felony charge of unlawful restraint. He’ll serve no jail time, undergo counseling, pay a $400 fine, and won’t be required to register as a sex offender. Reported the Tribune-Herald:The victim, who has been outspoken against the plea bargain, began to cry loudly Monday after Strother announced his decision to accept it. She urged the judge to reject the plea offer and set a trial so she could have her day in court. She said Anderson sexually assaulted her, repeatedly choked her and left her for dead after she fell unconscious. Later, in an emotional victim impact statement, she told Strother she is devastated that he approved the plea bargain. She called out prosecutor Hilary LaBorde, who struck the deal with Anderson, and McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna for not attending the hearing. “If I had the courage to come back to Waco and face my rapist and testify, you could at least have had enough respect for me to show up today,” she said. “You both will have to live with this decision to let a rapist run free in society without any warning to future victims. I wonder if you will have nightmares every night watching Jacob rape me over and over again?” … The woman described in sometimes graphic detail what she said Anderson did to her. “When I was completely unconscious, he dumped me face down in the dirt and left me there to die,” the woman said. “He had taken what he wanted, had proven his power over my body. He then walked home and went to bed without a second thought to the ravaged, half-dead woman he had left behind.” The woman said she has learned through this process that “the McLennan County justice system is severely broken,” but she thanked the women who created an online petition opposing the plea agreement that she said was signed by more than 85,000 people.So why did the McLennan DA’s office fail to go to trial? They feared an acquittal, was supposedly the reason. ADA Hillary Laborddeclined comment about the case. However, in an email she sent the woman and her family after they learned of the plea agreement by reading the Tribune-Herald, she said she offered the deal after an acquittal in a sexual assault case that she said was similar to Anderson’s. She said she was concerned Anderson would be found not guilty. “(The jury) engaged in a lot of victim blaming — and the behavior of that victim and (this victim) is very similar,” she said. “It’s my opinion that our jurors aren’t ready to blame rapists and not victims when there isn’t concrete proof of more than one victim.”The prosecutor’s motive ostensibly was to protect a victim who didn’t want to be protected, but she never spoke to the victim to tell her about the deal, letting her learn about it in the newspaper. So far, one notices, no one has judged the behavior or credibility of the victim but the prosecutor. Jurors never had the chance. In that light, how did anything that happened throughout this process meet this woman’s needs? The state demonstrated they didn’t value her by judging her credibility, failing to communicate, even to say the DA planned to dishonor her wishes, then they placed a low, abstract “price” on her pain through lenient punishment without giving her a chance to tell jurors her side of the story. No wonder the woman’s angry! A statement released by the victim’s family, the Tribune-Herald reported, declared:“This is an absolute travesty,” the statement reads. “By agreeing to this plea, (prosecutor) Hilary LaBorde and the McLennan County DA’s office have allowed that rape is no longer a crime in Texas. They are telling the rapists and sexual predators, ‘Go ahead and violently rape, choke to near death and abandon your unconscious, ravaged and used-up victim and we will make darn sure you get some counseling. Even if a grand jury indicts you on four counts of sexual assault, we don’t care.’ “Oh, and ‘All you rape victims, don’t bother to report it, because we will put you through hell for years, make promises about getting a conviction and lie to you about not accepting a plea the whole time. We will give your rapist counseling and drop all charges and let him go free. We don’t care about about justice and we don’t care about you,’ ” she said in the statement.The victim here isn’t just angry about a light sentence, although she clearly thinks her rapist should have been punished more harshly. But she’s also angry about not being kept informed, about the DA’s office ignoring her willingness to testify, and not getting her day in court. She feels lied to. She felt throughout the process that she wasn’t being heard, viewed the trial as the moment when she finally could be, then saw that opportunity taken from her in a deal considered friendly to her assailant. Anyone would be mad. By contrast, consider this recent story: In Bell County, a man disproved false rape allegations by producing a selfie taken in Austin as an alibi. An ex-girlfriend accused him of breaking into her house, raping her, and carving an “X” into her chest. Police initially believed her, and the guy was in serious jeopardy of spending a long stretch in prison if he hadn’t been able to prove his whereabouts. Now, she has been charged for making the false report. Thank heavens the fellow was out of the county and could produce a time-stamped selfie! If the same fact-pattern occurred in the pre-cell phone era, he’d be screwed. False allegations are rare but do happen. Indeed, the FBI has asserted that, ‘The “unfounded’ rate, or percentage of complaints determined through investigation to be false, is higher for forcible rape than for any other Index crime.” Some false allegations, as in the San Antonio Four case, appear to arise from retaliation. Some come from young women embarrassed at their own behavior. And some are women who are raped by a stranger and make an honest but tragic mistake about their assailant’s identity. In those incidents where a rape did occur but the wrong person was accused, a double tragedy occurs. An innocent is punished for the sins of another and the real perpetrator goes free. That’s a worst-possible-case scenario that should justifiably scare anyone – say, jurors, asked to pass judgment in these instances. Women deserve justice, but justice is poorly served when an innocent person is punished. Grits values both the victim’s pain in Waco and the liberty interests of the man in Bell County. For that matter, I hope that the defrocked frat president turns his life around, repents his sins, goes on to live a productive life, and never does anything like that again. It’s possible the best way to ensure that happens is to send him to prison for decades, but I’ve no evidence that’s true. I don’t know how to resolve these high-level contradictions based on evidence, particularly when the evidence we do have suffers from undercounts and corrupted data about how many rapes are actually solved. One bit of good news: changes on the misleading data front are apparently in the works. In response to the Reveal podcast criticizing Austin PD’s categorization of “exceptionally” cleared rape cases (see Grits coverage here and here), the FBI will change its definitions regarding what qualifies a rape investigation for “exceptional” clearance, according to a followup story from the Center for Investigative Reporting. For decades, law enforcement lumped cases which were “cleared” by arresting a suspect into categories along with much more numerous cases where police had identified a suspect, had probable cause to make an arrest, but chose not to do so because a judgment had been made by police or prosecutors that the case wasn’t winnable. As with the case in Waco, typically victims weren’t involved in or often even notified of those judgments. Grits cannot presently discern the path leading from an unsatisfactory status quo to a system that more reliably delivers just outcomes in sexual-assault cases. But it’s clear to me the justice system as presently constituted exacerbates the problem, and IMO a big source of the disconnect is this conflation of the value society places on victim’s suffering with punishment as the “price” paid for crime.
RUSSIAN bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons have landed in Venezuela in a show of force against the US The pair of TU-160 supersonic bombers, known as “White Swans” by Russian pilots, landed at Maiquetia airport near Caracas on Monday after covering more than 6,200 miles. From: https://doverdailynews.com/2018/12/11/north-korea-fires-missile-into-sea-off-east-coast-possibly-an-icbm/ North Korea fires missile into sea off east coast, possibly an ICBM by Dover News Staff—December 11, 2018 North Korea fired a missile on Friday in an unusual late-night test launch, and details announced by officials in Japan, South Korea and the United States suggested it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The launch from North Korea’s northern Jangang province took place at 11:41 p.m. (1441 GMT), an official at South Korea’s Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The US Defense Department confirmed the launch.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 13 2018 From: http://tass.com/pressreview/1035596 Russia to set up Caribbean base December 12, 13:00updated at: December 12, 13:00 UTC Moscow is gearing up to establish a long-term military presence in Latin America and the current mission of the Tu-160 strategic bombers to Venezuela is part of this plan, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
From: https://breakingdefense.com/2018/12/the-us-china-a-colder-peace-or-thucydides-trap/ on December 12, 2018 at 4:00 AM The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap? As President Trump pushes Beijing on trade and cyber espionage, the United States and China are on a collision course. The U.S. urgently needs a new strategy to avoid the traditional fate of rising and status quo powers: catastrophic war. From: http://tass.com/politics/1035593 December 12, 9:50 UTC BEIJING, December 12. /TASS/. Ties between Russia and China in the sphere of national security and inter-army cooperation signal openness and a high level of political trust between the two countries, Russian Ambassador to China Andrei Denisov said on Wednesday. From: https://www.newsmax.com/peterpry/emp-attack-deterrent-air-force/2018/12/11/id/894063/ Wednesday December 12, 2018 EMP Attack May Be Undeterrable, US Air Force Suggests Electromagnetic Defense Task Force (EDTF) is traditional deterrence, based on threat of retaliation, may not work against nuclear EMP attack. Such an EMP attack could be delivered by a balloon, an aircraft doing a zoom climb, or a short-range missile launched off a freighter. Any of these attack modes could be executed anonymously, thwarting deterrence. From: https://www.vox.com/world/2018/12/12/18137165/japan-f-35-fighter-jets-us-military-trump-china Dec 12, 2018, 6:30am EST
Japan plans to purchase nearly 150 F-35 fighter jets from the US The move is designed to make the country better able to defend itself against a more aggressive China and Russia. The New York Times also reported on Tuesday that Japan plans to convert some of its biggest warships into aircraft carriers that could carry the new F-35s. That would add Japan to the small club of countries with an aircraft carrier — further adding to rising tensions with China.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 14 2018 From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1058255/us-china-tension-us-china-trade-war-relation-espionage-cyber-security-world-war-3-trump PUBLISHED: 06:12, Thu, Dec 13, 2018 | UPDATED: 06:18, Thu, Dec 13, 2018 US accuses China of ESPIONAGE and state secrets THEFT – ‘We can’t sleep on this threat’ The explosive claim was made in a report submitted on Wednesday to the Senate Intelligence Committee. More than two thirds of the Department’s theft of trade secrets “have had a nexus to China”, the report stated. It came amid heightened scrutiny of China’s cyber capabilities after a Marriott Hotels cyber attack was reportedly linked to the superpower. From: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/13/us-china-south-china-sea-disputes-1061811 12/13/2018 05:05 AM EST How U.S.-China tensions could get a lot worse South China Sea is a flashpoint in military buildup as China asserts control. Rising tensions over Beijing’s accelerating military buildup in the South China Sea are stoking fears of a major-power clash between China and the United States — fueling urgent calls for new security talks before the two nations stumble into a shooting war. From: https://bobrpost.com/ni-in-response-to-american-missiles-in-europe-russia-returns-a-nuclear-weapons-of-the-apocalypse/4898/ NI: in response to American missiles in Europe, Russia returns a “nuclear weapons of the Apocalypse” Russia is able to design and create a weapon that “strikes fear”: for example, cruise missiles with nuclear engines or unmanned submarines with warheads of 100 megatons, writes The National Interest.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 15 2018 From: https://www.voanews.com/a/brazil-takes-step-toward-joining-nuclear-powered-sub-club-/4701246.html December 14, 2018 2:48 PM Brazil Takes Step Toward Joining Nuclear-powered Sub Club ITAGUAI, BRAZIL — Brazil on Friday launched the first of five attack submarines built with French technology in a 35 billion-real ($8.9 billion) program planned to end in 2029 with delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine. From: Nuclear submarine – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_submarine How many countries own nuclear submarines? Six countries own nuclear submarines? Today, six countries deploy some form of nuclear-powered strategic submarines: the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, China, and India. Several other countries, including Argentina and Brazil, have ongoing projects in different phases to build nuclear-powered submarines. From: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/india-has-140-nuclear-warheads-%E2%80%93-and-more-are-coming-38612 December 13, 2018 India has 140 Nuclear Warheads – And More Are Coming From: https://www.newsweek.com/how-strong-pakistans-military-1235091 Pakistan “possess nuclear weapons, with the country having between 100 and 130 warheads.” From: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/top-secret-report-north-korea-keeps-busting-sanctions-evading-u-n947926 Top secret report: North Korea keeps busting sanctions, evading U.S.-led sea patrols U.S.-led naval patrols have prompted North Korea to shift tactics, but smuggled oil keeps flowing to the regime despite U.N. sanctions. The U.S. Pacific Command assessment, labeled “Top Secret,” found that the presence of warships and surveillance aircraft deployed by an eight-nation coalition since September has forced North Korea to adjust its tactics at sea, including transferring oil farther away from the Korean Peninsula and often in other countries’ territorial waters. As always I encourage everyone to keep up with what Grits Post’s: http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/
From: LGBT Nation Daily Brief Man arrested for breaking a lesbian’s spine over a kiss on the cheek The New York City Police Department announced that an arrest has been made in connection to a homophobic attack on a woman in the subway. East Harlem resident was arraigned on charges of aggravated harassment and assault, both with hate crimes enhancements.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 17 2018 From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1058689/world-war-3-china-japan-senkaku-islands PUBLISHED: 08:00, Sun, Dec 16, 2018 | UPDATED: 10:15, Sun, Dec 16, 2018 Japanese “Disputed islands could spark MAJOR crisis” The Islands have “fishing grounds nearby and Japan is determined to defend them.” The Japanese have“aircraft carrier”, “along with dozens of US-made F-35 fighter jets.”
From: https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/iranian-hackers-take-aim-at-foreign-nuclear-experts-and-us-officials-1.803259 Updated: December 16, 2018 12:02 PM Iranian hackers Like the Russian hackers who have chased after America’s drone, space and submarine secrets, the list indicates that Iranian spies were also interested in the world of US defense companies. From: https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/16/nuclear-reactor/ if EMP causes a protracted blackout, the reactors can “go Fukushima” and spread radioactivity across vast swaths of the United States. From: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2178214/china-and-russia-band-together-controversial-heating-experiments PUBLISHED : Monday, 17 December, 2018, 3:31am UPDATED : Monday, 17 December, 2018, 3:30am China and Russia band together on controversial heating experiments to modify the atmosphere There have been concerns that such facilities could be used to modify weather and even create natural disasters including hurricanes, cyclones and earthquakes. The ultra-low frequency waves generated by these powerful facilities could even affect the operation of human brains, some critics have said.
There are only 4 ruling country’s mentioned during the time of The Great Tribulation. 1 The King of the North Russia 2 The King of the West the revived Roman Empire 3. The King of the South African nations and tribes 4. King of the East the Assian races America is not mentioned at all.How long do we have till The Great Tribulation?Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. No one knows when the rapture will take place; therefore no one knows when The Great Tribulation will begin. From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1062640/World-War-3-Putin-Russia-hypersonic-3M22-Tsirkon-missile-test-US-defence PUBLISHED: 03:53, Sat, Dec 22, 2018 | UPDATED: 06:05, Sat, Dec 22, 2018 Russia tests ‘unstoppable’ HYPERSONIC missile capable of outpacing US systems A total of ten of the 3M22 Tsirkon anti-ship missiles were tested by the Russian Navy. From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1062622/World-War-3-Iran-news-military-exercise-US-carrier-Persian-Gulf-rouhani-Hormuz-strait PUBLISHED: 00:54, Sat, Dec 22, 2018 | UPDATED: 01:02, Sat, Dec 22, 2018 Iran launches WAR GAMES as US BATTLE GROUP arrives off coast Meanwhile the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS John C Stennis has entered the Persian Gulf with a US Navy strike group. From: https://sputniknews.com/military/201812221070923624-china-s-400-test/ China Conducts First Test of Russian S-400 Air Defence Systems From: https://www.theblaze.com/news/china-tests-new-sub-launched-missile China tests new submarine-launched ballistic missile powerful enough to deliver nukes to US targets A range of more than 5,500 miles Also please check out the new Grits multi post. There has got to be one thing that people would agree with; on the is blog page by the blogger, that is a Texas great: http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2018/12/junk-science-writ-takes-out-bite-mark.html
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 24 2018 Since I started doing this research; it is as if I can not stop. It is my way of keeping my eyes wide open. If anything ever does transpire; at least I will not be ignorant of it. I must admit it makes me sad to post these kinds of atrocity’s and complete waist of money’s; that could be spent on the poor people of the world. It is especially dismal to post these kinds of articles during the holiday season. From: https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-Relations/Japan-and-Russia-seek-end-to-island-dispute-in-China-s-shadow2 December 23, 2018 Japan and Russia seek end to island dispute in China‘s shadow Japan and Russia to put aside their decades-old territorial dispute, From: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russias-next-bomber-base-venezuela-39402 December 22, 2018 Russia’s Next Bomber Base: Venezuela? From: http://tehelka.com/india-successfully-test-fires-nuclear-capable-missile-agni-iv/ December 23, 2018 India Successfully test-fires Nuclear-Capable missile Agni-IV From: https://sputniknews.com/military/201812231070947387-china-new-weapons-2019/ Military & Intelligence16:57 23.12.2018 New Intercontinental Missile PLA is a JL-3 submarine launched strategic missile, carry 10 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRV). It is based on the ground-launched DF-41 intercontinental missile, Its range will allow it to reach US territories without a submarine even having to leave Chinese waters.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 25 2018 Like I said in my last post, it is a real bummer posting this on Christmas. It is not my fault this type of news comes out everyday. Merry Christmas though:
From: https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/russian-defense-ministry-says-delegation-arri-514659.html 36 seconds ago Mon 24th December 2018 | 06:18 PM Russian-Iranian working group on the implementation of the bilateral intergovernmental agreement on military cooperation, the ministry said in a statement Monday. From: http://www.atimes.com/why-the-us-pushed-the-india-office-out-of-the-pentagon/ India is the leading importer of Iranian oil, and a significant investor in Iran a $5.5 billion purchase of the Russian S-400 long-range air-defense system despite US objections India is not the natural ally of the US; it is as clear as a midsummer sky. The sooner the White House understands this, the better. From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1063532/world-war-3-us-iran-donald-trump-usa-gulf IRAN has said Tehran is prepared to respond to any hostile US action after a navy ship entered the Gulf PUBLISHED: 16:49, Mon, Dec 24, 2018 | UPDATED: 17:06, Mon, Dec 24, 2018 We will not allow this warship to come near our territorial waters in the Persian Gulf Iranian navy commander, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 26 2018 From: https://www.thetrumpet.com/18330-russia-and-china-threaten-america-with-new-missiles December 25 Russia successfully tested its hypersonic Zircon antiship missile on December 10 for the 12th time, setting a speed record. A few weeks earlier on November 24, China successfully tested its JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile, which can strike anywhere in the United States from within Chinese waters. Both developments represent a major step forward in Russia and China’s capability to threaten American military dominance. From: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Turkey-Stands-Firmly-Against-US-Sanctions-On-Iran.html Turkey Stands Firmly Against U.S. Sanctions On Iran Dec 25, 2018, 10:00 AM CST “Turkish president Erdogan says Turkey won’t support U.S. sanctions on Iran” “pledges support to Iran in difficult times.”
UT: SOCIAL WORK EXPERT DISAGREES WITH FEDERAL LAW ENFORCERS ABOUT SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT December 17, 2018 [deseretnews.com – 12/15/18] A University of Utah social work professor and therapist disagrees with the state’s top federal law enforcement officials’ assessment that treatment for child sex offenders doesn’t work.Rob Butters, who has also worked as a probation officer, said it’s unfortunate they made the statement in a public forum because “it’s simply not true.” “We know that treatment works a lot better than incarceration,” he said. “Prison doesn’t make people better. It just keeps them incapacitated.” U.S. Attorney John Huber and FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Barnhart said in a discussion with reporters Thursday that they are skeptical about the effectiveness of treatment for those who sexually exploit children. Federal prosecutors have filed 54 cases of child pornography possession, distribution or production this year, 10 more than last year. Some had previous convictions in state court.“In our career and our experience, rehabilitation — although a laudable goal — is unrealistic in dealing with these types of offenders,” Huber said. “Stiff justice is an appropriate remedy, first and foremost, for keeping people safe.” Barnhart said he has not seen data to back up that treatment works. “The compassionate part of us always wants to say a second chance should be given, but my experience is these people will victimize again,” he said. Read more https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900046749/social-work-expert-disagrees-with-federal-law-enforcers-about-sex-offender-treatment.html MN: JUDGE STRIKES DOWN CITY ORDINANCE RESTRICTING SEX OFFENDER HOUSING December 18, 2018 [startribune.com – 12/18/18] A Hennepin County judge has struck down an ordinance in Dayton, Minn. that restricts where sex offenders can live in the community, saying the measure is trumped by state law. The far-reaching ordinance barred convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of any school, day care provider, park, playground or public bus stop — even a pumpkin patch or apple orchard — within the city of Dayton, a rural community of about 5,000 residents northwest of the Twin Cities. The measure was hastily passed by the Dayton City Council in late 2016, after local residents raised alarm over plans by the state to move three convicted rapists from the state sex offender program to a group home in the city. In a recent decision, Hennepin County District Judge Susan Robiner declared the Dayton ordinance “void and invalid” because it was expressly designed to conflict with a state law that establishes a legal process for releasing civilly committed sex offenders from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) and reintegrating them back into society. Such local ordinances, the judge added, would have a “devastating effect” on the MSOP’s ability to discharge offenders from the program. Read more http://www.startribune.com/judge-strikes-down-city-ordinance-restricting-sex-offender-housing/503046601/ ROGUE JUDGE DRIVEN OFF THE BENCH December 27, 2018 A Pittsburgh criminal court judge has finally submitted her resignation. Judge Donna Jo McDaniel’s expected exit comes after repeated rebukes by a Pennsylvania appeals court, extensive news coverage, the ire of at least one editorial board, and talk of an investigation by the state’s judicial conduct commission. First elected to the bench in 1985, McDaniel was driven from office for failing to deliver fair and impartial justice – treating individuals charged with sex offenses (and their defense counsel) terribly, imposing excessive sentences and repeatedly abusing her discretion. McDaniel’s departure is a victory for reason and justice, even more so given the prevailing moral panic over sex offenses that makes getting a fair shake in court very difficult. Kudos to all those who fought McDaniel’s biased rulings including the Allegheny County Public Defender, the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for keeping a spotlight on McDaniel. Details are below – news stories, a Post-Gazette editorial describing McDaniel as a “rogue judge,” a smart essay by Alexandra Stupple about “disgust” in court matters, and a compilation of headlines. https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2018/12/19/State-Superior-Court-Judge-Donna-Jo-McDaniel-sex-offender-opinion/stories/201812190213
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 30 2018 From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1064703/vladimir-putin-russia-news-emmanuel-macron-angela-merkel-ukraine-crisis-sea-of-azov PUTIN’S FURY PUBLISHED: 10:43, Sat, Dec 29, 2018 | UPDATED: 12:12, Sat, Dec 29, 2018 France and Germany’s demands to release the 24 Ukraine sailors Russia has been holding prisoners for more than a month From: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8079622/us-military-sonic-attacks-diplomats-cuba-china/ 29th December 2018, 10:03 amUpdated: 29th December 2018, 10:04 am SONIC ATTACKS Military called in to probe baffling ‘sonic health attacks’ on US diplomats in Cuba and China Symptoms include hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, headaches and fatigue, which experts say is a pattern consistent with ‘traumatic brain injury’ And an investigation by the FBI and the CIA has unearthed data that US officials say seems to point the finger of suspicion at Russia. From: https://moveefy.com/2018/12/28/russian-weapon-27-times-faster-than-speed-of-sound-official/ Russian weapon 27 times faster than speed of sound: official MOSCOW: A top Russian official says the nation‘s new strategic weapon has made any missile defenses useless. The Kremlin said it successfully hit a practice target on the Kura shooting range on Kamchatka, 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) away. From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1064641/World-War-3-Russian-nuclear-bomber-security-fears-Donald-Trump-US PUBLISHED: 02:46, Sat, Dec 29, 2018 | UPDATED: 10:23, Sat, Dec 29, 2018 Russia tests new NUCLEAR bomber for first time conflict between major world powers surged after Russia tested a newly ungraded supersonic long-range bomber, which is capable of carrying nuclear weapons. From: https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/12/28/china-launches-two-more-long-march-rockets-another-possible-before-end-of-year/ December 29, 2018 China launches two more Long March rockets; another possible before end of year With the two most recent Chinese rocket flights, the country has launched 38 missions to Earth’s orbit or beyond this year, shattering a record for Chinese launch activity previously set in 2016, when China conducted 22 space launches.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated January 05 2019 One of the main reason for having this blog is my patriotism to our country.: From: https://www.kusi.com/new-study-finds-nearly-half-of-young-americans-believe-us-is-racist-and-not-greatest-country/ New study finds nearly half of young Americans believe US is racist and not ‘greatest’ country December 3, 2018 The polls findings found that younger Americans, those under 38 years old, are “becoming unmoored from the institutions, knowledge, and spirit traditionally associated with American patriotism.” 50% believe the county is sexist, and 49% believe it is racist. Furthermore, 47% of respondents think America should turn to socialism in the future rather than continue with capitalism. Furthermore the study found that 84% of Americans don’t know the specific rights enumerated in the First Amendment. The First Amendment reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The full survey can be read here: https://www.flagusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FLAG-Patriotism-Report-11.13.2018.pdf
I blame the teachers in schools; for swaying young people towards anti Americanism. If I had my way I would make examples of anti American promoters in our country; by deporting them. After all they are practically begging for it.All Americans have foreigners in their family ancestry. If people are anti American promoters; we should deport them, using their ancestry as a reference to where. The only people that could be exempt from this would be Native Americans; with no non Native American’s in their ancestry.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated January 07 2019 I am reading a book on Revelation by Dwight Pentecost, and I have realized that Russia is doing exactly what they should be doing concerning the being Magog in the Bible. In fact the chapter I am reading now actually mention’s the Caspian Sea. Although there will be no Muslim Government controlling the earth. I think this is because Satan hates religions. Many middle eastern country’s will be part of the African nation of the south. Russia is prophesied to rule over many middle eastern country’s. Here is a great link on the subject: https://walvoord.com/article/301 Read: The Rise Of Russia In The Twentieth Century From: https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/01/06/585012/Iran-Russia-navy-joint-exercise-Caspian-Sea-commander-Khanzadi Sun Jan 6, 2019 10:44AM[Updated: Sun Jan 6, 2019 10:59AM ] Iran, Russia to hold joint military drill in Caspian Sea From: http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2019-01/06/content_74345982.htm January 6, 2019 Three Russian Navy warships docked at the South Harbor in Manila on Sunday for a six-day visit to the Philippines
Also check this page out by a true internet hero: SUNDAY, JANUARY 06, 2019 Innocence Project Math 101: Why it’s certain eyewitnesses are still sending innocent people to prison in Texas Our friends at the prosecutor association want to pretend Texas has solved its problem with eyewitnesses falsely identifying innocent suspects after the state passed non-binding guidelines for police lineups in 2011. Shannon Edmonds last night was crowing on Twitter that the last exoneration based a false ID in Texas was in 2010, and the state had solved the problem in 2011. This is such a disingenuous claim I thought I’d dissect it without the 140 character limitations. Read more click this link: http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2019/01/innocence-project-math-101-why-its.html
New Blogs Part 12 Updated January 11 2019 Some of these articles are just plan communist propaganda. I apologies for posting them. I am posting them to show how our enemy’s are trying to justify itself on the verge of destroying us all. Fighting communism is a worthy fight and always has been during the course of our great country; sailing it’s way through the sea’s of country’s and governments that are our enemies. Then there is Russia; not communism anymore but still seemingly our enemy. I suspect Russia of being just plane paranoid enough to start a war with us, then there is always the sin of man to blame. Lets look at all of this for what it is, and what I have been saying all along and all these years online. Our dream country of The United States of America; where we live free, may not have been meant to be in the first place.Maybe the world let it be to see if we could keep the Great Tribulation from beginning, a while longer. Why hasn’t the tribulation begun; with so many signs of it’s beginnings all around us? Could be one answer, our country: America. Is that why The Bible had so much to do with the founding of our country. I say that is exactly why. This is where I remind any Christians that we only have to wait for one sign (according to God’s Word) and that is the rapture; where we are taken from earth to be with the Lord. So don’t every believe in conspiracy theories like blood colored moons having anything to do with the tribulation. I think our country is the one reason the tribulation has not begun. If you look at The Great Tribulation and the ruthless governments that rule the earth during The Great Tribulation it seems easy to see why our country is so focused on escaping reality through drugs and all of our other vises. To face what America is all about; makes us like the Angles, responsible for all the world and its very survival. That is a huge responsibility and burden. So when it comes down to the us and them’s and why we are enemies with the Russians and the Chinese: I quote myself from: New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 23 2018 to explain:
“There are only 4 ruling country’s mentioned during the time of The Great Tribulation. 1 The King of the North Russia 2 The King of the West the revived Roman Empire 3. The King of the South African nations and tribes 4. King of the East the Assian races America is not mentioned at all. How long do we have till The Great Tribulation? Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. No one knows when the rapture will take place; therefore no one knows when The Great Tribulation will begin.” When it comes right down to it the reason there are enemies in this world these days is because of what country’s will fight during the tribulation on the side of Satan our not. Sounds like a worthy fight to me to fight against The Anti Christ’s rule over earth; while there is still real time to do so. If you really want to put it all into plane words; America has always fought on the side of good and right. That is the right thing to do and nothing has been more worthy a fight to fight. I am putting this on the header of this page and every page like it from now on. From: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8165483/china-mobilises-supersonic-nuclear-missile-us-mainland/ LOCKED AND LOADED China mobilises ‘war-ready’ supersonic nuclear missile that experts fear could hit US territory as rivals face off over South China Sea State media says deployment is a response to the ‘trespass’ of a US destroyer 10th January 2019, 5:09 pmUpdated: 10th January 2019, 5:16 pm Giant rocket launcher vehicles apparently carrying dozens of DF-26 supersonic missiles were seen driving into position in China’s desert northwest plateau. The state-run Global Times said the 20-ton rockets – said to be capable of reaching US territory in Guam – are being deployed to positions best suited at striking vessels in the East and South China Sea. From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1069803/ww3-world-war-3-news-donald-trump-US-news-latest-today-china-north-korea-peace-treaty PUBLISHED: 07:15, Thu, Jan 10, 2019 | UPDATED: 07:15, Thu, Jan 10, 2019 Expert reveals US troops forming ‘strategic encirclement’ around China THE United States’ military presence in South Korea is part of a “strategic encirclement” of China and is not intended to defend the country from North Korea, claims former US diplomat Jim Jatras. From: https://www.thetrumpet.com/18409-upgraded-russian-bomber-takes-first-flight Upgraded Russian Bomber Takes First Flight January 10 Warplane capable of carrying multiple nuclear hypersonic missiles From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1070111/World-War-3-China-US-latest-news-war-warship-video-missile-South-China-Sea PUBLISHED: 16:35, Thu, Jan 10, 2019 | UPDATED: 16:36, Thu, Jan 10, 2019 CHINA has deployed a far-reaching anti-ship ballistic missile after a US warship was accused of operating in the disputed South China Sea. The announcement of the deployment comes after a US warship sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea on Monday. From: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1070116/turkey-us-russia-syria-world-war-3-s400-missiles PUBLISHED: 14:38, Thu, Jan 10, 2019 | UPDATED: 14:53, Thu, Jan 10, 2019 TURKEY has reacted with outrage after the US tried to stop it from buying a high-tech missile system from Russia. From: https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/commentary/as-russia-and-china-rise-u-s-bickers-over-non/article_34425696-1448-11e9-afef-ef383f30ab98.html Thu, Jan 10, 2019 As Russia and China rise, U.S. bickers over non-issues From: ‘US to blame for any imminent South China Sea clash’ Friday, January 11, 2019 BEIJING – US naval operations in the South China Sea could spark conflict and the United States would be to blame if a clash occurred, a Chinese military researcher said on Wednesday.
I had to make a new blog for this subject; because it a different political subject than this blog. I have been meaning to do this for a long time but like everything else time is of exigence. If you want to see news like above any more you will have to go to my new blog I just created: Click here to go to new blog: https://amnnow.blogspot.com/
New Blogs Part 12 Updated January 1 28 2019 From: https://madisonrecord.com/stories/511691204-belleville-man-sues-state-s-attorney-officials-for-10m-over-sex-offender-registration Belleville man sues state’s attorney, officials for $10M over sex offender registration Jan 3, 2019 BELLEVILLE – A convicted sex offender who claims he was innocent is suing St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly and state officials for $5 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, alleging his reputation within his community continues to be irreparably injured by his registration status. Shane Allen Kitterman filed the complaint on Dec. 10 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Kelly, Assistant State’s Attorney Bernadette Schrempp and Supervisor of the Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registration Unit Tracie Newton, alleging deprivation of due process. He claims the defendants conspired to use fabricated designations to deprive him of a hearing before the conclusion of a criminal court to cover up their alleged nefarious and unlawful actions. According to the complaint, Kitterman alleges he entered into a contract with the people of Illinois on Jan. 10, 1996, which has been “memorialized in three documents created contemporaneously to the negotiations.”
Kitterman alleges that “in detrimental reliance upon promises” made by the State’s Attorney’s Office, he “agreed to forgo his right to prove he was innocent of a very serious crime, in exchange for the promise that his duties under the contract be governed by the Illinois Child Sex Offender Registration Act.” Kitterman claims the State’s Attorney’s Office concealed a Jan. 1, 1996, amendment to the Illinois Child Sex Offender Registration Act, or CSORA, which increased duties and penalties. Kitterman claims he would not have entered into an agreement with the State’s Attorney’s Office if he had known about the amendment. In accordance with the contract, Kitterman was obligated to respond to certain law enforcement agencies within the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, Belleville Police Department, Shiloh Police Department, Swansea Police Department and the O’Fallon Police Department, the suit states. In 2012, Kitterman alleges he discovered that the contract he entered into “was premised on fraud and deception and unconscionable and immediately attempted to protect his rights by enforcing the terms of the contract as they existed.” Between 2012 and August 2015, Kitterman alleges Kelly and Schrempp conspired with Newton to conceal Kitterman’s rights by changing material information on a State Police website and within the Law Enforcement Agency Data System, or LEADS, to reflect that the plaintiff was convicted of a violation and must comply with CSORA for the rest of his life. Kitterman claims that prior to contacting Kelly and Schrempp, he discovered that he was designated a child sex offender in violation of his contractual rights. He contacted the defendants in having his personal information removed from the website. He alleges Kelly and Schrempp responded by contacting Newton “and conspired to fraudulently conceal Mr. Kitterman’s rights under the contract by altering or changing his designation on the State Police Website from a ‘Child Sex Offender’ to a “Sexual Predator’ required to register for the period of his natural life, and then to “Sexually Dangerous/Violent Person” subject to a 90 day reporting duties and possible civil commitment …” Kitterman also claims the defendants contacted local law enforcement “and coordinated the destruction of forms memorializing information required by the Department of State Police to conceal the manufacturing of conviction information and other such false information contained in said forms.” The complaint states that in 2013, Schrempp and Kelly sought to criminally prosecute Kitterman for failing to register as a sex offender and then contacted Newton to coordinate altering Kitterman’s registration status to a lifetime registration. Kitterman alleges that he has submitted over 217 petitions to Newton to obtain a hearing before an administrative law judge to “reveal the conspiracy and unlawful abuse of her public office …” Kitterman alleges the defendants obstructed justice by disseminating false information and proffering to former St. Clair County Chief Judge John Baricevic in an effort to prevent the plaintiff from revealing their violation of his due process and contractual rights. As a result, Kitterman claims he has sustained severe and permanent injuries to his reputation in his community, continues to be deprived of his right to due process of law, continues to be deprived of his liberty and continues to be deprived of his right to associate with his wife and children. He also claims he suffers loss of employment and severe psychological and emotional trauma. Kitterman seeks a judgment in his favor for $5 million in compensatory damages, $5 million in punitive damages, court costs and interests. He is representing himself pro se. From: https://www.thedailybeast.com/untouchable-makes-the-case-for-more-lenient-sex-offender-laws-in-america?ref=scroll 01.12.19 12:16 AM ET CONTROVERSIAL‘Untouchable’ Makes the Case for More Lenient Sex Offender Laws in AmericaA new documentary forwards the argument that our sex-offender laws are based largely on bogus stats and deserve to be reevaluated. According to Untouchable, there’s a reason most Americans think sex offenders, and pedophiles in particular, are incurable, and thus destined to relapse: 2002’s McKune v. Lile, in which Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in a plurality opinion that there was a “frightening and high risk of recidivism” for such predators, and that “the rate of recidivism of untreated offenders has been estimated to be as high as 80 percent.” That statement has since been used in numerous legal verdicts as well as to support countless pieces of state and local legislation aimed at curbing the rights of those found guilty of crimes against kids. In doing so, it’s become de facto common wisdom, almost universally accepted as a bedrock truth about individuals who possess child pornography or abuse (or have improper relations with) a minor. The problem? The sole piece of evidence that led Justice Kennedy to make such a bold claim came from a 1986 Psychology Today article written by Ronald Longo, a counselor who ran a treatment program in an Oregon prison—and there was absolutely no statistical basis for his “80 percent” assertion. Moreover, Longo himself has since rejected that figure. Untouchable, a documentary about sex offenders written, directed and produced by David Feige—which arrives on home video and VOD on January 15, after winning the Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival—doesn’t drop that bombshell revelation until after its midway point, which in journalistic terms is akin to burying the lede. Nonetheless, Feige’s delay does little to neuter its impact, given that he spends the early portions of his non-fiction film incisively investigating multiple sides of the sex-offender issue. From victims and perpetrators, to activists who want to throw the convicted away and lose the key, it’s an eye-opening look at a thorny topic that, on the face of it, probably doesn’t strike many as very complex or controversial at all. The reason the aforementioned McKune v. Lile decision is so stunning is that, by all accounts, actual sex-offender recidivism rates are low. In three-year studies done by Connecticut, Alaska, Nebraska, Maine, New York and California, recidivism figures are generally less than 4 percent—hardly a “frightening and high” figure. Furthermore, most conclude that there’s no correlation between recidivism rates and geographic proximity, meaning that laws passed to keep registered sex offenders from living close to schools, playgrounds, or other kid-centric areas generally have no impact; if wrongdoers are likely to seek prey nearby, it’s often in their own homes, or in churches or educational settings, where they know their intended targets. If Untouchable is to be believed—and its statistical case appears reasonably solid—then that’s a forceful repudiation of how we think about, and treat, sex offenders. That’s not music to the ears of Ron Book, the powerhouse South Florida lobbyist who, compelled by his daughter Lauren’s horrifying sexual abuse at the hands of their nanny Waldina Flores (seen, hauntingly, in home movies), has made it his personal crusade to guarantee that his state has the strictest sex offender laws in the country. Those include mandatory 50-year minimum sentences for those convicted (and notations on their driver’s licenses), as well as ordinances that keep them from residing within 2,500 feet of any child-populated area. The result of the latter is that no sex offenders live in Miami Beach, and those that did before the law was passed have had to relocate—many to homeless tent encampments scattered around the metropolitan area. Book, a fiery gentleman whose eyes well up with teary rage when talking about the matter—understandably, given Lauren’s unthinkable ordeal—doesn’t care that he has no empirical evidence bolstering his measures, since he says that “some level of common sense” indicates that if you keep predators away from kids, you decrease risk. Book’s zealous passion is moving, as are interviews with Lauren, who’s dedicated her life to making children safe from abuse. Untouchable doesn’t minimize their grief nor their contentions, and it’s hard to imagine that states with tougher laws aren’t more successful at combating the issue. Still, the film does complicate things via a series of snapshots of offenders: Shawna Baldwin, an Oklahoma mother of two whose teenage tryst with a younger boy landed her on the registry; Clyde Newton, an older man who was convicted of touching his stepdaughter; and 74-year-old John Cryar, a thrice-divorced individual caught with child pornography who admits that he’s lived his entire life as a “closet pedophile.” As you can likely tell from those descriptions, these three individuals are not the same; Shawna belongs in a different category than the other (more deviant) two. Yet the American judicial system treats them as equals, restricting their travel, determining their residency, and slapping them with the same onerous label. Even sexting can now land teenagers on the registry, since nude photos of peers can technically be classified as child pornography. Through snapshots of this trio, as well as discussions with academic experts and Patty Wetterling, the mother of kidnapped-and-missing Jacob Wetterling, who helped create the registry in the 1990s with President Bill Clinton, Feige suggests that our sex-offender laws have shifted away from rehabilitation and toward punishment—which is a problem when those same laws cast a wide net, lumping in careless young adults with legitimately dangerous pedophiles. From: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/01/21/aclu-lawsuit-seeks-changes-michigan-sex-offender-registry/2350288002/ This is why I am still a card carrying member of the ACLU and I will be till; I go to be with and rule and reign with the Lord; the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I have a brand new ACLU card in my wallet every year. In cases against the degradation and false judgments, and the taking of any human dignity and human rights; afforded to anyone on earth, against so called labeled for life, sex offenders; God himself is on the side of the ACLU. Revelation 20:6 Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Matthew 7:1-3 7 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, itshall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Published 12:01 a.m. ET Jan. 21, 2019 | Updated 10:33 a.m. ET Jan. 21, 2019 William Hetherington says he’s still being punished after paying his debt for a crime he didn’t commit. Hetherington, 65, made national headlines after his 1986 conviction for a new Michigan crime, spousal rape. Innocence advocates raised questions about the conviction, and his case was highlighted in the 1990s by multiple media outlets, including the “Phil Donahue Show,” ABC’s “Prime Time Live” and CBS’s “60 Minutes.” Despite his clean prison record, Hetherington served more than double the maximum sentence under Michigan guidelines for spousal rape because at parole hearings he refused to express remorse for a crime he insisted he hadn’t committed. When he was released in 2009, his name was added to the Michigan State Police Sex Offender Registry, and he struggled to adjust to life after prison. The Air Force veteran was in a federal program that provides housing and other services for honorably discharged homeless military veterans — but when the state changed the rules in 2011 requiring him to stay on the sex offender list for life, he was kicked out of the program, which bars anyone with lifetime reporting requirements on sex offender registries.
Civil rights advocates say Hetherington is an example of how thousands of people have been unfairly penalized by the Michigan Sex Offender Registry more than two years after the Sixth Circuit Court ruled the state’s changes retroactively putting people on the list for life were unconstitutional. “All the government has ever done is violate my rights,” said Hetherington, who lives in a small apartment provided by a minister in Vassar, near Frankenmuth. “Now they’re doing it again. It’s the story of my life.” Hetherington is one of 40,000 convicted sex offenders in Michigan who are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union in a federal class-action lawsuit against the state. The lawsuit, filed in June in U.S. District Court, demands that the state lift the offenders’ lifetime registry requirements. That would allow them access to benefits they’re cut off from because they’re on the list — including the program Hetherington was kicked out of, the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing initiative. “The lifetime requirement is effectively lifetime parole, because you have to report even small things like getting an email address or phone number,” said Miriam Aukerman, senior staff attorney at ACLU of Michigan. “There are other reporting requirements, such as if you want to travel anywhere for more than seven days, you have to report that in person,” Aukerman said. “The statue also says people on the registry can’t loiter within 100 feet of a school, which means parents can’t watch their kids’ sports games or graduations without being in violation.” State police spokeswoman Shanon Banner said the agency is in compliance. “As a result of the 6th Circuit decision, the MSP informed law enforcement that similar retroactive enforcement of the requirements under the 2006 or 2011 amendments against other similarly situated offenders could likewise be unconstitutional,” she said in a written statement. “However, it needs to be noted that the court did not find the sex offender registry itself to be unconstitutional, nor did it find prospective enforcement of the 2006 or 2011 requirements against offenders with offense dates after such amendments to be unconstitutional.” Banner said state police are unable to take people off the list who had been retroactively required to report for life. “Efforts to modify the registry as a whole require legislative changes to the (sex offender registry),” she said. “To this end, we have been engaged in discussion with the Legislature, Attorney General’s Office and other stakeholders for some time in regards to the offenders who were named in the lawsuit.” Phone calls to the Attorney General’s Office were not returned. Aukerman said the current system diverts police from monitoring potentially dangerous sex offenders because the list includes people convicted of less serious crimes. “Our original lawsuit involved five people,” she said. “One of our clients was a little older than the girl he was dating in high school, and she got pregnant at age 15. He got prosecuted. He’s now married to the girl; they have kids together, but he’s on the sex offender registry for life. That’s not the kind of person law enforcement should be wasting resources monitoring.” Michigan passed the sex offender registration law in 1994 as a private law enforcement database. After initial registration, the only other requirement was for offenders to tell the state within 10 days of a change of address. When the registry was set up, people convicted of one sex offense were to stay on the list for 25 years after the conviction; those convicted of multiple crimes were to be on the list for life. Through the years, lawmakers amended the registry, including making the names public. A 2006 change retroactively barred most offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of school property. In 2011, a rules change forced many offenders who would have been on the list only for 25 years to remain in the database for life. The ACLU and the University of Michigan Clinical Law Program filed a lawsuit in 2012 on behalf of five offenders who were required under the new rules to be on the list for life. In 2016, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that retroactively applying the changes to people already on the list was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2017 declined to hear an appeal, upholding the 6th Circuit Court decision — but despite the ruling, Hetherington and thousands of others remain on the sex offender list for life. “The state isn’t in compliance, so we filed a new lawsuit against the state in June,” Aukerman said. “It’s a class action on behalf of everyone on the registry.” As that case winds its way through the courts, Hetherington said he’s struggling to make ends meet. He said his sole income is his Social Security check. “My own government is screwing me over,” he said. “But that’s nothing new.” Hetherington had separated from his wife, Linda, and was in the middle of a custody battle for their three daughters when she twice accused him of raping her before asking prosecutors to drop the charges, according to Detroit News archives. Linda Hetherington later made a third rape claim after she and her estranged husband had sex on Sept. 24, 1985. He said the sex was consensual; she claimed she was tied up and brutally raped. Hetherington was arrested and became the first person charged under Michigan’s spousal rape law. During his trial in Genesee County Circuit Court, the judge prohibited cross-examination of his wife, who died in 2012. The rape charge was prosecuted at the same time as Hetherington’s custody case, and the divorce court froze his assets so he was unable to hire an attorney or get out of jail on bond. But the judge in the criminal trial ruled he wasn’t indigent and refused to provide him with a court-appointed lawyer. Prosecutors produced no physical evidence of rape at the trial. Linda Hetherington had undergone a pelvic examination in a hospital three hours after the reported rape, and there was no evidence of injury or forced penetration. The court-designated psychologist who examined Hetherington concluded: “This is not a man who would force himself sexually or hostilely on another individual,” according to court records. Two police officers testified they had seen tape marks on Linda’s face. Two doctors who examined her said they saw no such marks, but the jury apparently believed the officers and returned a guilty verdict. “There’s something about you, Mr. Hetherington, that frightens me,” Genesee County Circuit Judge Thomas Yeotis said before handing down his sentence. The sentencing guideline for the new offense was 12 months to 10 years but Hetherington was sentenced to 15 to 30 years. Yeotis didn’t explain why he deviated from the guidelines. “The whole thing was a joke,” Hetherington said. “There were so many holes in my case it wasn’t funny. But I got convicted anyway.” Ten years after Hetherington’s conviction, attorney Jeff Feldman accepted the case pro bono. He used the Freedom of Information Act to get copies of five photographs police took of Linda Hetherington hours after the alleged rape. Prosecutors never disclosed the photos to the defense. Feldman took the photos to forensic photographer John Valor, who was the lead forensic photographer in the trial of serial killer Ted Bundy. Valor swore in a 1998 affidavit that the pictures of Linda Hetherington showed no scratches, tape marks or abnormalities of any kind. He added such marks would have been clearly visible Still, Hetherington’s appeals were denied until he was released from prison in 2009. He said life hasn’t been easy since then. “It’s just been one nightmare after another,” he said. Julie Hurwitz, a civil rights attorney who has consulted Hetherington, said he’s been given a raw deal. “He had four months left on the sex offender registry before his 25 years were going to be up,” she said. “He was originally told he’d be on the registry for 25 years — then they changed the law and retroactively required him to stay on the list for life. “That meant he was immediately kicked out of this housing program, and job training programs, and lost other benefits,” Hurwitz said. “The real impact is this poor man is afraid to leave this one-room hovel he’s living in, fearing he’ll be picked up for violating the Sex Offender Registration Act. It’s a shame.” From: https://sosen.org/blog/2019/01/12/civil-regulation-the-registry-its-components-are-in-fact-legislative-punishment.html January 12, 2019 Civil Regulation? The Registry & its Components are in fact Legislative Punishment. The first thing that must be pointed out is that the sex offender registry came about because of the myth that people convicted of sexual related crimes were always going to reoffend. Some of the numbers that were tossed around at the time that the registry was conceived were 60 to 80% would reoffend. The registry was not originally designed to protect anyone, it was simply there to aid law-enforcement so that they would have suspects to look at because of this belief of high reoffense rates. As we now know, that belief is not only a myth, but it is an outright lie. There is no high reoffense rate of any kind for people convicted of a sexually related crime. The studies all show a reconviction rate in the single digits, and many studies show the rates in the fractions of a single-digit (why-are-the-reconviction-rates-so-important). So to start with, because there is no high reoffense rate, there is no compelling reason for the the existence of the sex offender registry at all (other than fear, bias, bigotry and hatred of a class of criminals). Secondly, because of the lack of a high reoffense rate, there is no use for law-enforcement to have this duplication of information that is already available under their normal investigative procedures. This is only wasting time and resources and leads to harassing people who have a low risk to reoffend while making them and their families’ lives miserable. As for the components of the registry, such as community notification, residence restrictions, job research and housing restrictions, freedom of movement restrictions, freedom to cross state lines restrictions, plus the many other components of the registry that could not exist without the registry’s existence; for a person to say that any one of these components is not punishment shows the uneducated bias of the person speaking or else they have a fiduciary interest in perpetuating these lies. According to our declaration of independence all men are created equal, and in our Constitution and Bill of Rights it is laid out that all people will be treated equally. It is very apparent that a person who is on the registry is not treated equally with other citizens. This becomes quite obvious when a person who is not a sex offender accidentally is placed upon the registry or one of its components such as having their driver’s license tagged. If there was no disparity between ordinary citizens and registered citizens than they would be treated exactly the same. Quite obviously they are not. In a recent story in the Orlando Sentinel, (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/lake/os-drivers-license-sexual-predator-mistake-20150507-story.html) a woman’s drivers license was mistakenly marked, indicating that she was a sexual predator and a registered citizen. In the four days that she had that drivers license, she was: -denied entry to Walt Disney World and held by Disney security in a room unable to leave for several hours-denied a hotel room-subjected to disdain by her bank -subjected to bias at court-suffered fear to leave her house. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/may/07/woman-drivers-license-mistakenly-idd-me-as-sex/ This was all in just 4 days. Another other man incorrectly labeled a sexual predator was almost arrested just trying to go on a naval base, man-wrongly-labeled-sex-offender-on-id . After his death his family was offered a settlement for him incorrectly being labeled of a paltry $20,000. After all the humiliation that he had suffered because he unknowingly carried an ID card, showing that he was a registered citizen. man-awarded-20k-after-incorrectly-labeled-sex-offender What would a lifetime of such treatment do a person? When ordinary citizens are stigmatized by being indicated that they are on a Government sanctioned registry, it is quite obvious that the stigma of being on the registry is in every way, a form of punishment. Make no mistake about it, in this country shaming a person is a form of punishment, People v. Meyer People v. Lowe, 606 N.E.2d. People v. Molz, 113 N.E.2d, People v. Johnson 528 N.E.2d, State v. Burdin 924 S.W.2d ,People v. Letterlough 655 N.E.2d, Lindsay v. State 606 So. 2D, and when that stigma is carried over to innocent family members including children through collateral damage, (/blog/2014/02/25/government-sanctioned-cruelty-to-over-half-1-million-american-children.html ) than there can be no doubt that these laws that are based not on facts, but rather fear, hate and bigotry are unconstitutional. For anyone who reads this and thinks otherwise I suggest you ask yourself this question, how would you feel if you or a close family member suddenly ended up on a registry and community notification with all the restrictions that it implies, would you consider it a violation of your constitutional rights and outright punishment?
New Blogs Part 12 Updated February 27 2019
PA: FAMILY OF PEDOPHILE PASTOR NOW SPREADS THE WORD ON HOW TO PREVENT ABUSEJanuary 28, 2019 [blackchristiannews.com – 1/28/19] SOMERSET, Pa. – Jimmy and Clara Hinton don’t want others to miss what they didn’t see for years: their father and husband, a respected pastor for years in his rural community, was keeping his flock in the dark while he molested young children. Today, the elders at Somerset Church of Christ have moved intentionally to protect children. Empty classrooms are locked. Adults working with children operate in teams of two or more. On Sundays, monitors conduct random building sweeps and each Sunday School room has a walkie-talkie in case of an emergency. Protecting Children Top Priority Church policy also protects children from potentially unwanted physical touch like a hug. “None of us can walk up to a kid, pull a kid in and initiate that physical contact,” says Pastor Jimmy, who has served as the pastor at Church of Christ since his father left in 2009. He thinks that’s important because abusers often groom children to become used to them initiating. If a registered sex offender wants to come to church, the elders will alert the congregation and provide a separate service to avoid contact with children. Elder Bob Martin acknowledges that while controversial, the policy puts the safety of children first. “When someone is aware of that in their congregation and fails to notify them,” he said, “I think they have to answer to God for that and I don’t want to stand before Him and explain why I did not protect one of his children.” Full Article: https://blackchristiannews.com/2019/01/family-of-pedophile-pastor-now-spreads-the-word-on-how-to-prevent-abuse/
CA: APPELLATE COURT RULES IN REGISTRANT’S FAVOR IN PROP. 57 CASEJanuary 29, 2019 An appellate court in California ruled today that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) must provide consideration for early parole to a registrant who is currently incarcerated for an offense that is not a sex offense in accordance with Proposition 57 (Prop. 57). The majority of the court specified, however, that its decision does not apply to those who are currently incarcerated because of a sex offense. In a concurring opinion, one of the three appellate judges stated that he believes CDCR is authorized to deny the benefits of Prop. 57 to anyone currently incarcerated because of a sex offense. “Today’s decision will benefit thousands of individuals convicted of a sex offense long ago who are currently incarcerated,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Unfortunately, the same decision does not provide relief to many more individuals who are currently incarcerated because of a recent sex offense.” In addition to this case, there are eight cases pending which challenge CDCR’s regulations that prohibit all registrants from receiving benefits from Prop. 57. The cases have been filed in six counties — Sacramento, Orange, Riverside, San Joaquin, Santa Clara and San Diego. Further, there is a Prop. 57 case pending before the California Supreme Court, In re Brown-Seals, Case No. S249019, in which a registrant is challenging CDCR’s denial of Prop. 57 benefits to him. The registrant filed an informal response with the court on Oct. 1, 2018, and the court is expected to issue an Order to Show Cause early this year that could require CDCR to justify its denial. https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20190128010
VA: HEARING THURSDAY: EFF TELLS COURT THAT CLICKING ON A URL ISN’T ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO JUSTIFY A SEARCH WARRANTJanuary 30, 2019 [eff.org/ – 1/29/19]Identifying IP Address That May Have Connected to a URL Doesn’t Amount to Probable Cause Richmond, Virginia—On Thursday, January 31, at 8:30 am, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will ask a federal appeals court to find that the act of clicking on a URL or weblink isn’t sufficient evidence for law enforcement to get a warrant to search someone’s home. The hearing involves a child pornography prosecution in which law enforcement obtained a warrant to search a defendant’s home based on the attempted connection to a URL (or weblink) by an IP address that was mapped to his computer. The URL led to a password-protected file-sharing service portal that the government maintains contained child pornography. https://www.eff.org/press/releases/hearing-thursday-eff-tells-court-clicking-url-isnt-enough-evidence-justify-search FL: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING ANOTHER INMATEJanuary 30, 2019 [mypanhandle.com – 1/29/19]JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. – On Monday, Rocky Ali Beamon was sentenced to death in Jackson County, Florida, for First Degree Premeditated Murder. The conviction and sentence come from the 2012 murder of Bruce Hunsicker at the Apalachee Correctional Institution in Sneads, Florida. Reports said Beamon and Hunsicker were both inmates at the prison, and subsequent confessions by Beamon revealed that the motive for the murder was primarily Hunsicker’s status as a sex offender. Reports also said that Hunsicker also owed Beamon money. After watching the victim for several days to learn his schedule, Beamon killed Hunsicker in the shower area of the prison dormitory by approaching him from behind, choking him, and stabbing him 80 times with a homemade shank. Reports said Beamon then rinsed himself off and flushed the shank, a towel, and a pair of boxers, after which he proceeded to dinner.
…the aggravating factors in this case outweighed the mitigating circumstances applicable to the Defendant… https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/man-sentenced-to-death-for-killing-another-inmate/1737065209 CO: HUNDREDS OF SEX OFFENDERS GET THEIR NAMES TAKEN OFF THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY EVERY YEARFebruary 5, 2019 ·18 CommentsA Contact7 investigation found that in the state of Colorado, hundreds of sex offenders are getting off the sex offender registry every year. In one case, a felony sex offender’s motion was granted even after his victim pleaded against it. https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/contact7/hundreds-of-sex-offenders-get-their-names-taken-off-the-sex-offender-registry-every-year-in-colorado TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: SENATOR OBJECTS TO PUBLIC NAMING OF SEX CONVICTSFebruary 5, 2019 [guardian.co.tt – 2/5/19]At least one Independent Senator is not in support of the names of sexual offenders going public. Sophia Chote, SC, said that this has the potential of opening the floodgates for vigilante justice in T&T. Chote made the comment in the Senate on Tuesday during her contribution on the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill to create a sexual offenders registry. She said making the names of sexual offenders public will also stigmatise the name of the convicted person. “So if the T&T Police Service has a list of sexual offenders, then, certainly that is going to help them identify who may have perpetrated a particular crime and bring that person to justice. To me, that is more in the public’s interest than putting something up on the web in a police station.” She cited a 2007 US article entitled a “comparison of sexual offenders and the non-offending public” which showed that half of the sex offenders who were interviewed claimed they received “threats, had their property damaged and had been physically assaulted and ran out of town basically as a result of public disclosure.” Chote said it meant that if vigilantes know someone had committed a sexual offence which goes public, they would not have any guilt of administering their own justice. https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/senator-objects-to-public-naming-of-sex-convicts-6.2.773662.352360a671 TN: CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST YOUTH FOOTBALL COACH WHO WAS ACCUSED OF VIOLATING SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY ACTFebruary 8, 2019[fox13memphis.com – 2/8/19]Charges were dismissed against a Memphis Youth football coach. He was wrongfully accused of violating the state’s sexual offender registration laws. Police had arrested and charged Mykal Madision with Sexual Offender Registration and tracking on Wednesday. It happened after a parent of one of Madison’s players said he was a registered sex offender. Madison is currently listed on the Texas sex offender registry https://www.fox13memphis.com/top-stories/charges-dropped-against-youth-football-coach-who-was-accused-of-violating-sex-offender-registry-act/916177279 MI: ATTORNEY GENERAL NESSEL WEIGHS IN ON SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION CASES BEFORE MI SUPREME COURTFebruary 8, 2019 Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed amicus briefs in the Michigan Supreme Court today in Michigan v Snyder (Case number 153696) and People v Betts (Case number 148981), arguing that Michigan’s sex offender registration and notification requirements are punishment because they are so burdensome and fail to distinguish between dangerous offenders and those who are not a threat to the community. https://www.michigan.gov/som/0,4669,7-192-47796-489212–,00.html CNMI: SEX REGISTRY’S CONSTITUTIONALITY QUESTIONEDFebruary 11, 2019Northern Mariana Islands – A registered sex offender, whose adult girlfriend is currently pregnant, is questioning the constitutionality of the law that created the CNMI Sex Offender Registry, as this prevents him from being around minors, including his own children. … Banes said, the statute is unconstitutional, under both the CNMI and the U.S. Constitutions as applicable in the CNMI under the Covenant. https://www.saipantribune.com/index.php/sex-registrys-constitutionality-questioned/
AL: DISTRICT COURT DETERMINES ALABAMA LAWS TO BE PUNISHMENTFebruary 12, 2019 Doe v. Marshall – decided February 11, 2019 Conclusion: Alabama can prosecute sex offenses to the full extent of the law. It can also act to protect its citizens from recidivist sex offenders. But the State denies that ASORCNA is designed to “punish” offenders. And once a person serves his full sentence, he enjoys the full protection of the Constitution. Harris, 772 F.3d at 572; accord Packingham, 137 S. Ct. at 1737. Sex offenders are not second-class citizens, and anyone who thinks otherwise would do well to remember Thomas Paine’s wisdom: “He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy *49 from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Doe-v.-Marshall-Alabama-Feb-2019.pdf https://twitter.com/G_Padraic/status/1095366001875660805 https://www.al.com/news/2019/02/some-alabama-sex-offender-registration-laws-are-unconstitutional-federal-judge-rules.html https://reason.com/blog/2019/02/13/sex-offenders-are-not-second-class-citiz CA: ACSOL SUPPORTS SENATE BILL TO TERMINATE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTSFebruary 14, 2019 The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) has agreed to support Senate Bill 145 that would provide judges with the authority to terminate the requirement to register for individuals convicted of some sex offenses. The authority would be limited to circumstances in which the age difference between the offender and the victim is 10 years or less provided that the victim is at least 14 years old. “Senator Scott Wiener, author of the Tiered Registry Law, is also author of Senate Bill 145,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “ACSOL supports Senate Bill 145 because it will allow judges discretion, when warranted, to end registration requirements for individuals whose age was within 10 years of their victims.” Attached is a copy of the ACSOL letter. Members and supporters of ACSOL are encouraged to send their own personally worded letters of support to the Senate Public Safety Committee via FAX to 916-445-4688 or via U.S. mail to State Capitol, Room 2031, Sacramento, CA 95814. https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SB-145-Bill-Language.pdf https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SB-145-Letter-to-Sen-Pub-Safe-Feb-2019_000146.pdf
NY: STATEMENT ON LANDMARK APPELLATE DECISION LIMITING THE REACH OF SORA RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONSFebruary 22, 2019 [legalaidnyc.org – 2/21/19]The Legal Aid Society applauded a ruling rendered today by the New York State Appellate Division – Third Department, rejecting the New York State Department of Correction and Community Supervision’s (DOCCS) interpretation of the statutory residency restrictions faced by individuals with prior sex offense convictions. Specifically, the court held that people whose sex offense sentences had already expired were not subject to the law’s harsh mandatory residency restrictions when they were released to parole following a subsequent non-sex offense conviction. The ruling represents the first such limitation imposed by an appellate tribunal on these restrictions since the law’s enactment. These restrictions have garnered recent criticism – especially in New York City – for making it virtually impossible for individuals to locate compliant addresses. https://www.legalaidnyc.org/news/2019/2/21/statement-on-landmark-appellate-decision-limiting-the-reach-of-sora-residency-restrictions
New Blogs Part 12 Updated March 12 2019 I had to edit this. It has been on my mind all this time. I do not get paid for any of my posts online and get sloppy all the time. That is why I always say I can not be held accountable for editing mistakes and typos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A1ZU4UaDPA Disturbing Things In Sixteen Candles Only Adults Notice – YouTube. This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that not only is 16 Candles; racist but it is full of sex offenses. I have been saying this type of thing for years here on this blog. Sex offences are played out in movies and television all the time; with never a mention of any wrong doing. I thought this example is worth pointing out. I was checking my email this morning and read this headline: A comedian licked a journalist’s ear while he was reporting. Is it assault?I say it is most definitely a assault and everything and anything like it. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/02/comedian-licked-journalists-ear-reporting-assault/? I am very happy our society is waking up to what sex offences are; but where are all the registered sex offenders as a result of all this new found knowledge. Sex offences are continually a pick and choose crime. We as a society pick and choose actors and directors and rich people and gay people and church people and minority’s and especially politicians, just some examples of the most popular to be registered sex offenders. If everyone that committed a sex offence was a registered sex offender; the number would be a true force to recon with. Considering the population of America for example is about 330 million. My ruff guess would be at least one forth to one third of that number; may have committed a sex offence. That goes for just about every country in the world. I am not at all belittling someone licking someones ear on television; as a common event. Personally like rape; that is a type of behavior, I can not or will not, even try to understand. I have always believed that our lives go how we interact with each other; anything like this behavior does not compute with me.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated March 24 2019 I do not believe in any conspiracy theories, at all, and never did; my whole life. I do not believe in chemtrails, freemasons, weather warfare, psychotronic weapons, gangstalking, flat earth, pizzagate, MK Ultra, DEWs, HAARP, smart meters, 5G, Agenda 21 & 2030, kill cities, social engineering, Rothschilds, Rockefellers, touchless torture, UFO’s and the rest. I basically do not believe in conspiracy’s at all. I think these things are tools to keep people from believing like the dollar bill say’s: In God We Trust. I never believed in conspiracy theories, like UFO’s all my life, I guess that is one of the most common. I do not even believe in the biggest conspiracy theory our nation has ever had on it: all people caught committing a sex offence, especially registered sex offenders; are a danger to everyone because they could sexually molest people, at any moment. I can not help but laugh a little inside to think people actually believe this; it is that ridiculous.If you are going to believe that a human being is capable of molesting another human being at any moment; you would have to put all your trust in man, especially men who are profiting from such bazaar claims.To all them that put their trust in man this scripture is meant just for you; it should be the theme of their lives.:Jeremiah 17:5 KJVThus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.God extremely, rarely, pronounces a curse like this. To my knowledge it is the only scripture like it. Now you must see how important it is we have In God We Trust on our money.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated March 27 2019 I updated my last post and put it in bold and highlighted. From: it should be the theme of your life.: to: it should be the theme of their lives.: SOFAQ is for people who see through things to the basic rights of human beings not the others. If you do not care who you give your mobile phone number this is a good petition to sign: https://secure.everyaction.com/_TsbUoLcy0iH1t_IazfVQQ2 I have limited minutes on mine and can not afford text messages and such. Here is a copy of the letter: Freedom of religion is important to all of us, including LGBTQ people. It’s one of the founding values of our nation. That’s why it’s already protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. But that freedom doesn’t mean imposing one’s religious beliefs onto others. That’s why I am angered by bills like SB 17. Nobody should be granted a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people. Just because a health care professional cares for a patient doesn’t mean they share or endorse all of that patient’s beliefs. Just because someone rents out an apartment or hires an employee doesn’t mean they endorse every part of that person’s life. We all have different beliefs. That’s what makes our country great. Nobody should be turned away by a health care or other service provider, fired from a job, or denied housing simply because of who they are. As your constituent, I’m asking you to oppose Senate Bill 17 and to stop using religion to divide us. CA: MANY CALIFORNIANS CAN CLEAR CRIMINAL RECORDS, BUT DON’T. THIS BILL WOULD MAKE IT AUTOMATICMarch 11, 2019 [sfchronicle.com – 3/7/19]People arrested or convicted of crimes in California could have their criminal records automatically cleared under a proposed law announced Thursday by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón and Assemblyman Phil Ting. AB1076 would wipe out eligible convictions for people who have completed local sentences and eliminate many arrest records that have not resulted in convictions. Offenders already are eligible to petition the courts for the relief, but less then 20 percent take advantage of the program, said Ting, D-San Francisco. Under the law, people convicted of offenses ranging from petty theft to more serious felonies that resulted in jail sentences — such as robbery or assault — could begin putting their criminal pasts behind them. The groundbreaking clean-slate initiative would keep background-check agencies from accessing and disseminating cleared criminal records to employers and licensing boards. However, it would not remove the records from law enforcement databases. From: https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/San-Francisco-s-Gasc-n-Ting-propose-13671420.php MI: ACLU LAWSUITS LOOK TO REFORM MICHIGAN SEX OFFENDER REGISTRYMarch 15, 2019 [wsbt.com – 3/15/19]KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A federal court ruled three years ago that parts of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry laws were unconstitutional, but since then, nothing in the law has changed. The ACLU is looking to reform, or even do away with the registry as part of an ongoing lawsuit. “The law that we have now is broken, it’s bloated, its ineffective and it actually makes us less safe,” said Miriam Aukerman, an attorney with the ACLU of Michigan. Aukerman said the state’s sex offender registry law is unconstitutional and ineffective, which was why the organization had ongoing lawsuits in both state and federal court. “When someone has served their time and done their punishment, we say ‘go out and start your life over again,’” Aukerman said. Michigan has one of the largest sex offender registries of any state, with 44,000 people. The registry is easy to access, and searchable by location or name on the Michigan State Police website. A search of the database shows 783 registered sex offenders in Kalamazoo, including 18 living within a half mile of Newschannel 3. “I think people need to know where things are, where people are in their neighborhood,” said Calhoun County Prosecuting Attorney David Gilbert. He said easy access to the database helps keep people safe. In 2006 and 2011 the Michigan legislature toughened sex offender laws, requiring lifetime registration for certain offenses. Those registration requirements were implemented retroactively. The toughened registration requirements meant people whose crimes occurred before the registry even existed had to register and were governed by strict standards. A federal appeals court ruled the retroactive registration unconstitutional in 2016. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal a year later. From: https://wsbt.com/news/regional/aclu-lawsuits-look-to-reform-michigan-sex-offender-registry?fbclid=IwAR3xnNtENX9cCICGe-zLYCTowXBG7Ev6u9gbC5oM-C1IZTnwn_YS1_YKx2U CT: TOWN REPEALS SEX OFFENDER RESTRICTIONS AMID LAWSUITMarch 25, 2019 [apnews.com – 3/24/19]WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (AP) — Residents of a Connecticut town have repealed a local ordinance that banned registered sex offenders from local parks, schools, the town library and other public places amid a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. The Windsor Locks law was approved 11 years ago amid concerns about threats to children’s safety by people listed on the state’s sex-offender registry. A federal lawsuit by an anonymous resident and an advocacy group alleges the ordinance violates sex offenders’ constitutional rights. From: https://www.apnews.com/a0055dbbd58f46c0a6b6ca77fb94d331
New Blogs Part 12 Updated April 02 2019 I liked Obama and I still believe in the Democratic Party. I will never believe all democrats are all Nazi Commies that want to destroy our country.
Another reason; I am so happy I have nothing to do with Facebook and Twitter.:
From: https://www.change.org/p/jack-conduct-a-large-scale-shut-down-of-twitter-accounts-that-tweet-rape-threats-at-women-rapethreatsnotok “You need to be raped…” This is one of many messages sent to women worldwide on social media every day. I know because I’ve received plenty of these threats. These intolerable comments are traumatic for me because I’ve been raped. I was drugged and brutally gang-raped by four men nearly 20 years ago. I still remember the fear and torment of being unable to take control of my own body or scream for help. I remember the intense pain I felt the next morning when I regained full consciousness. Not just physical pain, but intense mental and emotional pain that made me want to commit suicide. I would never wish that pain on anyone. Not even on my rapists. In 2014, I went public with my story. As a public rape survivor and activist, I use Twitter as a platform to spread my anti-violence message, but that same platform is being used by others to bully, terrorize, and threaten me. Unfortunately, Twitter does not take threats of rape seriously. Women receive the same response over and over when they reach out to Twitter for help: “Thank you for letting us know about your issue… the content doesn’t violate Twitter rules.” This is unacceptable. Threats of rape are used intentionally to terrorize women into submission and silence. Twitter bullies use rape threats because they know it instills a level of fear in women that can only rival the threat of murder. We cannot as a global society accept this kind of behavior. Twitter has block and mute features, but they’re not enough. They don’t stop the threats, and they do nothing to stop Twitter from being a platform that fosters violence against women. We know that there are hundreds of thousands of users who have made these threats. I’m all for free speech, but threatening rape and the brutal violation of another’s body is NOT something we should protect. Please stand with me and urge Twitter to begin a large scale shutdown of accounts that tweet rape threats. It’s time for Twitter to send the message to their users that the platform will not be used to promote threats of rape. It’s time for Twitter to listen and care about the requests of their female user base. NO ONE “needs to be raped…” Thank you to Chinmayi Sripada, whose petition in India inspired me to stand with her in solidarity and start the same petition in the United States. Join us and this global movement for this important change now.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated April 03 2019 If there is one thing I know is sex offences and all the different types that exist and how to avoid them. I never touch anyone unless it is only for a couple seconds like a hand shack or a pat on the back. I found a good page explaining about what I am talking about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groping When used in a sexual context, groping or fondling is touching another person in an unwelcome sexual way. The term generally has a negative connotation in many societies, and the activity may be considered sexual assault. Toucherism, considered a paraphilia, describes the practice of a person touching another non-consenting person with their hands, typically in crowds, for their own sexual pleasure. Touching a consenting person’s body during sexual activity, massage, or medical examination is not usually considered groping, though the term is sometimes used to include clumsy, selfish, or inappropriate sexual touching. Areas of the body most frequently groped include the buttocks, breasts, vulva and thighs on a woman, and the penis, testicles and buttocks on a man. Gropers might use their hands, but pressing any part of their body against another person can be considered groping. Next thing I know is my SOFAQ blog is requiring my name to continue. I can say anything I want; but when I say something negative about a prominent democrat; I have problems on the internet. I have had whole web pages stop working the second I say something positive about President Trump. This page is proof of that (notice the last thing I added was a positive image I made for the president; after that, the page would not work) this is that page: http://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/bible-bashing-sofaq-style-updated.html Here is a screenshot copy of one of the responses:
New Blogs Part 12 Updated April 06 2019 About my last post: I have had so many problems with this blog and using other Google feature’s; that is why I made the above complaint. For instance I actually had my Google Plus account suspended for supposedly spamming inspirational Bible verses on images. If I spammed I did it without knowing because if you post to one page it automatically posts to other pages you are a member of. How was I supposed to know that? When they asked me for my name I immediately thought they were resetting my account here. Also I have never trusted to view count for this page. Since my Google Plus problem about 3 months ago; Google Plus has been discontinued. I could care less about that. As far as I am concerned all Google Plus just jammed up my inbox with emails I never read. The reason I reacted the way I did with my SOFAQ blogs; was because when I was banned from Google Plus for a spam violation I did know I committed; the only way I could post, was to choose a new name for my account. When I could not log on here until I entered a name; it made me think they may have wanted to ban me here. I shut all these blogs down for almost 2 weeks, because I thought it was giving me a reputation of a political blogger rather than what I want to be known as: a skilled and college graduated artist. Google does way more for me than I could ever thank them enough for. It blows me away when I go to images and put my blog name in and all these great works of art I have created; are instantly staring me in the face. They got it down these days too. They automatically post things on Google I write the minute I post them. When I am writing a email to anyone; I can put a word in Google and my blog name and find the exact page it is on. As long as Google keeps the emphasis on my art images; I will feel more reflected as a artist on the web verses a political blogger. Why?: “A picture is worth a thousand words” is an English language idiom. It refers to the notion that a complex idea can be conveyed with just a single picture, this picture conveys its meaning or essence more effectively than a description does. From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_picture_is_worth_a_thousand_words
New Blogs Part 12 Updated April 26 2019
AZ: Sex offenders get chance to end life-long registration under House proposalMarch 30, 2019 [azcapitoltimes.com – 3/29/19] State lawmakers are weighing whether to give judges more leeway to eliminate the requirement that certain people register for life as sex offenders. A measure approved Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee would allow people convicted of certain sex crimes, when they turn 35, to petition to be absolved of the mandate. Not everyone would be eligible. The legislation pushed by… read more here: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/03/29/sex-offenders-get-chance-to-end-life-long-registration-under-house-proposal/ CT: Lawmakers Debate Changes in Sex Offender RegistryApril 1, 2019 [courant.com – 4/1/19] State legislators are debating whether they should make changes in the state’s sex offender registry, which was established in 1998. Former Republican state legislator Bob Farr of West Hartford and other advocates called Monday for approving the recommendations of the state’s sentencing commission on changes to the registry, which is currently “based on the offense and not on the risk… read more here: https://www.courant.com/politics/capitol-watch/hc-pol-lawmakers-sex-offender-changes-20190401-cccqp3wxj5hf7frfsakcyur3pm-story.html CA: Judge Allows San Diego Sex Offender Lawsuit To ProceedApril 1, 2019 [kpbs.org – 4/1/19] San Diego City Council members are under more pressure to repeal an unenforceable law restricting where sex offenders can live in the city, after a federal judge allowed a lawsuit challenging the ordinance to proceed. Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz ruled in January against the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed in 2017 by a group of unnamed sex… read more here: https://www.kpbs.org/news/2019/apr/01/judge-san-diego-sex-offenders-lawsuit-proceed/ IL: Federal Judge Finds Illinois Rules On Sex Offenders UnconstitutionalApril 2, 2019 [wbez.org – 4/1/19] A federal judge in Chicago has found the Illinois Department of Corrections is violating the constitutional rights of prisoners convicted of certain sex crimes by making the restrictions on where they can live so stringent that inmates are often locked up long beyond their sentences. In a ruling issued Sunday, Judge Virginia Kendall wrote that hundreds of offenders in the… read more here: https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/federal-judge-finds-illinois-rules-on-sex-offenders-unconstitutional/fdea1372-1b00-44b1-b0e6-2501bc082378 Canada: Sex-offender registry laws discriminate against mentally ill, court rulesApril 4, 2019 [theprovince.com – 4/4/19] Parts of federal and Ontario laws requiring sex-offender registration where an accused is granted an absolute discharge after being found not criminally responsible discriminate against the mentally ill and are therefore unconstitutional, Ontario’s top court ruled Thursday. While the court ordered information belonging to the man who brought the case to be deleted immediately from sex-offender registries, the justices also… read more here: https://theprovince.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/sex-offender-registry-laws-discriminate-against-mentally-ill-court-rules/wcm/433c5ac3-c436-443d-b7e7-b9f2b80aaf78 PA: High Court will again review sex offender registrationApril 9, 2019 Two years ago, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court shook up long-settled orthodoxy by ruling that the state’s sex offender registration law, otherwise known as SORNA (Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act) was punishment. The case, Commonwealth v. Muniz, 164 A.3d 1189 (Pa. 2018), presented the Court with two questions: whether people who committed their crimes before the adoption of the law could continue to be… read more here: https://ccresourcecenter.org/2019/04/09/pa-high-court-will-again-review-sex-offender-registration/ PA: Constitutional right or crime? Case of alleged harassment of sex offender’s family heads to courtApril 11, 2019 [lehighvalleylive.com – 4/9/19] A father and son from Freemansburg accused of harassing the family of a sex offender are headed to Northampton County Court on their respective criminal charges. James Forte Sr. and James Forte Jr., who both live in 200 block of Juniata Street in the borough, had their preliminary hearings Tuesday in front of District Judge Nicholas Englesson. Following testimony from the… read more here: https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/2019/04/constitutional-right-or-crime-case-of-alleged-harassment-of-sex-offenders-family-heads-to-court.html CCA: Appeals court strikes down state law that banned early parole for youthful violent sex offendersApril 11, 2019 – 1 Reply[sfchronicle.com – 4/10/19] Two men who received life sentences for a brutal sexual assault and robbery in Oakland when they were 19 must be given parole hearings during their 25th year in prison, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday, striking down a state law that made them ineligible. A California law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017, one of a series of… read more here: https://all4consolaws.org/2019/04/ca-appeals-court-strikes-down-state-law-that-banned-early-parole-for-youthful-violent-sex-offenders/ WA: Washington Sexting Bill Aims to Shield Teens From Adult LawApril 11, 2019 [usnews.com – 4/11/19] Legislation aimed at keeping youth who send sexually explicit texts from being charged under adult sex crime laws has cleared the Legislature in Washington state. The bill , which passed late Wednesday night, would create a new group of crimes reserved specifically for minors who are caught with explicit images of other minors, attempting to solve what lawmakers described as a… read more here: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/2019-04-11/sexting-bill-would-divert-teens-from-adult-sex-offense-rules CT: Low-risk sex offenders could come off CT registryApril 15, 2019 HARTFORD — The Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that would allow some low-risk offenders to come off the state’s public sex offender registry — a move that proponents said would make it easier for law enforcement to focus on high-risk offenders. read more here: https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Low-risk-sex-offenders-could-come-off-CT-registry-13768559.php This is a example of why, for the past 20 years; I have had a annual up to date ACLU card in my wallet. This is a example of why, for the past 20 years; I wear my ACLU t-shirts, when ever I get a chance. This is a example of why, for the past 20 years; I implore people to support the ACLU online and in person. MI: ACLU pushes for removal of sex offender registryApril 25, 2019 [abc57.com – 4/25/19] Could the sex offender registry soon be a thing of the past? The American Civil Liberties Union wants to possibly get rid of it, saying the registry doesn’t work. Right now, there are two cases out of Michigan, including a class action lawsuit, claiming several parts of the registry are unconstitutional. “In August 2016, the federal court of appeals held that… read more here: https://www.abc57.com/news/aclu-pushes-for-removal-of-sex-offender-registry
While film can be used to entertain and provide an escape for viewers, it can also be used to serve social causes, including bringing awareness to relevant social issues. April is nationally regarded as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, with college campuses, community organizations, and state coalitions working to raise awareness surrounding sexual violence. With April coming to a close, here are five films to check out before the end of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 1. The Hunting Ground (2015) MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for disturbing thematic material involving sexual assault, and for language. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 20-25% of college women and 15% of college men are victims of forced sex during their time in higher education. Director Kirby Dick and Producer Amy Ziering tackle this pervasive issue in their 2015 documentary “The Hunting Ground,” which follows students’ experiences with sexual assault on campus and the lack of action taken by college administrators. “The Hunting Ground” specifically sheds light on two of these students – Andrea E. Pino and Annie Clark – who became advocates for victims of sexual assault, filed a Title IX complaint against The University of North Carolina, and created the End Rape on Campus organization. The film shares the stories of male sexual assault victims as well, aiming to combat the stigma and shame that surrounds men who come forward about being assaulted. The documentary features the song “Til It Happens to You,” penned by Lady Gaga and Diane Warren for the film. In the song, Gaga poses the listener to put themselves in the shoes of those who are victims of sexual assault, and the pain these traumatic acts of violence brings. 2. Teeth (2007) MPAA Rating: Rated R for disturbing sequences involving sexuality and violence, language, and some drug use. Although many may not be able to get over the absurd premise, “Teeth” is an assertation of feminine power and a takedown of non-consensual sex. The film is a contemporary examination of the vagina dentata (toothed vagina) folk tale that has been used around the world to dictate the “danger” of women’s sexuality. The story centers on Dawn, a teenager involved in an abstinence group called The Promise. After being the subject of male sexual violence, Dawn discovers she has a unique physical adaptation. “Teeth” deconstructs its source folk tale and spins the narrative into a feminist horror-comedy. This grisly film is definitely not for everyone and some aspects of the film haven’t aged well in 2019, but its commentary on male entitlement and sexual violence are still as poignant today as it was in 2007. 3. Boys Don’t Cry (1999) MPAA Rating: Rated R for violence including an intense brutal rape scene, sexuality, language and drug use. “Boys Don’t Cry” is a biopic centered on the life of Brandon Teena, a transgender man living in 1990s Nebraska who becomes the victim of an appalling hate crime. The film isn’t perfect; the portrayal of Teena by cisgender actress Hilary Swank doesn’t fly in today’s era, especially when the advocacy for marginalized groups to portray themselves onscreen has become a relevant concern. With that said, “Boys Don’t Cry” has the audience reckon with the sexual violence enacted against trans people. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found that 47% of transgender people are sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime, and among that group, trans people of color are even more susceptible to sexual violence. In lieu of Sexual Assault Awareness month, I believe the film initiates a necessary conversation surrounding sexual assault against the LGBTQ+ community. 4. Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (2009) MPAA Rating: Rated R for child abuse including sexual assault, and pervasive language. Led by gravitas performances from both Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique (who won Best Supporting Actress for her role at the 82nd Academy Awards), “Precious” is a raw and rich portrait of a young woman surviving poverty and sexual assault. The film explores another avenue of assault in the subject of incest; Precious navigates two pregnancies as a result of sexual abuse within her household. After it is revealed that Precious is pregnant for a second-time, her principal organizes her to attend an alternative school for a brighter future. The story certainly isn’t light, but Director Lee Daniels creates the film could provide help for those who have experienced sexual assault and abuse. 5. The Invisible War (2012) MPAA Rating: NR With such a notable visibility of the Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) program on campus, it felt necessary to include the critically-acclaimed documentary “The Invisible War” to our list. “The Invisible War” won a Peabody Award and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards for its investigation into a prevailing culture of sexual assault and sexual harassment within the United States Armed Forces. Featuring interviews from victims, military officials, mental health professionals, and advocates, this documentary is a call to action to revise the way we handle cases of sexual assault within our military.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated April 28 2019 IN: 7th Circuit rules DOC sex offender program violates Constitution April 29, 2019 – [theindianalawyer.com – 4/26/19] Finding the disclosures provide information that any law enforcement agent “would love to have,” the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Indiana’s requirement that sex offender inmates give detailed accounts of their past actions violates the Constitution’s protections against self-incrimination. Donald Lacy, a sex offender inmate in the Indiana Department of Correction, filed a class action on behalf of all…https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/50120-th-circuit-rules-doc-sex-offender-program-violates-constitution?v=preview
ME: Maine Senate backs bill to extend statute of limitations on sex crimes May 2, 2019 – [timesrecord.com – 5/1/19] The Maine Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would extend the state’s statute of limitations on sexual assaults from eight years to 20 years. The measure, if approved by the House and signed by Gov. Janet Mills, would put Maine more in line with other states’ sex crimes statutes. The Senate passed the bill without debate. “Only three other states…https://www.timesrecord.com/articles/maine-1/maine-senate-backs-bill-to-extend-statute-of-limitations-on-sex-crimes/ NY: Animal-abuser registry plan advances in Oneida County May 4, 2019 – [romesentinel.com – 5/3/19] A plan to start a registry of convicted animal abusers in Oneida County advanced through a legislative committee this week but not without questions. The Board of Legislators’ Health and Human Services Committee passed the proposal on to the full board Wednesday. The measure would establish an website similar to that of sex offenders, with offender’s names, residence, birth dates, photo..https://romesentinel.com/stories/animal-abuser-registry-plan-advances-in-oneida-county,76029 ID: Sex offenders ask court to revive Idaho registry lawsuit May 7, 2019 – [washingtontimes.com – 5/6/19] A group of 134 sex offenders have asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court to revive their lawsuit against the state of Idaho because they say they were denied their constitutional rights when they were forced to register as sex offenders. The group, referred to only as John Does 1 through 134 in the lawsuit, notified U.S. District Judge David Nye on…https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/may/6/sex-offenders-ask-appellate-court-to-revive-regist/ FL: Approves Database to Publish Details of People Who Pay for Sex May 7, 2019 – The Florida legislature passed legislation within the past week, Senate Bill 540 and House Bill 851, to establish a public database that tracks people convicted of, or who have pleaded guilty to, soliciting paid sex. While the legislation’s bipartisan authors consider it to be a step toward ending human trafficking, critics call it a means to publicly shame clients and others associated with people…https://filtermag.org/2019/05/07/florida-legislators-database-track-people-soliciting-paid-sex/ UT: Lawmaker calls for study in taking some convicts off sex offender registry May 16, 2019 – It’s a sensitive issues at the Utah Capitol — maybe close to alcohol policy, marijuana and Medicaid expansion — who goes off Utah’s Sex Offender Registry. Depending on the sex crime, convicts now can stay on for ten years, or for the rest of their lives. “We tend to kind of group those sex offenders together in the same broad brush category,“ said Sen….https://kutv.com/news/local/utah-lawmaker-calls-for-study-in-taking-some-convicts-off-sex-offender-registry MA: State’s Highest Court Orders Release Of Sex Offender Held Since 1970s May 16, 2019 – Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Thursday that a 71-year-old convicted sex offender held for more than 40 years as a sexually dangerous person can be released, after two mental health professionals ruled that he was no longer a risk. The court essentially upheld an earlier decision from 2009 in ruling that ___ ___ can’t continue to be held at the Massachusetts Treatment Center. Full Article…https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/05/16/states-highest-court-orders-release-of-sex-offender-held-since-1970s The YMCA bans persons required to register as sex offenders, but how has that worked out for them? May 22, 2019 – [floridaactioncommittee.org – 5/22/19] The Fulton County YMCA, in Johnstown, New York was just hit with a $10,000,000.00 lawsuit. A 19 year old former employee was charged with raping an underage girl in the locker room In Wichita, Kansas a 31 year old former employee allegedly sexually assaulted three teenage girls this month. The same Y had another instance of sexual assault last year. The…https://floridaactioncommittee.org/the-ymca-bans-persons-required-to-register-as-sex-offenders-but-how-has-that-worked-out-for-them/ NY: Anthony Weiner complained about sex offenders in district before scandal May 27, 2019 – [nypost.com – 5/27/19] Here’s another thing that gets a rise out of Anthony Weiner: other perverts. Long before the former Queens congressman earned himself a rap sheet for trading X-rated messages with a 15-year-old girl, he was getting hot and bothered about sex offenders living in the congressional district he represented. Weiner’s office repeatedly called the NYPD’s Sex Offender Monitoring Unit to gripe about…https://nypost.com/2019/05/27/anthony-weiner-complained-about-sex-offenders-in-district-before-scandal/ Sex Offense Recidivism Rates LOWER than Previous Estimates According to Recent Bureau of Justice Study May 31, 2019 – Recently, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released a report entitled, “Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from State Prison: A 9-Year Follow Up (2005-2014).” “Notwithstanding the sensationalist headline (“three times as likely”), the statistics reported are actually quite favorable. Full Summary: https://njlawattorney.com/2019/05/30/bjs-sex-offense-recidivism-study-2019/ BJS report: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsorsp9yfu0514.pdf
New Blogs Part 12 Updated June 3 2019 From: https://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/20190528_sentencing_commission_makes_last-minute_plea_to_senate/ Sentencing Commission Makes Last-Minute Plea To Senate by Lisa Backus | May 28, 2019 5:00am HARTFORD, CT — With less than two weeks to the end of the legislative session, the state Sentencing Commission is asking Senate leaders to bring two potentially controversial proposals to a vote. SB 1113 would create a new sex offender registry board, which would set the length of time a person could be on the registry based on their risk of reoffending and not just the offenses they committed. The bill would also create two registries, one that is public, which would contain the information on high-risk offenders that the public can see and one that can only be seen by law enforcement, which would contain all offenders that the board deems necessary. The commission made up of judges and department heads dealing with criminal justice issues including the Office of the Victim Advocate and Chief State’s Attorney is also asking for a vote on SB 948, a bill that would allow defendants to seek a 364-day sentence rather than a one-year sentence, which in some cases would prevent deportation according to federal immigration laws. “We realize that these bills address difficult issues and that you have other competing priorities,” Commission Chair Judge Robert Devlin and Commission Executive Director Alex Tsarkkov said in a letter to Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven. “We ask that you review these two bills and bring them up for a vote this legislative session,” the two added. Read More here: https://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/20190528_sentencing_commission_makes_last-minute_plea_to_senate/
Chick-fil-A owner arrested after admitting she repeatedly molested an underage girl She was a church youth group leader at the time and the girl was under her care. Friday, June 14, 2019 Heather Matuszek, a Chick-fil-A franchise owner-operator and former church youth group leader, has been arrested in Florida on two felony charges for “lewd and lascivious molestation” of an underage girl. Matuszek was serving in her role of a church authority at the time of the incidents. Matuszek was 28 at the time, and the victim was 15. She has already admitted her guilt. The victim told authorities that Matuszek climbed into bed with her on two separate occasions, kissing her and rubbing her hands over the victim’s breasts. Police say other incidents occurred outside their jurisdiction. Matuszek has not been charged yet for those incidents, but local authorities where the crimes are alleged to have happened are investigating the allegations. Chick-fil-A, the controversial fast food chain best known for waffle fries served with a side of homophobia, quickly distanced themselves from their hand-picked owner. Related: Pete Buttigieg wants to negotiate a ‘peace deal’ between Chick-fil-A & LGBTQ people “This is deeply disturbing news,” the company said in a statement after Matuszek was arrested. “No one should ever be subjected to this sort of abuse and we are shocked and saddened by the report. Law enforcement has jurisdiction over this matter and we are awaiting full facts to inform our actions. Chick-fil-A, Inc. is sending company representatives to the location for restaurant support.” Would-be franchise owners go through an extensive background check and must abide by the company’s strict “Christian” stances. The company’s corporate mission is to “glorify God” and the nationwide chain is closed on Sundays so their operators and employees can attend church. Company retreats include prayers and the company pushes franchisees to market their chicken sandwiches to church groups and other conservative organizations. The backlash to the chain’s admitted opposition to LGBTQ rights has resulted in the chain being denied permission to open stores in some places. The San Antonio city council recently voted to authorize a vendor to open restaurants in the local airport, but stipulated that Chick-fil-A could not be one of them, saying the group’s outspoken stance against LGBTQ rights flew in the face of the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance. In response, Texas legislators passed a “Save Chick-fil-A” law, signed by Governor Greg Abbott, meant to prevent local governments from exercising their authority to decide where or not to grant local approval for the franchise. While the GOP framed it as a matter of “religious freedom,” the law is widely seen as a way for Republicans to attack the LGBTQ community again in a state with a history of extreme reactions to advancements in civil rights for minorities. The company has continued to donate to anti-LGBTQ organizations despite saying that would stop. Earlier this year, the company described the donations as “a higher calling.”
Extremist pastor who wanted to ‘save the children’ arrested for repeatedly molesting a child He was a major supporter of a law that would have punished abortion with the death penalty while forcing “sexual intercourse multiple times a day or several times a week” on a teenaged relative. Monday, June 17, 2019 endolyn Smith Monday, June 17, 2019 Stephen Bratton Photo: Harris County Sheriff’s Department Stephen Bratton was a successful pastor at Grace Family Baptist Church in Cypress Station Texas, but he harbored a dark and sinister side, according to his family and friends. Now he finds himself charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child after he admitted the crime to church elders and his wife. Bratton 43, has been accused of inappropriately touching a teenaged relative, actions that escalated into “sexual intercourse multiple times a day or several times a week” according to Senior Harris County Deputy Thomas Gilliland. quoted by the Associated Press. Bratton was known for his extreme right-wing views, including arguing in favor of House Bill 896, a strict abortion ban that would have made abortion a crime punishable by the death penalty under Texas law. “Whoever authorizes or commits murder is guilty,” Bratton said in a hearing in support of the bill on April 8, as quoted by the Associated Press. “They’re guilty already in a court that is far more weighty than what is here in Texas.” Related: This pastor allegedly drugged & brutally raped two men before going home to his wife His former church released a statement about Bratton, and their own involvement in his arrest. “Stephen Bratton confessed to Erin Frye and Aaron Wright, both pastors at the church, of sexually abusing a minor in an ongoing way for a number of years on May 16th,” reads the statement. “This activity is wrong according to Biblical and civil law and the church condemns the behavior as abhorrent.” “The elders immediately filed a police report with Harris County Sheriff’s Office the same day, May 16th,” continues the statement. “As the weeks followed the pastors continued to make contact with the detective because they desired the case to be brought forward so that justice would be served.” Bratton was removed from his job with the church and excommunicated from same. Others moved swiftly again Bratton: Sermon Audio removed over 2over 200 sermons by Bratton as news grown about his arrest. Bratton’s crimes are, unfortunately, not uncommon. An investigation by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News uncovered more than 700 victims of sexual misconduct by members of the Southern Baptist Church over a 20-year periods. Bratton is currently out of jail on a $50,000 bond.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated July 3 2019
FL: FORT LAUDERDALE OPENING MORE NEIGHBORHOODS TO SEX OFFENDERS WITH CHANGE IN STRICT LAWJune 7, 2019 [sun-sentinel.com – 6/7/19] There are no homes at 2700 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Although the only buildings standing are a McDonald’s and a Chick-fil-A, 110 people have registered it as an address. All of them are convicted sex offenders. This hot spot for sexual criminals is one of several along Federal Highway in northeast Fort Lauderdale, one of the few slivers in the city where a registered sex offender or sexual predator — rapists, molesters, child porn addicts — can legally reside. That will change soon. The city tentatively has agreed to relax its restrictive sex offender laws, opening up more of the city where offenders can legally live. The current law leaves just 1.4 percent of Fort Lauderdale for legal residence. Sex offenders and the more dangerous sexual predators can’t live within 1,400 feet of a school bus stop, park, day care, playground or school. The law is so restrictive, it’s not legally defensible, City Attorney Alain Boileau told commissioners Tuesday. One Broward County judge already has ruled against the city in a challenge. “It makes it very difficult for our law enforcement to go out and enforce it with any meaningful punch,” Boileau said. …
The city’s northeast is home to upscale neighborhoods, whose residents have grown concerned about homeless people in the area. Occasionally they see small encampments: clothes on an outdoor line behind a business, people sleeping, garbage strewn about. As of this month, 201 sex offenders are registered as transients along the stretch of Federal Highway from Oakland Park Boulevard south to Northeast 26th Street, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Mary Peloquin, president of the Coral Ridge Association, said the issue first came to her attention in 2017, after a registered sex offender was accused of raping a woman just east of Federal Highway. She wondered about other sex offenders in the area and was dismayed at what she found on the state’s searchable database. Peloquin noticed an increase in transients after a homeless camp in downtown Fort Lauderdale was emptied in November. She supports the relaxing of the law, to give people more housing options. Peloquin said she found it strangely unfair that offenders “be given such a slim chance to get their feet back on the ground and start a good life.” Commissioner Heather Moraitis, who represents and lives in the part of the city with the cluster of offenders, said the current law led to homelessness of sex offenders, a dangerous proposition. “My goal isn’t necessarily to disperse them throughout the city as much as to get them into housing, whatever that may be,” Moraitis said. “I think that’s really the goal. I’m not saying I don’t want them in my backyard.” … Of the homeless sex offenders, nearly 80 percent of them are registered to Fort Lauderdale addresses, according to the Florida Action Committee. The city attracts more homeless people because of its easier access to food kitchens, the courthouse and mass transit, among other reasons. The Main Jail also is in Fort Lauderdale. But Moraitis said none of the city-funded services to help homeless people, including shelters and a day respite center, can be used by convicted sex offenders. Federal law also bans them from subsidized housing and requires them to make early accommodations if they think they will need to use an emergency shelter. The state Legislature’s research arm, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, points to residency restrictions as the biggest factor leading to an increase in offender homelessness. … Mayor Dean Trantalis said he didn’t want the city’s pending action to be misinterpreted. The city has no choice because its current law is unconstitutional, he said. “We don’t want to open the door to sexual offenders, or predators thinking that Fort Lauderdale is a welcoming place,” Trantalis argued. Read the full article: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-ne-sex-offenders-lauderdale-20190607-epjquklmy5c3fge7jfusond7f4-story.html A LIMITED STUDY DONE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE STILL PROVES THAT REGISTRANTS HAVE THE LOWEST RE-OFFENSE RATEJune 10, 2019 [sosen.org – 6/7/19]
The Department of Justice Bureau of statistics has put out another report “Recidivism of sex offenders released from state prison a nine-year follow-up 2005-14.” This is another attempt to muddy the waters by the Department of Justice in relation to the re-offense rate of people on the registry. First of all, this is not a valid study for evaluating the amount of recidivism by the 900,000+ people that are registered citizens. This is in fact a limited study of a small group of people that were released from prisons in 2005 and when I say a small group it is limited to rapists and sexual abusers, it does not take into account all the other types of sexual misconduct that will result in a criminal conviction and may or may not spend prison time as well as resulting in a listing on the registry. Although the authors of this 35 page long “study” attempted to conceal the truth with its all kinds of extraneous information that is unrelated to the underlying title of the document, the true information about registrants’ conviction rates is still there, you just have to dig for it. Read more: https://sosen.org/blog/2019/06/07/a-limited-study-done-by-the-department-of-justice-still-proves-that-registrants-have-the-lowest-re-offense-rate.html AK: SUPREME COURT DECLARES LAW REQUIRING ALL SEX OFFENDERS TO REGISTER UNCONSTITUTIONALJune 14, 2019 The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s sex offender registry law violates offenders’ right to due process. In an opinion handed down Friday, the court — voting 3-2 — found the law requiring all offenders to register unconstitutional unless offenders are first given the opportunity to demonstrate they aren’t a danger to the public. Full Article: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2019/06/14/alaska-supreme-court-declares-law-requiring-all-sex-offenders-to-register-unconstitutional/ Justices Nix Heavy Sentences for Repeat Sex OffendersJune 26, 2019 MEGAN MINEIRO and BRAD KUTNERWASHINGTON (CN) — In an opinion that aligns Justice Neil Gorsuch with his liberal colleagues, the Supreme Court overturned a law that imposes heightened punishments on sex offenders who are caught with child pornography. “Only a jury, acting on proof beyond a reasonable doubt, may take a person’s liberty. That promise stands as one of the Constitution’s most vital protections against arbitrary government,” Gorsuch wrote for the plurality Wednesday. “Yet in this case a congressional statute compelled a federal judge to send a man to prison for a minimum of five years without empaneling a jury of his peers or requiring the government to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. As applied here, we do not hesitate to hold that the statute violates the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.” In the underlying case, a federal judge sentenced Andre Haymond to an additional five years in prison, the mandatory minimum, after finding that Haymond had violated his parole by possessing child porn. Probation officers caught Haymond with the images in a surprise 2015 search of his apartment while Haymond was two years into a 10-year term of supervised release for an earlier child-porn conviction. On appeal, however, the 10th Circuit found it unconstitutional that the mandatory-minimum law, codified at Section 3583(K) of Title 18 “imposes heightened punishment on sex offenders based, not on their original crimes of conviction, but on new conduct for which they have not been convicted by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.” The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to reverse, saying that supervised release is by its nature conditional and includes “the prospect of reimprisonment if the defendant proves unable to comply.” Declining to do so, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined Gorsuch’s opinion in full, and Justice Stephen Breyer concurred in the judgment. The rest of the court’s conservative members meanwhile joined a stinging dissent by Justice Samuel Alito that calls the plurality opinion “irreconcilable with precedent, and sports rhetoric with potentially revolutionary implications.” Touting the more narrow Breyer opinion as having “saved our jurisprudence,” Alito said “the plurality opinion appears to have been carefully crafted for the purpose of laying the groundwork for later decisions of much broader scope.” (Emphasis in original.) “In short, under the plurality opinion, the whole system of supervised release would be like a 40-ton truck speeding down a steep mountain road with no brakes,” the dissent continues later. Breyer noted that he agrees with Alito’s argument “that the role of the judge in a supervised-release proceeding is consistent with traditional parole.” Still, the justice found this stance unable to resolve concerns with the post-sentencing program. “The consequences for violation of conditions of supervised release under §3583(e), which governs most revocations, are limited by the severity of the original crime of conviction, not the conduct that results in revocation,” Breyer wrote. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the dissent in full as did Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh. Neither the Department of Justice nor Haymond’s attorney, William Dixon Lunn Jr., returned requests for comment by press time. Rakesh Kilaru, an attorney with the firm Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, said he was pleased with the high court’s decision. “Regardless how this statute describes the additional punishment it imposes, the triggering of a new mandatory minimum prison term requires both factfinding by a jury and proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Kilaru, whose firm filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the advocacy group Families Against Mandatory Minimums. Full Article: https://www.courthousenews.com/justices-nix-heavy-sentences-for-repeat-sex-offenders/ The Supreme Court Is One Vote Away from Changing How the U.S. Is Governed 11:18 A.M. Justice Brett Kavanaugh had not yet been confirmed when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Gundy v. United States; his vote could have changed the outcome.Photograph by Brendan Smialowski / AFP / GettyHad Brett Kavanaugh not been accused of sexual assault, one of the first cases he would have heard as a Supreme Court Justice would have been that of Herman Gundy, a convicted sex offender. When nominated, last July, Kavanaugh was expected to be confirmed in time for the term that started last October. But the emergence of sexual assault allegations against him delayed his confirmation vote until October 6th, just after the Court’s first set of oral arguments—which included Gundy’s request to invalidate his federal conviction for failure to register as a sex offender. In June, the Court denied Gundy’s petition. As it turns out, Kavanaugh’s absence from the case likely changed its outcome. Gundy v. United States was about the “Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act,” known as sorna, which Congress enacted in 2006. The statute made it a crime, punishable by ten years in prison, for individuals convicted of a sex offense involving a minor to fail to register in each state where they live, work, or study. But Congress gave the Attorney General “the authority to specify the applicability” of these requirements to people convicted before sorna took effect. In 2007 and in 2011, Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and Eric Holder said the requirements do apply to such people. That group encompassed half a million people, including Gundy, who was convicted of sexual assault of a minor in 2005. After serving prison time for the crime, he went to live in a halfway house in New York in 2012. After he failed to register there, he was rearrested and convicted of the new federal crime. Gundy claimed that sorna violated the non-delegation doctrine, wherein it is unconstitutional for Congress to delegate its legislative power to the executive branch. He argued that letting the Attorney General determine whether the law applied to people like him left too much to be decided by an agency rather than by Congress. For the better part of a century, the Court has permitted Congress to delegate broad policymaking authority to federal agencies. The Court has not struck down a statute under the non-delegation doctrine since 1935, when a conservative majority was hostile to progressive New Deal measures aimed at protecting workers and consumers. Since then, the increasing complexity of modern industrialized society has made it obvious that—even when Congress is not as dysfunctional as it is now—it’s not possible for Congress to legislate the technical details necessary to regulate the environment, health, safety, labor, education, energy, elections, discrimination, housing, and the economy. As a result, executive agencies create regulations and implement binding policies. That has long been understood as both necessary for the country to function and consistent with the Constitution. The Court has applied a test: if a statute gives an agency discretion that is sufficiently constrained by an “intelligible principle,” then Congress is not unconstitutionally delegating legislative power. But many conservatives complain that that test has been applied in a lax way, so that any statute delegating any scope of authority appears to satisfy it. For example, the Court has repeatedly upheld statutes that give agencies only general guidance, such as to regulate in the “public interest,” or issue air quality standards “requisite to protect the public health.” In Gundy, all four liberal Justices, in a plurality opinion by Justice Elena Kagan, hewed to the prevailing approach, finding that Congress provided enough guidance limiting the agency’s discretion to pass constitutional muster. Three conservative Justices, in a dissent by Justice Neil Gorsuch, said that the law impermissibly gave the Attorney General “free rein to write the rules,” and was unconstitutional. Justice Samuel Alito cast the deciding vote that enabled the liberals to prevail this time, but his three-paragraph concurrence made clear that the victory may be short-lived. He said that if the majority “were willing to reconsider the approach we have taken for the past 84 years, I would support that effort.” A conservative majority was lacking here because of the absence of Justice Kavanaugh. Next time there’s a similar case before the Court, his vote will make for a different result. We are now explicitly on notice that the Court will likely abandon its longstanding tolerance of Congress delegating broadly to agencies. What’s at stake is the potential upending of the constitutional foundations of the so-called “administrative state.” Today’s reality is that agencies, not Congress, make most federal laws. As Justice Kagan put it, if the delegation in Gundy were unconstitutional, “then most of Government is unconstitutional.” What will happen then, when the conservative bloc prevails? The alarmist view is that the E.P.A. couldn’t have the power to decide how stringent pollution standards should be. The F.D.A. couldn’t have the authority to approve or deny applications to sell new medical drugs. The Department of Education couldn’t make rules for colleges and universities. The Department of the Interior couldn’t govern snow mobiles in national parks. The S.E.C. couldn’t regulate financial firms or securities. The F.C.C. couldn’t issue rules on net neutrality or Internet service providers. In sum, we would dwell in a world without the federal law that governs our lives. The reason this parade of horribles is not quite right is that very few of us actually want to live in that world, and what the public, Congress, and the President all want over time, the Court is unlikely to stop. And to say that there are constitutional constraints on the scope and structure of congressional delegation to agencies is not to say that no delegation is allowed at all. An irony of the conservative majority’s insistence on returning to the Constitution’s requirements is that non-delegation is not mentioned in the Constitution. It is a set of judicially crafted elaborations on the principles of separation of powers and good governance. Article I simply grants all “legislative powers” to Congress, Article II similarly gives the “Executive power” to the President, and the text says nothing about delegation, nor does it define legislative or executive power. The meaning of these terms, of course, has been subject to many pages of argument and judicial interpretation since. read more here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-supreme-court-is-one-vote-away-from-changing-how-the-us-is-governed
An anti-gay church pastor confessed to sexually abusing underage boys He led a church that compares homosexuality to bestiality. Now prosecutors are saying they don’t know how many victims will come forward. Friday, July 5, 2019 A pastor in Alabama at an anti-LGBTQ church was arrested after confessing to molesting an underage boy. John Martin, 41, was the lead pastor of the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Florence, Alabama, until he resigned on June 23 amid allegations of sexual abuse. When he resigned, he confessed to his congregation that he had sexually abused a boy under the age of 16, which he referred to as an “affair.” He said that he had confessed to his wife already. He checked himself into a psychiatric unit and turned over his guns, and then he was arrested. Related: Anti-LGBT pastor arrested for making little boys sit on his face According to court records, he is accused of molesting one boy several times, both at his home and on a road trip. He also sent the victim explicit text messages. Court records also say that he admitted to molesting another boy when he confessed to his congregation. Assistant district attorney Angie Hamilton said that she believes there were other victims. “We have identified several potential victims,” she said. “We believe other charges are forthcoming.” The Lighthouse Baptist Church doesn’t hide its anti-LGBTQ stance. On its website, it compares being LGB to bestiality. “We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex,” the website reads. “We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman,” it continues. The website also expresses hatred of transgender people: “We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.” The church doesn’t allow women to take on leadership positions because “The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church.” Martin has been charged with four counts of first-degree sexual abuse. He faces up to 40 years in prison on those charges. News Alabama, Angie Hamilton, Florence, homophobic child molesters, John Martin, Lighthouse Baptist Church
New Blogs Part 12 Updated July 10 2019
From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/07/anti-gay-church-pastor-confessed-sexually-abusing-underage-boys/ Another; (Judge not, that ye be not judged.) post. Matt.7. [1] Judge not, that ye be not judged. [2] For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. [3] And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Matt.7 – Bible, King James Version
Christian school teacher who scolded girls to be modest was molesting male students She was a moral scold who told girls they were dressing like sluts & the entire time she was sending naked photos of herself to male students. Monday, July 8, 2019 A Christian school kindergarten teacher in the Chicago suburbs is facing charges related to sexual assault and child pornography after investigators say that she sent explicit material to minors for years. Shannon Griffin is the wife of the pastor of Jordan Baptist Church and is a teacher at the associated Jordan Baptist school in Oak Lawn, a suburb of Chicago. She is now facing five counts of criminal sexual assault, one count solicitation of child pornography, one count of distribution of harmful materials, and one count of grooming, which the Cook County Sheriff’s Office says come from her alleged sexual molestation of one underage student at the school and sending nude photos and videos of herself to that student and another one. A months-long investigation found “that Griffin sent nude pictures and videos of herself to and requested nude pictures from the minor and another juvenile victim, also enrolled at the school,” said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart in a statement. They believe that the molestation started in 2013 and continued until earlier this year. Related: Conservative Christian leader accused of using Bible study to molest a teenage boy The pictures were circulated among students until they reached one mother, whose name has not been made public. One student, Yhaneera Aparicio-Armas, said that she remembered Griffin for being really strict when it came to dress code violations. “She would write me up and other girls and, like, how ironic that you’re telling us how to dress, us how to be modest, and be Christian women, and you turn around doing the exact opposite,” said Aparicio-Aramas. Parents of students at the school say they feel betrayed by the school, like Mike Mollo, who said that he immediately pulled his kids from the school when he found out about Griffin and called the pastor. “I called the pastor, and I said to him, ‘You better get in front of this.’ I said, ‘All these kids are passing videos around of your wife,’” Mollo told CBS Chicago. “And he said, ‘It’s not my wife. It’s not her. We’re just going to pray about it. Let the Lord take care of us.” He said that he found out when his son showed him naked videos and pictures of Griffin. “He said, ‘Dad, you got to see this,’” Mollo said. “He pulls his phone out, and it’s a bunch of pornographic videos of her doing things to herself.” “You pay that kind of money to send your kids to a school to where you can trust these people, and they go and do this?” he said. “Betrayed is an understatement. Violated, betrayed, angry. There’s no words to describe what I was feeling.”
New Blogs Part 12 Updated July 23 2019
From: https://thenextweb.com/code-word/2019/07/23/police-demand-access-to-sexual-assault-survivors-phones-or-have-their-case-dropped/ Police demand access to sexual assault survivors’ phones — or have their case dropped Jul 23, 2019 – 7 hours ago at 2:12 Central Time For the ongoing series, Code Word, we’re exploring if — and how — technology can protect individuals against sexual assault and harassment, and how it can help and support survivors. In April 2019, police in the UK introduced new consent forms asking sexual assault survivors for permission to access their personal information stored on their phones. If survivors refuse to hand over phone data in this “digital strip search,” police will allegedly stop investigating their rape case.
These consent forms, which have been rolled out by all 43 forces in England and Wales, ask the permission of survivors to pick apart seven years worth of text messages, photographs, email, and social media content. “If you refuse permission for the police to investigate, or for the prosecution to disclose material which would enable the defendant to have a fair trial then it may not be possible for the investigation or prosecution to continue,” the consent form outlines, according to the Associated Press. According to Big Brother Watch, a non-profit privacy campaigning organization, the police and Crown Prosecution Service are already facing backlash over the gross invasion of privacy and concerns around data protection. According to a petition addressed to Nick Hurd MP (Minister for Policing, National Police Chiefs’ Council, and CPS), this “digital strip search” is ‘unlawful’ and ‘makes survivors feel as if they’re the ones on trial.’ The petition against the practice has been signed by just shy of 36,000 people at the time of writing this — only 4,000 away from its goal. It has also been endorsed by 10 campaign groups, including Big Brother Watch, Amnesty International, the Centre for Women’s Justice, and End Violence Against Women. “My phone documents [have] many of the most personal moments in my life, and the thought of strangers combing through it to try to use it against me makes me feel like I’m being violated once again,” one survivor who spoke to the campaigners said. Since its introduction, police have attempted to reassure survivors that only material relevant to the potential prosecution will be taken into consideration. Soon after the new protocol for sexual assault survivors was rolled out, the NPCC tweeted: We are sensitive to the concerns about privacy when asking for access to digital data to pursue a reasonable line of enquiry. Officers will only ask for access to private data when necessary and proportionate, and advice will be given so victims can make an informed decision. But the form itself states even information of a separate criminal offense “may be retained and investigated,” as reported by The New York Times. Whilst it’s not unreasonable for police to request additional information to confirm a crime has taken place, in the case of rape, the legal system has all too often failed survivors of assault. When it comes to sexual assault, police often disbelieve survivors, something that doesn’t seem to happen as often with other crimes — simply having a one-size-fits-all criminal justice system won’t work. This procedure only makes it harder for survivors to come forward with their story. Because of the fear of not being believed in court, according to RAINN, The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, out of 1,000 sexual assaults, just 230 are reported to the police. And out of 1,000 sexual assaults reported, 995 perpetrators will walk free. This “digital strip search” is just another hurdle for survivors to consider when reporting their attacker — as if it isn’t challenging enough.
Published time: 27 Jul, 2019 03:53 Edited time: 27 Jul, 2019 04:42 Apple’s Siri AI assistant sends audio of sexual encounters, embarrassing medical information, drug deals, and other private moments recorded without users’ knowledge to human ‘graders’ for evaluation, a whistleblower has revealed.
Recordings from Apple’s Siri voice assistant are fed to human contractors around the world, who grade the AI based on the quality of its response and whether its activation was deliberate, according to an anonymous contractor who spoke to the Guardian. They claimed accidental activations are much more frequent than Apple lets on, especially with Apple Watch users – and wants the company to own up to the problem. “There have been countless instances of recordings featuring private discussions between doctors and patients, business deals, seemingly criminal dealings, sexual encounters and so on. These recordings are accompanied by user data showing location, contact details, and app data,” the whistleblower revealed. “Apple is subcontracting out, there’s a high turnover. It’s not like people are being encouraged to have consideration for people’s privacy, or even consider it,” the whistleblower said, explaining that they are concerned these recordings, produced when Siri thinks it hears its “wake word,” could be used against the people who (accidentally) made them – especially given the “broad” amount of user data they claim contractors are “free to look through.” In what sounds like a sick joke on the part of some programmer, the sound of a zipper unzipping often triggers Siri to wake up. If there were someone with nefarious intentions, it wouldn’t be hard to identify [people on the recordings]. While Apple does not explicitly mention any human involvement in Siri’s training in the AI’s documentation, it acknowledged when asked about its practices that “a small portion of Siri requests are analyzed to improve Siri and dictation.” The company insisted that this amounted to less than one percent of all daily activations of the AI and that the recordings were “typically only a few seconds long.”
New Blogs Part 12 Updated July 30 2019
My father was a police officer so I strongly support the police where ever I live. We have a great bunch of Police here in Texas. In one of my searches I must have gotten on this sex offender watch list. I like it over the years because it always has pictures of our local sheriff leaders; so I have not unsubscribed. Last year I noticed what the email said and was shocked to see such uneducated comment’s on it. Here is a copy of it with my words in bold.: From: https://offenderwatch.com/ What should you do? This notification will assist you and your family in avoiding situations that may make you vulnerable. Please remember that these people have served their sentences and are not wanted by the Sheriff’s office at this time (at this time? that seems disrespectful in a way). Citizen abuse of this information such as threats, intimidation, or harassment of these offenders is prohibited by law (what does that mean? prohibited but not discouraged?). Children are particularly vulnerable to offenders (they think all sex offenders are a danger to children automatically, no matter what the offence). Open communications between parents and children are vital to family safety. If a picture is available from your government Web site, show it to your family. (Stuff like this has got to hurt kid’s mentally. Of course if you are like most irresponsible parents; you have to tell them things like this because you do not spend enough time watching over your kids.) In general terms, tell your children that this person has hurt someone before. Explain to them they should stay away from this individual. Avoid scary details. (Yet the problem behind all this is fear.) The purpose behind community notification is to reduce the chance of future victimization by better informing the public. (this sounds like every single person that has violated a sex offence law is unable to function in society without being held under constant supervision of the public.) Nearly 80% of all sex crimes are committed by someone known to the victim. (yet the term predator in constantly used to describe a committer of a sex crime.) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Q. Is it just a matter of time before the offender commits another crime? (why is this even a question your average citizen would ask?) A. While there is no way that anyone can accurately predict the future behavior of another person, (no; really?) past behaviors are an indication of whether an individual, or group, poses a higher risk to the public. (only if that person is uneducated enough not to learn from their mistakes) For example, if a driver has speeding tickets, they pose a greater risk to be in a traffic accident than drivers who do not; thus, they pay more for their insurance because they are more likely to get into an accident than non-speeders. Not all speeders get into accidents. In fact, most will not have an accident; it’s just that they are statistically more likely to have an accident than are other drivers. (This is the worst explanation of whether or not a sex offender will commit another sex offence; I have ever read. It seems more to prove that a sex offender will commit another sex crime than will not.) Similarly, not all offenders will commit another crime; (what does that mean? Does this mean they are still condemned no matter what? Why is there no mention; in even the smallest of ways, that some offenders may be completely reformed and a respectable people, positively contributing to society?) however, knowledge of a potential risk should assist you and your family in avoiding situations that allow for easy access to victims. (You don’t let your children around adults unless they are professional bonded child care professionals. That would be my motto if I had kids.) Q. There is an offender in our area that I believe is coming in contact with children. What should I do? A. First of all, do not confront the individual. Contact us and inform us of your suspicion. We will inquire whether or not contact with children is being made. Q. What do I tell my children about this offender? (You see it is always about children. This cause people too suspect things that are not true; feeding the typical paranoia and automatic hatred of those guilty of sex crimes.) A. DON’T accept a ride from this person, DON’T go into their home or yard. TELL your parents if this person offers you toys, money or gifts. (You have to be mentally challenged not to know this through commonsense.) Other safety tips to discuss with your children: There are certain kinds of strangers that can assist you when you need help – others with children, other children, police in uniform or store clerks in the mall. Teach your children to dial 911 and to use a pay phone without money. Teach your children to trust their feelings and say NO and run away from a situation that doesn’t feel right. (I do feel bad for parents like this; pulled into this, by the ratings starved media/internet fiend’s. How do you described all of this to a kid without damaging them mentally?)
New Blogs Part 12 Updated August 02 2019
This is a good example of what me and the ACLU and other’s have been warning you about all these years. I hate animal abuse and am glad updates on laws punish people like this. This is a example of how laws that are used on sex offenders could be used on others in the future. : NC: ANIMAL ABUSERS COULD APPEAR ON REGISTRY — LIKE SEX OFFENDERS IN NORTH CAROLINAJuly 12, 2019 [abc30.com – 7/10/19]RALEIGH, N..C — A new bill introduced in the North Carolina legislature would require the names and photos of convicted animal abusers to appear in an online registry for at least two years. The legislation is called the North Carolina Animal Abuser Registry Act and it was introduced by North Carolina state Sens. Floyd McKissick, a Democrat, and Danny Britt, a Republican. First-time offenders would be put on the registry “for two years following the date of conviction.” After two years, the individual would be removed from the list. “If you are a second offender, you have to actually go out there and be convicted in court, then your image would stay up there for up to five years,” McKissick said. “In the event of a second event, you would not be able to own any type of pet.” Read more here: https://abc30.com/pets-animals/animal-abusers-could-appear-on-registry—-like-sex-offenders-in-north-carolina/5388368/ From: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/in-great-decision-out-of-indiana/ ANOTHER federal district court that has found the registry is PUNISHMENT! Stevens was spot on in his dissent in Smith – “No matter how often the Court may repeat and manipulate multifactor tests . . . it will never persuade me that the registration and reporting obligations that are imposed on convicted sex offenders and on no one else as a result of their convictions are not part of their punishment.” (Also quoted in this opinion) Let us hope the state of IN does not appeal and this will be a other case we can use in support. Other than being on the registry for a offenses before we had one here in FL what is more bafflingis how it is ruled ex post facto punishment in other states. The US Constitution governs us all. It seems like things are getting better everywhere but Florida. Hats off to FAC and the legal team for fighting for fighting for us. IL: WAYSIDE RESIDENTS SUE CITY OF AURORA, CHALLENGE STATE’S RESIDENCY LAWS FOR REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERSJuly 21, 2019 The 19 child sex offenders who were told they must leave Wayside Cross Ministries by July 26 have filed a civil federal lawsuit against the city of Aurora, arguing the men should not have to move and challenging the state’s residency laws for registered sex offenders. Read more here: https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/ct-wayside-sex-offenders-lawsuit-st-0721-20190719-wtuoermhwbdczi35g6is5o5q7u-story.html
This seems self evidently awful, so rather than opine on the subject in prose, here’s the short version of how I feel about this story: https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/texas-dps-chief-of-intelligence-and-counterterrorism-fired-accused-of-sexual-assault High-ranking Texas DPS chief fired, accused of raping female party guestby CBS AustinWednesday, July 31st 2019 John Jones, who was the Chief of the Texas Department of Public Safety Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division, has been fired and arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman who was a guest at a party in his home AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety says the chief of their Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division has been fired after being charged with sexual assault. John Jones was terminated by DPS on Tuesday, the same day he was arrested by investigators from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers and booked in the Travis County Jail on the charge of sexual assault. According to an affidavit, Travis County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call for a sexual assault at Jones’ home in Leander on July 21st. The victim, a woman in her 40s who was a friend of his wife, told investigators she had attended a party at Jones’ residence the night before with 10 to 15 other people in attendance, and described Jones as a “pillar of the community” because he had met President Trump. She told deputies she arrived at the home around 1 p.m. on July 20th and that Jones had been drinking all day to the point of him passing out. She said he woke up in the evening and began drinking again and around 9 p.m. offered to take her for a ride on his ATV. Court documents state that the woman drove the ATV while Jones sat behind her as they traveled along trails and streets near his home. She said he then instructed her to go off road. According to deputies, Jones then asked her when she last had sex. She thought the question was odd given Jones’ position in the law enforcement community, but answered the question anyway. She told investigators Jones then reached around her and aggressively grabbed the handlebars, pushing her forward and demanding he steer the ATV. The victim says they went off road and into a brushy clearing, where deputies say he sexually assaulted her. CBS Austin has learned that Jones took part in a round table discussion with President Trump at the White House in January on border security, where he specifically mentioned his concern about the number of undocumented immigrants in Texas jails for sexual assault. You can see that video here: https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/texas-dps-chief-of-intelligence-and-counterterrorism-fired-accused-of-sexual-assault
Christian group accuses ‘filthy’ Whole Foods of supporting pedophilia
One Million Moms (OMM) — the boycott-happy anti-LGBTQ hate group with only 93,000 social media followers — has launched its latest campaign against Whole Foods for supporting Drag Queen Story Hour, the delightfully queer children’s library program where volunteer performers dress up and read books to kids.
And this time, they’re encouraging violence against everyone involved by basically saying that the program facilitates child rape.
In its usual overwrought and alarmist style, OMM writes:
A retailer that once promoted organics and clean food is now saturated in absolute filth, exploiting America’s children to be “groomed” by drag queens. Whole Foods Market is now sponsoring a Drag Queen Story Hour event to indoctrinate children into transgenderism and homosexuality. Their goal is to normalize the LGBTQ lifestyle.
Whole Foods Market was one of the primary sponsors of the Drag Queen Story Hour held in Atlanta, GA…
The disturbing events involve men dressed up as garishly adorned women who read LGBTQ-themed books to young children under the guise of performing a public service. Some drag queens have admitted their goal is to “groom” the next generation.
If you shop at Whole Foods Market, you are also supporting child exploitation…
In none-too-subtle language, OMM is basically implying that gay, trans people and drag performers want to have sex with children. “Grooming” is a noun defined as “the action by a pedophile of preparing a child with the intention of committing a sexual offense.”
New Blogs Part 12 Updated August 10 2019
Many police officer’s kill themselves immediately after that are accused of a sex offence. I tried to find some statistic’s on the subject but was unable. I know I have reported this on this blog before and seen stories like this on several occasion. This is a testimony on how in large amounts the media\internet is ruining our country. The police know what they will face as a sex offender and quickly choose death instead; like coward’s and murderer’s. I am sorry for being so coarse; I just hate when people commit suicide. This police officer could have helped allot of people by living his life instead of murdering himself. This is a example of how inhumane and Nazi like our perverted justice system has become concerning sex crimes. This type of unconstitutional behavior, on the part of out justice system; will be the downfall of our country. From: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08-05/sdpd-sergeant-accused-of-soliciting-minor-dead-apparent-suicide San Diego police sergeant accused of soliciting minor for sex found dead from apparent suicide Aug. 5, 2019 |9:14 PM SAN DIEGO — A San Diego police sergeant accused of soliciting a minor for sex was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday afternoon inside his Carmel Valley home after failing to appear in court earlier in the day, police Chief David Nisleit said.
Since a man with that much money is the same as a police officer I think this goes good with the story above. I can not help but feel bad for Jeffrey Epstein. I feel sorry in a way of seeing through all the emotion to all the fact’s and true to life statistics of all life’s good and evil judged by God not man. He without sin throw the first stone kind of way of looking at it all. If you can do to other’s how they would do to you; not condemn with prejudice, huge populations of human’s at a time you are in the true majority, not the internet/media’s fantasy majority. I must do what anyone that would support this blog should do; keep your head up and press on. Press on like you have a big stone around your neck if you have too. Just toe the line and press on. Say what you want about the Jewish people. I see nothing in the Bible prophesying their demise. They have a short time during the Great Tribulation. Even the Anti Christ is smart enough to make peace with the Jewish people. They may just increase in power. From: https://www.timesofisrael.com/ehud-bark-on-jeffrey-epsteins-death-i-wish-id-never-met-him/
Ehud Bark on Jeffrey Epstein’s death: I wish I’d never met him Former prime minister had business dealings with the disgraced billionaire and was a frequent visitor to his homes, but denies he ever knew of any his sex trafficking activities By TOI staff Today, 9:31 pm | Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, who has been dogged over his ties to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, reacted Saturday to his death, saying he wished he had never met him. “On this day, I am thinking of his victims, the price (they paid) and the terrible things he did,” Barak told Channel 13 news.
“Like many respectable people in the US, in retrospect, I would have preferred never to have made contact with him. But from the moment things became clear, that contact was immediately severed,” said Barak.
Barak’s ties to Epstein, which go back over 15 years, have become an unexpected hot-button issue in the election campaign in Israel, after Epstein was arrested last month.
Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday morning at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Fire officials received a call at 6:39 a.m. Saturday that Epstein was in cardiac arrest, and he was pronounced dead at New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital.
Epstein, 66, had been denied bail and faced up to 45 years behind bars on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges unsealed last month. He had pleaded not guilty and was awaiting trial on accusations of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.
Barak, who entered a business deal with Epstein in 2015, years after the American financier served time for solicitation, has called long-rumored allegations of sex trafficking by Epstein “abhorrent” and announced that he had officially cut off all business ties with him.
But he has also been linked as a frequent visitor to Epstein’s properties.
Neighbors in a building owned by Epstein’s brother said that Barak was a “frequent presence” in their New York apartment building, The Daily Beast reported Monday.
Residents told the outlet that they knew when the politician was in the building because there were “flashy cars” outside and his security detail in the lobby.
One resident said they saw Barak in the building and recognized him, and another said they were told about his presence by a doorman or another resident. Five other current or former residents said they saw his security detail around the building.
“When he wasn’t in his apartment, [the security guards] would hang out in the lobby as if it was their own living room,” a resident of 301 East 66th St. said. “They would sprawl out, they’d put all their shit on the couches, and sometimes they ate on the table there.”
A resident told the outlet they were in the elevator with Hebrew-speaking security guards and another said she regularly saw a guard posted outside an 11th-floor apartment. A further resident said they saw a security detail in the lobby on at least a dozen occasions.
The report did not clarify how the residents knew that the security detail belonged to Barak.
The building has been tied to the financier’s alleged New York trafficking ring, The Daily Beast reported.
Asked about his stays by The Daily Beast, Barak said: “Despite the fact that there was no wrongdoing on my part, and that there is not even the faintest suspicion of wrongdoing on my part, I’m not going to address these questions because in the current political environment in Israel, the mere fact of my response to such a question is churned up as spin in the political game.
“As a former prime minister I’m accompanied by bodyguards everywhere I go,” he added.
The Daily Mail’s online news site has rejected an ultimatum by Barak to retract a “libelous” article insinuating he socialized with young women at the home of Epstein.
The US-based DailyMail.com said it stood by the story “100 percent,” and denied as “absurd” Barak’s claim that the decision to re-publish the three-year-old photos of him entering the New York mansion of the disgraced billionaire was a bid to help his political rivals ahead of the elections. (The article has not appeared in the main Daily Mail tabloid newspaper in Britain.)
At a campaign launch event for his new party, Barak asserted the report was a result of the “poisoned atmosphere” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fostered over the past two decades. The tabloid noted in its article that the women photographed also entering Epstein’s home did so “on the same day” as Barak and “within hours.” However, the Mail did not provide a clear timeline of the photos, and it was not clear whether they were taken before Barak entered, during his time there, or after he left. If he was in the house at the same time as the women, it could contradict Barak’s earlier assertions that he “never met Epstein in the company of women or young girls.” Barak confirmed it was him in the photos, and has admitted to visiting Epstein’s mansions and private Caribbean island, but insists he never attended parties of a sexual nature there. Barak has also said that he was looking into dissolving his limited partnership with Epstein after it emerged that the US financier was a major investor in the Reporty startup headed by Barak in 2015, seven years after Epstein served time for solicitation.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated August 15 2019
Autopsy results add to questions surrounding Epstein’s death Thursday August 15, 2019 · 8:47 AM CDT 8:47 AM CDT The autopsy conducted on the body of pedophile and rapist Jeffrey Epstein revealed he had multiple breaks in his neck. Epstein’s hyoid bone, which is near the Adam’s apple in men, was broken along with other bones. That injury is more common in strangulation homicides than in hanging, forensic experts told The Washington Post, but can occur in hanging suicides as well, particularly in older people. Jonathan L. Arden, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, told the Post that in general a broken hyoid in a death requires a more extensive investigation by pathologists. “If, hypothetically, the hyoid bone is broken, that would generally raise questions about strangulation, but it is not definitive and does not exclude suicidal hanging,” he said. Read more here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/15/1879188/-Autopsy-results-add-to-questions-surrounding-Epstein-s-death
New Blogs Part 12 Updated August 20 2019
Another case of the pot calling the kettle black.: “The pot calling the kettle black” a person who is guilty of the very thing of which they accuse another and is thus an example of psychological projection. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_pot_calling_the_kettle_black
I am not saying that the preacher being a sex offender makes him the same as a LGBTQ person. I have said many times on this blog that I am not like most people who are extremely prejudice of LGBTQ people; that believe all LGBTQ people are sex offenders. This type of conspiracy type demented thinking; is why the constitution does not apply to those unfairly labeled as sex offenders. The wrongly labeled registered sex offender; is a victim of our country, like the Jewish people were during the Nazi’s. This type of treatment of our citizen’s will surely contribute to our demise; just like believing all LGBTQ folks are sex offenders.
No the preacher was a casualty of the old; judge not lest ye be judged adage.: ( Matthew 7:1-3 Judge not, that ye be not judged. ) Don’t forget how God says he will judge them that judge false judgments way worse than is normally judged: Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
When you judge those labeled as registered sex offender’s or LGBTQ people or people of color falsely; that judgement will be so great against you, you may end up a sex offender yourself as Singer found out in the following article: From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/08/anti-lgbtq-church-minister-charged-sexually-exploiting-underage-boy/ Anti-LGBTQ minister charged with sexually exploiting an underage boy Three other teen boys also say the youth minister made advances towards them. Sunday, August 18, 2019 Investigators believe that Singer has been making inappropriate advances toward an unnamed 16-year-old boy. Singer allegedly told the boy that the two should spend a weekend alone together. He asked the boy invasive questions about his sexual habits and asked him for naked pictures. Police believe that he met the boy at a church event in 2016. Afterwards, he sent the kid sexually charged text messages from October 2016 and August 2017.
Christian rock singer arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting pre-teen girls The pastor is charged with multiple counts of third degree sexual assault of a child. The band “is always and all for Jesus!!!” August 19, 2019 A pastor who is a member of a Christian rock band was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two girls under the age of 14. Emanuel J. Rodriguez of the group 70xForgiven was set to play a gig at the Wood City Music Festival in Minnesota this past Saturday when he was arrested. Police in Omaha, Nebraska, had a warrant for Rodriguez and they asked police in Minnesota for help since he was going to play there. The warrant for his arrest was issued in September 2016. Police believe that he was known to the alleged victims.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated August 29 2019
I had this on my other blog page but it fit’s better here I think:
If you are a wayward Christian; there is no better way to learn not to do things like this, than to read all the articles I post like this.:
Major charismatic evangelical Todd Bentley has been publicly accused of being “not fit for public ministry” because he has a “perverse sexual addiction” to both men and women. And Bentley, who founded Fresh Fire USA, responded by admitting that many of the accusations are true.
Stephen Powell of Lion of Light Ministries in North Carolina accused his former mentor in a Facebook post last week of a long list of sexual misdeeds, including hitting on interns and assistants, asking for naked pictures from people in his congregation, and having sex outside of marriage. Powell said that he has spent time gathering proof of the accusations, although he did not hire a professional investigator or otherwise seek help.
In the post, Powell said that he had proof of many of the accusations, like screenshots of conversations. One student told Powell that she was asked by Bentley to send him pictures of herself, that he would hug her too long, and that he made inappropriate comments.
A male intern said that Bentley offered him $1000 to perform oral sex on the younger man. “I was like, ‘What the fuck is your freaking problem… are you fucking retarded?” the intern said, according to Powell.
Related: This notoriously homophobic pastor has been caught running a hellish private school
The intern said that Bentley sent him naked pictures of his wife.
Another male intern said that Bentley offered him $500 for a video of him masturbating. Yet another male intern said that Bentley sent him naked pictures and video of him and his wife.
One person allegedly said that Bentley spent 30 minutes in a hotel room with a female assistant. Another person accused the evangelical of smoking pot and then trying to hook up with a male intern.
Others accused Bentley of drinking too much, partying, having porn on his phone, and using crude language.
Powell said that he has been aware for some time of rumors about Bentley, but it wasn’t before this summer that he had anything more than rumors to go public about.
“I believe that Todd was preyed on sexually as a child, and I believe that that same demonic entity uses Todd to prey on others that have come into Todd’s ministry with their guard down because they felt all was safe being in the presence of an anointed man of God,” Powell wrote in the Facebook post.
He also blamed Bentley’s wife Jessa Bentley, whose marriage, Powell said, “began in sexual sin.”
Bentley’s response to the accusations came several days later. In a rambling Facebook video, Bentley said that many of the accusations Powell made were false and that many of the others are in the past and that people around him have already forgiven him.
He said that he has had no sex outside of marriage “connected to this incident” and that he has not had an affair in the past six years.
But he admitted that he sent “sexually suggestive” and “inappropriate” text messages to people. He said that his behavior was “despicable.”
Powell’s accusations also included Christian author Rick Joyner. He said that Joyner, who helped create Fresh Fire USA with Bentley, knew about the accusations for years and did not do enough to stop Bentley.
“I believe that Rick Joyner, along with other Senior leaders who have had oversight over Todd through the years, have failed the body of Christ in this regard,” Powell wrote.
Joyner responded with his own Facebook video, accusing Powell of “witchcraft.”
“When people come to me with pressuring, manipulating, especially threatening if I don’t do something their way, or in their time, I know that’s the devil,” he said. “That’s in Scripture, counterfeit spiritual authority which is called witchcraft. That is not the Holy Spirit. We’ve got to start recognizing what is from the Holy Spirit and what is not.”
Both Joyner and Bentley made it appear that Bentley had done some inappropriate things in the past, in 2013. But Powell said that many of the accusations are more recent.
“They are current, as current as a few months ago, and they show a disturbing ongoing pattern of unrepented sin as well as a cover-up from leadership,” he wrote.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated August 30 2019
From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/08/cop-forced-trans-women-sex-pled-guilty-paying-prostitute/ A cop forced a trans women to have sex with him. He pled guilty to paying a prostitute.He’ll serve no jail time and the charges will be dismissed in six months. He still has his job.Wednesday, August 28, 2019 Nine months ago, two police officers were accused of forcing transgender women to have sex with them by threatening to take them to jail if the women didn’t comply. Now one of them has pled guilty – to “sexual solicitation” of a prostitute. Officer Ian G Lucas from the Prince George’s County Police Department and an unnamed officer from the Washington DC police force have been accused by multiple women of sexual assault. The officers allegedly would target transgender prostitutes and threaten to to take them to jail unless they gave the officers oral sex. One woman went to DC’s FOX station with her story, providing photos and video proof of her accusation. In one, the officer is shown having sex inside of his squad car. Another photo shows a veteran police lieutenant wearing a DC Police polo shirt, naked from the waist down and having sex with one of the women. Read more here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/08/cop-forced-trans-women-sex-pled-guilty-paying-prostitute/
New Blogs Part 12 Updated September 4 2019
From: https://cpa.ds.npr.org/michigan/audio/2019/08/SS_20190829_Aukerman_Sex_Offend_Registry_Update.mp3 MI: ACLU Michigan Attorney Advocates End of Registry; Provides Update on 6th Circuit DecisionAugust 30, 2019 In a recent NPR interview, ACLU Michigan attorney Miriam Aukerman stated she believes that sex offender registries should be abolished. In support of that belief, Aukerman stated that registries are ineffective and make society less safe. Aukerman criticized both legislators and law enforcement for the current challenges now facing registrants. Legislators have passed and keep passing new laws because they believe doing so will… From: https://washingtonstatewire.com/why-a-sex-offender-would-run-for-office-willie-russells-story/ WA: Why a sex offender would run for office: Willie Russell’s storyAugust 20, 2019 [washingtonstatewire.com – 8/20/19] Willie Russell is running for the Snohomish County Council this year. He squeaked through the August primary, and will face Stephanie Wright in November for Council position 3. He is also a Level III sex offender. You can read the narrative from the sheriff’s office database here. I recently spoke with Russell in an extended conversation. I wanted to ask him… From: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/10th-circuit-rules-special-conditions-allowing-probation-complete-discretion-over-internet-use-is-excessive/ 10th Circuit Rules Special Conditions Allowing Probation Complete Discretion over Internet Use is Excessive August 16, 2019 [floridaactioncommittee.org – 8/16/19] The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in US v. Blair, ruled that a special condition on the Defendant’s Internet use that was “limited to those the defendant requests to use, and which the probation officer authorizes” involved a greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary for deterring criminal activity because it allows the probation office to completely ban the defendant’s… From: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/congratulations-derek-appellate-court-voids-lauren-books-injunction/ FL: Congratulations Derek!!! Appellate Court Voids Lauren Book’s Injunction August 14, 2019 [floridaactioncommittee.org – 8/14/19] The order was issued by the 4th District Court of Appeals today so it’s being posted prior to our adding commentary in an effort to share this as quickly as possible. The court voided Senator Lauren Book’s restraining order against Once Fallen’s Derek Logue. We all knew it was bogus, now the court’s agree! Logue v. Book UPDATE: All the credit… From: https://verdict.justia.com/2019/08/13/a-critical-non-dershowitz-look-at-statutory-rape-laws A Critical (Non-Dershowitz) Look at Statutory Rape LawsAugust 13, 2019 [verdict.justia.com – 8/13/19] Last week, Jeffrey Epstein died in jail, apparently a suicide. The prior month, he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges related to his and other men’s conduct with girls as young as fourteen. Most spectators to the very public humiliation that might have driven him to suicide, judged him very harshly. Epstein, in his mid-60s, had apparently slept with young… From: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/protecting-children-sexual-abuse/201908/sex-offender-registries [psychologytoday.com – 8/9/19] Sex offender registries have been in the news lately as media outlets have been questioning why billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor female, was able to largely elude the penalty of being on a sex offender registry by maintaining residences in states that did not require him to register. This then begs the bigger question –… Sex Offender Registries: Are they keeping our children safe?August 10, 2019 From: https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Without-guidance-Alaska-judges-to-muddle-through-sex-offender-registry-decision-531556171.html AK: Without guidance, Alaska judges to ‘muddle through’ sex offender registry removal decisionsAugust 10, 2019 [ktuu.com – 8/9/19] ANCHORAGE (KTUU) – Without guidance, Alaska Superior Court judges will have to “muddle their way through” decisions over how a person can apply to be removed from the sex offender registry, says John Skidmore, the director of the criminal division with the Department of Law. In June, the Alaska Supreme Court determined that people on the sex offender registry had a…
It is so easy for people to sit on their high horses making railing accusations against everything and everyone except for themselves! It is so easy to say thing’s like: all sex offenders are scumbags, or all LGBTQ folks should not have constitutional rights. These many examples like Mike Folmer; are a way to remind us all of how we are judged, twice as much; as those we wrongfully condemn. People who point their finger of ignorance; ruining people and community’s, as a part of their uneducated demented beliefs; do so to shield themselves from the judgement’s they so essentially deserve. These are all example’s; of how that shield can and should, turn into the self destruction, of them that wield it. Read and learn: Republican state senator who blocked LGBTQ rights charged with sexual abuse of a minor As a powerful committee chair, he had blocked LGBTQ rights legislation for years. Wednesday, September 18, 2019 91 Comments Pennsylvania Republican state senator Mike Folmer has been arrested and charged with sexual abuse of a minor, possessing child pornography, and criminal use of a communications facility. Police were tipped off by the micro-blogging platform Tumblr after Folmer uploaded an incriminating photo to the site. In 2016 Folmer, a powerful committee chair, has blocked passage of LGBTQ rights legislation for years. Folmer blocked the Pennsylvania Fairness Act in committee, saying he supported LGBTQ rights, but was worried about “religious freedom” implications. “No one should be fired because they are gay,” he said at the time, before saying he didn’t see any urgency to pass the legislation. In 2018, Folmer blocked the bill again despite bipartisan support. “Everyone is in agreement that we don’t want to discriminate against LGBT people, but we don’t want to step on the rights of people with religious objections,” Fred Sembach, Folmer’s chief of staff, told the Philly Gay News at the time. Folmer, a married father and grandfather, uploaded a pornographic image to Tumblr that was caught by the site’s security measures. The site contacted the authorities who identified the disgraced politician as the person responsible. Other images were found on his phone when he was arrested. Folmer told authorities he was having “some personal problems” when he was arrested. He has been removed as the chair of the committee by Republican leadership while Democrats, including Governor Tom Wolf, have called for his immediate resignation from office.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated October 4 2019
AL: SPLC SUES ALABAMA OFFICIALS FOR OVERLY SEVERE SEX-OFFENDER LAW THAT PUNISHES CHILDREN FOR LIFESeptember 19, 2019 ____ ____ met ____ ____ when their mutual friends introduced them at a local skating rink. He was 14 and she was 12. Over time, the two became a young couple, going out on movie dates, hanging out with friends at each other’s houses, and attending school dances together. Eventually, the high school sweethearts got married, bought a house, and had three children. They’ve been married now for 20 years. But this otherwise happy love story has a sad twist: When Herbert was 17 and Candi was 15, her mother – on the advice of her stepfather, who did not approve of the budding relationship – called police and had Herbert arrested for statutory rape. Under an extremely restrictive Alabama state law that does not recognize the teen romance, Herbert was tried and convicted – as an adult – of second-degree rape because Candi was also a minor. The arrest led Herbert down a spiral of legal consequences that landed him in prison for over 15 years and forced him to register as a sex offender. Full Article: https://www.splcenter.org/news/2019/09/19/splc-sues-alabama-officials-overly-severe-sex-offender-law-punishes-children-life NE: NEBRASKA SEX OFFENDERS TESTIFY FOR CHANGE IN REGISTRY LAWSeptember 28, 2019 [journalstar.com – 9/27/19]Twenty-eight people who were registered sex offenders, or the wife, mother, father, brother or counselor of sex offenders, lined up to give testimony to the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Friday, asking for changes to the Nebraska registry law. The Judiciary Committee embarked on a study of the sex offender registry law over the interim to determine if changes are needed and, if so, what they should be. The registered offenders told the committee about how the registry created life-altering situations in which they couldn’t get jobs, or only the lowest-paying jobs, or were denied housing. Spouses and children were punished along with them, and in some cases their inclusion on the registry led to divorce because of the limitations it placed on their lives. One man said he had been shot in the back because of his presence on the registry. “Almost 6,000 Nebraska families live under discrimination and paranoia created by the registry,” said Deborah Whitt. Families are deeply and negatively affected by the unintended burdens of this law, she said. It is unjust, and does not protect people, but rather creates in communities climates of suspicion, anxiety, hate, bullying and fear. If offenders have served their sentences, done all the programming and therapy, why continue to discriminate against them, Whitt asked. Read more: https://journalstar.com/legislature/nebraska-sex-offenders-testify-for-change-in-registry-law/article_ec543e21-61be-5d4c-b72c-51a1284c3d36.html
New Blogs Part 12 Updated November 4 2019
McDonald’s boss Steve Easterbrook fired after dating employee 4 November 2019 McDonald’s has fired its chief executive Steve Easterbrook after he had a relationship with an employee. The US fast food giant said the relationship was consensual, but Mr Easterbrook had “violated company policy” and shown “poor judgement”. In an email to staff, the British businessman acknowledged the relationship and said it was a mistake. “Given the values of the company, I agree with the board that it is time for me to move on,” he said. Mr Easterbrook, 52, who is divorced, first worked for McDonald’s in 1993 as a manager in London before working his way up the company. Read more here: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50283720 25 New Sexual Harassment Complaints Brought Against McDonald’s May 22, 2019 McDonald’s Corp. was accused on Tuesday in 25 new lawsuits and regulatory charges of condoning sexual harassment in the workplace and retaliating against employees who speak up. The cases announced by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the labor group Fight for $15, and the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund cover alleged misconduct at McDonald’s locations in 20 U.S. cities, including groping, indecent exposure, propositions for sex, and lewd comments. Read more here: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2019/05/22/527171.htm
IL: Former Sex Offenders can Proceed with Lawsuit Challenging Restrictions on Internet Use October 5, 2019 A group of former sex offenders may continue with their lawsuit, challenging the constitutionality of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC’s) restrictive policy on internet access for those convicted of sex crimes. A federal district court has ruled that it is premature at this early stage of the litigation to dismiss the lawsuit. Full Article: https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/2019/10/04/former-sex-offenders-can-proceed-with-lawsuit-challenging-restrictions-on-internet-use/
NY: Sex offenders form PAC to try and gain political voice October 14, 2019 [timesunion.com – 10/14/19] Voting blocs, where people support candidates on specific issues, have long played an outsized role in New York politics – from labor unions that focus on workplace rules, to environmentalists who place clean air and water at the top of the list. But now an unusual bloc is emerging from an unexpected place: the locked sex offenders unit at one of… Read more here: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Sex-offenders-form-PAC-to-try-and-gain-political-14515657.php
WA: Tarra Simmons Looks To Become 1st Former Inmate Elected To Washington Legislature October 21, 2019 [opb.org – 10/21/19] A Washington attorney and criminal justice reform advocate who previously served time in prison is seeking to become the first formerly incarcerated person elected to the Washington Legislature, at least in modern times. Tarra Simmons, of Bremerton, who in 2017 won a Supreme Court fight to sit for the state bar exam, despite her prior criminal conviction, plans to formally announce her candidacy for… Read more here: https://www.opb.org/news/article/tarra-simmons-washington-legislature-incarceration/
JPMorgan Chase Hired 2,100 People With Criminal Records In 2018 (And Will Hire More) October 22, 2019 [forbes.com – 10/21/19] Topline: JPMorgan Chase announced an expansion of its efforts to hire people with criminal backgrounds Monday, continuing the trend of big companies “banning the box” and giving people second chances. JPMorgan Chase hired 2,100 people with criminal records in 2018, which equals about 10% of their total hires last year. The bank knows those people have records, because they conduct background… Read more here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/10/21/jpmorgan-chase-hired-2100-people-with-criminal-records-in-2018-and-will-hire-more/#63fa0f2538f2
WI: Nonprofit trying to find homes for those living in ‘Tent City’ October 22, 2019 [wisn.com – 10/22/19] The homeless in Milwaukee’s Tent City have less than two weeks to clear out after the Wisconsin Department of Transportation ordered them out by Oct. 31 to make way for a construction project. A federally funded nonprofit is taking on the mission of finding everyone a home to avoid forcing people out at the end of the month. … ______ is… Read more here: https://www.wisn.com/article/nonprofit-trying-to-find-homes-for-those-living-in-tent-city/29554808
PA: Internet dissemination provision of SORNA II violates the federal prohibition against ex post facto laws October 23, 2019 Summary from FAC: A Pennsylvania Appeals Court has found that the dissemination of persons who have been convicted of sexual offenses’ information on the internet (Megan’s Law) violates the ex post facto clause of the Constitution for individuals whose offenses pre-date the ordinance. Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court had a prior landmark decision (Commonwealth v. Muniz, 164 A.3d 1189 (Pa.2017)) finding similarly, so this new opinion… Read more here: http://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Superior/out/J-A12038-19oA.pdf?cb=1
KY: Louisville launches a registry for animal abusers October 24, 2019 [wave3.com – 10/23/19] A new Animal Abuser Registry in Louisville is expected to prevent pets from falling into the hands of people with a history of animal abuse. Approved by Louisville Metro Council and administered by Louisville Metro Animal Services (LMAS), the registry is similar to a sex offender registry. Anyone who lives in the Louisville Metro and is guilty of animal cruelty is.. Read more here: https://www.wave3.com/2019/10/23/louisville-launches-registry-animal-abusers/
LA: Teen beat up a stranger he recognized as a sex offender, now faces hate crime count, NOPD says October 25, 2019 A 17-year-old boy who realized he was at the same convenience store as a man whose picture had appeared on a mailed sex-offender notice followed the man away from the shop and beat him up, New Orleans police said this week. Now, besides facing a count of misdemeanor battery, Tyrin Calloway stands accused of a hate crime, apparently on the theory that he targeted… Read more here: https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_8b0b2784-f744-11e9-9e16-4370b10664e3.html
NM: Sex offenders suing New Mexico sheriffs, DPS October 31, 2019 ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – More than a half dozen sex offenders who committed their crimes in other states say they’re being treated unfairly in New Mexico. Now, eight out-of-state sex offenders now living in New Mexico, calling themselves John Does, are suing the Department of Public Safety and various sheriffs to get their fair shot at a hearing. Full Article: https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/sex-offenders-suing-new-mexico-sheriffs-dps/
New Blogs Part 12 Updated November 6 2019
From: http://www.adotas.com/2019/11/meanwhile-the-state-police-wont-talk-about-this-8/ Meanwhile, the State Police won’t talk about this, citing litigation November 5, 2019 A state Court of Appeals panel ruled likewise against his prosecution for breaking guidelines for tier 3 offenders, discovering that “the injury to (Spencer) is not simply the minute criminal prosecution (for possibly breaking the 2006 and 2011 guidelines), however the threat of arrest and prosecution at the next time or destination. in a choice final November involving William Sim Spencer of Thompsonville up against the Benzie County prosecutor in northwest Michigan” “Easily put, (he) must stay glued to a significant limitation on their freedom in relation to statutory conditions that don’t connect with him, and live underneath the specter of arrest and prosecution for the 15-year offense should he neglect to do this. This is certainly an ongoing damage and it is irreparable,” the court stated. This past year, on Nov. 20, a lot more than a dozen situations brought within the Michigan Court of Claims, all challenging retroactive application regarding the registry legislation, had been closed, the court choosing when it comes to registrants, noting the Supreme Court’s declining to know a challenge towards the 6th Circuit’s ruling. And all sorts of of the instances cost cash: within one situation by which Oakland County didn’t also bring a prosecution — the scenario relating to the medical manager — it nevertheless paid funds to her to get rid of the outcome as well as its involvement, agreeing never to prosecute her retroactively. This has delivered circulars off to local authorities, saying officers could face civil obligation for almost any retroactive application of this rules. Nonetheless it’s perhaps maybe not within its capacity to scrub the registry, or move individuals off it, or purchase police never to arrest individuals, lacking a judge especially telling them to take action or even the Legislature agreeing to rewrite what the law states. And there’s absolutely nothing saying police can’t still charge individuals they perceive as violators. In Oakland County, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Paul Walton stated police nevertheless generate some instances which can be dubious underneath the courts’ rulings, however the county — after reviewing every one carefully — does not prosecute. “People think we’re in control of the SORA (the Intercourse Offender Registry Act), that we’re in control of the registry. We’re perhaps perhaps not in control of the registry. We are able to simply review the costs us,” Walton said as they’re brought to. “I want their state would turn out and simplify the positioning for the State Police because we don’t understand what it really is. All I am able to let you know is, whenever (fees are) presented to your workplace m.chaturbate, we review each instance separately.” Do offenders nevertheless pose a danger? Meanwhile, its definately not clear exactly how effective sex offender registries are in reducing intercourse offenses: within the ACLU instance that led to the 6th Circuit’s choice, specialists testified that while many intercourse offenders pose a substantial risk, many try not to — nor do many commit intercourse offenses once again after their beliefs. As one specialist, Janet Fay-Dumaine, a psychologist at Michigan’s Center for Forensic Psychiatry, place it if so, “It’s exceptionally contrary to our social assumptions. . Yes, there was a team of sex offenders which can be at high risk of recidivating, but that is a really number that is small of offenders. Many intercourse offenders try not to.” As instances like those Michigan that is engulfing State and United States Of America Gymnastics involving previous recreations medical practitioner Larry Nassar appear to suggest, intercourse offenses tend to be about possibility, involving perhaps not complete stranger but somebody near the survivor. In the past, the Justice Department stated that just about 5% of intercourse offenders had been re-arrested for the next intercourse criminal activity within 3 years of the launch — and that the portion went down after that as former offenders got older. In a 2015 evaluation of adult sex offender management, the Justice Department stated in terms of intercourse offender enrollment and notification while the effect on rates of intercourse crimes, the data is “mixed . with several studies showing no noticeable modification.” Even though research reports have discovered that police views value within the registries with regards to understanding the place of past offenders and information that is sharing other authorities, in a 2016 research posted in Criminal Justice Policy Review, also they raised issues, having a bulk surveyed expressing issues that registries could produce “a false feeling of protection.” Almost three-quarters of these surveyed additionally stated challenges associated with homelessness and transience among offenders possibly brought on by residence limitations like Michigan’s — that are not element of federal law — had been a problem. “those who have never ever been in the registry, that is whom commits the crimes,” stated Sandy Rozek, communications manager for the nationwide Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL), a business that contends in support of restricting use of intercourse offender information to authorities therefore the period of time a registrant must stick to record, and also other reforms to regulations which have sprung up in current years, thinking they are doing more damage than good. “We’re investing millions watching and monitoring, placing limitations on this massive band of people.” In line with the Michigan ACLU, state taxpayers spend a lot more than $1 million a to maintain the sex offender registration database year. And presumably so much more — during the state and levels that are local to examine prospective violations also to fight lawsuits more than a concept already determined by federal and state courts. Stated Miriam Aukerman, senior staff lawyer when it comes to ACLU in Michigan, “their state, despite a definite ruling it is unconstitutional to put on these conditions retroactively, continues to use them retroactively to lots of people.” Also it renders numerous being unsure of what direction to go. Carrick, in Montcalm County, stated he has had officers arrive at his house, “just to be sure i am residing here.” The construction subcontractor said he has had to take a quick job close to a school, knowing it will only be for a day or two, hoping he won’t get stopped, knowing he has to work from time to time. Often he wonders if it is well worth the time and effort. “we view my p’s and q’s,” he stated. But he included, often, he believes, “I’d instead return back (to jail). I’m sick and tired of dealing utilizing the anxiety.”
New Blogs Part 12 Updated November 20 2019
From: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/prosecutors-preparing-charges-against-two-guards-epstein-death-sources-say-n1085371 Two jail guards charged in connection with Jeffrey Epstein’s death, sources say The guards face charges tied to falsifying records. The case will have no bearing on the determination that Epstein died by suicide. Nov. 18, 2019, 8:48 PM CST / Updated Nov. 19, 2019, 12:09 PM CST Two guards at a federal prison in Manhattan have been indicted in connection with the investigation into accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a senior law enforcement official said.
From: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2019/11/24/rape-murder-and-a-positive-dna-test-that-the-cops-sat-on-for-weeks/ Nothing we as a community can do or say will ever bring back Molly Jane Matheson, 22, or Megan Leigh Getrum, 36, the two vibrant and much-loved Dallas-Fort Worth-area women police say Reginald Kimbro brutally raped and murdered just four days apart in April 2017. And nothing will ever change the fact that more than 40 days before Matheson and Getrum were raped, strangled and murdered, the Texas Department of Public Safety had officially notified the Allen Police Department that Kimbro’s DNA was found in a sexual assault forensic exam — also called a “rape kit” — taken in January 2014 by a local woman who survived a similar rape, strangulation and attempted murder after attending a party at which Kimbro was present. In other words, nothing will ever change the fact that the Allen Police Department failed to arrest Kimbro for well over a month after the authorities there knew that DNA found on the January 2014 rape victim’s body was Kimbro’s, who was, from the onset of the case, the primary suspect. In fact, as WFAA-TV (Channel 8) uncovered in a Nov. 15 investigative report, “One-hundred-and-five days would elapse between the time that the DNA results came back in the Allen rape case and when an Allen police detective obtained a warrant for Kimbro, who by that time was being held in the Tarrant County jail in the murders of Matheson and Getrum.” That, clearly, is inexcusable. With Kimbro’s trial for capital murder in Tarrant County scheduled to begin soon, we reached out to Allen police this past week to ask why it took years for DPS to process the 2014 rape kit and report Kimbro’s DNA match to them, as well as why it took over 100 days to obtain a warrant for Kimbro’s arrest. They responded to our inquiry by saying they’ve been instructed by both the Tarrant County district attorney and the Collin County district attorney not to comment on any case involving Kimbro until both capital murder trials have ended. That is perhaps understandable from a legal standpoint, given what appears to be at the very least undue delays and the possible mishandling of the 2014 rape kit and its DNA results linking Kimbro to a brutal sexual assault and attempted murder three years before Molly Jane Matheson and Megan Leigh Getrum were similarly raped and murdered. But from a moral standpoint, and from the standpoint of Matheson’s and Gertrum’s friends and family, it is, again, inexcusable. Sadly, as Amy Jones, CEO of the Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center, told us this past week, it’s also far too common. “Very often when survivors do have the forensic exam — the ‘rape kit’ — it takes a very, very long time for them to hear anything back, and often they never hear anything.” But, she continued, due to legislation signed into law in June 2017, just two months after the murders of Matheson and Getrum, “there are now going to be tracking numbers attached to every single rape kit that is performed in the state of Texas, so the survivors will actually know where these kits are in the process.” Another piece of legislation, she said, will help the state come up with the funding to chip away at the backlog of rape kits that have failed to be processed. Jones was referring to H.B. 281, which mandates the tracking of rape kits throughout the state and matches DNA results with national databases; and H.B. 1729, which gives Texans renewing their driver’s license the opportunity to donate $1 to the Department of Public Safety to help fund the costs of the equipment, training and personnel to tackle the cost of eliminating the rape-kit backlog. “Making sure that there are enough labs available to test this information, making sure there are enough folks who are qualified to process the evidence, is absolutely crucial,” Jones told us, “because there are so many bottlenecks all along the way.” How bad is the rape-kit backlog problem? According to the Joyful Heart Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to healing and empowering survivors of sexual assault, Texas was the first state to enact all six pillars of reform recommended to address the rape-kit backlog problem. Yet there are still more than 2,000 rape kits awaiting testing in Texas alone. As Ilse Knecht, Joyful Heart’s director of policy and advocacy, said when H.B. 281 and H.B. 1729 were enacted, “Only after law enforcement agencies track and account for the untested kits in their custody can communities begin to take steps to test those kits, hold offenders accountable and bring justice to sexual assault survivors whose cases have languished, often for years — or even decades.” Tragically, these reforms were enacted too late to save the lives of Molly Jane Matheson or Megan Leigh Getrum. But that hasn’t stopped advocates such as Jones, Knecht, or Molly Jane Matheson’s mother, Tracy Matheson, from pushing for still more reforms to prevent future rapes and murders by repeat offenders. This spring, H.B. 3106 — better known as “Molly Jane’s Law”—mandating that all state law-enforcement officials enter information into an FBI database for every sex offense they investigate — was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. “This will enable law enforcement access to information on potential serial rapists and sexual offenders in the future,” Abbott said at the signing ceremony. “No more should we ever again have a Molly Jane Matheson.” We can only hope — and yes, pray — that these reforms do just that. And that the families of both Molly Jane Matheson and Megan Leigh Getrum find, if not peace, then some degree of comfort in the fact that their beloved did not die in vain. We also encourage all readers to visit www.projectbeloved.org , which is part of the Matheson family’s Molly Jane Mission, which “strives to educate, advocate and collaborate to change the conversation about sexual assault and empower survivors to find their voices.”
New Blogs Part 12 Updated November 28 2019
I love posting these stories. If you think it is acceptable to stand up for human rights but are against everyone’s rights, even African Americans or LGBTQ folks; than you are a in a dangerous place. Stories like this are proof. People can learn allot from stories like this.
Minister who railed against gay people caught sexually harassing young men “This can’t be happening. Eric is known as the guy who hates gay people. We’re the church that built our church based on anti-homosexuality.” Wednesday, November 27, 2019 An anti-gay Anglican minister in Florida resigned last year after admitting to sexual harassment and “undesired physical displays of affection.” Now an investigative report found that many of his victims were young men and aspiring priests he had power over. Father Eric Dudley – married, the father of three – is the founder of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee and was the leader of that church until he resigned in disgrace. Related: Imprisoned, anti-LGBTQ Oklahoma senator has to pay $125,000 to the teen male prostitute he hired Dudley was a pastor at a different Episcopal church for ten years. In 2005, he left that church to found his own, citing the Episcopalians’ increasingly pro-LGBTQ stances, and his new church – St. Peter’s – was associated with the Anglican Church of Uganda. The independent group Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) investigated the circumstances that led to Dudley resigning, and their report, released yesterday, says that Dudley would lavish attention on “attractive young men.” He would give them gifts and jobs at the church, even while he raged against homosexuality and marriage equality from the pulpit. GRACE spoke with 51 alleged victims and witnesses and reviewed text messages and emails, concluding that it’s “significant that the reported victims’ accounts often corroborated each other, even though they were not aware of other reported victims at the time.” One of Dudley’s alleged victims said that he went on an out-of-state trip with Dudley, and he booked a hotel room with a single large bed and blamed it on a front desk error. The victim woke up to Dudley rubbing his back and chest. “Part of me is going like, ‘This is super strange,’” the victim told investigators. “And another part is going, ‘This can’t be happening.’” “Eric is known as the guy who hates gay people. We’re the church that built our church based on anti-homosexuality. He kind of has a caricature out there, so no way this guy is coming on to me. I’m misreading him.” According to GRACE’s report, Dudley used the “oops, they accidentally gave us only one bed” trick multiple times with young men he traveled with for work. One victim said that Dudley went to bed in only his underwear and then reached under the victim’s clothes to grope him. Another victim said that Dudley lay on top of him and became physically aroused. A victim identified as John Doe in the report said that he met Dudley in Tallahassee when he was in seminary. Dudley gave Doe a job, took him on a $700 shopping spree, said that he wanted Doe to succeed him one day, and the two became friends. After Dudley booked a hotel room with only one bed for the two of them and groped Doe, he made several passes at Doe when they were alone in his house. Doe showed Dudley his new bed and Dudley asked him to lie down in it. Dudley got on top of him and started kissing him, taking off off both of their shirts. Dudley got aroused. That’s when Doe pushed him off and said he didn’t want to have sex. Dudley got mad and stormed out. The next day, Dudley had an excuse. “I don’t want to run away to California,” he allegedly said, implying that he believed that gay men have to live in California. “I’m not gay. I’m not into that. I just, I need your, I’m an affectionate person. I need to be touched by you.” Another victim said that he got “incessant” text messaged from Dudley. If he didn’t answer immediately, he said that Dudley would show up at his house. “It was so bizarre,” he said. “I think he thought we were in some kind of romantic, intimate relationship or something.” That victim was so weirded out that he emailed an associate priest at the church and CC’d Dudley. Dudley tried to call the victim, and when he didn’t pick up Dudley showed up at his house, banging on the door and shouting “I know you’re in there!” He said that he was worried that Dudley would break the glass on the door so he opened it, and Dudley was crying and said that the victim shouldn’t report him “after everything I’ve done for you.” “It’s over,” Dudley said. “You screwed up. How dare you contact my employee.” The victim said he apologized. The victims weren’t the only ones who saw this side of Dudley. One witness told GRACE that she noticed “a pattern of young males that seemed to have captured our rector’s eye.” Another witness said that Dudley really liked “good-looking, thin, and fit young men,” according to the Tallahassee Democrat, describing the men as the kind “that women notice when they walk into a room.” GRACE said that Dudley went far beyond giving attention to the young men, though. “Once Father Eric developed enough trust in his relationships with the reported victims, he would use abusive tactics to further manipulate them,” the report said. “Again, Father Eric followed a pattern, exploiting his reported victims emotionally, financially, spiritually and physically.” The report said that he also had anger issues and would bang on the desk and yell when criticized. His outbursts weren’t limited to his victims or to reports of sexual misconduct, like when he made workers uncomfortable walking around shirtless at a church retreat. Dudley resigned last year and was given one year’s severance pay. A letter from a bishop at the time said that he was stepping down due to “inappropriate treatment of others, abuse of alcohol, and anger issues,” but it did not say that the victims were men. This detail is significant because Dudley’s homophobia ran deep. He left the Episcopal Church in 2005 to start another church because Gene Robinson, a gay man, became bishop in New Hampshire. Afterwards, Dudley continued to speak against LGBTQ rights. In 2015, he wrote an editorial criticizing the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which expanded marriage equality to all 50 states. He said the decision was a “tragic event.” “We believe [marriage equality] stands in direct contradiction of God’s creative purposes,” he wrote. “We do not believe that we can be faithful to God’s word and at the same time support an ethic that articulates not only marriage within the same gender, but an affirmation of bisexual expression, and the blurring of clear lines in gender identity.” In a sermon he was more direct, calling the decision “shocking, sad [and] infuriating” and said it was the result of a “well-oiled political scheme involving the media and Hollywood” that caused people to accept bisexuality, polyamory, and identification as “any gender.”
New Blogs Part 12 Updated November 29 2019
My wife reads me the top news stories that are retentive almost everyday. She read me this sickening sex offence story; yesterday.: From: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/us/chicago-college-student-killed-catcall.html A College Student Was Killed by a Man Whose Catcalls She Tried to Ignore, Prosecutors Say Ruth George’s attacker grew angry, prosecutors said, when she ignored his remarks. “She was just trying to go home,” a fellow college student said. Nov. 27, 2019 CHICAGO — The young college student was walking to her car. The man catcalled her. She ignored him. What happened next could have been lifted from any woman’s most vivid nightmare: The man, Donald Thurman, followed the 19-year-old student, Ruth George, as she entered a parking garage, prosecutors said on Tuesday. He followed her from behind and put her in a chokehold, they said. “The defendant was angry that he was being ignored,” prosecutors said in a statement. Ms. George’s family became worried when she did not return home on Friday night, and on Saturday morning, the police tracked the pings of her cellphone to the parking garage, where her body was discovered, face down in the back seat of her car. Mr. Thurman, 26, was identified by the police from surveillance video at the scene, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago. They arrested him when he was spotted again in the area on Sunday; he was charged with first-degree murder and criminal sexual assault. Mr. Thurman’s lawyer, a public defender, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Mr. Thurman had previously been convicted of armed robbery and was released on parole in 2018 after serving two years for the crime. Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/us/chicago-college-student-killed-catcall.html I think our perverted, unconstitutional, Nazi like, justice system, publicly torturing with cruel and unusual punishment, so called registered sex offenders; causes this kind of crime to take place. If this barbaric, inhuman, grotesque, shameful, treatment of our fellow citizens, is meant to deter sex offences, let it be to no surprise if it has a opposite effect; if not cause the ruin of us all.
Teaching assistant accused of sexually abusing student to turn him straight The 51-year-old woman met the student at school – and they attended the same church.Tuesday, December 3, 2019 A teaching assistant who is accused of having sex with a student on four occasions may have been trying to turn him straight, according to statements she made to police and the victim. Tedria Fluellen, 51, was a teaching assistant in Houston, and she met the victim while working at Worthing High School. The victim said that they both attended the same church as well. The victim said that he knew Fluellen for a few years and that he would sometimes help her out with tasks at her home or moving things out of her storage unit. Court documents state that the victim was 16 in 2018 when the sexual abuse started. Fluellen allegedly told the victim: “You don’t have to be gay,” and then proceeded to sexually abuse him. The victim said that he was at her home and she performed oral sex on him. After the first time, she gave the victim a cell phone and started sending him sexually explicit text messages. She called him “my secret lover.” Investigators believe that she molested him three more times: once at his house, once in her car before school started, and once at her storage unit. The victim lived with his grandmother, and when she was out of town once Fluellen came to visit. She allegedly gave the victim’s cousin a drink that contained alcohol and an unknown medication and said, “It’s going to knock him out.” The grandmother eventually suspected something was wrong and she checked the victim’s phone, finding the graphic text messages. She called 911 and reported the abuse to Houston Independent School District police. Fluellen admitted to police that she had had oral sex with the victim, but she said that they never had vaginal or anal sex. She said that his life was “not the lifestyle” for him and that another student was trying to “turn him out,” slang for having sex with another man. She said that the text messages were intended for her boyfriend, not for the victim. She gave police consent to search her phone, where they found the sexually explicit messages that she had sent the victim. Fluellen was arrested and is being held on a $40,000 bond. She is being charged with sexual assault of a child under 17. The Houston Independent School District said in a statement that they “are cooperating fully with the Harris County District Attorney’s office.”
“Keeping our students and campuses safe so that productive instruction can take place remains the district’s top priority,” the statement said.
NJ: NEW JERSEY COULD SOON COMPENSATE THOSE WRONGFULLY PUT ON SEX OFFENDER LIST November 8, 2019 [nj.com – 11/7/19] Dion Harrell spent two decades on New Jersey’s sex offender registry.
He had trouble finding a job. He couldn’t be alone with his kids. For a time, he was homeless.
But when a DNA test finally proved his innocence, the state had nothing to offer him for those years.
“I was surprised I wouldn’t get compensation,” Harrell said at a hearing in Trenton Thursday.
If you can prove that you were wrongfully imprisoned in New Jersey, you can receive up to $50,000 for every year spent behind bars. But you’re out of luck if you were forced into treatment or supervision for a sex crime you didn’t commit, or if you falsely pled guilty to any crime.
State lawmakers could change that. A bipartisan bill (A1037) would allow people to receive $25,000 for every year spent under the state’s supervision, which includes sex offender lists and parole.
LA: MAN REMOVED ‘SEX OFFENDER’ FROM HIS ID, AND A JUDGE DISMISSED THE CASE. WHY? November 8, 2019 When a Lafayette Parish man removed the words “sex offender” from his state-issued ID, law enforcement officers said Louisiana law had been broken. A local judge saw things differently. Full Article: https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/courts/article_1d1f2698-0177-11ea-8cee-fff345768dca.html
VA: CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER ELECTED TO VIRGINIA SENATE November 10, 2019 [theohiostar.com – 11/11/19] One of the many Democrats elected to the Virginia Senate on Tuesday is a convicted sex offender and disbarred lawyer, according to Breitbart.
Joe Morrissey was jailed and lost his license to practice law after being convicted of having sex with his 17-year-old secretary. He pled guilty to a misdemeanor in the ensuing court case and served for only three months in a “work-release term.” He was also forced to resign from his seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, but then ran again in the special election to retake the seat and was re-elected.
Morrissey then went on to marry the girl in 2016, and she gave birth to their first child at 19. They now have three children together. Morrissey is 62.
SEX CRIMES BY COPS AN OUTGROWTH OF THEIR ‘POWER AND COERCIVE AUTHORITY,’ EXPERT SAYS November 12, 2019 [ocregister.com – 11/12/19] LAPD officers who took advantage of their power imbalance to commit sexual assaults fit national trends, says prominent criminologist.
LAPD officers Luis Valenzuela and James C. Nichols sexually assaulted a woman at this McDonald’s parking lot, located at 405 N Alvarado St. at W. Temple St. in Los Angeles. They were on duty using a black Jetta. Photographed on Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
By Olga Grigoryants | ogrigoryants@scng.com and Sarah Favot | Los Angeles Daily News PUBLISHED: November 12, 2019 at 10:03 am | UPDATED: November 12, 2019 at 10:03 am
Criminologist Philip Stinson has spent more than a decade studying bad cops and oversees a national database that often explains exactly how they came to violate their sworn duty.
Often, Stinson says, the power imbalance between a police officer and the civilians they encounter leads some astray.
Police officers regularly come in contact with vulnerable people who are “subject to the power and coercive authority granted to police,” said the criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, who is a nationally recognized expert on police behavior and misconduct.
Prominent among such criminal activity are sex-related crimes, he says.
“There’s a lot of power and control that comes with the gun and the badge in terms of being able to coerce people, specifically women and girls,” said Stinson, himself a former police officer in Virginia and New Hampshire.
Additionally, circumstances related to police work make it conducive to committing sex-related crimes.
Many police officers, Stinson says, are free from direct supervision while they are on patrol and sometimes work alone. Also, many police interactions occur late at night outside public view.
Sex crimes by cops an outgrowth of their ‘power and coercive authority,’ expert says: Officers who took advantage of their power imbalance to commit sexual assaults fit national trends, says prominent criminologist
LAPD officers Luis Valenzuela and James C. Nichols sexually assaulted a woman at this McDonald’s parking lot, located at 405 N Alvarado St. at W. Temple St. in Los Angeles. They were on duty using a black Jetta. Photographed on Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
By OLGA GRIGORYANTS | ogrigoryants@scng.com and SARAH FAVOT | Los Angeles Daily News
PUBLISHED: November 12, 2019 at 10:03 am | UPDATED: November 12, 2019 at 10:03 am Criminologist Philip Stinson has spent more than a decade studying bad cops and oversees a national database that often explains exactly how they came to violate their sworn duty.
Often, Stinson says, the power imbalance between a police officer and the civilians they encounter leads some astray.
Police officers regularly come in contact with vulnerable people who are “subject to the power and coercive authority granted to police,” said the criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, who is a nationally recognized expert on police behavior and misconduct.
Prominent among such criminal activity are sex-related crimes, he says.
“There’s a lot of power and control that comes with the gun and the badge in terms of being able to coerce people, specifically women and girls,” said Stinson, himself a former police officer in Virginia and New Hampshire.
Additionally, circumstances related to police work make it conducive to committing sex-related crimes.
Many police officers, Stinson says, are free from direct supervision while they are on patrol and sometimes work alone. Also, many police interactions occur late at night outside public view.
Los Angeles is typical of statewide trends for officers convicted of crimes.
New data obtained by the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley, and analyzed over six months in partnership with the Southern California News Group and other news outlets across the state, reveals that 21 Los Angeles police officers were convicted of crimes committed from 2007 to 2017.
About half of those convictions were for felony sex crimes, domestic violence or other assaults, according to an analysis of the data. Many of them were crimes of opportunity, in which the officers took advantage of their power over vulnerable victims.
Officer ‘groomed’ 15-year-old cadet One such sexual abuse case that grabbed headlines in 2017 involved an officer in South Los Angeles who was a supervisor of the LAPD cadet program.
For several months, Officer Robert Cain was gaining the trust of a teenager in the program, sending her gifts, and letting her drive his car and sit at his desk, according to a civil lawsuit filed against the city in 2018.
The 15-year-old girl, who was not identified in the suit, was enrolled in the cadet program at the 77th Division from January to June 2017, according to court documents. Cain, a 10-year veteran of the department who was 31 at the time, was a supervisor and mentor of the girl.
On June 14, 2017, Cain invited her to Six Flags Magic Mountain as a reward for participation in the program. There, he sexually assaulted her in the parking lot, according to the girl’s lawsuit.
Attorney Luis Carrillo, who represented the victim, said Cain was gaining the victim’s trust for months before he assaulted her.
“Grooming takes different forms, such as being nice, letting her sit at the desk, bringing her to his car,” Carrillo said. “Things like that break barriers for the child who is 15 or 16 years old.”
Cain was assigned to “supervise, train and advise” the victim. Instead, he “used his position to groom and sexually molest and sexually abuse” her, the lawsuit claims.
Details of the assault were discovered after the LAPD began investigating the theft of police cruisers, ballistic vests and other equipment from the 77th Street Division. The girl was one of seven cadets arrested in connection with the thefts. During the probe, police detectives discovered text messages between the girl and Cain revealing the details of their unlawful sexual contact.
Then-LAPD Chief Charlie Beck personally arrested Cain in 2017. The officer was later charged with oral copulation of a person under 16 and unlawful sexual intercourse.
The victim’s lawsuit said the department and city “failed to take reasonable steps and implement reasonable safeguards to avoid and/or prevent the unlawful sexual conduct” by Cain.
His attorney did not return multiple requests for comment.
In the days following Cain’s arrest, investigators seized more than 100 firearms, including assault rifles and inert grenades, when they searched his home in Rancho Cucamonga, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Cain resigned from the Police Department following his arrest. In August 2018, he entered a no contest plea to two felony sexual abuse charges in exchange for a two-year prison sentence. The judge also ordered him to register as a sex offender and stay away from the victim for 10 years.
Lewd act with a 5-year-old Another LAPD officer, Miguel Angel Schiappapietra Jr., also was sentenced to prison for a disturbing case involving the child of a neighbor in Castaic.
Schiappapietra had developed a friendship with his new neighbor after moving to the community in the far reaches of northern L.A. County. Both were fathers of young children.
But a month after they met, Schiappapietra invited his neighbor’s daughters — 5 and 8 years old — from their yard into his bedroom and exposed himself to them. Then Schiappapietra asked the 5-year-old to touch him. And she did as the 8-year-old left the room.
Schiappapietra, a six-year veteran of the LAPD, was charged in 2013 with felony lewd act upon a child and attempted lewd act upon a child.
“It will be the responsibility of the prosecution to overcome the overwhelming evidence of Mr. Schiappapietra’s strong community and family ties, lack of any criminal history, and an overall history of success and superior citizenship,” Schiappapietra’s attorney, David Diamond, wrote in a motion to reduce the officer’s $200,000 bail at the time.
However, Schiappapietra resigned from the LAPD, eventually pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to three years in state prison. He also must register as a sex offender.
Officers Luis Valenzuela and James C. Nichols entered the pleas to counts of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation; they were sentenced to 25 years in prison https://t.co/a1h6W0qW09
— KTLA (@KTLA) February 26, 2018
Narcotics officers prey on informants The LAPD case that most illustrates Stinson’s warnings involved two undercover narcotics officers who preyed on informants who were abusing drugs.
Officers Luis Valenzuela and James C. Nichols were arrested in February 2016 and charged with more than a dozen felony counts for sexually assaulting four women under color of authority during a period from 2008 to 2011.
Valenzuela and Nichols pleaded no contest to charges of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation. Both men were handed 25-year state prison terms and ordered to register as sex offenders.
One of the victims, identified in court proceedings as Jane Doe No. 1, was picked up by the officers in the Echo Park area and driven to a McDonald’s parking lot near Temple and Alvarado streets in December 2008.
Valenzuela stepped out of the car and Nichols stayed behind with the woman, ordering her to perform oral sex.
According to a preliminary hearing transcript, the woman — who was in her 20s and had served as an informant for the officers — said she followed the Nichols’ orders because she was “scared” and felt she “would get in trouble” or be arrested if she didn’t cooperate.
After Valenzuela returned to the car, the officers drove the woman to her home and gave her $40.
County prosecutors said in court that the two officers threatened their victims, saying they would be sent to jail if they didn’t have sex with them.
Attorneys who represented the two officers in court did not return multiple requests for comment.
Dennis Chang, an attorney who represented two of the victims, said the power the two officers had over the women was “enormous.”
“They would say, ‘You haven’t given us enough,’ ” Chang said. “ ‘I need more arrests. I need more sex. I need more blowjobs. You need to do this and you need to do that. If you don’t, you’re going back to jail.’ ”
On one occasion, the officers threatened a victim that they would spread the word she was a “snitch” if she told anybody about the sexual assaults, according to a civil lawsuit filed in 2016.
Stinson points out that police officers who commit crimes obviously is not the norm in law enforcement. But there are officers who commit sexual misconduct and believe they can get away with it, he said.
“Because they can. Because they don’t think they’ll get caught. Law enforcement is generally exempt from law enforcement. Police officers don’t typically like to arrest other police officers.”
TX: ‘WEPT LIKE BABIES THAT DAY’: MAN RECALLS FAMILY’S REACTION AFTER CHILD SEX ABUSE CONVICTION OVERTURNED November 18, 2019 [kvue.com – 11/15/19] GEORGETOWN, Texas — For more than 20 years, Troy Mansfield was branded a “registered sex offender,” a shameful asterisk by his name that followed him everywhere.
“I took my stepdad’s name and I wanted it to be a good name,” Mansfield said. “And I felt like somehow or another it got trashed by me, and I didn’t mean for it to.”
The father of two sons struggled to support his family from a cleaning business, purposely in his wife’s name, Amy Mansfield.
“We lived between $16,000 and $19,000 a year, for a family of four – so very tight and very hard – because I’m trying to make a living but everywhere we go we get the door slammed on it because of this,” Troy Mansfield said.
One of his worst days came when he was kicked out of his church.
“They came in that Sunday they said, ‘We want y’all to get out. You haven’t done anything wrong, we don’t have a problem with you but public opinion is killing us in this church and you’ve got to leave,’” he said.
But Williamson County prosecutors and a judge now agree Troy Mansfield should have never been a registered sex offender or convicted of a crime.
This is a great example of why I am against the death penalty. The life in prison is a much harsher sentence than the death penalty. I have been saying this for years. I have been actively fighting against the death penalty for over 20 years. EXODUS 20:13 “Thou shalt not kill.”
FL: INMATE GETS WISH, SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR THIRD FLORIDA MURDER November 19, 2019 [newsherald.com – 11/18/19] Rocky Ali Beamon, a three-time killer who publicly professed his hatred for sex offenders, had his wish granted Friday when he was sentenced to death for the 2017 murder of 27-year-old Nicholas Anderson.
Beamon had been previously sentenced to die on Jan. 28 for killing a fellow inmate in 2012 at Apalachee Correctional Institution in Jackson County. He had pleaded guilty to the crime and waived his right to trial.
In May of 2018, Beamon wrote a letter to 14th District Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher Patterson in which he professed that killing sex offenders “was the best feeling I’ve had in a long time.”
He pledged to continue targeting victims if he was not sentenced to death.
“I’ll do my best to eliminate every single one until one of three things happens: (1) someone kills me, (2) I run out of people to kill, or (3) they put me where I can kill no more, death row,” the letter said.
He told Judge Patterson “if you don’t send me to death row, I vow to dedicate my next (killing) to you.”
NJ: REGISTERED FOREVER: NJ OFFENDERS FIGHT FOR REPRIEVE November 19, 2019 [courthousenews.com – 11/18/19] TRENTON, N.J. (CN) — A lawyer for New Jersey urged the state Supreme Court on Monday for a strict reading of a law that lets registered sex offenders off the registry so long as they keep a clean record for 15 years. Read more here: https://www.courthousenews.com/registered-forever-nj-offenders-fight-for-reprieve/
FL: JUDGE RULES PINELLAS DETECTIVE, PROSECUTORS LIED IN CHILD PORN CASE. DEFENDANT COULD GO FREE November 21, 2019 [tampabay.com – 11/21/19] A 63-year-old man facing charges of lewd and lascivious molestation and possession of child pornography could go free after a judge found that Pinellas sheriff’s detectives and Pinellas-Pasco prosecutors lied to obtain a search warrant in the case.
The Tampa Bay Times obtained a Nov. 1 order written by Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge William Burgess III in which he found law enforcement officials engaged in a “ruse” to obtain a search warrant for one crime that they used to obtain evidence to prosecute other crimes.
“Had it not contained false statements and not omitted certain material facts, no reasonably prudent judge or magistrate would have signed the warrant,” the judge wrote.
Instead, the judge concluded “the police and prosecution knowingly and intentionally … made false statements.”
“The likely effect of this order is that all charges against the Defendant will have to be dismissed.”
IL: ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FOR SEX OFFENDERS November 21, 2019 Illinois’ highest court ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to ban convicted sex offenders from social media sites.
Conrad Allen Morger was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and sentenced to four years of probation by a court in McLean County. That came with a binding condition he not use specific internet sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
MD: THE ABSURDITY OF CHARGING 10-YEAR-OLDS AS SEX OFFENDERS November 25, 2019 ·8 Comments A ten-year boy has just been charged as a sex offender as a result of a schoolyard game of tag that got out of control. As reported by the local CBS news affiliate: “the fourth-grade students were playing a game of tag that escalated when a boy began making inappropriate comments and movements toward the girls. One of the boys also wrapped his arms around one of the girls.” Full Article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/evangerstmann/2019/11/25/the-absurdity-of-charging-10-year-olds-as-sex-offenders/#5a52ef0b140e
SUPREME COURT WON’T WEIGH CURBING U.S. AGENCY POWERS November 26, 2019 [bloomberglaw.com – 11/25/19] The U.S. Supreme Court refused Nov. 25 to once again consider whether Congress is disregarding a long-held legal doctrine and giving too much power to federal agencies.
Last term a short-handed Supreme Court refused to reinvigorate the “non-delegation doctrine,” which prohibits lawmakers from effectively passing off their legislative authority to another branch of government. The doctrine was used to upend New Deal legislation in the 1930s, but has been dormant since.
Conservatives and libertarians eager to dismantle the so-called administrative state are eager for the court to find that Congress has violated separation of powers and to curb executive authority.
But the justices refused to take up Ronald Paul’s and Arnold Caldwell’s appeals, who each claim that Congress violated the doctrine when it delegated to the attorney general the decision of whether sex offender registry laws should apply retroactively to those who were convicted of sex crimes before the reporting requirements were enacted.
IL: DOCUMENTED HARASSMENT OF A REGISTRANT BY A POLICE OFFICER
November 30, 2019 [uscourts.gov – 11/26/19 – 7th Circuit] The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that state actors have, at a minimum, a rational basis for treating similarly situated people differently. Rex _____ alleges that Officer Tizoc Landeros prevented him from updating his Illinois sexual offender registration and otherwise used his official position to harass Frederickson purely out of personal dislike. Without an updated registration, Frederickson was unable to move from Joliet, Illinois, to nearby Bolingbrook.
The district court found that Frederickson had put forth enough evidence to allow a jury to find that Landeros had singled Frederickson out for unfavorable treatment, and that in so doing Landeros was motivated solely by personal animus and thus lacked a rational basis for his actions.
TX: NEIGHBORS: SEX OFFENDERS MAY FOLLOW PROPOSED GOOD SAMARITAN HOMELESS SHELTER TO AREA November 30, 2019 [caller.com – 11/29/19] There was a time when Abel Palacious found himself homeless. Now, he lives across the street from the old Lamar Elementary School.
The school, at the corner of Morris and 19th streets, could be converted into the largest homeless shelter in Corpus Christi. It would house 308 beds as the new location for the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission.
The organization served Palacious when he was homeless.
Even so, he said he can’t support the shelter’s proposed location because registered sex offenders are allowed to stay at the Good Samaritan. He has four kids aged 11, 14, 15 and 20, and numerous grandchildren.
There really should be a registry for violent crimes and murders. I recently discovered that if you do a search in Google News for: “injured” “shooting” you get many new crimes every day. Apparently the media/internet does not consider these stories top headlines. I don’t know about you but I would rather have a sex offence committed against me; then get shot in the leg. This is all part to the media/internet concentrating on sex offences as a worse crimes than violent crimes. This is the very definition of perverting the laws of our country. For this and everything else the internet/media has brought upon us all with it’s grasping for ratings or just being hateful, our country has gone almost too far over the edge; of no return. Keep your eyes on my blog here: https://amnnow.blogspot.com/ for true updates of how we are doing as a nation.
WHY THERE IS NO NATIONAL DOMESTIC ASSAULT OFFENDER REGISTRY – YET November 30, 2019 · [foxnews.com – 11/30/19] It was a murder so brutal – and one that continues to haunt law enforcement in the quiet community of Osceola County, Florida.
…
For those like Gibson, who are tasked with safeguarding the most vulnerable in the community, it has raised the question as to what more the justice system should and could be doing to support victims of domestic violence.
Namely, why there has been little headway made to establish a national registry for those convicted of domestic violence crimes – similar to the SORNA registry, which has three tiers publicly listing sex offenders.
“In the year 2019, why don’t we have this in place? We must change that,” Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson told Fox News. “I can’t see any cons in regards to a registry. Information is powerful. If you armed with information that this person has been convicted of domestic violence, you can stay away from that. Being aware of a persons’ violent or abusive background can absolutely save your life.”
…
The bill that Hottinger and her team are proposing to lawmakers’ centers on three levels. Level one would be attributed to those deemed a first-time offender, and removed after five years. The second level is for offenders convicted of a violent crime or a second offense and would remain on the registry for at least a decade. And the third level is for those convicted three times, and twice or more in five years. Their names would remain on the registry for life.
…
Indeed, the quest for such a registry is considered by many industry experts to be more of a hindrance than a help.
“The issue comes up nearly every legislative session. Well-meaning legislators and constituents around the country propose creating a state or national registry that lists domestic violence offenders,” said Corbin Streett, a technology safety specialist with the National Network to End Domestic Violence. “But there are many unintended consequences that would actually end up harming survivors and giving a false sense of security to potential victims who look at the registry, thinking it will help them avoid getting into a relationship with an abuser.”
Streett pointed out that only a small number of domestic violence offenders are ever arrested, and many victims simply don’t call for help because they are scared of retaliation. Even if they do, such a small number is subsequently convicted.
“We are also concerned about the impact a registry will have on victims reporting violence. Victims are already hesitant to report domestic violence, worried about the violent retaliation that will come after. If the abuser knows their name will be posted on a registry, it doesn’t make them less likely to abuse; it makes them more likely to try to scare a victim into not reporting,” she continued. “There are also major privacy implications, including potential discrimination against victims that can occur with a registry. When an abuser’s name ends up on a list, it’s not just the abuser who will be outed, but their victims as well.”
CHILD CUSTODY/VISITATION LAWS APPLICABLE TO REGISTERED PERSONS December 2, 2019 [sosen.org – 12/1/19] In my 2016 Jobs and Welfare Survey of 307 registered persons, I found that registrants in this survey were less likely to be married than the general population (34.43% of Regs vs 49% of gen) and less likely to have kids (54.93 Regs. vs 74% Gen. pop.). However, this still means many people forced to register on America’s sex offense registries have families. This makes parental rights an important topic for, registered citizens many of whom are afraid that registry status can be used against them.
PURPOSE OF REPORT: This list covers state statutes pertaining to parental rights or the right to reside with minors for registered persons. Parental rights generally mean custody and/or visitation rights. This report also covers state statutes covering the right of registered persons to live in households with minors or have unsupervised visits with children.
I have reported more this morning on all 3 of my political blogs than ever. Thanks to the internet/media; usually the relentless enemy; of all things sex offended related. In other words Nazi fascist to human beings with friends and family’s and community’s that suffer from the exploitation of the scarlet lettered ones. Just found this article:
Many STI/STD hot spots are in the state’s major metro areas.
10. Collin County
This DFW suburb is home to McKinney, Texas and a population of 782,341 people. The county reported 2,860 cases of chlamydia, 897 cases of gonorrhea, and 175 cases of syphilis.
9. Hidalgo County
This South Texas county boasts a population of 774,769. The county reported 3,387 cases of chlamydia, 458 cases of gonorrhea and 280 cases of syphilis.
8. Fort Bend County
With about 585,375 people, this Houston-area suburb is on the grow. It also has 3,221 cases of chlamydia, 794 cases of gonorrhea and 148 cases of syphilis.
7. Bell County
The home to Fort Hood and the First Cavalry Division had 2,397 cases of chlamydia, 1,245 cases of gonorrhea, and 137 cases of syphilis.
6. El Paso County
The Sun City boasts a population of 800,647 with 5,699 cases of chlamydia, 1, 137 cases of gonorrhea, and 335 cases of syphilis.
5. Tarrant County
The home of Fort Worth has a population of 1.8 million people and reported 9,571 cases of chlamydia, 3,210 cases of gonorrhea, and 778 cases of syphilis.
4. Travis County
The home of the State Capitol and SXSW is home to 1.2 million people with 9,033 chlamydia cases, 3,423 cases of gonorrhea, and 792 cases of syphilis.
3. Bexar County
The home of the Alamo and 1.7 million people is also home to 10,539 cases of chlamydia, 3,876 cases of gonorrhea and 1.287 cases of syphilis.
2. Dallas County
The Big-D has about 2.4 million people and 19, 017 cases of chlamydia. Dallas County also has 7,486 cases of gonorrhea and 2,637 cases of syphilis.
1. Harris County
Houston, the Bayou City, the Big Sticky. The Concrete Swamp boasts a population of around 4.1 million and reports 27,415 cases of chlamydia. H-Town also has 8,730 cases of gonorrhea and 3,251 cases of syphilis.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 5 2019
From: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7759139/Prince-Philip-ordered-Andrew-step-sake-monarchy.html Published: 05:11 EST, 5 December 2019 | Updated: 09:22 EST, 5 December 2019 Prince Philip ‘ordered Andrew to step down for the sake of the monarchy’ at Sandringham showdown with Charles amid worsening Jeffrey Epstein crisis Prince Philip also joined his sons for the light lunch, which took place shortly before the BBC interview with Andrew’s accuser Virginia Roberts aired on Monday. Andrew has repeatedly claimed that he did not have sex with Virginia Roberts and says that he couldn’t remember meeting her. Andrew faced fresh humiliation this week after Miss Roberts gave an interview to the BBC in which she reinforced claims she was forced into sleeping with the royal. Miss Roberts has claimed that she was forced to have sex with Andrew that evening by her alleged sex trafficker Epstein, having danced with the prince inside the club. In his own ‘disastrous’ BBC interview with Emily Maitlis last month, Andrew claimed he ‘was never in Tramp’s’ with Miss Roberts, now known as Virginia Roberts-Guiffre.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 6 2019
I love posting these stories. If you think it is acceptable to stand up for human rights but are against everyone’s rights, even African Americans or LGBTQ folks; than you are a in a dangerous place. Stories like this are proof. People can learn allot from stories like this.
From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/12/christian-pastor-pleads-guilty-28-charges-sexual-abuse-boys/ Pastor who railed against “sexual immorality” pleads guilty to sexual abuse of boys His wife has already divorced him. Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12 Comments A prominent Christian youth pastor from Alabama, 39-year-old Paul Acton Bowen, has pleaded guilty to 28 counts of sexual abuse involving six victims between the ages of 13 and 16. One of the charges included sodomy with a boy, and though we know very little about his other victims, we know others were boys as well. Bowen, who married his now ex-wife in 2015, initially said upon his arrest that he was “hurt, confused, and heartbroken” by the allegations, adding, “I have not done what I am accused of and have not acted inappropriately in any way.” He now faces decades to life in prison. Though web searches didn’t reveal a history of anti-LGBTQ speech on Bowen’s part, one of his books, Escape the Noise, reportedly condemned “sexual immorality.” He also served as an advisor to anti-LGBTQ Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Dawson. Previous to his arrest, Bowen served for 12 years in a local church, wrote several “best-selling” books, worked as a public speaker at youth groups and summer camps, led a citywide student Bible study and hosted xlroads TV, a program viewed weekly by millions of U.S. teens and adults and in over 170 international countries. Bowen claimed to be a Fox News contributor (something Fox News denied) and said he was Justin Bieber’s “personal friend” and “spiritual mentor.” Bowen had previously been fired from a church job in Gadsen, Alabama for looking at pornography on his work computer. Consequently, the board of advisors at his company, Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries, required him to install software called “Covenant Eyes” on his computer to notify a designated “accountability buddy” if he ever looked at online porn. Sex columnist Dan Savage noted when Bowen was first arrested in April 2018, on Bowen’s now defunct Instagram account “almost every picture was Bowen posing with a boy or boys who appeared to be over 12 and under 16 years of age. No girls. Only boys.” Following his arrest, District Attorney Jody Willoughby said, “Acton Bowen is a danger to every child in this community.” Deputy District Attorney Carol Griffith added that his work with youth was only a way for him to get access to underage victims. “Under the guise of leading children to the Lord, he was abusing them and leaving them more lost than ever before.” I think our perverted, unconstitutional, Nazi like, justice system, publicly torturing with cruel and unusual punishment, so called registered sex offenders; causes this kind of crime to take place. If this barbaric, inhuman, grotesque, shameful, treatment of our fellow citizens, is meant to deter sex offences, let it be to no surprise if it has a opposite effect; if not cause the ruin of us all.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated December 17 2019
This sounds about right. If it was a guy’s butt; mabye not. Alex Bozarjian, a reporter for WSAV-TV who was covering a local race in Savannah, Georgia went viral last weekend because a then-unidentified male race participant allegedly smacked her backside while jogging by on Saturday, Dec. 7. The reporter’s expression after being smacked rings in as particularly emotional and recognizable; confusion, shock, then resignation to continuing to do her job. Like too many women and non-binary people know, unwanted contact happens all of the time and perpetrators are rarely held accountable. Read more here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/12/15/1905768/-Runner-who-smacked-reporters-butt-on-live-television-arrested-on-sexual-battery-charge
This is a example of what I have said about our country; from the first time I ever posted anything on the internet about those guilty of a sex crimes of any kind. We as a perverse justice, orientated country; pick and choose who we want to be a sex offender. Famous rock music stars rarely get chosen, church people and rich people and politicians; always get chosen. Then we all except the lie; when we post all over the world, these people have committed a sex crime, it is not cruel and unusual punishment. When we do away with the foundation of our country; like the constitution and separation of church and state, out house is going fall right over. From: https://apnews.com/aff9e82dbd41948100c72b0ad7a7c956 Kobe and other athletes often get a pass January 28, 2020 GMT DENVER (AP) — Folded conveniently into the narratives about his “complicated past” was the detail about Kobe Bryant that could’ve wrecked him. It was a rape allegation by a 19-year-old employee of a Colorado hotel. It happened in 2003. Some argued that making that life-altering detail a mere footnote to the stories detailing Bryant’s life and unexpected death was the human thing to do on such an awful day. Others felt it was another example of an icon being given a pass of sorts because he was a successful athlete. While dozens of high-profile figures — including senators, movie producers, news anchors and comedians (but not the president or the newest Supreme Court justice) — have seen their careers vanquished by allegations of sex abuse and domestic violence, high-profile sports figures have skated past similar accusations at a far more frequent rate.
“We look up to them to win games,” said Miki Turner, a longtime journalist who is now a professor at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. “But we don’t really scrutinize their values as closely as we might for politicians or news anchors. I think there’s just a different line there.” Here’s a quick list from the recent past: relief pitcher Roberto Osuna, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, running back Ezekiel Elliott, quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Ben Roethlisberger, Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton and Super Bowl 54-bound receiver Tyreek Hill of the Chiefs. All are among the sports stars who have had stomach-churning allegations leveled against them but have skirted major repercussions — from their leagues, the teams, law enforcement or, in large part, in the court of public opinion. “There’s something about the instant gratification of having a game that night versus, say, being an actor and taking a year to make a movie,” said Courtney Cox, a former ESPN staffer who teaches a class on race and gender in sport at University of Oregon. “If (sports stars are) treated differently, part of that is the instant way they’re visible, and the way they are able to rectify and rebrand themselves” by the final buzzer of the next game. In other words, winning makes up for a lot. The case of troubled wide receiver Antonio Brown could be instructive. He was released by the Patriots earlier this season when rape allegations surfaced. The NFL is investigating the accusations, and not until that is over will we know what appetite teams might have to sign him. Among the central questions in the Bryant story, and how his life is being remembered, is whether the pass he received in the obituaries and tributes was more about the passage of time than any bias toward him, or athletes in general.
It’s been 17 years since the allegations. A good section of Bryant’s fan base either wasn’t born, or was barely able to understand the news, when reports of his case first surfaced. And yet, here we are in the #MeToo era, in which everyone’s past is easily researched on Google, and any transgression or poorly thought-out meme on social media is not only discoverable, but has the potential to change the narrative for any celebrity. Allegations of sex abuse are leveled with greater frequency against the rich and famous; more of the accusers, but certainly not all, are increasingly treated with greater respect, and their complaints are being taken more seriously. “I don’t know if something like that happened now, even with Kobe Bryant, if people would be as forgiving in this current climate,” Turner said. But Bryant was a sports celebrity, not a movie, television or media star, and that reality almost certainly impacts the calculus, regardless of era. “Sometimes, it’s OK to not have a right answer,” Cox said. “We’re all very morally righteous with our Twitter fingers. The idea of the black-and-whiteness of it all. But it’s not that easy. We grieve family members who had problematic pasts. But with athletes, it seems like we need a neat, tidy story even when it’s not always there.” For celebrities who aren’t athletes — don’t play a game every other night, aren’t as frequently accessible for the media and therefore don’t have as many chances to shift the conversation — the story lines aren’t as malleable. The torrent of allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017 marked a turning point in the #MeToo era. Hollywood and, to some extent, Washington, took the brunt of the blame. Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K., Al Franken, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose and Placido Domingo are a small part of a list of more than 250 public figures in entertainment, politics and media who have been accused of wrongdoing since the start of #MeToo. The majority have seen their careers either stymied or completely brought to a halt. There’s very little doubt over which paragraph in their obituaries will contain details about the lowest moments of their lives. And while nobody sheds any tears about that, there’s an argument to be made that, with some exceptions, such as Woody Allen and Donald Trump, the leagues, the law and the public have meted out a different kind of judgment for them than for their brethren in sports. Bryant’s case was litigated both in the media and the courtroom. But the case never went to trial, and though sponsors cut ties with Bryant in the aftermath, his losses didn’t last long. Bryant walked away from his charges — chastened and clearly a changed man. He issued an apology through his attorney and later settled a civil case brought by his accuser. He missed a few games while attending hearings in the case, but the best of his career, and his life, was still to come. In the 17 years that followed, Bryant became a father of four girls and a vocal champion of women in sports. He became even better known for his alpha-male psyche and his uncompromising work ethic. To some, he is the GOAT — Greatest Of All Time — in a sport that triggers plenty of discussion about that title. But that’s not the only part of his legacy that’s open for debate.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated February 05 2020
WISCONSIN CAME CLOSE TO CHANGING A RULE THAT OFTEN LEAVES PEOPLE ON SEX OFFENSE REGISTRIES HOMELESS Republicans are leading an effort to get rid of blanket restrictions on where some people with sex-offense records can live. A Democratic governor is blocking them. So it seemed odd to see Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, block Republican efforts to get rid of one such ban, at a time when Democratic candidates are out front on a range of criminal justice reforms. Both legislative chambers unanimously supported Senate Bill 60, which four Republican state senators sponsored. It would have done away with the state’s rule forbidding those released from the state’s sex-offense civil commitment program from living within 1,500 feet of schools and other places. The civil commitment program confines about 280 people beyond their prison release dates for treatment, a program the state says is intended to lower their risk of recidivism. Read more here: https://theappeal.org/wisconsin-sex-offender-residency-restrictions/ CT: DIVIDED APPEALS PANEL SLAPS FEDERAL JUDGE FOR ALLOWING JURY NULLIFICATION DEFENSEJanuary 8, 2020 It’s not news that most judges balk at the prospect of jury nullification—the right and power of juries to bring “not guilty” verdicts when defendants violate laws that jurors consider unjust or wrongly applied. It is news when judges take a high-profile slap at a colleague who endorsed jury nullification in his own courtroom. And it’s an even bigger deal when they barely assemble a majority to join in the public shaming. Full Article: https://reason.com/2020/01/06/divided-appeals-panel-slaps-federal-judge-for-allowing-jury-nullification-defense/ CT: SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY SHOULD BE BASED ON RISKJanuary 11, 2020 What is the point of a sex offender registry? As a woman and mother of two, I view Connecticut’s sex offender registry as a tool to increase public awareness about offenders living among us and to weigh my safety and the safety of those around me. Full Op-Ed piece: https://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-gilchrest-sex-offender-registry-0110-20200110-ribwhef6wbafjm254nfv6c3mmu-story.html CO: LAWMAKERS CONSIDER CHANGES TO COLORADO’S JUVENILE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRYJanuary 25, 2020[9news.com – 1/24/20]DENVER — It’s not often you see prosecutors and public defenders working together on the same team. But Thursday night, representatives from both groups spoke before state lawmakers in a joint effort to reform the law around Colorado’s juvenile sex offender registry list. “There are demonstrable…effects for children listed on this public registry right now,” said Amanda Gall, a Sexual Assault Resource Prosecutor at the Colorado District Attorney’s Council. “This bill strikes a balance between public access and privacy for these children.” HB-1079 was passed out of the House Judicial Committee Thursday. It calls for several changes, including: Limiting public access to the juvenile sex offender registryLimiting lifetime registration for sexual offenses committed when the offender was a juvenileGiving judges more discretion at the time of sentencing a juvenile to decide whether or not to exempt the offender from the registry, based on an evaluation of the offender and recommendation from the evaluation teamIf the juvenile offender moves to Colorado from another state, and the juvenile offender is no longer required to register in that prior state, he or she would not have to register in Colorado Read more here: https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/local-politics/lawmakers-consider-changes-to-colorados-juvenile-sex-offender-registry/73-1cac1a21-5221-4ec8-b067-40d6413f99a1 NY: DNA EVIDENCE EXONERATES NEW YORK CITY MAN FOR 1985 SEX ASSAULTJanuary 29, 2020 [abcnews.go.com – 1/28/20]After spending a full 25-year sentence in prison for a crime he did not commit, a Bronx, New York, man was exonerated by the first prosecutorial conviction review unit on the East Coast. Rafael Ruiz was convicted in 1985 for sexually assaulting a girl in East Harlem. Ruiz, then 25, was sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison and was released on parole in 2009 after serving the entire stint. Now, at the age of 60, Ruiz had his felony conviction wiped off his criminal record after newly tested DNA from the victim’s sex assault kit found by the Innocence Project and the Manhattan District Attorney Office’s Conviction Integrity Program excluded him from the case. Read the full article: https://abcnews.go.com/US/dna-evidence-exonerates-york-city-man-1985-sex/story?id=68592919 GA: GROUP CONFRONTS COBB COUNTY SHERIFF OVER ‘INVENTED REQUIREMENTS’ IMPOSED ON SEX OFFENDERSJanuary 30, 2020 [11alive.com – 1/29/20]ATLANTA — A sex offender rights group is accusing the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office of overstepping Georgia’s sex offender registration laws. In a letter sent this week to Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, the North Carolina based National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) claims deputies are “imposing invented requirements not contained in Georgia law.” NARSOL Executive Director Brenda Jones, in the letter, writes the requirements the sheriff’s office is imposing are considered harassment. The letter includes four specific claims against the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office. First, registrants are allegedly being required to have personal contact four to 10 times a year at a deputies’ discretion – a requirement NARSOL claims isn’t detailed in state law. Second, deputies are accused of leaving cards demanding registrants call or face arrest, in excess of required sex offender renewal requirements. Read the full article: https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/cobb-county-sex-offender-requirements-questioned/85-39063e85-aa1b-411b-b510-4fac8a8370dd By believing the SOR is not unconstitutional and not punishment is a lie and is taking the foundation of our county away; that will eventually make it all tumble down. MI: AG FILES AMICUS BRIEF STATING THAT SORA IS PUNITIVE AND UNCONSTITUTIONALFebruary 2, 2020Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an Amicus Brief on Jan 30 in People vs. Betts, Supreme Court No. 148981 . Introduction: There are dangerous sexual predators, to be sure, and the public needs to be protected from them. But the current SORA it is not the way to achieve that goal because it places people on the registry without an individualized assessment of their risk to public safety. Indeed, it provides little differentiation between a violent rapist or reoffender and an individual who has committed a single, non-aggravated offense. And it provides no way for most registrants to lessen their registration period based on their circumstances and rehabilitation. Taken as a whole, SORA’s onerous requirements are punishment and their retroactive application violates both federal and state Ex Post Facto Clauses. Conclusion: Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act, taken as a whole, imposes burdens that are so punitive in their effect that they negate the State’s public safety justifications. Accordingly, Amicus Curiae Attorney General Dana Nessel asks this Court to hold that SORA is punishment and its retroactive application violates the Ex Post Facto Clauses of the Michigan and United States constitutions. The unconstitutional 2011 amendments cannot be severed without leaving an Act that is inoperable without remedial efforts that are quintessentially legislative. Protecting the children and families of Michigan from sexual offending is critical, but it is the Legislature’s task to determine how best to do so within constitutional constraints. Full Brief: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/445142629-AG-Nessel-Amicus.pdf FAC: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/
MI: FEDERAL JUDGE TO HEAR LATEST ARGUMENTS IN CASE OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL February 3, 2020 [michiganradio.org – 2/3/20]Lawyers will make their case in front of a federal judge on Wednesday over what to do about the state’s sex offender registry. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled nearly four years ago that many of the requirements of Michigan’s registry are unconstitutional. But the law hasn’t been changed, and people continue to be on the list. “The court has said that this registry is so ineffective, that it is also unconstitutional,” says Miriam Aukerman, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan. “And yet the Legislature has done nothing to fix it.” In its August 2016 opinion, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals described Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA) as “a byzantine code governing in minute detail the lives of the state’s sex offenders.” “SORA brands registrants as moral lepers solely on the basis of a prior conviction,” the court wrote in its opinion. “It consigns them to years, if not a lifetime, of existence on the margins, not only of society, but often, as the record in this case makes painfully evident, from their own families, with whom, due to school zone restrictions, they may not even live.” Read the full article: https://www.michiganradio.org/post/federal-judge-hear-latest-arguments-case-sex-offender-registry-ruled-unconstitutional What good would this really do? It is already a unconstitutional law. This would continue the stereotype, that most Americans are sex offenders; to the rest of the world. Since I had one article that was good about the republicans I will post a bad one too: Rep. Smith Meets With Trump; Says Int’l Megan’s Law Is Working On Friday, your local congressman, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ4) met with President Trump for the Human Trafficking Summit. Jan 31, 2020 4:10 pm ET | Updated Jan 31, 2020 4:19 pm ET REP. SMITH MEETS WITH TRUMP; SAYS INT’L MEGAN’S LAW IS WORKINGJanuary 31, 2020 Your local congressman, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ4) held a press conference with U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Tuesday, where he talked about the success of his 2008 bill, International Megan’s law. Full Article: https://patch.com/new-jersey/middletown-nj/rep-chris-smith-says-intl-megans-law-working
New Blogs Part 12 Updated February 07 2020
Why is surveillance in nursing homes a question at all? This is a necessity of life and should be instituted in all nursing homes; by law. From: https://www.wndu.com/content/news/Controversy-arises-over-adding-cameras-in-nursing-home-rooms-567672591.html Posted: Fri 8:18 PM, Feb 07, 2020 LANSING, Mich. (WNDU) – Michigan lawmakers are proposing a bill that would add video cameras in the rooms of nursing home patients. “Every person I talk to says this is a great and absolutely wonderful idea except the nursing home,” said Michigan Sen. Jim Runestad, who is proposing a bill that would allow video camera surveillance inside the rooms of nursing home resident only if residents agree. The goal is to help combat elder abuse. “There are unbelievable numbers of videos and the stark, horrific nature of the abuse was mind blowing to me,” Runestad said. A study by Nursing Home Abuse shows nearly 5 million elders are abused in nursing homes each year. In addition, 24.3% of those elders experience at least one instance of physical abuse, while others suffer from sexual and financial abuse. Finally, only 1 and 14 of elder abuse are formally reported. If the bill is passed, Michigan would become one of seven states to allow cameras in nursing home rooms. It would allow families to view camera footage of their loved ones from their phones.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated February 20 2020 You can not blame homosexuality for sending people to hell; just like you can not blame a sex offence on drugs or alcohol. Here is yet another great article proving that them that judge are judged twice as much, from the great human rights organization LGBTQ Nation:
Church settles lawsuit that said its anti-gay pastor forced an employee to have sex with himThe pastor said “Homosexuality is vile” in his book, but allegedly told his teenage associate pastor, “I’d really like to teach you how to [kiss].”February 18, 2020 An Ohio megachurch has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with a former employee who sued the church claiming that its head pastor – who is also anti-gay – had sexually abused and harassed him for over a decade. Brock Miller, a former employee who worked as assistant pastor of Grace Cathedral in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio claimed that televangelist Rev. Ernest Angley had “inspected his genitals and asked him sexual questions” from 2004 to 2014. The church claims no responsibility in the settlement and has stood by its assertion that Miller’s claims are false. Miller began working at the church as an associate pastor at age 17. Around that time, Angley allegedly told Miller that he was destined to become its pastor to lead its worldwide TV broadcasts ministry. Miller says that Angley hand-picked a wife for him to marry at age 19; she was 17 at the time they wedded. Miller also said that Angley pressured him and others to get a vasectomy and for women to get abortions so they’d have more money to invest into the church. Prior to his wedding, Miller says he approached Angley with questions about sex, and Angley allegedly told Miller to show him his penis and masturbate in front of him to ensure that he could ejaculate for his wife. Miller says he trusted Angley and complied several times over a decade. He also claims that Angley asked him graphic questions about Miller’s sex with his wife. Miller then claimed that in 2006, Angley invited him to his bedroom for a special “anointing ceremony” wherein Angley asked Miller to get naked and then allegedly massaged the front and back of Miller’s naked body. These bedroom trysts allegedly occurred many times. According to Miller, during one of their bedroom encounters, Angley said, “I’d really like to teach you how to give a good [passionate kiss].” Miller claims he responded “No!” adding, “It was just like the veil was completely lifted from my eyes and I saw him in that moment for the monster that he is.” Despite he fact that Angley has been caught on tape admitting that he has repeatedly had gay sex, the church claims that Miller fabricated his allegations either to become the church’s lead pastor or to extort money from the church. Miller’s lawsuit sought full back pay, benefits, and reinstatement to the lead pastor position or else compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees. The amount of the settlement remains publicly undisclosed. “I try every single day to see some light shine on the horrible sexual abuse I endured,” Miller said, “and, even if I never get justice for myself, maybe the truth and my story can impact someone else and save them from the same hell I lived.” In Angley’s 1995 book Oh, God, What a Mess!, he wrote, “Homosexuality is vile, vile before God; and it will send souls to hell.”
New Blogs Part 12 Updated March 5 2020
CA: SAN DIEGO SETTLES ACSOL SUIT ON SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY LAWFebruary 7, 2020[kpbs.org – 2/6/20]The city of San Diego has settled a lawsuit challenging a city law that limits where convicted sex offenders can live, agreeing to enforce the law only against those who are on parole. The 2008 ordinance bans all registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or other facility that caters to children. The city has never enforced the law, however, because of concerns over its constitutionality. In 2015, the California Supreme Court overturned a nearly identical law covering unincorporated San Diego County. The court found such residency restrictions are unconstitutional when applied to all sex offenders regardless of an individual’s circumstances, such as the severity of the crime or how much time had passed since their conviction. Then, in 2017, City Attorney Mara Elliott asked the City Council to repeal the ordinance, noting it had never been enforced and would not likely withstand a legal challenge. But council voted 5-4 against the repeal, which prompted the Sacramento-based Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws to file suit on behalf of anonymous sex offender plaintiffs. Read the full article: https://www.kpbs.org/news/2020/feb/06/san-diego-limit-enforcement-sex-offenders-law/ MI: SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY – VALUABLE RESOURCE OR TOOL FOR PUBLIC SHAMING?February 10, 2020 A cursory glance at the Michigan Sex Offender Registry may reveal that someone who’s been convicted of a sex crime lives near you. Now what? Advocates for reforming the registry say this publicly available information not only doesn’t make communities safer, it actually has the potential to make them more dangerous. Those on the other side of the debate say the registry is a valuable tool that gives people the information they need to be aware of their surroundings and cognizant of potential threats. Full Article: https://www.cadillacnews.com/news/sex-offender-registry-valuable-resource-or-tool-for-public-shaming/article_7a045ebc-7e1b-5968-815c-95358b272ef9.html Related https://www.woodtv.com/news/target-8/sex-offender-hopes-his-story-will-help-change-registry/ CA GOVERNOR PARDONS FIRST REGISTRANTFebruary 12, 2020 California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued the state’s first pardon to a registrant. The pardon was issued to Bayard Rustin, a colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on February 4. Rustin was convicted of a sex offense and required to register as a sex offender in Los Angeles in 1953 because he participated in a consensual adult sex act with another man. “We celebrate the courage and wisdom of Governor Newsom in his decision to issue a pardon to Bayard Rustin,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “This is the first time a California Governor has issued a pardon to a person convicted of a sex offense.” The issuance of Rustin’s pardon followed requests made to the Governor by both the California Legislative Black and LGBTQ Caucuses. Rustin is credited as a key strategist and organizer behind the 1963 March on Washington, D.C. He is also credited with helping Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rustin visited California several times during his civil rights career, including trips to Japanese Americans imprisoned in the Manzanar interment camp. President Barack Obama honored Rustin in 2013 by posthumously awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award in the United States. That award described Rustin as “an unyielding activist for civil rights, dignity and equality for all.” Following his issuance of Rustin’s pardon, Governor Newsom announced that his office would launch a new clemency initiative focused on pardoning others who were prosecuted in the state of California because they were gay. “I thank those who advocated for Bayard Rustin’s pardon, and I want to encourage others in similar situations to seek a pardon to right this egregious wrong,” stated Governor Newsom in a press release issued on February 5. According to that press release, the new clemency initiative will work to identify eligible pardon candidates, and diligently process applications with the express goal of pardoning eligible individuals. Additional information regarding that initiative is available at www.gov.ca.gov/clemency CA: APPELLATE COURT UPHOLDS CHALLENGE TO PROP. 57 REGULATIONSFebruary 13, 2020An appellate court in California today upheld ACSOL’s challenge to regulations issued by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that prohibit anyone convicted of a sex offense from receiving early parole consideration. This type of consideration was granted by Prop. 57 to all persons convicted of a non-violent offense. In its decision, the Third Appellate District Court noted that CDCR has made “repeated attempts to exclude categories of inmates undisputedly classified as ‘nonviolent’ from early parole consideration.” The court rejected CDCR’s argument that the exclusions were necessary due to “public safety.” In fact, the decision specifically states that the appellate court rejects “the Department’s claim that the goal of public safety entitles it to contradict the unambiguous language of the Amendment (Prop. 57).” “This decision is a significant victory for every person in custody who has been convicted of a sex offense,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “CDCR can longer refuse to grant those individuals early consideration for parole.” Today’s unanimous decision by three appellate court justices affirmed the decision of a single judge in Sacramento Superior Court made in March 2018. In that Superior Court case, Judge Sumner ruled that CDCR’s regulations were inconsistent with the language of Prop. 57 as well as the intent of the voters who approved that proposition. In addition, the judge determined that CDCR’s regulations “must be set aside.” Consistent with the lower court’s decision, the appellate court determined that the plain language of Prop. 57 is unequivocal and does allow CDCR to “promulgate regulations directly contradicting the text of the proposition.” The appellate court dismissed CDCR’s argument that those convicted of a sex offense pose a current danger to society “based on their likelihood of recidivism.” Although the appellate court did not address the issue of recidivism, it ruled instead that public safety is a “policy consideration” that does not trump the plain language of Prop. 57. Today’s decision could be reviewed by the CA Supreme Court, if it agrees to grant review, and CDCR has stated it will seek review by that court. A similar Prop. 57 case, involving a registrant who was previously convicted of a sex offense but is currently in custody for a different type of offense, is currently pending before that court. The name of that case is Gadlin and its case number is S254599. The basic difference between Gadlin and the case decided today is that the case decided today includes all inmates convicted of a sex offense regardless of whether that offense is the reason there are currently in custody. Decision – Appeal – Feb 2020: https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Decision-Appeal-Feb-2020.pdf Order – Final – March 2018: https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Order-Final-March-2018.pdf Related California appeals court says nonviolent sex offenders eligible for early parole (SF Chronicle) MI: FEDERAL JUDGE INVALIDATES PORTIONS OF SORAFebruary 14, 2020A federal judge has issued a ruling that invalidates portions of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act (SORA) that are unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland issued the decision on Friday in a lawsuit that argued the SORA was unconstitutional. Full Article: https://www.wxyz.com/news/federal-judge-invalidates-portions-of-michigan-sex-offender-registry-act Court Decision: https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/5e46e10b8677f.pdf.pdf Press Release from the Michigan ACLU: https://www.aclumich.org/en/press-releases/us-district-court-ruling-will-require-michigan-rewrite-sex-offender-registration-law Related https://mitchellhamline.edu/sex-offense-litigation-policy/2020/02/14/john-doe-et-al-v-richard-snyder-e-d-mich-2020/ FL: FLORIDA CAN’T BAR FELONS FROM REGISTERING TO VOTE OVER FEES AND FINES, COURT RULESFebruary 19, 2020[cbsnews.com – 2/19/20]Florida cannot bar felons who served their time from registering to vote simply because they have failed to pay all fines and fees stemming from their cases, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Tallahassee federal judge’s preliminary injunction that the implementation of Amendment 4 – approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 to allow most felons who served their time to regain the right to vote – amounted to an unfair poll tax that would disenfranchise many of them. A spokeswoman for Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said the state will immediately ask the entire 11th Circuit to reconsider the ruling. In addition, a full trial on the issue is set to begin this spring. Read the full article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-cant-bar-felons-from-registering-to-vote-over-fees-and-fines-court-rules/ NATIONALMI: STATE OF MICHIGAN SET TO PAY $80M TO SETTLE SEX ABUSE SUIT WITH FORMER JUVENILE OFFENDERSFebruary 27, 2020 [detroitnews.com – 2/27/20]The Michigan Department of Corrections will pay $80 million to settle a lawsuit with former juvenile offenders who claimed they were sexually abused in Michigan prisons between October 2010 and February 2020, state officials said Thursday. Pending final approval April 9, the state will pay $25 million immediately, $15 million by October, $25 million by October 2021 and $15 million by October 2022. Buy PhotoMichigan officials have settled a sexual abuse lawsuit filed by former juvenile offenders for $80 million. (Photo: Daniel Mears, The Detroit News) State corrections officials and Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office announced the settlement with the individuals in a press release after Washtenaw County Judge Carol Kuhnke signed Thursday an order of preliminary approval. The settlement would be the largest since the department reached a $100 million resolution in a 1996 case, Neal v. Michigan Department of Corrections, in which female prisoners alleged a pattern of sexual misconduct and harassment related to the supervision of female prisoners by male officers. The department agreed to a $100 million settlement in the Neal case in 2009, and distributed the payments to plaintiffs between 2010 and 2015. Read the full article: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/02/27/state-pay-80-m-settle-sex-abuse-suit-former-juvenile-offenders/4892037002/
New Blogs Part 12 Updated March 30 2020
This is a great example of why conversion therapy is a crime:
Utah man allegedly told lesbian he was “going to fix the gay” before raping herThe prosecutor hasn’t determined if it was a hate crime yet, but confirmed there is evidence to back up her story.Friday, March 27, 2020 A lesbian in Utah says she was the victim of a “corrective rape” when a man sexual assaulted her in an anti-gay hate crime. The victim told police in Salt Lake City that she was visiting a straight woman she was friends with. When the woman went to bed, her husband Adam Quinn Atwood, 34, started sitting “closer and closer” to her. Related: A lesbian couple was raped, beaten & held in a basement for 4 days She wanted to leave, but she said that Atwood convinced her to go to a convenience store with him to buy beer. When they got back to the house, he attacked her. The man allegedly pulled up the victim’s skirt and groped her. She told him to stop, and that’s when he asked her “if she was sure she didn’t like it” and “if she was sure she was gay.” She tried to get up and leave, but, according to court documents, he grabbed her by the neck and threw her down a short flight of stairs to the basement. The victim said that she told him to stop because his wife and kids were upstairs and she’s a lesbian, but he allegedly responded that he was “going to fix the gay.” Atwood then allegedly raped her and choked her. She escaped and “made it to her vehicle and as she locked the doors the suspect ran up to the car and yelled, ‘You better not tell anyone,’” a police affidavit says. She went home and told her roommates what had happened. She reported the crime to the police. The alleged assailant was later arrested and told police, “I did not rape anyone.” He is currently being charged with suspicion of object rape, forcible sodomy, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, and forcible sexual abuse and is being held on $150,000 bail. Police told the Salt Lake Tribune that there is evidence to corroborate her story. Police also believe that her injuries are consistent with her story. They are also looking into whether the attack qualifies as a hate crime, saying that the decision to proceed with hate crimes charges is up to the prosecutor. Utah added sexual orientation and gender identity to its hate crimes legislation last year.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated April 03 2020
MI: YPSILANTI ADDS EX-OFFENDERS AS PROTECTED CLASS IN NONDISCRIMINATION ORDINANCEMarch 5, 2020 [mlive.com – 3/4/20]YPSILANTI, MI – People with felony convictions cannot be discriminated against in Ypsilanti in a new addition to the city’s non-discrimination ordinance that passed Tuesday. Ypsilanti City Council voted unanimously to make ex-offenders a city-protected class at its meeting on March 3. Elected officials said the move will help returning citizens reintegrate into society and address racial disparities. Speakers during public comment said felony convictions are particularly challenging to finding employment and housing after returning from prison or parole. Several said a felony conviction can often act as a discrimination tactic as a proxy for race since incarceration rates for people of color and whites are disproportionate. The ordinance allows for exceptions if the conviction directly relates to safety or another direct relationship between the offense and the job, housing or other opportunity. Councilman Steve Wilcoxen said some residents were concerned about sex offenders, but he noted those on the sex offender registry already have limitations in place of where they can live and work. Read the full article: https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/03/ypsilanti-adds-ex-offenders-as-protected-class-in-nondiscrimination-ordinance.html FIVE LESSONS PANDEMICS CAN TEACH US ABOUT CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMMarch 9, 2020[prisonpolicy.org – 2/6/20]No need to wait for pandemics: The public health case for criminal justice reformWe offer five examples of policies that could slow the spread of a viral pandemic in prisons and jails – and would mitigate the everyday impact of incarceration on public health.by Peter Wagner and Emily Widra The United States incarcerates a greater share of its population than any other nation in the world, so it is urgent that policymakers think about how a viral pandemic would impact people in prisons, in jails, on probation, and on parole, and to take seriously the public health case for criminal justice reform. Below, we offer five examples of common sense policies that could slow the spread of the virus. This is not an exhaustive list, but a first step for governors and other state-level leaders to engage today, to be followed by further much-needed changes tomorrow. Quick action is necessary for two reasons: the justice-involved population disproportionately has health conditions that make them more vulnerable — such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, and HIV — and making policy changes requires staffing resources that will be unavailable if a pandemic hits. The incarcerated and justice-involved populations contain a number of groups that may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Protecting vulnerable people would improve outcomes for them, reduce the burden on the health care system, protect essential correctional staff from illness, and slow the spread of the disease. Read the full article: https://news.prisonpolicy.org/t/ViewEmail/r/87F5F4B95DB087262540EF23F30FEDED/2F6A8A9426D3B4F9C67FD2F38AC4859C MO: THE MAN WHO HAS TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER BASED ON LIESMarch 15, 2020 [womenagainstregistry.org – 2/20/20]ST. LOUIS – He’s the sex offender who’s innocent. According to the reported victims, _____ didn’t do it. Tuesday’s interview with _____ is part of Fox 2’s ongoing investigation into why the Missouri justice system isn’t listening. “I’ve been fighting this for 31 years of my life and it has caused me something new, every time I turn around,” _____ said. “The neighbors looking at me wrong, not being able to go to a state park. Just recently I found my passports got pulled because of a new sex-trafficking law.” _____ must register as a sex offender after being falsely accused in the 80s of molesting his nephews. He would have been as young as 13 during the alleged crimes. “I kept saying, ‘There’s no way my nephews said this because I’ve never touched them.’ I’ve never done anything to them,” he said. We’ve shown you in prior Fox Files reports how the nephews say they were coerced into making false sex allegations by a Missouri Division of Family Services caseworker. Read the full article: https://ww1.womenagainstregistry.org/the-man-who-has-to-register-as-a-sex-offender-based-on-lies CA: CDCR ASKS CA SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW PROP. 57 DECISIONMarch 23, 2020 [ACSOL]The CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) filed today with the CA Supreme Court a petition requesting review of ACSOL’s successful challenge of CDCR’s regulations that prohibit all registrants from early parole consideration. The prohibition in CDCR’s regulations has been found to be unlawful by several appellate courts. In its petition, CDCR acknowledges that the Court has already granted review of a similar case, In re Gadlin, S254599. CDCR therefore requests that the Court defer action in the ACSOL case until the Gadlin case is decided. All documents in that case have been filed, including an amicus brief by ACSOL, however, the Court has not yet scheduled oral argument. “We are looking forward to a final and positive disposition of our case,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Until the Court rules on this issue, however, thousands of registrants will continue to lose the right to early consideration for parole provided to them by Proposition 57.” The Court of Appeal, Third District, ruled on February 13, 2020, that CDCR’s regulations were unlawful because Proposition 57 did not include an exception for individuals convicted of a sex offense. The Court then upheld the trial court’s decision issued on March 5, 2018. In addition to In re Gadlin, the CA Supreme Court has granted review of six similar cases: In re Mohammad, S259999; In re Adams, S257081; In re Bertram, B293475, In re Bowell, S255066; In re Jones, S259606 and In re Schuster, S260024. Download the petition for review: Prop 57 Petition for Review – CA Sup Ct – March 2020:https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Petition-for-Review-CA-Sup-Ct-March-2020.pdf ACSOL CHALLENGES MURRIETA IN-PERSON REGISTRATION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC [ACSOL]The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a lawsuit today challenging the City of Murrieta’s requirement that all registrants, including those with COVID-19 high risk factors, register in person. The lawsuit is expected to be the first of many such lawsuits to be filed in California this week. “The City of Murrieta is requiring registrants to make one of two deadly decisions, that is, to register in person and risk exposing themselves to COVID-19 or to fail to register and be sent to jail where the risk of exposure to COVID-19 is even greater,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “In addition, registrants who go to the Murrieta Police Department to register in person violate the Governor’s order to shelter in place.” The lawsuit, which was filed in Riverside County Superior Court, asks the court to issue a writ of mandate that requires the City of Murrieta to provide methods of registration that do not require registrants to register in person. Those methods could include registration by telephone or by computer. “We are researching registration methods throughout the state and nation,” stated Bellucci, “and we will file as many lawsuits as possible in order to protect registrants and their families.” Download the lawsuit: Petition – Registration during COVID-19 – March 2020:https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Petition-Registration-during-COVID-19-March-2020.pdf LAPD STOPS IN-PERSON REGISTRATION, PROVIDES REGISTRATION BY TELEPHONEMarch 24, 2020 [ACSOL]The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has stopped all in-person registration of individuals required to register as a sex offender in that city. In place of in -person registration, LAPD is allowing individuals to register by telephone. “LAPD is to be commended for its decision to protect registrants and their loved ones by allowing registrants to register by phone,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein. “Unfortunately, there are many other law enforcement agencies that still require registrants to register in person.” According to LAPD, signs will be posted at every police department where registrants normally register. The signs will include a phone number to call in order to register telephonically. “LAPD has promised to provide ACSOL with a list of phone numbers to call so that registrants in the City of Los Angeles do not have to have to travel to a registration office,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.
ACSOL FILES SECOND CHALLENGE TO SAN DIEGO IN-PERSON REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT DURING COVID-19 PANDEMICMarch 24, 2020 [ACSOL]The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a second lawsuit challenging a city’s requirement that all registrants, including those who have high-risk COVID-19 factors, register in person. The defendant in this lawsuit is the City of San Diego. There are multiple plaintiffs in the lawsuit including ACSOL, a female registrant who suffers from chronic diseases, and additional registrants to be identified in the future. “The City of San Diego, during this historic pandemic, is increasing the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus by requiring people to register in person,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Therefore, we are asking San Diego Superior Court to issue a writ of mandamus that would stop this dangerous behavior.” The lawsuit does not specify an alternate method that should be used by the City of San Diego to register individuals during a pandemic. However, the lawsuit notes that the City of Los Angeles has already stopped registering individuals in person and instead is allowing them to register by phone. “It is important to note that state law does not require most registrants to register in person,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein. “Therefore, the actions of the City of San Diego are unlawful.” ACSOL filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging a requirement by the City of Murrieta that all registrants register in person. That lawsuit was filed in Riverside Superior Court. “ACSOL continues to research the registration requirements of cities and counties throughout California and the nation,” stated Bellucci. “We expect to continue filing lawsuits until no one is required to register in person during the pandemic.” Related links: Lawsuit Filed Against SDPD for In-Person Sex Registration Amid Pandemic:https://www.kpbs.org/news/2020/mar/25/lawsuit-filed-against-sdpd-person-sex-registration/ ACSOL Files Fourth Lawsuit Challenging DOJ and L.A. In-Person Registration During COVID-19 PandemicMarch 26, 2020 – [ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a fourth lawsuit challenging in-person registration. This lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against both the California Department of Justice as well as the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. “We added the CA Department of Justice as a defendant in this case because several registration officers in the LA Sheriff’s Department said… https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Petition-CA-DOJ-and-LASD-CONFORMED.pdf The Unethical Dilemma of an Offense Based Sex Offender Registration and Notification System and the Indiscriminate Effect on the Low Risk OffenderMarch 27, 2020[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/26/20] The Law Review article linked to below was written by Kenneth H. Browning, a third-year law student at Barry University School of Law. He examines ethics in the sex offender registration scheme and questions whether it is ethical to sweep up everybody into a common dust bin. Read the full article on floridaactioncommittee.org CA: 60 Organizations Jointly Request Significant Parole and Probation Changes During PandemicMarch 27, 2020 [ACSOL] A group of 60 organizations, including ACSOL, are jointly requesting that parole and probation agencies in California modify existing supervision conditions, policies and practices to align with public health recommendations in order to protect the lives of more than 400,000 people under their supervision. Included in the request is the end of in-person registration. “ACSOL and its members need to share the list… http://www.rootandrebound.org. https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2020.03.27_COVID-19-Recommendations-to-CA-Parole_Probation.pdf ACSOL Files Fifth Lawsuit Challenging San Diego In-Person Registration During PandemicMarch 27, 2020 [ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed today a fifth lawsuit challenging in-person registration for all registrants, including those with high-risk COVID-19 factors. This lawsuit was filed against the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department which registers more than 3,200 individuals each year. “The plaintiffs in today’s lawsuit include a 72-year-old man who suffers from hypertension as well as a 51-year-old man… https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2020-03-27-Petition-San-Diego-County-Sheriff-FINAL.pdf https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/lawsuit-filed-against-sdpd-for-in-person-sex-offender-registration-amid-pandemic/2293498/ FL: GROUPS CALL ON GOVERNOR DESANTIS TO TEMPORARILY SUSPEND IN-PERSON REPORTING REQUIRED UNDER SEX OFFENSE REGISTRYMarch 28, 2020 [floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/27/20]BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA – March 27, 2020. The Florida Action Committee (FAC), the ACLU of Florida and the Florida Justice Institute are calling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to temporarily suspend the requirement that persons required to register for past sexual offenses appear in-person at the Sheriff’s office to report during the Coronavirus state of emergency. Florida Statutes mandate in-person reporting every six months, quarterly, or monthly for registrants who are transient. Changes to vehicles or reporting travel for three or more days (or changes to prior reported travel) must also be reported within 48 hours in-person. Failure to report in-person is a felony. In some cases, the registrant is also required to report to the driver’s license offices, which are not even open during this crisis. Read the full article: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/groups-call-on-governor-desantis-to-temporarily-suspend-in-person-reporting-required-under-sex-offense-registry/ ND: YET ANOTHER WAY COVID-19 HAS CHANGED LIFE: FARGO SEX OFFENDERS CAN NOW REGISTER REMOTELYMarch 30, 2020[inforum.com – 3/29/20]FARGO — The Fargo Police Department is allowing sex offenders to register by phone in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus, while other local law enforcement agencies continue the registration process with few changes. Fargo police made the switch March 19, the same day it closed the lobby of its headquarters. The department is making several adjustments to its operations to limit contact amid the global pandemic, and having sex offenders register via phone is one of them. “If a new registrant who has never registered with Fargo does show up to register at the police department, there is a sign that gives them instructions to call into our records bureau and the registration process would begin from there,” Detective Mark Voigtschild said in an email. Meanwhile, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office is allowing sex offenders to call in address changes, but deputies still will check in on the registrants, Sheriff Jesse Jahner said. The agency’s first-time registrations will be done in person, he said. Read the full article: https://www.inforum.com/news/crime-and-courts/5010664-Yet-another-way-COVID-19-has-changed-life-Fargo-sex-offenders-can-now-register-remotely PENNSYLVANIA, OREGON SUSPEND IN-PERSON REGISTRATIONMarch 30, 2020 [ACSOL]The States of Pennsylvania and Oregon have temporarily suspended in-person registration for all registrants in those state. Instead of in-person registration, Pennsylvania is allowing registrants to register by mail, if needed, and Oregon is allowing registrants to register by telephone. “Pennsylvania and Oregon are protecting the public, including registrants and their families, from further infection of COVID-19 by suspending in-person registration,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “These states are setting an example that should be followed by all 50 states in the nation.”
In Pennsylvania, registrants are required to register by mail only if they need to change or update previously reported information, such as home address, employment or school address. For those registrants, the state has provided a form which is be mailed to the Pennsylvania State Police, Megan’s Law Section 1800 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110. A link to that form is immediately below this article. Pennsylvania State Police Sexual Offender Update Form – March 2020 [PDF download]https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Pennsylvania-State-Police-Sexual-Offender-Update-Form-March-2020.pdf NY: NEW YORK RELEASES SOME LEVEL 3 SEX OFFENDERS, HOUSES THEM AT HOLIDAY INN EXPRESSApril 2, 2020 [leoaffairs.com – 4/1/20]Sex offenders in western New York have been released as part of the pandemic, with several currently being housed in a Holiday Inn Express. The Level 3 offenders, who were released as part of the outbreak, have drawn the attention of local journalists, citizens and police officials alike, particularly in the town of Greece. “Among the inmates known to be staying at the Holiday Inn Express are four registered sex offenders,” Sabrina Maggiore tweeted. “Three of whom are registered as level 3 sex offender and are deemed by New York courts as most likely to re-offend. All three of the level 3 sex offenders staying at the Holiday Inn Express have been convicted for the rape of minors.” Read the full article: https://www.leoaffairs.com/new-york-releases-some-level-3-sex-offenders-houses-them-at-holiday-inn-express-does-not-notify-local-police/ MD: MARYLAND HIGH COURT RULES SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION QUALIFIES AS ‘PUNISHMENT’April 2, 2020 [By Guy Hamilton-Smith, an ACSOL board member, a 2019 JustLeadershipUSA fellow, and a contributor to The Appeal and Slate. You can read more of his writing on his website]The Maryland Court of Appeals — Maryland’s highest court — issued an opinion this week that, effectively, calls a spade a spade: that being listed on a sex offense registry constitutes punishment. In Rogers v. State, the appellant had been convicted of a crime that would require registration if the victim was a minor. However, the age of the victim was not an element of the offense to which the appellant pleaded guilty, nor was the age of the victim established in the plea agreement. Subsequent to the appellant’s guilty plea, state authorities required that he register as a sex offender. The appellant complied with the state’s demand, but also filed a lawsuit asking the courts to declare that he was not required to register as a sex offender and to remove him from the registry. Who wins depends entirely on whether or not the registry is punishment. In a completely separate case from twenty years ago, the United States Supreme Court held in Apprendi v. New Jersey that “any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” In this case, if the registry is punishment, and the age of the victim determines whether or not an individual must register, then it is a “fact that increases the penalty” and thus must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial (or stipulated to in a guilty plea), as opposed to state police making their own determinations as to whether or not someone must register. The opinion analyzes at length the history of Maryland’s sex offense registry statute—and its present form—and concludes that it is clearly punishment: frequent in-person reporting requirements, the compelled disclosure of enormous amounts of personal information, the broad public availability of that same information over the Internet which “expose[s] sex offenders to ostracism, and may cause lost employment opportunities, housing discrimination, threats, and violence,” and the similarity to the historical punishment of shaming all factored into the Court’s decision. The Court even noted that, at least at some point, members of the public had been allowed to post comments on individual registrant’s pages which would then be viewable to the public — thus transforming Maryland’s registry into something not unlike from an electronic pillory. The ultimate conclusion that the Court reached was that, because of the punitive evolution of Maryland’s registry, any fact that would require registration must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in line with Apprendi. While it was certainly not the Court’s role here to make a determination about whether or not registries are good policy, or effective at their stated aims, it it heartening when any court is willing to tell the truth even—and perhaps especially—when it is an unpopular one. Download opinion PDF: Maryland-Court-of-Appeals-Opinion Sept 2019https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Maryland-Court-of-Appeals-Opinion-Sept-2019.pdf https://jlusa.org/ https://guyhamiltonsmith.com/ https://www.oyez.org/cases/1999/99-478
New Blogs Part 12 Updated May 05 2020
The entire system in our country concerning so called RSO’s is unjust and that is left to God to judge us all for. In my opinion the pandemic is directly God’s judgement against our country for all of it’s unjust, unconstitutional oppression of it’s citizens through our unjust justice system. It is obvious that many Christians are most susceptible to committing sex offence crimes because of our sick obsession with the word sex and everything that goes with that. When we involve any crime that includes a large amount Christians and then proceed to treat them inhumanly we will be judged for it very badly. I believe the inhuman sentencing and treatment of so called registered sex offenders has allot to do with the word sex, in that unfair title. The media/internet capitalizes on sex offender news because sex sells; I have said this since 2001. Unless we turn from our evil ways God will continue to judge us all until we are no more significant than any third world country or completely gone all together. This is all proficiency in the Bible; the only difference is how fast we end up there. I have said since the 1st post I ever made on the internet about RSO’s in 2001; that our country would end up a 3rd world country by our inhuman treatment of RSO’s and our mass incarceration. Actually I should not say mass incarceration because I did not know those two words used together then. If I had to define what I said back then in 2001; it would best be defined by the words our (perverted justice system), even though I did not use those words either back then. You can view for yourself allot of my posts from back then here: https://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/stand-with-survivors-of-sexual-assault.html Just search the page for the words Joe Dork. Joe Dork was the name of a cartoon politician I invented that ran and won his office by his inhuman treatment of so called sex offenders. The point is I warned in my posts about RSOs; of our eventual demise. I do not want this to happen to my country and will continue to post posts and send emails; for all Americans constitutional rights, no matter who they are. We have perverted our justice system to work as a meter to what ever is popular or unpopular with the media/internet. Mass incarceration and our perverted unjust justice system has defined us as a nation. I leave it all up to the Lord to judge it all; like I know he does. I do not envy all those in charge of things like this and like us all, should be; obligated to pray for our elected officials, to make the right decisions not matter how popular it might be to the media/internet. Probation and Parole Officers Are Rethinking Their Rules As Coronavirus SpreadsApril 3, 2020Social distancing is pressing officials across the country to skip traditional methods such as jailing people for “technical violations” like missing check-ins. Full Article: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/04/03/probation-and-parole-officers-are-rethinking-their-rules-as-coronavirus-spreads MI: JUDGE: STATE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY CAN’T BE ENFORCED IN PANDEMICApril 6, 2020 [detroitnews.com – 4/6/20]A federal judge is commanding state authorities to stop enforcing rules under the Michigan Sex Offender Registry Act during the coronavirus pandemic. According to an interim order U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland issued Monday, officials are “preliminarily enjoined from enforcing registration, verification, school zone, and fee violations of (the act) that occurred or may occur from February 14, 2020, until the current crisis has ended, and thereafter until registrants are notified of what duties they have under SORA going forward.” On Valentine’s Day, Cleland declared the act unconstitutional and urged the state Legislature to move to bring the law into compliance. Under the February decision offenders would still have had to report to their local law enforcement agency or state police post through mid-May, while orders encompassing Cleland’s ruling were drafted by the parties. After that, unless the state Legislature acts, the Sex Offender Registry Act would no longer be enforceable against those who offended before 2011. Read the full article: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/04/06/judge-state-sex-offender-registry-cant-enforced-pandemic/2958141001/ IL: LAWSUIT – RELEASE SEX OFFENDERS WHO HAVE SERVED THEIR TIMEApril 9, 2020 Sex offenders who have completed their sentences but are still being held in Illinois prisons should be released as part of the effort to reduce the state’s prison population during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. The request for a temporary restraining order was filed on behalf of Marcus Barnes, a sex offender held at Graham Correctional Center, and about 300 other sex offenders who remain in prison because they have not located state-approved housing required for their release. Full Article: https://www.wglt.org/post/lawsuit-release-sex-offenders-who-have-served-their-time#stream/0 ACSOL FILES TRO APPLICATION IN LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURTApril 10, 2020 The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) has filed an application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in Los Angeles Superior Court. If granted, the TRO would require both the Attorney General and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to temporarily stop in-person registration during the COVID-19 pandemic. The TRO application, filed yesterday, requests a hearing or a decision without a hearing on April 14. “In-person registration continues to threaten the lives of registrants, their families, law enforcement and the public because it increases the risk of infection from COVID-19,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Doing so makes no sense because there are other ways to register individuals that do not endanger public health.” The TRO application was filed on behalf of two registrants who live in Los Angeles County and are considered high risk due to chronic medical conditions, including asthma and hypertension. One of the registrants is homeless and is therefore required to register every month. His next registration date is May 7. “The Los Angeles Police Department stopped in-person registration about three weeks ago,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein. “The department is now registering everyone by phone.” The Attorney General’s legal representative has stated in writing that his office will oppose the TRO application although he provided no reason for that opposition. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s legal representative has not stated whether his client will oppose or support the TRO application. NY: NYC BAR REPORT TO GOV. ANDREW CUOMO: CALL TO TEMPORARILY SUSPEND IN-PERSON REPORTING REQUIREMENTSApril 13, 2020 [mitchellhamline.edu – 4/3/20]By NYC Bar Committee | April 3, 2020 Dear Governor Cuomo: The New York City Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Operations Committee and the Sex Offender Registration Act Working Group write this letter to urge the temporary suspension of in-person reporting requirements for people on the sex offender registry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. By continuing to require in-person reporting for the 8,050 New York City residents on the registry, all of whom have in-person reporting requirements at the same office in lower Manhattan, the health and safety of registrants, court personnel, police officers and the public are being put at risk unnecessarily. Instead, the City Bar urges you to follow the precedent set by the Los Angeles Police Department, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the states of Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Hawaii, and numerous other counties across the country, and allow registrants to satisfy their registration and verification requirements by reporting to the Sex Offender Monitoring Unit (“SOMU”) by telephonic or electronic means. Read the full letter: https://mitchellhamline.edu/sex-offense-litigation-policy/2020/04/08/nyc-bar-report-to-gov-andrew-cuomo-call-to-temporarily-suspend-in-person-reporting-requirements/ CO: COLORADO GOVERNOR STOPS IN-PERSON REGISTRATION DURING PANDEMICApril 23, 2020 [ACSOL]The Governor of Colorado has issued an Executive Order that temporarily suspends the requirement to register in person during the pandemic. Specifically, the Order suspends the requirement that registrants provide a current photograph or a set of fingerprints to verify their identity during registration. As a result, registrants are allowed to register using alternate effective means determined by local law enforcement. The purpose of the Executive Order, issued on April 6, is to “mitigate the effects of the pandemic, prevent further spread, and protect against overwhelming our health care resources.” The Order addresses a wide range of state regulations, including those related to the renewal of drivers licenses, claiming of lottery prizes and taxi operations. The Order will remain in effect at least until April 30 when it could be extended. Read a PDF of the order: Governors Order – Colo – April 2020: https://all4consolaws.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/04/Governors-Order-Colo-April-2020.pdf CA: TOWN REPEALS SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCEApril 27, 2020 [hidesertstar.com – 4/24/20]YUCCA VALLEY — Facing costly litigation, the Yucca Valley Town Council discussed repealing the ordinance restricting where paroled sex offenders can live within town limits. The urgency ordinance repealing part of the Yucca Valley municipal code was approved 5-0. “It’s a tough decision for us to make,” said Councilman Robert Lombardo, adding he believed the town could prevail in a lawsuit. “I think we could successfully fight this, but at a great cost. I feel comfortable appealing the ordinance.” In early February, the town of Yucca Valley was served with a lawsuit, John Doe versus the Town of Yucca Valley, challenging the constitutionality of restricting paroled sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or daycare center. In 2015, the state’s Supreme Court decided a similar ordinance in San Diego was unconstitutional, and that city’s ordinance was repealed. This case opened the door for numerous lawsuits to following hitting city by city across California, according to Thomas Jex, the town of Yucca Valley’s attorney. Jex said the attorney who filed the suit, Janice Bellucci, is winning similar suits she has filed against other California cities. Read the full article: http://www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_2b25c6c2-868b-11ea-b4e4-3734f8ac86c6.html ACSOL Challenges In-Person Registration in Federal District CourtApril 28, 2020 [ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a lawsuit today in a federal district court challenging in-person registration requirements of both the City of Fresno and the County of Fresno. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. According to the lawsuit, the city and county’s requirement to register in person violates the due process clause…: https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Complaint-CONFORMED-28-April-2020.pdfhttps://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Complaint-Exhibit-A-28-April-2020.pdf CA: 7 SEX OFFENDERS RELEASED EARLY DUE TO COVID-19 IN ORANGE COUNTY DESPITE PAROLE VIOLATIONSApril 29, 2020 [nbclosangeles.com – 4/30/20]Seven sex offenders who violated parole were released from jail early as part of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department reducing its inmate population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sex offenders were released months before schedule, despite being charged with violating their parole by cutting off their GPS monitors and tampering with their tracking devices, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Public Information Officer Kimberly Edds. California law requires sex offenders who violate their parole in this way to serve six months in jail, but many of the sex offenders who have been released during the pandemic served just days, Edds said. … …said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “As a state legislator, I was the author and founder of the State of California Sex Offender Management Board and the author of Megan’s Law on the Internet, which allows the public to see where these sex offenders are so that they can protect themselves and their families.” Read the entire article: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/7-sex-offenders-released-early-due-to-covid-19-in-orange-county-despite-parole-violations/2353911/ CA: ACSOL SUES FRESNO COPS FOR FORCING SEX OFFENDERS TO APPEAR AMID COVID-19May 4, 2020 [law360.com – 5/3/20]Authorities in Fresno, California, are inflicting “cruel and unusual punishment” on registered sex offenders and violating the U.S. Constitution by requiring the individuals to appear in person for registration updates during the coronavirus pandemic, three offenders contend. In an April 28 complaint filed in the Eastern District of California, those John Doe plaintiffs say the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office are running afoul of the Eighth and 14th Amendments and the California Sex Offender Registration Act by requiring convicted sex offenders to physically appear for their 30-day, 90-day or annual registration updates. The state statute only requires that in-person registration occur for those who move out of state, for those who change their residence address or for those who legally change their names, according to the complaint. It does not call for initial registrations or for 30-day, 90-day or annual updates to be conducted inside a police station, according to the complaint. The first John Doe considers himself vulnerable because he is 71, the second John Doe is worried because he is 68 and has chronic medical conditions that include hypertension, and the third John Doe is concerned because he has asthma, according to the complaint. “Plaintiffs are gravely afraid of contracting COVID-19 should they be forced to register in [Fresno Police Department] and [Fresno County Sheriff’s Office] stations,” the complaint reads. There is no practical reason for registered sex offenders to have to physically appear for such updates, as authorities are simply confirming information that they already possess or are obtaining information that could be confirmed over the telephone or via a teleconference link, as police in Los Angeles and other locales are currently doing amid concerns over the novel coronavirus, according to the complaint. Read the full article: https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/1268468/cops-sued-for-forcing-sex-offenders-to-appear-amid-covid-19
New Blogs Part 12 Updated June 07 2020
PA: Court Determines Annual Registration, Internet Publication PunishmentMay 12, 2020 [ACSOL] The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued an important decision on May 11, 2020, in which it determined that annual registration as well as publication of a registrant’s personal information on the internet constitutes punishment. The petition in this case committed a sex offense prior to the effective date of these requirements. According to the Court, annual in-person registration “imposes affirmative restraints and probation-like…https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TS-v.-State-of-Pennsylvania-registry-is-punishment-May-2020.pdf NC: Registrants Win in North Carolina CourtMay 13, 2020 [ACSOL] A federal trial court in North Carolina has ruled in favor of registrants whose out-of-state convictions were determined by law enforcement to be “substantially similar” to sex offenses in North Carolina. As a result of this decision, registrants who were convicted of an out-of-state sex offense prior to December 1, 2006, and who also moved to North Carolina prior to that date are no…https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Grabarczyk-v.-Stein-North-Carolina-May-2020.pdf CO: Divided state Supreme Court ruling allows convicted man to terminate sex offender registrationMay 19, 2020 [coloradopolitics.com – 5/19/20] In a 4-3 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that a criminal defendant was entitled to his request to de-register as a sex offender because he completed the terms of his probationary sentence and therefore no longer had a conviction under the law. Brian Keith McCulley pleaded guilty in 2000 to two counts of sexual assault. One of the charges, a…https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/divided-state-supreme-court-ruling-allows-convicted-man-to-terminate-sex-offender-registration/article_b8f11460-99d3-11ea-a1ed-0f1695b9f02e.html NE: Advocates call for an end to the public sex offender registryMay 21, 2020 [fox42kptm.com – 5/20/20] A shooting in North Omaha has sparked concerns over the state sex offender registry. Following the death of Mattieo Condoluci, members of the National Association of Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) are calling for the state to remove the public state sex offender registry. “If he was not on the registry I have no doubt he would be alive,” NARSOL Vice…https://fox42kptm.com/newsletter-daily/murder-arrest-follow-up Watch Recording of Safe and Just Michigan to learn the evidence-based case for ending sex offender registriesMay 22, 2020[safeandjustmi.org – 5/28/30 event] 5/28/20 UPDATE: Sex offense registries were supposed to keep communities safer. Under them, people convicted of sex offenses are required to register where they work, live, volunteer and go to school. Certain restrictions are placed on where they can live and earn a living. These laws have created an underclass of people who struggle not only to find a good job, but to even find an available place to live. Meanwhile, studies show the promised safety benefits of these laws have failed to materialize. Join Safe & Just Michigan Policy Analyst Josh Hoe and special guests — ACLU of Michigan Senior Staff Attorney Miriam Aukerman; Columbia University School of Social Work Senior Research Scientist Vincent Schiraldi; and Judith Levine, feminist author, journalist, co-founder of the National Writers Union and author of “The Feminist and the Sex Offender: Confronting Sexual Harm, Ending State Violence” — at noon on Thursday, May 28. We’ll talk about recent court rulings regarding the unconstitutionality of Michigan’s sex offender registration act, the evidence showing registries fail to protect communities, and the movement to end the registries….https://www.safeandjustmi.org/take-action/events/ CA Supreme Court Grants Review of ACSOL’s Successful Prop. 57 LawsuitMay 28, 2020 [ACSOL] The California Supreme Court today granted review of ACSOL’s successful lawsuit in both the trial and appellate courts which challenged regulations issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that, in effected, prohibit anyone convicted of a sex offense from receiving the benefits of Prop. 57. In today’s decision to grant review, the Court stated that the submission of additional briefings in the case is “deferred pending further order of the court.” Including today’s decision, the California Supreme Court has granted review of four cases which challenge CDCR’s Prop. 57 regulations. The lead Prop. 57 case is In re Gadlin (S254599), which has been fully briefed to the Court. The total number of briefs submitted in the Gadlin case include briefs submitted by ACSOL as well as a group of 19 social science and law scholars. The Court has not yet scheduled oral arguments in the Gadlin case and is not expected to make a decision in that case without oral arguments. “Thousands of registrants continue to be denied the benefits of Prop. 57 due to repeated appeals submitted by CDCR,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “We hope that the Court will soon decide the ultimate fate of CDCR’s regulations.” TX: UNFAVORABLE DECISION IN THE HEARN CASEMay 29, 2020 ·8 CommentsFrom TexasVoices: As many of you are aware our constitutional claim rested on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Santobello v. New York. In Santobello the Supreme Court ruled a state violates substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment when it breaches a plea bargain agreement with a criminal defendant. In our case the State of Texas did just that: it changed state law to require Jack, Donnie and Jimmy to register for life, long after they accepted a plea bargain agreement in their criminal cases. The negotiated terms of their plea agreements, at the time of they were induced to waive their constitutional rights to a fair trial, either provided they would not be required to register at all, or that they would only be required to register until they completed their probation. Today the U.S. District Court in our case ruled against us on two, and only two, issues. First, the Court correctly ruled contract principles generally apply to our constitutional breach of plea claim. However, to our surprise, the Court further ruled that a valid breach of contract claim, as well as our constitutional claim based on Santobello, requires an aggrieved person to prove the consequences of the breach resulted in a criminal “punishment” being imposed against him. Most of us are familiar that rule applies to Ex Post Facto claims. However, I am unaware of any case that recognizes such a principle in contract law, or any case that has interpreted Santobello in this way in the plea bargain context. Full Analysis and Decision: http://texasvoices.org/court-cases-hearn-v-castilleja-update/ Movie “Brian Banks” Now Streaming Free on iTunes, Redbox, and YouTubeJune 6, 2020 [California Innocence Project – 6/5/20] “Brian Banks” Now Streaming Free on iTunes, Redbox, and YouTube. The feature film follows the true story of Banks’ trials and tribulations in the American criminal justice system San Diego, June 5, 2020 – On Friday, June 5, 2020, “Brian Banks” started streaming free on iTunes, Redbox, and YouTube, and is expected to be free on additional platforms in…https://californiainnocenceproject.org/read-their-stories/brian-banks/ FAMM and NACDL Present the Movie: The Vanishing TrialJune 6, 2020 – [famm.org – 6/6/20] Imagine you’re charged with a crime. Now you must choose between pleading guilty and receiving a shorter sentence–or going to trial and risking decades behind bars. “The Vanishing Trial” focuses on four individuals who were forced to make that excruciating choice. Each was threatened with a “trial penalty,” the term used to describe the substantially longer prison sentence a person receives if…https://famm.org/vanishingtrial/ New Blogs Part 12 Updated July 08 2020
MI: Lawmakers debate changes to states sex offender registry law after court rulingJune 8, 2020 Michigan lawmakers are debating how to overhaul the state’s sex offender registry after a federal appeals court ruled sections of the law are unconstitutional, but Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is contending the proposed fixes don’t repair the law’s flaws. Full Article: https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/08/michigan-sex-offender-registry-changes-considered/5196974002/ WILL SEX OFFENSE REGISTRY CHANGES BE PART OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM?June 11, 2020 [medium.com/@zilneyl/ – 6/11/20]The killing of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement has sparked outrage and mass protests across the nation. Calls for police reform have created yet another divide among the American public. As we move toward what will likely be significant changes to the criminal justice system, will individuals on the sex offense registry be included in those reforms? Why So Many Laws? Throughout history the level of outrage associated with various types of criminals has changed, yet the moral disgust directed at sex offenses and sex offenders has remained constant. We use terms like “sexual predator” and “monster” indiscriminately to refer to individuals who have committed crimes ranging from minor sexual offenses to violent sexual assaults that end in murder. We pass laws to control sexual offenders based on the most high-profile and serious cases, yet most offenders do not fit these categories. While legal control over sexual behavior can be traced to the earliest of civilizations, the 1980s and 1990s is when sex offense legislation began its dramatic rise in the U.S. There was an increase in the number of child sexual abuse cases prosecuted by the courts and recounted in the media. The high-profile disappearance of Jacob Wetterling, the sexual assault and murder of Megan Kanka, the abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman, and the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas were all presumed to involve children brutally harmed or murdered by previously convicted sexual offenders. These events launched a new wave of stranger-danger panic and get-tough legislation which remains today, despite minimal, if any, impact on sex offense recidivism or community safety. Read the full article: https://medium.com/@zilneyl/will-sex-offense-registry-changes-be-part-of-criminal-justice-reform-6c3c897c367a If you’re interested in reading further articles I write, or articles written by others related to registry and other social justice issues, like my facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/lisazilney FL: TAMPA BAY TIMES NIXES MUGSHOT GALLERYJune 16, 2020 [newsmax.com – 6/16/20]The Tampa Bay Times will stop publishing its online mugshot gallery, which features people who have been arrested in the newspaper’s coverage area. The Times made the announcement on Monday. “The galleries lack context and further negative stereotypes,” said Tampa Bay Times Executive Editor Mark Katches. “We think the data is an important resource that our newsroom will continue to analyze and watch carefully, but the galleries alone serve little journalistic purpose.” Katches added that the newspaper will still publish individual mugshots with stories when arrests have been made. Read the full article: https://www.newsmax.com/us/mugshot-newspapers-arrest-tampa-bay-times/2020/06/15/id/972301/ PA: COMMONWEALTH V. TORSILIERIJune 23, 2020 Nature of Case: Mr. Torsilieri — the Appellee in this case — was convicted of a sex offense and, as such, was required to register as a sex offender under Pennsylvania’s sex offense registration scheme. He brought a post-conviction challenge alleging that, because Pennsylvania’s sex offense registration law essentially used an irrebutable presumption of dangerousness that if violated several constitutional provisions related to punishment as well as state constitutional provisions protecting reputation. The trial court agreed, and and held that based on expert evidence adducing that re-offense rates were lower, the provisions that the Appellee challenged were unconstitutional. The Commonwealth sought review. Holding: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated the trial court’s opinion on the constitutional question, but did not reverse their opinion. Rather, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court observed that the Commonwealth did not submit evidence that was contradictory to the Appellee’s evidence related to re-offense rates. The Court remanded the case back to the trial court for further fact-finding on the question of re-offense rates. More: https://mitchellhamline.edu/sex-offense-litigation-policy/2020/06/16/commonwealth-v-torsilieri-pa-2020/ ACSOL FILES LAWSUIT CHALLENGING CDCR EARLY RELEASE PLANSJune 23, 2020The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a lawsuit today challenging the early release plans of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The agency plans to begin releasing from prison on July 1 anyone convicted of a non-violent offense who has a release date no later than December 31. The agency’s plans, however, exclude anyone required to register as a sex offender. According to a press release issued by CDCR, prisoners will be released early in order to reduce the possibility of their infection by COVID-19. The threat of infection and death from COVID-19 is especially acute in prisons where social distancing, face coverings, hygiene and medical care are difficult to achieve and may be nonexistent. “The categorical exclusion of all registrants from CDCR’s early release plans is irrational, arbitrary, an abuse of discretion, and serves merely to reflect CDCR’s apparent judgment that the lives of registrants are less important than those of other incarcerated persons,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. According to today’s lawsuit, CDCR’s plans constitute an abuse of discretion and violate the equal protection clause of the California Constitution. The lawsuit requests that the court issue a writ of mandate directing Respondent to render persons required to register as a sex offender eligible for early release from incarceration on the same terms as other incarcerated persons. Today’s lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and is the eighth COVID-19 legal challenge prepared by ACSOL. Of the remaining seven challenges, six were filed in state courts including the California Supreme Court and one was filed in federal district court. TRO – Points & Authorities – June 2020: https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TRO-Points-Authorities-June-2020.pdf FL: CYBERSTALKING INJUNCTION OBTAINED BY SEN. LAUREN BOOK OVERTURNED BY APPEALS COURTJune 25, 2020 [sun-sentinel.com – 6/24/20]TALLAHASSEE — Citing First Amendment rights, an appeals court Wednesday overturned an injunction that state Sen. Lauren Book obtained because of alleged cyberstalking and harassment by an activist who opposes laws dealing with sex-offender registries.The full 4th District Court of Appeal, in an 8-3 ruling, said a Broward County circuit judge improperly granted an injunction that, in part, was designed to prevent Derek Warren Logue from having contact with Book and from publishing any statement threatening her.Book, who was sexually abused as a child by a nanny and is a prominent advocate for victims’ rights, pointed to actions by Logue at events in Tallahassee and New York and online posts in seeking the injunction. But the appeals-court majority, while describing Logue’s posts as “vulgar and insulting,” said Logue did not violate a state stalking law and that his actions were protected by the First Amendment.“As tempting as it might be to force some civility into the matter by stanching respondent’s (Logue’s) speech against petitioner (Book) with a court order, to do so would ignore the protections of the First Amendment and the wording of the stalking statute,” said the 19-page majority opinion, written by Judge Mark Klingensmith. “There was no evidence presented to the trial court that respondent incited action by urging people to threaten harm to petitioner or her family. Claims of threatening speech or harassing action are actionable if the speaker threatens, harasses or intimidates, and intended targets would reasonably perceive that intent. Merely posting public information, or potentially embarrassing and annoying content, without more, is not conduct within the stalking statute and does not entitle petitioner to an injunction.” Read the full article: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-nsf-lauren-book-injunction-overturned-20200624-rbb7tuxjizboleebxboepnz3by-story.html If we spent half as much time trying to educate people about sex crimes, as we do condemning people like Nazi’s for sex crimes; we could help save our justice system from it’s inevitable downfall. Wouldn’t it be ironic if our perverted justice system’s fall would signal the final straw that broke the camel’s back of our entire country? This should be a required course.
CRITICAL TEACHING IN A SEX CRIMES COURSEJuly 5, 2020 [medium.com/@zilneyl/ – 7/5/20]It is often said that the media doesn’t tell us what to think; the media tells us what to think about. The media frames our understanding of public issues and informs us which public issues should be at the forefront of our minds. For 8 years I have taught a college course entitled Sex Crimes. The course uses history and theory to critically examine sex crime laws and sexual offending behavior. In the course, I aim to provide an in-depth examination of the causes and responses to sexual offending and engage students with a non-stereotypical view of offenders as well as an understanding of the many legal controls with which individuals must comply. Each semester teaching this course, I struggle with the extreme views that students have of individuals who commit a sexual offense: the individual is a pervert, a monster, a stranger waiting to kidnap and rape a child. Students remark that individuals who commit a sex offense are sick and cannot be cured, deserve to be castrated or executed, and should be locked away forever. What students don’t realize at the start of the semester is that a sex offender in the eyes of the law can be someone who urinated in public in a school zone, a 21-year-old who had sexual relations with his 15-year-old girlfriend whom he later married, an individual caught viewing online child pornography, an individual conversing in a chat room with someone who they think is a minor but is actually a cop, or an individual that kidnapped and raped a child (to name only a few). These are extremely varied acts in their impact, but they all fall under the umbrella term sex offender. As the American criminal justice system continues to strengthen laws against individuals who have committed a sexual offense, it is important to understand how attitudes toward controversial criminological topics can be altered based on scientific understanding rather than a media frenzy. So, what do I convey to students to help them understand the nuances of sexual offending in America? It Starts with Language Society refers to those who have committed a sex offense as a sexual offender as if that person is always an offender. If you played sports in college, are you considered an athlete still at 50? If you stole a candy bar from a convenience store as a child, do you remain a thief forever? If you cheated on one of your partners, are you an adulterer for life? Read the full article: https://medium.com/@zilneyl/critical-teaching-in-a-sex-crimes-course-efc8b64a4155 9TH CIRCUIT INVALIDATES EMPLOYMENT PAROLE CONDITIONJuly 6, 2020 [ACSOL]9th Circuit Invalidates Employment Parole Condition The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently invalidated a condition of parole which restricted a registrant from “engaging in any occupation, business, volunteer activity or profession” that had “the potential to be alone with children.” In its ruling, the Court agreed with the registrant that the parole condition at issue was overbroad. The Court noted in its decision that the condition “would leave only professions in industries that rigidly prohibit the presence of minors, such as a bar, casino, or adult-entertainment venue. The Court also noted that there was nothing in the record to suggest that the registrant “had an ongoing propensity to harm children, particularly random children he might ‘potentially’ encounter on the job.” The registrant in this case was convicted in Arizona of assaulting a child under the age of 16. This decision, issued on June 8, has been designated as “not appropriate for publication.” The decision was issued without oral argument due to a unanimous decision by the panel of judges involved in the case. Download the decision: U S v Tullie – Parole Conditions – 9th Cir – 2020: https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/U-S-v-Tullie-Parole-Conditions-9th-Cir-2020.pdf
New Blogs Part 12 Updated August 01 2020
From my blog: Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 19 2020 The most I ironic thing about COVID-19 is; when you get it, it is like having to wear the scarlet letter. You become marked as someone to avoid at all cost’s; by closed minded people. Trust me the amount of closed minded people in our society is astounding and daunting. Even though being closed minded is actually a mental disorder; the huge population of them is always there. Closed minded people will avoid you like the plague if you get this deadly virus. Aids was exactly like this when it first started. Getting the coronavirus is like getting aids in the early 1980’s. The bottom line is there will always be uneducated people that think if you got the corona virus in 2020; you could be contagious, forever. However unfair it is to be ostracized like this by narrow minded people, that are completely oblivious to the actual COVID-19 virus; it is still going to be a fact of life for those that are labeled with COVID-19. Young people should think of this before they take part in high risk behavior. Another thing young people should think about is; this virus is so new that no one knows what it is truly capable of beyond a shadow of a doubt. Never forget that I warned that sex offender registration would be the end of our country; since I ever posted anything about RSO’s. The first website I had with this was the Joe Dork website around 1999. I think it is when we truly crossed the line of what this country was founded on and against with the sex offender laws and it does not let up at all. As far as I can see it is worse now than it ever was for anyone that breaks a sex law. This what I mean about the irony of it all. I do not wish this Covid on anyone ever and pray against everyday with my wife, but I do not wish anyone to face a court in this country for a sex crime either. I mentioned the scarlet letter in the website Joe Dork. read it here: http://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/stand-with-survivors-of-sexual-assault.html I mention it 8 times on that page. Here is a copy and paste from that page: The story of The Scarlet Letter is a good example of how it must feel like to have your personal information posted on the internet for a crime you may not even be guilty of or a crime you committed so long ago even you can barely remember. Yet the internet displays it as if it is a current event; causing false judgments to be railed against you a new, every day. Like a scarlet letter you wear on your clothing and can not take off. The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is considered to be his magnum opus.[1] Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an adulterous affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. In June 1642, in the Puritan town of Boston, a crowd gathers to witness an official punishment. A young woman, Hester Prynne, has been found guilty of adultery and must wear a scarlet A on her dress as a sign of shame. Furthermore, she must stand on the scaffold for three hours, exposed to public humiliation. As Hester approaches the scaffold, many of the women in the crowd are angered by her beauty and quiet dignity. When demanded and cajoled to name the father of her child, Hester refuses.
New Blogs Part 12 Updated August 8 2020 CA Governor Extends Encouragement to Stop In-Person RegistrationJuly 8, 2020 [ACSOL] California Governor Gavin Newsom has extended the provisions of an Executive Order that encourages local law enforcement organizations to forego in-person registration. The original Order, issued on May 8, included a waiver from obtaining individuals’ fingerprints and photographs for a period of 60 days. The Governor’s revised Order was issued quietly on June 30 without a press release. According to the revised Order,… 20200630 – N-71-20 Gov’s Order Extending Remote Registration Authorization 20200508 – N-63-20 Gov’s Order Authorizing Remote Registration
PA: SUPREME COURT RULES 2ND GENERATION REGISTRATION NON-PUNITIVEJuly 27, 2020 Pennsylvania Supreme Court Opinion holding that Pennsylvania’s second-generation sex offense registration statute is non-punitive and thus ex post facto challenges against it fail. Case Summary and Details WI: A CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER HAS FILED A FEDERAL LAWSUIT CHALLENGING MUSKEGO’S RULES THAT RESTRICT WHERE HE CAN LIVEJuly 29, 2020 [amp.jsonline.com – 7/28/20]A convicted sex offender has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Muskego’s rules that restrict where he can live, or whether he can live in the city at all. In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, Ronald E. Schroeder said the city’s ordinances violates his constitutional rights by preventing his move from Waukesha to Muskego, where he has been invited to live at the home of a woman who is a longtime friend. Schroeder, 50, is residing in Waukesha on a temporary living plan after his release from prison in March. He was convicted in 2008 of two counts of second-degree sexual assault of an unconscious person. Read the full article: https://amp.jsonline.com/amp/5504382002
NJ: DEM CONGRESSMAN ONCE LOBBIED AGAINST CHILD SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY BILLAugust 7, 2020 [dailycaller.com – 8/6/20]A Democratic congressman once fought against legislation that strengthened and improved the national child sex offender registry before taking office. Tom Malinowski, before becoming a Democratic congressman from New Jersey, lobbied against a 2006 bill that imposed tougher penalties on sex offenders, a review of congressional records and lobbying disclosures by The Washington Free Beacon found. He said that expanding sex offender registry requirements would put sex offenders “at risk of retaliation and discrimination.” Malinowski was a top lobbyist for Human Rights Watch in 2006 and joined in sending a letter to Congress arguing that there was “no legitimate community safety justification” for strengthening the registry, the Beacon reported. Human Rights Watch is an organization focused on investigating and reporting abuses “happening in all corners of the world,” according to its website. “Registration requirements put these individuals at risk of retaliation and discrimination and make it extremely difficult for these individuals to find employment, housing, and to rebuild their lives,” the letter said. Full article here: https://dailycaller.com/2020/08/06/democrat-opposed-sex-offender-registry-tom-malinowski/
New Blogs Part 12 Updated September 7 2020 TN: WIN IN TENNESSEE – DISTRICT COURT DENIES STATE’S MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTS INJUNCTION ON EX POST FACTO GROUNDSAugust 11, 2020 [floridaactioncommittee.org – 8/10/20]A Tennessee Federal District Court last week denied the State’s Motion to Dismiss and ordered an injunction preventing them from enforcing the sex offender registry against an individual whose offense pre-dated the enactment of the ordinance. The best part of this case was that the court based its opinion on Ex Post Facto grounds! Read the full article: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/tn-win-in-tennessee-district-court-denies-states-motion-to-dismiss-and-grants-injunction-on-ex-post-facto-grounds/ Link to PDF of the decision [eagle.com] https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20200806d55 ACSOL CHALLENGES IRVINE’S PRESENCE RESTRICTIONS IN CAAugust 24, 2020 The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a lawsuit challenging presence restrictions in the City of Irvine which were declared to be preempted by state law six years ago. Today’s lawsuit was filed after repeated requests by ACSOL to repeal the unlawful restrictions including a letter sent to the city dated February 13, 2020. “The City of Irvine has acted unlawfully for the past six years by continuing to require some registrants to obtain prior written approval before entering a public park,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein. “This is particularly egregious because an appellate court has already ruled that the city’s restrictions are preempted by state law.” In its decision, the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, upheld the right of a registrant to use the city’s tennis courts without first obtaining written permission from the city’s police chief to do so. In its ruling, the court noted that state law “regulate[s] numerous aspects of a sex offender’s life,” including “the places a sex offender may visit,” “the people with whom he or she may interact,” “where and with whom a sex offender may reside,” the duty to inform law enforcement of numerous facts, “law enforcement’s ability to track a sex offender,” “what sorts of jobs or volunteer positions a sex offender may accept,” and “the public and private places a sex offender may visit.” The Court further noted that, “although the Penal Code does not include a provision identical to the restrictions Irvine section 4-14-803 imposed on all sex offenders entering a public park where children regularly gather, it does include several sections prohibiting or limiting a sex offender’s ability to visit many public and private places where children regularly gather.” In light of the scope and number of the state laws governing Registrants, the Court ruled that the state’s “comprehensive and standardized scheme for regulating sex offenders” established a “complete system for regulating a sex offender’s daily life [that] manifested a legislative intent to fully occupy the field to the exclusion of Irvine section 4-14-803 and other local regulations.” In the past, ACSOL filed a total of 32 lawsuits challenging presence restrictions in California cities and counties. As the result of those lawsuits, a total of 79 cities and counties repealed their presence restrictions. “The only known remaining presence restrictions for registrants not on parole or probation in the state of California are those adopted by the City of Irvine,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “It is clear that Irvine’s restrictions are unlawful and therefore ACSOL challenged them today.” Download PDF of People v. Nguyen_ 222 Cal. App. 4th 1168: https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/People-v.-Nguyen_-222-Cal.-App.-4th-1168.pdf
New Blogs Part 12 Updated October 8 2020 Sexual assault charity Act Fast receives fundingActs Fast, which works with the non-abusive parents or carers of children who have made a disclosure of sexual abuse, was able to continue operating during the pandemic thanks to funding accessed through the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner. Posted: Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 at 2:15 pm Read more: https://www.mags4dorset.co.uk/sexual-assault-charity-act-fast-receives-funding/ If you hate so called social media as much as I do you will like this article.: Digital space is serving as the scene of sex crime. We need to frame a responseThe dissemination of nude photos and videos of a victim engaging in a sexual act deserves to be defined as a continued sexual violation for what is once put in the digital space can rarely be wholly retracted. Updated: October 8, 2020 8:43:50 am Given that the digital space is increasingly serving as the scene of unprecedented sex crimes, there is a dire need for an impactful solution. With only three days to go for the wedding, the bride-to-be received a call from her fiancé. Nothing could have prepared her for what he had to say. Hundreds of links had suddenly appeared on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook flashing extremely obscene pictures of the woman. Thus began a terrible nightmare for the hapless woman, her sole solace, the extraordinary strength of character and commitment of the groom-to-be. A losing battle against this flood of obscenity began immediately. The photos and videos had been mass downloaded and were being shared by hundreds of accounts solely in the business of supplying pornographic content on social media websites. Paid folders promised “a good time” — from Rs 30 for five photos to Rs 200 for seven photos and two videos. Associates of the accused began contacting the victim for sexual favours and to extort money to “delete” the pictures in their possession. The victim plunged into a dark depression. Emotionally drained from a lonely fight of four months, the couple finally approached the police. It was a classic case of revenge porn — an invasion of sexual privacy and a form of online harassment where the perpetrator, usually a disgruntled ex-partner, posts intimate photos, often to shame the subject. The consequences for victims can be extreme, encompassing honour killings, breakdown of relationships, destruction of reputation and career, and immense emotional trauma. Two high profile suicides last year involving Korean pop star, Goo Hara, and a student at the University of London, Damilya Jossipalenya, both victims of revenge porn, are cases in point. While the police may succeed in collecting evidence and prosecuting the perpetrators of such crimes, it can do little to clean up the mess left behind on the internet, the root cause of the victim’s suffering. Reporting of such non-consensual content by victims to the concerned social media platforms is often of no avail. The scale of the problem can be gauged from the half-a-million reports of revenge porn received per month by Facebook alone. All social media companies operate Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) portals where police authorities make requests for IP addresses of errant accounts and the removal of obscene content. However, often the portals are a mere formality, with the requests from investigative agencies remaining unacknowledged and unaddressed. While Facebook has in place a reasonably responsive legal support system, Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp are virtually bereft of one. This is a frustrating stonewalling of the police and thousands of desperate victims. A country which offers one of the largest subscriber bases in the world deserves better legal support. Read more here: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/call-social-media-to-account-6708724/
New Blogs Part 12 Updated October 17 2020 Former security guard sues sex ‘predator hunters’ for defamation in Randolph County OCTOBER 16, 2020 07:30 AM, A metro-east group that posts photos, videos and other information on social media to expose and shame suspected pedophiles is being sued for defamation by a Randolph County man. In his complaint, Collins maintains that Swanson posted a Facebook conversation between Collins and someone identified as “Jordan Lane” in June on the KTS Facebook page and falsely called it a “sex trafficking situation,” insinuated that Collins was “grooming” a 14-year-old girl and referred to Collins as “very creepy.” “Defendants maliciously and intentionally caused the publication of the false statements to a Facebook page with thousands of followers for the purpose of harming the Plaintiff’s good reputation,” the complaint states. KTS announced the lawsuit Wednesday on the Facebook page of its non-profit organization, KTS: Stop Sexual Assault. The group is asking its more than 47,000 followers to donate money for legal fees. “Wondering why we haven’t been doing live meet ups lately?” the post asked, using the term “meet ups” to describe videotaped confrontations with suspected pedophiles that are sometimes streamed live on Facebook or YouTube. Then KTS members show up at the locations, confront suspects, videotape confrontations and post videos on Facebook or YouTube. The idea is to shame and perhaps scare the adult men into stopping their activities, as KTS has no legal authority to arrest them. As of Thursday afternoon, nearly 150 followers had offered support on the KTS: Stop Sexual Assault Facebook page in response to news of the Randolph County lawsuit. Some suggested legal strategies or reported that they had donated money. Others called for protests at Swanson’s court appearances. Read more here: https://www.bnd.com/news/local/article246480085.html
New Blogs Part 12 Updated October 21 2020 Bill Cosby may be smiling but I am crying for him inside and all them that have tormented this harmless old man. As a child I was a big fan of Bill Cosby. I remember one of my relatives had Bill Cosby on record album and it was a treasured event for me to here it and laugh so hard. This is a example of how I have been saying for many years that God will and maybe is punishing our country for it’s unconstitutional, Nazi like behavior, towards our fellow human beings; some who are shinning stars like Bill Cosby. Out of what; ignorance? I am not trying to justify Bill’s awful behavior. All I am saying is he could have gotten better in a couple years of counselling rather than a death sentence in prison. If he survives all this; it will surly shorten what little time he has left. Bill Cosby, 83, is seen SMILING in latest mugshot with facemask around his neck Cosby, 83, has been imprisoned at the State Correctional Institution in Phoenix, PA since September 2018, after a jury found him guilty of a 2004 sexual assault The disgraced comic was photographed inside the state prison for the first time in nearly two years on September 4 The image shows a disheveled looking Cosby grinning towards the ground, with a white face mask hanging around his neck The prison periodically takes new photos of inmates because their appearance can change and Cosby was due for a new image Cosby looks remarkably different to the forlorn-looking figure who was pictured upon entry to the facility just over two years ago The elated expression he showcased in his new mugshot may be due to the fact he’s up for parole soon, having served two years of a three-to-10-year sentence Read more here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8859901/PICTURED-Bill-Cosby-83-shown-grinning-unnerving-new-mugshot-facemask-neck.html
New Blogs Part 12 Updated October 28 2020 From: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/10/antigay-politician-admits-secretly-prescribing-opioids-lover-shes-also-second-cousin/ Antigay politician admits to secretly prescribing opioids for lover. She’s also his second cousin.The doctor and author of Tennessee’s “Don’t Say Gay bill” was handing out prescriptions to family members. One of them was also his lover – and his nurse.Tuesday, October 27, 2020 Tennessee GOP state representative Joey Hensley
If you believe it is ok to deny registered sex offenders human rights or U.S. Constitutional rights. If you do not believe registered sex offenders are denied their human and constitutional rights or if you are against free speech. Please leave this web page now. Thank you.
By remaining on this web page you here by acknowledge that you support human rights and United States constitutional rights for registered sex offenders and that you support freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
This blog is not for people to be critical of what is posted here and if the reader is critical of anything here than that means they did not read the disclaimer on the top of each of the pages here and are not welcome here and should stop reading and leave this blog upon my request and in the name of freedom of speech, and my rights as a American citizen.
No sexual abuse is ever acceptable. Sex offense laws and policies should be based on sound research and common sense, not fear, panic or paranoia. Current laws and policies that paint all sex offenders with one broad brush are counter- productive, wasteful, and cause needless harm. Each offense must be judged on its own merits with a punishment that fits the crime and does not waste taxpayer dollars. The public sex offender registry and residency restriction laws do not protect children but instead ostracize and dehumanize individuals and their families. Money spent on purely punitive measures would be better used for prevention, healing, and rehabilitation.
The author of SO FAQ does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That does not mean we are should not vote.
I can see no better reason to start my new blog page with the end of my last blog page:
I have read about this story many times and am very, very happy these young ladies are out of prison. In Texas there is a high probability you may die in the prison system; so at least they are still alive, too. I hope they dedicate their lives to helping others under the same human rights violations. The absolutely horrifying way these young ladies have had to suffer; for something they never did is unconscionable. When will Texas ever learn not to do things like this to people?
The sad thing is it probably took the movie to bring this to the attention of the public enough to embarrass Texas enough; to finally do the right thing. I always say to the registered sex offender; silence = death. That is the reason so many suffer because no one say’s I will not “Go Gentle Into That Good Night”
Finally Free! Four Wrongfully Convicted Latina Lesbians Cleared on All Charges by Texas Court
After two decades since they were accused of a crime they didn’t commit and languished in prison for more than a decade, four Latina lesbians from San Antonio are finally free. This morning the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez were cleared on all charges and legally exonerated after being convicted of sexually assaulting two little girls in 1997.
The next thing I am going to do is start adding my art work here.
Sex offender doesn’t have to reveal sexual history, Utah Supreme Court rules
SALT LAKE CITY — A convicted sex offender does not have to reveal his complete sexual history as a condition of his parole, the Utah Supreme Court has ruled.
Brendt Thomas Bennett sued the Utah Department of Corrections after his parole was revoked when he was ordered to disclose his sexual history — including any uncharged sex crimes — as a part of sex offender treatment. The Utah Supreme Court said in a ruling released Saturday night that it violates his Fifth Amendment constitutional right against self-incrimination.
“We hold that a threat to revoke a defendant’s parole constitutes compulsion for purposes of the Fifth Amendment,” Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant wrote.
Bennett pleaded guilty to rape of a child back in 2000. He was paroled from the Utah State Prison in 2007 into the Bonneville Community Correctional Center, with an order that he complete sex offender treatment there. As part of the program, the court said in its ruling, Bennett was ordered to make a disclosure of his sexual history to a therapist and in a polygraph exam.
“Mr. ________ invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and, though he answered some of the questions in a general way, he refused to provide more specific answers. He claims that the ‘treatment team pointedly demanded answers to questions that would require me to incriminate myself,’” Chief Justice Durrant wrote.
Mr.________’s refusal to discuss it apparently led to his parole being revoked and his return to prison. A lower court ruled against Mr. ________, who appealed to the state’s top court. The Utah Supreme Court sided with Mr. ________, and also chastised lower courts for not providing him with a lawyer as he fought the parole revocation.
In its ruling, the Utah Supreme Court said it was not rejecting the “valid and important rehabilitative purposes of sex offender treatment programs.”
“Although the State argues that our decision today will undermine the purposes and effectiveness of sex offender treatment programs, a compelling state interest does not outweigh an individual‘s Fifth Amendment rights,” Chief Justice Durrant wrote.
The ruling does not overturn Mr. ________’s conviction, but sends his parole issue back to a lower court to be decided.
I used to like North Carolina, been there a couple times. Once while my wife was at Fort Gordon for her AIT. I have no idea why these people are so cruel. I remember North Carolina as a friendly happy place.
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Absurdly Repressive North Carolina Sex Offender Law
North Carolina’s efforts to drive sex offenders out of public life hit another roadblock on Wednesday when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit held that two key provisions of a repressive sex offender law violate the Constitution. The ruling marks the second time this year that a federal appeals court has issued a harsh rebuke to a state for enacting outrageous restrictions against former sex offenders, after the 6th Circuit upbraided Michigan for turning sex offender registrants into “moral lepers.” Wednesday’s decision is also a victory for reality-based jurisprudence: The court refused to accept North Carolina’s baseless assertions that former sex offenders are dangerous forever, instead demanding evidence that its draconian infringements on constitutionally protected liberties actually help anybody.
The North Carolina law at issue bars sex offenders—including those whose crimes do not involve minors—from visiting “any place where minors gather for regularly scheduled” activities. A group of sex offenders challenged the law as a violation of the Due Process Clause, which proscribes laws so vague that a reasonably intelligent person could not understand what behavior they prohibit. Law enforcement officers have used this provision to indefinitely exclude sex offenders from G-rated movies, fast food restaurants, hospitals, museums, fairgrounds, and softball games, because children might be present.
But, of course, children might be present in almost any public space, and the law’s phrasing is so hazy that it could be read to punish any sex offenders who leave their homes. As the 4th Circuit explained, “neither an ordinary citizen nor a law enforcement officer could reasonably determine what activity [is] criminalized” by the law. “As a consequence,” the court concluded, it “does not meet the standards of due process because it is unconstitutionally vague.”
Luckily for North Carolina, another, more specific provision of the law bars sex offenders from going “within 300 feet of any location intended primarily for the use, care, or supervision of minors”—including “malls, shopping centers, or other property open to the general public.” Unluckily for North Carolina, this clause violates the First Amendment. The law’s sweeping breadth, the 4th Circuit wrote, inhibits offenders’ ability “to go to a wide variety of places associated with First Amendment activity,” including “public streets, parks, and other public facilities.” It thus seriously interferes with offenders’ freedom of expression and association.
To pass constitutional muster, these “sweeping restrictions” on First Amendment freedoms must “materially advance an important or substantial government interest.” Put differently, all North Carolina had to do to justify its law was put forth persuasive evidence that barring sex offenders from public facilities protects women and children, as the legislature insisted it would in passing the statute. It could do so with proof that former sex offenders frequently re-offend, even after prison and parole.
But North Carolina could do no such thing. “The only ‘evidence’ proffered by the State,” the court explained, “consisted of citations to a list of cases in which sex offenders had re-offended after a prior conviction. … None of these cases suggest with any degree of reliability that offenders with only adult victims are more likely to reoffend with minors.” Even worse:
The State tries to overcome its lack of data, social science or scientific research, legislative findings, or other empirical evidence with a renewed appeal to anecdotal case law, as well as to “logic and common sense.” But neither anecdote, common sense, nor logic, in a vacuum, is sufficient to carry the State’s burden of proof. Thus, while the State’s argument may be conceptually plausible, it presented no evidence or data to substantiate it before the district court.
Accordingly, the court permanently blocked the provision as a contravention of the First Amendment.
The struggle to restore sex offenders’ constitutional rights—following a nasty, decadeslong campaign of misinformation that vilifies offenders as beyond rehabilitation—enjoys relatively few victories. Indeed, North Carolina has already passed a new sex offender law that clarifies the older statute’s unconstitutionally vague language, although it still poses serious First Amendment problems. Still, on the whole, the courts appear to be demanding more proof from states that—in the words of the 6th Circuit—their “onerous, “retributive,” “byzantine codes” really do protect women and children from sex crimes. That’s a terrific development. Just as judges are increasingly asking for evidence that voter ID laws prevent voter fraud and abortion restrictions protect women, courts should seriously query whether harsh sex offenders law truly help anybody. In 2017, the Supreme Court will hear a case involving the First Amendment rights of former sex offenders. It’ll mark a prime opportunity for the justices to reiterate that a former criminal’s constitutional liberties do not disappear simply because his name appears on a sex offender registry.
I got another snail mail letter advertising Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure again; this time from from ESTES & FRIDIE, PLLC – ATTORNEYS .
I added them to my links. I am always holding out hope that I will be able to no longer have to register and because I received deferred adjudicated and legally that is not a conviction it may be possible to win in court. Seeing these letters in the mail; encourages me, knowing that this type case is building momentum.
Two Federal Courts Says No on Banning Sex Offenders From ‘Child Safety Zones’
Rulings deem Indiana and North Carolina laws unconstitutionally vague and unjustifiably wide.
Dec. 5, 2016 10:30 am
A couple of years ago, Brian Valenti, a registered sex offender who lives in Hartford City, Indiana, received a citation for sitting in his brother’s car. The car was parked outside his brother’s house, which happens to be across the street from a school. By sitting in it, Valenti violated a local ordinance prohibiting anyone convicted of a sex offense involving a minor from entering a long list of “child safety zones”—including schools, parks, libraries, swimming pools, athletic complexes, movie theaters, and bowling alleys— or “loitering” within 300 feet of those locations. Because of Hartford City’s ordinance, Valenti, who committed a sex offense 28 years ago in California, was not allowed to visit his daughter’s school, go to the library with her, visit local parks, join the YMCA, enroll his daughter in activities there, go bowling with his family, or vote at his designated polling place.
Under a similar law in North Carolina, registered sex offenders whose crimes involved minors or violence are forbidden to venture within 300 feet of “any place intended primarily for the use, care, or supervision of minors.” They are also required to stay away from “any place where minors gather for regularly scheduled educational, recreational, or social programs.” Five sex offenders who challenged the law said it prevented them from attending church, visiting their children’s schools, participating in adult softball games, going to events at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, eating at fast food restaurants with play areas, attending town council meetings held near a library, and visiting the state legislature, which meets in a building near a natural history museum that attracts children. The plaintiffs also worried that they were committing felonies by working on construction projects within a 300-foot zone or by going shopping or commuting to work, since they could easily drive by forbidden locations on the way.
Last week federal courts overturned both of these laws, deeming them unconstitutionally vague. The judge who heard Valenti’s challenge to Hartford City’s ordinance also concluded that it imposed retroactive punishment, violating the Indiana Constitution’s ban on ex post facto laws, while the appeals court that ruled against North Carolina’s law found that it unjustifiably interfered with activities protected by the First Amendment. Like last summer’s 6th Circuit decision against Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act, last week’s rulings go beyond the usual hand waving about child protection to ask whether the restrictions imposed by such laws can be justified by their purported public safety benefits.
When Valenti was fined for sitting in his brother’s car, Hartford City’s ordinance defined loitering near a child safety zone as “standing [or] sitting idly, whether or not the person is in a vehicle or remaining in or around an area.” In 2015 the city council changed that definition to “remaining in a place or circulating around a place under circumstances that would warrant a reasonable person to believe that the primary purpose or effect of the behavior is to enable a sex offender to satisfy an unlawful sexual desire, or to locate, lure, or harass a potential victim.” U.S. District Judge Theresa Springmann concluded that both definitions violate the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of due process, since they fail to give people fair notice of when they are violating the law and invite arbitrary enforcement.
Springmann also found that the ordinance’s punitive effect outweighed its regulatory purpose, meaning that even if it were crystal clear it could not constitutionally be applied to sex offenders convicted before it was passed. “Considered as a whole,” she writes, “the Ordinance imposes substantial affirmative restraints on the Plaintiff that he did not have fair warning of when he committed his offense in 1988, or was convicted in 1993.” Those restrictions, she concludes, are excessive in light of the regulatory purpose they are supposed to serve, Springmann notes that “the Ordinance does not provide any means by which the Plaintiff can petition for an exemption,” “does not provide any particularized risk assessment,” and does not make exceptions for situations that pose no plausible threat to public safety, such as parent-teacher conferences.
The North Carolina law does allow such exceptions with special permission, but it is broader than the Hartford City ordinance in that it does not specify all the settings to which it applies, leaving sex offenders and police the challenge of figuring out what is meant by “any place where minors gather for regularly scheduled educational, recreational, or social programs.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit agreed with the plaintiffs that a sex offender or a cop “cannot reasonably determine (1) whether a program for minors is ‘regularly scheduled’ or (2) what places qualify as those ‘where minors gather.'” Hence “that subsection does not meet the standards of due process because it is unconstitutionally vague.”
Like Judge Springmann, the 4th Circuit also highlighted the indiscriminate scope of the law, which in North Carolina’s case seeks to keep sex offenders away from places where minors gather even when their crimes had nothing to do with children. “It applies to all restricted sex offenders, not just those who pose a danger to minors or are likely to pose such a danger,” the court notes. Since the law interferes with activities protected by the First Amendment, such as attending church services and lobbying legislators, the state was required to present evidence of a reasonable fit between the restrictions and the goal of protecting children. Yet “for reasons not apparent from the record,” it conspicuously failed to do so. “Without empirical data or other similar credible evidence,” the 4th Circuit says, “it is not possible to tell” whether the 300-foot rule “responds at all to the State’s legitimate interest in protecting minors from sexual assault.”
That is a pretty strong indictment of the failure to justify the burdens that legislators impose on sex offenders long after they have served their sentences, without regard to the threat they currently pose. The 4th Circuit’s dismay at the state’s lack of proof is reminiscent of what the 6th Circuit said in August about Michigan’s law: that there was “no evidence in the record that the difficulties the statute imposes on registrants are counterbalanced by any positive effects.” To the contrary, it said, “the punitive effects of these blanket restrictions…far exceed even a generous assessment of their salutary effects.” After years of deferring to pretty much anything legislators did in the name of protecting children from sexual predators, the federal courts are finally beginning to ask whether these laws make sense in light of the goals they are supposed to achieve.
You can get the quick low down on the four Hispanic lesbians sent to prison for twenty years for something they never did; by watch the beginning of this video:
I love this show on FSTV and have been watching it for years. Ann and Andy are amazing no nonsense journalist and the world would be very sad with out them. I am happy to endorse getting on their email list and donating to them as well.
Thanks Gay USA for your contribution to upholding the rights of our fellow Americans.
You must sign this petition! What if a employer worked our citizens until they died and made all the women have miscarriages. Wouldn’t you endorse boycotting them? If this law is past you would go to prison for that. This law would take away our rights as Americans!
This is a disaster. A new law proposed by a State Senator in Washington would allow the authorities to charge protesters with “economic terrorism,” and slap them with serious felony charges that could lead to jail time, just for making their voices heard.
The outrageous proposed bill would make any form of protest that causes an “economic disruption” a class C felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison. It wouldn’t just apply to people who engage in illegal acts or vandalism, it could be used to prosecute any person or group who organizes a protest that authorities deem as “disruptive.” Broadly interpreted, this law could apply to time honored traditions of nonviolent dissent like boycotts and civil disobedience.
Charging protesters with terrorism clearly violates the First Amendment and is an attempt to silence legitimate dissent. Please sign the petition telling lawmakers to reject this dangerous legislation.
Here’s the text of the petition:
“Organizing and participating in protests is a basic Constitutional right guaranteed by the First Amendment. I urge all lawmakers to reject any legislation that criminalizes protesters or labels protests as a form of “economic terrorism.”
Officials leave sex offenders’ election ballots uncounted
Sex offenders at treatment center sue for alleged rights violations
Updated: December 6, 2016 9:52pm
AUSTIN – Like millions of Americans who wanted to have their say, more than 100 men inside a West Texas treatment center for sexually violent predators registered to vote in last month’s presidential election.
Local election officials, however, refused to count their ballots, a decision that attorneys say likely violates federal and state laws.
The tossed-out votes now are the subject of a growing legal fight in the small town that once begged to get the treatment center for the jobs and the multimillion-dollar payroll that it brought, but now appears to be having second thoughts about the more than 200 convicted sex offenders that came with it.
“They didn’t want us going out into their community, so they made us vote by mail, and now they’re denying us the right to vote at all,” said Clarence Brown, 54, one of the men in the Billy Clayton Center whose ballots were rejected. “This place isn’t supposed to be a prison, but this run-down, bigoted little town is trying to make it one so we can’t exercise our constitutional right to vote. Even if they don’t like us, what they have done is not legal.”
Brown said he and 65 other men at the center have filed a challenge to the decision to reject their ballots by Early Voting Ballot Board Judge Steve Busby. They said they plan to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the case as a violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which makes it a federal crime to prevent a qualified voter from casting a ballot.
Officials with the Texas Civil Commitment Office that operates the sex offender program and top elections officials at the Texas Secretary of State Office acknowledged the problem but said there is little they can do.
Lamb County elections officials contend it was not their decision and referred questions to Busby. He did not return repeated phone calls.
Documents obtained by the Chronicle show the state laws that Busby cited in rejecting the ballots were the same ones state officials used to allow the men to vote by mail: They were disabled, they were confined and could not get to a polling place to vote and that they had fully discharged their prison sentences.
“It sounds like a pretty clear violation,” said Buck Wood, an Austin lawyer and expert on Texas elections law. “If they completed their sentences, they should have been allowed to vote.”
‘There was grumbling’
Under Texas law, felons who have completed their prison sentences are entitled to vote.
State files show the fight began earlier this year when Brown and as many as a dozen other men at the Clayton Center registered to vote in the March primaries. County officials advised them to vote by mail, records show, but none were counted.
“There was grumbling, and I asked the county how they could vote, to resolve this in the future,” said Marsha McLane, executive director of the Texas Civil Commitment Office. “There were three options: They could either go a polling place on Election Day or they could bring a polling place to the center to let them vote there or they could do it by absentee ballot.”
Officials confirmed that before all the men in the state’s civil-commitment program were moved to Littlefield in September 2015, many had voted in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and other locations where they were housed in jails and halfway houses.
Because many of the men at the Littlefield facility did not have proper identification cards to cast ballots in person, the civil commitment agency transported the prospective voters – about 50 of them – to a Texas Department of Public Safety office in Lubbock to get state-approved ID cards. Each man paid the $21 cost for the cards, McLane said.
Internal state emails show Lamb County officials in May nixed in-person voting as an option and again urged absentee ballots to avoid problems with local residents, including the possibility of violence.
“I will assure you that if the ballot by mail does not work, I will not intentionally violate anyone’s constitutional right to vote,” County Judge Mike DeLoach wrote in a May 24 email to McLane. “I am gravely concerned if you bring your residents into town to vote, it is going to cause problems – in fact, it is not a ‘maybe’ or a possibility’ – it is going to My concern is not only for the public and their safety, but also for your facility/staff and your residents’ safety; neither the county nor the city maintain resources to provide security at polling places.”
DeLoach also noted that while 30 men wanted to vote at the time, up to 300 eventually may want to vote in the future, a number that could impact local election races.
As of Monday, the center housed about 240 men.
DeLoach did not return calls requesting comment.
‘Disabled’ option OK’d
By late May, DeLoach said he had asked County Attorney Scott Say to request a legal ruling from Attorney General Ken Paxton on whether the men could vote absentee by claiming the “disabled” exemption. The Secretary of State’s Office soon signed off on the mail ballots for the men.
“It can reasonably be argued that a person who has been clinically assessed … to the point where the individual civilly committed and is unable to leave the commitment facility without being accompanied is disabled for purposes of voting by mail,” Caroline Geppert, a staff attorney in the Elections Division, wrote in a May 31 email to the civil commitment agency. “Such an individual may credibly claim to have a sickness or condition that prevents the person from voting in person without the need for personal assistance.”
Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Carlos Cascos, confirmed that election officials had approved mail ballots for the men. In a message to the agency, DeLoach said that was good enough to resolve the issue for county officials.
Then, Nov. 17, Brown and 65 other men received notice that the ballot each had mailed was rejected by the Early Voting Ballot Board and was not counted.
Three state laws were listed: Those covering disability, confinement in jail and the qualifications to be a voter.
Defining coercion
Privately, several local and state officials said they disagree with the decision, noting that Early Ballot Voting Boards in most counties only compare signatures on mail ballots to validate their authenticity, as well as other record-keeping details, and do not disqualify ballots for other reasons.
The state handbook for those boards confirms that.
Ten days after the election and a day after Busby officially rejected the ballots, Say, who serves as both the district and county attorney in the community of 6,300 residents, asked the attorney general to determine whether the men who voted can claim a “disability,” a ruling that could block future voting if that option is nixed.
If that happens, McLane said she plans to transport eligible voters from the center to a local polling place despite the objection of local officials. “The law appears to be clear. I don’t want to get sued,” she said.
While advocates insist Texas law makes it a misdemeanor for anyone who “influences or attempts to influence a voter not to vote or to vote in a particular manner,” state election officials said they do not believe that law covers the Littlefield situation.
“It seems to be applicable to bribery or coercing someone to vote or not to vote, not specifically relayed to counting the vote,” Pierce said.
Wood disagreed.
“Taking a person’s ballot and throwing it out is coercion,” he said.
Bill Marshall, a Houston attorney who represents Brown and other men at the treatment center, said the case appears to be a clear denial of voting rights, especially since some of the men’s ballots were counted and others were not.
“The feds should go after this,” he said.
You do not have to tell me twice to avoid children like the plaque. In these days in our sex offender paranoia infected community’s; every human being needs to avoid children whenever possible.
Once you are on the registry you have to understand that you are a victim of prejudice that is as extreme as it gets; second would be being LGBT or African American. Most people of our legal system consider everyone on the registry to be a pedophile, a child molesting, a rapist, a violent sexual predator. The fact is in some states you can be on the registry for public urination.
I am not dispelling the fact that there have been huge victory’s in the courts; on behalf of one of the most violently persecuted human beings on the planet; the American registered sex offender. No matter what till this day I still believe in our country’s judicial system.
Law limiting movement of sex offenders ruled unconstitutional by 4th circuit court
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling declaring a North Carolina law restricting the movement of sex offenders unconstitutional on Nov. 30.
The court issued its opinion on Doe v. Cooper and unanimously ruled two sections of the law were unconstitutional. Subsection (a)(2), which was ruled in violation of the First Amendment, said sex offenders could not be within 300 feet of places that were primarily meant for the use, care or supervision of minors if those places were on the premises of areas not focused on minors.
Subdivision (a)(3) prevented certain sex offenders from going near places where minors gather for regular programs and was ruled unconstitutionally vague, and thus considered a violation of due process.
Jamie Markham, an associate professor at the UNC School of Government, said the intent of the law was to protect children.
“I think it was out of a sense that somebody who is a sex offender, regardless of what they were on the sex offender registry for, might be perceived as posing a risk to children, and so I think it was an effort to be as protective as possible,” he said.
Chapel Hill attorney Amos Tyndall said the law limited many forms of free speech because it is impractical to avoid going near any location intended for minors.
“ … It includes all kinds of activity that’s associated with First Amendment, including free speech in public places as well as religious freedom — attending church,” he said.
The lawsuit was brought against then-Attorney General Roy Cooper, who is now governor-elect, and all North Carolina district attorneys by a group of registered sex offenders, who argued the law was broad, vague and a violation of due process.
“I mean, the government’s trying to protect kids but the issue is that the restriction they put in place applies to lots of sex offenders, including some whose crimes were not against children,” Markham said.
He said the N.C. legislature changed subsection (a)(2) before the ruling to no longer apply to individuals who didn’t commit crimes against minors.
Morgan Davis, an associate at Hatch, Little & Bunn, said although the law was changed, the court’s ruling is still important.
“So the legislature did go back before Doe v. Cooper and change the law, but it sets a precedent that there needs to be a higher standard of scrutiny than has been required before when crafting these laws,” she said.
Chapel Hill Attorney Taylor Hastings said the problem with the subdivision is it infringed on the constitutional rights of sex offenders whose victims were not minors.
“That doesn’t mean that if you committed sex offenses against a minor that that law wouldn’t still be constitutional — it would be— it’s just the fact that it’s too broad against those individuals that didn’t commit crimes against minors and it takes away an extremely important constitutional right,” he said.
I asked a famous lawyer one time by email; which state is better for sex offenders Texas or my home state of Connecticut. He was from Connecticut and quickly responded; Connecticut. My dad was a police officer for half my life in the same town as the state police headquarters; so I have some pull in that town. When I inquired about the sex offender laws there. The state police sent me a big folder of legal documents containing all the sex offender laws. I was shocked at how extremely unconstitutional they were. After reading this I say; give me a T for Texas!:
A Krum ordinance that greatly restricts where convicted sex offenders may live appears headed for the dustbin. Similar ordinances in Argyle, Hickory Creek, Oak Point and Ponder could fall soon.
This week, the 2nd District Court of Appeals in Fort Worth sided with Taylor Rice, who sued Krum in 2015 over the city’s residency rules. The appeals court said Krum did not have the authority to adopt the restrictions and sent the case back to District Judge Margaret Barnes of the 367th District Court in Denton for final disposition.
Many small Texas towns adopted restrictive local rules in recent years knowing they didn’t have the authority to do so, according to Denton attorney Richard Gladden. He represented Rice in his complaint against Krum.
“A lot of these cities decided to ignore what had been the law since 2007,” Gladden said.
Gladden is referring to an opinion by Greg Abbott, who was state attorney general at that time. Abbott ruled small Texas cities didn’t have the authority to restrict where sex offenders may live.
Lance Vanzant, who serves as Krum’s municipal attorney, did not return a call for comment.
Cities have argued Abbott did something that had never been done before through an attorney general’s opinion: take away a city’s authority.
In reviewing the case against Krum, a majority of the appeals court agreed that Texas cities without charters cannot restrict where sex offenders live.
Charters are approved by a city’s voters to create the “home-rule” authority for a city to govern its citizens. Because state law doesn’t allow cities under 5,000 population to adopt charters, most smaller Texas cities exist as “general-law” cities governed by state statutes.
General-law cities can only adopt ordinances expressly allowed by state law. But home-rule cities govern themselves as they see fit, as long as a state or federal law doesn’t expressly forbid a local ordinance.
In the past several years, more than 80 Texas cities adopted ordinances that restricted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet — in some cases, more than 2,000 feet — of a place where children gather. In Rice’s case, the 22-year-old could not return to his family home, where he was born and raised, without violating Krum’s ordinance.
After filing the Rice case, Gladden agreed to challenge other Texas cities on behalf of Texas Voices for Reason and Justice. The nonprofit advocacy group says no sexual abuse is acceptable, but also says that sex offense laws and policies should not be based on panic and paranoia that cause needless harm to families of sex offenders.
Gladden wrote letters to 46 small Texas cities, telling them they did not have the authority to adopt the local rules and they risked a lawsuit. About half of those cities repealed their ordinances upon receiving notification, he said. More repealed their ordinances when Gladden filed suit.
But Krum and 14 other cities across the state, including Argyle, Hickory Creek, Oak Point and Ponder, held out.
Although one of the appeals court judges wrote a dissenting opinion, Gladden said he’s confident the majority ruling is the “final nail in the coffin” for the current ordinances.
For now.
The Texas Municipal League and Texas cities have been lobbying for a legislative fix. State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, has pre-filed a bill for the Texas Legislature’s next session that would eliminate the difference between home-rule and general-law cities in adopting “child safety zones.”
Senate Bill 76 would give those 14 cities currently being sued the authority to pass local ordinances that place residency restrictions on sex offenders.
Similar bills have failed in past sessions, but Nelson is confident of the prospects for her bill in the 85th regular session, which begins Jan. 10.
“I am confident that my colleagues will agree that children in every city — whether home-rule or general law — deserve protection from sex offenders,” Nelson said in an email to the Denton Record-Chronicle.
Most TDCJ sex assault victims housed in just a few units, most victimized by staff
Here are a few highlights from a recent report on sexual assault in TDCJ put out by the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault and the Prison Justice League.
Their report represents a significant bit of research. They examined federal Bureau of Justice Statistics data on sexual assault in Texas prisons and sent a voluntary, confidential survey to prisoners who had self-reported sexual assaults at some point during their incarceration. This research was supplemented by correspondence with inmates who responded to the survey.
A disproportionate number (41.2 percent) of inmate sexual assault victims self-identified as LGBTQ, the survey found, confirming a pattern where inmates deemed gay or even just effeminate may be more likely to become victims.
Survey respondents reported sexual assaults at 15 prison units across the state with the majority of reports coming from three units: Estelle (Huntsville), Robertson (Abilene), and Allred (Iowa Park). A whopping 58.9 percent of respondents said they were assaulted by a staff member, which jibes with past investigations into sexual assault at TDCJ. “In 2014, 766 allegations of staff-on-offender sexual abuse and sexual harassment incidents were reported to the PREA Ombudsman by unit-level TDCJ staff.” They cited a 2015 Marshall Project report showing that, nearly half the time, local prosecutors refuse to pursue cases involving staff-on-inmate sexual abuse. When they do, “Of the 126 staff members convicted of sexual misconduct or assault, only nine were sentenced to serve time.”
Just as there’s an argument for creating a division at the Attorney General to prosecute police misconduct to take decisions out of the hands of local prosecutors, there’s an equally good argument to be made for doing the same thing when prosecuting TDCJ guards. Elected, rural prosecutors understandably are reticent to go after workers at the largest employer in town, and may feel more in common with TDCJ staff than their victims. That’s a recipe for justice denied.
The federal Prison Rape Elimination Act has created new tracking and record keeping to shine a light on prison rape, the report found, but the Ombudsman function is notably underdeveloped. TDCJ employs 152 people in its Safe Prisons/PREA management offices around the state, but only one Ombudsman and an assistant to process 1,041 allegations of inmate-on-inmate alleged sexual abuse incidents across 109 facilities in 2013, and 1,467 in 2014. That’s simply not enough warm bodies to perform the job properly.
The report included the following recommendations:
Establish independent oversight to evaluate TDCJ facilities. (Paging Michele Deitch!)
Halt the practice of placing sexual assault victims in solitary confinement “without thoroughly exhausting alternative protective measures.”
Increase resources to the PREA Ombudsman office.
Improve the offender grievance system with better training for staff and accountability for failing to respond to victims.
Involve outside agencies in assessing PREA compliance.
Quite frankly I can not believe there needs to be a law like this. Common decency, common seance, and just plan good morals should dictate that deaths should be reported. The police are not a foreign dictatorship; they are our friends, neighbors and family members; I learned this by being the son of a upstanding police officer. Signing this is the right thing to do:
Sign to tell Dept. of Justice: Law enforcement agencies must report all deaths of people in custody
Sign the petition to the Department of Justice: We will not back down until law enforcement agencies report all deaths of people in custody.
To: Department of Justice Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the future attorneys general
Although we will never forget the names of Freddie Gray or Sandra Bland, we will never know the names of the vast majority of people who die while held by law enforcement agencies (LEAs). We don’t even know how many there are. This is unacceptable and legally preventable.
LEAs need to report all deaths of people while in custody. Without this information it is impossible to demonstrate how pervasive the problem is. It’s also difficult to pass legislation to help communities facing LEAs with no transparency or accountability.
To address this problem the American people are demanding that the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) and the Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD) program be enforced to the full extent of the law immediately.
The data collected by these laws will a) remove the shroud of secrecy from deaths of people in custody, b) prevent people’s deaths, and c) provide much-needed accountability and transparency to the public, especially people who have lost loved ones who’ve died during arrest or in custody.
Right now, law enforcement agencies that don’t report deaths of people while in custody or during arrest are violating laws, which have existed since 2000. The Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) and the Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD) program are simply not enforced.
Sign the petition to tell the Department of Justice loud and clear: DCRA and the ARD program must immediately be enforced to the full extent of the law.
These laws give the Attorney General the discretion to withhold law enforcement funding from states whose LEAs do not properly report all deaths during arrest or in custody. They could face lost funding for equipment and tactical resources; this should be a motivator to report people’s deaths.
The data collected by mandatory reporting under DCRA and ARD will be instrumental in passing legislation that transforms the criminal justice system. It will mean fewer lost lives and justice for families who have lost loved ones.
Every Case Matters, a group of determined mothers, will visit the Department of Justice in January to demand justice for their children killed by police. They are demanding information and records regarding their children’s deaths and they want the killers to be tried for murder.
One simple step the DOJ can take right now is enforcing existing DCRA and ARD laws. The data collected by these laws can remove the shroud of secrecy from deaths of people in custody and lead to the answers these mothers deserve.
Sign the petition: The Department of Justice must enforce DCRA and ARD to the full extent of the law.
In January, Every Case Matters, a group of mothers demanding justice for their children killed at the hands of LEAs, will deliver this petition with your signature to the DOJ, along with their own request that the DOJ investigate all deaths at the hands of police.
WI: APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS PROVISIONAL RELEASE OF SEX OFFENDER
January 18, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The state Court of Appeals has upheld a judicial panel’s decision to provisionally release a man from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. ____ ____, formally known as ____ ____, pleaded guilty in 1976 to kidnapping and raping a woman in Ramsey County.
He was civilly committed and asked for a provisional discharge from the sex offender program in 2013. It was granted, but the state says the judicial appeal panel erred because it relied on a witness with inaccurate information.
Lawsuit Contends N Carolina Sex Offender Law Goes Too Far
Registered Sex offenders are pushing back against North Carolina laws they contend deprive them of constitutional rights without protecting children.
Two anonymous registered sex offenders and a Raleigh-based national nonprofit that advocates for them filed a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging the state laws. It’s part of an effort to trim sex registry laws that now require more than 800,000 registered sex offenders nationwide to register their names, addresses and photographs, perhaps for as long as they live.
The offenders contend that North Carolina’s law violates the U.S. Constitution by imposing added penalties after conviction and sentencing, for example by extending the years an offender must register. The lawsuit says they are unconstitutionally banned from practicing their religion by being forbidden from entering churches, and from petitioning their government representatives by effectively being excluded from the General Assembly building.
The law also violates constitutional due process rights, by depicting all offenders as dangers to young children, and doesn’t provide any way for offenders to challenge such a claim, the lawsuit said.
“In fact, the individual Plaintiffs in this case have already been found not to be a danger to children, yet they are subjected to a serious deprivation of liberty despite that determination,” the lawsuit said.
Though most people would believe the registries are designed to protect the public against child molesters, states have expanded the registries to include sexually active teenagers and people arrested for public urination, said J.J. Prescott, a University of Michigan law professor who studies post-release sex offender laws.
Judges, meanwhile, have increasingly noted studies finding no public safety benefit many aspects of these registries, even as they cause collateral damage to the friends and family of offenders, he said.
“I think there has been a shift in the mood on these cases,” Prescott said.
The two offenders asked the court to remain unidentified, citing fears that they and their families risk harassment and abuse.
“John Doe 1” was convicted in 2009 of two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery against a 30-year-old woman and is not on probation or subject to any court-ordered restrictions, the lawsuit said. “John Doe 2” was convicted in 2011 of misdemeanor sexual battery after sex with a 16-year old girl he had coached, the lawsuit said.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in the past two years in Illinois, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Alabama, Colorado, Nevada and Idaho.
In August, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that significant changes to Michigan’s sex offender registry law cannot be applied retroactively, because doing so would unconstitutionally stiffen punishments after the offenders’ convictions.
In December, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, overruled North Carolina’s prohibitions against offenders going to places where minors gather for educational, recreational or social programs, or being within 300 feet of locations where children are supervised.
The U.S. Supreme Court next month takes up a free-speech challenge to a North Carolina law banning sex offenders from using Facebook and other social networking sites minors can join.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated February 05 2017
I was contemplating this blog the other day. When I say all sex offenders are alike and categorize huge percentages; that may not be as accurate as I would like it to be. All I can say is how I see things; and I can tell they are real to me. I refuse to believe there are many people like me out there. I have read many arguments that agree with me. The difference with official research and this blog is I illustrate, the destroy all sex offenders craze, that plagues our country more boldly. The problem with many people is they do not educate themselves and refuse to come out of their shell rather than simple soaking it all in and figuring it all out; like they should. The facts are the facts; seeing so many human beings and their family’s and their community’s with no constitutional or human rights, suffering so needlessly should shake the very foundation of us all. If we continue on the road to ruin history dictates our eventual demise. That is why people who care should openly do so.
MINNEAPOLIS — Lawyers for over 700 people committed indefinitely to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program are asking the full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a three-judge panel’s ruling that the program is constitutional.
The appeals panel last month reversed a lower court’s ruling that the program violates offenders’ rights because hardly anyone is ever released.
Attorneys in the class-action lawsuit on Wednesday asked for a rehearing before the full appeals court. They argue that the panel applied the wrong legal standards, then erred in dismissing the offenders’ claims entirely rather than sending the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.
Only seven offenders in the program are currently free on provisional releases, and only one has been permanently discharged, even though it’s more than 20 years old.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated February 11 2017
AZ: SUPREME COURT – BAIL DENIAL FOR CHILD SEX OFFENSES IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
February 10, 2017
PHOENIX — State laws that deny bail to people solely because they’re accused of having sex with a minor are unconstitutional, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled today.
The justices acknowledged arguments by prosecutors that trial judges have the right to keep certain people behind bars while awaiting trial as a method of protecting the public. And they said that the crime of sexual conduct with a minor is a series charge.
See attached image called Capture_dps_exploitation_02_02_2017 for example of these unreal search results.
Every time I have emailed Austin, Texas, DPS I have gotten responses as if to say; why are you bothering me.
For over 15 years now I have protested DPS allowing search engines to post the DPS sex offender photos and info of me. I have stopped emailing them for about 6 years now.
No offence Texas DPS; but I believe making sex offender registration public: especially to allow web crawlers like Google to access it by bypassing this page :
These are legal rules DPS has set forth itself. This a absolute abuse of that law passed by President Johnson.
They read:
TxDPS Sex Offender Registry
Effective immediately, the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry will no longer display a registrant’s employer name, address or telephone number. This is in accordance with Senate Bill 369 passed during the 83rd Regular Legislative Session (2013). This amendment modified Article 62.005 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to make this information non-public.
Then I got this response from the Governor of Texas’s office:
So I sent this email to Texas Department of Public Safety:
To: to txsor@dps.texas.gov
I wrote the Governor and they sent me a PDF see attached
Please determine whether I qualify for removal from the sex offender registry.
I am very active and outspoken on the internet about politics and would like to sell my artwork someday. To avoid problems from trolls, cyberbullies and cyber stalkers; it would be in my best interest to be removed from the sex offender registration. Also; my offence has nothing to do with children and was consensual. My info has been available on the internet here since 2012: http://sexoffenderfaq.blogspot.com/p/my-story.html
Thank you very much for your time,
February 7, 2017
Then they called me that day. The woman on the phone seemed extremity indifferent almost robotic; despite my efforts to put her at ease. The first thing she said is you are not eligible to be removed from sex offender registration because you were convicted as a adult.
The fact is I was never convicted of my so called offence of which I have always maintained as consensual, even passing about 11 polygraphs to that effect. I received deferred adjudicated and that is not legally a conviction. I received deferred adjudicated because the family and the judge (nick named hang them all) said I should be eligible for deferred adjudicated! If the Department of Public Safety wants to obey the law they should recognize I was never convicted.
A federal judge is putting the Texas prison system on trial over suffocating conditions of extreme heat due to lack of air conditioning in the summer.
advertisement
Between 1998 and 2011, at least 21 inmates died of heat-related illnesses in prison, with ten of them dying in 2011 alone. And that count only includes inmates whose cause of death was specifically and solely due to the heat, not deaths in which heat was a contributing factor. In 2012, the family of a man who died of hyperthermia in the Hutchins State Jail sued the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, claiming top officials’ indifference to the inhumane conditions of the prison led to Larry McCollum’s death in 2011.
McCollum had been sentenced to serve 12 months in prison for the crime of writing a hot check — yet from the sounds of U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison’s 83-page order, he might as well have been sentenced to serve time in the closest place on Earth to Hell.
McCollum arrived at the Hutchins unit on July 15, 2011, during one of Texas’s hottest summers on record. Temperatures in the prison that week had been 109 to 112 degrees, with a heat index of roughly 150 degrees for at least four hours in a row on July 19 — which according to TDCJ’s own “Heat and Humidity Matrix” meant heat stroke was “imminent.” Inmates were supposed to receive ice water on a regular basis during this extreme heat, yet according to the judge’s order the temperature of the water given to inmates was 75 to 80 degrees. McCollum did not even own a cup for water since he would need to purchase it from commissary, and new inmates could not access commissary for 30 to 45 days.
In the dorm home to 58 men including McCollum, there were only two ceiling fans and one on the floor, and inmates did not have access to personal fans because there were no electrical outlets. As for showers, TDCJ’s executive director Brad Livingston claimed TDCJ had lowered the water temperature from 107 to 95 degrees. Judge Ellison also noted that the sealed windows only made things worse.
McCollum, who had a documented history of hyperthermia and had previously been on medication, was found convulsing on his top bunk on July 22. Almost an hour after jail staff discovered him, they finally called 911. Upon arrival at the hospital, his body temperature was found to be over 109 degrees. He died six days later.
He was the second of ten people to die that year of hyperthermia in a Texas prison. Six years later, the Hutchins Unit, and many others, still does not have air conditioning.
“Plaintiffs have adduced evidence that Larry McCollum’s tragic death was not simply bad luck, but an entirely preventable consequence of inadequate policies,” Ellison wrote. “These policies contributed to the deaths of eleven men before McCollum and ten men after him.”
The plaintiffs, McCollum’s widow and two adult children, allege that, since Livingston was aware of at least two heat-related deaths, he should have taken preventative measures — such as installing air conditioning. Only wardens’ offices, correctional officers’ stations, and regional directors’ offices have such a luxury during Texas summers, according to the order. Livingston claimed that, after learning of two people who died of heat-related illness in 2007, he didn’t think TDCJ’s heat-mitigation policies were inadequate because he thought these two “lone” deaths occurred under “extremely unique circumstances.”
Let’s put this plainly: The heat that literally killed two human beings in one summer, let alone 19 others since 1998 including ten in 2011, doesn’t seem horrible enough to Livingston to warrant installing pretty standard, modern-day appliances like air conditioning.
When asked what the holdup is, TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark first responded by citing a cost analysis. According to TDCJ, it would cost upwards of $79 million to retrofit Hutchins with air conditioning, and north of $100 million for others. (The Press has requested to see the actual cost-analysis study in order to determine how analysts arrived at these numbers.)
“Many of TDCJ’s facilities were built before the time that air conditioning was commonly installed,” he wrote in an email. “Prisons built in the eighties and nineties, which were specifically approved by the federal courts in the Ruiz case, didn’t include air conditioning because of the added construction, maintenance and utility costs. Retrofitting facilities with air conditioning would be extremely expensive.”
But, asked to clarify whether the high cost prevents air conditioning from being installed, Clark backtracked and said no. Apparently, air conditioning just isn’t necessary.
“We have system wide protocols in place help reduce heat related illnesses and mitigate the impact of temperature extremes,” he wrote.
A jury is expected to hear all the evidence, although TDCJ plans to appeal the judge’s ruling to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
This is nothing new. Everyone knows many Texas prison locations have no heat or air conditioning. I have heard of storys on both ends of the spectrum. I heard in one place the toilets where frozen solid it was so cold. As Texans ; lets not be in denial about this and do what we always do and be honest, own up to our short comings and work till the problem is fix.
I am sure this info is suppressed on the internet or just something people do not want to talk about. I barely managed to find this story from 1997:
Year: 1997
Disability Discrimination: Prisoners
Monthly Law Journal Article: Accommodation of Wheelchair-Bound Prisoners, 2009 (10) AELE Mo. L. J. 301.
Monthly Law Journal Article: Prisoners with HIV/AIDS. Part 2, 2014 (3) AELE Mo. L. J. 301.
Texas should decarcerate before heat litigation spikes costs
The decision by a federal district judge to allow Texas’ prison heat litigation go to trial places state officials in a bind. Grits has said for many years that the only way Texas will ever pay for heat mitigation beyond what it does now is if litigation succeeds. The state has been kicking the can down the road for many years whenever people complain or someone dies.
Now that a trial is imminent, however, there’s a big risk taking the case to a jury. The cost of cooling prisons to the same levels required at county jails would be a budget buster – possibly as much as $100 million per facility, reported the Houston Press, though that figure sounds too high to this writer. Some units may need to close because they’re too outdated to retrofit.
Will the state settle? I doubt it. But it might be the smart thing to do.
It should be mentioned that this is also an argument for implementing further decarceration reforms this session – perhaps reducing low-level drug penalties from a felony to a misdemeanor – since the state needn’t pay to cool inmates whom they do not incarcerate. So even if the litigation isn’t complete, that’s something they can do to reduce baseline prison costs before the feds make them tack on an air conditioning bill If federal courts order TDCJ to perform heat mitigation, it will be a little late to start thinking about reducing prisoner numbers.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated February 20 2017:
If you call yourself a socially conscience person and believe in fair human rights, and constitutional rights, and you get upset that, this person or that person, did not get a stiff enough sentence, by the judge; than you are the enemy of human rights in every way. We have over two million people in prison in our country and you want more. The judge of any particular case knows allot more about that case than anyone else that might think they know more. So lets leave the police work to the police and the judging to the judges, or; please stop saying you stand for what is kind and caring to our fellow human beings. Fight it, do not give into the pressure to be judgmental; that is wrong especially to those of us who say; we care enough to stand against such things. I love the fact that I care enough to try to make our community little more compassionate. It is a part of my personality that causes me to sit and work on typing this way. There is something about being this way that makes my life on this earth have real meaning and purpose. I hope everyone that cares about everyone feels that same way everyday, because it is great.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated February 21 2017
COMPANIES EXPANDING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
February 20, 2017
More than 100 companies have announced that they are now willing to hire individuals previously convicted of a felony offense. The companies range from McDonald’s to the New York Times and also include American Express, B F Goodrich, Dunkin Donuts, Hilton Hotels, the Salvation Army, Target and others.
It has been reported that some, but not all, of these companies are willing to hire individuals convicted of a sex offense. California law prohibits employers from discriminating against a registrant solely because he is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to Penal Code Section 290.
If enough sex offenders would just appeal enough times; every thing would change. I have no idea why they do not appeal so most cases lately that seem way to extreme in punishment.
THE TRANSFORMATIVE POTENTIAL OF DOE V. SNYDER
February 23, 2017
In late 2016, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s concluded in Does #1–5 v. Snyder that Michigan’s sex offender registry and residency restriction law constituted an ex post facto punishment in violation of the constitution. In its decision, the Sixth Circuit engaged with scientific evidence that refutes moralized judgments about sex offenders, specifically that they pose a unique and substantial risk of recidivism. This Essay is intended to highlight the importance of Snyder as an example of the appropriate use of scientific studies in constitutional law. Full Article: http://bclawreview.org/e-supp/2017/05_hamilton/
Like my opinion matters? I honestly believe it means next to nothing. I consider my presence on the internet to be the next thing from being invisible. I still do this because I believe that all that will turn around do to the fact that the more modern our society becomes the more open minded people will become.
My opinion on this subject for the few on the internet that might read this is:
We as a nation have to decide whether we want to ignore history and all the nations that have fallen by oppressing it’s own citizens like the Roman Empire and The Nazi Regime. For instance we can disobey our own laws and our constitution once again and ban so called sex offenders from having basic human rights or we can actually do the right thing for a change and let people use the, life essential Internet; however they please. Continuing to corrupt and pervert the law concerning sex offences will lead down one road and acting civilized and fare will lead down another.
A Supreme Court argument on Monday about whether North Carolina may bar registered sex offenders from using Facebook, Twitter and similar services turned into a discussion of how thoroughly social media have transformed American civic discourse.
The justices’ remarks, which indicated easy familiarity with the major social media services, suggested that they would strike down the North Carolina law under the First Amendment.
Justice Elena Kagan said that President Trump, every governor and every member of Congress has a Twitter account.
“So this has become a crucially important channel of political communication,” she said. “And a person couldn’t go onto those sites and find out what these members of our government are thinking or saying or doing.”
Continue reading the main story
Advertisement
Continue reading the main story
The North Carolina law makes it a crime for registered sex offenders to use many commercial websites that allow the exchange of information and do not limit their membership to adults.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said that social media sites had become, and in some ways had surpassed, the public square as a place for discussion and debate.
“The sites that Justice Kagan has described and their utility and the extent of their coverage are greater than the communication you could have ever had, even in the paradigm of public square,” Justice Kennedy said.
The North Carolina law has economic consequences, too, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said.
“Take something like LinkedIn, which many, many people in our society today are looking for jobs there, but high school students are permitted to look for jobs and to post their personal data on that site,” she said.
Justice Kennedy mused that any number of free-speech doctrines doomed the law.
“Elizabeth Barrett Browning,” he said, before quoting the poet: “Let me count the ways.”
Justice Stephen G. Breyer told Robert C. Montgomery, a lawyer for the state, that it could have drafted a much narrower law to protect children from sexual predators. Justice Breyer sketched out his analysis.
“The state has a reason?” he asked. “Yeah, it does. Does it limit free speech? Dramatically. Are there other, less restrictive ways of doing it? We’re not sure, but we think probably, as you’ve mentioned some. O.K. End of case, right?”
The law was challenged by Lester Packingham, who had pleaded guilty in 2002 to taking indecent liberties with a minor when he was a 21-year-old college student. He received a suspended sentence and two years’ probation and was made to register as a sex offender.
Mr. Packingham came to the attention of the authorities in 2010, when he wrote on Facebook about having a traffic ticket dismissed. “God is good,” he wrote.
A North Carolina appeals court ruled that the law “arbitrarily burdens all registered sex offenders by preventing a wide range of communication and expressive activity unrelated to achieving its purported goal” of protecting minors.
In a 4-to-2 ruling, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed the appeals court’s decision, saying that Mr. Packingham’s Facebook post was not entitled to heightened First Amendment protection because it was conduct rather than speech.
Mr. Montgomery did not defend that reasoning at Monday’s argument in the case, Packingham v. North Carolina, No. 15-1194. He argued instead that the state was entitled to limit Mr. Packingham’s speech.
Some justices noted that criminal convictions can have lasting consequences. “Some states prohibit ex-felons from voting,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said. “Some states and the federal government prohibit keeping and bearing arms. Those are constitutional rights.”
David T. Goldberg, a lawyer for Mr. Packingham, said those restrictions had a basis in history and logic. They were nothing like “taking away people’s First Amendment rights,” he said.
Mr. Montgomery said the North Carolina law left sex offenders with plenty of other ways to exercise their First Amendment rights. “It’s not the entire internet that is being taken away from these offenders,” he said. “They can still have their own blog. They can read blogs. They can do podcasts. They can go to nytimes.com.”
Four justices asked whether The New York Times’s website would in fact be covered by the law, and the argument concluded without a clear answer.
“Even if The New York Times is not included,” Justice Ginsburg said, “the point is that these people are being cut off from a very large part of the marketplace of ideas. And the First Amendment includes not only the right to speak, but the right to receive information.”
Justice Kagan agreed. “Whether it’s political community, whether it’s religious community — I mean, these sites have become embedded in our culture as ways to communicate and ways to exercise our constitutional rights,” she said.
Justice Kagan added that the law had curious features. “Some of what’s exempted by the law seems, I have to say, some of the most dangerous stuff,” she said, mentioning exceptions for “any website that provides only a chat room or only photo sharing.”
Mr. Montgomery said the state had tried to write the law narrowly and to address the danger of lurking predators quietly harvesting personal information about minors. But Justice Kagan said the distinctions it drew made no sense.
“So you mean that there’s a constitutional right to use Snapchat, but not to use Twitter?” she asked.
Justice Breyer asked Mr. Montgomery for any First Amendment precedent that allowed such a broad suppression of speech. The lawyer cited a 1992 decision, Burson v. Freeman, in which the Supreme Court upheld a 100-foot buffer zone around polling places.
Justice Kennedy was not impressed. “I think that does not help you at all,” he said, as the buffer zone was limited in size and applied to everyone. “You could have all the political speech in the world” outside the zone, he added.
Justice Kagan said a restriction on using social media was quite different. “How many people under 30 do you think don’t use these sites to get all their information?” she asked. “Under 35? I mean, increasingly, this is the way people get all information.”
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. did not seem ready to concede that. But, he said, “I know there are people who think that life is not possible without Twitter and Facebook.”
New Blogs Part 6 Updated February 28 2017
I still believe very strongly that female sex offence victims should be able to bypass chain of command to report sex offences against them. I believe this because I had to serve my country by being by my wife’s side for the 7 years while she served our country in the US Army. But… I quote myself from this page:
New Blogs Part 6 Updated February 20 2017:
If you call yourself a socially conscience person and believe in fair human rights, and constitutional rights, and you get upset that, this person or that person, did not get a stiff enough sentence, by the judge; than you are the enemy of human rights in every way. We have over two million people in prison in our country and you want more. The judge of any particular case knows allot more about that case than anyone else that might think they know more. So lets leave the police work to the police and the judging to the judges, or; please stop saying you stand for what is kind and caring to our fellow human beings. Fight it, do not give into the pressure to be judgmental; that is wrong especially to those of us who say; we care enough to stand against such things. I love the fact that I care enough to try to make our community little more compassionate. It is a part of my personality that causes me to sit and work on typing this way. There is something about being this way that makes my life on this earth have real meaning and purpose. I hope everyone that cares about everyone feels that same way everyday, because it is great.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated February 28 2017
We as a nation have to decide whether we want to ignore history and all the nations that have fallen by oppressing it’s own citizens like the Roman Empire and The Nazi Regime. For instance we can disobey our own laws and our constitution once again and ban so called sex offenders from having basic human rights or we can actually do the right thing for a change and let people use the, life essential Internet; however they please. Continuing to corrupt and pervert the law concerning sex offences will lead down one road and acting civilized and fare will lead down another.
This is in response from this email I got:
Protect Our Defenders
This past Saturday, the Associated Press picked up a story by the San Antonio Express News, which reported on the sentence of Air Force Tech Sergeant Anthony Lizana who was convicted of sexually assaulting a subordinate, dereliction of duty, adultery, and assault consummated by battery. The charges stem from allegations made by eight women who worked directly for the sergeant. Most of the survivors were young, first-term Airmen right out of high school.
The newspaper reported that the “unwanted sexual misconduct [echoed] some of the worst cases that grew out of a scandal at Lackland” involving military training instructors. We had previously worked with the San Antonio Express News to expose the Lackland scandal and call for Congressional hearings.
After his convictions, TSgt Lizana was facing almost 39 years of confinement and despite the prosecutor’s call that he be sentenced to nine years, the military jury only sentenced him to three months of confinement.
Sadly, such travesties of justice are nothing new for military trials. As I told the newspaper, “This is more the norm than the exception that we get shockingly light sentences for serious misconduct in the military… It reflects the military’s inability to take sexual misconduct that strikes at the heart of good order and discipline seriously.”
The Air Force Times also reported on the story.
Such a minimal confinement is what we expect a young Airman to receive for a one-time drug abuse rather than a sexual assault of a subordinate. The military justice system is long overdue for a major reform of its sentencing process. Sadly, Congress missed the opportunity last year to pass Department of Defense-sponsored legislation that would have established judge alone sentencing, mandatory minimums, and sentencing guidelines. Despite the fact that such reform would lead to convicted offenders finally being held responsible for their misconduct, Congress failed to pass the proposal.
Cases such as TSgt Lizana’s, as well as scores of others with inappropriately light punishments for sexual assault, is why Protect Our Defenders is dedicated to securing much-needed reform of the sentencing process in the military. We will do everything in our powers to ensure survivors will no longer see their attacker escape a punishment that shows society respects what they have been through and reflects the seriousness of the crimes.
Sincerely,
Don Christensen
Colonel, USAF (ret.)
President, Protect Our Defenders
New Blogs Part 6 Updated February 28 2017
I don’t know about you but I do not want to be in the slow lane! Sign this!
Our open Internet is under intense attack right now. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — the body that’s supposed to protect the web, ensuring it’s free and fair — is under new leadership.1 The new head, Ajit Pai, has Big Telecom’s interests at heart, not yours.2
They have already rolled back key protections3, 4 that ensure the web doesn’t become like cable TV — completely controlled by Big Telecom. But they want more, including the power to pick and choose winners and losers online by forcing some of your favorite websites into an Internet slow lane.
We have to say no to that vision of the Internet now. Tell Chairman Pai: “Keep the Internet open. Do not undo Net Neutrality.”
New Blogs Part 6 Updated February 28 2017:
It seems the media is the enemy of anyone wanting to get a fair trial. With all these stories about people that did not get enough prison time; in the mass incarceration nation we have created. Is this journalism? You actually have people signing petitions to get people stricter sentences blasted at us in today’s media. A petition to make people suffer more? This is what is being passed off as progressive media today? These stories seem to be bombarded upon us all through the media every day more and more. This is not free speech it is abuse of free speech. If this is true; does that mean the media is the enemy of the common people of our society? It seems the media does not care about life or death; the sad, sad fact is someday they will; and even sadder is it may be too late. I have always said on the internet; the one thing that should unit us all with even half a heart is the fact that we all will die someday. The social and human conscience of the media today seems almost gone and this has been the one constant stand of what is right in our country. We need to face the fact that the media is not our friend anymore, yet it is never to late to change. I have not watched a news broadcast in about 10 years now. My only good advice is to read the news only and learn to skip though most of it.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated March 14 2017
What is wrong with everyone? The only thing I see here is what I saw on all those talk shows in the 1990’s; sex offenders that need to join the almost one million already marked, till death do it, inhumanly, part. I see 1,000 sex offenders; not 1,000 men that had sex with a 14 year old!
In the late 1980’s and 1990’s I was blown away by how out of touch talks shows were. Show after show featured themes like my twelve year old has sex with older men. I was so amazed the show did not have police officers making arrests of the older men having sex with those children.
The sex-trade is often pretty easy to spot. A teenage girl accompanies an older man at a motel front desk as he pays for a room in cash. Men come and go from the room for 30 minutes at a time. A scantily dressed girl wanders the hallways in the middle of the night.
Motels and hotels across the country are facilitating sex trafficking, often cloaking the traffickers in anonymity and profiting from their business. The pimps and prostitutes are occasionally nabbed and criminally prosecuted. But rarely does anything happen to the hotel owners and staff that turn a blind eye.
Now a lawsuit brought by a 14-year-old girl in Philadelphia and her lawyer aims to change that. She is suing a motel widely known as the “local epicenter of human trafficking” for knowingly renting rooms to men who forced teenage girls to have sex. The target is the Roosevelt Inn, a roadside motel in northeast Philadelphia notorious for drug deals and violent crime as well as prostitution.
In this budget hotel, a lawsuit alleges, the girl was held for weeks and months at a time, barred from leaving, and was forced to have sex with as many as 1,000 men over the course of two years, Nadeem Bezar, a lawyer at the Kline & Specter law firm told The Washington Post.
All the while, the hotel’s owners and staff continued to lease rooms to her traffickers, profiting off their abuse and doing nothing to stop it, the suit claims.
The allegations were laid out Friday in a suit filed in the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court against the hotel, its manager, and its parent company, UFVS Management Company, of Purchase, N.Y. It was filed by Kline & Specter on behalf of the girl, who is now 17 and was only identified in the suit as “M.B.”
It is the first known civil suit brought under the Pennsylvania Human Trafficking Law of 2014, which allows for compensation for victims from those who profit directly or indirectly from human trafficking, Bezar said.
According to research by the Villanova Law School’s Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation, it does not appear that a hotel has been held liable for an employee’s participation in or facilitation of a human trafficking offense in part, perhaps, because victims of trafficking may not “self identify” as victims due to the trauma of their experience and even if they do, they may be unaware that they have any opportunity for redress.
The Philadelphia lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.
“People are policing the hallways, men and other johns are coming in and out of the hotel, and young girls walking up and down the hallways are scantily dressed,” said Bezar said. “It’s open and obvious, it’s about as obvious as it gets.”
The way the girl got roped into trafficking is a familiar story. After a falling out with her parents, she left home and moved from place to place. Desperate to avoid homelessness, she began spending time with the “wrong group of people,” Bezar said. She was sold into sex slavery and forced to perform sexual acts on men more than twice or three times her age, the lawsuit alleges.
Though the girl’s abusers have already been convicted and sent to prison, her family and lawyers now hope to hold the motel owner responsible for “allowing this to happen,” Bezar said. The girl’s lawyers declined to identify her abusers, saying they feared exposing her to retaliation.
The staff at the motel — which prosecutors have called the “local epicenter of human trafficking” — knew or had “constructive knowledge” that the girl was being sexually exploited, according to the lawsuit, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Her traffickers lured customers to the motel through Internet advertisements, had men call a number to negotiate a price for sex, then had the men go to the motel’s front desk.
An employee would then direct them to the room where the girl was forced to work as a prostitute. Condoms and condom wrappers were strewn about, and the room often smelled like marijuana, according to the suit.
A hotel clerk named “Abdul” was made fully aware that the girl “and other underage children were compelled to perform sex for money,” the suit says. The girl was dressed in sexually explicit clothing and “visibly treated in an aggressive manner” by traffickers, according to the lawsuit.
“If she tried to leave there was someone at the bottom of the staircase that prevented her from doing so,” Bezar said.
The teenage girl has since reconnected with her family, and is now receiving therapy and additional services from city and private agencies, Bezar said.
Since the lawsuit was filed, several other victims have come forward to the lawyers to tell them about their own experiences with sex trafficking, Bezar said. Some were young women, but all were involved with sex trafficking at the same hotel under separate circumstances, he said.
The hotel’s manager, Yagna Patel, 72, told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Friday he had not seen the lawsuit and was not aware of any minors allegedly being victimized in the motel. “We just rent the room and that’s all we can do,” he said.
Patel, who said he has managed the inn for 30 years, said he has a close relationship with the police and that if there was any inappropriate behavior in a room, the motel guests would be told to leave.
“It’s hard to control anybody,” Patel said. “If we think a lot of people are having a party in the room, we kick them out.”
“The motel has a history of illicit activities, from drugs to several incidents surrounding trafficking and prostitution,” Bezar said. Several people have been convicted over the last few years on charges of using the motel for prostitution, Assistant District Attorney Erin O’Brien told the Inquirer.
“Almost every trafficking investigation we have, we see the victim is at Roosevelt Inn,” O’Brien said. “I know our vice officers are out there on a regular basis.”
Reviews on Yelp and Trip Advisor call the 107-room, two-story motel a “drug infested, crime ridden, prostitution laced” place where the check-in desk contained bulletproof glass “an inch thick.”
“One thing which made us very uncomfortable was that a lot of “girls” were coming in and out all the time,” one guest wrote.
Another reviewer said: “No security at all, these girls are letting their jons in through side doors that are UN-LOCKED. The smell of marijuana through out the place is disgusting,” and added that the “working girls” and their pimps “run a muck half naked through the hallways.”
A different guest said: “Do not bring your kids here please.”
In March 2014, security footage from the Roosevelt Inn circulated on YouTube showing a dramatic gunfight in the motel. The men ran through the hallways, down a stairwell and into the lobby as they fired shots at each other.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 1,424 cases of human trafficking in hotels and motels were reported between 2007 and 2015, involving 1,867 victims. In 2016 alone, 7,572 human trafficking cases were reported nationwide, including 151 in Pennsylvania.
Bezar said he hopes this lawsuit sends a message to the hotel and motel industry as a whole: “You better pay attention to what’s going on in your hallways.”
If the lawyers can get “some compliance” with the hotel and motel industry, Bezar said, “perhaps we can start to stamp out what’s happening here.”
“If you’re going to run a business, you better be aware of what’s going on,” Bezar said. “You just can’t continue to exploit children.”
This story is so acceptical to the despicable media, in other words; the internet divergent lynch mob. :
Definition of acceptable. 1 : capable or worthy of being accepted an acceptable noise level socially acceptable behavior a compromise that is acceptable to both sides. 2a : welcome, pleasing Compliments are always acceptable.b : barely satisfactory or adequate The performances varied from excellent to acceptable.
Acceptable | Definition of Acceptable by Merriam-Webster
Man wrongly-convicted of murder released from prison after 32 years
Mar 17th 2017 2:26PM
Andrew Leander Wilson is finally free.
The California man spent 32 years behind bars for the 1984 murder of 21-year-old Christopher Hanson, which he did not commit.
According to INSIDE EDITION, Hanson has long maintained his innocence in the stabbing death of Hanson, who was killed during a late night attack in Los Angeles.
With the help of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent, the 62-year-old and Deputy District Attorney Erika Jerez were able to prove there were errors in the case.
Judge Laura Priver expressed her gratitude to the DA’s office for their work, then Wilson repeatedly thanked the judge for his release.
He was reunited with his family the following day as a free man. He hugged and kissed his relatives, and news crews captured the precious moment.
“Those are my sisters right there,” WIlson said, according to INSIDE EDITION. “I’ve got a lot of sisters and brothers.”
The Associated Press reports Wilson is headed to St. Louis to spend time with his 96-year-old mother, Margie Davis. She spent decades working to overturn his wrongful conviction.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated March 20 2017
As I have said on the internet many times;
I blame religion for the inhuman unconstitutional non stop torture and anti sex mob mentality that takes all human rights away from those who commit sex crimes. Religion replaces all human rights with death stalking Nazi, feeding to the lions, genocide to them accused of committing sex crimes. Politicians and the media take advantage of religion’s sex hang ups; to use fear mongering, to get votes and higher ratings.
Check this out and draw your own conclusions:
“Aside from the foregoing exceptions, the Satanist would not intentionally hurt others by violating their sexual rights. If you attempt to impose your sexual desires upon others who do not welcome your advances, you are infringing upon their sexual freedom. Therefore, Satanism does not advocate rape, child molesting, sexual defilement of animals, or any other form of sexual activity which entails the participation of those who are unwilling or whose innocence or naïveté would allow them to be intimidated or misguided into doing something against their wishes.”
I hereby challenge the Lord God Almighty from Genesis to this day; if the media and the politicians of this country have made up the demon of the registered sex offender as the ultimate threat to human kind; to distract from the physical assaults and killing’s taking place everyday as a means to their end.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated March 24 2017
Back around 2004 I did research and found that 20 percent of all sex offenders commit suicide. Finding links on this subject are not as easy to find these days. The point I am trying to make is; if you have your name exploited for the sake of media ratings and votes for politicians, the chances you do not live, are not good.
The reason I started this subject is because I refereed to the life expectancy of a registered sex offender to be very short on my other blog. I do not nor ever have condoned suicide and have always maintained that on the internet for about 17 years now. Suicide is murder. The fact that the numbers are so high concerning registered sex offenders, committing suicide in our country; is reality. This fact can not be ignored.
You have to understand though that sex offenders in our country do not actually live in our country in a symbolic way. They live under a Nazi like regime where they are forced to unspeakable horrors. Ruled over by the rest of society; that are not sex offenders. Subject to a paranoid portion of society, of insecure mentally impaired people; needing do point their finger at others to make them selves feel better. Now that drug busts become less and less prevalent sex offenders have been selected to try to keep our prison for profit system going. The world sex offenders, can also be compared to: a communist dictator ship. What ever country registered sex offenders live in; it is not America and would make of forefathers roll over in their grave. See here for more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany also here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_state
Our Nazi like, anti sex offender rights, media; chose to ignore the statistics of how many sex offenders commit suicide and are killed. Hence this info is very hard to find.
I would suggest putting “sex offender” “suicide” in Google news, I found a few:
Sex offender suicide in shootout with deputies in sheriff’s Temple …
MyNewsLA.com-Mar 20, 2017
A shootout in the parking lot of the sheriff’s Temple Station Monday between deputies and a convicted sex offender wanted on a warrant in …
Patient at controversial mental health facility for sex offenders …
STLtoday.com-Mar 17, 2017
Patient at controversial mental health facility for sex offenders commits suicide … or Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Services, in Farmington, Mo., has …
GM employee accused of child-porn possession found dead at home
The Morning Sun-Feb 22, 2017
A General Motors Tech Center employee charged with child pornography possession last week was found dead Monday at his home from a possible suicide, …
And:
What about all those accused of a sex offence and kill themselves before the police can place them in custody? What about all those that kill themselves before they are convicted in court, too?
on March 21, 2017 at 8:12 PM, updated March 22, 2017 at 8:31 AM
TRENTON — New Jersey’s highest court on Tuesday threw out a state-sanctioned ban on internet use for a convicted sex offender, finding it was an arbitrary infringement on the man’s rights.
In a unanimous decision, the state Supreme Court found the state Parole Board had improperly issued a “near-total” internet ban for the man, identified only by the initials J.I., who was subject to lifetime supervision after pleading guilty to charges he sexually abused his three daughters.
Calling internet access a “basic need” of modern life, the justices ruled that state authorities could only revoke it after holding a formal hearing to determine if there was a legitimate public safety reason to do so.
I made a new flag for the paranoid portion of society, of
insecure mentally impaired people; needing do point their
finger at others to make them selves feel better.
Click the Text To Do What Is Right and Get the Low Down!
As calls to boycott North Carolina rise, here’s what well-known brands …
Dec 24, 2016 – Just as the 50 states are frequently referred to by Republicans as “America’s laboratories of democracy,” so today one state in particular.
Feb 10, 2017 – The NCAA has threatened to withdraw North Carolina from hosting any championship events through 2022 over the state’s controversial “bathroom bill.” … The NCAA has threatened to disallow North Carolina from hosting any championship events through 2022 following the state’s …
The latest Tweets from Boycott NC (@BoycottNC). The State of North Carolina has enacted discriminatory laws that oppress racial minorities and #LGBT people.
A Call For The Economic Boycott Of North Carolina | The Huffington Post
Dec 29, 2016 – In recent years, the Republican leadership in the state of North Carolina has built a worldwide reputation for intolerance and bigoted …
Guess How Much That Anti-LGBTQ Law Is Costing North Carolina
The Grand Total:
Adding all that up, the total cost to North Carolinians so far from HB2 protests is slightly more than $395 million. That’s more than the GDP of Micronesia. And the bulk of it is from sporting organizations, who even five years ago would likely not have waded into political territory like this. But experts aren’t that surprised that the NBA, NCAA, and ACC have taken this step now. “They’re not out on a limb here,” Durso says. “They’re in line with their base.” The near unanimous outcry against HB2 and in support of the NCAA and ACC confirms that. Legislating discrimination has become an expensive bad habit.
This is unspeakably wrong. But I predicted this goes on all the time in my comic I drew in 1999:
Denison, Texas is not far from where I live. Denison, Texas is a very great town here in North Texas. They have some of the most awesome people we have to offer around these here parts.
The whole thing was staged and her injuries were self-inflicted.
A teenager in Denison, Texas, who made widely publicized claims that she was kidnapped and raped by three black men in ski masks admitted to police Tuesday that it was all a lie.
The Denison Police Department posted a statement to Facebook on Wednesday describing the case in detail and said 18-year-old Breana Talbott, who is white, confessed to the hoax and has been charged with making a false report.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated March 26 2017
This would explain the weird weather. I suspect maybe; not believe, that our government and the world governments may be hiding that global warming is a serious problem. I think maybe; they may be doing this to keep wide spread panic from taking place.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The frigid top of the Earth just set yet another record for low levels of sea ice in what scientists say is a signal of an overheating world.
The extent of floating ice in the Arctic hit a new low for winter: 5.57 million square miles (14.42 million square kilometers). That’s about 35,000 square miles (97,000 square kilometers) — an area about the size of Maine — below 2015’s record. Last year had a shade more than 2015, but nearly a tied record.
This puts the Arctic in a “deep hole” as the crucial spring and summer melt season starts and more regions will likely be ice-free, said Mark Serreze , director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado, which released the findings Wednesday.
“It’s a key part of the Earth’s climate system and we’re losing it,” he said. “We’re losing the ice in all seasons now.”
At the other end of the world, Antarctica, where sea ice reaches its lowest point of the year in March, also hit a record low mark. Antarctic sea ice varies widely unlike Arctic sea ice, which has steadily decreased.
The ice data center measures how wide sea ice extends based on satellite imagery. It’s harder to measure the thickness and overall volume, but data from the University of Washington show that as of late last month ice volume levels were down 42 percent from 1979, said polar science center chief Axel Schweiger .
Several scientists called the sea ice loss disturbing.
“It’s evidence that the climate at the top of the world continues to change faster than anywhere else on Earth with impacts to us that are still frankly unknown,” Pennsylvania State University meteorology professor and retired admiral David W. Titley , said in an email.
Scientists blame a combination of natural random weather and man-made global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas. The winter of 2016-2017 was unusually toasty and the Arctic saw three “extreme heat waves,” Serreze said.
A new study earlier this month in the journal Nature Climate Change found that natural causes can explain between 30 and 50 percent of plunging September sea ice lows, while Serezze and others give climate change an even bigger role in sea ice loss.
A relatively new idea — that still divides meteorologists — links the shriveling ice cap at the North Pole to a weaker polar vortex and weak and ambling jet stream, which can mean more extreme weather for a good part of the rest of the world.
“Recent cold spells and big snowstorms that we have experienced over the past few winters have occurred when the polar vortex is weak,” top winter weather forecaster Judah Cohen , of the private Atmospheric Environmental Research in Lexington, Massachusetts, said in an email.
It’s not just the weather.
As more regions become free of ice, shipping lanes will open in the Arctic, there will be more drilling for oil and gas and more overall economic activity. And that may mean rising tensions between countries over newly available resources, Serreze said.
“The Arctic is the canary in the climate’s coal mine,” said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe. “What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic. This entire planet is interconnected.”
Midday open thread: Dems ask Trump regime for info, get no replies; Chelsea is not running
Trump regime? Trump regime? That is really funny. I don’t know about you but I am having trouble finding a difference between democrats and republicans thees days.
LOS ANGELES – A man whose attempted-murder conviction was tossed by a California judge walked free Tuesday after 20 years in prison.
Marco Contreras, now 41, was embraced by his mother as his lawyers cheered following a Los Angeles court hearing during which he was declared factually innocent.
“I just had to be patient, and wait,” said Contreras, telling KCAL-TV he always knew he would be exonerated.
Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent, which fought for his release, pointed to a combination of factors that resulted in the conviction for a shooting and robbery at a Compton gas station in 1996.
Contreras’ vehicle, which he had lent to someone else, was in the vicinity. An eyewitness wrongly identified him as the shooter, despite the fact that he was at home sleeping at the time.
A probe by the Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office not only determined that Contreras was innocent, but led to the arrest of another suspect in the case.
The law school project and prosecutors jointly petitioned Superior Court Judge William Ryan to release him.
Contreras, who served two decades of a life-plus-seven-years sentence, said his spirituality helped him suppress anger during his time behind bars. He steadfastly maintained his innocence and fought to have his case re-investigated.
Paula Mitchell, Loyola’s legal director, said before the hearing that erroneous eyewitness identifications account for about 75 percent of all wrongful convictions in the U.S.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated April 04 2017
Human Rights Campaign is amazing. I have always admired their graphic art and production. These people are tighter than the most successful corporation that ever existed.
Just got this cool email: March Madness ends tonight when North Carolina plays in the NCAA men’s championship. But the state’s shameful HB2 madness is far from over.
That’s why I asked you to oppose HB2.0 last week by emailing NCAA President Mark Emmert or texting “NCAA” to 30644 to be connected to the NCAA office and urge them to keep pressure on the state. Since then, more than 15,000 advocates of LGBTQ equality took action.
We know this HB2 round two is simply not a full repeal. It fails to protect LGBTQ rights, promote equality or preserve our core values. As North Carolina prepares for the championship and the NCAA prepares to decide where they stand on HB2.0, we must make our voices heard.
Poor management and “one-size-fits-all” approach result in longer prison stay at state taxpayers’ expense.
Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest Email Print Single page Share This Article
Sex offenders in Utah often stay in prison months beyond their parole eligibility date because of a backlog of inmates awaiting treatment overseen by the Utah Department of Corrections, according to a state audit released Monday.
And when those inmates do receive therapy, the program is a “one-size-fits-all” model with an outdated curriculum and little risk assessment. Management and staff, too, lack oversight and accountability, auditors found, limiting the number of inmates who can receive care due to rampant inefficiency.
“The shortcomings are quite extensive,” said Legislative Auditor General John Schaff. That adds up to a big problem when up to one-third of inmates are serving time for sexual offenses.
The proposed solution? To reduce the waiting list, low-risk sex offenders should seek treatment outside of prison as a condition of parole after serving their terms.
“These are offenders who really haven’t violated anyone,” Schaff said. “They’ve had [a conviction for] probably looking at child porn or something.”
The treatment on parole recommendation was one of several offered to fix the ailing program, which spent $678,000 in fiscal 2016 to house inmates with extended incarcerations because of the delays in treatment. That is estimated to rise to $780,000 for 2017.
I keep seeing this virtuous woman in the news. I like her. We all need more like her in our country. With more like her we may avoid our destiny of self destruction. She reminds me of Benjamin Franklin and Tomas Jefferson. :
Florida governor reassigns 21 more murder cases as part of death-penalty dispute with prosecutor
Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday that he was removing a state attorney from about two dozen murder cases, escalating a dispute between the two officials over the death penalty in one of the country’s most active capital-punishment states.
The announcement from Scott, a Republican, came a little more than two weeks after Aramis D. Ayala, a Democratic state attorney elected last year, announced that she would no longer seek the death penalty in cases. In response, Scott swiftly said he was removing Ayala from the prosecution of a man charged with killing an Orlando police officer, the most high-profile case under her jurisdiction.
The dispute has reverberated far beyond the central Florida region where Ayala is the state attorney, drawing praise from advocates for criminal justice changes and prompting outrage from elected officials and a state police union. The feud has hinged on the killing of the police officer and on broader questions about the death penalty, which has been in limbo for more than a year in Florida after being twice struck down by courts as unconstitutional.
[Republicans target Florida prosecutor who refuses to seek death penalty in fatal shooting of police officer]
On Monday, Scott expanded on his earlier decision to remove Ayala from the prosecution of Markeith D. Loyd, who is accused of fatally shooting Debra Clayton, an Orlando police officer, after killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon. Scott declared that he was issuing executive orders reassigning 21 first-degree murder cases in Ayala’s region to Brad King, the longtime state attorney for a neighboring judicial circuit.
“Each of these cases I am reassigning represents a horrific loss of life,” Scott said in a statement announcing his executive orders. “The families who tragically lost someone deserve a state attorney who will take the time to review every individual fact and circumstance before making such an impactful decision.”
Scott said that his office would “do all we can to aggressively fight for justice” and that Ayala was not doing the same.
“State Attorney Ayala’s complete refusal to consider capital punishment for the entirety of her term sends an unacceptable message that she is not interested in considering every available option in the fight for justice,” he said.
Attorneys for two local teachers charged with having sex with a student are scheduled to be in Morgan County court today to argue that the 2010 law is unconstitutional.
Hearings on motions by Carrie Witt and David Solomon, who are charged in separate cases, to ask Judge Glenn Thompson to find the law unconstitutional are set for 1:30 p.m.
The hearings were postponed Monday on a request by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall because of potential hazardous travel conditions between Montgomery and Decatur for two assistant attorneys general.
Witt, 43, a Decatur High School teacher, was arrested March 21, 2016. Solomon, 26, a contract teacher at Falkville High School, was arrested on the charge March 29, 2016.
The law makes it illegal for a teacher to have consensual sex with a student younger than age 19. Before it was enacted, it was not a crime as long as the student had reached the age of consent, which is 16 in Alabama.
Witt, of Decatur, is accused of having sex with a student who was 17 the first time they had sex, and another who was 18 when he had sex with Witt, according to Decatur police.
Solomon, of Huntsville, is accused of have sex with a 17-year-old student while he was working at Falkville, police said. A contract aide employed by Appleton Learning of Huntsville, Solomon began his relationship with the student after communicating with her on Facebook, police said.
The law is a Class B felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison. Anyone convicted of the crime must register as a sex offender.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated April 06 2017:
Is this the same governor that had RSO’s fleeing the state like refugees? How many times have I said it; when you point your finger at someone 3 more are pointing right back at you. The more we persecute RSO’s the closer we come to our doom; foretold in the book of Revelations. America is not mentioned in the end times; after all.
I am not talking about; lets all feel sorry for those that break the law. I am talking about oppressing human beings like a Nazi Regime. I am talking about abusing and disobeying the law to torture a particular crime for votes and media ratings. I am talking about the very definition of cruel and unusual punishment.
I have a idea. Why don’t we make sex and the thought of sex: against the law?
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley could face criminal prosecution after a state ethics panel found probable cause that he broke ethics and campaign finance laws in a sex-tinged scandal that has engulfed him for more than a year.
The Alabama Ethics Commission, after an all-day meeting, voted to refer four issues to the district attorney’s office, which will decide whether to pursue charges. The commission found probable cause that Bentley misused state resources and campaign funds, improperly accepted a campaign donation outside an allowed fundraising window and loaned himself campaign money when he wasn’t a candidate.
The commission vote was 3 to 1 with one abstention, reports CBS Montgomery affiliate WAKA-TV.
Corrections officer Stacy George, who ran against Bentley for governor, told CBS Mobile, Alabama affiliate WKRG-TV, “He needs to go out of office immediately. … He has to leave; they have to impeach.”
The panel’s actions could give political ammunition to lawmakers who want to impeach Bentley. Twenty-three lawmakers last year filed impeachment articles against the governor accusing him of corruption and neglect of duty. The special counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, which is conducting the impeachment investigation, tentatively plans to release his report Friday.
Ross Garber, the lawyer representing Bentley in the impeachment investigation, has urged lawmakers to be cautious, saying only the most egregious conduct merits removal. Garber, who also represented South Carolina and Connecticut governors during impeachment probes, said only two governors have been removed in modern times and both were facing criminal indictment.
The ethics panel’s decision was a legal and political blow to the Republican who has been dogged by accusations and questions after recordings surfaced in 2016 of him making suggestive remarks to a female aide before his divorce. Bentley has acknowledged making personal mistakes but maintained he did nothing wrong.
Bentley attorney Bill Athanas said Wednesday that the governor maintains his innocence.
“We disagree strongly with the result, but I think it is important to keep in mind that it is a finding of probable cause, not finding of a violation. … The battle goes on,” Athanas said. Athanas said he plans to talk to prosecutors and said there is no basis for charges.
State Auditor Jim Zeigler filed an ethics complaint against Bentley accusing him of using state resources to pursue a relationship with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, who resigned shortly after the recordings became public.
Zeigler praised the decision, but also emphasized it was “only the first step.”
“I am pleased that the governor is going to finally face accountability and sad for the state of Alabama that we’ve had to go through this the last year-and-a-half,” he said.
Bentley was photographed by the Montgomery Advertiser leaving the Ethics Commission building several hours into the high-stakes hearing. Athanas declined to say whether he testified.
The commission did not give much detail about the accusations against Bentley. On the ethics complaint, the commission found there was probable cause that he used public resources, including “subordinate personnel, equipment and time all under his discretion or control to further his personal interests.” It did not elaborate.
The other witnesses before the commission were expected to include Spencer Collier, the governor’s former law enforcement secretary and the first person to publicly raise concerns about the relationship; Ray Lewis, Bentley’s former bodyguard; and Secretary of State John Merrill.
Merrill had raised concerns about Bentley using nearly $9,000 in campaign funds to pay a lawyer representing Mason, saying that was not a permissible use of campaign funds under state law.
The governor, who by law cannot seek re-election, last year also reported lending his campaign $50,000 as he emptied his campaign account to pay legal bills.
The scandal has tarnished the reputation of the 74-year-old governor, a mild-mannered dermatologist and former Baptist deacon who attracted voters to his longshot Republican primary campaign in 2010 with his nice-guy image and promises not to accept a gubernatorial salary. While Bentley won re-election in 2014 by an overwhelming margin, his popularity has plummeted after the accusations.
The Ethics Commission action came 12 months after the emergence of the scandal in which Bentley could be heard in a 2014 recording telling a woman, “I worry about loving you so much,” and talking about touching her breasts.
In a news conference after the tape’s release, the governor assured voters he had done nothing legally wrong but said he had erred in his personal life and apologized to the state and his family.
“I made a mistake. Two years ago, I made a mistake,” Bentley said last year.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated April 07 2017
I have been a ACLU member since 2005 and proud of it! I will quit the ACLU in one second; if I even think they gave up on RSO’s rights. It seems like the whole RSO right’s movement is imploding; and it sickens me. I have never been officially affiliated with anyone and now I see why. I am not changing; and as far as I can see into my future and my resolve, I am not changing.
Sultan Malik was awarded $400,000 for his injuries sustained in a brutal attack by correction officers during a prison transfer.
Friday, April 7, 2017, 7:40 PM
A federal jury Friday awarded a former prisoner $400,000 for injuries he suffered after a group of state correction officers beat him bloody while he was restrained.
Sultan Malik, 37, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, said he was repeatedly kicked in the head by three officers inside a van set to take him from Southport Correctional Facility to Attica on July 2, 2008.
The officers were upset that Malik had filed a grievance against one of their colleagues, the lawsuit alleges.
“It just escalated from there,” Malik recalled. “They put me in a cell encased in Plexiglas without water and electricity. I couldn’t use the toilet.”
NYC correction officer busted for stealing her boyfriend’s phone
Before the transfer, the three officers pulled him outside of the van by his ankle restraints, said Malik after the verdict.
“They all stomped and kicked me,” he said.
The attack was initiated by Correction Officers Timothy Hable and Sean Davis, according to the suit.
When he was tossed back into the van, Hable, who was the driver, continued to taunt Malik, the lawsuit said.
Undercover prostitution sting nets Correction Department officer
Hable sarcastically asked if he had enough, according to Malik’s court testimony.
“You’re a f—–g coward!” Malik replied.
Hable then jumped into the back seat and began to punch Malik in the face, the suit alleged.
Malik, with another state prisoner, Coss Marte, have opened a widely successful gym, called ConBody, located in lower Manhattan.
At the same time, Davis wrapped the seatbelt around Malik’s throat and almost chocked him unconscious, according to the testimony.
When they arrived at Attica, Hable tried to cover up what had happened by pretending that he was being attacked by Malik, the lawsuit said.
“He tried to kill me,” Malik recalled.
The all-white jury in Rochester didn’t buy it. They awarded $100,000 for pain and suffering, and $150,000 in punitive damages against Hable and Davis each.
Hable and Davis are still active correction officers working in Southport, records show.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Malik said. “This is not the first case to go against them. Meanwhile, the taxpayers are the ones paying for these suits.”
The Correction Department is reviewing the verdict and considering its options, a department spokesman said.
Malik’s lawyer hailed the verdict.
“I’m proud of the jury for focusing on the facts and not being distracted by collateral things, such as the fact that Mr. Malik was a felon,” said Malik’s attorney, Glenn Miller. “They clearly focused in on the credible evidence, and they clearly felt that all four officers did not tell the truth.”
Malik, with another state prisoner, Coss Marte, have opened a widely successful gym, called ConBody, located in lower Manhattan. The place has over 1,000 members and another location is in the works.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated April 08 2017
Found a new RSO rights website, added it to links.
Someone needs to make a statistic about how many republicans are in prison for trumped up sex offender charges. I guaranty that more republicans are in prison for false sex offences that democrats. In the last days rape may not even be a crime according to the bible.
When I say; that according to the bible not mentioning our great country; that I love, in the last times, in the book of revelation. I mean if our country continues to torture 2 million people in prisons; we are not a democracy. Every government that has tortured it’s citizens publicly; have fallen. History has proven this. If we continue publicly shaming our citizens through the SOR; we will have to pay the price;all the government’s that have fallen have paid.
Just wanted to make that clear. I am not saying crime should not be punished. I am a police officer’s son. I believe crime should be punished righteously. I do not believe in cruel and unusual punishment; and that is exactly what we have done, and are doing to well over 1 million people on the SOR; that is counting the estimated 20% that have committed suicide, because of the SOR. That plus the 2 million people we have imprisoned.
New Blogs Part 6 Updated April 10 2017
I am posting this so you can get on this awesome email list.:
SUNDAY, APRIL 09, 2017
Paltry Grits posting rate masks busy time at #txlege
For readers disappointed with the paltry recent posting rate here on Grits, I should mention that most of my writing these days is happening on Just Liberty emails and action alerts. If you haven’t signed on to our advocacy list, please do so. Otherwise, here are a few odds and ends which merit readers’ attention.
Oh yeah read this small paragraph and sign this great petition too.
These words say it all.:
I demand a return to the rights granted by the Constitution: privacy, property and freedom from government intrusion. We can spend our tax dollars more effectively for both liberty and safety.
I posted this 1st amendment comment on the Grits page.
I suspect my online activity is manipulated constantly. Also people have told me my websites are blocked by security programs. The only reason that security programs block me; can only be because I am controversial to some. Recently I had a two family members tell me security programs block access to my YouTube videos of my wife and I. This is impossible if YouTube was blocked the internet would break.
Constitution of United States of America 1789 (rev. 1992)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
If you believe it is ok to deny registered sex offenders human rights or U.S. Constitutional rights. If you do not believe registered sex offenders are denied their human and constitutional rights or if you are against free speech. Please leave this web page now. Thank you.
By remaining on this web page you here by acknowledge that you support human rights and United States constitutional rights for registered sex offenders and that you support freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
This blog is not for people to be critical of what is posted here and if the reader is critical of anything here than that means they did not read the disclaimer on the top of each of the pages here and are not welcome here and should stop reading and leave this blog upon my request and in the name of freedom of speech, and my rights as a American citizen.
No sexual abuse is ever acceptable. Sex offense laws and policies should be based on sound research and common sense, not fear, panic or paranoia. Current laws and policies that paint all sex offenders with one broad brush are counter- productive, wasteful, and cause needless harm. Each offense must be judged on its own merits with a punishment that fits the crime and does not waste taxpayer dollars. The public sex offender registry and residency restriction laws do not protect children but instead ostracize and dehumanize individuals and their families. Money spent on purely punitive measures would be better used for prevention, healing, and rehabilitation.
The author of SO FAQ does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That does not mean we are should not vote.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated April 12 2017
I have been waiting forever, it seems like for a victory; to start a new page. :
Three men who moved to Indiana and were required to put their names on the state’s sex offender registry are likely to win their lawsuit that claims they wouldn’t face that requirement had they lived in Indiana all their lives, a judge ruled, ordering their names removed.
Judge Richard Young last week ruled in favor of Brian Hope, Gary Snider and Joseph Standish, holding they are likely to prevail in their federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Young granted a preliminary injunction barring authorities from enforcing the Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act against the plaintiffs.
The suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana argues that SORA’s application to them violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and implicates the right to travel, and Young found the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on those claims. He did not reach the plaintiffs’ ex post facto argument.
Based on their crimes, the Department of Correction determined each plaintiff was an offender against children and a serious sex offender, and that Snider and Standish qualified as sexually violent predators.
Indiana’s Sex Offender Registry dates to 1994, and each of the plaintiffs’ convictions came prior to the registry’s enactment, or was an offense that didn’t require reporting at the time of conviction. Young wrote that had the plaintiffs not crossed state lines, they would not be required to register under Wallace v. State, 905 N.E.2d 371 (Ind. 2009), which prohibited the application of SORA to offenses predating the registry.
Hope was convicted of an Indiana offense and the other two plaintiffs were convicted in Michigan. After Hope left the state and returned, and the other two men moved to the state, they were told they would have to register as sex offenders for life. Young rejected the Department of Correction’s argument that finding for the plaintiffs would make Indiana a “safe haven” for sex offenders.
“Defendants’ proposed justification — preventing persons from relocating to Indiana in order to avoid registration requirements — has absolutely no applicability to (plaintiffs). SORA is therefore overbroad with respect to this interest,” Young wrote.
“When the Plaintiffs arrived in Indiana they were not afforded the same status as persons who had resided in Indiana all along. As a result of the DOC’s policies, long-term Indiana residents who have never travelled out of state are treated differently than new Indiana residents. This differential treatment offends the fundamental right to travel,” he wrote.
“Plaintiffs have a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their Equal Protection and right-to-travel claims.”
The case is Brian Hope et al. v. Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, et al., 1:16-cv-02865.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated April 13 2017
Other casualty’s of war; in our sick obsession to incarcerate; all things having to do with sex crimes. I believe in protecting women from sexual assault in all it’s forms; my online record speaks to that. This is not protecting women at all. I certainly believe in protecting mentally ill from sexual assault. I definitely believe in cooperating with the police to accomplish this. This story to me is the opposite of protecting women, the opposite of protecting the mentally ill. I do not know the particulars of these cases but I imagine that they lack cooperation with the police very early on.
The women were sexually assaulted — and jailed to make sure they cooperated in court
Rape victims across the country can be arrested and held if authorities worry they won’t cooperate in criminal cases. A watchdog group in New Orleans wants to stop that practice in its area.
Court Watch NOLA, a justice advocacy group, called on the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office to stop detaining victims of sexual assault as material witnesses. The group said authorities should take into consideration the trauma already experienced by a victim and refrain from putting them in jail, an experience that will cause further stress.
Authorities arrest people as material witnesses when they are concerned the person will not appear in court or will refuse to testify in a case. According to Court Watch NOLA, out of 30 material witness warrants in Orleans Parish in 2016, half were issued for witnesses of crimes and half for victims. In one case examined by the group, a woman who alleged she had been raped was arrested and kept in jail for eight days.
Other victims across the country have endured the same thing. According to the Oregonian, a former inmate at an Oregon prison was jailed last year while awaiting trial against a former corrections officer at the facility, who was accused of sexual misconduct. The woman, who said she spent two years in the mental health unit at Oregon’s women’s prison, was detained by a judge because of her criminal and drug use history. She was in chains at the hearing where the judge determined she must be kept in custody.
A Texas woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia was jailed for more than a month because prosecutors were afraid she wouldn’t come back to court. As she was testifying in the trial against her accused rapist, she had a psychological breakdown and was afterward committed to a psychiatric ward. When she was released from the hospital, she was taken into police custody in 2015.
She was released — with a black eye, according to the Houston Chronicle — and months later filed a lawsuit alleging that she was abused and attacked by both other inmates and jailers. Days before being released, she had appeared in court and testified against her accused rapist. He was convicted and sentenced to two life sentences.
In Washington, a woman who had allegedly been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend was forced to perform sexual favors on another man. According to the the Daily News, that man tried to rape her but she escaped by running through the woods. Prosecutors got a material witness warrant because she had skipped several scheduled pre-trial meetings. She was held in jail overnight but then released, with a judge warning her that another warrant would be issued if prosecutes had trouble getting in touch with her again.
“If (material witness warrants) are being issued, even in just a handful of cases, what message are you sending to other victims of sexual assault?” Geneva Brown, a professor at Valparaiso University, told the Advocate. “Other victims may not come forward if they know this is how they’re going to be treated.”
I was talking to my wife about this and wanted to post this. I think it is a example of how religion mixed with our government hurts our community. Like I always say we need to observe separation of church and state like the ACLU does.
Maybe we should imprison everyone that commits adultery in all it’s forms. The bible says if you think of committing adultery; it is the same as if you did it. If that is the case than we should imprison all those who think of committing adultery; in any way. Everyone that has sex out of wedlock should also be imprisoned for adultery.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated April 13 2017
According to media outlets and human rights organizations across the globe, police in the Russian republic of Chechnya have been rounding up dozens of men on the suspicion of being gay. These men have been placed in detention. Some have been tortured. And at least three are reported to have been killed. No one is safe.
With Chechen leaders refusing to stop the arrests, one government spokesman went as far as to deny that LGBTQ people even exist. He claimed that, if they did, their own families would have “sent them to where they could never return.” On top of that, the Russian government has refused to intervene.
This is one of the most disturbing things I have seen in my time at HRC.
That’s why we’re calling on President Trump to make it clear to Russia that lawless detentions, arrests, torture and murders are categorically unacceptable. We urge him to make it heard loud and clear around the world that violence towards LGBTQ people will never be tolerated.
Richard, as advocates for LGBTQ equality, we know that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. And we well know that failing to act in the face of injustice allows this type of violence and discrimination to continue.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) – A Cheektowaga law created more than a decade ago to serve as a tougher version of New York’s sex offender law. Now, it’s being called unconstitutional.
Cheektowaga council member Alice Magierski says the local law extended the distance any level sex offender could live from a school or park from 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet. The law also casts a wider net on locations to include more kid-friendly destinations.
A state appeals court recently ruled the local law is unconstitutional, saying it conflicted with state law. Under the ruling, police no longer have the power to enforce the local law, but members of the council say they plan to hold a public meeting to let neighbors decide if the law should stay on the books.
“We have no intent whatsoever that this isn’t going to be monitored by the police department…it is absolutely completely monitored but within the guidelines that we now have to follow,” Councilwoman Magierski tells 7 Eyewitness News.
Magierski says the law was overturned just a few months ago, and she’s unsure what prompted the law to face an appeals court. The public hearing is set for April 25 in Cheektowaga.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated April 17 2017
Lawsuit alleges state violated Minnesota sex offender’s privacy
Moose Lake detainee is alleging that his private medical records were wrongfully released to another detainee.
The suit alleges, the other detainee “did in fact open and read the contents which contained the Treatment information that listed both plaintiffs [sic] name and medical records number and further had plaintiffs [sic] private treatment information.”
Jamison alleged that DHS violated the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, and is seeking a bench trial on the matter, compensatory damages in excess of $50,000 or “such a sum as a jury deems appropriate” and punitive damages of up to $25,000.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated April 18 2017
Thank you for urging your lawmakers in Austin to raise the age at which Texas youth can be charged with adult crimes. Now that you’ve done it, share it! :
Act Now: Protect juveniles from adult jail, prison
Texas kids are like most other American youth, but they don’t enjoy the same protections from the justice system.
Texas is one of six states which still treat 17-year olds as adults for purposes of criminal prosecution. Though they cannot vote, buy cigarettes, or join the military without parental consent, Texas law has them prosecuted as adults.
Most Texans are unaware of this quirk in state law, and generally only find out about it if their high-school junior son gets arrested. Too often, youth end up with a felony tag before they even get out of high-school, hurting their chances to get housing and a job going forward.
Seventeen year olds in adult prisons risk being mistreated and abused by other inmates and are at much greater risk of suicide. In January, 17-year old Emmanuel Akueir hanged himself in the Fort Bend County Jail, but in 43 other states he would have been considered a juvenile until he was 18 years old and never locked up in an adult facility. The Sheriffs Association has joined the Texas PTA and the Texas Public Policy Fountation to endorse raising the age to 18 because they want to keep protect these kids and keep them out of their jails.
I have said on the internet many times; the age for sexual consent should be 21. The same should be the same for this:
Excellent news! Today, the Texas House of Representatives approved legislation to raise the age at which juveniles can be charged as an adult from 17 to 18. In the end, 83 House members supported this historic measure, with 53 against. There’s one more vote tomorrow on “third reading” before the bill goes to the senate, but this was the big vote where opponents made their stand.
Chairman Harold Dutton, the bill author, informed members that 17 had been set as the age of adulthood in Texas in 1918, during World War I, and was then being raised from age eight! Since then, 17 year olds have been denied rights to drink, smoke, marry, or even join the military without their parent’s consent. Most parents of 17-year olds by no means consider them adults, a fact which seemed to hit home with legislators who’d parented teens.
What opposition there was stemmed mainly from fears that the measure would cost counties too much money. But the efffective date was put off for two years so that costs could be evaluated and built into the budget during the 86th Legislature. A task force was created to study costs and the bill doesn’t take effect if the Legislature doesn’t pay. That was enough to win over strong bipartisan support. Plus, if they dont’ change the law, local county jails will have extra costs larded on thanks to new federal regulations that makes them keep 17 year olds separate from other inmates.
Texas would be the 45th state to raise the age to 18, which is also the age for federal crimes. South Carolina and New York passed raise-the-age bills in the last year. For more background on this important proposal, check out this awesome report on the subject put out by our friends at Texas Appleseed.
This has been a major Just Liberty priority and our supporters have sent the Legislature more than 2,300 emails in support of HB 122, with Just Liberty volunteers scouring the capital in the days leading up to the big vote to educate members about the proposal. That work and the work of our allies paid off, big time. This is an historic day for Texas.
So congratulations! Now, after the “third reading” vote tomorrow, it’s on to the senate. And Just Liberty remains committed to keeping you informed and about how to most effectively engage in the process.
Please continue to support Just Liberty’s work, both through your contributions and by taking our email actions. Together, we can accomplish great things for Texas.
WI: SEX OFFENDERS WIN FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST VILLAGE OF PLEASANT PRAIRIE: “IT’S GOING TO OPEN A LOT OF DOORS”
Sex offenders in Kenosha County have won a federal lawsuit against the Village of Pleasant Prairie, in a case that could have nationwide implications. The men who sued said the village’s sex offender residency restrictions violated their constitutional rights.
Michael McAlister, exonerated of a 1986 sexual assault in South Richmond, dies in Florida
Michael McAlister, who was freed last night after serving 29 years for a rape he did not commit, looks skyward as he left Riverfront Towers where he spoke with the media Thursday May 14, 2015.
Michael Kenneth McAlister (left) was pardoned in 2015 in a 1986 sexual assault in Richmond that was committed by Norman Bruce
Michael Kenneth McAlister has died in Florida, less than two years after his exoneration and release from prison for a 1986 sexual assault he did not commit.
McAlister, 60, died on April 15, apparently of natural causes, said Becci Conkwyn, a daughter who also lives in Florida. “He had been struggling with major chest pains, and he had recently been in the hospital quite often,” she said. “We believe it was his heart, that his heart just gave out.”
McAlister was wrongfully convicted of the 1986 abduction and attempted rape of a woman in a laundry room at the Town & Country Apartments in South Richmond, for which he served almost 30 years in prison. He was pardoned in 2015 after a confession by the real assailant — a serial rapist to whom he bore a striking resemblance at the time.
Supporters during his exoneration bid included the former Richmond detective who investigated the 1986 attack, as well as Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Herring, the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and volunteer lawyers with a high-powered Washington law firm.
McAlister’s pardon on May 13, 2015, and release from prison came as he was facing possible civil commitment and indefinite confinement for treatment as a violent sexual predator for a crime he did not commit.
Shawn Armbrust, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, said Friday, “Mike called me two weeks ago because he wanted to make sure I knew how grateful he was for the work I’d done on his case — even though he was released almost two years ago.”
“And that was Mike. He went through an unimaginably horrible experience and struggled to adjust after his exoneration, but he never lost his decency, his concern for others, or his sense of humor,” Armbrust said.
Last year, the Virginia General Assembly awarded McAlister $1.2 million in wrongful imprisonment compensation, of which $253,740 was paid in an initial lump sum with the rest to be paid over the years in an annuity.
The compensation was put at risk, however, by his arrest last October in Florida on charges related to cocaine possession. Virginia law bars payments to those convicted of new felonies.
McAlister, who pleaded not guilty to the new charges, was placed in a pre-trial diversion program which, if successfully completed, would have led to the dismissal of the felony charge. Orange County court records show the case has now been closed, presumably because of McAlister’s death.
“Things were looking good. … It looked like he was starting to try to build a life,” Conkwyn said Friday.
Armbrust said, “That he had a difficult time adjusting after his exoneration is not a commentary on Mike, but a commentary on how much more support exonerees need when they leave prison.”
Experts say relatively few exonerated people run into trouble after release, but those who do generally have substance-abuse issues, often related to post-traumatic stress disorder. They said the trauma of prison is exacerbated by the knowledge that you are innocent.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated April 26 2017
I hate this blog, I really do. I have to work on it because I love my country and care about it enough to say: what would our fore fathers say if they could see so much cruel and unusual punishment in the name of our country?
Feds tell Supreme Court that mug shots should stay secret
The Justice Department won’t budge from its position that federal mug shots of criminals should be kept secret, arguing in a U.S. Supreme Court brief that jailhouse photos are “embarrassing, nonpublic” moments that add to defendants’ grief.
The agency clarified its stance as part of an ongoing legal battle over whether federal law enforcement, like many states, should be required to hand over booking photos.
“Mug shots reveal much more than the sterile fact of arrest and booking,” the Justice Department wrote in a Supreme Court brief filed this month. “They graphically depict individuals in the embarrassing, nonpublic moment of their processing into the criminal justice system.”
The case has been appealed to the nation’s highest court following a lawsuit brought by the Detroit Free Press newspaper. The Free Press, which is owned by Gannett, the publisher of USA TODAY and dozens of other newspapers, has challenged the federal government over its decision not to release the mug shots of four Michigan police officers charged with public corruption charges in 2013.
The Free Press has won four lawsuits over the issue.
The agency’s response aligns with the rulings of three federal appeals courts, which determined the photos should be kept from the public. In July, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals found the promotion of mug shots on the internet and social media have made booking photos more “embarrassing and humiliating” than before.
The Justice Department, in its latest response, played to the demeaning nature of the photos.
“The adage that one picture is worth a thousand words is apt in this context,” the response said. “The visual depiction of the individual’s appearance at booking in a law-enforcement facility reflects a uniquely powerful and lasting image of what can be one of the most difficult episodes in an individual’s life.”
Lawyers for the Free Press have contended the government is less interested in protecting the reputations of the accused, but rather want to have a grip on the flow of information to the press.
“The public has a right to see who the government is indicting,” said Free Press attorney Herschel Fink on Saturday. “Given the fact that names can be similar, a photo is the best way to identify who the government is prosecuting.”
Dissemination of mug shots can serve the public interest by revealing whether or not a suspect has been beaten by police, the Free Press has argued. Media scrutiny of mug shots can also reveal whether federal agencies are arresting high numbers of minorities, and in some cases, a suspect’s photo may help solve crimes if a past victim recognizes the person.
Indiana school district settles sex abuse case for $1.4M
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana school district has agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle a lawsuit over a former employee’s sexual misconduct with a woman when she was a 15-year-old high school student.
The South Bend Tribune reports the woman sought more than $20 million from the South Bend Community School Corp. She sued the school district in 2013, alleging it negligently hired Stephen A. Rokop and failed to supervise him, protect her, safeguard the school and train employees.
Rokop was a paraprofessional and freshman boys’ basketball coach at Washington High School when the sexual misconduct occurred during the 2009-2010 academic year. Rokop was later convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor and child seduction.
He was sentenced in 2011 to six years in prison, but was released in July 2013. He will remain on Indiana’s sex offender registry until July 2023.
In the lawsuit, the woman levied complaints against the school district based on 32 separate alleged instances of misconduct. The woman and the school district later agreed to settle the case out of court, and a judge dismissed the lawsuit in January.
The school district released copies of the settlement agreement this week. It calls for the district to pay the woman a lump sum of $1.15 million up front, followed by another $250,000 within the next two decades.
The district denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, and the woman agreed to cease any current or future legal action.
The state has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a federal lawsuit brought by the guardians of two girls who said a foster parent sexually abused the children.
The abuse occurred between January 2012 and April 2014 while the children were in the care of James Mobley in Medford, according to the suit. It occurred on his living room sofa, where the girls were ordered to sleep, the suit said.
The suit also alleged that Mobley used corporal punishment — withholding food, forcing the children to bathe together and in his presence and berating them with profane language – to instill fear of reprisal if they reported the abuse.
Thomas Peterson, the attorney for the guardians, developed evidence that Mobley faced a similar complaint when he lived in California before moving to Oregon.
Mobley, now 80, was arrested by Medford police in April 2014 on three counts of first-degree sex abuse in connection with the allegations. He pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sex abuse.
On Sept. 23, 2014, he was sentenced in Jackson County Circuit Court to six years and three months in prison, followed by 10 years of post-prison supervision. He also was ordered to register as a sex offender.
The state’s payout doesn’t represent “an admission or proof of any liability or fault” by the state Department of Human Services or its employees, according to the written settlement agreement.
Andrea Cantu-Schomus, spokeswoman for the department, declined comment about the settlement.
The agreement, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Medford, will go to the Jackson County Circuit Court probate department for approval.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated May 02 2017
Texas’ outdated bail-bond system costs taxpayers millions in extra incarceration and court costs. Finally, though, a bipartisan coalition of Texas legislators and a slew of leaders from the state judiciary want to get rid of money bail in most cases and shift instead to risk assessments to decide who gets released.
After all, Robert Durst could afford bail. A typical nonviolent offender picked up at a traffic stop may not.
Bipartisan legislation has been filed this session to address this problem, and a new group called Just Liberty has been rallying support. I just took their action. If you want to contact your state legislators to reform this outdated institution, go to their action page directly:
I got this email in my inbox, with the header image blocked by my yahoo email address:
Did you know that kids as young as 10 are on the Texas Sex Offender Registry??? Kids are currently being treated EXACTLY THE SAME as adults- regardless of the situation that led to their adjudication/conviction. This is antithetical to the juvenile justice system’s stated mission of rehabilitation for children!
Texas HB 2879 allows for youths convicted of a sex offense to register their information privately with law enforcement. This is a vital and important distinction for juvenile registrants, and is a step in the right direction to provide more opportunities for rehabilitation for such individuals- the entire point of the juvenile system! We need HB 2879 to pass out of committee. We need your support and signature TODAY.Unable to provide link to this petition.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated May 09 2017
Family of inmate killed in 2015 Tecumseh prison riot files lawsuit against Nebraska
LINCOLN — The family of an inmate who died during the Mother’s Day 2015 riot at the Tecumseh State Prison has filed a lawsuit accusing the state of failing to protect him and adequately staff the facility.
Shon Collins, 46, was one of two inmates found dead after inmates took control of two housing units at the prison for several hours, setting fires and ransacking cells, resulting in more than $2 million in damage.
The lawsuit, filed by Lincoln attorney Joy Shiffermiller, says that the state failed to keep Collins apart from other inmates.
A spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services declined to comment, saying that the agency’s policy is to not comment about pending legal action.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Lancaster County District Court, did not specify an amount of damages requested. But Collins’ family asked for $1.2 million in a claim with the State of Nebraska that was denied last year.
Collins, a sex offender, was in protective custody, separated from other inmates, at the time of the riot because he previously had been threatened and assaulted by other inmates, the lawsuit says.
Yet, on the day of the riot, the suit says, inmates from three housing units, including those in general population and those in protective custody, were all released from their cells to a prison yard to obtain medications.
When the riot broke out, corrections officers quickly were overwhelmed and fled to a prison guard tower, leaving Collins unprotected, the suit says. “The inmates were left to fend for themselves while the staff left their posts and ran for safety.”
Collins was serving 66 to 80 years for first-degree sexual assault of a child and visual depiction of sexually explicit content in Box Butte County. His sentence began in 2010.
Collins, his family was told, died from blunt force trauma but also had been stabbed several times.
The other inmate found dead, Donald Peacock, was also a sex offender. He was sentenced in Dodge County to serve 40 to 50 years for first-degree sexual assault of a child and visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct. He began his sentence in 2014.
Collins’ lawsuit is the first filed in connection with five deaths at the Tecumseh prison over the past two years. The deaths have raised questions about the staffing and safety at the state’s highest-security facility.
Two inmates were found dead after a disturbance March 2 at the prison. Then, on April 15, 22-year-old Terry Berry was found dead in a cell. A cellmate of Berry’s, Patrick Schroeder, has been charged with first-degree murder and use of a weapon, a towel, to kill Berry.
Charges have not been filed in connection with the four other deaths. State officials have said they’ve been frustrated by the destruction of evidence and the lack of cooperation from inmates in making arrests in those cases.
The Collins’ lawsuit says the Tecumseh prison was overcrowded and understaffed. It took three hours for emergency riot response teams to arrive at the prison because most team members must drive from Omaha and Lincoln.
Collins, according to the lawsuit, had been honorably discharged from the military after serving 21 years, including stints in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he was drawing a $200-a-month pension that helped support his parents.
REPORT: LOUISIANA’S PUBLIC DEFENDER SYSTEM VIOLATES RIGHTS OF THE POOR
May 04, 2017
The SPLC and allies asked a judge today to certify a lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s broken public defender system as a class action case – citing an expert report that describes how the state’s overburdened public defense system fails to protect indigent defendants’ constitutional right to counsel.
If granted class action status, rulings in the case would apply to the approximately 20,000 indigent defendants facing noncapital criminal charges in Louisiana, potentially reforming the failed system detailed in the report. The lawsuit would likely be the largest indigent defense case of its kind.
The findings, issued by a law professor with more than 40 years of experience in public defense, were filed with the motion for class certification in the 19th Judicial District in East Baton Rouge Parish. The report notes that the Louisiana Public Defender Board and the state public defender – who, along with Gov. John Bel Edwards, are defendants in the lawsuit – consider the system to be in crisis.
“The report we filed today documents what indigent defendants across the state have long known: Louisiana’s public defender system is broken,” said Lisa Graybill, SPLC deputy legal director. “This failure has created a two-tiered justice system in Louisiana – one for those with the money for meaningful representation in court and another for the poor that simply churns them through the system without providing them the meaningful defense required by the Constitution.
“Louisiana’s public defense system is underfunded, unmonitored, and wholly inadequate,” Graybill said. “The failure of the system is a statewide problem, and it calls for a statewide remedy.”
The motion for class certification argues that Louisiana has allowed the system to languish for years under excessive caseloads and inadequate staffing – a description echoed in the report by public defense expert Robert Boruchowitz.
Boruchowitz’s report describes how heavy caseloads prevent public defenders from conducting adequate investigations and notes that defenders virtually never hire expert witnesses. The report also outlines how many people charged with crimes wait weeks – or even months – in jail before a public defender is appointed.
The result, according to the report, is a criminal justice system where judges, public defenders and prosecutors have become accustomed to a culture that violates the rights of indigent defendants.
Boruchowitz, a Seattle University School of Law professor, conducted and oversaw visits to nearly 20 of Louisiana’s parishes for the report. His conclusions are based on court observations, a review of records, and interviews with public defenders and other criminal justice stakeholders.
The underlying lawsuit was filed in February by the SPLC; the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Davis, Polk & Wardwell LLP and Jones Walker LLP.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated May 12 2017
SEE IT: North Carolina teacher suspended for comparing student to slave
A North Carolina teacher was suspended after a student recorded him comparing another child in the class to a slave.
The majority of the video is inaudible, most of the exchange muddled by students in the class laughing. However, Ayona Wilson said the recording clearly captures the seventh grade teacher using a racial slur in speaking to her son.
“Did I call you a n—-r? No. I said you’re being controlled by him and that’s exactly what happened to slaves,” the teacher can be heard saying. “They were controlled by their owners. You’re letting him control you.”
Ayona Wilson, the mother of the student, speaks with WNCN in an interview. A teacher at Apex Middle SChool in North Carolina was suspended after a video revealed him comparing a student to a slave.
Wilson told WNCN the confrontation was sparked by her son laughing at another student who was dancing in the classroom at Apex County Middle School on Wednesday.
She said as soon as she learned what happened she pulled her son out of school and met with the principal and assistant principal Thursday.
The student, who wished to remain anonymous said his teacher later clarified — telling the student that he was using an analogy. Still, the seventh-grader said the language was “surprising.”
“This was coming from a caucasian man to an African American student and we’re already in a predominantly white community, a predominantly white school,” Wilson told the news station, “so for him to use those words, it really hurt my feelings.”
A teacher at Apex Middle SChool in North Carolina was suspended after a video revealed him comparing a student to a slave.
In a phone call to families, the school principal explained that the teacher — who they did not identify — had been suspended and that Wake County schools was investigating the incident.
“While we are not at liberty to discuss confidential personnel information, please be assured that the district takes any complaints against personnel seriously and is committed to fair and thorough investigations and resolutions of such matters,” he said in the call.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated May 13 2017
This kind of so called therapy is sick! I have been against this since I first read about it in the deep jungles of South America where lesbians were raped as a form of conversion therapy. I blogged about it extensively when I was on Democrat.org.
Sign this great petition that is filling up very quickly:
Leading medical and mental health experts describe so-called conversion therapy, which practitioners claim can force a change in a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation, as dangerous, ineffective and unnecessary.
Conversion therapy is based on the false and hateful lie that being LGBTQ is a defect or disorder that needs curing. It is rooted in anti-gay and anti-transgender bigotry and based on lies that have been disproven again and again.
Recently, the Supreme Court let California’s ban on conversion therapy for minors stand.1 Now progressive champion Rep. Ted Lieu, who pushed for the crucial protections in California, has reintroduced a bill to ban conversion therapy nationally by calling it what it is: fraud.
Tell Congress: Conversion therapy is fraud. Protect LGBTQ people by passing the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2017. Click here to sign the petition.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated May 17 2017
From http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-oscar-lopez-rivera-freed-20170517-story.html
Puerto Rican militant Oscar Lopez Rivera freed from custody after 36 years; will be in Chicago Thursday
Puerto Rico nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera was freed from house arrest Wednesday after decades in custody in a case that transformed him into a martyr with supporters but outraged those who lost loved ones in a string of deadly bombings. He will be in Chicago on Division Street — Paseo Boricua — tomorrow.
Wearing a black shirt and jeans, the 74-year-old grinned broadly and waved to supporters through a fence at his daughter’s San Juan home before getting into a white jeep. He was scheduled to stop at a federal building to return electronic tags that monitored his movements during his home confinement.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated May 29 2017
WI: SEX OFFENDERS CHALLENGE MILWAUKEE RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS
May 27, 2017
Six registered sex offenders are suing the City of Milwaukee over an ordinance that virtually bans them from living in the city, arguing the rules violate their constitutional rights. Full Article:
JACOB WETTERLING RESOURCE CENTER: WE SPEND TOO MUCH MONEY WATCHING SEX OFFENDERS
May 27, 2017
Thursday was National Missing Children’s Day, a day meant to highlight the problem of child abduction.
And while there have been advancements in laws and technology to keep children safe and help families, an organization known for protecting kids thinks says we spend too much money in at least one area.
“There is huge hysteria around released sex offenders when they are not usually the problem,” said Alison Feigh, the program director at the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center
Feigh said children are harmed most often by people they know, trust and have access to – not convicted sex offenders. Full Article:
L.A. GROUP WANTS SEX OFFENDERS TO BE INCLUDED IN PROP 57’S EARLY RELEASE
May 23, 2017
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (Yes, that’s a thing) claims that state prison officials have undermined Prop 57’s parole process, by not including sex offenders for consideration for early release. Full Article:
ID: LAWSUIT OVER IDAHO’S SEX-OFFENDER REGISTRY LAWS EXPANDS TO 134 PLAINTIFFS
May 23, 2017
A lawsuit filed last year by 104 sex offenders challenging Idaho’s laws that require registration and community notification of sex offenders has been expanded to 134 sex offenders.
They say the laws violate an array of constitutional rights, from the prohibition on double jeopardy to freedom of religion. Full Article:
MO: MISSOURI TO REMOVE HUNDREDS OF GPS MONITORING DEVICES RECENTLY PUT ON SEX OFFENDERS
May 22, 2017
Hundreds of sex offenders will soon have GPS monitoring devices removed from their ankles after Missouri officials recently required that they wear the bulky devices, according to a preliminary injunction filed in Cole County Circuit Court on Monday. Full Article:
MN: SEX OFFENDERS SEEK TO TAKE THEIR CASE TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
May 22, 2017
A group of Minnesota sex offenders has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to examine whether the state is violating the Constitution by confining people indefinitely in prison-like treatment centers after they have already completed their criminal sentences. Full Article:
You know how I always say our the USA will not be here in the end times, because the bible does not mention us? I do not think we will be destroyed by another country any more. I believe we will be destroyed from with in; like they thought in the 1950’s. I now think our country will be destroyed by a civil war; like many middle eastern country’s are destroyed. You can not go against your own citizens; the way so called sex offenders are destroyed, even though a very tiny percent of them are a danger. Like I always say if we learn from history; no country that tortures their own citizens for the amusement of the media and the internet and it’s own, for instance, every stands the test of time. As we continue to waste, time and money, of our law enforcement on stalking sex offenders; we become weaker and weaker to stop all the truly threatening crimes of violence that will eventually could help lead to a civil war.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated June 22 2017
WEINER WILL BEAR WEIGHT OF SEX OFFENDER LAWS HE HELPED PASS
May 20, 2017
… Do you remember those committee hearings you attended on the Adam Walsh Act (a failed attempt to standardize the complexities of sex offender registration)? Hopefully you paid attention, because sex offender registration laws and compliance with such laws are far more complex than simply avoiding sending nude pics via the wrong phone app. You helped make sure that, over the past decade, registration laws became some of the most draconian laws known to man. Full Article
MN: SEX OFFENDERS SEEK TO TAKE THEIR CASE TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
May 22, 2017
A group of Minnesota sex offenders has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to examine whether the state is violating the Constitution by confining people indefinitely in prison-like treatment centers after they have already completed their criminal sentences. Full Article
WI: SEX OFFENDERS CHALLENGE MILWAUKEE RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS
May 27, 2017
Six registered sex offenders are suing the City of Milwaukee over an ordinance that virtually bans them from living in the city, arguing the rules violate their constitutional rights. Full Article
JACOB WETTERLING RESOURCE CENTER: WE SPEND TOO MUCH MONEY WATCHING SEX OFFENDERS
May 27, 2017
Thursday was National Missing Children’s Day, a day meant to highlight the problem of child abduction.
And while there have been advancements in laws and technology to keep children safe and help families, an organization known for protecting kids thinks says we spend too much money in at least one area.
“There is huge hysteria around released sex offenders when they are not usually the problem,” said Alison Feigh, the program director at the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center
Feigh said children are harmed most often by people they know, trust and have access to – not convicted sex offenders. Full Article
UPDATED: 50-STATE COMPARISON RELIEF FROM SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION OBLIGATIONS
June 11, 2017
Prepared for the NACDL Restoration of Rights Project. List
US Supreme Court strikes down NC sex offender social media ban
June 19, 2017
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a North Carolina law prohibiting registered sex offenders from using Facebook or other social networking sites that minors can join. Full Article
TX: SUPREME COURT RULING COULD IMPERIL TEXAS SEX OFFENDER RULES
June 20, 2017
Texas rules barring some sex offenders from using certain websites were thrown into jeopardy Monday morning after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar statute in North Carolina violates the First Amendment. Full Article
New Blogs Part 7 Updated June 27 2017
TDCAA: Some Texas probation, parole orders may violate new SCOTUS ruling on sex-offender access to the internet
How will the new Supreme Court ruling in Packingham v. North Carolina – which forbade blanket bans on use of the internet for sex offenders – affect Texas cases? The Texas District and County Attorneys Association offered this preliminary analysis:
Texas does not have a statute that criminalizes a sex offender’s access to social media websites, but Texas does have statutes that permit orders prohibiting a sex offenders’ access to social networking sites, both as a condition of parole (§508.1861(b)(1)(B) of the Government Code) and as a condition of probation (Art. 42A.454(b)(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Based upon the broad language of this decision, it seems likely that a wholesale prohibition of access to Facebook or Twitter or Instagram would be unconstitutional. A more directed condition, prohibiting communication with minors or prohibiting access to chat rooms or dating websites, would seem to be permissible, even under this decision. But it is certainly going to create new litigation.
WISCONSIN — Several southeast Wisconsin cities are now the target of federal lawsuits by registered sex offenders. The two civil rights attorneys representing them recently won a major verdict against Pleasant Prairie.
Iowa: The state can’t stop a convicted sex offender from having a smart phone or internet access, according to a ruling from the Iowa Court of Appeals.
Blain: ‘What does actual police reform look like?’
Charles Blain of the Restore Justice project at Empower Texans has a column in The Hill posing the question, “What does actual police reform look like? More training and more oversight.” Blain represents the grassroots conservative wing of the party represented by the Freedom Caucus in the Texas House and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in the senate. So what does police reform look like from that perspective?
For starters, he wants more “purposeful training.”
In some states, like New York, California, and North Carolina, obtaining a barber’s license requires more hours of training than to become a sworn officer
In Louisiana becoming an officer takes less training than becoming a manicurist.
Blain also suggests that, “local governments should fully embrace independent police oversight boards giving civilians have a voice in policing.” Further, “Out of 18,000 police departments in the country, only about 200 have an independent or civilian oversight board,” he lamented. Blain offered up this unusual (for a conservative) discussion of the benefits of a civilian review board:
Two persistent problems on many oversight boards are the scope of authority entrusted to them and the requirements for civilians to participate.
In Texas alone, the scope of authority for boards in major cities spans across the spectrum. In San Antonio, the Chief’s Advisory Action Board has the ability to interview officers before making a recommendation for disciplinary action to the chief.
Dallas’ review board is authorized to hire investigators, take sworn testimony, and subpoena witnesses. Houston’s operates largely in private and only takes cases referred to them by the internal affairs bureau of the department.
Many of the boards require members to have extensive background in policing, law, or criminal justice, which excludes much of the community whose concerns they are meant to address.
Civilian boards need power, resources and autonomy to be as effective as possible.
Blain embraced body cameras. And although he recognizes the public policy problems with how they’ve been implemented, including in Texas, he punted on prescribing what good policies might look like:
Policies determine when the officer has the discretion to turn the camera on or off, how regularly it must be charged, if the data on it is subject to public information, the officer’s ability to review it prior to making a statement on an incident, chain of custody for the camera, and policy regarding data retention and manipulation just to name a few.
Without a sound policy, body worn and dash cameras don’t serve their intended purpose.
He recommended customizable apps to facilitate public engagement, and use of ShotSpotter technology to identify the sources of gunshots.
Grits appreciates Mr. Blain’s taking a first stab at thinking through policies that might “actual police reform.” But your correspondent would be remiss if I didn’t point out that “actual” reform must go further than these proposals or it will be ineffective and fail.
For starters, Grits simply disagrees that civilian review boards can ever be an effective check on police misconduct no matter what their structure. I’m unaware of any such review board anywhere in the country which has achieved the goals of reform activists who got them created. (When I was Police Accountability Project Director of the ACLU of Texas from 2000 to 2006, this was basically my beat.)
Think about it: What does the public demand when an officer shoots someone improperly or engages in misconduct? His or her termination or reprimand. Yet those are precisely the things civilian review boards cannot do. At most they only advise and that advice is routinely and easily ignored because the structure of the police disciplinary process insulates decision makers from being accountable for outcomes – they can typically only be held accountable for complying with the process. Civilian review boards are structurally not capable of satisfying public concern over these issues and may help provide political cover for misconduct when they are weak and ineffectual, which is all the time.
The power to discipline and fire police officers cannot be wrested from departments and even if it could, that would be a bad idea. Instead, management’s ability to enforce rules must be strengthened at the expense of labor. Even when one does not fully trust police management, the best play for police accountability activists is to seek to empower them vis a vis the union.
Re: Training. More is fine, but what’s really needed is for police department policies to change to emphasize deescalation, then to retrain on those policies. More training on the sort of cowboy-style shoot-em-up methods taught by a lot of modern training consultants isn’t going to help much. Policies and practices must change, then more training will help.
On body cameras, the transparency/privacy questions must be answered because, as presently constituted in Texas, body camera footage for the most part is secret unless a law enforcement agency decides releasing it will somehow help them, thanks to a terrible law passed by Sen. Royce West in 2015. Texas must roll back that thicket of thick-headedness before body cameras will be a true reform measure here.
Finally, some of the most important police accountability measures needed aren’t broached in Blain’s column. In a column in 2011, Grits identified a few of them:
Transparency: Independent, aggressive press oversight, as a practical matter, is MUCH more effective than any civilian oversight mechanism I’ve ever heard of, anywhere. Civil service cities like Houston have most of their disciplinary records closed unless officers are severely disciplined (more than two days suspension), and then only summary information is public. So, for example, in Dallas or El Paso, which never opted into the civil service code, reporters get a LOT more information on police misconduct than Houston or other civil service cities, and it really shows in their coverage, particularly at the Dallas News. Easily the most effective change to improve police oversight in Houston and other civil service cities, without costing the taxpayers a dime, would simply be to re-open police disciplinary files; hundreds of non-civil service cities and every Texas Sheriff operate just fine under the Public Information Act, and so would civil service cities if they were brought back under its umbrella.
Another key, too-often neglected transparency issue: Former Harris County DA Johnny Holmes and the Texas Supreme Court, abetted by the Legislature after the fact, gutted the Law Enforcement exception (Govt Code 552.108) to the Public Information Act in Holmes v. Morales. State Rep. Harold Dutton still carries a bill (see here) every session to change the standard back to what it what from the inception of the Open Records Act until that episode. This change was pivotal, casting a thick blanket of secrecy over information which had been public for decades. If we don’t fix the transparency problem – both reinvigorating the law enforcement exception and re-opening disciplinary files in civil service cities – IMO all other “solutions” will founder.
Accounting for Misconduct in Promotions: Then-state Rep. Chuy Hinojosa filed a bill back in 2001 that never went anywhere but which would have required sustained misconduct to be counted against officers when considering them for promotions, see here. I’ve always thought that would give a lot more oomph to internal disciplinary decisions than is currently the case and potentially play a big preventive role.
Bolstering Disciplinary Decisions: The biggest problem with the civil service code regarding police misconduct at Texas police departments is that, too often, fired officers too often don’t stay fired. The state could require civil service cities to have a “Uniform Disciplinary Matrix,” which is a pre-set array of punishments available for different types of misconduct. This helps prevent arbitrators from overturning punishments when they comply with the disciplinary matrix, including indefinite suspensions/terminations, establishing what’s a reasonable punishment as a matter of policy instead of letting the arbitrator make an arbitrary determination after the fact in each case. (See the discussion here.)
There are also an array of special protections in for misbehaving officers in the state civil service code which need to be reformed. And additional provisions limiting accountability are sprinkled throughout meet and confer agreements between local municipalities and police unions. These are all important sites for reform work.
There are other ideas which Blain could have mentioned, including one Restore Justice supported during the legislative session: Eliminating arrests for Class C non-jailable offenses. Arrests are dangerous for both officers and suspects and this reform would reduce their number by more than ten percent.
This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s more complete than Mr. Blain’s offering in The Hill. There’s no sense in limiting the array of possible reforms on the front end, nor in repeating mistakes of the past. See the solutions page at Campaign Zero for more reform ideas.
OH: OVERHAUL COULD DROP THOUSANDS FROM SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
July 14, 2017
Two decades after Ohio began labeling sex offenders on a public database and setting restrictions on where they can live, a major overhaul to the law is being proposed that could drop thousands of lower-level offenders off the list
There is no modern day human rights struggle that compares to the struggles of the so called registered sex offender: than the modern day LGBTQ human being, in today’s society. I can just imagine the most zealous supporter’s of inflicting cruel and unusual on registered sex offenders; also is against LGBTQ people.
I have no idea why this article was emailed to me yesterday, but just is case here is the link:
France Welcomes First Gay Refugee From Chechnya as Putin Promises ‘The Whole Truth’
May 31, 2017
On the same day that President Emmanuel Macron held his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, France has accepted its first gay refugee from Chechnya.
Gay and bisexual men in Chechnya have in recent months been abducted, tortured and in some cases murdered in concentration camps. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has denied the existence of such camps. However, Putin has announced plans to investigate following international pressure.
Maybe my Yahoo email is sending me emails from 3 months ago now. My yahoo email is almost unusable these days. If you have the same problem you can complain here:
Look I am funny and that is a fact. I make my wife laugh until she cry’s almost every day. Literally almost every day. I just observe things she does and parody it and most of the time it makes me laugh too.
I was raised in a Irish Catholic School and never had even had a bad feeling about anyone involved with the Catholic faith as being a sex offender; ever. I was a great alter boy for both my schools church and my mom’s church that we went to every Sunday all my life. My wife is part Irish. I have a love for the Irish forever embedded in me. This Irish dude preaches it! Watch the beginning of this to realize why I tell people I do not like the kids.
00:00:18 Everybody is doing something on sex offenders, you know?
00:00:21 It’s like, dude, I got it.
00:00:23 There’s people out there touching kids, you know?
00:00:26 But it’s not everybody.
00:00:28 It’s a very small portion of the population, so, you know, take it down a few, ’cause you’re making it [beep] awkward out there.
00:00:36 [Laughter] dude, you can’t say hi to kids anymore.
00:00:39 I love kids.
00:00:40 [Laughter] I love kids.
00:00:42 I like making faces at ’em on the airplane, making ’em laugh.
00:00:45 Now, parents are like, “is that ” they start huddling their kids in, making me feel like a freak, you know?
00:00:52 I’m terrified of kids now.
00:00:54 Remember back in the day when a kid would come walking up to you?
00:00:57 You could pat him on the head.
00:00:58 “Hey there, rusty.
00:00:59 How you doing,” right?
00:01:00 [Laughter] now a kid comes walking up, I’m like, “dude, get that thing the [beep] away from me.
00:01:04 Get it away from me.
00:01:05 I’m serious, dude.
00:01:06 Get it away from me.
00:01:07 Hands are up high.
00:01:07 Not aroused, just terrified.
00:01:09 Please, for the love of god, I’m serious.
00:01:11 Get that thing away from me, ” or that “to catch a predator” guy to come walking out, like, “what are you doing here?
00:01:20 Huh, what are you doing here?
00:01:21 ” [laughter] that show, “to catch a predator,” man, that is horrible p.r. for white people, huh?
00:01:29 [Laughter] jesus christ.
00:01:32 Can they move that show to an urban area every once in a while?
00:01:35 kellys peeing on some kids, you know?
00:01:39 Just balance it out a little bit?
00:01:42 It’s like, does every dude walking in that house got to look like me?
00:01:45 Like, “yeah, I’m gonna [beep] an eight-year-old, ” [laughter] no, but it’s unbelievable.
00:01:54 Everybody is talking about pedophiles and all that type of stuff, I don’t know.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated July 25 2017
PA: SOME LAWYERS, PROSECUTORS DISAGREE ON CHILD INTERFERENCE CONVICTIONS BEING MEGAN’S LAW OFFENSES
July 23, 2017
Philadelphia resident ____ ____ became a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania last year after pleading guilty to interfering with the custody of her daughter.
But if prosecutors had let the 49-year-old noncustodial parent plead guilty to a different crime for signing her daughter out of school without the consent of the girl’s legal guardian in 2015, ____ wouldn’t find her photo and personal information listed with convicted child molesters, kiddie porn collectors and rapists on Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law registry.
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Changes are coming to Pennsylvania’s sex offender registry as a result of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision issued this week, but experts say it’s unclear exactly how they will play out.
Ryan Tarkowski, a spokesman for the state police, which run the Megan’s Law website, said the court’s decision may result in the removal from the registry of sex-crime offenders who committed their crimes before the new version of the law took effect five years ago.
He called the ruling “a complex decision” that will “undoubtedly impact” management of the registry. Tarkowski said it it’s too soon to know how many offenders will be removed.
State police are assessing the decision’s impact and working on “an appropriate course of action” to comply with the new court decision, as well as state and federal laws.
It does not surprise me that the home of the liberty bell is one of the first states to see that sex offender registration is Anti-American! I believe them that support the torturous treatment of American citizens; under the guise of the cruel and unusual sex offender laws, are against America and should leave America.
If you don’t like America, YOU CAN GET OUT, Go America. Go Broncos.: South Park
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence Hall), the bell today is located in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park. The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the London firm of Lester and Pack (known subsequently as the White chapel Bell Foundry), and was cast with the lettering “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof,” a Biblical reference from the Book of Leviticus (25:10). The bell first cracked when rung after its arrival in Philadelphia, and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names appear on the bell. In its early years the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens about public meetings and proclamations.
Yesterday, Just Liberty filed a formal petition to initiate rule making at the Texas Department of Public Safety to substantially limit arrests by state troopers for non-jailable Class C misdemeanors. See the document here.
The proposal enjoys broad, bipartisan support and in fact implements (for DPS) a plank from the Republican Party platform: “Restricting Arrest Powers – Republican Party of Texas calls on the Texas Legislature to authorized the arrest and jailing of individuals only for offenses for which jail is a punishment or to prevent family violence.”
Under Texas law, if 25 people sign a petition requesting a change in DPS Administrative Code rules, the agency has 60 days to either reject the petition or launch the rule making process. Long-time readers may recall that this blog used the same process to initiate rule making at DPS to create an indigence waiver and amnesty program for the Driver Responsibility surcharge. (Check out a couple of segments from the latest Reasonably Suspicious podcast on that effort beginning at the 3:45 mark.)
Petition signers include representatives from 16 different groups, several state legislators, and Sandra Bland’s mother. Go here to send an email to DPS Director Steve McCraw to encourage the agency to initiate rule making and adopt the proposed rules.
July 12 was historic! We broke records in coming together to defend our open Internet, and the Net Neutrality protections we rely on to keep the web from becoming Cable TV 2.0.1
Millions of Americans submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission, emailed and called their Congressmen and Senators, and digital rights organizations joined hand in hand with tech companies like Facebook and Reddit, Google and Netflix, Amazon and even PornHub.2
It was a massive success and made politicians and the media stand up and take notice — you don’t mess with the Internet and get away with it.
And now we have to keep the pressure on. We built a tool that makes it super easy to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to name and shame your Member of Congress into standing up for Net Neutrality, and an open web.
I believe them that support the torturous treatment of American citizens; under the guise of the cruel and unusual sex offender laws, are against America and should leave America.
Just because the media is to blame for originally introducing sex offender paranoia into our society and snowballing it, everyday; does not mean they are all Anti American. Right?
Here are some cool images I found on Google:
New Blogs Part 7 Updated July 27 2017
I may have not been in the military but my wife was and I had to endure 7 years of hardship; never knowing when she would be called upon to die for her country. Weeks and months, I had to wait for her to come home never knowing if she would be killed in training. Waiting for her always with a sick heart and being so happy the short times she was home.
Only 1% of all US Citizens serve their country.
My dad police officer more than half of his life and was in the US Air Force during Vietnam and my Grandfather severed during WWII. My wife’s father served during WWII and her brother was a Army Veteran and a advanced weapon’s designer for Pratt and Whitney.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated July 28 2017
The problem with Net Neutrality is people do not know what it means. A high quality DVD or YouTube video is a great way for people to learn. :
Manhattan Neighborhood Network and Free Speech TV to Premiere Net Neutrality Special
Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) and Free Speech TV (FSTV) co-host, What’s at Stake?: Net Neutrality, that will air on Thursday, July 27 at 8pm ET on both MNN-FSTV (Spectrum channel 1301 and FiOS channel 39 for Manhattan viewers) and FSTV (DISH 9415, DIRECTV 348 or streaming on Roku, Amazon Fire, Android TV and freespeech.org).
Just two years after the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), under the Obama administration, affirmed the concept of net neutrality, some of the largest media corporations in the world are looking to privatize the information highway. This time they have powerful allies, including the Trump administration and the new Chair of the FCC, Ajit Pai.
Moderated by host, Laura Flanders, of The Laura Flanders Show, the hour-long program features panelists at the leading edge of the fight to oppose this fresh attack, including former FCC Special Counsel and Open Society Fellow, Gigi Sohn; Free Press Executive Director, Craig Aaron; Color of Change Campaign Director, Brandi Collins; and Columbia Law School Professor and Author, Tim Wu. The special was taped at the MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center in East Harlem. MNN President and CEO, Dan Coughlin said, “Net Neutrality and equal broadband access for all is vital to maintaining a level playing field so that local voices can be heard in the media landscape.” Otherwise, the big media giants will continue to dominate and grow, shutting out diversity.”
How does the sex offender registry protect society and children?
In a nutshell, it doesn’t.
The sex offender registry protects no one, and takes rights away from tax paying citizens who have paid their debt to society as defined by the courts. People can say what they want about the registry not being punitive, but in reality it is punitive. A person on the registry cannot work, cannot live in most areas, cannot use the internet, cannot travel without notifying the police in person and in writing, cannot have an email address unless they register it with the police in person and in writing, have to register anywhere they are located for more than 3 days consecutively, or visits more than 6 times in a 6 month period, is not allowed into any public parks or pools, cannot attend schools, cannot obtain a visa for travel, must register phone numbers in person and writing to the police, and must register any changes of any of the above in person and in writing, and the list goes on, along with ignorant and angry citizens taking vigilante violence against these ex-offenders who have paid for their crimes. What happens if the registered EX-sex offenders fail to abide by any of the above? 15 years to life in prison.
Okay, okay, okay…. What are the benefits of having the registry? None. When a person is charged with a sex offense the police take DNA samples, photographs and fingerprints and put them in a nice little file. Now, it is proven that less than 6% of the registered EX-offenders will commit a new sex crime; in fact, people who commit a sex offense have the second lowest recidivism rate. The lowest being murder. This is the same now with the registry as it was 25 years ago before the registry. More than 80% of all sex offenses are committed by people who are not on the registry. Not one sex offense was averted by the registry.
I heard one reporter make a statement that a sex offender is like an alcoholic… once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Once a sex offender, always a sex offender. That is the most absurd statement I have ever heard. Unless your definition of an alcoholic includes a person who takes one drink and never touches alcohol again.
Two examples of how a person who had previously committed a sex offense gets arrested for a new sex crime. First we will take an ex-offender from 25 years ago, before the registry. He knows that the police has that little file with all his goodies in it, so to avoid being an automatic suspect, he drives an hour away, roughly 60 miles from where he lives, and then commits the crime. The victim then calls the police. The police will perform the obvious tests, first by asking if the victim knew the suspect or if the victim got a good look at the suspect or saw any identifying marks. If yes, the police look through their little files and show them to the victim. When the victim sees the suspect, the police go and arrest the suspect. If the victim didn’t see anything, they continue to a rape kit and get DNA samples. If a DNA sample is found, the police look back into their little files until they find a match, and then go and arrest the suspect. If no DNA sample is found, the suspect gets away with it.
Now the same scenario from today with the ex-offender who is on the registry. He knows that the police have that little file with all his goodies in it, and he knows he is on the registry, so to avoid being an automatic suspect; he drives an hour away, roughly 60 miles from where he lives, and then commits the crime. The victim then calls the police. The police will perform the obvious tests, first by asking if the victim knew the suspect or if the victim got a good look at the suspect or saw any identifying marks. If yes, the police look through their little files and show them to the victim. When the victim sees the suspect, the police go and arrest the suspect. If the victim didn’t see anything, they continue to a rape kit and get DNA samples. If a DNA sample is found, the police look back into their little files until they find a match, and then go and arrest the suspect. If no DNA sample is found, the suspect gets away with it.
Did the registry save this victim from having the crime committed against them? No. Did the registry help this victim identify the suspect? No, the little file did.
The registry doesn’t work. Never has, and never will. If all these ex-offenders are so dangerous, why didn’t the judge or court sentence the ex-offender to more time? They give excuses like they don’t have room, or cost too much money to keep them locked up. But the truth of it is, it is much, much cheaper to keep the less than 6% of the ex-offenders who are actually dangerous locked up, than it is to put all 100% on a registry that is so blatantly unconstitutional and ineffective.
Here are some facts. ALL people who commint a sex offense have their DNA on file. If a person decides to re-offend, the registry is not going to change that. The registry protects no one. An example would be that the very few people on the sex offender registry that did re-offend was not stopped from offending. They were not caught because they were recognized on the public shaming system. They were caught because of DNA or mugshots of offenders on file.
Regardless of it’s intent, the registry offers real punishment for the sole purpose that someone may commit a crime, and that IS unconstitutional… No matter how you try to justify it. Government is praying on the fear and hate of the people to fuel their goals. Something that happened not all that long ago in Germany to thier Jewish citizens. And I’m not saying being Jewish is a crime, just showing how another government used these tactics.
Another straight out lie is that the registry is to help protect our children… And like I stated above, the registry protects no one. If the registry truly is civil and not punitive, then it can be applied retroactivily to anyone. And if the goal is to protect our citizens and children, then there should be a national DWI/DUI registry.
Sex offenses vs alcohol traffic Deaths in 2009
Forcible rapes for 2009 = 88,097(Charged not convicted)
DEATHs from alcohol related traffic offenses = 10,839 (This is excluding those maimed and injured) – 181 of those DEATHS were children 0 to 14 years of age, and of those 181, about 92 of those children were in the car of the drunk driver. Another 1.4 million drivers were arrested for drunk driving, which each could have resulted in injury and Death. And another 147 million people admitted to drinking and driving.
recidivism for related crime: Sex offenses roughly 5%(The majority of this 5% had multiple charges and were strangers to the victim
DUI/DWI nearly 60%
Then you would hear the people who drink say things like:
You only drove while under the influence one time? You don’t consider yourself an alcoholic?
Sounds the same as 95% of the ‘Sex Offenders’ on the registry. If they have paid their debt to society, then society should stop punishing them more and more. They are no longer Sex offenders. They are citizens of the United States, who should have their rights protected. But unfortunately society as a whole is hateful and ignorant. Only when you talk to these people who have committed the sex offense can you get the feel of who they are. Not to judge by a label. Not to neglect them work. Not to make them and their families endure hell on earth. The courts know who the dangerous people are, but they choose to ignore that. If a Judge gives a person probabtion for a sex offense, how dangerous does that judge believe that person to be? If the judge really thought that person was a threat to society, he would have sentenced him or her to prison, in some cases life without parole.
I could list tons of sites that have studies and court cases proving my point, but I don’t see a reason, anyone can see how wrong these laws are… anyone with common sense. So I request, as a citizen, a taxpayer, a voter, and someone who served his country, that the sex offender registry come to an end for those who have paid their debt to society.
Got a new email from Jim Hightower of whom I a great fan:
Progressives are organizing across the country to demand House Democrats cosponsor a people’s platform – 8 bills that say definitively people over profit.
Our Revolution just launched Summer for Progress: We’re fighting for a Congress that will put people before profits to create an America where everyone, regardless of the age, race, gender or economic status has access to health care, free college tuition, a livable planet, and a job that pays a living wage.
It’s more important than ever to have progressives step up to the plate when running for local offices. In Detroit, MI, longtime activist and native Detroiter Garlin Gilchrist II is running for Detroit City Clerk to create effortless voting, engaged citizens and an accessible city council. This weekend, the campaign is launching a big, final push towards their August 8th primary. Can you support Garlin?
Garlin Gilchrist II
They’re taking donations, phonebankers, opening a new East Side office in Detroit for locals to come by, and much more. Garlin is the real deal, who will fight with decades of organizing and technology experience for the justice this hardworking town deserves.
2-MINUTE READS ‘N’ LISTENS
Real news, fake news… and BS news
July 27, 2017
How can journalism help people make sense of our turbulent world if it can’t make sense of itself?
Why did Trump back off from his Mexican border tax?
July 25, 2017
Often, when world powers pick fights with seemingly powerless countries, they learn that even small dogs have sharp teeth – as President Trump is finding out in his ill-fated war with Mexico.
My real life hero’s growing up were Vietnam Veterans:
Today at the White House, President Donald J. Trump will award the Medal of Honor to former Specialist Five James C. McCloughan, U.S. Army. McCloughan will receive the Medal of Honor for distinguished actions during 48 hours of close-combat fighting against enemy forces near Don Que, Vietnam, from May 13 to 15, 1969. McCloughan, then 23 years old, voluntarily risked his life on nine separate occasions to rescue wounded and disoriented comrades. He suffered wounds from shrapnel and small arms fire on three separate occasions, but refused medical evacuation to stay with his unit, and continued to brave enemy fire to rescue, treat, and defend wounded Americans.
Celebrating and Honoring American Heroes
Last week was American Heroes Week at the White House, where President Trump was proud to celebrate and honor those who put their own lives on the line every day to protect American lives.
In the past couple of years, we’ve heard a lot about the so-called “Ferguson effect,” where cops supposedly react to public criticism by failing to do their jobs and intentionally allowing crime to flourish. Grits has expressed skepticism that that’s really the attitude of the cop on the beat, but regardless, it’s a common meme.
What’s less commonly discussed is the reverse problem: when police misconduct goes unpunished, resulting in a loss of trust by the community and a failure to report crimes for fear of interaction with the cops. A Columbia Law Review article by Tracey Meares includes this summary of some recent research on exactly how that occurs:
In a recent study, Professors Matthew Desmond, David Kirk, and Andrew Papachristos present an example of how researchers can use such data. The researchers studied how police brutality against unarmed Black men affects cities and the Black community in particular by examining whether there was a change in the number of 911 calls in Milwaukee before and after a highly publicized incident of police violence against an unarmed Black man, Frank Jude. Jude was attacked by several White police officers in October 2004 after they accused him of stealing a police officer’s badge at a party. The officers stomped on his face with heavy boots and punctured his eardrums with pens. After the incident, Jude’s photo was shown in the newspaper demonstrating his extensive injuries. The results of the researchers’ analysis of 911 calls surrounding this incident are startling. After Jude’s beating was reported in the local press, Milwaukee residents—and especially residents of Milwaukee’s Black neighborhoods—were less likely to report crimes by calling 911. The magnitude of the crime-call decline in Milwaukee was large and long lasting. It persisted for over a year, “result[ing] in a loss of approximately 22,200 911 calls, a 17 percent reduction in citizen crime reporting, compared with the expected number of calls.” Moreover, the “missing” calls were primarily confined to the areas of Milwaukee in which mostly African Americans lived. After a year, the number of calls went up again.
Police shootings in Houston may not directly result from racial bias, according to academic analyses of data from Houston PD, but they do occur in a statistically discriminatory fashion. That’s because officers’ intent cannot be proven but the results are wildly disparate. This excerpt from a new academic article from Jeffrey Fagan and Daniel Richman described the two analyses and how they differ:
Research by Professor Roland Fryer examining police use of force in Houston, one of the nation’s largest cities, shows a nearly 50% greater incidence of use of force by police in encounters with Black or Latino persons but no disparity by race in shootings by police. Justin Feldman’s subsequent analyses of Professor Fryer’s Houston results showed that, in fact, Blacks were nearly five times more likely to be shot relative to Whites and Latinos were nearly twice as likely to be shot relative to Whites. Professor Fryer searched for evidence of racial bias in police shootings in Houston, using statistical models to identify intentional bias. He found none. Feldman’s analyses of the same data examined statistical discrimination — or disparate treatment of Black and Latino suspects by police in their use of force — and showed large racial disparities. Overall, the evidence of racially disparate police enforcement across cities reinforces longstanding beliefs among Black citizens about disparate treatment at the hands of the police and helps spread a narrative of an uneven burden that Black citizens bear in police–citizen encounters.
The authors explain the two studies’ different conclusions by pointing out that they were analyzing two different things – “statistical discrimination” vs. “racial bias” – offering this explanation in a footnote: “Statistical discrimination reflects differences in the rates of an event by race, after controlling for race-specific and plausible nonrace factors that might explain such differences. Racial bias looks for evidence of intent to discriminate, independent of evidence of racial disparities.”
If the outcome is that discriminatory (“Blacks were nearly five times more likely to be shot relative to Whites”), it’s hard to know whether the public should be comforted by the concurrent finding that the discriminatory outcomes weren’t generated by “bias.” In essence, Prof. Fryer was positing HPD officers’ good intentions, while Prof. Feldman lamented that they were the type with which the road to Hell is paved.
The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board should investigate the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office for issuing fake subpoenas that threatened witnesses with fines and jail time to coerce them into answering prosecutors’ questions – actions that violate rules of professional conduct, according to a complaint the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed with the board today.
An investigation is needed to determine the scope of the practice and to hold the lawyers involved accountable for violations of the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct, which forbid lawyers from engaging in deception, according to the complaint. The filing notes that District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro has admitted that his office had engaged in the practice since 2009, but has refused to divulge which assistant district attorneys were also involved.
If the board finds that violations occurred, it could recommend probation, admonition or the filing of formal charges against Cannizzaro or the attorneys under his leadership who used the fake subpoenas.
“District attorneys have almost unchecked discretion in our criminal justice system,” said Lisa Graybill, SPLC deputy legal director. “As Louisianans work to reform the state’s criminal justice system and shed the title of incarceration capital of the world, district attorneys must be held accountable when they abuse the public’s trust.
“These bogus subpoenas violated people’s legal rights through manipulation and intimidation. An investigation is needed to restore the public’s confidence, and prevent other prosecutors from engaging in such misconduct.”
A subpoena is a court’s written order compelling a person to appear before the court or face a penalty. A subpoena cannot be issued by a district attorney.
The false subpoenas warned that a person may face a fine or imprisonment for failure to appear before prosecutors for questioning. The office even sought the arrest of at least one person who failed to respond to a false subpoena.
Cannizzaro’s office initially defended the documents, but later announced it would stop issuing them. Cannizzaro also attempted to deflect blame by explaining that the practice has been in use by the office for decades – well before his tenure. This admission, according to the complaint, only underscores the need for an investigation because it heightens concerns about the depth and breadth of this practice.
The district attorney’s other practices have also drawn attention and made headlines. Earlier this year, Cannizzaro jailed crime victims – including victims of rape – who did not want to testify in court. Last year, the SPLC report More Harm Than Good documented how Cannizzaro’s office prosecutes children as adults in unprecedented numbers.
The SPLC filed a similar complaint today against Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick for issuing documents labeled as subpoenas. Unlike the documents issued by Cannizzaro’s office, they did not threaten punishment for noncompliance, but did “order” witnesses to come to the DA’s office. Connick’s office has stopped the practice, replacing the documents with letters requesting witness cooperation. His office has not revealed which assistant district attorneys used the fake subpoenas.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated August 07 2017
WI: MILWAUKEE MAY DRAMATICALLY LOOSEN SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS
July 29, 2017
The City of Milwaukee may dramatically loosen its residency restrictions for sex offenders.
The city’s current ordinance bans many sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of places like schools, parks, and day care centers. A measure set to be considered Monday by the Common Council would reduce that “buffer” to 500 feet. Full Article
NE: 8TH CIRCUIT SAYS NEBRASKA’S SEX OFFENDER LIST DOESN’T APPLY TO BOY
August 1, 2017
The 8th Circuit Court has ruled in favor of a 15-year-old boy whose family sued the Nebraska State Patrol to keep him from being put on the state’s sex offender registry for a juvenile case in Minnesota. Full Article
AFTER EXONERATION,JARRETT ADAMS IS HELPING OTHERS WRONGFULLY CONVICTED
August 5, 2017
Lester Holt interviews Jarrett Adams, who was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault when he was just 17 and — as an attorney — is now helping others who are in similar positions as he used to be.
You may forward this message to any friends who would find it
important.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated August 10 2017
TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR THE STATE OF MISSOURI
AUGUST 2, 2017
< BACK TO LATEST
BALTIMORE – The NAACP Travel Advisory for the state of Missouri, effective through August 28th, 2017, calls for African American travelers, visitors and Missourians to pay special attention and exercise extreme caution when traveling throughout the state given the series of questionable, race-based incidents occurring statewide recently, and noted therein.
“The NAACP is a membership-based advocacy organization that has worked for generations to protect the hard-fought freedoms of all American citizens—freedoms which are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution—and one of the most basic of those freedoms is the ability to freely travel from state-to-state without fear of threat, violence or harm,” said Derrick Johnson, interim president and CEO. “The numerous racist incidents, and the statistics cited by the Missouri Attorney General in the advisory, namely the fact that African Americans in Missouri are 75 percent more likely to be stopped and searched by law enforcement officers than Caucasians, are unconscionable, and are simply unacceptable in a progressive society.
“We share the alarm and concern that black individuals enjoying the highways, roads and points of interest there may not be safe, and the national office will also be closely monitoring the progress of Governor Greitien’s review of Bill SB 43,” Johnson adds.
SB 43, advanced by Senator Gary Romine, hearkens back to the Jim Crow-era. The Bill legalizes individual discrimination and harassment within the State of Missouri, and “would prevent individuals from protecting themselves from discrimination, harassment and retaliation in Missouri,” the advisory reads.
About the NAACP
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work, and our six “Game Changer” issue areas here.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated August 10 2017
Do you think it is a coincidence that LGBT’s are more persecuted than sex offenders? Who bashes LGBT’s the most in our country? The religious do. If you are a Christian or religious and fight for the constitutional rights of all people; which includes sex offenders. Than you are obviously not one of them that take human rights from people; with cruel and unusual sex offender registration and cruel and unusual prison sentences.
You must realize that the Christian and the religious are the biggest supporters of unconstitutional treatment of those called sex offender. According to the Bible the religious rule of the world (as it is today) will come to an end in the Book of Revelation. You could also say the inhuman treatment of them called sex offender; will also come to a end.
A 22-year-old Florida man was shot and killed outside a restaurant in downtown Lake Worth early Sunday for standing up to homophobia, witnesses say.
Witnesses told police that Juan Javier Cruz was killed for defending his gay friends from a gun-wielding man who said he hated homosexuals and spoke of his desire to “kill [them] like rats.”
Cruz was leaving Restaurante y Pupuseria Las Flores with a group of friends when another restaurant patron confronted the group, shouting threats and expletives at them, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report.
Hip-hop legend charged with murdering homeless man
Rapper Kidd Creole — one of the founding members of the legendary hip-hop group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 — has been charged with murder for the stabbing of a homeless man who he thought was hitting on him in Midtown.
The 57-year-old Bronxite, whose real name is Nathaniel Glover, was arrested at his home in Mt. Hope on Wednesday after allegedly killing the individual on Tuesday night, according to police sources.
He had gotten into a shouting match with the man — identified as 55-year-old John Jolly, a registered sex offender — at the corner of E. 44th St. and Third Avenue before the stabbing occurred, the sources said.
After the incident, Glover apparently fled and left Jolly, who was drunk, bleeding on the sidewalk.
Cops later found him and thought he was just too intoxicated to stand, but then noticed multiple stab wounds in his chest and rushed him to Bellevue Hospital — where he was pronounced dead.
A high-ranking police source told The Post that Jolly was an ex-con who did six years on rape charges.
He’s been arrested at least three times for sexual assault, the source said.
Over the years, Creole has tried to stay relevant by using social media to promote his shows. He tweets and posts pictures regularly — even popping a tribute to Keith Cowboy, who died in 1989, just before he was arrested on Wednesday.
I propose a Television show to free speech TV like GayUSA except about Registered Sex Offenders: about a year ago.
New Blogs Part 7 Updated August 24 2017
Lets see the latest news from GayUSA from the email I got from them yesterday:
In the news with Ann and Andy (taped 8-23-17)
∎ Trump escalating our war on Afghanistan while continuing his assault on LGBT rights and his support for what he calls the “fine people” in the neo-Nazi movement.
∎ Gwynevere River Song is the 17th transgender woman murdered in the US this year.
∎ Police judged to have beaten a gay man in Brooklyn in 2013 and lied about it; police also shoot to death a knife-wielding transgender woman in St. Louis and in NY bust a man threatening to kill gay cops and others.
∎ Police in Martin Co., Florida arrest 45 in a sting on gay men cruising in a park.
∎ Lots of notable passings, including transgender pioneer Holly Boswell, an award winning Broadway producer, and a gay Republican strategist who specialized in electing anti-LGBT bigots.
∎ In Australia, the postal referendum on same-sex marriage has not even been sent out, but the campaign has gotten very ugly already.
∎ Two world leaders marched in the Montreal Pride parade.
∎ LGBT pride marches are attacked in Russia and Uganda.
∎ Use of Truvada as PrEP is increasing, but more among white gay men and less among the people of color who need it most.
∎ We will review Michael Moore’s Broadway show: “The Terms of My Surrender”
How do you like that; for a bunch of bad news as always?
New Blogs Part 7 Updated August 24 2017
REGISTRANTS SUE CITY OF SAN DIEGO IN FEDERAL COURT
August 7, 2017
Two registrants challenged in federal court today residency restrictions within the City of San Diego that prohibit registrants from living within virtually all of the city. The lawsuit was filed after the San Diego City Council refused to repeal the city’s residency restrictions despite a recommendation from the City Attorney because the restrictions are “likely not enforceable”.
During the City Council’s meeting on August 1, Councilmembers defended the city’s residency restrictions and stated that they “don’t like them (registrants) living in our communities” as well as falsely stated that registrants cannot be rehabilitated. One Council member added that rejecting repeal of the city’s residency restrictions contravened “our form of democracy and constitutional justice.”
“The San Diego City residency restrictions are unlawful because they violate the state and federal constitutions,” stated ACSOL executive director Janice Bellucci. “They are also inconsistent with recent court decisions, including a decision by the California Supreme Court that similar restrictions in San Diego County were unreasonable, arbitrary and oppressive.”
In that decision, the California Supreme Court determined that registrants were prohibited from residing in 97 percent of available rental housing in San Diego County which led to increased homelessness as well as restricted access to job opportunities, medical treatment and other social services. According to materials provided by city staff to the San Diego City Council, the city’s residency restrictions prohibit registrants from living in many more places as compared to the law under review in that case.
Before the lawsuit was filed, ACSOL sent a letter to the City of San Diego warning that the city’s residency restrictions were unlawful and threatening legal action if the restrictions were not repealed. During the City Council meeting, the City Council member who made the unsuccessful motion to repeal the city’s residency restrictions predicted that if the restrictions were not repealed, they would be challenged in court.
A total of 26 lawsuits have been filed so far challenging residency restrictions in 26 cities within California. The first lawsuit, challenging residency restrictions in the City of Grover Beach, was filed in June 2015.
THE NEW UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF JUVENILE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION: SUSPENDING THE PRESUMPTION OF CONSTITUTIONALITY FOR LAWS THAT BURDEN JUVENILE OFFENDERS
August 7, 2017
In Smith v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that Alaska’s sex offender registration and notification statute did not constitute punishment and was therefore not susceptible to challenge under the Ex Post Facto Clause. In reaching that conclusion, the Court looked to the seven factors articulated in Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez. To evaluate those factors, the Court applied a presumption of constitutionality, conducting the sort of narrow factual inquiry characteristic of rational basis review. Since Smith, courts have disagreed as to whether sex offender laws are punitive when applied to juveniles, and the Supreme Court has not yet addressed the issue. This Note argues that the Court should suspend the presumption of constitutionality when conducting its ex post facto inquiry for laws that burden juvenile offenders. The Court should do so because the very rationales that underlie the presumption are inapplicable in both the case of juvenile offenders and the ex post facto context. Introduction – Full Paper (pdf)
AL: TEACHER ACCUSED OF SEX WITH STUDENTS GETS CHARGES THROWN OUT AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
August 10, 2017
DECATUR, Ala. – An Alabama teacher accused of having sex with two of her students succeeded in having her charges thrown out on constitutional grounds, Morgan County Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson confirmed Thursday.
Carrie Witt was facing potential prison time for allegedly having sex with two students between 16 and 19 years old while she taught at Decatur High School.
MO: CITY UNION MISSION SUES JACKSON COUNTY SHERIFF OVER ARREST THREATS
August 11, 2017
[The Kansas City Star]
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is targeting some sex offenders for arrest at the City Union Mission because it sits near a park, according to a federal lawsuit alleging that the practice violates the charity’s constitutionally protected rights of religious freedom.
The suit centers on how the sheriff’s office interprets a Missouri law that prohibits certain offenders from “loitering” within 500 feet of a public park that contains a pool or playground equipment.
The mission operates several facilities in the 1100 block of East 10th Street near Margaret Kemp Park, and the sheriff’s office has interpreted that law to cover those offenders at the mission, according to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.
WA: SEATTLE SET TO PREVENT LANDLORDS FROM CONSIDERING APPLICANTS’ CRIMINAL RECORDS
August 12, 2017
[The Seattle Times]
Seattle set to prevent landlords from considering applicants’ criminal records. Seattle landlords would be almost completely prohibited from screening prospective tenants based on their criminal histories, under a proposed ordinance approved by a City Council committee Tuesday.
The only people who could be denied housing based on their criminal histories would be those listed on sex-offender registries because of adult convictions.
And landlords denying housing to such sex offenders would still need to state a legitimate business reason for doing so.
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL: THE CASE AGAINST REGISTERING KIDS AS SEX OFFENDERS
August 14, 2017
[Impact Justice]
America’s kids have racked up some big wins in the nation’s most august court. The victory lap began in 2005 when the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for juveniles. (Roper v. Simons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005).) In 2010, the Court barred mandatory life without parole for juveniles, except those convicted of murder. (Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010).) Two years later, the Court eliminated this exclusion, reasoning that a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release violates juveniles’ constitutional protections against “cruel and unusual punishment.” (Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012).)
The justices’ decisions in these and other cases were based in large part on a body of research that has established important cognitive and other differences between children and adults, especially in the areas of reasoning and impulse control. (See, e.g., Kayla Pope et al., Developmental Neuroscience and the Courts: How Science Is Influencing the Disposition of Juvenile Offenders, 51 J. Am. Acad. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 341 (2012).) These studies provide a sound empirical basis for concluding that juveniles are less blameworthy for their criminal conduct than adults, and thus less deserving of the harshest punishments.
FORT COUNCIL AMENDS SEXUAL OFFENDER DOMICILE RESTRICTIONS
August 17, 2017
[Daily Jefferson County Union]
To comply with recent federal court rulings, the Fort Atkinson City Council has amended its ordinance restricting the placement of sex offenders.
At its meeting Tuesday, the council removed the domicile restriction from the ordinance that had prevented convicted offenders who did not live in Fort Atkinson at the time of their offense from moving into the city once released.
When adopted in February 2016, many other municipalities were including the domicile restriction in their ordinances. Since then, in a federal case titled Hoffman v. the Village of Pleasant Prairie, the Eastern District federal court in Milwaukee has ruled that the restriction is unconstitutional and discriminatory.
Fort Atkinson city attorney David Westrick brought forward the recommendation to remove the restriction to the city’s Ordinance Committee based on his analysis of the court rulings.
AK: GOING HOME – EVEN SEX OFFENDERS SHOULD GET A CHANCE TO REJOIN SOCIETY
August 17, 2017
The good news is that Alaska’s sex offender treatment program works. The bad news is that a shortage of providers creates a many-months-long waiting list that traps sex offenders from rural Alaska in Anchorage, sometimes homeless.
With 250 sex offenders coming out of Alaska prisons annually, 45 percent of them Native, this is a public safety threat and a humanitarian fiasco. We must do better.
This one really made me sad. Like I always say my dad was a police officer and his friends on the force; were my friends too. That did something to me in my early 20’s. It changed how I think about law enforcement. I was also a security guard for a department store around then, where I personally caught over 11 people shoplifting in 1 month; the most ever for that store. I was inspired to get that job by my dad and his friends on the force.
METRO OFFICER WHO PLEADED GUILTY TO CHILD PORN PRESUMABLY COMMITS SUICIDE
August 18, 2017
[KVVU-TV Las Vegas]
A Metro police officer who pleaded guilty to child pornography charges earlier this year has died at the age of 25, one day before he was supposed to answer for his crimes.
Investigators said Officer Ruben Delgadillo was using software to share one of the largest stashes of child pornography in Nevada. He was 24 years old when he was arrested last Aug. and faced the up to 45 years in prison. Officers said Delgadillo told them he knew he had a problem and felt guilty comparing himself to sex offenders arrested in child molestation cases.
Delgadillo was found dead in his bedroom on July 24, the day before his sentencing. Law enforcement sources close to FOX5 said he committed suicide by asphyxiation. The Clark County Coroner’s Office said it is still running tests.
A message from the Women Against Registry (WAR) National Directors:
W.A.R. is Becoming a Major Player
For those of you who might not be aware, Women Against Registry is taking part in the 4th International Conference on Hate Studies in October, 2017. The conference, sponsored by Gonzaga University, will be held on the school’s campus in Spokane, WA. WAR’s participation, following on the heels of our own successful conference, signals an increase in our visibility and our influence within the community. This exposure will ultimately further our ability to affect change. This is a very good thing.
WAR will create a 90-minute podcast that will be shown at the conference. It will be followed with a question and answer session. While sex offenders, registrants, and family members have historically had to deal with hate in various forms, this specific audience is never-the-less, not very familiar with the nuances of our topic. We intend that our podcast be a revelation to these viewers. We intend for them to leave wondering why they didn’t know more about such a serious and disturbing topic.
We recognize that hate is expressed in many forms and for many reasons. But we are making an important distinction between hate and stigma. Hate typically disrupts our lives when someone lashes out in an ugly, hurtful manner, with or without actual facts, in the name of protection or fear. Stigma is something we feel; stigma is heaped on us by haters, employers, landlords, society at large, and, yes, by ourselves; and stigma is that pervasive haunting feeling that can envelop someone slowly, break their spirit, and ultimately, if allowed, destroy their lives and the lives of their families. Hatred and stigma are topics equally worthy of study…….and change.
For our podcast, we have solicited three respected academics/researchers and the sheriff who investigated the brutal murder of a married couple at the hands of a vigilante. They will be interviewed by our own Matt Duhamel. We will intersperse quotes from several high-profile politicians as well as the thoughts of national advocates and organizers. And we may show film footage, news articles, and photographs to drive home the absolute need to increase research, education and conversation about the unintended consequences of the registry, our draconian laws, and the permanent exclusion of an entire subclass of criminals in this country. We need to drive home the point that this kind of treatment does not allow for redemption or rehabilitation; that this kind of treatment is inhumane.
I hope it is clear to you, as it is to us, how important this podcast is to our plight. We will submit the podcast by August 31st. Then, we need to get our presenters to Spokane, WA for the conference. We are humbly asking for donations to accomplish these goals.
Yes, WAR is becoming a substantial player in this arena, but like so many organizations reliant on donations, our membership and fundraising lags behind our desire for change.
Please make your tax deductible donation at the link below. We thank you in advance for your continued efforts no matter how large or small. We are all in this together.
LA: REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER’S MURDER BEING INVESTIGATED AS HATE CRIME
August 20, 2017
An elderly man from Many was killed this morning after being shot in the chest. According to the Sabine Parish Coroner’s Office, sheriff’s deputies arrived in the 1300 block of Matthews Lodge Road — off of LA Hwy. 6 — after an alarm tech found the man in the doorway of a home.
The victim, identified as 72-year-old _____ _____, was located lying face-up on the living room floor of his mobile home, just inside the front door. Deputies say an unknown suspect fired a single shot through the storm door, hitting ____ in the upper chest and killing him instantly.
A definite motive has not been established, but the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, because ____ was a registered sex offender. Full Article
PA: MEGAN’S LAW LIST MIGHT GET SMALLER
August 20, 2017
The number of sex offenders on the state’s Megan’s Law sex offender registry could drop as the result of a July ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, three Valley district attorneys and the Pennsylvania State Police say. Full Article
UNDER LEGAL THREAT, VICTORVILLE TO REPEAL SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY RULES
August 22, 2017
[Victorville Daily Press]
With threat of a lawsuit hanging over its head, the city will repeal local residency restrictions for registered sex offenders and defer to existing state regulations.
The move is not unexpected. Cities across California have been forced to bow to pressure from sex offender law reformists in recent years, while courts have simultaneously limited local regulatory authority.
In December 2014, the City Council reluctantly agreed to align its local ordinance restricting the movements of registered sex offenders with the statewide regulations already in effect.
That decision came after the California chapter of Reform Sex Offender Laws sued the city in August of that year, contending that local ordinances were overkill.
Americans across the country are calling for the removal of statues that lie about the Confederacy and glorify its “heroes.” But whitewashing the Confederacy’s racist history goes far beyond statues.
In 2010 the Texas State Board of Education adopted new and very controversial history standards that force public schools to hide the truth about the Civil War and what caused it. And that problem is not limited just to Texas.
The state board is set to revise the social studies curriculum standards over the next year. You can help make sure Texas schools teach fact-based history:
Sign this petition calling on the State Board of Education to correct the racist history in school curriculum standards.
If you are an educator or other qualified scholar, apply to serve on a state team that will revise the curriculum standards.
Get Confederate ‘Heroes’ Out of Texas Classrooms
History curriculum standards in Texas schools glorify the Confederacy and whitewash the history of slavery and the Civil War. It’s past time to correct this racist history.
Tell the Texas State Board of Education:
Stop whitewashing the history of slavery and the Civil War in Texas schools.
Learn More
Politicians on the State Board of Education in 2010 approved controversial curriculum standards that mislead Texas public school students about the history of the Civil War and slavery in our country.
In fact, the standards downplay the role of slavery in causing the Civil War (Grade 5 TEKS 4E, Grade 7 TEKS 5A, Grade 8 TEKS 8B). They glorify misleading justifications Confederate President Jefferson Davis gave for secession (Grade 8 TEKS 8C). They even portray “Stonewall” Jackson, a Confederate general who took up arms against his country, as someone who modeled “effective leadership in a constitutional republic” (Grade 8 TEKS 22B).
The state board has the opportunity to correct this rewriting of history when it revises the curriculum standards starting this fall.
The cause of the Civil War was the evil institution of slavery. Confederate leaders were not heroes. And it’s past time that politicians, schools and public monuments stopped lying about all of that.
I love the south and I love living in Texas; and always will. When I lived in the north east as a child; I thought that most people were prejudice in the south. I have been almost in every state since then. I lived in Georgia when my wife did her A.I.T. (Advanced Individual Training) for the US Army. I visit my grandparents many time in Florida. I drove across the southern states with my wife to move to Southern California and drove through the deep south once to go to her A.I.T. and then to move to Killeen Texas; after A.I.T. from California. I have lived in Texas since 1994. 98% of the people from the south are extremely friendly: filled to the brim with southern hospitality. That being said I will now post my latest email from SPLC:
AUGUST 26, 2017
Good morning,
Marissa Blair was walking down Fourth Street when the car struck. Her fiancé, Marcus Martin, had just a split second to push her out of its path.
When she got up, all Blair could see of Martin was his bloodied baseball cap lying on the ground, she told The New York Times.
“It terrified me,” said Blair.
She found Martin, his leg broken. But the couple couldn’t find the friend who had been with them on Fourth Street — 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
Heyer died when a white supremacist rammed his car into counterprotesters who were demonstrating against the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. James Alex Fields, 20, is being held without bail on multiple charges, including second-degree murder.
But in six states – North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Rhode Island and North Dakota – Republican lawmakers have proposed measures that could shield drivers who hit protesters from civil liability.
“You can protest all you want, but you can’t protest up on a roadway,” said North Dakota Rep. Keith Kempenitch in January.
Historically, however, you can. After state troopers and a sheriff’s posse beat marchers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965, on a day that would become known as Bloody Sunday, a federal judge ruled on that very question.
“The law is clear,” wrote U.S. District Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr., “that the right to petition one’s government for the redress of grievances may be exercised in large groups. These rights may be exercised by marching, even along public highways.”
Four days after Johnson’s ruling, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led civil rights protesters from Selma to Montgomery in support of voting rights. Just two years earlier, King had stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during another of our country’s most significant protests, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
“Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy,” said King.
Today, as thousands of Americans gather in the streets to make their voices heard in the Trump era, it is again time for their representatives to ensure that the promise of our democracy is reflected in our laws.
Lawmakers should applaud — not criminalize — their constituents’ civic engagement. They should guarantee protesters’ safety, not the safety of the drivers who hit them. They should not pass any measure that threatens to undermine free assembly, as at least 18 states have tried this year to do.
Monday marks 54 years since Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech to 250,000 protesters gathered on the Washington Mall. And it will have been 16 days since Heyer died while resisting the same white supremacy against which King fought.
Our representatives should honor both their memories by protecting a pillar of our democracy – the right to freely assemble in civic protest.
As always, thank you for your support,
The Editors
P.S. Here are some other pieces this week that we think are valuable:
Confederate monuments are more than reminders of our racist past. They are symbols of our racist present. by B. Brian Foster for The Washington Post
We just feel like we don’t belong here anymore by Becca Andrews for Mother Jones
The worst (and best) places to be gay in America by Frank Bruni for The New York Times
Is ‘mass nonviolent action’ needed to fight white supremacists? Civil rights hero John Lewis speaks out. by Abigail Jones for Newsweek
A black man went undercover online as a white supremacist. This is what we learned. by Peter Holley for The Washington Post
We gave to the American Red Cross and I think that is a good one to recommend personally.
I have been getting allot of emails from our great representatives like Sam Johnson. This is a great one from John Culberson.:
Dear Neighbor,
Harvey continues to wreak havoc on Houston and the lives of millions of Texans. Our communities have come together and neighbors are not only helping each other, they are helping strangers in need. This is a great testament to the character of Texans. I am also grateful to all of our first responders and the people of Louisiana and all across the country for risking their lives to help us.
I am in communication with our local elected officials and emergency personnel and my staff is updating my website, Facebook and Twitter to provide you with resources for during and after the storm. Please continue to check these sites for new information.
Harris County Evacuation Assistance Registration: 2-1-1 (County wide) 3-1-1 (in Houston)
United States Coast Guard: 281-464-4851, 281-464-4852, 281-464-4853, 281-464-4854, 281-464-4855
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): 1-800-621-3362 TTY 1-800-462-7585
SHELTERS:
For Houstonians who have been displaced due to the storm, there are several shelters across Harris County.
ADDITONAL RESOURCES:
City of Houston – Houston residents should visit the City of Houston recovery website, or dial 3-1-1 for assistance.
American Red Cross – For shelter, food, clothing, and other emergency assistance, call the American Red Cross at (866) 526-8300.
Harris County Flood Control District – For the latest information on the state of Harris County’s watersheds, visit the website or to report house flooding call 713-684-4000.
Harris County Recovery Network – For questions about general disaster recovery resources available to Harris County residents, please call the Community Services Department team at (713) 696-1998, or visit their website.
I encourage you to continue monitoring updates and instructions from local, state, and federal agencies as well as the Harris County Office of Emergency Management for guidance.
If you believe it is ok to deny registered sex offenders human rights or U.S. Constitutional rights. If you do not believe registered sex offenders are denied their human and constitutional rights or if you are against free speech. Please leave this web page now. Thank you.
By remaining on this web page you here by acknowledge that you support human rights and United States constitutional rights for registered sex offenders and that you support freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
This blog is not for people to be critical of what is posted here and if the reader is critical of anything here than that means they did not read the disclaimer on the top of each of the pages here and are not welcome here and should stop reading and leave this blog upon my request and in the name of freedom of speech, and my rights as a American citizen.
No sexual abuse is ever acceptable. Sex offense laws and policies should be based on sound research and common sense, not fear, panic or paranoia. Current laws and policies that paint all sex offenders with one broad brush are counter- productive, wasteful, and cause needless harm. Each offense must be judged on its own merits with a punishment that fits the crime and does not waste taxpayer dollars. The public sex offender registry and residency restriction laws do not protect children but instead ostracize and dehumanize individuals and their families. Money spent on purely punitive measures would be better used for prevention, healing, and rehabilitation.
The author of SO FAQ does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That doe not mean we are should not vote.
?
Hey, this blog looks real nice on a cell phone; as I have recently discovered.?
Please ignore the official counter on this blog. Shortly after I put this counter on every page of my blog it became impossible to update with it in the html of this blog. I had to take it off all my blog pages. I just realized today it is still on my untouched SOFAQ homepage still and I believe it is true, counting not only computer hits but phone hits as well. I am pasting a copy of it here:
That’s right; the home page of this blog registers 215,050 hits.
check the bottom of this page to see for yourself:
In a far reaching opinion that is sure to send Colorado’s Attorney General scrambling to salvage that state’s registration and notification scheme, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Richard P. Matsch (a Nixon appointee who presided over the trial of Oklahoma City bombing defendant Timothy McVeigh) has held the entire Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act (C.R.S. §§ 16-22-101, et seq) unconstitutional as applied to three plaintiffs who sued the director of Colorado’s Bureau of Investigation (the state agency responsible for maintaining the state’s sex offender registry).
Using the seven factors set forth in Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 144 (1963) that were utilized by the Supreme Court in Smith v. Doe, 538 U.S. 84 (2003), Judge Matsch held that six of the seven factors weighed in favor of finding the state’s SORA requirements punitive in their effects and, therefore, in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Judge Matsch writes:
This ongoing imposition of a known and uncontrollable risk of public abuse of information from the sex offender registry, in the absence of any link to an objective risk to the public posed by each individual sex offender, has resulted in and continues to threaten Plaintiffs with punishment disproportionate to the offenses they committed. Where the nature of such punishment is by its nature uncertain and unpredictable, the state cannot assure that it will ever be proportionate to the offense. SORA as applied to these Plaintiffs therefore violates the Eighth Amendment.
Believing that the U.S. Supreme Court’s collective understanding of the internet has evolved over time, Judge Matsch wrote, “Justice Kennedy’s words [writing the 2003 majority opinion in Smith v. Doe] ring hollow that the state’s website does not provide the public with means to shame the offender when considering the evidence in this case. He and his colleagues did not foresee the development of private, commercial websites exploiting the information made available to them . . . The justices did not foresee the ubiquitous influence of social media . . . Public shaming and banishment are forms of punishment that may be considered cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment.”
Judge Matsch also held the state’s SORA requirements unconstitutionally infirm in violating the Fourteenth Amendment procedural and substantive due process rights of the plaintiffs, as applied.
Since the plaintiffs did not argue that the state’s SORA requirements are facially invalid, the outcome of this case (which is certain to be appealed to the Tenth Circuit) will only apply to the parties named in the complaint. However, the precedential effect of Judge Matsch’s ruling, IF sustained on review, will open a floodgate of litigation that would very likely cause the Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act to buckle and collapse—at least in its present construction.
Of particular interest was the obvious influence of the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Packingham v. North Carolina, _ U.S. _, 137 S.Ct. 1730 (2017) as well as the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Does v. Snyder, 834 F.3d 696 (6th Cir. 2016) which remains on petition before the Supreme Court and is scheduled for conference September 25.
In light of Justice Kennedy’s opinion in the unanimous Packingham decision, Judge Matsch infers that Kennedy’s majority opinion in Smith v. Doe might read much differently were he to have another crack at it:
Packingham also reflects an apparent evolution in the mindset of Justice Kennedy, who authored the majority opinions in both Smith v. Doe and Packingham. In Smith, decided in 2003, Justice Kennedy downplayed the punitive effect of statutory internet notification provisions, finding their “purpose and the principal effect” were “to inform the public for its own safety, not to humiliate the offender”; and that the internet simply makes a public records search “more efficient, cost effective, and convenient” for citizens. Smith, 538 U.S. at 99. In 2017, in addition to noting that restrictions on internet use are a “severe restriction,” Justice Kennedy recognized that the internet and social media websites “can provide perhaps the most powerful mechanisms available to a private citizen to make his or her voice heard. Packingham, 137 S.Ct. At 1737.
This outcome is breathtaking in its scope because it may well be the first time a federal judge has ever held that the essential requirement to register is, in and of itself, an unconstitutional imposition of state law on the basis of the punitive consequential effects to citizens required to register.
NARSOL filed its own amicus brief in the Packingham case which was joined by North Carolina RSOL and ATSA.
IN: JUDGES FIND 2015 LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL AS APPLIED TO REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER
September 1, 2017
A 2015 law meant to prohibit certain sex offenders from entering school property is unconstitutional as it applies to a Howard County man who has already completed his punishment for his 2010 child solicitation conviction, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. Full Article
PA: MONTCO SENATOR’S BILL WOULD REMOVE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT FOR CUSTODY CRIMES
August 31, 2017
[Bucks County Courier Times – Pennsylvania]
After Richard Griffin stole an SUV that was left idling in the parking lot of a Bristol Township convenience store, he quickly learned an 11-year-old passenger was in the backseat.
Once the boy made his presence known, Griffin pulled over and let him out before driving away, according to court records in the 2009 crime.
The boy wasn’t hurt. Griffin was arrested and later pleaded guilty in Bucks County Court to charges including theft, receiving stolen property and interference with custody of children.
The custody offense is the only reason the Philadelphia man is a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania.
FALSELY ACCUSED OF SATANIC HORRORS, A COUPLE SPENT 21 YEARS IN PRISON. NOW THEY’RE OWED MILLIONS.
August 26, 2017
[Washington Post]
Long before the age of the Internet and the fleeting spasms of mass hysteria that came with it (Remember Jade Helm? Pizzagate?), and going back to the late 20th century, when irrational fears moved slower and lasted longer, there was Satan.
The “satanic panic,” some call it now. It began some time in the 1980s, when newscasters and fundamentalist Christian cartoons warned of the evils of the role-playing game “Dungeons & Dragons,” and stretched into the 1990s, when police and psychiatrists saw thousands of unfounded accusations of ritualistic sex abuse and children were seized from British parents accused of devil worship.
One case still stands out.
“This country hasn’t seen anything like it since the Salem witch trials,” Texas Monthly wrote in 1994, in a profile of Austin day-care operators Dan and Fran Keller, who had been thrown in prison two years earlier.
Subject: Take Action: Stand Up for Labor, Stand Up to ALEC
Body:
Friend,
I took an action on Action Network called Stand Up for Labor, Stand Up to ALEC.
When American workers organize, they change our country for the better. The men and women who make up labor unions have fought for fair schedules, family-friendly work environments, job training, higher wages, and so much more. These hard-fought union victories have subsequently elevated the welfare of all working people. Unions offer representation against powerful corporate interests. ALEC would see that representation taken away. In 2017, ALEC model bills have appeared in statehouses across the country pushing anti-labor policies. In Florida, ALEC legislators have introduced a bill to prohibit the establishment of a living wage. In Georgia, ALEC members sponsored a bill to preempt local ordinances requiring fair scheduling of workers. Kentucky’s statehouse saw a bill that would prevent workers from making claims on injuries. Unsurprisingly, it bore the calling card of ALEC. ALEC has launched a crusade against American workers and the unions that represent them. ALEC wants to see labor weakened and isolated. ALEC know that when Americans organize, we are powerful. This Labor Day, lets remember the power of organization. Pledge to protect the rights of workers. Pledge to stand up for labor and Stand Up to ALEC.
“It may seem ridiculously early, but the contest for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020 is already in full swing. We’ll evaluate the early hopefuls.” from GayUSA email.
Facebook told a congressional panel on Wednesday that it sold $100,000 in ads to a Russian company seeking to influence voters in the 2016 U.S. election.
The Washington Post reports:
Facebook officials reported that they traced the ad sales, totaling $100,000, to a Russian “troll farm” with a history of pushing pro-Kremlin propaganda, these people said.
A small portion of the ads, which began in the summer of 2015, directly named Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, the people said. Most of the ads focused on pumping politically divisive issues such as gun rights and immigration fears, as well as gay rights and racial discrimination.
Facebook made the discovery as part of an internal investigation launched in the spring:
It found that 3,300 ads had digital footprints that led to the Russian company.
Facebook teams then discovered 470 suspicious and likely fraudulent Facebook accounts and pages that it believes operated out of Russia, had links to the company and were involved in promoting the ads.
New Blogs Part 8 Updated September 07 2017
I am posting this after reading it in my GayUSA email. I am posting it because I have always suspected the Jewish religion of being hung up about anything with the word sex in it; like Sex Offender. All due respect to the Jewish people. This is just proof of what I always say about religion is the RSO’s biggest enemy. There is only one population more condemned by all religions than RSO and that is all LGBTQ folks.
Israeli Supreme Court rules same-sex ‘marriage’ not a civil right
Homosexuality , Israel , Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ , Supreme Court
JERUSALEM, September 1, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — The Israeli Supreme Court unanimously rejected homosexual “marriage.”
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association in the Jewish nation demanded that the law against same-sex “marriage” be declared unconstitutional, but on Thursday the court turned them down. The LGBTQI organization argued that Israel’s Basic Law of Human Dignity and Liberty should be legally interpreted as recognizing homosexual “marriage.”
The country’s highest court agreed that “Israeli civil law does not recognize same-sex marriage.” In fact, there is no such thing as “civil marriage” in the country. Therefore, “the petitioners’ request to have the civil court rule on something under the jurisdiction of the rabbinical courts … is not applicable here.”
Israel has two coexisting court systems. Religious courts deal with “personal status” issues such as marriage, divorce, and the like. (There are Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Druze [a sect of Islam] courts in Israel.)
New Blogs Part 8 Updated September 14 2017
This is not just regular everyday people! I know from my wife being in the military and living off base; military people are extraordinary people, the best of the best.
Donald Trump and his bigoted White House staff are attacking the LGBTQ community – yet again. Recently he took to Twitter to announce his intention to reinstate a hateful and discriminatory ban on transgender people serving in the military. In the coming days the White House will reportedly issue a policy memo to formalize the terms of this discriminatory ban.1
Trump’s direct assault on transgender people is grounded, like most of his hateful decisions, in blatant lies. In his unhinged Twitter announcement, Trump claimed that he arrived at his decision after “consultation with my Generals (sic) and military experts”2 – but the Pentagon press office reportedly “didn’t know anything about” Trump’s decision.3
Fortunately, Trump does not get to make this decision on his own. Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Sen. John McCain has already spoken out against a transgender ban in the military. Now he needs to put his words into action by using the currently pending defense policy bill to stand up to Trump and block this hateful and discriminatory proposal.
Tell Sen. McCain: Stand up to Trump’s bigotry. Ensure that the National Defense Authorization Act blocks and prohibits Trump’s discriminatory transgender troops ban.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — After a decade, it was the judgment that Brian Banks and his lawyers from the California Innocence Project fought for: Case dismissed.
“My only dream in the world was to just be free and to have the same opportunity as everybody here,” said Banks following Thursday’s hearing.
At age 16, Brian Banks had been a popular student at Polytechnic High in Long Beach, an athlete being scouted by eight colleges.
He verbally accepted an offer to attend the University of Southern California on a four-year scholarship when a serious accusation came from a fellow classmate and childhood friend.
Wanetta Gibson, then 15 years old, claimed Banks had raped her at school. With a case of he said she said, Banks did as his lawyers urged — to plead no contest and accept a short prison term rather than risk a long one.
Gibson collected $1.5 million after suing the school. Banks spent five years in prison and five years on parole, finally reaching out to California Project Innocence. But the case turned when the alleged victim contacted him through Facebook asking to be his friend.
FL: RETIRED OFFICER OPPOSES SEX OFFENDER DESIGNATION ON NEW FLORIDA LICENSES
August 29, 2017
Shalimar, Florida’s WEAR ran a story on the newly designed Florida driver’s licenses. One surprising opinion about the new license came from a retired parole officer, who commented on the sex offender designation on licenses for those registered. Here’s what he had to say:
“The new license turns heads in Okaloosa County; including Don Gatchell’s. He’s a retired parole officer with the state of Florida who worries an old, but remodeled feature – a mandatory sexual offender identification on the card – may be too much.
“My honest opinion now that I have been out of it for 10 years, retired, I think we’re overdoing it with the sex offenders. I mean, I know there are some guys out there, sex offenders, that are bad, but not all sex offenders are bad. You got people out there who are on probation for underage sex for example,” Gatchell said. He worries the ID will cause unnecessary prejudice in the lives of those impacted”
PA: MONTCO SENATOR’S BILL WOULD REMOVE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT FOR CUSTODY CRIMES
August 31, 2017
[Bucks County Courier Times – Pennsylvania]
After Richard Griffin stole an SUV that was left idling in the parking lot of a Bristol Township convenience store, he quickly learned an 11-year-old passenger was in the backseat.
Once the boy made his presence known, Griffin pulled over and let him out before driving away, according to court records in the 2009 crime.
The boy wasn’t hurt. Griffin was arrested and later pleaded guilty in Bucks County Court to charges including theft, receiving stolen property and interference with custody of children.
The custody offense is the only reason the Philadelphia man is a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania.
CO: JUDGE FINDS COLORADO SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY UNCONSTITUTIONAL
August 31, 2017
A federal court judge in Denver has called the public sex offender registry in Colorado “cruel and unusual punishment.” Full Article Also see: Millard-v.-Rankin-13-cv-02406-Colorado
WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT SEX OFFENDERS IS WRONG, ATTORNEY SAYS
September 6, 2017
[westworld.com]
As writer Alan Prendergast reported, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch has ruled that Colorado’s sex-offender registry violates the due-process rights of three plaintiffs, thereby amounting to cruel and unusual punishment. Boulder attorney Alison Ruttenberg, who filed the case in 2013, sees the opinion as the potential death knell for a law enforcement tool that, in her view, perpetuates factually dubious notions that fall apart when examined in an evenhanded way.
“Everybody always jumps to the conclusion that all sex offenders are like the type of sex offender that’s vilified on Oprah Winfrey or John Walsh’s show: the serial, violent pedophile always looking for his next victim, who rapes and murders children. That stereotype applies to maybe a handful of convicted sex offenders in Colorado, and certainly nowhere near all the 18,000 men and women we have on our registry.”
FL: SHERIFF SUED AFTER THREATENING TO ARREST FUGITIVES WHO SOUGHT HURRICANE SHELTER
September 11, 2017
A Florida sheriff who threatened to jail fugitives with warrants if they sought shelter during Hurricane Irma has been sued by a man who claims he was denied entry to a shelter.
We really need these people during times of natural disasters!
As unnatural disasters occupied the headlines last week, Congress quietly passed a bill to keep the federal government running for the next three months. This sets up a hot debate this fall as they figure out how much money to give federal agencies in 2018.
The Environmental Protection Agency is on the chopping block, and it’s going to be up to us to stop even more cuts to this critical agency.
Tell your members of Congress: You MUST protect funding for the EPA.
As I’m writing, the House is adopting a spending bill for 2018 that would slash the EPA’s budget by 7% ($528 million).
This is completely unacceptable.
Although 7% is an improvement compared to the Trump administration’s unsuccessful attempt at a 31% cut, it remains a huge threat to all of us who benefit from critical protections for our drinking water and the health of the air we breathe. The EPA is already underfunded, we cannot cut the agency any more! No cuts, no matter what amount, are acceptable.
Critical EPA programs including their science, research programs, and enforcement of clean air and water rules are now under significant threat.
It’s up to us to stop this decimation from happening.
In addition to the outlined program cuts, the overall EPA staffing level is rapidly diminishing, giving us yet another reason to act quickly. Nearly 400 workers left the EPA this summer (primarily from buyouts), and upcoming departures will take the agency’s staffing to its lowest point in almost 30 years.¹
John O’Grady, a career EPA employee who heads a national council of EPA unions, said if the Trump administration follows through on its plan to eliminate thousands of employees, it would lead to “the utter destruction of the U.S. EPA.”²
Stand up for what is right: demand that your members of Congress reject any slashes to EPA funding!
Despite EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s unconscionable efforts to undermine the agency, the daily headlines alone are enough of an example why we need agencies like the EPA to be sufficiently supported. Harvey and Irma left communities swimming in raw sewage, with human waste and chemicals flowing through waterways.³ In this horrific aftermath, the EPA has to have the resources they need to protect public health.
Keep in mind, these cuts are NOT a done deal. The House bill is only one step in the process. The Senate also has to act and come to some agreement with the House.
Your members of Congress need to hear from you now, before their final decisions are made!
Sign now with Food & Water Action to tell Congress: protect our environment and our future — save the EPA!
As we bring light to this terrible budget proposal on a national level, Food & Water Watch is playing a leading role in regional and local fights to protect the EPA — bringing this work to key congressional districts.
We know together, we can stand up to the administration’s attacks, protect our most essential resources and rebuild a future we can all believe in.
If you or a loved one has been falsely accused of a sex crime, there are ways to obtain help in your situation. Below is a list of organizations, advocacy groups, and resources for those who have been falsely accused, in need of support, or want to get involved. Although the main purpose of some of these organizations may be focused on victims, many of these groups also reach out to those who are falsely accused to offer aid through resources and information.
Save Our Sons is an organization that seeks to provide resources to young men who have been falsely accused of sex crimes, especially on college campuses. The organization fights to preserve young men’s college dreams and for them to not be inhibited by a false accusations.
SAVE is a resource for those wrongly accused of domestic violence. The organization has ongoing media efforts, which further draw attention to the problem of domestic violence and policy reforms.
Innocence Project serves to exonerate those falsely accused and reform criminal policy. They work to raise awareness of the problems faced by those who are falsely accused and convicted of crimes. They can help get those who are falsely accused in contact with other organizations.
National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) https://narsol.org
NARSOL helps to provide holistic healing for those wrongfully accused. In addition, NARSOL supports legislation dealing with reforming criminal justice laws and advocates for victims’ rights.
The NSVC helps give resources, support, and leadership to those wrongly accused of sexual violence. They focus on developing resources that eliminate actual sexual violence instead of punishing those who have been falsely accused.
SASH advocates the promotion of sexual health. The organization addresses what can happen because of wrongful sexual behavior and seeks to provide alternatives to help those dealing with wrongful sexual tendencies.
ASCOL strives to protect the civil rights of citizens under the Constitution and supports legislation in favor of protecting those wrongfully accused. The organization offers resources and information to those who have faced wrongful accusation or illegal treatment by authorities.
The NCFM fights to remove the problematic gender-based stereotypes for young boys and men. The organization raises awareness that not only women are inhibited by society, but men are too. The NCFM supports men who choose to break from society’s typical standards.
The organization strives to protect and advocate children who are wrongfully blamed of violating sex laws. They focus on supporting individuals who are accused of violating laws without intent or when all elements of the crime do not exist in the facts of the case.
FACE supports families whose sons have been inaccurately accused of sexual assault on college campuses. Through their extensive list of attorneys and experience, FACE can advise families on the next steps for overcoming the situation.
CSOM supports state and local governments in their sex offender management programs. The organization also creates training for sex offenders across the United States.
ATSA works to prevent sexual abuse in communities through their research, education, and resources. They promote sound research instead of the distribution of statistics that are inaccurate. They also support informed policy and comprehensive prevention of sexual abuse.
IBC works with those who suffer from cybersex and other Internet addictions. The organization offers research and resources to help those who suffer from internet addictions.
The Kempe Foundation serves abused and neglected children on multiple levels. Through clinical care, advocacy, research, and education, the foundation helps and cares for children in need. Children who have been falsely accused may seek help from The Kempe Foundation.
This organization educates the wrongfully accused of their rights before and during the trial process, while providing resources to help support those going through a wrongful conviction.
FER seeks to help fathers, children, and families receive equality when it comes to raising children. FER can help guide men through the legal process if they have been wrongfully accused and offer educational services on how to face everyday issues of being a father.
The Center provides a comfortable space where children can tell the authorities of their abuse without fear. The Center also provides support and guidance through the court process. Children who have been wrongfully accused can also seek help from the Children’s Advocacy Center.
The NEA works to improve the public education system and help teachers who have been wrongly accused of sexual assault. They offer leadership and education services on what teachers should do in situations where a student seeks a relationship with a teacher.
SAFE is a human rights organization that provides domestic abuse relief to each individual, especially those who are often overlooked by the criminal justice system such as the elderly, teenagers, heterosexual men, and others.
The Child Welfare Information Gateway provides resources for adults who have been falsely accused of sexual assault by children and the proper course of action to take. They focus on providing resources and information to those who have been falsely accused.
The North American Council on Adoptable Children seeks to connect children in need of a family to a family in need of a child. The Council also provides support and resources for family members who have been falsely accused of sexual abuse by their foster child.
Once Fallen is a leading resource internet page for those who have been wrongfully convicted or who seek to reform strict sex offender laws. They focus on providing accurate information to the public and offering help to those who have been wrongfully accused of a sex crime.
The Family Support Line supports those who have been a victim of false accusations of child abuse. They provide services such as prevention training, treatment, and advocacy.
Family Arrested is a blog seeking to connect families who suffer from a loved one undergoing false accusations. They promote accurate information and provide resources to those with loved ones going through the criminal justice process.
This website helps sex offenders on their recovery. They provide a safe space, support, and resources for both sex offenders and those wrongfully convicted of sex crimes.
The Arc advocates for those who have been falsely accused with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They offer support and services such as employment and leisure programs.
Women who are wrongfully registered as sex offenders are often denied housing and jobs to support their families. WAR believes in the removal of the registry in order to provide an equal opportunity for women to raise their children.
Prison Fellowship supports the convicted and the families of those convicted by giving them hope. Prison Fellowship gives love and understanding to those falsely accused and their families.
S-ANON helps to provide comfort to families whose loved one have been convicted. Through their meetings and programs, they help people navigate their situation and receive support.
New Blogs Part 8 Updated September 21 2017
What boggles my mind is the RSO community does not realize that the LGBTQ community has suffered beyond measure; compared to them. The one defense that I keep hearing from the RSO community is; we believe in our religion. What they do not seem to understand is religion put them on the registry.
University police in the US state of Georgia have shot and killed an LGBT student activist, sparking an inquiry.
Police encountered Scout Schultz, 21, outside a campus dormitory in Atlanta after a call about “a person with a knife and a gun” late on Saturday.
Video shows Schultz refusing to obey police commands, and advancing on them. A family lawyer said Schultz was holding a closed multi-tool.
The student’s parents said police should not have used lethal force.
“Why did you have to shoot?” the victim’s father said at an emotional news conference on Monday. “That’s the question, I mean that’s the only question that matters right now. Why did you kill my son?”
New Blogs Part 8 Updated September 29 2017
Tell Congress: Protect LGBTQ people from discrimination – pass the Do No Harm Act.
The petition to Congress reads:
“Pass the Do No Harm Act to ensure that no one can use the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act to justify discrimination.”
When right-wing, anti-LGBTQ extremists want to discriminate against LGBTQ people across the country, they often use religion as an excuse. Unfortunately, there is a federal law that helps protect their bigotry: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The federal RFRA was designed to protect the rights of religious minorities. Today, it is mainly used to justify discrimination, and state legislators and governors have used it to justify enacting similar legislation on a state level across the country.
We have a chance to fix that.
Progressive champion Rep. Joe Kennedy III, along with Rep. Bobby Scott and 50 other co-sponsors, has introduced the Do No Harm Act – long-overdue legislation to reaffirm that one person’s religious freedom can never be used to deny another one’s civil rights.1
Tell Congress: Stand with Rep. Joe Kennedy III. Pass the Do No Harm Act. Click here to sign the petition.
RFRAs are helping right-wing bigots and lawmakers across the country refuse medical treatment to women and LGBTQ people, deny women reproductive health care, justify discrimination in hiring, override nondiscrimination laws, and challenge the legitimacy of state laws against child abuse and domestic violence.2
In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court made an extreme interpretation of RFRAs in the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case. It ruled that for-profit businesses could exclude birth control from their employees’ health-care plans even though the Affordable Care Act mandated a birth control benefit.3 In other words, the Supreme Court allowed Hobby Lobby to withhold basic and vital health care services from their employees all across the country based on the owner’s religious beliefs.
The Do No Harm Act would explicitly prevent the federal RFRA from being used by agencies and organizations that receive government funding to justify or defend discrimination in cases of wages and collective bargaining, access to health care, public accommodations, child labor and abuse, or social services.4
This legislation would create a clear distinction between religious freedom and a license to discriminate. Under the Do No Harm Act, government clerks would be prohibited from refusing marriage licenses to same-sex couples; hospitals that receive government funding would be mandated to provide equal access to appropriate health care to women and transgender people; foster and adoption agencies wouldn’t be able to refuse to work with same-sex couples; and businesses wouldn’t be able to deny reproductive health care to their employees.
Our lawmakers never meant for the federal RFRA to become a tool hateful right-wing bigots abuse to justify discrimination. The Do No Harm Act is a chance to fix it.
Tell Congress: Stand with Rep. Joe Kennedy III. Pass the Do No Harm Act. Click here to sign the petition.
Passing the Do No Harm Act will be an uphill battle, especially with our current bigoted, Republican-held Congress. But now is the moment to build momentum and make sure that all politicians know that the vast majority of Americans support equal protection under the law for LGBTQ people. Standing for equal rights is standing on the right side of history. We have to make sure that Congress feels the pressure to stand with us.
Tell Congress: Pass the Do No Harm Act. Click the link below to sign the petition:
Tell your Senator: Remove FCC Chairman Pai. Protect Net Neutrality.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai should be removed from his job immediately.
Since he joined the FCC, he’s worked to undo policies designed to protect internet users, communities of color and poor people. While he’s supposed to protect the public interest, he’s continuously voted against it and sided with the deep-pocketed corporations — like Verizon — that once employed him.
He’s failing at his job. And we need the Senate to fire him.
And we have an opportunity. The Senate has to vote to reconfirm Pai by the end of the year or he’s out.
Here’s what that means for us: We can get every single member of the Senate on the record about Net Neutrality and a whole lot more. If they vote for Pai, that’s a vote to end the internet as we know it by destroying Net Neutrality protections, and to shut off phone and internet service for people who are struggling. Not a single senator should support that agenda.
Please click “start writing” to send an email to your senators. Let them know they need to stand up for what’s right and fire FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
Participating organizations:
AllOfUs
Center for Media Justice
Daily Kos
Demand Progress
National Hispanic Media Coalition
People Demanding Action
Presente Action
New Blogs Part 8 Updated October 04 2017
This was me back in 1997; when I should have pleaded not guilty and plea bargained for deferred adjudicated probation. Even the mean old judge said “I don’t know why anyone would plead guilty to this”
The Atlantic has a good roundup of US Supreme Court cases related to criminal justice coming up in the term which just began, and Grits was interested to note Class v. United States, in which “the justices will ponder an unusual legal question: If a defendant pleads guilty to a crime, does he or she lose the right to challenge that crime’s constitutionality?”
In an era when 97% or so of criminal cases end in plea bargains, this is a significant question.
In Texas the issue of whether challenges to a conviction may arise from a guilty plea arose in Ex Parte Tuley, a case decided in 2002 and which your correspondent hadn’t considered in many years. The Tuley case challenged a conviction in which the defendant was in fact actually innocent, but pled guilty to avoid a much harsher sentence in the face of false accusations of sexual abuse by a child victim. The final ruling included a wonderful passage written by then Court of Criminal Appeals
Judge Tom Price:
I think it is colossal hypocrisy to exclaim, “we are shocked, positively shocked,” that a person who has pleaded guilty pursuant to a negotiated plea bargain would never do so unless he were truly guilty and believed himself guilty. Who are we kidding? It is true that Mr. Tuley did sign and swear to a form stipulation that “the following facts [tracking the indictment allegations] are true and correct and constitute the evidence in this case.” He, of course, did not design the form. It is certainly accurate to say that there was some evidence already admitted in the original trial that would support a finding that the indictment allegations were true.
It is also true that the trial judge asked the magic question: ?“Are you pleading guilty because you are in fact guilty and for no other reason?” and applicant responded: ?“Yes, ma‘am.” Does this make him a perjurer? A self-admitted liar?
Suppose Mr. Tuley had been given a dose of truth serum. Now, in response to the magic question, he responds:
Your Honor, I do not believe that I am guilty. In fact, I know that I am not guilty. However, the present jury is deadlocked. Some of those jurors may believe that I am not guilty, but others obviously differ. A different jury could conceivably find me guilty and sentence me to life in prison. That is a very serious risk to me. Furthermore, I do not have enough money to pay my lawyer for conducting a second trial. I am worried that I might have to go to jail just to be entitled to an appointed lawyer for a second trial. I have a job. I would lose my job if I had to go to jail for months waiting for a second trial. Quite frankly, I am out of money and out of time. I just want to go home. The State has made a very attractive offer of ten years deferred adjudication. This is an offer I cannot refuse, given the obvious risks I face if I continue to maintain my innocence and insist upon a second trial. So, even though I am innocent of this charge, I want to plead guilty because I am making a fully informed, free, voluntary and rational choice among the alternative courses of action available to me.
The trial judge, hearing this unusual response, is likely to say something along the lines of:
How can you expect me to accept your plea of guilty? This is a very serious offense and it carries a potential life sentence if you should violate the terms of your community service. How can you expect me to accept a guilty plea to the first degree offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child if you say you are not guilty, but you want to plead guilty anyway? And besides, I heard the same evidence that the jury heard and I am not fully persuaded that the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. I refuse to accept your guilty plea and we will set this case for another trial.
Mr. Tuley, then, is likely to say:
Judge, whose side are you on? Are you on my side? I just want to plead guilty. I didn’t do it. I know that, but I also know that the prosecution has a child complainant who says that I did. I have a drug problem and a jury is likely to hold that against me, and, frankly, I look dishonest. Nobody is going to believe me. Now, do me a favor and let me plead guilty and get my ten years deferred. This is a good deal. I want to take it. Don’t stand in my way.
But an honorable trial judge might reasonably respond:
But, if you’re not guilty, I cannot take your guilty plea. I am worried about this man pleading guilty to something he is not guilty of. That is just wrong, and I can’t allow that kind of an injustice to take place in my court.
Mr. Tuley’s honest reaction might well be: ?“Don’t be my friend. With friends like you, who needs enemies?” Instead, Mr. Tuley’s lawyer would probably yank him off to the corner and after a certain whispering back and forth, Mr. Tuley will see the light He will now respond appropriately to the magic question: ?“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty and for no other reason?” with the right answer: ?“Yes, ma‘am.”
Climate change has fueled the devastation caused by hurricanes in Houston, Puerto Rico and Florida, and raging wildfires in the northwest.1 That’s why we’ve worked with Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii to introduce the strongest federal legislation to date to end our addiction to fossil fuels.
We’re already seeing devastating impacts of climate change — violent hurricanes, droughts and floods, warming oceans, altered growing seasons, and more.
We need to move America off fossil fuels and transition to 100% renewable energy if we want to keep a livable planet.
The good news? Representative Tulsi Gabbard introduced legislation to get us there.
The Off Fossil Fuels for a Better Future Act would transition us to 100% renewable energy by 2035. This visionary, ambitious legislation also places a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects and recognizes that the next 10 years are critical.
It’s time to make it clear to Congress that we want it passed into law.
Sign below to urge your member of Congress to support and co-sponsor this urgent, groundbreaking bill.
MN: THE LEGAL FIGHT OVER MINNESOTA’S SEX OFFENDER PROGRAM COULD HAVE RAMIFICATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY
September 29, 2017
A battle started by a handful of sex offenders in Minnesota has mounted into a constitutional debate that could set a new precedent for civil commitment programs across the United States.
The U.S. Supreme Court could decide early next week if it plans to dive in and hear a case arguing that the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) is unconstitutional. Whether or not they decide to take on the case, the justices’ decision will have ramifications for the 19 states that have similar programs, some of which are dealing with the same legal questions as Minnesota. Full Article
FL: SEX OFFENDER SUES ECSO OVER ‘DEFAMATORY’ BILLBOARD CALLING HIM SEXUAL PREDATOR
September 29, 2017
An inmate is suing the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, claiming one of its billboards mislabeled him as a sexual predator, instead of a sex offender. Full Article
TX: THE COST OF TEXAS’ SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION PROGRAM
October 1, 2017
As of September 1, 2017, the State of Texas had 90,616 registered sex offenders.
Sex offender registration has been around a long time in Texas—since 1991, in fact. The state legislature has continually amended or tweaked these programs ever since. For example, the legislature mandated that the public be notified about registered sex offenders in 1995 following the 1993 abduction/murder of seven-year-old Ashley Estell in Plano, Texas. Full Article
COLUMN: SEX OFFENDER RESTRICTION ABOUT SCHOOL PROXIMITY UNNECESSARY
October 1, 2017
I applaud the members of the Lewiston City Council for tabling their decision on a sex offender restriction zone to give the matter more thought.
This is the kind of issue for somebody who has no stake in the matter that seems obvious. Disallowing sex offenders to live within 750 feet of a school or daycare appears, on the surface, to be a smart move but, upon closer inspection, has no basis in history or science. Full Article
MI: MICHIGAN’S SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY NEEDS REFORM, U.S. SUPREME COURT DECIDES (AUDIO)
October 5, 2017
[Florida Action Committee]
J.J. Prescott, a University of Michigan law professor and expert on sex offender laws, talks about the state of the sex offender registry in Michigan, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision not to review a lower court’s ruling that the registry violates Ex Post Facto Laws.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued on Friday a lengthy but sufficiently vague guidance on protecting “religious liberty.” It is what one observer aptly termed a blueprint for structural inequality that encourages federal agencies to perpetuate discrimination in the name of religion. Women and LGBTQ Americans will bear the brunt of its intent, but once unleashed, so-called “religious liberty” can be used to justify discrimination against any minority.
I do not have a Twitter or Facebook account; but if you do this is a great idea. I have; and still do admire, Human Rights Campaign for their incredible ideas. They are genius’s. They sent me a email on my input for a t shirt once. I always send my ACLU and Gay Rights contribution’s with Human Rights Campaign sticker’s all over them.
“Your silence will not protect you.”
Nearly 40 years after Audre Lorde wrote these words, they still ring true … especially today.
Equality doesn’t have a fighting chance if we stay in the closet!
Yet coming out is a process. It took me a long time to come out publicly … but I mustered the courage –– built up in me by my friends, teammates and others who had come out before me. Their visibility gave me hope, so I could be my authentic self. And I’ve never looked back –– not even when my brother, Newt, became Speaker of the House of Representatives.
That’s why National Coming Out Day is important – it’s a day to proudly be yourself – whether you are LGBTQ or an ally. It’s a way to pay it forward, and strengthen our network of support.
So let’s unite in a visible display of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people! Take a second to post a message about how you are coming out for equality today. Once you post, a pin will be added to our virtual National Coming Out Day map.
Let’s light up our map and give hope to people who need help on their journeys.
This is a small step to take, but imagine how your post, combined with thousands of others, will help a young LGBTQ person know that they aren’t the only one. Your action today will welcome them into our community with a powerful message: that we believe they are perfect … just the way they are.
Whether you are an LGBTQ person, or an ally –– please make your support of LGBTQ people visible today.
Trump regularly mocks Pence’s religion — and even joked he wanted to ‘hang’ all LGBT people: report
Don’t miss stories. Follow Raw Story!
A new report from the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer claims that President Donald Trump regularly keeps Vice President Mike Pence in his place by mocking his Christian faith.
According to Mayer’s sources, Trump enjoys ribbing Pence for his right-wing Christian views by portraying him as a Taliban-style fundamentalist who wants to execute all LGBT people.
During a recent conversation on gay rights, for instance, Trump allegedly pointed at Pence and said, “Don’t ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!”
Additionally, Trump likes to ridicule Pence’s commitment to overturning Roe V. Wade by noting that many blue states would simply vote to legalize abortion even if the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 ruling that gave every woman in the United States the right to have an abortion.
“You’ve wasted all this time and energy on it, and it’s not going to end abortion anyway,” Trump told Pence, according to two sources.
Mayer also reports that Trump asks people who have just come out of visiting with Pence if the vice president made them say prayers during their meeting.
Trump Once Joked Pence Wants to ‘Hang’ All LGBT People: Report
October 16, 2017, 6:46 AM GMT
A new report from the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer claims that President Donald Trump regularly keeps Vice President Mike Pence in his place by mocking his Christian faith.
According to Mayer’s sources, Trump enjoys ribbing Pence for his right-wing Christian views by portraying him as a Taliban-style fundamentalist who wants to execute all LGBT people.
During a recent conversation on gay rights, for instance, Trump allegedly pointed at Pence and said, “Don’t ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!”
Additionally, Trump likes to ridicule Pence’s commitment to overturning Roe V. Wade by noting that many blue states would simply vote to legalize abortion even if the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 ruling that gave every woman in the United States the right to have an abortion.
“You’ve wasted all this time and energy on it, and it’s not going to end abortion anyway,” Trump told Pence, according to two sources.
Mayer also reports that Trump asks people who have just come out of visiting with Pence if the vice president made them say prayers during their meeting.
Pence spokesperson won’t deny he ‘wants to hang’ all gay people
By Bil Browning · Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Mike Pence
Vice President Mike Pence’s spokesperson pushed back against The New Yorker piece that claimed President Trump “joked” that Pence “wants to hang” all gay people. What they won’t say is that he doesn’t actually wish death on LGBTQ people.
“Articles like this are why the American people have lost so much faith in the press,” Alyssa Farah, press secretary for the vice president, told the Washington Blade. “The New Yorker piece is filled with unsubstantiated, unsourced claims that are untrue and offensive.”
When the Blade responded to clarify whether Trump’s claim was one of the “untrue and offensive” claims, Farah didn’t respond.
Pence has a history as a right wing extremist member of Congress and radio host. He has opposed nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, supported a federal constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage, opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” and opposed a federal hate crimes law.
As Governor of Indiana, Pence infamously signed into law legislation that would allow businesses to refuse to serve LGBTQ people, spurring a nationwide backlash. When Pence appeared on television to defend the law, he repeatedly refused to say whether or not the law would allow for discrimination and whether or not he supported nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.
The black eye the law gave the state tanked Pence’s chance of reelection. Most pundits thought his political career was over until Trump offered him the VP spot in order to shore up the support of the religious right.
New Blogs Part 8 Updated October 20 2017
FL: SEX OFFENDERS MAY SOON BE ABLE TO LIVE CLOSER TO SCHOOLS, DAY CARE CENTERS IN JACKSONVILLE
October 10, 2017
Registered sex offenders in the River City may soon be able to live closer to schools, public libraries and other places children frequent if the Jacksonville City Council has anything to say about it.
The city council will undergo a second reading of city ordinance 2017-667 on Tuesday. The bill’s primary function is to reduce the required distance a registered sex offender or predator can reside near various locations from 2,500 feet to 1,500 feet, according to the bill’s description.
The bill also advises, if passed, that new and upcoming day care centers will be required to plan their locations around the 1,500 feet-rule for sex offenders. Full Article
IN: SEX OFFENDER CLASS FOR PRISONERS VIOLATES CONSTITUTION, JUDGE RULES
October 17, 2017
[indystar.com]
A federal judge has ruled that Indiana’s mandated sex offender classes for prisoners who oppose them violates the constitutional right to be free from self-incrimination.
The Sept. 28 ruling in the class-action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Indiana will affect all convicted, incarcerated sex offenders who opt out of the Indiana Sex Offender Monitoring and Management, or SOMM, program. Three of the plaintiffs will be eligible for release from prison.
The Indiana attorney general’s office has filed an emergency request to temporarily halt the case pending an appeal, saying the decision could put the public at risk by putting convicted sex offenders back on the streets.
CO: COUNTY SEX-OFFENDER REGISTRY PULLED DOWN BECAUSE OF LAWSUIT FEARS
October 17, 2017
[westword.com]
As we’ve reported, Montrose County, on Colorado’s Western Slope, pulled its sex-offender list offline following a recent court ruling in which U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch found that such registries constituted cruel and unusual punishment in the case of three plaintiffs. The ruling is specific to the complainants in question, rather than everyone on the roster, and Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman has announced her intention to appeal. So why make the move now? According to a representative from the sheriff’s office in Montrose, a fear of lawsuits.
“There are attorneys out there going around and finding people to sue for stuff of this nature,” says Undersheriff Adam Murdie. “We know it’s going to trickle down to the counties eventually, so we’re kind of preempting that.”
Tell Congress: Transgender people deserve basic civil rights
Anti-LGBTQ Republican extremists in Congress are trying to forbid the federal government from providing basic civil rights protections to transgender people.
The deceptively named “Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017”1 would keep laws that protect people from gender discrimination from applying to transgender people – leaving transgender men and women out in the cold and open to bigoted attacks.2
All people deserve civil rights protections. This blatant attempt to undermine the rights of transgender people is despicable. We have to send a message to anti-LGBTQ lawmakers that we will not stand for rollbacks of vital protections.
Tell Congress: Protect the rights of transgender people. Block and resist the Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017.
Attacks against LGBTQ people have been relentless under the current regime. Right-wing bigot and Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently rescinded an Obama-era policy to protect transgender people in the workplace.3 Earlier this month Donald Trump became the first-ever sitting president to speak at Values Voter Summit, an event produced by the outspoken anti-LGBTQ hate group the Family Research Council.4 Additionally, Trump is filling courts all across the country with outwardly anti-LGBTQ judges,5 and just last week, The New Yorker reported that Trump regularly jokes about Mike Pence’s horrifying and dangerous personal bigotry against LGBTQ people.6 It’s not funny, it’s dangerous.
The Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017 would forbid the federal government from applying any existing protections against gender discrimination to transgender people – including retroactively limiting Title IX, the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, the Fair Housing Act and the Affordable Care Act.7 The authors are doing this by dictating that “the words ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ shall not be interpreted to mean ‘gender identity’, and the words ‘man’ and ‘woman’ shall refer exclusively to a person’s genetic sex.”8
This is not only discriminatory and cruel – it’s absurd, unenforceable and exposes Republican bigots’ deep-seated fear of people expressing their true gender and whole identities outside of an imaginary – yet harshly policed – gender binary.
But science and logic have never stopped anti-LGBTQ Republicans from trying to discriminate. In this climate, it is critical that we stay vigilant in pushing back against any attack on the LGBTQ community. We have to send a message to the bigoted Republicans in Congress that we won’t let them get away with any attempt to strip away LGBTQ rights.
Tell Congress: Protect the rights of transgender people. Block and resist the Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017.
Thank you for standing up to LGBTQ rights.
References:
1. Rep. Pete Olson,”H.R.2796 – Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017,” June 7, 2017.
2. Andrew Phillips, “Republican Bill Would Stop Civil Rights Protections for Trans People,” OUT Magazine, July 18, 2017.
3. Mark Joseph Stern, “The Civil Rights Ax,” Slate, Oct. 5, 2017.
4. Paige Lavender, “Trump Becomes First Sitting President To Address Anti-LGBTQ Event,” HuffPost, Oct. 13, 2017.
5. Jennifer Bendery, “Trump Is Filling Court Seats With Anti-LGBTQ, Anti-Abortion Judges,” HuffPost, Oct. 8, 2017.
6. Justin L. Mack, “The New Yorker: Trump jokes Pence wants to ‘hang’ gays,” USA Today, Oct. 17, 2017.
7. Marykate Jasper, “The “Civil Rights Uniformity Act” Is Trying to Write Trans People Out of Civil Rights Protections,” The Mary Sue, July 16, 2017.
8. Olson, “H.R.2796 – Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017.”
WELCOME TO TEXAS JUSTICE: YOU MIGHT BEAT THE RAP, BUT YOU WON’T BEAT THE RIDE.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017
Risk assessments under fire, but critics don’t differentiate uses
Grits has been a supporter of risk assessments as part of pretrial detention determinations in lieu of bail, which available evidence suggests leads to far better outcomes. But lately there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth among liberals over risk-assessment instruments, charging that they result in racial bias depending on which variables are used.
See a critique of risk assessments from ProPublica, a defense of risk assessments from the Marshall Project, and related critiques.
In all these debates, Grits has seldom if ever seen commentators focus on a key distinction between how risk assessments are used at different stages in the process.
Grits is not a fan of their use in any but an advisory capacity for predictive policing or in sentencing. In policing, probable cause must always be individualized to a specific person. And punishments should be decided by judges and juries, not algorithms (although if we’re honest, that process is really controlled by prosecutors and certainly isn’t immune fromracial bias).
But using risk assessments to decide pretrial detention is a horse of a different color, because the alternative is that money bail is required of all. That means people who can’t afford bail must rot in jail until their case is resolved, putting immense pressure on even-innocent people to plea. In that circumstance, the benefits to liberty from applying a risk-assessment tool that lets the majority of poor people out pretrial outweighs any detriment from bias in the instrument.
Risk assessments also have well-recognized uses for probation systems which are key to reducing recidivism and encouraging probationers’ success. Low-risk probationers subjected to intensive programming (or for that matter, who are revoked to prison) tend to escalate in criminality in ways which are counterproductive, a growing body of research indicates. So assessing risk/needs is key to deciding what programming should be assigned.
In those circumstances, Grits remains unconvinced that bias from these instruments is greater or more harmful than the bias being exhibited by judges. For example, the videos of bail hearings before magistrate judges which arose out of the Harris County bail litigation demonstrated near-universal disrespect for misdemeanor defendants’ pretrial liberty interests, whereas the risk assessment would have freed most of them. So which is more biased? And which bias is more concerning?
Predicting “future dangerousness” (as the courts have dubbed risk assessment by juries in the sentencing phase of capital cases) is always a dubious prospect, but also a fundamental part of what the justice system does. In most phases of the process, those decisions should probably be left to the decision-makers traditionally in charge of them.
In the case of pretrial detention, though, where the defendants are still presumed innocent by the system, IMO opposing the use of risk-assessment tools amounts to allowing the perfect to become the enemy of the good. Ditto for probation where there’s a pragmatic need to assess probationers’ risk in order to make decisions about programming, and risk levels can change significantly over time.
The desire to purge the system of racial bias is understandable, but please let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.
New Blogs Part 8 Updated October 27 2017
If you ad up all the murders of people of the LGBTQ community members, over the years of the earth’s existence, and compare them to the racially motivated murders in the same time line: I predict the numbers would be very close. What more could anyone need to understand than that. It is not only wrong to sayLGBTQ folks do not suffer basic civil rights violation’s everyday, it is counterproductive to everyone’s civil rights.
You know the old saying what is good for the goose is good for the gander? In the case of the RSO “what is good for the scapegoat is good for the gander?” When will people learn; it is only the beginning to condemn RSO’s to a life of torture. In the end of this result, no one would be spared torture; especially racist victims and bigotry victims and especially all LGBTQ folks!
Hate groups are trying to use black people to divide the LGBTQ community
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Poster from the Family Research Council to attempt to drive a wedge between African-Americans and LGBTQ people.
The right wing loves to condemn Saul Alinsky’s transformative progressive organizing book, Rules for Radicals, but the Family Research Council and other hate groups‘ latest stunt employs a strategy straight from Alinsky himself. The groups are using African-American ministers to argue in favor of allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ people.
Rule #12: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy.
FRC leader Tony Perkins is crowing after holding a joint press conference with conservative African-American ministers who condemned the LGBTQ community for daring to say we want civil rights. But the way they did it, by repeatedly saying that the fight for LGBTQ civil rights doesn’t measure up to the battle for racial equality.
“Tired of hearing the LGBT community compare its experience to the real suffering of the civil rights movement, church and civic leaders decided to speak out…” the Perkins said in a press release. “FRC’s Dean Nelson and FRC Action’s Patrina Mosley spoke, sharing deeply personal stories about the pain and prejudice their families experienced over the color of their skin. Patrina talked about how insulting it is to hear LGBT activists equate their ‘persecution’ to generations of African Americans.”
According to Religion News Service, “ex-lesbian” Janet Boynes, who runs an ex-gay “ministry,” was one of the speakers trying to separate the two communities with false equivalencies.
“I resent having my race compared to what other people do in bed,” she said. “There is no comparison. It only trivializes racial discrimination.”
There are, of course, radical differences between the history of the struggle for both LGBTQ and black civil rights. The fight for equality, however, remains the same and, for LGBT people of color, the struggle is even harder – even without right wing hate groups trying to cause division.
If you had any lingering doubts about the importance of doing intersectional work to tie various progressive communities and causes further together, this should be a red flag. “Divide and conquer” is a successful strategy when successful.
Our job is to make sure it doesn’t by coming closer together instead of drifting apart.
Wow. Ten of 11 samples of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream tested positive for glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s dangerous Roundup herbicide.
The ice cream brand claims its social mission “seeks to meet human needs and eliminate the injustices in our local, national and international communities,” and that its focus is “on children and families, the environment and sustainable agriculture on family farms.”
TAKE ACTION: Tell Ben & Jerry’s CEO Jostein Solheim (aka Scooper Man): Roundup-Ready Ice Cream is neither ‘natural’ nor ‘socially responsible.’ Go 100% Organic!
Ben & Jerry’s (owned by the multinational corporation Unilever) has done an excellent job of convincing consumers that the company cares about progressive issues. But behind the iconic ice cream brand’s greenwashed façade is an unfortunate truth: The company relies on a #dirtydairy industry that produces contaminated food, poisons Vermont’s waterways, abuses animals, exploits workers, bankrupts farmers and contributes to climate change.
Unless Ben & Jerry’s goes organic, its practices are responsible for:
• Running Vermont family farms out of business.
• Polluting Vermont’s waterways.
• Abusing animals.
• Exploiting farmworkers.
• Contributing to climate change.
• Putting human health at risk.
In addition to the above problems, pesticides like Roundup, atrazine and metolachlor—all carcinogens and endocrine disruptors and all used to grow the GMO crops fed to dairy cows—have devastating effects on human health. And some of them are in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
It’s time for Ben & Jerry’s to come clean. The only way to do that is to transition to a 100% organic supply chain.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Ben & Jerry’s CEO Jostein Solheim (aka Scooper Man): Roundup-Ready Ice Cream is neither ‘natural’ nor ‘socially responsible.’ Go 100% Organic!
Participating Organizations:
Beyond Pesticides
Daily Kos
Food Revolution Network
Friends of the Earth
Label GMOs
Mom’s Across America
Organic Consumers Association
Presente.org
PETITIONING
Ben & Jerry’s CEO Jostein Solheim (aka Scooper Man)
SPONSORED BY
Daily Kos
Our Message to Ben & Jerry’s CEO Jostein Solheim (aka Scooper Man) :
Dear Mr. Solheim,
It’s time for Ben & Jerry’s to stop deceiving consumers and to go organic.
The myth of Vermont’s happy cows and bucolic farms has been busted. The fact is, Vermont’s dairy industry is poisoning the environment, causing unnecessary pain and suffering for dairy cows, hurting human health, exploiting farmworkers and bankrupting Vermont’s dairy farmers.
It’s great that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream doesn’t use GMO ingredients. But who are you kidding? Vermont fields are awash in dangerous chemicals used to grow acres and acres of GMO animal feed — and those chemicals have been found in your ice cream.
If the iconic Ben & Jerry’s brand were to go 100-percent organic, you could lead the nation in transitioning to an agricultural model that improves human, animal and soil health, combats climate change, provides a fair living to farmers and grows the market for organics.
It’s time to stop supporting Monsanto and the makers of glyphosate, atrazine and other chemicals. The only way to do that is to transition to a 100% organic supply chain.
A Kentucky judge who refused to hear cases involving gay and lesbian parents just announced his resignation.
In April, Mitchell Nance, a family court judge in rural Kentucky, issued an order requiring lawyers representing gay and lesbian parents in adoption cases to notify him of their clients’ sexuality so that he could recuse himself in advance.
In his order, he said that he believes that “the best interest of the child” can never “be promoted by the adoption by a practicing homosexual.” He cited a state rule that requires judges to recuse themselves in cases where their prejudice affects their impartiality. Gay and lesbian parents would have to get the county court to hire a special judge to handle their cases.
Nance submitted his order to the state supreme court for approval and it was rejected by the chief justice. Local LGBTQ activists called on him to resign and filed a complaint with the judicial disciplinary panel, and he was charged with violating judicial ethics rules.
In his response to the complaint, Nance’s lawyer wrote that he thought he was doing the right thing and being fair to everyone by announcing his prejudice. “His recusal would have facilitated the impartiality of the judicial system and ensured that all families had a fair opportunity for adoption.”
His response goes on to state that it’s his “sincerely held religious belief” that “the divinely created order of nature is that each human being has a male parent and a female parent.”
He stated in the response that the charges against him are moot since he’s resigning. He also sent a resignation letter to governor Matt Bevin.
Usually homophobes cherry-pick a few studies with small samples and that don’t compare gay and lesbian parents with straight parents on equal footing. Simply admitting that they have no reason to believe what they do outside of personal prejudice is a strange strategy, to say the least.
Maybe Nance knew the evidence just wasn’t on his side. In 2004, the American Psychological Association found that an unbiased examination of the social science literature about gay and lesbian parents showed that they do just as well as straight parents when it comes to measurable, objective outcomes.
Whether children raised by gay parents do well in school or have good mental health later in life are facts that have nothing to do with anyone’s “sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Nance’s position is logically untenable, his order put an unreasonable burden on gay and lesbian parents, and resigning will give him some time to reflect on what it means when his “sincerely held religious beliefs” are not supported by real-world evidence.
New Blogs Part 8 Updated November 03 2017
Tell Congress: Protect our privacy and pass the USA Rights Act
Some politicians would have us believe that this week’s horrific attack in New York is reason enough to roll back our constitutional rights. When an act of violence shatters our sense of safety, some are willing to give up anything to restore it.
But those who would abandon our rights and civil liberties are throwing away our greatest strengths as a country. At a moment when we could allow fear to divide us, we must stand up for the rule of law and stand up against the Trump administration’s abuses of power.
Tell Congress: Support the USA Rights Act and stop warrantless spying on Americans. Click here to sign the petition.
Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the government collects and stores hundreds of millions of communications sent and received by Americans – without a warrant or probable cause – yearly. But Section 702 is set to expire at the end of this year, and in the reauthorization process, lawmakers could make the law even worse – or much better. The USA Rights Act represents the best opportunity we have to reform Section 702 to protect our privacy.
Section 702 gives federal intelligence agencies like the FBI and the National Security Agency (NSA) the authority to capture all kinds of online communications – phone calls, emails, social media accounts, text messages and more. Although the law is supposed to target only foreign individuals outside of the United States, agencies end up incidentally collecting vast stores of information on American citizens and residents.
The NSA refuses to give an estimate of the number of U.S. citizens and residents whose emails and phone calls are swept up under the law.1 But a Washington Post review of 160,000 intercepted conversations provided by Edward Snowden found that nine out of 10 of those tracked by the NSA were not surveillance targets, and nearly 50 percent were U.S. residents.2
Once the government has collected your data, it acts as if you are no longer protected by the Fourth Amendment. Even if you’ve never been suspected of a crime, federal agents can search and share your data collected under Section 702 without a warrant or probable cause. This is what’s called the “backdoor search” loophole, and it needs to be closed – now.
Tell Congress: Support the USA Rights Act and stop warrantless spying on Americans. Click here to sign the petition.
Last week, Sen. Ron Wyden introduced the USA Rights Act, Senate Bill 1997, to do just that.3 The bill would limit the federal government’s ability to acquire or access communications of U.S. residents and use the information as evidence in court. It would prohibit “reverse targeting,” the practice of spying on foreign targets with the real motive of listening to the Americans communicating with them.
The USA Rights Act already has 15 co-sponsors, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. But senators and House representatives are under enormous pressure from federal spy agencies to cave and pass a different Section 702 reauthorization bill that would expand spying powers instead of restricting them.
Now more than ever, our elected representatives need to hear from us that warrantless spying on Americans is unconstitutional and unacceptable.
Tell Congress: Support the USA Rights Act and stop warrantless spying on Americans. Click the link below to sign the petition:
Some politicians would have us believe that this week’s horrific attack in New York is reason enough to roll back our constitutional rights. When an act of violence shatters our sense of safety, some are willing to give up anything to restore it.
But those who would abandon our rights and civil liberties are throwing away our greatest strengths as a country. At a moment when we could allow fear to divide us, we must stand up for the rule of law and stand up against the Trump administration’s abuses of power.
Tell Congress: Support the USA Rights Act and stop warrantless spying on Americans.
Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the government collects and stores hundreds of millions of communications sent and received by Americans – without a warrant or probable cause – yearly. But Section 702 is set to expire at the end of this year, and in the reauthorization process, lawmakers could make the law even worse – or much better. The USA Rights Act represents the best opportunity we have to reform Section 702 to protect our privacy.
Section 702 gives federal intelligence agencies like the FBI and the National Security Agency (NSA) the authority to capture all kinds of online communications – phone calls, emails, social media accounts, text messages and more. Although the law is supposed to target only foreign individuals outside of the United States, agencies end up incidentally collecting vast stores of information on American citizens and residents.
The NSA refuses to give an estimate of the number of U.S. citizens and residents whose emails and phone calls are swept up under the law.1 But a Washington Post review of 160,000 intercepted conversations provided by Edward Snowden found that nine out of 10 of those tracked by the NSA were not surveillance targets, and nearly 50 percent were U.S. residents.2
Once the government has collected your data, it acts as if you are no longer protected by the Fourth Amendment. Even if you’ve never been suspected of a crime, federal agents can search and share your data collected under Section 702 without a warrant or probable cause. This is what’s called the “backdoor search” loophole, and it needs to be closed – now.
Tell Congress: Support the USA Rights Act and stop warrantless spying on Americans.
Last week, Sen. Ron Wyden introduced the USA Rights Act, Senate Bill 1997, to do just that.3 The bill would limit the federal government’s ability to acquire or access communications of U.S. residents and use the information as evidence in court. It would prohibit “reverse targeting,” the practice of spying on foreign targets with the real motive of listening to the Americans communicating with them.
The USA Rights Act already has 15 co-sponsors, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. But senators and House representatives are under enormous pressure from federal spy agencies to cave and pass a different Section 702 reauthorization bill that would expand spying powers instead of restricting them.
Now more than ever, our elected representatives need to hear from us that warrantless spying on Americans is unconstitutional and unacceptable.
Tell Congress: Support the USA Rights Act and stop warrantless spying on Americans.
References:
Dustin Volz, “NSA backtracks on sharing number of Americans caught in warrant-less spying,” Reuters, June 12, 2017.
Barton Gellman, Julie Tate and Ashkan Soltani, “In NSA-intercepted data, those not targeted far outnumber the foreigners who are,” The Washington Post, July 5, 2014.
David Ruiz, “The USA Rights Act Protects Us From NSA Spying,” Electronic Frontier Foundation, Oct. 24, 2017.
Sen. Ron Wyden, The USA Rights Act,” 115th Congress, Oct. 24, 2017.
The bill gives massive tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations, resulting in a loss of trillions of dollars in federal revenue, adding to the deficit.
Help to fight back against amoral tax giveaway for the wealthy.
Republicans are touting their tax plan as a tax cut for the middle-class but the facts tell a different story. Their bill would result in massive tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations at the expense of the low- and middle- income families.
If House Republicans get enough votes—and they believe they will—they will pass a tax plan that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest and abandons homeowners, schools, fire departments, vital services like rebuilding roads, bridges, and water and electric systems and more.
Once again, we need your help to fight back against amoral tax giveaway for the wealthy.
Sign and send a petition to your Republican member of Congress: Vote no on the budget that only benefits the ultra-wealthy and corporations and jeopardizes low- and middle- income families.
Tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: No handouts for coal and nuclear power
Rick Perry has come up with a creative new way to bail out failing coal and nuclear plants – by forcing electricity customers to pay for them.
As Trump’s Secretary of Energy, Perry has proposed a new rule that would actually require customers to subsidize certain coal and nuclear plants, guaranteeing their profits.1 Worried that cheaper, cleaner and safer forms of energy are beating out their favorite industries, Trump and Perry want the Federal Regulatory Commission (FERC) to stack the decks. We must let FERC know that this is unacceptable.
Tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: Reject Rick Perry’s plan to bail out coal and nuclear plants.
To justify his plan, Perry is claiming that coal and nuclear power are necessary to make sure the electricity grid stays reliable. But his own agency released a study just months ago concluding that closing coal and nuclear plants has not threatened grid reliability, and neither has the increased use of renewable energy.2 In reality, the main threat to our electricity grid is its aging infrastructure – but forcing customers to prop up unprofitable power plants will do nothing to help with that.
FERC is the independent expert agency in charge of managing the electricity grid, and ultimately FERC commissioners will decide on Perry’s proposal. A bipartisan group of eight former FERC commissioners wrote a letter opposing Perry’s plan. They said that it won’t help with grid reliability but will cost customers more and disrupt energy markets.3
Not only would Perry’s proposed rule lead to higher energy bills and more dangerous pollution, it would increase the chances of catastrophic climate change. In a year when climate-fueled storms and wildfires have already left thousands of Americans homeless, we should be investing in the cleanest, most affordable energy sources available. We cannot let Trump and Perry stop our progress to renewable energy.
Tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: Reject Rick Perry’s plan to bail out coal and nuclear plants.
References:
David Roberts, “Rick Perry’s plan to subsidize coal and nuclear plants is bonkers,” Vox, Oct. 4, 2017
Ibid.
Steven Mufson, “Bipartisan group of former FERC commissioners rejects energy secretary’s bid to help coal plants,” The Washington Post, Oct. 19, 2017.
I lived in California for 8 years from around 1986 to about 1994:
If you wanted to arrest everyone in Hollywood for sex offences ( like Kevin spacey and Harvey Weinstein ), in Hollywood, since the beginning of the American movie industry; you would have to arrest the almost the whole state of California. Think about all the most beautiful women of America since then; getting molested, so they would have a part in a movie. If you think about things like that; the media hype; now a days, is tiny, in comparison. My best advise is to only read the news and: skip over all the lies, to get ratings. Do everything you can to block the everyday, soap opera; of today’s media lies designed to get ratings, no matter how many lives they destroy. This has been something I have said; since the true beginning of this website around the year 2001. When I lived in California I lived by example. Walking the walk in accordance to every word from your mouth; was still popular between 1986 and 1994. Hollywood runs California. My thought always was and still is; who cares about Hollywood and entertainment? Entertainment will always exist for free; in the everyday life, of every human being that walks this earth. Who cares about entertainment? No one truly cares about entertainment. As we progress into the future, of our inevitable judgement; the number of us as a species, will not care about entertainment at all, ever.
Please; as I have mentioned many times in the blog SOFAQ; think about all those so called groupies of all those rock bands and music employees, that have been molested. If we were to arrest all of those responsible; for mostly women being, molested just because they were fanatical fans of music we would have to arrest one quarter of our country.
We are only beginning to learn the full extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Last month, Facebook revealed that more than $100,000 in ads were purchased by a Kremlin-linked Russian company in order to influence voters’ opinions and during recent hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Facebook revealed that these duplicitous ads may have reached as many as 126 million Americans.1,2,3
By now, there is no doubt that the Russian sources used Facebook and social media platforms to interfere with the 2016 election – even using Russian rubles to pay for ads they designed to turn out Donald Trump supporters.4
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is currently taking public comments on whether it should change the rules governing online ad disclosures so that consumers can easily identify who pays for political ads on the internet. CREDO is joining with our friends at Daily Kos, DemandProgress, Public Citizen and many other progressive partners to collect as many comments as possible before the Nov. 9 deadline in support of these important disclosures.
Tell the FEC to require online campaign ads to include disclaimers as to who is paying for them – just like what is done for television and print advertisements. Click here to submit a comment.
Changes in digital communications have far outpaced regulations. While only 18 percent of Americans cited the internet as their primary news source in the 2004 election, 65 percent of Americans identified the internet as their leading source of information in 2016.5,6 The FEC has required television and radio ads to include disclosures for decades, but its transparency rules are extremely outdated – the agency still has rules related to telegrams and typewriters while allowing online platforms to run wild.7
Facebook has long benefited from the lack of disclosure regulations. In 2010, the company argued along with Google to the FEC that ads with character limits should be exempt from disclosure rules. A year later in 2011, Facebook even went so far as to challenge the FEC’s 3-3 decision that ads must at least link to a webpage with a disclaimer by deciding to move forward with the assumption that the law would not be enforced because the commission was split.8
Since its founding, Facebook advertisers have been able to operate in secrecy – with no required disclosures regarding who pays for electoral ads. The company has only come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the 2016 election since special counsel Robert Mueller obtained a search warrant for Facebook ads in connection to Trump’s Russia ties.9 In response Facebook, along with Twitter, announced new voluntarily rules for campaign disclosures, but we cannot rely on these companies’ effort to regulate themselves when it comes to electoral transparency.
The FEC is accepting public comment only until Nov 9.10 Now is the time for us to speak out and demand transparency in online ads. Whether it’s foreign influence or corporate interests, we have a right to know who is paying for ads to sway voters.
Tell the FEC to require online campaign ads to include disclaimers as to who is paying for them. Click the link below to leave your comment:
Tell the FEC: Regulate Facebook and other social media campaign advertising
63% We’ve reached 47,757 of our goal of 75,000.
Send a public comment
The comment to the Federal Election Commission reads:
“Don’t let Putin and his allies interfere in American elections again. Require online campaign ads to include disclaimers as to who is paying for them – just like what is done for television and print advertisements. Americans deserve transparent information about who is paying for communication with a goal of influencing their votes.”
By submitting this form, your name, address and comments will be filed with a public agency and become public record.
name
email*
zipcode*
Send Comment
You’ll receive periodic updates on offers and activism opportunities.
Tell the FEC: Regulate Facebook and other social media campaign advertising
We are only beginning to learn the full extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Last month, Facebook revealed that more than $100,000 in ads were purchased by a Kremlin-linked Russian company in order to influence voters’ opinions and during recent hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Facebook revealed that these duplicitous ads may have reached as many as 126 million Americans.1,2,3
By now, there is no doubt that the Russian sources used Facebook and social media platforms to interfere with the 2016 election – even using Russian rubles to pay for ads they designed to turn out Donald Trump supporters.4
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is currently taking public comments on whether it should change the rules governing online ad disclosures so that consumers can easily identify who pays for political ads on the internet. CREDO is joining with our friends at Daily Kos, DemandProgress, Public Citizen and many other progressive partners to collect as many comments as possible before the Nov. 9 deadline in support of these important disclosures.
Tell the FEC to require online campaign ads to include disclaimers as to who is paying for them – just like what is done for television and print advertisements.
Changes in digital communications have far outpaced regulations. While only 18 percent of Americans cited the internet as their primary news source in the 2004 election, 65 percent of Americans identified the internet as their leading source of information in 2016.5,6 The FEC has required television and radio ads to include disclosures for decades, but its transparency rules are extremely outdated – the agency still has rules related to telegrams and typewriters while allowing online platforms to run wild.7
Facebook has long benefited from the lack of disclosure regulations. In 2010, the company argued along with Google to the FEC that ads with character limits should be exempt from disclosure rules. A year later in 2011, Facebook even went so far as to challenge the FEC’s 3-3 decision that ads must at least link to a webpage with a disclaimer by deciding to move forward with the assumption that the law would not be enforced because the commission was split.8
Since its founding, Facebook advertisers have been able to operate in secrecy – with no required disclosures regarding who pays for electoral ads. The company has only come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the 2016 election since special counsel Robert Mueller obtained a search warrant for Facebook ads in connection to Trump’s Russia ties.9 In response Facebook, along with Twitter, announced new voluntarily rules for campaign disclosures, but we cannot rely on these companies’ effort to regulate themselves when it comes to electoral transparency.
The FEC is accepting public comment only until Nov 9.10 Now is the time for us to speak out and demand transparency in online ads. Whether it’s foreign influence or corporate interests, we have a right to know who is paying for ads to sway voters.
Tell the FEC to require online campaign ads to include disclaimers as to who is paying for them.
Thanks for your activism.
References:
Scott Shane and Vindu Goel, “Fake Russian Facebook Accounts Bought $100,000 in Political Ads,” The New York Times, Sept. 6, 2017.
Craig Timberg, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Adam Entous and Karoun Demirjian, “Russian ads, now publicly released, show sophistication of influence campaign,” The Washington Post, Nov. 1, 2017.
Dylan Byers, “Facebook estimates 126 million people were served content from Russia-linked pages,” CNN, Oct. 31, 2017.
Timberg, et al.,”Russian ads, now publicly released, show sophistication of influence campaign.”
Pew Research Center, “The internet and the 2004 election,” March 6, 2005.
Amy Mitchell, Jeffrey Gottfried, Michael Barthel, and Elisa Shearer, “Pathways to news,” Pew Research Center, July 6, 2016.
April Glaser, “Should Political Ads on Facebook Include Disclaimers?” Slate, Oct. 17, 2017
Ibid.
Kerry Flynn, “Facebook to hand more than 3,000 Russian ads to Congress,” Mashable, Sept. 21, 2017.
Ali Breland, “Facebook, Twitter, Google invited to testify on Russian election meddling,” The Hill, Oct. 6, 2017.
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” The quote is most likely due to George Santayana, and in its original form it read, ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ The phrasing itself certainly is catchy.
On October 16, Colonel William C. Young, who had attempted to moderate the proceedings, was killed while pursuing a group who had killed another man along a brushy creek. This resulted in public outrage. Jurors were replaced, and the acquittals of nineteen prisoners were reversed, resulting in their lynching. Fifty to sixty were released before Confederate and state courts finally halted the Citizens Court. 41 men had been hanged in Gainesville in October 1862, and at least three others shot.
New TJJD sex-abuse allegations recall similar, but different ’07 scandals
For anyone paying attention a decade ago, news of sex-assault allegations against staff at a Texas youth prison in Gainesville brings on a deja vu feeling regarding the Texas Youth Commission scandals in Pyote, an episode which ultimately brought down the agency and sent its successor down a tumultuous path toward reducing incarceration levels by 75 percent.
Now, “At least four former staff members at the Gainesville State School, including a woman allegedly pregnant with a youthful offender’s child, are facing prison time amid allegations of sexual misconduct at the state lockup for troubled youths,” reported Brandi Grissom-Swicegood and Sue Ambrose at the Dallas News.
And everyone who was around in 2007 drops their heads and thinks, “Oh no, not again.”
These troubles mirror problems witnessed at the adult system, where sexual misconduct by staff at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a big source of federal Prison Rape Elimination Act violations. The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault has recommended the Legislature create an independent oversight mechanism at TDCJ comparable to the Ombudsman created for TJJD after the 2007 scandals.
Which brings us to the big difference between this scandal and the last one: The perpetrators were caught by the government itself, not by reporters following up leads given to legislative staff by family members of raped constituents. And the perpetrators were promptly arrested and prosecuted. The agency culture that tolerated such behavior has shifted dramatically. So that part of the system worked better than last time, one notices.
And to be fair, that’s really all the Legislature’s reforms after 2007 were supposed to do. As the agency reduced the population in youth prisons, it was pressed along the way for commensurate budget cuts, even though most of the facilities are chronically understaffed and suffer from among the highest staff turnover rates of any state agency. That’s because of low pay, crappy working conditions, and the location of the facilities in mainly rural areas where the labor pool is either dissipating or otherwise occupied.
As a result, the agency has mainly improved the lot of youth under its care by reducing their number, with the Legislature financing (mostly cheaper) community supervision programming in lieu of housing them in state youth prisons. If those reductions had afforded the agency a chance to improve staff-to-youth ratios more aggressively, or to invest the savings in programming, it would be easier to make a case for them.
But in their current state, it’s hard to argue for keeping them around at all. When activists like Angela Davis talk about “abolishing” prisons on the adult side, Grits must admit I roll my eyes. But on the juvenile side, I’m all the way there. Funding community-based programs in lieu of incarcerating youth in state-run prisons empirically has worked. Youth crime in Texas plummeted at even greater rates than crime overall when Texas shifted most offending youth into local systems.
Expanding on that model for the last thousand-or-so kids left in Texas youth prisons would also afford the chance to shift to smaller-scale units run on a more treatment-centric basis. In an ideal world, the Lege would finance locally controlled facilities reconfigured according to best practices like those endorsed a decade ago by a “blue ribbon commission,” whose recommendations the Legislature first eagerly commissioned and then, when they proved inconvenient and expensive, ignored.
The blue-ribbon panel recommended the state move to smaller facilities modeled after Missouri’s juvenile system, and put the era of housing juveniles in large units with hundreds of bunkmates behind us. Instead, they depopulated youth prisons, but continued to run the ones that remained on the old, large-scale warehousing model.
The other option floated periodically is to hand the system over to TDCJ to run. But as noted above, TDCJ has trouble preventing inappropriate staff relations and contraband at its adult units, which fails to inspire confidence that they’d do any better running juvenile facilities. Plus, when TDCJ executives were brought in to run TYC after the original scandals were uncovered in 2007, their skill sets did not translate to the juvenile realm and their leadership was (if we are to be frank) an unmitigated catastrophe. So as solutions go, I see that one as a pig in a poke. It could invite new troubles and wouldn’t necessarily solve anything.
Anyway, that’s Grits’ initial takeaway from this dispiriting news out of Gainesville: The mechanisms the Legislature created to identify, prosecute and punish sexual misconduct by staff actually appear to have worked. But the corrections culture that produces these illicit relationships at TJJD and TDCJ continues to afford opportunities for predatory behavior.
So we’re better at catching and punishing predators. What hasn’t worked is warehousing youth in large state facilities a decade after the experts recommended breaking them up. Texas was told ten years ago it needed to shift to smaller, treatment-based programs, locally controlled and located near their own communities. And with these problems recurring, maybe it’s time state leaders finally heeded those suggestions.
New Blogs Part 8 Updated November 11 2017
KY: JUDGE STRIKES DOWN KENTUCKY’S SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FOR SEX OFFENDERS
October 20, 2017
UPDATED – Kentucky’s registered sex offenders have the constitutional right to use Facebook, Twitter and other online social media, a federal judge ruled Friday. Full Article Related Plaintiff’s discussion on… Full Article
Legal questions swirl around Megan’s Law in Pennsylvania
Jason Davies admitted raping a woman in Wilson after breaking into her home. He’s seeking to avoid having to register as a sex offender, citing a recent state Supreme Court ruling.
Jason Davies admitted raping a woman in Wilson after breaking into her home. He’s seeking to avoid having to register as a sex offender, citing a recent state Supreme Court ruling.
Jason A. Davies broke into the Wilson home of a woman he had never met and raped her, threatening to kill her if she screamed.
He faces sentencing Friday in Northampton County Court under a plea agreement that recommends six to 12 years in state prison. But when he is one day released, should he be required to register as a sex offender?
That’s a question that until recently had an easy answer: Since 1995, Pennsylvania has had Megan’s Law, which seeks to protect communities by requiring sex offenders to register with the state police, or face arrest if they fail to do so.
But a July decision by the state Supreme Court has undermined that once bedrock certainty, and cases like Davies’ are now testing the law’s reach, under which offenders have their photos, addresses and other identifying information published on a state-run website.
Paid Post LEARN MORE
Discover the Seed Bred to Protect and Bred to Perform.
Discover the Seed Bred to Protect and Bred to Perform.
Asgrow® soybeans lead the way with 100% exclusive genetics and access to advanced weed control.
SPONSORED CONTENT BY Asgrow
The ruling found that Pennsylvania’s latest version of the registry — the 2012 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act — was so harsh that, unlike its predecessors, it had become a form of punishment, and not merely a tool to educate and inform the public.
As a result, the law commonly called SORNA can’t be applied looking backward, to cases that predated its enactment, the court said. Doing so violates the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions, both of which ban after-the-fact punishments, wrote Justice Kevin Dougherty.
SORNA greatly expanded the state’s registry, increasing the number of crimes that are considered sex offenses and lengthening the amount of time most offenders must register. The court’s ruling found that by upping the years of registration, mandating routine in-person appearances before state police, and putting more information about an offender online, the requirements had became punitive.
SORNA essentially did away with the prior Megan’s laws and I think the Supreme Court did away with SORNA.
— Philip Lauer, defense attorney
When SORNA was approved, a nearly unanimous Legislature disagreed, insisting the beefed-up rules weren’t meant as punishment. By imposing the requirements retroactively, SORNA forced a raft of ex-convicts to register for the first time — even years after their cases were decided — or to register for longer than they otherwise would have.
Because of this summer’s ruling, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association estimates that 10,000 of the 22,000 names on the registry could be removed.
State police say the decision could affect more than 17,000 registrants, including over 1,000 who are classified as sexually violent predators, a designation given to those deemed the greatest risk to offend again.
It’ll take future court cases to show just how expansive the ruling proves to be. But defense attorneys are pressing that issue, flooding courthouses with appeals arguing that anyone whose crime predated SORNA — which took effect Dec. 20, 2012 — should no longer have to register.
The defense lawyers say SORNA replaced the state’s prior version of Megan’s Law, and that the old law cannot be resurrected without action by the Legislature.
That’s the stance taken by the lawyer for Davies, the Wilson rapist. Davies’ offense dates to 2004, long before SORNA, though he wasn’t caught until 11 years later.
“SORNA essentially did away with the prior Megan’s laws and I think the Supreme Court did away with SORNA,” said Davies’ attorney, Philip Lauer.
That is an alarm that Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed has sounded. The court’s ruling was made in the Cumberland County case of Jose M. Muniz, who was convicted of molesting a 12-year-old girl. Freed is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the question and overturn the decision.
In testimony in Harrisburg last month, Freed warned that if the high court does not accept the case, “thousands of sex offenders may well not face penalties for failing to register and thousands of sex offenders may be removed from the registry.
“The Muniz case has the potential to affect every single sex offender convicted before Dec. 20, 2012,” he said.
Certainly as a policy decision, I don’t think the Supreme Court intended to let every sex offender convicted before December 2012 off the hook.
— Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Kulik
The district attorneys association is working with lawmakers on potential legislative fixes — including the re-enactment of the previous Megan’s Law regime, which has withstood constitutional challenges.
In the meantime, offenders are filing appeals arguing they shouldn’t be required to register. Others are seeking to have convictions for failing to register as a sex offender thrown out.
Among the rulings this month in already pending cases:
* The state Supreme Court struck down the registration requirements of Edmund L. Haenig, a former Bethlehem police officer who was sentenced in 1996 to 2½ to 12 years in prison in a Lehigh County sex case. At the time, the charges did not require him to register as a sex offender. But with SORNA’s enactment, Haenig, who lives in West Reading, was hit with a 15-year mandate.
* The state Superior Court vacated the conviction of Shawn Christopher Williams, a 41-year-old Easton man who was serving 33 months to 10 years in state prison after being found guilty in 2016 of failing to register. Williams insisted he was under no such mandate when he was sentenced in 1998 for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl, for which he spent a decade incarcerated. His lawyer, James Brose, argued that forcing Williams to register years later was unconstitutional.
Given the Superior Court’s ruling, prosecutors last week formally withdrew the failing-to-register charges, Brose said. As a result, Williams was released Oct. 20 from Dallas State Prison in Luzerne County after spending 20 months behind bars, according to Department of Corrections records.
In the Wilson rape case, Northampton County prosecutors maintain Davies should be required to register for life as a sex offender.
With SORNA, what should matter is the date of Davies’ conviction, and not the date of his offense, said Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Kulik. Davies pleaded guilty to rape last year, when the law was already in place, and its requirements thus should apply to him, she said.
If not, Kulik said, Davies should be required to register under the old law. Under it, rape was still a charge that brought a lifetime mandate.
“Certainly as a policy decision, I don’t think the Supreme Court intended to let every sex offender convicted before December 2012 off the hook,” Kulik said.
We need to know where he is. People have a right to know where this predator is.
— Assistant District Attorney Tatum Wilson on rapist Jason A. Davies
On April 30, 2004, Davies broke into his victim’s home early in the morning, waking her in her bedroom, according to testimony. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her T-shirt over her head to keep her face covered, and warned her that he knew where she lived, police said.
Afterward, police collected evidence but had only a vague description of the attacker to work from. But as the statute of limitations neared, the investigation intensified after a DNA sample taken from Davies in 2014 child-sex case in New Jersey matched a sample from the Wilson rape.
That led to the arrest of Davies, who is 42 and was living in Middletown, N.Y., at the time. The New Jersey case remains unresolved.
Not only do prosecutors say Davies should be required to register, but they also are asking Judge Samuel Murray to classify him as a sexually violent predator, a designation that brings enhanced reporting and counseling requirements.
On Tuesday in Easton, Murray heard testimony from a psychologist, Paula Brust, who concluded Davies is unable to control his impulses.
Brust called Davies’ crime “heinous.”
Assistant District Attorney Tatum Wilson, who prosecuted Davies, said he’s an example of why sex offender registries exist.
“We need to know where he is,” Wilson said. “People have a right to know where this predator is.”
CO: THE FLAWS IN COLORADO’S SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
October 27, 2017
The state’s sex offender registry informs me of an allegedly dangerous man living within a mile of my house who was born in 1927.
That’s right: This 90-year-old who committed his crime in the last century is still required to tell the state of his whereabouts on the theory that the information will assist local police in identifying suspects for sex offenses and allow nearby residents to take precautions.
But of course the rate of sex offenses among nonagenarians is virtually zero, even when they have a felony in their past. This man’s presence on the registry reveals one of several weaknesses of the list, and why it is much less useful than it could be for both police and public. Full Article http://www.denverpost.com/2017/10/27/the-flaws-in-colorados-sex-offender-registry/
OCTOBER 26, 2017
The Massachusetts Senate early Friday passed a sweeping bill that would upend state laws on crime and punishment, aiming to reduce the number of people ensnared in the thicket of the criminal justice system and ease the tough-on-crime approach of decades past. The vote was 27-10.
“We have to lift people up, not lock people up,” said Senator William N. Brownsberger, the legislation’s top author, on the Senate floor. “We have to cut the chains that hold people down when they are trying to get back up on their feet.”
The legislation, which passed just before 1:30 a.m. after more than 14 hours of debate, would repeal mandatory minimum prison sentences for several drug-dealing crimes such as selling heroin within 300 feet of a school; make those changes retroactive so dealers will be able to earn release weeks or months early; legalize sex between young teens close in age; raise the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 19, the highest in the nation; and diminish the procession of fees, fines, and license suspensions that people accused or convicted of a crime often must endure. from: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/10/26/senate-vote-sweeping-criminal-justice-bill/Y6V2XutTQYlyNGoQOR7k3O/story.html?event=event25
ACLU FILES LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF CA REGISTRANT
November 2, 2017
ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Los Angeles last week on behalf of a California registrant who is on parole. According to the lawsuit, the registrant is being denied the ability to access social media as well as to attend and participate in church services.
Subsequent to the filing of the complaint, the ACLU filed an application for a Preliminary Injunction this week. A hearing on the PI application will be held on November 27 at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 9C in the U.S. District Court, Central District, 350 West First Street, in Los Angeles before Judge Dean Pregerson.
“We commend the ACLU for its efforts to protect the civil rights of a registrant in California,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.
According to the lawsuit, the parole restrictions in question are not related to the offenses for which the plaintiff was convicted. That is, the offenses did not take place at a church and did not involve use of social media. The ACLU has argued that the parole restrictions violate several clauses within the First Amendment, including freedom of speech and free exercise of religion.
ACLU’s involvement in the case began in June 2017 when the organization sent a letter on behalf of the registrant to officials of the Division of Adult Parole (DAPO) stating that the restrictions at issue violated the U.S. Constitution. The complaint claims that subsequent to receipt of that letter, parole agents have retaliated against the registrant by increasing compliance checks and searches of the registrant’s personal property including his phone and computer. In addition, the complaint claims that parole agents told the registrant to “leave the ACLU alone.”
The Defendants in the case — Jerry Powers, Karen Thacker, Douglas Broome and Sean Wilson — are employed by DAPO, the agency which supervises all parolees in the state of California. All are being sued in their official capacities.
A panel of appellate judges ruled last week that Pennsylvania’s established process to designate a convicted sex offender as a “sexually violent predator” is unconstitutional.
The Superior Court decision in a Butler County case found that the process — the designation carries lifetime registry and counseling under the state’s Megan’s Law — should not be undertaken post-conviction. The current practice of a review by the state’s Sexual Offender Assessment Board and a subsequent hearing with a trial court judge ruling on the board’s assessment is not legal, the court found.
The decision could spur a series of appeals by sex offenders previously deemed “sexually violent” and may force state legislators to rewrite the state’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
“We agree the decision weakens Megan’s Law. We are in the process of evaluating the decision and its ramifications. Sexually violent predators are the worst of the worst and the ones most likely to commit new sex crimes. Our laws need to reflect the risk that these sexual offenders pose,” said Greg Rowe, legislative liaison for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.
Meghan Dade, executive director of the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, said the board will “operate as normal” and complete all assessments ordered by trial courts. However, the subsequent hearings at trial courts are likely to be delayed.
“Some of those hearings are being postponed because everyone is reviewing the case,” Dade said.
The appellate court decision doesn’t prevent registration requirements. Offenders would still be required to regularly update their registry for either 15 years, 25 years or for life depending on which of the three tiers their convictions fall under.
What it does is prevent a lower-tier offender from potentially being ordered for lifetime registration as a result of a post-conviction assessment.
“Any defendant found to be a sexually violent predator and given the lifetime registration can automatically appeal,” said Snyder County District Attorney Mike Piecuch. “We will have to fight through whether this is retroactively applicable. It’s another chip away at Megan’s Law.”
“I would expect some defendants to try and do that,” Union County District Attorney Pete Johnson said of the prospect of local appeals.
“We need the Legislature to act now to fix this,” Piecuch said, saying existing law needs to be rewritten to make the “sexually violent predator” designation an element of the offense and proven as part of the guilt phase of a criminal trial.
The ruling comes on the heels of a July order by the state Supreme Court that found registry requirements under SORNA are punitive and can’t be applied retroactively. Under previous law, established in 2007, offenders had to register and report for either 10 years or life. In 2012, SORNA created the three-tier system.
A request has since been made for the U.S. Supreme Court to review the SORNA ruling.
More than 20,000 offenders are registered with the Megan’s Law registry maintained by Pennsylvania State Police. Many are impacted by the state’s high court ruling on retroactive registry enhancements or the Superior Court ruling on the “sexually violent predator” designation.
Jennifer Storm, Pennsylvania’s appointed victim advocate, said she’s actively working the state prosecutors and the House Judiciary Committee to come up with a legislative fix.
The assessment to determine if an offender is sexually violent is incredibly important in attempting to prevent repeat offenses, Storm said.
“These are offenders have a higher risk for re-offending. When I say offending, I mean raping children. These are the most egregious sex offenders, people with predatory sex offenses,” Storm said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: Take a stand now against Roy Moore
73% We’ve reached 73,219 of our goal of 100,000.
Sign the petition
Tell Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell:
“Take an immediate clear stand against Roy Moore. Publicly commit that you will not seat him in the Senate Republican caucus if he is elected.”
name
email*
zipcode
Sign Petition
You’ll receive periodic updates on offers and activism opportunities.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: Take a stand now against Roy Moore
The Washington Post just published a blockbuster investigative piece alleging that Roy Moore, the bigoted, right-wing extremist Republican candidate for Senate in Alabama, sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl while he was in his 30s and preyed on at least three other teenagers.1
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans were quick to say that Moore should step aside “if the allegations are true.” But coming from the Party that helped put a sexual predator in the White House, those are empty words.2
When tape leaked of Donald Trump boasting about how easy it was for him to sexually assault women, senate Republicans denounced him – but then pulled a 180 after the election. That’s why we must demand that they reject another alleged sexual predator in their ranks and commit to repudiate Roy Moore if he is elected next month.
Tell Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: It is time to use your authority to take a public stand against Roy Moore.
Moore’s entire political career has been based on intolerance and religious-based right-wing extremism. He promoted the birther conspiracy that President Obama was not born in the U.S., has said that Muslims should not be able to hold office and believes that fertilized eggs should have personhood rights.3 He was twice suspended from the Alabama Supreme Court for failing to follow court orders – once for refusing to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments from the courthouse and later for using his authority to block marriage equality.4
If that were not enough to prove his extreme homophobia, while on the Alabama Supreme Court, he denied a woman custody of her children because she was in a same sex relationship – claiming that her “lifestyle” was just as bad for the children as facing physical abuse from their father.5
Not surprisingly, Moore doubled down in the face of the Post’s reporting. He followed Trump’s lead saying the report is “the very definition fake news” – the same line Trump used to defend himself against numerous allegations of sexual assault.6,7
If Sen. McConnell wants to back up his words with action, he needs to make it clear that he will not welcome Moore into the Republican caucus even if he manages to win the election. If McConnell fails to lead, he will be doubling down, just like toxic candidate Roy Moore. He will be confirming that when it comes to standing with women or advancing his party’s dangerous agenda, he chooses party every time.
Tell Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: Use your authority to take a public stand against Roy Moore.
Moore has rejected the calls for him to step aside saying he has a “duty to stand up and fight back against the forces of evil waging an all-out war on our conservative values.”8 Republican leaders in Alabama have Moore’s back. They are rallying to Moore’s defense, framing the story as a “he said, she said” situation and downplaying the seriousness of sexual assault on a 14 year-old, who legally could not consent to any sexual activity, and who recalled that she just “wanted it to be over.”9,10,11
State Auditor Jim Zeigler compared it to Mary and Joseph parenting Jesus saying, “There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here.” A Republican party county chairman even defended Moore staying in the race saying: “Other than being with an underage person — he didn’t really force himself… If he withdraws, it’s five weeks to the election… that would concede it to the Democrat.”12
Clearly partisan politics and their extreme right-wing agenda matters more to Moore and his lackeys than the damage he’s caused as a sexual predator, but Moore’s commitment to staying in the race puts the spotlight back on Republican leaders like McConnell.13
If McConnell really cared about interrupting an entrenched culture of misogyny that lets men get away with demeaning, harassing, objectifying and assaulting women, he would announce now that he will not ever welcome Moore as a member of his caucus.
Can you help keep the pressure on him to act and help us expose him spineless political game playing if he fails?
Thanks for everything you do.
References:
Stephanie McCrummen, Beth Reinhard and Alice Crites, “Woman says Roy Moore initiated sexual encounter when she was 14, he was 32,” The Washington Post, Nov. 9, 2017
Michael Scherer, “Trump, McConnell call on Roy Moore to exit Alabama Senate race ‘if these allegations are true’,” The Washington Post, Nov. 10, 2017.
Robin Marty, “All the Ways Roy Moore Will Be Awful for Anyone Who’s Not a Straight White Christian Man,” Cosmopolitan, Nov. 7, 2017.
Ibid.
Rebekah Entralgo, “This is what Roy Moore has said about child abuse and sexual assault,” ThinkProgress, Nov. 9, 2017.
Mallory Shelbourne, “Moore campaign: Washington Post story ‘garbage’ that defines ‘fake news’,” The Hill, Nov. 9, 2017.
Glenn Kessler, “Donald Trump says sexual harassment claims are ‘fake news’ — but this is what corroborators say,” Independent, Oct. 29, 2017.
Ben Kamisar, “Moore after sexual allegations: ‘I refuse to stand down’,” The Hill, Nov. 9, 2017.
Daniel Dale, “Alabama Republicans defend Roy Moore over allegations he had sexual contact with 14-year-old,” The Toronto Star, Nov, 9. 2017.
Julie Alderman, “Breitbart runs defense after women say Roy Moore made sexual advances while they were teenagers,” Media Matters, Nov, 9. 2017.
McCrummen et al., “Woman says Roy Moore initiated sexual encounter when she was 14, he was 32.”
Dale, “Alabama Republicans defend Roy Moore over allegations he had sexual contact with 14-year-old,” Nov, 9. 2017.
Addy Baird, “Alabama Republicans are making outlandish excuses for Roy Moore’s alleged sexual abuse,” ThinkProgress, Nov. 9. 2017.
John Kelly’s praise of Robert E. Lee’s ‘loyalty to his state’ and what that actually entailed
In an interview Monday night on Fox News with Laura Ingraham, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly complimented Gen. Robert E. Lee, who led the South’s military in open rebellion against the U.S. government when angry landowners were told they couldn’t own human beings anymore.
“Finally, this unsettling incident, on the heels of Kelly’s praise for General Robert E. Lee and a disgraceful, unfounded attack on my Congressional colleague from Florida, brings into focus a disturbing picture of a man who many of us thought of as the last hope for instilling honor and decency for this White House,” said Thompson.
we were immediately taken before Gen. Lee, who demanded the reason why we ran away; we frankly told him that we considered ourselves free; he then told us he would teach us a lesson we never would forget; he then ordered us to the barn, where, in his presence, we were tied firmly to posts by a Mr. Gwin, our overseer, who was ordered by Gen. Lee to strip us to the waist and give us fifty lashes each, excepting my sister, who received but twenty; we were accordingly stripped to the skin by the overseer, who, however, had sufficient humanity to decline whipping us; accordingly Dick Williams, a county constable, was called in, who gave us the number of lashes ordered; Gen. Lee, in the meantime, stood by, and frequently enjoined Williams to lay it on well, an injunction which he did not fail to heed; not satisfied with simply lacerating our naked flesh, Gen. Lee then ordered the overseer to thoroughly wash our backs with brine, which was done.
New Blogs Part 8 Updated November 12 2017
I do not normally post negative things here; but I will make a exception for this story:
Woman may be first sex offender evicted as more Texas towns adopt exclusion zones
METRO-STATE By Eric Dexheimer – American-Statesman Staff …
The Houston suburb of Meadows Place has broadened its sex offender exclusion zones by designating sections of the public right of way as pocket parks and placing just enough equipment on them so the spaces qualify as playgrounds under Texas law. The city s sex offender exclusion zone ordinance forbids those convicted of child sex crimes from living within 1,000 feet of any playground.
Police began showing up at KJ’s house 8 months ago for violating the city’s residency restriction.
She has received 15 tickets as a registered sex offender living too close to a city pool.
The city of Meadows Place has created new playgrounds to expand its exclusion zone boundaries.
KJ grew up in Meadows Place, a 1-square-mile Houston bedroom community of modest 1970s and ’80s tree-shaded homes. In late 2007, she returned as a 33-year-old seeking to settle in a community she recalled warmly.
“I have great memories of this place,” she said. KJ — she asked that her name not be used for fear of losing her job; she was fired when her previous employer learned of her background — and her husband purchased a four-bedroom house near her childhood home. Her two boys attended her old elementary school, a three-minute walk away.
The bottom fell out four years later. A baby sitter the couple had hired in 2003 contacted police and revealed the two had pursued her for sex when she was 15. According to police reports and court records, KJ had left after the baby sitter said no. But, while she was at work, her husband later had sex with the girl.
Called into the police station in late 2011 and confronted with the by-then 23-year-old’s charges, KJ’s husband confessed. He was sentenced to 10 years of probation. KJ received 4 years of probation for indecency with a child by exposure as part of a deferred adjudication deal, and she was required to register as sex offender.
Although many sex offenders on probation are prohibited from being around children, KJ wasn’t. She maintained custody of her sons, whom she may pick up and drop off at school and activities.
Yet when she showed up to check in at the Meadows Place police station, she said police refused to register her as a resident and informed her she couldn’t live in her home. A city ordinance prohibited registered child sex offenders from living within a certain distance of places where children gathered; her house was too close to a city pool.
“But I already live here,” she replied.
“You can’t anymore,” she was told. In an unfolding legal battle, KJ stands to become the first Texas homeowner evicted from her own house for violating one of the ordinances.
State and local laws restricting where registered sex offenders may live after completing probation and parole have been around for a decade or longer. Many passed in the wake of a flurry of high-profile “memorial laws” named for children abducted and killed by strangers. While no Texas statute restricts where sex offenders can reside once they are released from state supervision, about 80 municipalities have adopted local ordinances prohibiting registered child sex offenders from living up to 2,500 feet near where children gather.
Violations typically come with a fine between $500 and $2,000 per day. Yet officials concede the restrictions rarely are invoked as criminal cases. More often, they function as a legal keep-out sign warning sex offenders they are unwelcome.
“It puts everybody on notice that we’re not going to tolerate these cases,” said Hutto Police Chief Byron Frankland, who pushed for the Austin suburb to adopt a 1,000-foot residency restriction soon after being hired this year.
Sara Bustilloz, public information officer for the Pflugerville Police Department, said she knew of no instances in which a person had been cited for violating the city’s rule prohibiting child sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, day care center, playground, youth center, public swimming pool or video arcade. But she noted the city now has fewer than half the number of registered offenders as when it enacted its residency restrictions in 2007.
“Based on our ordinance, they’re going to know how difficult it is to move here,” she said.
A new state law requires cities with fewer than 5,000 residents and such a restriction to have a process by which sex offenders who want to move into a restricted area can apply for an exemption. Most require a public hearing in front of the city council.
In West Lake Hills — where a city ordinance prohibits registered child sex offenders not only from living within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and youth centers, but also school bus stops — council members must quiz an applicant about his relationship with his mother before granting an exemption, among other criteria. Advocates say such procedures are unlikely to result in many applications or approvals.
Live “somewhere far away”
Residency restrictions reflect a belief that those convicted of sex offenses are uniquely dangerous and incapable of reform. “There is convincing documented evidence that sex offenders are sexual predators who present an extreme threat to public safety, are likely to use physical violence in the commission of their crimes and have a higher recidivism rate than persons convicted of other crimes,” states the ordinance in the North Texas town of Venus.
As the number of registered sex offenders in Texas approaches 90,000, however, studies have found many of those assumptions to be false. Studies show the vast majority of sex offenses are committed against family members or acquaintances, and that convicted sex offenders appear less likely to repeat their crime than those convicted of other offenses.
That means laws based on offenders grabbing random children off playgrounds have little practical effect on public safety. “The research does not support that residency restrictions, or exclusion zones, have any beneficial impact on safety, or recidivism, or any other objective you’re trying to achieve here,” Michele Deitch, of the University of Texas’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, told state legislators this spring. “In fact, there’s a growing body of research that shows residency restrictions increase sex offender recidivism rates” by driving offenders away from family and other support systems.
Offenders say restriction rules can be difficult to untangle. Frustrated with trying to identify where he was forbidden to travel, last year a University of Texas grad developed a mapping app to help other sex offenders comply. (West Lake Hills, whose ordinance requires its map of prohibited zones “be available to the public,” refused to release it to the American-Statesman.)
When Keith Gallegos moved from Florida to Venus in January 2016, he’d been off parole for more than a decade for his 1996 offense. But he was required to register as a child sex offender and abide by the city’s exclusion zones of 1,000 feet from places where children gather.
Using his car odometer to identify the boundaries, he found a house to buy. On the day of the closing, however, police informed him he’d mismeasured the distance from a community swimming pool; his house was only 850 feet away.
He canceled the deal. Three months later, Gallegos purchased another house, this time using Google Maps. Days after closing, Venus police told him their laser measurements showed it was 48 feet too close to the prohibited zone.
Even some police are ambivalent about the restrictions’ value. San Antonio’s ordinance prohibits registered offenders from living within 1,000 feet of city parks, including the River Walk. But Capt. Richard Martinez, supervisor of the city’s Park Police unit, said officers will cite violators only if they catch the attention of police for other matters.
As for actively checking to make sure no offender lives too close to a park, “We’re not going to do that, nor do we have the resources to do it,” he said, adding, “If you want to measure the ordinance in terms of how many citations we issue, it’s not very useful.”
Residency restrictions have been challenged in court in recent years. Massachusetts justices compared them to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. A pending Chicago case is fighting a state law that required two registered offenders to leave their established homes when a new child-related business opened near them. (The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear a Texas case challenging Lewisville’s 1,500-foot sex offender buffer.)
Yet the fear of child sex predators persists, and many citizens support residency restrictions — the wider the better. In a 2015 study, researchers from Nebraska asked residents their opinion of the state law prohibiting sex offenders from living within 500 feet of schools and day care facilities.
Sixty percent said 500 feet was too close. Half of those thought the buffer should be at least a mile; more than 10 percent simply said registered offenders should be forced to live “somewhere far away.”
Those sentiments tend to be accepted by local officials, even those who understand the laws’ limitations. “I don’t think (residency restrictions) are the end-all and be-all,” said Michael Boese, police chief and city administrator for Venus. “But sometimes perception is important to the community.”
“My father is a child molester and went to prison for that. Trust me — I have no sympathy for sex predators,” said Bobby Jo Newell, mayor of Brazoria, which just enacted a new residency restriction ordinance. “People act like putting these laws on the book will protect children. Do I believe it’s going to stop the majority of them? No. Most of these crimes are within the family. I do feel it’s a false sense of security. But, it’s there.”
Playgrounds not only for children
The city of Meadows Place boasts a school playground with a large attached park, a community center and a nature park for its 4,600 residents. Yet this summer city officials went on a playground-building spree.
New equipment appeared on small lots in the city’s far east side, on Brighton Boulevard; and in its northeastern-most corner, on Kangaroo Court. Meadows Valley Park, near the city’s center, and Meadow Glen Park, on the southern border, each installed new play gear, as well. “We had to cut some expenditures out of the budget to do it, but we thought it was important,” said Mayor Charles Jessup.
A tour of the facilities, however, shows Meadows Place’s newest playground equipment to be an odd assortment of items.
Kangaroo Pocket Park’s additions consist of a single tetherball pole surrounded by a half-dozen tree stumps and a dimensional-lumber balance bar. In Brighton Park, a small tepee-looking structure made of crooked sticks lashed together with rope is paired with a 6-foot length of corrugated plastic sewer pipe and a single cheap plastic-disc swing hung from a tree.
That’s because the city’s newest playgrounds aren’t entirely about child’s play.
Texas law states that a park needs to have three pieces of equipment to be considered a playground. And Meadow Place’s ordinance says sex offenders cannot live near playgrounds.
The city’s eagerness for new playgrounds was spurred by a legal challenge. Two years ago, Texas Voices for Reason and Justice, an advocacy group for sex offender reforms, sent a letter to 46 so-called general law cities — those with fewer than 5,000 population — with residency restrictions, threatening to sue because Texas state law did not give them authority to pass the ordinances. Rather than wage a costly legal battle, about half rescinded the rules (including Venus, rescuing Gallegos from abandoning his new house.)
Texas Voices sued the rest, including Meadows Place. This spring, however, state lawmakers rode to their rescue, quietly slipping language into an unrelated bill in the legislative session’s waning days that gave the small cities legal permission to enact the restrictions. Since it went into effect, municipalities that repealed their laws are reinstating them.
Because the new state rule limited exclusion zones to 1,000 feet from child-gathering spots, however, Meadows Place had to adjust. The previous rule put the boundaries at 2,000 feet. The new playgrounds “gave us a much needed 1000’ Child Safety Zone in that part of the city,” Jessup explained in his September newsletter.
Thanks in part to the small parks and their new equipment, Jessup said all but 147 of Meadows Place’s 1,456 residences are now off limits to registered sex offenders looking to move into the city. He said a new pocket park is planned in the city’s north, which will expand the exclusion zone.
“It’s just a gut feeling”
Meadows Place eventually agreed to officially register KJ as resident sex offender. The pounding on her door began the day after, on March 1, just after 1 p.m. In the following days, it often came late in the evening, when she returned home from her job as a waitress.
“The police have the real rapid, aggressive knock, you know?” she said. “Like, bambambambambam!”
Each time she answered, Meadows Place officers would officially inform her she was in violation of the city’s sex offender residency ordinance because her house was 676 feet from the community pool. (Meadows Place Police Chief Gary Stewart did not respond to an interview request.)
The police issued tickets on March 2, March 6 and March 9. On the 16th, they issued her six separate tickets, the first at 10:45 p.m., the last 12 minutes later. By March 18, they’d issued KJ 13 tickets, each carrying a $500 fine.
“It’s like they were stalking me,” she said. She started driving around her block after work to make sure no cruiser was waiting for her. In the mornings, she peeked out of her curtains to see if she was clear to leave. She disconnected her doorbell.
A municipal judge dismissed the citations during the Texas Voices lawsuit. But Jessup, the mayor, said there was no doubt Meadows Place would fight for its residency restriction. A City Council meeting to discuss the legal threat was packed, he said: “We took a vote, and it was 100 percent” in favor of fighting to keep the sex offender exclusion zone.
Although Jessup said he is aware of research challenging the value of the ordinances, he said he trusts his instincts. “From my perspective as a parent at the playground, there’s enough things for me to worry about without worrying about sexual predators across the street. It’s just a gut feeling as a parent.”
The city passed a new version of its ordinance on Aug. 22. KJ’s attorney, Woman may be first sex offender evicted as more Texas towns adopt exclusion zones
METRO-STATE By Eric Dexheimer – American-Statesman Staff …
The Houston suburb of Meadows Place has broadened its sex offender exclusion zones by designating sections of the public right of way as pocket parks and placing just enough equipment on them so the spaces qualify as playgrounds under Texas law. The city s sex offender exclusion zone ordinance forbids those convicted of child sex crimes from living within 1,000 feet of any playground.
Police began showing up at KJ’s house 8 months ago for violating the city’s residency restriction.
She has received 15 tickets as a registered sex offender living too close to a city pool.
The city of Meadows Place has created new playgrounds to expand its exclusion zone boundaries.
KJ grew up in Meadows Place, a 1-square-mile Houston bedroom community of modest 1970s and ’80s tree-shaded homes. In late 2007, she returned as a 33-year-old seeking to settle in a community she recalled warmly.
“I have great memories of this place,” she said. KJ — she asked that her name not be used for fear of losing her job; she was fired when her previous employer learned of her background — and her husband purchased a four-bedroom house near her childhood home. Her two boys attended her old elementary school, a three-minute walk away.
The bottom fell out four years later. A baby sitter the couple had hired in 2003 contacted police and revealed the two had pursued her for sex when she was 15. According to police reports and court records, KJ had left after the baby sitter said no. But, while she was at work, her husband later had sex with the girl.
Called into the police station in late 2011 and confronted with the by-then 23-year-old’s charges, KJ’s husband confessed. He was sentenced to 10 years of probation. KJ received 4 years of probation for indecency with a child by exposure as part of a deferred adjudication deal, and she was required to register as sex offender.
Although many sex offenders on probation are prohibited from being around children, KJ wasn’t. She maintained custody of her sons, whom she may pick up and drop off at school and activities.
Yet when she showed up to check in at the Meadows Place police station, she said police refused to register her as a resident and informed her she couldn’t live in her home. A city ordinance prohibited registered child sex offenders from living within a certain distance of places where children gathered; her house was too close to a city pool.
“But I already live here,” she replied.
“You can’t anymore,” she was told. In an unfolding legal battle, KJ stands to become the first Texas homeowner evicted from her own house for violating one of the ordinances.
State and local laws restricting where registered sex offenders may live after completing probation and parole have been around for a decade or longer. Many passed in the wake of a flurry of high-profile “memorial laws” named for children abducted and killed by strangers. While no Texas statute restricts where sex offenders can reside once they are released from state supervision, about 80 municipalities have adopted local ordinances prohibiting registered child sex offenders from living up to 2,500 feet near where children gather.
Violations typically come with a fine between $500 and $2,000 per day. Yet officials concede the restrictions rarely are invoked as criminal cases. More often, they function as a legal keep-out sign warning sex offenders they are unwelcome.
“It puts everybody on notice that we’re not going to tolerate these cases,” said Hutto Police Chief Byron Frankland, who pushed for the Austin suburb to adopt a 1,000-foot residency restriction soon after being hired this year.
Sara Bustilloz, public information officer for the Pflugerville Police Department, said she knew of no instances in which a person had been cited for violating the city’s rule prohibiting child sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, day care center, playground, youth center, public swimming pool or video arcade. But she noted the city now has fewer than half the number of registered offenders as when it enacted its residency restrictions in 2007.
“Based on our ordinance, they’re going to know how difficult it is to move here,” she said.
A new state law requires cities with fewer than 5,000 residents and such a restriction to have a process by which sex offenders who want to move into a restricted area can apply for an exemption. Most require a public hearing in front of the city council.
In West Lake Hills — where a city ordinance prohibits registered child sex offenders not only from living within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and youth centers, but also school bus stops — council members must quiz an applicant about his relationship with his mother before granting an exemption, among other criteria. Advocates say such procedures are unlikely to result in many applications or approvals.
Live “somewhere far away”
Residency restrictions reflect a belief that those convicted of sex offenses are uniquely dangerous and incapable of reform. “There is convincing documented evidence that sex offenders are sexual predators who present an extreme threat to public safety, are likely to use physical violence in the commission of their crimes and have a higher recidivism rate than persons convicted of other crimes,” states the ordinance in the North Texas town of Venus.
As the number of registered sex offenders in Texas approaches 90,000, however, studies have found many of those assumptions to be false. Studies show the vast majority of sex offenses are committed against family members or acquaintances, and that convicted sex offenders appear less likely to repeat their crime than those convicted of other offenses.
That means laws based on offenders grabbing random children off playgrounds have little practical effect on public safety. “The research does not support that residency restrictions, or exclusion zones, have any beneficial impact on safety, or recidivism, or any other objective you’re trying to achieve here,” Michele Deitch, of the University of Texas’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, told state legislators this spring. “In fact, there’s a growing body of research that shows residency restrictions increase sex offender recidivism rates” by driving offenders away from family and other support systems.
Offenders say restriction rules can be difficult to untangle. Frustrated with trying to identify where he was forbidden to travel, last year a University of Texas grad developed a mapping app to help other sex offenders comply. (West Lake Hills, whose ordinance requires its map of prohibited zones “be available to the public,” refused to release it to the American-Statesman.)
When Keith Gallegos moved from Florida to Venus in January 2016, he’d been off parole for more than a decade for his 1996 offense. But he was required to register as a child sex offender and abide by the city’s exclusion zones of 1,000 feet from places where children gather.
Using his car odometer to identify the boundaries, he found a house to buy. On the day of the closing, however, police informed him he’d mismeasured the distance from a community swimming pool; his house was only 850 feet away.
He canceled the deal. Three months later, Gallegos purchased another house, this time using Google Maps. Days after closing, Venus police told him their laser measurements showed it was 48 feet too close to the prohibited zone.
Even some police are ambivalent about the restrictions’ value. San Antonio’s ordinance prohibits registered offenders from living within 1,000 feet of city parks, including the River Walk. But Capt. Richard Martinez, supervisor of the city’s Park Police unit, said officers will cite violators only if they catch the attention of police for other matters.
As for actively checking to make sure no offender lives too close to a park, “We’re not going to do that, nor do we have the resources to do it,” he said, adding, “If you want to measure the ordinance in terms of how many citations we issue, it’s not very useful.”
Residency restrictions have been challenged in court in recent years. Massachusetts justices compared them to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. A pending Chicago case is fighting a state law that required two registered offenders to leave their established homes when a new child-related business opened near them. (The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear a Texas case challenging Lewisville’s 1,500-foot sex offender buffer.)
Yet the fear of child sex predators persists, and many citizens support residency restrictions — the wider the better. In a 2015 study, researchers from Nebraska asked residents their opinion of the state law prohibiting sex offenders from living within 500 feet of schools and day care facilities.
Sixty percent said 500 feet was too close. Half of those thought the buffer should be at least a mile; more than 10 percent simply said registered offenders should be forced to live “somewhere far away.”
Those sentiments tend to be accepted by local officials, even those who understand the laws’ limitations. “I don’t think (residency restrictions) are the end-all and be-all,” said Michael Boese, police chief and city administrator for Venus. “But sometimes perception is important to the community.”
“My father is a child molester and went to prison for that. Trust me — I have no sympathy for sex predators,” said Bobby Jo Newell, mayor of Brazoria, which just enacted a new residency restriction ordinance. “People act like putting these laws on the book will protect children. Do I believe it’s going to stop the majority of them? No. Most of these crimes are within the family. I do feel it’s a false sense of security. But, it’s there.”
Playgrounds not only for children
The city of Meadows Place boasts a school playground with a large attached park, a community center and a nature park for its 4,600 residents. Yet this summer city officials went on a playground-building spree.
New equipment appeared on small lots in the city’s far east side, on Brighton Boulevard; and in its northeastern-most corner, on Kangaroo Court. Meadows Valley Park, near the city’s center, and Meadow Glen Park, on the southern border, each installed new play gear, as well. “We had to cut some expenditures out of the budget to do it, but we thought it was important,” said Mayor Charles Jessup.
A tour of the facilities, however, shows Meadows Place’s newest playground equipment to be an odd assortment of items.
Kangaroo Pocket Park’s additions consist of a single tetherball pole surrounded by a half-dozen tree stumps and a dimensional-lumber balance bar. In Brighton Park, a small tepee-looking structure made of crooked sticks lashed together with rope is paired with a 6-foot length of corrugated plastic sewer pipe and a single cheap plastic-disc swing hung from a tree.
That’s because the city’s newest playgrounds aren’t entirely about child’s play.
Texas law states that a park needs to have three pieces of equipment to be considered a playground. And Meadow Place’s ordinance says sex offenders cannot live near playgrounds.
The city’s eagerness for new playgrounds was spurred by a legal challenge. Two years ago, Texas Voices for Reason and Justice, an advocacy group for sex offender reforms, sent a letter to 46 so-called general law cities — those with fewer than 5,000 population — with residency restrictions, threatening to sue because Texas state law did not give them authority to pass the ordinances. Rather than wage a costly legal battle, about half rescinded the rules (including Venus, rescuing Gallegos from abandoning his new house.)
Texas Voices sued the rest, including Meadows Place. This spring, however, state lawmakers rode to their rescue, quietly slipping language into an unrelated bill in the legislative session’s waning days that gave the small cities legal permission to enact the restrictions. Since it went into effect, municipalities that repealed their laws are reinstating them.
Because the new state rule limited exclusion zones to 1,000 feet from child-gathering spots, however, Meadows Place had to adjust. The previous rule put the boundaries at 2,000 feet. The new playgrounds “gave us a much needed 1000’ Child Safety Zone in that part of the city,” Jessup explained in his September newsletter.
Thanks in part to the small parks and their new equipment, Jessup said all but 147 of Meadows Place’s 1,456 residences are now off limits to registered sex offenders looking to move into the city. He said a new pocket park is planned in the city’s north, which will expand the exclusion zone.
“It’s just a gut feeling”
Meadows Place eventually agreed to officially register KJ as resident sex offender. The pounding on her door began the day after, on March 1, just after 1 p.m. In the following days, it often came late in the evening, when she returned home from her job as a waitress.
“The police have the real rapid, aggressive knock, you know?” she said. “Like, bambambambambam!”
Each time she answered, Meadows Place officers would officially inform her she was in violation of the city’s sex offender residency ordinance because her house was 676 feet from the community pool. (Meadows Place Police Chief Gary Stewart did not respond to an interview request.)
The police issued tickets on March 2, March 6 and March 9. On the 16th, they issued her six separate tickets, the first at 10:45 p.m., the last 12 minutes later. By March 18, they’d issued KJ 13 tickets, each carrying a $500 fine.
“It’s like they were stalking me,” she said. She started driving around her block after work to make sure no cruiser was waiting for her. In the mornings, she peeked out of her curtains to see if she was clear to leave. She disconnected her doorbell.
A municipal judge dismissed the citations during the Texas Voices lawsuit. But Jessup, the mayor, said there was no doubt Meadows Place would fight for its residency restriction. A City Council meeting to discuss the legal threat was packed, he said: “We took a vote, and it was 100 percent” in favor of fighting to keep the sex offender exclusion zone.
Although Jessup said he is aware of research challenging the value of the ordinances, he said he trusts his instincts. “From my perspective as a parent at the playground, there’s enough things for me to worry about without worrying about sexual predators across the street. It’s just a gut feeling as a parent.”
The city passed a new version of its ordinance on Aug. 22. KJ’s attorney, Richard Gladden, said he believes she is entitled to stay in her home because a grandfather clause in the new state law says anyone who lived in the city before a residency restriction ordinance was passed can stay.
Meadows Place’s attorney, Grady Randle, disputes that, contending the grandfather clause applies only to residents who were in their home when the city passed its original sex offender exclusion zone law, in 2006 — a year before KJ bought her house. He said it’s the city’s position that KJ must move out.
In mid-September, police began showing up at KJ’s house again, issuing her two more tickets. “Since then I haven’t answered the door,” she said. A court hearing is set for Nov. 9., said he believes she is entitled to stay in her home because a grandfather clause in the new state law says anyone who lived in the city before a residency restriction ordinance was passed can stay.
Meadows Place’s attorney, Grady Randle, disputes that, contending the grandfather clause applies only to residents who were in their home when the city passed its original sex offender exclusion zone law, in 2006 — a year before KJ bought her house. He said it’s the city’s position that KJ must move out.
In mid-September, police began showing up at KJ’s house again, issuing her two more tickets. “Since then I haven’t answered the door,” she said. A court hearing is set for Nov. 9.
I will be sending a email to my reps and the ACLU about this also.
Richard Gladden might be considered a superhero among civil rights activists if he weren’t representing one of the most despised segments of the population: sex offenders. The 55-year-old attorney has been defending them in court for more than a decade, fighting for their rights in a society hell-bent on taking them away.
If you want to write your representative about this I composed a letter you can use:
Imagine being told you have to leave your home by police. I am formally protesting this anti American political harassment.: Woman may be first sex offender evicted as more Texas towns adopt exclusion zones The Houston suburb of Meadows Place has broadened its sex offender exclusion zones AMERICAN-STATESMAN: from: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/woman-may-first-sex-offender-evicted-towns-adopt-exclusion-zones/vEyjZey1cMgDbNmC5SYqgM/ Posted: 12:00 a.m. Saturday, November 04, 2017… Yet when she showed up to check in at the Meadows Place police station, she said police refused to register her as a resident and informed her she couldn’t live in her home. A city ordinance prohibited registered child sex offenders from living within a certain distance of places where children gathered; her house was too close to a city pool. “But I already live here,” she replied. “You can’t anymore,” she was told. In an unfolding legal battle, KJ stands to become the first Texas homeowner evicted from her own house for violating one of the ordinances Called into the police station in late 2011 and confronted with the by-then 23-year-old’s charges, KJ’s husband confessed. He was sentenced to 10 years of probation. KJ received 4 years of probation for indecency with a child by exposure as part of a deferred adjudication deal
New Blogs Part 8 Updated November 14 2017
I want to clear up some stuff. I am a southerner and proud to be a southerner. I love this land so much I became a well known western artist around these here parts. I remember back in my hometown in Connecticut: I used to draw stuff and pin it to the outside of the door of my room where I lived. I liked the rebel flag back then; because I believed it symbolized, being rebellious to society. I learned back then that the rebel flag meant racism; I was about 21 years old. I know allot of southerners like Robert E. Lee and there is allot of literature trying to say he was not a slave owner. As far as I know; he was not just a slave owner, but involved in torturing slaves. That ain’t right!
Also there is only one reason I wanted the Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore not make it:
The day before Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore was accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl when he was in his early 30’s, he was surrounded by adoring county sheriffs endorsing him as a law and order candidate.
Three other women accused Moore of inappropriate behavior while they were between the ages of 16-18, but Moore responded by fundraising off the accusations. He calls the women “the forces of evil” in his money beg and invokes his religion as a defense.
I am sorry my article played the sex offender card; in this case what ever it took to see this person stopped was absolutely necessary.
Lillian Salerno is a native Texan, entrepreneur, attorney, Obama appointee, and an advocate for healthcare workers, nurses, and patients.
Now, she is running as a Democrat in Texas’s 32nd district against Republican Pete Sessions. For years, Sessions has ignored the interests of Texas-32 while catering to billionaires– he’s spent his career helping big corporations stack the deck against small businesses and hard workers. Lillian spent her life advocating for the most vulnerable.
Over the past few months, we’ve seen Rep. Sessions fall in line with his allies in Congress and special interests. He voted for the disastrous Trumpcare bill and is now supporting a tax reform plan that gives away tax cuts to millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations at the expense of middle-class and low-income Americans.
Lillian has always put the people first. Her life has been devoted to growing small businesses and fighting on their behalf against corporate concentration. She has seen firsthand how big powerful companies get all they want while the little guy gets shut out. It doesn’t have to be that way, and it shouldn’t be that way.
We need to act now to defeat this tax bill and ensure that working Americans get a fair shot.
Sign now and join Lillian Salerno’s campaign for Congress — because we need leadership in Congress that puts the people first.
The Keystone pipeline just spilled 210,000 barrels of oil near a small town in South Dakota.
Meanwhile, the Nebraska Public Service Commission is about to decide the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline. We expect a decision on Monday.
Oil spills are inevitable when we allow pipelines to cut across our country, threatening our communities and our water supply and fueling the climate crisis.
We need an immediate stop to fossil fuel infrastructure and a just, rapid transition to renewable energy.
Tell the Nebraska Public Service Commission to REJECT the Keystone XL.
*The Public Service Commission requires the contact information below in order to receive your message.
Oppose Trump FCC’s plan to destroy net neutrality and the open internet
Time is running out before Trump’s FCC and Big Cable destroy net neutrality — but we can still stop them.
Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a former lawyer for Verizon, is expected to announce a vote on a plan to end net neutrality as soon as November 22, the day before Thanksgiving.
Add your name to send a message (below) to Congress:
Right now, Republicans control both legislative chambers in 32 states. Article V of the Constitution states that a constitutional convention can be called at the request of ? of state legislatures – that’s 34 states. If we stand by and let just two more legislatures turn red, Republicans would gain the power to unilaterally call a convention at any point.
It gets worse. The Constitution does not specify how a convention should operate, who should be represented, or what would be on the agenda. That means Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and Donald Trump would set the ground rules.
The best way to stop Republicans from rewriting our Constitution is simple: Elect more state Democrats.
That’s why we’re fighting every single day to elect Democrats to statehouses all across the country.
Please sign right now to help us push our candidates to victory and STOP the GOP from overhauling our constitution >>
Paid for by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC)
I can think of nothing I would rather do, than update this blog this morning: Thanksgiving morning. I thought about what I am most thankful for this morning.: It is for Colorado, my neighbor state, declaring; sex offender registration unconstitutional. (That was the first thing that thought of.) What better way to start this update than to remind us all; about the first Thanksgiving enjoyed by the pilgrims:
“This made it possible to settle at a distance that allayed concerns of social, political and religious conflicts, but still provided the military and economic benefits of relative closeness to an established colony.”
The MAYFLOWER! The Mayflower, the Mayflower, the Mayflower was ponded into my brain as a child in Connecticut and should be to every child today in America. The Mayflower contained the first Americans.
“Many of the passengers were Pilgrims fleeing persistent religious persecution”
If that is not enough for you than get a old American history book and read up on it yourself. If you love America like I do than stand by separation of church and state like you would the flag.
yours in support of the Bill Of Rights and The United States Constitution
New Blogs Part 8 Updated Thanksgiving 2017
NM: TWO SEX OFFENDER BILLS SUPPORTED BY KELLER CONTAINED DIFFERENCES
November 3, 2017
SANTA FE – The 2011 sex offender legislation that’s surfaced as political ammunition against Tim Keller in Albuquerque’s mayoral race came about after repeated – and largely successful – lawsuits against New Mexico’s largest city for enacting local ordinances that went beyond what was then on the state’s books.
Many of the provisions in Albuquerque’s [Former] sex offender ordinance were struck down by the courts as being unconstitutional after the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed suit. Only a few restrictions were left in place.”
PA: APPELLATE COURT FINDS ‘PREDATOR’ PROCESS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
November 7, 2017
A panel of appellate judges ruled last week that Pennsylvania’s established process to designate a convicted sex offender as a “sexually violent predator” is unconstitutional. Full Article:
I have been protesting this for years; but it is one of those things that is hard to explain. Hopefully if you watch these great FSTV videos it will help you see the light.
The end of net neutrality could be a few steps away from actual fascism. The use of this kind of control is seen all over the world. Governments that want to decide where and when their citizens can go online. For now in our United States this power is in the hands of Internet Service Providers, and only used so far to further their profits… but how long until the merger of state and corporate is complete and this control is used to maintain power as well?
New Blogs Part 8 Updated December 08 2017
I sent my donation to Lambda Legal; I hope to inspire others to donate similarly.
Roy Moore claims America was better when slavery was allowed
Alabama Senate candidate and disgraced former state supreme court Chief Justice Roy Moore is a well established sexual harasser and abuser. He’s been accused of child molestation, flaunting the law (it got him removed from the bench twice), stealing money from charity, and he’s letting his racism flow freely for all to see.
During a campaign event in September, Moore told his supporters that the last time America was at its best was when slavery was legal.
Related: Roy Moore blames LGBTQ people for his sex abuse scandal as his poll numbers soar
An audience member asked Moore, who repeatedly invokes fellow accused sexual abuser Donald Trump‘s “Make America Great Again” slogan, when he thought the last time America was great. The slogan is widely considered a dog whistle to white supremacists.
“I think it was great at the time when families were united—even though we had slavery—they cared for one another,” Moore responded. “Our families were strong, our country had a direction.”
The person who asked the question was one of the few African-Americans in attendance.
Related: Trump endorses alleged child molester Roy Moore & Mitch McConnell is waffling now
Moore has also described Native Americans as “reds” and Asians as “yellows.” He has said Muslims should not serve in Congress and questioned former President Barack Obama‘s citizenship, implying our first African-American leader is Kenyan.
Moore will face off against Democrat Doug Jones on Tuesday. The two are running neck and neck for the seat as white evangelicals rally around Moore with excuses like “Jesus was falsely accused too.”
President Trump’s FCC chairman wants to gut the agency’s “net neutrality” rules. If this plan is approved, it will end the free and open internet as we know it today – and fundamentally change how consumers use the internet forever.
This is urgent: The FCC is expected to vote on net neutrality on December 14. We need you to speak out before then. Please, add your name now to tell the FCC: Protect net neutrality!
I feel real bad about Representative Dan Johnson. At the same time I am thankful with all my soul for all the brave women, and men too; that have come forward and told law enforcement about being victims of sex offences. If you read what I have wrote over and over again on this blog; you will know: I believe the only way that unfairly labeled RSO’s, will ever be treated humanly; is if everyone that has committed even the smallest sex offence is added to the registry. Once this takes place there will be so many unfairly labeled RSO’s; that the legal system will have to treat them according to The Constitution Of The United States. So from the bottom of my heart thank you to all who report being victim’s of sex offences.
Kentucky Lawmaker Kills Himself Amid Sexual Assault Allegations, Officials Say
A Kentucky state representative accused of molesting a teenage girl killed himself on Wednesday, just two days after the allegations were made public, the authorities said.
Representative Dan Johnson, a first-term Republican, took his life on a bridge in Mount Washington, Ky., according to Sheriff Donnie Tinnell of Bullitt County, who spoke to the local WDRB television station. The county coroner, Dave Billings, said that Mr. Johnson “died of a single gunshot wound” and that it was “a probable suicide.” An autopsy is to be conducted Thursday morning.
On Monday, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published an extensive investigation alleging that Mr. Johnson had sexually assaulted a 17-year-old parishioner at the Heart of Fire Church in nearby Louisville, an evangelical church where he was bishop.
The parishioner, now 21, said that in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2013, after a New Year’s Eve party at the church, she and Mr. Johnson’s daughter slept over at an apartment below the fellowship hall. After falling asleep on a sofa, she said, she woke up to find Mr. Johnson — who was drunk after going to a bar earlier in the night — kneeling over her. He proceeded to kiss her, grope her breasts under her shirt, put his hand down her pants and penetrate her with his finger, she said.
The woman reported the assault to the Louisville Metro Police Department within months of the episode, but no charges were filed. However, her account was corroborated by family members, by her therapist’s notes from the first half of 2013 and by Facebook messages she exchanged with Mr. Johnson, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting wrote.
The Federal Communications Commission has voted to repeal net neutrality, undoing crucial protections that allowed an open Internet free from Big Telecom’s interference.
Over two million fake public comments were submitted to the FCC in favor of repealing net neutrality—according to an investigation by the New York Attorney General’s Office.
One comment, for example, was submitted in July 2017—although the person died of cancer in June. Even U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (who strongly supports net neutrality and opposed the FCC rule change) had his identity stolen with a fake public comment submitted.
Congress must investigate this blatant identity theft. Sign the petition to demand hearings.
What the FCC did December 14th on net neutrality was outrageous. What’s even more disgraceful is they had to commit identity theft on two million people to generate fake support for this rule change. Please investigate.
By signing this form, you are agreeing to receive occasional emails on this and related campaigns from Daily Kos. You may of course unsubscribe at any time. Here’s our privacy policy.
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the home,
The smartphones pinged cell towers, ne’er did they roam.
Their location was fixed there all through the night,
Could be proven in court with no warrant in sight.
Then what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But Chief Justice Roberts like a red-nosed reindeer,
Leading the way for SCOTUS to hone
A warrant requirement for tracking your phone.
On Roberts, on Gorsuch, on Sotomayor.
Tracking us isn’t what phones are for.
On Thomas, on Ginsburg, on Breyer, on Kagan.
Please give Fourth Amendment fans something to cheer again.
And clearly explain, before it goes out of sight,
Why not being tracked by our phones is a right.
First up, Scott’s holiday poem was a reference to US v. Carpenter. A case in which the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the government must secure a search warrant under the fourth amendment in order to access cell phone location data, which is stored by your cell phone service provider. Analysts at SCOTUSblog predict that the court is likely to find a warrant requirement based on the Justice’s comments and oral argument. Some listeners may be aware that Scott was part of a group called The Texas Electronic Privacy Coalition, which pushed unsuccessfully at the Texas legislature in 2013 and 2015 to require a warrant for the government to gather personal cell phone location data. So Scott, what do you think? Will the court require a warrant for cell phone tracking?
Scott Henson: Well the reason that SCOTUSblog thought that it was likely that the court would end up requiring a warrant is that Chief Justice Roberts came out pretty strongly, really more strongly … he came out on a more civil libertarian position than the ACLU lawyer who was arguing the case. Justice Gorsuch, who is relatively new to the court, replaced Scalia, also came out pretty strongly on a warrant side, so when you start counting heads from the oral arguments, it really does look like that there are enough votes there to get to requiring a warrant for the first time.
New Blogs Part 8 Updated December 28 2017
Sign the petition to Congress and urge them to save net neutrality and an open internet with the CRA!
On December 14, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to overturn net neutrality, allowing major corporations like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon to mess with your ability to freely engage with online services.
Repealing net neutrality would put more power into the hands of large corporations, stifle innovation, and obstruct everyday users from accessing content online. But Congress has the authority to overturn the FCC’s decision with the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
Please sign the petition from NextGen America to send a message to Congress: Protect net neutrality and preserve equal access to the internet by using the CRA.
Net neutrality prevents internet service providers (ISPs) from putting content behind paywalls or blocking content altogether. It also prohibits these ISPs from discriminating against certain websites by slowing load times or boosting speeds exclusively for sites that are owned by the provider.
Everyone in the United States deserves equal access to the internet. Net neutrality isn’t just about making sure you can stream the latest TV show or share cute cat GIFs with your friends — it’s about protecting free speech and ensuring that the internet remains open for all.
Now that the Republican-controlled FCC has voted to repeal net neutrality, it’s up to Congress to intervene and save an open internet. Our elected officials in Washington have the authority to pass legislation that stops corporations like Verizon and Comcast from meddling with internet freedom — but they need to hear from us.
Please sign the petition from NextGen America to send a message to Congress: Protect net neutrality and preserve equal access to the internet by using the CRA.
I just want to say that all those people out there that say this person should go to jail and that person should go to jail; are not helping things at all. We less people in our all time highest mass incarceration in the history country; in the history of the world: not more. Away’s remember every time you point your finger there are 3 more pointing at you.
Petitions for more people going to jail, for this or that; is fascism at least and Schizophrenia at most.
I do believe in mass incarceration and people that push for it. Having a wife that has served in the US Army 8 years I do support anything like this:
PORTSMOUTH — City Attorney Robert Sullivan confirmed he recently met with a group of people who are concerned because a registered sex offender has been using the Portsmouth Indoor Pool.
The pool, located near the high school, is used by community members and youth and school swim teams.
After the meeting, Sullivan said, he reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire to get its input.
“The actions which the city might be able to take or which the city might be prevented from taking would be dictated by the particular aspects of the situation,” Sullivan said this week.
Gilles Bissonnette, the legal director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, said he told Sullivan that it would be “unconstitutional” for the city to bar the registered sex offender from using the pool, just because he’s a sex offender.
“The concern in these types of cases is that there is an equal protection clause problem,” Bissonnette said Tuesday. “That would be the case if regular members of the public are able to access these public facilities but a sex offender is precluded from accessing these facilities. The sex offender would be being treated unequally.”
OR: AFTER 15 YEARS, EX-LAWYER BRANDED AS CHILD MOLESTER WINS A REVERSAL
December 7, 2017
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed the conviction of a former lawyer who was found guilty in 2002 of sexually touching a 10-year-old girl in the kitchen of a McMinnville home, in a case riddled with questionable evidence.
Although Bradley Christopher Holbrook has already served a 6 ¼-year prison sentence, the reversal means he will no longer be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and carry that stigma. It also means that he won’t be a convicted felon anymore and could reinstate his law license.
That’s if the state of Oregon decides against appealing Wednesday’s ruling to the Oregon Supreme Court. And if the Yamhill County District Attorney’s Office — which originally prosecuted him — doesn’t decide to pursue a conviction again in a new trial.
DON’T RUSH NEW SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICIES, SOME WOMEN LAWMAKERS WARN
December 10, 2017
[governing.com]
One of the top agenda items for state legislatures next year will be to address the rampant sexual harassment in state capitols. Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have been accused of sexual harassment — or worse — since the #metoo movement took off in mid-October.
But several women in the Illinois legislature, which has already passed new laws in response to the outcry, caution that lawmakers should take their time when writing new sexual harassment policies.
“When you’re in crisis mode, you tend to move quickly. I don’t necessarily think crisis-legislating makes the best policy,” says Illinois state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, who is also the incoming president for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Her advice to lawmakers in other states?
“I would suggest that you invest the time to really dig in. We’re not going to solve this overnight –there’s no need for bills overnight,” she says. “Realize this has to last beyond the next couple of news cycles. It’s that important, that meaningful and that worth it.”
#DONTLOOKAWAY: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PAEDOPHILES AND SEX OFFENDERS
December 10, 2017
[The Star, Johannesburg, South Africa]
Johannesburg – Every now and then police report busting international paedophile rings. The details are gory, adults – usually men – sharing pictures and videos of young children being abused.
In one of the cases early this year, one of the worst paedophiles was sentenced to 32 life sentences and a further 170 years for, among other things, sexually abusing his girlfriend’s two-year-old daughter. Other than raping her, he used a toy dinosaur, thermometer and a sex toy to penetrate the child.
The man, who claimed in court that he needed help, was busted by US authorities who tracked him down after he shared pictures and videos of child pornography on the internet.
Recently, Simon Mofokeng resigned as Emfuleni mayor after he shared semi-naked pictures of a 14-year-old girl on a WhatsApp group.
Mofokeng is accused of grooming the child. After the news broke, a 28-year-old woman came forward, claiming that Mofokeng also groomed her. According to a report by the Saturday Star, the woman now has an 11-year-old child with Mofokeng.
Despite numerous reports on paedophiles and sexual grooming of children, clinical sexologist Dr Marlene “Dr Eve” Wasserman says there’s still confusion on what the difference between a paedophile and a child sex offender is.
CITY OF OCONOMOWOC – The common council on Tuesday, Dec. 5, voted to repeal and replace the city’s 2011 ordinance outlining residency restrictions for registered sex offenders, joining a handful of other area communities to do so in the wake of lawsuits and a federal court decision earlier this year.
Under the new rules, registered sex offenders who did not live in the city at the time of their offense could petition the common council to move into Oconomowoc. Such offenders are currently barred from attempting to move to the city under the current ordinance’s “original domicile restriction.”
But those offenders, if allowed to move in, would have to find housing in the 9 percent of the city that does not fall within 1,000 feet of a “child safety zone,” areas near local schools, parks or houses of worship.
About 664 housing units fall within that 9 percent, said Oconomowoc Police Chief Ron Buerger.
Perhaps the most irrefutable statement that can be made about modern day America is this: we have a penchant for putting people in cages. More than any other nation on the planet, we rely on incarceration as the fix for our social ills.
America’s unprecedented prison boom spawned advocates who work tirelessly to put the police state toothpaste back into the tube. As a result, despite a steady media diet of cops and robbers police procedurals, the rhetoric on crime policy has begun to shift. The country appears to be approaching something akin to apostasy. We have begun to lose our faith in imprisonment as an effective response to problems like drug addiction. For the first time since the data was tracked, state and federal prison populations declined in 2014, albeit slightly, from historic highs.
Yet amidst this wave of reform, one group of people continue to languish in the collective “harsher is better” mindset: sex offenders.
VT: JUDGE STRIKES DOWN RUTLAND’S LIMITS ON WHERE SEX OFFENDERS CAN LIVE
December 15, 2017
[vtdigger.org]
RUTLAND — A judge has shot down an ordinance in Rutland that limited where convicted sex offenders can live in the community.
“The case hinges on the question whether the City of Rutland has the power to declare people nuisances,” Rutland Superior Court Judge Samuel Hoar wrote recently in the strongly worded 13-page ruling. “It does not.”
The ordinance, which the city’s Board of Aldermen adopted in 2008, prohibited any offender convicted of a sex crime against a child from living in the city within 1,000 feet of a school, day care or recreation area.
That restriction precluded child sex offenders from living in much of the city.
“What the City has done here is effectively to declare an entire class of persons to be a public nuisance, by simple virtue of their physical existence,” Hoar wrote. “Plaintiffs have been convicted and punished; the City cannot now say to them, anymore than they could to any other citizen, ‘we don’t want your type in our town.’”
The judge added, “The boldness and breadth of this assertion is virtually without precedent.”
The lawsuit was filed in Rutland Superior Court by the state’s Prisoners’ Rights Office. It was brought on behalf of three convicted sex offenders, identified in documents only as John Does 1, 2 and 3, and includes “parties similarly situated.”
A set of Companion Bills HB10/SB112 have been filed for the upcoming 2018 Virginia General Assembly session to expand the victims under a Hate Crime to also include disability, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation to the categories of victims.
The definition of a Hate Crime: Hate crime (also known as bias-motivated crime) is a usually violent, prejudice motivated crime that occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group. Examples of such groups include but are not limited to: ethnicity, gender identity, language, nationality, physical appearance, religion, or sexual orientation.
In Virginia it’s any criminal act committed against a person or his property with the specific intent of instilling fear or intimidation in the individual against whom the act is perpetrated because of race, religion or ethnic origin.
Registered Sex Offenders (RSO), their spouses, their parents, their significant others, their children, their room-mates and their property have become targets of vigilantes across the U.S. because their addresses are public information The property of RSO’s and their loved ones have been robbed, vandalized and set on fire. RSO’s and their loved ones have been harassed, taunted, assaulted and even murdered simply because a stranger found their name and address posted on the public Sex Offender Registry.
Based on the definition of a Hate Crime, Registered Sex Offenders are a “certain social group” and any violence against them should be punished as such.
CT: SENTENCING COMMISSION FORWARDS TWO RECOMMENDATIONS, HIT PAUSE ON MORE BAIL CHANGES
December 18, 2017
[ctnewsjunkie.com]
HARTFORD, CT — A proposal that would allow some on the sex offender registry to petition to shorten their registration period or apply for removal from the registry was unanimously approved Thursday by the Sentencing Commission.
The Sentencing Commission also approved recommending reducing misdemeanor sentencing from 365 days to 364 days. That one day would give immigration judges more discretion in deportation hearings. They decided to continue to study the issue of a constitutional amendment on pre-trial release and detention that would deny release to high-risk defendants and deny detention for lack of funds to secure a bail bond.
The commission’s recommendations will be forwarded to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the General Assembly for the start of the 2018 legislative session.
On the sex registry proposal, it would give those on the registry an opportunity to petition to shorten their registration period or apply for removal from the public registry. In order to do so the registrant would have to show that they have reduced their risk to the community.
Under the recommendation a person could be on the registry for shorter periods than under the current system, and others would be on for longer periods.
In order to petition the registrant would have to show that they have reduced their risk to the community. Under the new system a person could be on the registry for shorter periods than under the current system, and others would be on for longer periods.
Thomas Ullman, a former public defender from New Haven, said it was a “good proposal.”
Mike Anderson was an 18-year-old freshman at Texas State University when he was busted with less than a gram of weed. Police arrested him, took his mugshot, and he spent the night in jail.
The legal consequences for being caught with such a small amount of marijuana — just enough for a joint or two — were minimal, but expensive. Prosecutors offered to drop the charges if he attended a drug program and did community service, and he could later get the record of his arrest expunged for about $500, wiping the history of his arrest from public view.
“After I got it expunged I thought it was pretty much a done deal,” he said of the order granted earlier this year.
But the next time he Googled his name, he realized the ordeal was far from over. His arrest photo was posted on Mugshots.com. The page was one of the top results for anyone who might be looking for him. And as Anderson applied for internships — a graduation requirement for mechanical engineering majors — recruiters who initially seemed interested would offer the spot to someone else.
“It wasn’t right,” said Anderson, a junior, who asked that his real name not be used for fear of drawing further attention to his mugshot.
“I called [Mugshots.com] on the phone, and they told me basically the only way I could get the mugshot to come down was to pay a certain fine. Proof of expunction wasn’t valid.”
Virginia Bill HB144- Patroned by Delegate Mark Cole Would Allow RSO’s Convicted of a Misdemeanor to Petition for Removal from the VSP Registry After 7 Years Instead Having to Wait 15 Years
A Bill has just posted in LIS (see below) and I am just dumbstruck. It’s a positive Bill that would only help a small percentage of Virginia RSO’s, but it actually helps instead of hurts and that’s why I’m shocked at the moment.
I have no idea where this proposal came from as I have not been asking for it but for some reason Delegate Cole has decided to sponsor it and I thank him for doing so.
WI: SUN PRAIRIE ALDERS EYE SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY ORDINANCE CHANGES AFTER LAWSUIT THREATS
December 19, 2017
[hngnews.com]
Convicted sex offenders are threatening to file lawsuits over an ordinance that restricts where they can live in the City of Sun Prairie.
City officials plan to head off litigation by considering changes to the city ordinance next week.
It’s something other Wisconsin municipalities dealt with this year after a federal court ruled that ordinances restricting where convicted sex offenders could live were unconstitutional.
Registered sex offenders aren’t allowed to live or loiter within 1,500 feet of a school, daycare center, park, playground, church, and other places where children under the age of 16 might be, according to the City of Sun Prairie ordinance.
They also can’t attend holiday parties where children under 18 of age will be present, distribute candy on Halloween, or wear a Santa Claus or Easter Bunny costume at events. There are exceptions if the children are related to the registered sex offender.
There are 36 convicted sex offenders living in the City of Sun Prairie, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry. There’s 939 listed in Dane County.
Sun Prairie City Attorney Mark Leonard said there have been several inquiries from attorneys on the ordinance and that the city has had appeals. He said alders plan to review the ordinance next week.
Read more http://www.hngnews.com/sun_prairie_star/news/article_efdbf55a-0d0e-5422-9849-4f2babea4cf9.html?mode=jqm
THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND MAKING OTHERS THE VILLAIN
December 19, 2017
[sosen.org]
With all of sexual harassment charges floating around possibly it’s time for us to look at the psychological reason why this is such a touchy subject.
Okay, I don’t know if anybody else sees this, maybe my experiences are different than other people’s, but from my point of view the feminists have opened themselves up to having the pendulum swing the other direction, this could push our society back towards Victorian values of high neck collars and long dresses in the workplace coupled with modern high-tech body cameras on all employees.
First of all I have no problem with women coming forward and complaining about sexual misbehavior by men in power or even men in general, the male ranks need to stop considering any and all females as objects.
The same can be said for the females, is it okay for a woman in the workplace to flirt even though she has no intent of being in a relationship? It is now and has been as long as I can remember the habit of many women to use their feminine wiles to entice men to better their positions or to play with them because it’s fun for the women, at least that is my perspective from being on the receiving end of a bunch of this.
IN: SEX OFFENDERS SUE OVER INDIANA REGISTRY REQUIREMENT
December 24, 2017
[US News]
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Three men have filed a lawsuit over an Indiana requirement that they register as sex offenders when moving to the state, saying they’re being treated differently than other residents in similar situations.
Patrick Rice, Adam Bash and Scott Rush all were convicted out of state and before the enactment of the Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act, The Indianapolis Star reported. The men’s lawsuit says that in accordance with an Indiana Supreme Court ruling, the Department of Correction does not typically require sex offenders convicted before the act went into effect to register, provided they have never left the state. But the state does require offenders who have temporarily left Indiana or are moving to Indiana to register.
NJ: NEW JERSEY CHILD MOLESTERS WON’T FACE CASTRATION THREAT ANY TIME SOON
December 28, 2017
[trentonian.com]
In a year filled with arrests for sexual crimes against child victims, there is a familiar refrain heard each time one of these arrests is announced. “Castrate him,” is shouted from all corners of society and social media.
Almost 80 alleged child molesters or kiddie porn collectors were arrested this year by a regional task force. None of those offenders, however, will ever have to face castration-style penalties if convicted in New Jersey Superior Court.
That’s because New Jersey, unlike a handful of states across America, lacks a law that would require certain sex offenders to be neutered or semi-neutered.
Removing a sex offender’s testicles or doping him up on testosterone-reducing drugs may sound harsh, but that is the law of the land in certain jurisdictions outside the Garden State.
Several states across America have laws requiring certain child molesters to take so-called “chemical castration” hormonal drugs that curtail sexual desire by sharply reducing testosterone levels, but New Jersey state lawmakers have not seriously considered that idea since the turn of the century.
Surgical castration — a medical procedure that physically removes a male’s testicles — is an option for certain Megan’s Law offenders in California who prefer to voluntarily undergo a permanent, surgical alternative to hormonal chemical treatment.
Attorney General Christopher Porrino, during his final weeks as New Jersey’s top cop, has announced this month the arrests of 79 alleged child predators or child pornography offenders under “Operation Safety Net,” a nine-month, multi-agency child protection initiative led by the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
RI: LAWSUIT SEEKS TO BLOCK R.I. LAW LIMITING NUMBER OF SEX OFFENDERS IN HOMELESS SHELTERS
December 31, 2017
[providencejournal.com]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An advocacy group for the homeless is asking a federal judge to block a Rhode Island law set to go into effect Monday that limits the number of convicted sex offenders who can stay at Rhode Island homeless shelters.
In a lawsuit against the state filed Friday in U.S. District Court, lawyers representing the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and six registered sex offenders argue that the law passed in September is unconstitutional and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The suit asks for an injunction preventing the state from enforcing the new law’s 10-percent limit on the number of shelter beds that can be given to registered sex offenders.
It focuses on people who now stay at Harrington Hall in Cranston, the state-owned shelter operated by Crossroads Rhode Island that has become a place of last resort for sex offenders whose options for housing have been limited by increasingly strict residency laws.
Displeasure among Cranston lawmakers with the number of sex offenders staying at Harrington Hall prompted the 10-percent bill.
“As a direct result of the 10 percent Restriction, many of the Plaintiffs have been or will be denied shelter at Harrington Hall and will be required to sleep or camp on the streets, even when there are beds available to accommodate them and notwithstanding the operator’s willingness to do so,” said the suit, filed by a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island. “Being forced into un-sheltered homelessness, particularly during the winter months, imposes life-threatening conditions upon the Plaintiffs.”
Harrington Hall has 111 beds, so the 10-percent cap limits it to 11 registered sex offenders staying there per night.
The suit says 49 registered sex offenders stayed at Harrington Hall on Oct. 19 and 32 offenders on Dec. 27.
It argues, among other things, that the 10-percent rule violates the 14th Amendment’s equal-protection clause and unfairly denies disabled sex offenders benefits provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and the Fair Housing Act.
There are dozens of definitions of Social Justice.
Wikipedia defines it as the concept of fair and just relations between the individual and society. This is measured by the explicit and tacit terms for the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal activity and social priviledges.
The Business Dictionary puts a different spin on it, the fair and proper administration of laws conforming to the “natural law” that all persons, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, possessions, race, religion, etc., are to be treated equally and without prejudice.
The Center for Economic and Social Justice see it as the virtue which guides us in creating those organized human interactions we call institutions. In turn, social institution when justly organized provides us with access to what is good for the person, both individually and in our association with others. Social justice also imposes on each of us a personal responsibility to collaborate with others at whatever level of common good in which we participate and to design and continually perfect our institutions as tools for personal and social development.
Whatever definition one subscribes to, social justice is an “all for one and one for all” kind of thing. Or at least that’s what it’s “supposed” to be.
Society is “supposed” to come together to accomplish a particular goal, something that is in the best interest of everyone, from the smallest neighborhoods, to towns and villages, to states, countries and the world. The collective nature of humanity is “supposed” to be able to get together and figure out how to promote equality and human rights, fairly administer laws and policies, provide opportunities and resources to everyone, without prejudice. Society is “supposed” to participate in change, personal responsibility, create opportunity and chance through action, and this includes re-tooling actions that don’t work or have proved to be ineffective, for instance, the registry.
That’s what social justice is “supposed” to be.
So when it comes to registrants, where does society stand on social justice?
IL: TASK FORCE RECOMMENDS CHANGING SEX OFFENDER RULES
January 4, 2018
CHICAGO — Major changes in Illinois’ rules for sex offenders, including how long an offender must remain on a public registry, are part of a final report on its way to the governor’s office from the Sex Offenses & Sex Offender Registration Task Force.
The report comes after a year of study by the group of legislators, criminal justice policymakers and advocates for victims and offenders, all appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The report set for release Thursday recognizes that Illinois lacks sufficient resources to monitor and assess treatment of sex offenders at the state and local level. Full Article
RI: CROSSROADS WILL CONTINUE TO SHELTER HOMELESS SEX OFFENDERS AS LAWSUIT PLAYS OUT
January 4, 2018 ·4 Comments
[providencejournal.com]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Crossroads Rhode Island will continue to take in sex offenders at a homeless shelter in Cranston under an agreement between the parties to a lawsuit challenging a new state law that limits the number of convicted sex offenders who can be housed in homeless shelters.
The parties met in chambers Wednesday afternoon with U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith.
According to Lynette Labinger, a lawyer for the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the lawsuit, Judge Smith recognized that there are significant legal and factual issues that the state has not yet had a chance to address. The parties agreed that while they are developing the legal issues, no one would be turned away as a result of the new law that allows only 10 percent of shelter beds to go to sex offenders, she said.
Crossroads has not been turning anyone away since the law took effect Jan. 1, she said.
How does Texas’ incarceration rate stack up to other states? Still on the high side, according to the new Bureau of Justice Statistics report, “Prisoners in 2016.”
At year-end 2016, 12 states had imprisonment rates that were greater than the national rate of 450 per 100,000 U.S. residents of all ages: Louisiana (760 per 100,000 state residents), Oklahoma (673 per 100,000), Mississippi (624 per 100,000), Arizona (585 per 100,000), Arkansas (583 per 100,000), Alabama (571 per 100,000), Texas (563 per 100,000), Missouri (532 per 100,000), Kentucky (518 per 100,000), Georgia (512 per 100,000), Florida (481 per 100,000), and Nevada (460 per 100,000) (table 7). …
More than 1% of all males in seven states were in prison on December 31, 2016: Louisiana (1,469 per 100,000 male state residents), Oklahoma (1,207 per 100,000), Mississippi (1,200 per 100,000), Arkansas (1,095 per 100,000), Alabama (1,085 per 100,000), Arizona (1,071 per 100,000), and Texas (1,040 per 100,000).
So Texas is one of only seven states that incarcerates more than one percent of men. That’s an unfortunate club in which to claim membership.
The report also noted a red flag for Texas: Admissions in Texas rose by 2,500 from 2015 to 2016 – one of only three states to see such an increase.
These sorts of data are why Grits sometimes tires of crowing about Texas’ 2007 community corrections reforms credited with leveling off prison population growth, which had seen a steep upward trend before then. Even so, Texas remains vastly over-incarcerated. And 2007 was now more than a decade ago. It’s nigh past time in 2019 for the Lege to take additional steps.
New Blogs Part 8 Updated January 19 2018
I wonder how many sex offenses are taking place in these party’s? In my mind and in most sound minded people’s minds; gang bangs are that same thing as rape. :
Tech sex orgies” tale is the talk of Silicon Valley:
In liberated San Francisco, group sex is so 1980s. Play parties and swingers’ nights for consenting adults, whether straight, bi, or gay, have occurred in private homes or underground sex clubs like the Power Exchange, Eros, SF Citadel and the newer Skirt Club, for years.
MOST POPULAR
Mr. President: Please, no Norwegians!!!! 7 managers threaten to quit Oakland restaurants unless… Feds planning massive Northern California immigration sweep to… Bay Area police unlikely to help ICE on immigration sweeps New BART rail cars could start service in time for Friday’s… Study finds riskiest times, routes for Bay Area drivers Masters of the Silicon Valley fitness universe
But the recent Vanity Fair story on orgies in Silicon Valley — an adaptation of Emily Chang’s forthcoming book, “Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley” — has caused a stir.
The reason? It’s the assertions by the party hosts — some of the valley’s most powerful men — that their drug-laden sex parties with their own wives, employees and business acquaintances are lifestyle choices that push paradigms, just like the technologies they create. In contrast, the young women invited to attend say that to further their careers, they feel pressured to join in the action (drinking alcohol, taking MDMA — also known as Ecstasy or Molly, and engaging in group sex). Afterward, double standards apply: Male participants are part of the “in crowd,” while female participants are slut-shamed. Most sources, and participants, were not identified.
Smartphone screens started lighting up across the Bay Area as soon as the story went online this week, with people calling one another and asking: Have you seen it?
I admit to being surprised. I’ve socialized with some of the Peninsula’s top technorati over the past 30 years and have never heard of these orgies — nor had the 30-something wife of a Peninsula startup executive who texted me, wondering which of our mutual friends might be taking part in all of this.
That — and the prurient nature of the article — were among the reasons she, like most of the people I reached out to, declined to be identified.
Another woman, a female philanthropist, told me she was not fazed at all by the idea of tech orgies. “This article is 10 years too late,” she said by text. “I know how crazy these executives can get and how these young girls out of college look up to them and want to be part of their money, power and games. I don’t think it’s exaggerated at all. Old story and very sad.”
A Facebook friend backed up that assertion. “This is not something new in Silicon Valley. I knew of these type of things when I worked there 20 years ago,” she wrote.
While some feel the behavior described amounts to a lack of morality, what bothers San Francisco sexologist Carol Queen, a proponent of safe sexual experimentation, is the question of consent — not to mention the questions about sexual harassment it produces for human resource departments at the companies involved.
“It’s part of sex positivity to play clear attention to consent,” she said. “You don’t want to pressure people to go have sex at a party with their coworkers and bosses if they’re not really down to go to a sex party and not really certain that they are safe in their jobs and personal lives from harassment and ill effect by doing that. We can’t trust people who don’t have very sophisticated understandings about sexual exploration and workplace values to make everyone truly safe, in this kind of situation.”
One social media founder who is aware of the sex parties said most of the behavior occurs “in a social context” and not in the workplace, among people with open relationships who are looking for “unicorns,” or single people who will join a threesome or polyamorous triangle.
An Atherton venture capitalist in his 40s said he was certain that sexual harassment in the workplace was true, but less convinced people were being force-fed drugs and made to participate in sex parties, which he’d never previously heard about. “You’ve got to be an adult and responsible,” he said. “Put your big boy and big girl pants on — there isn’t a party, if everyone leaves.”
Susan MacTavish Best, who was 23 when she founded her own tech public relations firm in San Francisco in 1997 and is now known for hosting tech salons, said she hoped that young women would be more sensible about creating their own futures.
“When I read that the women have no control and that they have to go to these parties and be a guest, well, they don’t have to; it’s a choice,” Best said. “Why don’t they take a leadership role? Go organize something yourself and invite people. Of course the men will come — men will go where there are smart, attractive women. Just because you’re a startup founder and a woman in need of funding doesn’t mean you have to get naked. For those unresponsive to you if you won’t get naked, they’re probably not good for a long-term friend — or business relationships.”
New Report Finds — Surprise — Indigent Defense Attorneys Shouldn’t be Under the Control of the State Prison System
The Texas prison system controls an agency tasked with defending poor inmates accused of crimes inside Texas prisons. What could possibly go wrong?
A new report by a committee of the State Bar of Texas aims to draw attention to a glaringly obvious conflict of interest at a little-known indigent defense system in Texas.
Current and former attorneys with the State Counsel for Offenders (SCFO), which represents indigent inmates accused of committing crimes inside Texas prisons, claim higher-ups at SCFO have ordered them to change legal strategy, for example prohibiting them from filing motions to assist mentally ill clients and even forcing them to withdraw from certain cases. Some of those attorneys, whose anonymous survey responses were included in the report, claim they were forced to make harmful legal decisions after their bosses consulted with the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, a nine-member group appointed by the governor that controls SCFO’s purse strings and all other Texas Department of Criminal Justice operations.
“Our budget is controlled by an agency with goals diametrically opposed to our own,” wrote one lawyer who responded to the survey. “Our advocacy dies the death of a thousand budgetary cuts and fiscal considerations.” Another wrote, “SCFO leadership bends to the will of TDCJ and doesn’t want to rock the boat.”
Lawyers for SCFO’s criminal division represent indigent inmates accused of committing felonies while incarcerated in a TDCJ facility. On the so-called civil commitment side, the agency lawyers defend sex offenders that prison officials and prosecutors have flagged as too dangerous for release into the community, even after they’ve finished their prison sentences. Under Texas’ “sexually violent predator” law, prosecutors petition the civil courts to order those men into a sex offender treatment program run out of an old prison in the Texas Panhandle, where they’re indefinitely confined.
Prosecutors working opposite SCFO attorneys are given more independence and resources. According to the report, published last month by the state bar’s committee on “legal services to the poor in criminal matters,” state’s so-called Special Prosecution Unit (SPU), which works with prison officials and local district attorneys to litigate cases against prisoners, is governed by its own independent board of directors. When you remove SPU’s budget for prosecuting juvenile offenders, which SCFO attorneys don’t defend, its funding for fiscal year 2016 was $4.5 million, more than a million dollars above the funding its counterpart agency received.
Nearly every attorney who responded to the committee’s survey said that SCFO lawyers trail their prosecutor counterparts in both salary and resources to litigate cases, such as funding to pay experts. One attorney wrote that defenders were often forced to use faulty office equipment emblazoned with the state prison system’s logo. Even some current and former SPU prosecutors agree. The state bar committee consulted four of them for its report, who echoed the concerns about disparities in pay and resources.
On this rare occasion when I asked my wife what she thinks of what I wanted to post here; I just said to my wife, even if this is not true, it is still worth posting it. My wife is skeptical about every thing; she is my balance in life. I just assumed she would be suspicious. 😒
In bid to boost safety, juvenile justice agency reviewing violent youth for possible transfer
Updated 9:09 pm, Monday, January 22, 2018
Staff at the scandal-plagued Texas Juvenile Justice Department have been asked to review a few dozen violent inmates for possible transfer to adult prisons, a move that has sparked concern among activists and advocates.
“Children don’t belong in adult prison,” said Jay Jenkins, a project attorney with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. “Juveniles don’t belong in adult prisons. Full stop.”
But lawmakers and officials stressed that the review is part of a push to boost security by working to remove assaultive youth.
“I am very positive on the plan to once and for all make Juvenile Justice safe,” said state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston
When one reads the press accounts which broke the recent scandals at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department or talk to the reporters who covered it, one thing becomes clear: Much of what we know would have remained a secret if it weren’t for the work of Debbie Unruh and her staff at the Ombudsman’s office.
So naturally, Gov. Abbott has fired her, the Houston Chronicle reported. The chair of TJJD’s board is also gone, and the executive director of the agency had already been replaced by the head of Gov. Abbott’s Criminal Justice Division (which is in charge of dispensing mostly federal grant money). See also coverage from the Texas Tribune.
Incidentally, the new board chair, Wes Ritchey, comes from the same job Grits’ paternal grandfather had for 29 years: County Judge of Dallam County.
State Sen. John Whitmire defended the changes, declaring, “Surely they can’t say that the status quo was working well.” To which Grits would reply, “No, it’s not, but the only way we know that is because of the good work of the Ombudsman who’s now being fired.”
I get firing the ED and the board chair, even if I wasn’t happy with the subsequent ED’s initial missteps. But firing the Ombudsman is a different breed of cat. Hard to see that as anything but shooting the messenger, which breeds skepticism about whether the Governor would rather solve the problem or cover it up.
Rather than embracing modern best practices on juvenile justice like Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Gov. Abbott is doubling down on failed big-government solutions from the past and shutting down voices that exposed its shortcomings. That’s a discouraging start to what will surely be a long and painful process.
If Unruh’s office had never documented and exposed some of these problems, they would continue to have been swept under the rug. Same goes for problems at county detention centers.
My own takeaway on this remains the same as when the latest scandal first broke: “The mechanisms the Legislature created [in 2007] to identify, prosecute and punish sexual misconduct by staff actually appear to have worked. But the corrections culture that produces these illicit relationships at TJJD and TDCJ continues to afford opportunities for predatory behavior.” The Ombudsman’s office is part of what worked in this case: It’s the management and ultimately decision makers and budget writers in the Legislature who decided to keep these large facilities in rural areas far away from treatment or mental health resources, then underfund them to the point that, in some cases, staff turnover approaches 40 percent annually.
Will the next Ombudsman be anxious to expose problems at juvenile detention centers knowing that doing so got the last person fired? Not likely.
Unruh wasn’t technically a “whistleblower” because her JOB was to expose this stuff. She wasn’t doing it against the interests of the agency, it was part of her job description and the Ombudsman’s explicit mission.
But the circumstance is essentially similar to firing a whistleblower: She’s being punished after exposing problems everyone agrees shouldn’t have been going on. Indeed, given that most of the changes at TJJD so far are non-responsive to the details of the recently reported scandals, punishing her seems to be prioritized over fixing the problems.
If you believe it is ok to deny registered sex offenders human rights or U.S. Constitutional rights. If you do not believe registered sex offenders are denied their human and constitutional rights or if you are against free speech. Please leave this web page now. Thank you.
By remaining on this web page you here by acknowledge that you support human rights and United States constitutional rights for registered sex offenders and that you support freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
This blog is not for people to be critical of what is posted here and if the reader is critical of anything here than that means they did not read the disclaimer on the top of each of the pages here and are not welcome here and should stop reading and leave this blog upon my request and in the name of freedom of speech, and my rights as a American citizen.
No sexual abuse is ever acceptable. Sex offense laws and policies should be based on sound research and common sense, not fear, panic or paranoia. Current laws and policies that paint all sex offenders with one broad brush are counter- productive, wasteful, and cause needless harm. Each offense must be judged on its own merits with a punishment that fits the crime and does not waste taxpayer dollars. The public sex offender registry and residency restriction laws do not protect children but instead ostracize and dehumanize individuals and their families. Money spent on purely punitive measures would be better used for prevention, healing, and rehabilitation.
The author of SO FAQ does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That doe not mean we are should not vote.
?
Hey, this blog looks real nice on a cell phone; as I have recently discovered.?
Please ignore the official counter on this blog. Shortly after I put this counter on every page of my blog it became impossible to update with it in the html of this blog. I had to take it off all my blog pages. I just realized today it is still on my untouched SOFAQ homepage still and I believe it is true, counting not only computer hits but phone hits as well. I am pasting a copy of it here:
That’s right; the home page of this blog registers 215,050 hits.
check the bottom of this page to see for yourself:
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Following the sentencing of an area man last month for indecent assault, Blair County District Attorney Richard A. Consiglio informed the judge that the next step in the process — a hearing to determine if the defendant was required to register as a sex offender — had to be delayed because of recent opinions by the Pennsylvania Supreme and Superior courts.
Under those opinions, questions arose as to the constitutionality of the state law requiring sexual offenders to register with state police and to periodically update their registration.
The constitutional challenges focused on individuals convicted of sexual offenses before Dec. 20, 2012, when the most recent Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, known as SORNA, took effect.
Also challenged was the information made available to the public about defendants that included private facts beyond the charges for which they were convicted and their addresses.
MA: WESTFIELD MOVES TO REPEAL UNCONSTITUTIONAL SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE
WESTFIELD – The City Council’s legislative and ordinance subcommittee Thursday took the first step toward repealing a local ordinance that unconstitutionally restricts where registered sex offenders may live or visit.
The motion to repeal the ordinance was made by Chairman Ralph J. Figy, who said a decision by the state Supreme Judicial Court indicates the ordinance goes against the state constitution.
First Assistant City Solicitor Shanna R. Reed said Westfield has not received any notification from the state regarding the ordinance, but other cities have.
“There was a case against the city of Lynn that had a similar ordinance,” Reed said. “A lot of communities have them.”
Reed wrote Westfield’s ordinance in 2011. Forty other communities in the state had similar ordinances at the time, she said. She said town bylaws must be reviewed by the state attorney general. “So even the attorney general thought it was OK,” she said.
The state’s Sex Offender Registry, created in 1999, requires comprehensive data about registered sex offenders. The SJC ruled that was all any community needed, Reed said.
“They said it’s enough and we can’t go beyond that,” she said.
Westfield’s sex offender ordinance exceeded the state laws simply by existing, said Reed.
PROFESSOR CATHERINE CARPENTER: THE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF SEX OFFENSE LAWS [VIDEO]
Professor Catherine Carpenter (Southwestern Law School), a nationally renowned criminal law scholar in the area of sex crimes and sex offender registration laws, came to St. Francis College on September 26 to talk about The Unconstitutionality of Sex Offense Laws.
Watch Catherine Carpenter on Sex Offender Laws
Her scholarship has been cited by numerous courts and used as a guide by attorneys; she is also one of the foremost authorities on law school curricula and accreditation. Among her important law review articles is, “Against Juvenile Sex Offender Registration.”
The lecture was organized by St. Francis College Professors Emily Horowitz and Athena Devlin as part of the Fall 2017 Senior Citizen Lecture Series: Perspectives on American Politics & Policies.
TX: SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS QUESTIONED IN SMALL CITIES
AUSTIN — Registered sex offenders in small Texas cities were until last year challenging residence restrictions, arguing that “general-law” municipalities lacked authority to control where they lived.
A new state law that took effect in September codified small cities’ legal standing to enact such ordinances, but now the attorney who in 2015 sued Krum over its ordinance is back in court, saying that the Denton County city’s newly enacted residence restriction, along with those of several other Texas cities, violates the statute.
“If they’ve passed a new ordinance and it doesn’t comply, they are very likely to be sued,” said Denton attorney Richard Gladden, who challenged Krum’s residency rules on behalf of a then-local male resident who is a registered sex offender. “If they have not complied with House Bill 1111 they are going to lose.”
We are pleased to have learned that Judge Dimitrouleas DISMISSED the lawsuit filed against us by ClearMyCase.
For some time we’d been receiving complaints from FAC members and registrants from other states about a company out of Texas called ClearMyCase.com. The company had been using the State Sex Offender registries as a mailing list to solicit “fees” to help “de-register” people from the Sex Offender Registry.
PA: U.S. SUPREME COURT DENIES APPEAL OF SEX OFFENDER DECISION
The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to a recent state court ruling that determined part of Pennsylvania’s sex offender registration law was unconstitutional. Full Article
The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to a recent state court ruling that determined part of Pennsylvania’s sex offender registration law was unconstitutional.
Three convicted rapists awaiting release from state custody are suing the city of Dayton, Minn., over an ordinance that virtually bans them from living in the city, arguing that the measure violates their Constitutional rights and is trumped by state law.
The men are challenging a far-reaching 2016 ordinance that bars convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of any school, day care center, park, playground, public bus stop — even a pumpkin patch or apple orchard — within the city of Dayton, a rural community of about 5,000 residents northwest of the Twin Cities.
Because of the ordinance, they argue, the three offenders remain unjustly confined at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) facility in St. Peter — more than a year after they were cleared for conditional release to a three-bedroom group home in Dayton, where they would have lived under 24-hour surveillance. The lawsuit was filed this month in Hennepin County District Court.
MI: SUPREME COURT RULES IN SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY CASE
Michigan’s Supreme Court says a Detroit-area man who served probation and community service after being charged with touching a girl’s breast when he was 19 can be removed from a sex offender registry. Full Article
NEW POTENTIAL SCAM “CORRECTIONAL SERVICES NETWORK OF AMERICA” TARGETING SEX OFFENDERS
Members are reporting receiving post cards from a Nevada based LLC called “Correctional Services Network of America” in the same style as “ClearMyCase”.
The company is using the Florida Sex Offender’s Registry as a marketing list to solicit vulnerable individuals, offering a “review” of their registration status for $299… a “savings” of $500 off their regular price of $899.00.
A lawsuit was filed today in the Central District of the U.S. District Court of California challenging regulations issued by the State Department that announced the addition of a “unique identifier” to the passports of some registrants. Addition of the identifier to passports could affect more than 500,000 Americans and their families.
“The State Department violated the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) when it failed to provide the public with an opportunity to comment upon its regulations,” stated ACSOL Executive Director and attorney Janice Bellucci. “As a result of the State Department’s significant violations, we are asking the Court to order the agency to begin again its regulatory process.”
According to the lawsuit, the State Department issued the regulations in September 2016 and October 2017. The agency declared the first regulation to be a “final rule” and did not request public comment before taking effect. The agency issued the second regulation in the form of a press release which was later posted on the agency’s website.
In its regulations, the State Department also declared that it will not issue passport cards to some registrants. According to the lawsuit, Congress did not provide the State Department with this authority, but instead required the State Department to add a unique identifier to passport cards issued to some registrants.
The plaintiffs in the case include the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, a national non-profit organization, as well as two registrants who reside in the Central District. One of the registrants has an existing passport without an identifier and is concerned that his passport could be revoked while he is traveling overseas. The second registrant does not yet have a passport and is afraid to apply for one because it would include a unique identifier.
“The possibility of having a unique identifier added to their passports has had a dramatic chilling effect upon hundreds of thousands of American citizens,” stated Bellucci. “Due to this concern, they are choosing either not to travel overseas or not to apply for a passport.”
The United States, in the past, has not added a unique identifier to the passport of any American citizen. The only countries known to have done this in the past are Germany and Russia.
Mark Salling has reportedly died in an apparent suicide weeks before being sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography. He was 35.
TMZ, The Blast and E! all reported his death. LAPD PIO told PEOPLE that officers responded to a death investigation at the 11900 block of Big Tujunga Cyn Road Tuesday morning at 8:50 a.m. but could not identify Salling.
The Glee star pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor Oct. 4, 2017. After striking a plea deal in December, he was due to be sentenced in March and expected to serve four to seven years in prison.
“Mark is focused on accepting responsibility and attempting to atone for his conduct,” Salling’s attorney Michael Proctor said in a statement to People at the time.
NE: CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED ON BEHALF OF JUVENILES PLACED ON SEX OFFENDER LIST
The attorney who successfully sued to keep a 15-year-old boy’s name off the state’s Sex Offender Registry now is seeking to file a class-action lawsuit for those who the Nebraska State Patrol did list.
Attorney Joshua Weir said it ruined the lives of the seven — listed only as Johnny Doe I through VII — and dozens of others. Full Article
IL: ILLINOIS APPELLATE COURT RULES LIFETIME SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION “GROSSLY DISPROPORTIONATE PUNISHMENT” FOR 21 YEAR OLD
The opinion in People v. Tetter, which came out a couple days ago, is another great decision to add to our growing list of cases where courts have found the registry to be “punishment” and conditions of the registry have crossed the line into irrational.
Kyle Tetter was 21 when he met a girl on an online social media app. Her profile said she was 18. Even though he later learned she was 16, they continued the consensual relationship and eventually she became pregnant and her mother reported him to the police.
Tetter was sentenced to 180 days in county jail, 4 years’ sex offender probation, and lifetime on the registry.
The appeal directly addresses the question, “Whether Sex Offender Statutes Constitute Punishment”
PROF. JANUS ESTABLISHES CENTER DEVOTED TO SEX-OFFENDER LITIGATION, POLICY
Mitchell Hamline School of Law is pleased to announce the creation of a center devoted to tracking litigation and encouraging effective public policy related to sexual offenders.
Directed by Professor Eric Janus, a leading national expert on sexual violence law and policy, the Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center collects and disseminates information about cases related to sex-offender policy and laws. Supported by a grant from the Vital Projects Fund, the center seeks to facilitate communication, sharing, and the development of strategies among lawyers, advocates, and academics who seek a more sensible and effective public policy on sexual violence prevention.
“Our aim is to create a national network of lawyers and social scientists dedicated to holding our sexual violence policies accountable both to the Constitution and to the growing body of knowledge about effective prevention strategies,” said Janus, who has written extensively and participated in impact litigation on sex-offender laws. The former president and dean of William Mitchell College of Law, a predecessor to Mitchell Hamline, Janus is the author of two books on this subject: “Failure to Protect: America’s Sexual Predator Laws and the Rise of the Preventive State” and “Sexual Predators: Society, Risk, and the Law” (with Prentky and Barbaree).
IA: IOWA COURT: OFFENSIVE TEXT PHOTOS AREN’T INDECENT EXPOSURE
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that text messaging a photo of one’s genitals to another person is not indecent exposure under state law.
The court ruled found that to meet the definition of the Iowa law as written, such an offensive display must be done in the physical presence of the offended person.
“While we acknowledge that one can be offended by a sexually explicit image transmitted via text message, it is much easier to ‘look away’ from that image than it is to avoid an offensive in-person exposure,” the court said.
Sending an unwanted photo of one’s genitals to another adult who finds it offensive could still lead to a harassment charge, but that is a simple misdemeanor under Iowa law.
PA: STATE TO CONSIDER OVERHAUL TO SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION LAW AGAIN
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on a bill Monday.
Nearly eight years ago, Bucks County resident Steve Gordon left state prison after completing a 10-year sentence for sexually assaulting a woman, but he was not quite a free man.
His conviction for aggravated indecent sexual assault meant that Pennsylvania State Police would be keeping tabs on him for another decade.
A little more than five years ago, though, Gordon, now 71, suddenly had state police monitoring him for the rest of his life, after state lawmakers replaced the previous Megan’s Law with a new tougher federal version.
The new law, known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, expanded and reclassified crimes requiring sex offender registration that was applied retroactively. It added an estimated 2,000 individuals to the sex offender registry and for roughly 4,500 ex-offenders, like Gordon, turned a 10-year registration into a lifetime obligation.
Then, last year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the Adam Walsh Act cannot be applied to individuals convicted before the law took effect on Dec. 20, 2012. But the high court did not provide any guidance for how the decision should be applied or what happens to the offenders retroactively added to the registry.
Now Pennsylvania lawmakers have proposed another overhaul of the sex offender law to prevent thousands of the roughly 22,000 ex-sex offenders currently on the Megan’s Law registry from being removed, including roughly half of the 500 Megan’s Law offenders in Bucks County. House lawmakers unanimously passed the bill in December and the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on it Monday.
The proposed legislation would turn back the clock for ex-offenders convicted before the 2012 law took effect, but still require they finish any original registration obligation under the old version of Megan’s Law, which was either 10 years or a lifetime. The bill also would loosen some burdensome requirements including giving offenders with lifetime registration obligations the ability to get off the registry.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated February 11 2018
I have a conscience: an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.
If you are human you have a conscience. If you deny your conscience; that is futile. Futile: incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.
I watched some of the video this morning and you can really see the hatred this lady has for transgender people. She squints her eyes with hate; at the mere mention of the word transgender. This is a clear case of transphobia and that has got to be some kind of mental illness. It’s like I always say all them that point their fingers at people for this or that are usually guilty of way worse.
Transphobia is a range of negative attitudes, feelings or actions toward transgender or transsexual people, or toward transsexuality. Transphobia can be emotional disgust, fear, violence, anger or discomfort felt or expressed towards people who do not conform to society’s gender expectations.
1) Readers find some amazing things including this video from November, 2017. The Slowly Boiled Frog is briefly mentioned at around 10:20. I did not queue it up because the entire thing — titled“Dr. Michelle Cretella on Transgenderism: A Mental Illness is Not a Civil Right” — is cringe-worthy. It was produced by the extreme right-wing and orthodox Catholic cult, TFP. Think John Birch Society combined with Opus Dei.
For the record, Dr. Cretella, my name is David Cary Hart and I write the Slowly Boiled Frog. Not that you get to approve pronouns but that was my name at birth. The use of my middle name is not a pretension. Rather it is a unique identifier for accountability. I mention that you are unlicensed, not to suggest anything nefarious but, rather, to evidence your apparent priorities given that you are an unpaid volunteer at American College of Pediatricians.
Moreover, practicing physicians are required to keep pace with current research and treatment advances. Not practicing for about three years is, in scientific terms, a very large period of time.
While I was at it I found what appears to be your 2012 divorce and a 2015 home foreclosure by Deutsche Bank. Of course there could be another Michelle Cretella in Connecticut. Feel free to contact me if you think that I have the facts wrong.
———
As for the video, it is a defense of the Catholic faith. There is no such thing as “transgender ideology.” Cretella is unable to differentiate between faith and science. According to the science, there is no known intervention that addresses gender dysphoria. Cretella’s insistence on talk therapy to address gender dysphoria is not supported by any peer-reviewed research published to a scholarly journal.
Some patients with gender dysphoria, including children, find considerable relief from the symptoms through gender affirmation. Those symptoms often include severe depression and anxiety which can lead to self-harm. These religious crackpots are playing with children’s lives in an attempt to conform the world to their faith — or superstitions depending upon your point of view.
In the video, Cretella makes the absurd claim that left-leaning physicians (plural) call to thank her. For what? Intentionally misinforming them in service to Christianity? Or is that a lie? I don’t know know who the fuck Michelle Cretella thinks she is but she is the unpaid head of a tiny SPLC-designated hate group with an annual budget under $100,000. The real peer group, the American Academy of Pediatrics has an annual budget greater than $121,000,000.
Michelle Cretella is a menace! She previously served on the board of NARTH and is a proponent of thoroughly discredited conversion therapy in spite of a dearth of scientific evidence that it is either safe or effective (it is neither). NARTH is a conservative Christian endeavor. Its purpose is to excuse discrimination on the basis that being gay or trans is some kind of choice.
American College of Pediatricians is also a conservative Christian operation. It is essentially a political organization that exists to oppose LGBT acceptance and equality for religious reasons. It also opposes reproductive choice. It doesn’t seem to do anything in service to children. It produces no peer-reviewed research.
Oh, it has one other purpose. Prior president Denslow Trumbull has a profile at Jackson Hospital in Alabama. It includes:
Den Trumbull is board certified in pediatrics and a Fellow of the American College of Pediatricians.
I will bet that Trumbull has a pretentious plaque on the wall from American College of Pediatricians. Would the average patient know that it is a minuscule hate group or are they more likely to confuse it with a real peer organization? “Fellow?”
ACPeds has removed a directory of physicians from its website. Furthermore, to get a referral one has to make the request by email. Proud folks.
I hope this Intel gets sorted out; until then we can at least be puzzled. At least being puzzled; is sometime better than nothing.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated February 12 2018
On a Saturday morning in 2013 in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood, an 18-year-old recycling worker, Luis Camarillo, was loading materials into a truck when the vehicle’s compactor crushed him. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died.
Mr. Camarillo’s death, while seemingly a freak accident, was in fact not unusual.
The hazards facing people in this line of work have a long history — they inspired the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike of 1968. That walkout was set off in part by the deaths of two Memphis sanitation workers, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, who were crushed to death by the hydraulic press of the truck they were riding on one rainy winter evening.
The strike, whose organizers demanded higher pay, the recognition of the workers’ union and safer working conditions, is often associated with the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis the day after delivering his “Mountaintop” speech in support of striking sanitation workers. But when we think about the strike, we should also remember that half a century after his death, the work Dr. King was focused on in the last days of his life remains unfinished. A ProPublica investigation published in January detailed the grueling and unsafe working conditions faced by many of today’s private waste-management workers, who risk their lives daily for very little pay.
The investigation focused on New York City, but the conditions it uncovered aren’t at all unlike those in Memphis in 1968. There, the mostly African-American men who handled garbage did work that was dangerous, brutal and poorly paid. Aside from the hazards the trucks posed, sanitation workers had to handle materials like tree limbs, broken glass and biological waste that could infect, poison or otherwise injure them. They endured this in temperatures regularly exceeding 90 degrees, often without breaks. Crippling injuries were common.
The strike against those conditions quickly became a national focal point for labor activism and civil rights. For Memphis’s churches and N.A.A.C.P. chapter, drawing attention to the treatment of African-American sanitation workers was a vehicle to address the ills of segregation. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees saw the strike as an opportunity to organize workers in a city that had resisted unionization. For Dr. King, it was aligned with the aims of the Poor People’s Campaign, which advocated economic opportunity as crucial to the realization of civil rights.
In the speech delivered the night before his death, Dr. King declared: “The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers.” While a deal was reached in Memphis after his death — recognizing the workers’ union and guaranteeing better wages — many workers across the country still face unacceptable conditions.
Nationwide, sanitation and recycling work remains more dangerous than policing or firefighting; in 2016, only loggers, fishermen, airplane pilots and roofers suffered a higher rate of job-related fatalities in the United States than did waste workers.
In New York City, conditions are especially difficult for employees of the private waste haulers who collect trash from the city’s businesses each night. While workers employed by the Department of Sanitation — which collects residential trash — are unionized and offered health care, pensions and a median base pay of $69,000, those who work for private companies are paid as little as $80 a shift, with no overtime or health or retirement benefits, ProPublica reported. This means it’s common for the nonunion employees of private companies — 60 percent of whom are members of racial minority groups — to earn less than $35,000 annually.
In 2016, over 80 percent of waste-work deaths nationwide occurred in the private sector. And in New York City over all, municipal sanitation trucks haven’t caused a death since 2014, but private trucks killed seven people in 2017 alone. When ProPublica interviewed workers from five of New York City’s private haulers, 71 percent reported having been injured on the job, 93 percent reported that their employer provided no health and safety training, and 62 percent said that their work vehicles were sometimes unsafe. Some said they hesitated to complain about the conditions, worrying that their employers would simply assign them fewer shifts if they did so.
Fifty years after the Memphis strike, workers continue to risk their lives across the United States to handle garbage and recycling. The solution in 1968 was collective bargaining, and it is the solution today as well. The higher wages, safer equipment and health coverage provided to the employees in the public garbage hauling sector show what is possible. Negotiating collective bargaining agreements will reduce the risks that killed Mr. Camarillo, and Mr. Cole and Mr. Walker before him.
At the conclusion of his final speech, Dr. King asked, “If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?” It’s time to ask that question again.
Correction: February 10, 2018
A previous version of this article misstated the number of sanitation workers killed on the job annually. It was 31 in 2016, not approximately 365, or one a day. However, 431 people in the broader waste and remediation field were killed on the job in 2016. The article also misstated the type of people killed by sanitation in trucks each year. The seven people killed by trucks include civilians, not just workers.
We’ve all heard the statement dozens of times or more: “Police officers put their lives on the line every day.” And it’s true, in the same sense that construction workers or taxi drivers or bartenders put their lives on the line every day, all of whom perish on the job at roughly similar rates as police officers.
Sanitation workers, who tend to die on the job at more than double the rate of police officers.
The people picking up your trash put their lives on the line every day and are more likely not to make it home at night than their brethren in blue. But one suspects we won’t any time soon see a New York Times headline memorializing their sacrifice.”
Don’t make excuses for bad choices by Harris County judges
The truth about Harris County judges misleading the courts and intentionally violating the constitutional rights of defendants before them is finally coming out.
When Texas state Sen. John Whitmire filed a complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct against Harris County’s magistrate judges, they defended themselves by saying the elected judges directed them to deny personal bonds, which the judges themselves at first denied. The magistrates were sanctioned anyway, and sources in this must-read Houston Chronicle story by Gabrielle Banks suggested that the Commission is likely now investigating the judges who gave those orders, which is basically all of them.
During the case before Judge Rosenthal, the county claimed they could come up with no evidence that judges directed magistrates. But when the magistrates were accused of misconduct, they produced 600 pages of evidence in that regard that implicated many current and former judges.
Now we know for certain the policies were explicit, widespread, and top-down. This wasn’t a case of rogue magistrates denying bond without the knowledge of the judges. This is a case of magistrates serving as dependent vassals with no capacity for independent decision making whatsoever. And they obviously weren’t too keen on revealing that truth to the federal judge presiding over the case, who justifiably felt blind-sided when representations made in the magistrate’s disciplinary case flat-out contradicted those made in her court.
Finally, I couldn’t disagree more with Grits contributing writer Sandra Guerra Thompson, who was quoted in the story thusly:
“I’m not sure the judges intended to do anything inappropriate in giving those instructions,” said Sandra Guerra Thompson, director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center. “I think this is part of the history – misunderstanding that magistrates are not the clerks of the judges. They are themselves hired to be independent judges.”
That’s giving them way too much credit, and cover. Since Grits first focused on bail questions in Houston back in 2005, the failure to grant personal bonds has been the central problem and it’s been patently obvious for years that local elected judges were the culprits behind it. There’s no “misunderstanding,” it was intentional, and an abuse of power. That’s why it took the federal courts to change things.
The idea that there was a structural, “cant get there from here” problem was always a lie. There’s really no reason now for the press or advocates to pretend otherwise.
MORE: I should have called out Judge Michael McSpadden’s comments from the story, too, and the more I look at them the more I think they deserve an addendum:
State District Judge Michael McSpadden, a long-serving jurist in Harris County, said he also had a no-bond policy for magistrates for at least a dozen years because he didn’t trust the lower-level jurists not to make errors.
“Almost everybody we see here has been tainted in some way before we see them,” he said. “They’re not good risks.”
The judge said he was concerned defendants would be released on bond only to be arrested on another offense. Many had casual attitudes about showing up for court, he said.
“The young black men – and it’s primarily young black men rather than young black women – charged with felony offenses, they’re not getting good advice from their parents,” he said. “Who do they get advice from? Rag-tag organizations like Black Lives Matter, which tell you, ‘Resist police,’ which is the worst thing in the world you could tell a young black man … They teach contempt for the police, for the whole justice system.”
Let’s be clear: A) This was happening for DECADES before Black Lives Matter was on the scene, and B) the county NOT letting defendants be advised by lawyers at bail hearings was a big part of the suit! In fact, the county has now begun providing lawyers at bail hearings, so this is the first time they’re being advised by anybody.
It wasn’t Black Lives Matter or defendants’ families causing their dilemma, it was people like Judge McSpadden, who clearly has lost the ability to make individualized judgments in these cases, if he ever possessed it.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated March 01 2018
I will sign petitions like this every chance I get. Nothing justifies murder of human beings; period.
The state of Tennessee has not had an execution in almost a decade. But now, they are planning to execute up to 11 people over the next four months.
Tennessee’s Republican Attorney General Herbert Slatery III requested execution dates for eight men on death row, asking that they all occur before June 1, 2018. Three more executions have already been scheduled.
Slatery’s office says the rush is due to “the ongoing difficulty in obtaining the necessary lethal injection chemicals.” Manufacturers have largely stopped providing the drug for use in executions because they may put inmates in horrific pain before they die.
Since 2000, three men have been released from Tennessee’s death row after evidence of their innocence came to light. With 11 possible executions within four months, another innocent person could be put to death in an unimaginably cruel manner. When a human life is at stake, there is simply no room for error.
The death penalty is ineffective, unfair, and inaccurate. It is applied in an unjust manner, largely dependent on the accused’s race, income, ability and whether the victim is white. For the families of victims, it’s a painful, protracted process. For all of these reasons and more, public approval of capital punishment continues to decline.
Daily Kos has joined Equal Justice USA, Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and a wide coalition to help stop these executions.
THOUSANDS OF USERS SHARED A CHILD PORNOGRAPHY VIDEO ON FACEBOOK MESSENGER
February 7, 2018
Police departments and local news stations across the nation are reporting that a child pornography video depicting a young girl and adult man began spreading to thousands of Facebook messenger inboxes late last week, BuzzFeed reports. The disturbing pornography’s wide circulation on the platform was propelled by a message accompanying the video entreating people to forward it to others as part of a campaign to find the perpetrator and his victim. Full Article: https://slate.com/technology/2018/02/child-pornography-video-spread-throughout-country-on-facebook-messenger.html
CA: SACRAMENTO JUDGE RULES SOME OF CDCR’S PROP. 57 REGULATIONS ARE VOID
February 9, 2018 ·26
CA Proposition 57 tentative Ruling – 8 Feb 2018 (PDF)
[ACSOL]
A Superior Court Judge in Sacramento has ruled that provisions in emergency regulations issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) regarding registrants are void and therefore cannot be enforced. The regulation provisions at issue deny anyone convicted of a sex offense eligibility for parole consideration under Proposition 57.
The judge’s preliminary decision was issued in a tentative ruling dated February 8, 2018, and was the subject of a hearing conducted in Sacramento Superior Court this morning.
During today’s hearing, CDCR’s legal representative argued that Prop. 57 gives the agency discretion to determine who is and who is not eligible for parole consideration. She also argued that CDCR’s discretion extends to individuals who are currently incarcerated for a non-sex offense, but who were previously incarcerated for a sex offense. The tentative ruling does not support CDCR’s position, but does allow the agency to revise its regulations in order to be consistent with the language of Prop. 57.
“We will closely review any Prop. 57 regulations issued by CDCR in the future,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “If we believe the new regulations are inconsistent with Prop. 57, we will file a new lawsuit.”
The focus of the pending lawsuit is how the term “non-violent felony” is to be defined. Although Prop. 57 does not include a definition of “non-violent felony”, petitioners argued that current state law which defines “violent felony” should be used in CDCR’s regulations. If CDCR used that law (Penal Code Section 667.5), only 9 out of more than 100 sex offenses would be excluded from early parole consideration. The judge did not agree with this argument because he said there is insufficient evidence to identify the voters’ intent regarding use of that current law.
At the conclusion of today’s hearing, the judge stated that he will finalize his tentative ruling soon. After the final ruling is issued, the next step in the process is to draft a writ for the judge’s consideration. The draft writ could be challenged by CDCR in the future.
Action Item for EVRYONE! A Virginia Court of Appeals Ruling was Based on One Word in Virginia Code § 9.1-903. that Virginia Has Never Implemented, So the Ruling is Incorrect.
Almost a week and a half ago the Court of Appeals of Virginia made a ruling that a Virginia Sex Offender Registry mandate/requirement is NOT punitive.
I only learned of this ruling yesterday when I found an article on VA Lawyers Weekly that I was unable to read because I don’t have a subscription.
It’s about the Virginia law that mandates Registered Sex Offenders have only 30 minutes to register any changes in their email addresses in-person.
Why do I want you to read it?
Because on page 12 it says VA Code states an offender can update their email address either in person or electronically so the 2011 Snyder decision from Michigan does not apply to Baugh.
The Idaho Central Sex Offender Registry, administered by the Idaho State Police, has been made aware of several attempted scams targeting registered sex offenders in at least one Idaho county and six Florida counties.
One scam involves a caller posing as a law enforcement officer who tells the sex offender that they have missing or out-of-date registration information. The caller then threatens that, in order to avoid arrest for failure to register, the registrant must bring a gift/money card to a specified location (other than the registration office).
CA: CHANGES ARE COMING TO CALIFORNIA SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
February 15, 2018
[independent.com]
Fifty-four sex offenders live within two miles of the Santa Barbara Independent’s Figueroa Street offices. Their mugshots, height, weight, ethnicity, eye color, home addresses, criminal charges, and date they were released from jail are listed on the Megan’s Law website. That is about to change.
California lawmakers voted last year to reduce the length of time required for sex-offender registration. This means a sizeable number of Santa Barbara County registrants will no longer be tracked or publicly identified.
“It’s like putting a GPS on every shark in the ocean because one might attack a swimmer,” said Laura Arnold, a deputy public defender in Riverside and expert on sex offender registration laws. “Does it make the public safer? Probably not,” said Arnold, who was in Santa Barbara this week for a law seminar.
MN: CONVICTED RAPIST WINS THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN WEST ST. PAUL
February 19, 2018
[citypages.com]
Thomas Evenstad was convicted in 1999 of raping an 18-year-old woman. In 2014, he picked up more convictions for stalking and harassing the victim, her family, investigators, and the judges involved in his prosecution.
When he finally got out of jail last August, he moved in to a friend’s apartment in West St. Paul. Three days later, police told his landlord that Evenstad couldn’t stay, threatening them both with criminal charges if he didn’t vacate.
That’s because West St. Paul doesn’t allow sex offenders to live within 1,200 feet of any school, daycare, or group home. Those restrictions cover about 95 percent of the residential area of the city. The rest of the available units either don’t rent to felons or are way too expensive for Evenstad.
So HE SUID, alleging that West St. Paul’s ordinance was thinly veiled “banishment” — a punishment on top of the punishment he’d already served.
“The ordinance was ostensibly aimed at protecting children, but they’ve applied it to people who never committed an offense against a child, like Tom,” said Chicago civil rights attorney Adele Nicholas. “We also objected to the city’s inclusion of this amorphous category of group homes in the list of prohibited locations. We don’t even know what that referred to, but that’s what resulted in almost the entire city being off limits.”
TX: CONTENTIOUS 331ST DISTRICT RACE PITS LONGTIME JUDGE AGAINST ATTORNEY
February 19, 2018
[mystatesman.com]
The only contested judicial race in Travis County’s criminal district courts has gotten contentious, with challenger Chantal Eldridge saying taxpayers have been underserved by the incumbent while Eldridge faces questions of her own about the registered sex offender she employs in her law firm and intends to bring on as a judicial aide if she wins.
Eldridge, a 53-year-old career defense lawyer who narrowly lost a judicial race in 2016, is running against state District Judge David Crain, who has presided over the felony 331st District Court since 2010 and has been a judge in Travis County for 32 years. He said his experience sets him apart in this race, suggesting “you wouldn’t want a novice to sit and try to conduct a jury trial for a murder case, child sexual assault, bank robbery or something like that.”
KS: CAN REGISTRIES COVER TOO MANY CRIMES? KANSAS LEGISLATION SUGGESTS A ROLLBACK
February 21, 2018
Junkie logic brought an addict to the doorsteps of a Topeka woman once convicted of selling cocaine.
The addict was looking to buy, and Kansas’ online database of criminal offenders has a handy geographic search tool that lets users pull up the names, crimes and addresses of people who live within a few miles of their homes.
MO: MISSOURI GOV. ERIC GREITENS INDICTED FOR FELONY INVASION OF PRIVACY
February 23, 2018 ·11 Comments
[stltoday.com]
ST. LOUIS • Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who was swept into office in 2016 with a vow to clean up a corrupt state government, was indicted and booked Thursday on a felony invasion of privacy charge for allegedly taking and transmitting a non-consensual photo of his partly nude lover shortly before that campaign started.
It stems from a scandal that broke last month, in which Greitens was accused of threatening his lover with the photo — an allegation that isn’t mentioned in the indictment. Greitens has admitted having an extramarital affair, but has denied the rest.
ACSOL BOARD MEMBERS UNRAVEL SEX OFFENSE POLICIES, OFFER HOPE FOR REGISTRANTS
February 26, 2018
[ACSOL]
In the form of new scholarly articles, two ACSOL board members discuss the large gap between sex offense realities and sex offense policies as well as offer hope for registrants and their families. In the first of the articles, sociologist Emily Horowitz uses a timeline of key political events, legal milestones and research findings to identity how and why there is a gap between sex offense realities and sex offense policies. In the second of the articles, law professor Catherine Carpenter provides hope to registrants and their families by highlighting recent state and federal court decisions that recognize that sex offender registration laws constitute punishment.
“We are pleased to share with the public the scholarly works of two key members of the ACSOL board,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein. “Both of these board members will supplement their scholarly works at this year’s ACSOL conference on June 15 and 16 in Los Angeles.”
Horowitz is Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. Carpenter is the Honorable Arleigh M. Woods and William T. Woods Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California.
PA: NAMES BEING REMOVED FROM SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
February 26, 2018
[theintell.com]
Pennsylvania State Police have started the process for removing as many as 5,000 ex-offenders from the Megan’s Law registry under a state supreme court mandate and a new law.
Shaquana Green appeared at a Pennsylvania State Police barracks last month to update her information as a registered sex offender. It’s an annual chore she has done for the last five years, having landed on the Megan’s Law list after disappearing with her daughter for three hours in violation of a custody order.
As of this month, though, the name of the 26-year-old Northampton County resident no longer appears on the registry, under a state Supreme Court ruling and a new exemption for parents who had been charged with interfering with custody of children, but no sex crime.
“I get to have my life,” Green said last week. “This is more than a blessing.”
Last year, the state Supreme Court ruled retroactive application of the state’s version of the new, tougher Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was unconstitutional. In response, state lawmakers passed House Bill 631, a stop-gap measure to keep up to 12,000 individuals on the registry, but that included an exemption for legal guardians charged with interference with custody of children. Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bill into law Feb. 21. The exemption applies to only legal guardians of children, though another bill in the state Senate would remove interference with custody of children as a Megan’s Law offense; Pennsylvania and Louisiana are the only states where the crime is considered a violent sex offense even when no sexual contact occurred.
Although the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that States cannot restrict a registered sex offender’s access to social media (Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. ___ (2017)), nothing has stopped social media companies, such as Facebook or Twitter, from restricting sex offenders from their platforms. A lawsuit filed last week may change that!
Jared Taylor is the founder of the Virginia-based New Century Foundation – a white supremacist organization that was banned from Twitter because of new rules aimed at reducing abusive content. Although we don’t agree with the viewpoints of the Plaintiff, this lawsuit is certainly one in which we hope the Plaintiff prevails.
Taylor is suing California-based Twitter in California Superior Court, alleging that Twitter’s policy of banning him and his organization from their social media platform is unconstitutional and violates Twitter’s own founding principle; to ““[g]ive everyone the power to create and share ideas instantly, without barriers.”
AK: ANCHORAGE MAN WHO ATTACKED SEX OFFENDERS SENTENCED TO 23 YEARS IN PRISON
February 27, 2018
At an Anchorage Superior Court hearing for Jason Vukovich, who was sentenced Monday for attacking three registered sex offenders, his older brother Joel Fulton said that despite counseling, he has not yet recovered from what the two men experienced as children. …
But the prosecutor, Patrick McKay, argued that there was no excuse for Vukovich to target and attack three strangers, beating one man so badly with a hammer that he fractured his skull and knocked him unconscious.
I am lucky I got this link in a email. I do not get any emails fro ACLU any more. I think because I unsubscribed from the email list of the New York ACLU it unsubscribed me to all ACLU emails.
In 2012, a store in Colorado refused to sell two men a cake for their wedding reception just because they were gay. In the near future/coming months, the Supreme Court will announce its decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case – a case that will decide whether businesses that are open to the public can refuse to serve LGBT people in violation of laws that protect all of us from discrimination.
When deciding cases, Supreme Court Justices don’t only listen to the attorneys’ arguments. They also take statements of support into account. We’re joining with many other organizations to launch a sign-on letter in support of equality for all – will you add your name?
Here’s the letter:
On Dec. 5, 2017, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, a case that has the potential to shatter longstanding non-discrimination laws. Protecting people from discrimination is part of our country’s promise of equal treatment under the law for everyone. As a nation, we decided decades ago that businesses open to the public should be open to everyone on the same terms, and that no one should be turned away simply because of who they are.
This case isn’t about the cake. It’s about whether businesses can, in effect, post signs reading “we don’t serve your kind here.”
A ruling that our Constitution gives businesses the right to refuse service to customers based on religious beliefs or so-called artistic freedom would be an unprecedented setback for civil rights in our country. It would say there is a constitutional right to discriminate—which could be used not only against LGBTQ people but also against people of color and religious minorities, unmarried couples, single mothers, young people, people with disabilities and many, many others.
We, the undersigned, are in solidarity with the plaintiffs in this case, Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins, who are simply seeking to be treated like everyone else.
I hope this recent activity get more people to sign this important petition:
In December 2017, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission was argued in front of the Supreme Court. The case involves a business—one that is open to the public—that refused to sell a cake to a same-sex couple. A loss in Masterpiece would open the door to not only much wider ranging forms of discrimination, but also a much wider array of people facing discrimination—including people of color, women, LGBT people, minority faiths, people with disabilities, and more. As we near the Court’s decision—expected between now and June—we are elevating additional examples of how hurtful this kind of discrimination can be. Even Jimmy Kimmel is helping us out!
Movement Advancement Project has released an ad called Funeral Home that depicts a devastating scenario in which a grieving widow and her family are turned away from a funeral home and refused burial services for her wife. Discrimination like this shouldn’t happen, but it does. In 2016, a funeral home in Mississippi refused service to Jack Zawadski, after learning his deceased spouse was a man. The couple had been together for more than 50 years and were legally married in 2015. And while Jack recently passed away, Lambda Legal is representing his family in court in Mississippi.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated March 07 2018
Did you see my colleague Kelli’s last email? We still have a shot at saving Net Neutrality in the Senate!
Click here to sign a petition to the U.S. Senate to demanding that they use the Congresional Review Act to overrule the FCC’s decision to gut Net Neutrality!
FCC Chairman Pai did exactly what Trump appointed him to do; ignore the American people and make decisions that will benefit corporate interests. Pai’s decision to throw out all of the progress President Obama made for Net Neutrality will negatively impact all of us!
An end to Net Neutrality could mean higher prices for streaming and gives Internet Service Providers the ability to block or slow down whatever content they choose. This will make it more difficult and expensive for regular Americans and small businesses to conduct current operations or start new ones.
We must do everything we can to save the open internet as we know it by demanding the Senate use the power given to them by the Congressional Review Act to overrule the FCC’s decision.
Groups like the Kentucky Family Foundation have been fighting the scourge of marriage equality for same-sex couples for years now. Now they’re fighting a different battle; they’re determined to allow 50-year-old men to marry 13-year-old girls.
Even more shocking? They’re winning the battle according to Kentucky Republican state representative Julie Raque Adams, the sponsor of a bill to raise the legal age to marry in the state. Kentucky has the third highest rate of child marriages in the nation.
Related: Kim Davis’ illegal refusal to issue marriage licenses will cost Kentucky taxpayers big bucks
“It is disgusting that lobbying organizations would embrace kids marrying adults. We see evidence of parents who are addicted, abusive, neglectful pushing their children into predatory arms. Appalling,” Adams said in a tweet after the bill was yanked hours before a crucial vote. It was the second time the bill had been pulled.
Current law allows 16 and 17-year-olds to marry with their parents’ permission. Pregnant teens under the age of 16 can get married with a judge’s permission, despite the obvious proof that the girl has been sexually abused by the adult.
A proposed new law would update the state’s marriage laws to set 18 as the age to be married. 17-year-olds would be able to get married with a judge’s permission if the two would-be spouses are within four years of age.
“This is legalized rape of children,” she said. “We cannot allow that to continue in Kentucky, and I cannot believe we are even debating this is the year 2018 in the United States,” Eileen Recktenwald, the executive director of the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, told USA Today.
Related: Report: Roy Moore was banned from the local mall for badgering teenage girls
While Adams wouldn’t divulge who the group lobbying for child rape is, advocate Donna Pollard told the Courier Journal that it is the Kentucky Family Foundation. The group refused to comment on the allegation.
Lawmakers also won’t confirm the conservative “family values” organization is behind the pushback, saying instead that they are concerned that a judge will decide the fate of the marriage instead of the child’s parent.
The group, however, has now admitted they are behind the consistent delays in passing the legislation.
State senator John Schickel, a Republican, is one of those using the pitiful excuse to continue allowing child sexual assault.
“I had some problems with the bill,” he said. “Decisions involving a minor child should be made by a parent, not the court.”
Related: Senate urged to increase protection for teen pages if Roy Moore is elected
Former Alabama Republican senate candidate Roy Moore lost his campaign following multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct with underage girls. Ironically enough, Moore also leads a Christian “values” organization and is the former chief justice of the Alabama State Supreme Court.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated March 16 2018
I am posting this article to prove for the thousandth time that I am against big religions; interfering with American politics. I post this even though I am sure they will always fail more and more into the future. I stand as strong as when I first started this blog for separation of church and state.
Study finds a link between brain damage & religious fundamentalism
Jordan Grafman of Northwestern University and his team of researchers studied a group of Vietnam War veterans. 119 had experienced brain trauma, and 30 had not. Most were Christians, but about a third of them said they had no religion.
Grafman believed that damage to the prefrontal cortex would make someone more prone to fundamentalism. This brain region contains two specific areas associated with cognitive flexibility, the ability to update one’s beliefs based on new information.
Fundamentalism discourages critical thinking and asking questions, so Grafman hypothesized that people whose prefrontal cortex suffered some sort of trauma – and therefore have less cognitive flexibility – would be more likely to accept fundamentalist messages.
Which is what he found. Participants with lesions to the parts of the prefrontal cortex important in cognitive flexibility scored higher on a survey that assessed religious fundamentalism.
In further testing, the participants with brain damage scored lower on a psychological test that measures cognitive flexibility and a test that measures open-mindedness.
The results are not just about the effects of brain trauma, but also to a possible neurological origin of some people’s fundamentalism. Neuroscientist Bobby Azarian writes at Raw Story that there are other reasons these parts of the brain might not function like they do in others, like substance abuse or genetics, and even suggests that “extreme religious indoctrination” could hinder the development of the prefrontal cortex.
The study needs to be repeated and brain trauma was only able to explain 20% of the variance in fundamentalism the researchers found, so it’s not proof that every fundamentalist you argue with on Facebook was dropped as a baby.
Instead, it’s another piece of the puzzle that explains why some people are able to accept indoctrination and resist contradictory information, while others can’t help but question what they’ve been taught.
I am posting this to show how self righteous people are:
Richard Simmons sued a tabloid for calling him trans. Now he has to pay their legal fees.
A judge has ordered Richard Simmons must pay the publishing company American Media, owner of tabloids the National Enquirer and Radar Online, nearly $130,000.
Simmons sued the company for defamation after it reported he was transgender, and had “undergone shocking sex surgery to change from a man to a woman,” which the fitness instructor and actor has denied. He has said that the false information came from a former assistant, Mauro Oliveira.
I signed a petition like this yesterday for a email AARP sent me. They did not provide a link I could post here but I have this:
SIGN NOW: Demand Congress pass emergency legislation to break up Big Pharma’s drug monopoly
We pay more per capita on prescription drugs than other high-income countries. This tragedy has led to families experiencing bankruptcy, a devastating opioid crisis, and sick and elderly people cutting pills in half or doing without.
Only by coming together and demanding action will we overpower Big Pharma’s money with our collective voice and make change happen.
Will you join Jonathan Lewis and sign this petition demanding Congress pass emergency legislation to break up Big Pharma’s drug monopoly and bring down drug prices?
These people are my favorite people who stand for separation form church and state in Texas.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated March 23 2018
Kind of ironic, I go from posting a article, I doubt is true, about fundamentalists and brain damage to; posting a articleaboutreligious freedom, after receiving cool pray flags in the mail on display in my house now.
Maybe it might be true about religeous fanatics having brain damage; I don’t know. I do feel a little bad about posting that article, but I did it for a reason I believe in: separation of church and state.
Thank you for the cool pray flags. I have them on display. I wish you all well. I believe in freedom of religion very much so. It is what makes American so prosperous and great.
About this post:
I do not know if there is a way to help Tibet with out talking bad about China; but there should be.
China has been allot more open and I believe they are on the way to being more democratic.
I would not mind visiting there myself and trying out their sport-bike racing and skateboard spots.
I got this link for you to sign for now. I like the letter:
Thank John Oliver for speaking out on the crisis in Tibet!
Dear John,
I wanted to thank you for traveling 14 hours to talk to His Holiness the Dalai Lama about an issue I care about greatly – the crisis in Tibet at the hands of the Chinese authorities.
Our progress in defending the culture and religious freedom of the people of Tibet depends on the bravery and honesty of journalists and truth-tellers like you.
This is a great example why we need separation of church and state.
Why do so called Christians want to allow this weirdpractice of so called conversion therapy; unless they are homophobic and need psychiatric help for that.
Christian legal hate group says conversion therapy bans are unconstitutional
A conservative organization is implying that it will sue if California passes a conversion therapy ban that it’s considering.
At issue is a bill that would add “sexual orientation change efforts” to the state’s list of fraudulent goods and services in its consumer protection law.
It’s a straightforward idea: quacks are telling LGBT people that they can become straight if they buy their product or undergo therapy with them. They’re not just spreading self-hate, they’re also cheating people out of their money with false promises. The government has an interest in protecting consumers by banning fraud.
Of course, that’s not how the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) sees it. The organization is a SPLC designated hate group and represented anti-gay baker Jack Phillips in front of the Supreme Court in his bid to be allowed to discriminate against gay couples.
In an interview with the Baptist Press, Matt Sharp of the ADF said that the bill “burdens free speech and the free exercise of religion.” While the California law can only be enforced when people purchase a good or service – not when a pastor says something in church – Sharp says that religious leaders could be prosecuted anyway.
“It could be a violation if a pastor encourages a congregant to visit the church bookstore to purchase books that help people address sexual issues, perhaps including the Bible itself, which teaches about the importance of sexual purity within the confines of marriage between a man and woman,” said Sharp.
The comment about the Bible is overwrought – it says nothing about conversion therapy. And about other books… well, why are pastors hawking their wares from the pulpit?
The law is about advertising, a form of speech that the Supreme Court has long said could be regulated if it’s false or misleading. If a pastor’s sermon is so commercial that the state government considers it more of an advertisement than a religious practice, then something has already gone very wrong in that church.
Because these people cannot stop comparing homosexuality to pedophilia, ADF also said that therapists will be banned from treating pedophiles who go after boys (but not pedophiles who go after girls), as well as victims of sexual abuse by someone of the same sex (but not the opposite sex):
Under the ban, victims of sexual abuse can only receive therapy for “unwanted emotional and sexual ties to their abuser” if the abuser is the opposite sex. Men who struggle with the desire to have sex with little girls can receive counseling, but not those who want to have sex with little boys.
They don’t explain how any of that could be interpreted as a “sexual orientation change effort” under California law.
If the bill passes and ADF files a lawsuit, they would have an uphill battle before them. Conservatives challenged California’s 2012 ban on conversion therapy for minors, and they lost. The Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal, effectively affirming the 9th Circuit Court’s ruling that the ban was constitutional because it only applied to licensed mental health professionals, not ministers.
There’s no reason to believe that courts would see this bill differently since it’s specifically about commercial practices.
It’s like how California bans stores from labeling products as “Made in California” unless they’re actually made in California. That’s technically a restriction on speech, but it doesn’t violate the First Amendment.
In order for ADF to even file a suit, the state would have to use the law against someone so that ADF would have a case. That case will probably not be a minister telling people about a book. Instead, it will probably be a therapist charging people for a couple sessions a week with the promise that they’ll be straight one day.
And, in that case, the ADF would have to prove that conversion therapy isn’t fraudulent, that it really can change someone’s sexual orientation.
The lawsuit wouldn’t stand a chance.
It’s still disheartening that conservatives are defending conversion therapy at all. And it would be good if conservatives like Mike Pence – who claims to oppose the practice despite endorsing it previously – would say something about their fellow conservatives who want to keep it legal.
AFRICATECHFEBRUARY 8, 2018 / 9:34 AM / 2 MONTHS AGO
FEATURE-Gays in Ecuador raped and beaten in rehab clinics to “cure” them
6 MIN READ
BOGOTA, Feb 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Gay people in Ecuador are forced to undergo “conversion therapy” in secret clinics where they are raped and beaten, even though homosexuality is legal, said campaigners calling for courts to deliver justice to end more than a decade of abuse.
Scores of unlicensed rehabilitation clinics in the Andean nation offer illegal “treatments” for gay people based on the idea that homosexuality is a mental illness that needs to be “cured”, local rights groups said.
“Corrective therapy, in mostly private and clandestine alcohol and drug addiction clinics, continues in Ecuador,” said Cayetana Salao, of Taller de Comunicacion Mujer, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights group.
“It’s a reality.”
Ecuador’s health ministry said no “conversion therapy” was found in the more than 60 clinics it has shut since mid-2016 for insanitary conditions or operating without a licence.
None of the closures were due to human rights violations, said Maria Jose Espin, head of technical management at the health ministry’s regulatory agency, ACESS.
“We frequently verify with our teams that these types of establishments do not exist, where rights violations can take place,” Espin told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“There are no de-homosexualization clinics. They shouldn’t exist,” she said, adding that homosexuality was not a disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses in 1990 but conversion therapy still takes place across the world, from China to South Africa and the United States.
Ecuador, Brazil and Malta are the only countries that have banned the controversial treatment, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).
But hate crimes and human rights violations against LGBT people have taken place in more than 100 clinics across Ecuador since 2012, said Salao, a project coordinator, as evangelical groups gain influence in the Catholic-majority nation.
Ecuador legalised homosexuality in 1997 and allowed same-sex civil unions a decade ago.
“TORTURE”
Gay people, mostly lesbians, are typically admitted to clinics by their parents or other relatives and held against their will for at least three months, with therapy costing up to $1,500 a month, campaigners say.
Taller de Comunicacion Mujer documented testimonies of four victims who said they were locked up against their will and underwent conversion therapy from 2014 to 2016.
This included psychological and physical abuse – beatings, solitary confinement, being chained to a bed for days, force-feeding of medicine and being made to wear makeup and high heels.
Victims also reported “corrective rape” by fellow patients and staff with the aim of changing their sexual orientation.
“A morbid creativity for torture exists,” said Ane Barragan, coordinator at Causana Foundation, which has been campaigning to stop conversion therapy for more than a decade.
About 200 unlicensed clinics are operating across Ecuador, rights groups estimate.
“No one regulates or monitors them,” said Barragan.
The Pan American Health Organization, the WHO’s regional office, said in 2011 that conversion therapy was “a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people”.
But the Catholic Church and most Christian evangelicals view homosexuality as a sin and say sex should only take place in marriage between a man and a woman.
ECONOMIC INTERESTS
State prosecutors have investigated six cases involving alleged human rights violations against LGBT people in rehabilitation clinics since 2012, Salao said.
“No one has been found guilty or punished,” she said.
“We call on the judiciary to move these cases forward and hold those people responsible to account.”
Carina Vance, Ecuador’s former health minister who is openly gay and spearheaded a crackdown on the clinics, said she has no doubt that conversion therapy continues in the country.
Vance said police and prosecutors carried out 116 raids during her tenure as health minister from 2012 to 2015, resulting in the closure of more than 100 clinics.
But some received tip-offs and many re-opened under different names within months of being closed, Vance said.
“This business is very lucrative,” said Vance, who now heads the South American Institute of Government in Health (ISAGS), a regional health think tank.
“These clinics have a lot of power, there are a lot of economic interests behind this.”
Although Ecuador passed a law in 2016 allowing people to choose their preferred gender on their identity cards and its first transgender lawmaker took office last year, socially conservative attitudes are entrenched, she said.
“There are families using these so-called services and this has to do with a prevalent, a very homophobic … a sexist society,” Vance said.
“Cultural change is very difficult to produce.” (Reporting by Anastasia Moloney @anastasiabogota, Editing by Katy Migiro. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org)
FACTBOX – Despite debunking, conversion therapy persists around globe
3 MIN READ
NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Conversion therapy is making headlines, reigniting calls for banning the treatments claiming to cure gay people.
Here is the status of conversion therapy in various locations around the world.
– Conversion therapy is banned nationwide in Brazil, Ecuador and Malta.
– While it is illegal in Ecuador, gay people, particularly lesbians, are forced to undergo conversion therapy in secret clinics, campaigners say.
Typically admitted to clinics by their families, they are forced to undergo beatings, solitary confinement, force-feeding of medicine and even “corrective rape” aimed at changing their sexual orientation.
– Although there is no federal ban in Canada, nearly half the population lives in regions with local laws prohibiting the practice.
– In the U.S. state of Washington, a bill is pending that would ban healthcare professionals from trying to convert the sexuality of a minor.
In Maine, a public hearing was held last week on a bill to ban such therapy, while in New Hampshire a similar bill is pending again after a narrow defeat last month.
– Brutal and extreme conversion methods including torture, forced internment, electroshock therapy and sexual violence have been documented in Ecuador, South Africa, the Dominican Republic and China.
– Laws in Argentina, Fiji and Samoa do not specifically ban conversion therapy but prohibit any medical diagnosis based exclusively on a person’s sexual orientation.
– Britain’s state-run National Health Service has signed a memorandum of understanding that opposes conversion therapy.
– Australia’s state of Victoria has set up a watchdog to crack down on conversion therapy providers.
Sources: International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch in New York, and Taller de Comunicacion Mujer of Ecuador (Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst, Editing by Robert Carmichael and Katy Migiro. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org)
Rape and Murder of Teen Shows Lack of Justice for LGBT Malaysians
A young man killed because he was deemed insufficiently masculine is the latest casualty of Malaysia’s anti-LGBT culture.
JULY 06 2017 11:33 AM EDT
Before a group of T. Nhaveen’s classmates viciously beat and burned the 18-year-old student, they called him a “pondan.”
That word, an extremely derogatory term in Malaysian culture, is often synonymous with “faggot” and sometimes “transvestite.” Although U.S. news outlets have referred to the victim as gay, to be a “pondan” is more than about one’s gender identity or sexuality. The term is used to describe men who are effeminate, especially teenage boys who don’t exhibit stereotypically masculine traits. Soft-spoken and gentle, Nhaveen hoped to be a composer after finishing school. His attackers wanted to make him into a “real man.” When the boy arrived at Penang Hospital after the assualt, which took place between 11 p.m. and midnight June 9, he was declared brain-dead.
ADVERTISING
Nhaveen died six days later.
Little is known about the deceased’s sexuality, but his death speaks volumes about the stigma of being perceived to be gay — or even a little bit feminine — in a country where homosexuality is effectively illegal. Anti-LGBT tensions have been rising in Malaysia in recent years as its conservative government cracked down on the country’s queer and transgender population. The brutal killing, in which Nhaveen was repeatedly sodomized with unidentified objects, is merely the most horrific in a string of attacks on LGBT Malaysians in the cross hairs.
•••
The past year has been a horrifically violent and deadly one for LGBT people across the globe.
A record number of queer and trans folks were murdered in bias-related attacks in the United States in 2016, according to a recent report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. Even excluding the 49 people gunned down in the attack on Pulse nightclub, a Florida gay bar, anti-LGBT murders shot up 17 percent from the previous year prior. Countries like Russia and Indonesia, where men in the country’s Aceh province are caned if found guilty of homosexual activity, have witnessed an unprecedented backlash to LGBT rights. And in the semiautonomous Russian republic of Chechnya, reports say at least 100 men have been incarcerated and tortured for being gay or bisexual, and several have died as a result.
Things have never been great for LGBT people in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, but activists told The Advocate the situation has gotten much worse in the past two months.
In June, the Malaysian Ministry of Health offered cash prizes of up to $930 in a contest in which hopefuls between the ages of 13 and 24 were asked to submit videos on how to “prevent” and “control” homosexuality and “help” LGBT people. Lokman Hakim Sulaiman, the deputy director-general of health, claimed the campaign’s goal was to help young people to lead a “healthy lifestyle.” He said it was not intended to encourage discrimination.
This wasn’t the first such incident, though. In 2013, the government funded an anti-LGBT musical — called Abnormal Desire — that tours Malaysia’s schools. The stage show, in which LGBT people who refuse to repent are struck dead in a lightning storm, has echoes of Reefer Madness, the 1930s propaganda film about the perils of marijuana.
“Children need to recognize that men are for women, and women are for men,” Abnormal Desire director Rahman Adam told The Guardian at the time. He claimed LGBT activists were “going into schools and influencing the children.”
But it was clear something had changed this time around. Around the same time that the anti-LGBT video contest elicited international outrage, a three-day conference scheduled to be held at Taylor’s University was abruptly canceled by college administrators. Called “Courage in the Face of Adversity,” it was intended to feature workshops on LGBT issues, movie screenings, and open-mike events, capped off with a Pride parade. Pelangi Campaign, a local LGBT rights group, held a buka puasa — a meal marking the end of daily fasting during Ramadan — in place of the canceled march.
After media picked up on the Pelangi Campaign event, the organization has been surveilled by federal authorities, said its cofounder, a man named Declan.
“It got picked up by local news and got bigger and bigger,” said Declan, who cited Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act, a 1998 law that gives the government broad powers to curtail free speech on digital platforms. “They monitor our tweets and reported one of our party events.” The federal government’s Islamic Affairs ministry also said in a separate report that the country’s LGBT groups are being surveilled.
These incidents have ignited long-simmering tensions between the LGBT population and forces of social repression. Pang Khee Teik, cofounder of the advocacy group Seksualiti Merdeka, said the comment sections of news articles about the Pride event were filled with death threats. On Facebook, trolls called for the extermination of LGBT people, and activists have been terrified about reprisal. The Malaysian government and police forces have done nothing, activists said.
“It’s one thing to be receiving death threats,” Pang said. “It’s another thing when your leaders are silent on these threats. It’s a tacit endorsement of this violence.”
This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone familiar with Prime Minister Najib Razak’s record on LGBT rights — it’s one of opposition. While signing a declaration of human rights at the 2012 Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, he refused to endorse even basic protections for queer and trans people. Three years later, Najib claimed that LGBT rights weren’t compatible with the “context of Islam.”
That 2015 speech, delivered at an Islamic seminar, speaks volumes about the disdain with which the government views its LGBT citizens. The prime minister compared the country’s queer and trans population to the Islamic State, the militant religious group responsible for countless acts of international terror. Najib alleged that “extremist and liberal groups … are trying to dominate the majority of the country’s population,” as Malaysian newspaper The Sun reported.
“These groups are hiding behind the facade of human rights to approve their acts which deviate from Islamic teaching,” the leader said.
Human Rights Watch, the international advocacy organization, has called the South Asian country — with a population of 28 million — one of the worst for LGBT people to live in. In a 2014 report, the group detailed the routine abuse of trans people in the country, who face “arbitrary arrest, physical and sexual assault, imprisonment, discriminatory denial of health care and employment.” One transgender interviewee told Human Rights Watch that when she was arrested in 2011, police photographed her and stripped her naked.
“One of them squeezed my breasts,” she said. “One of them took a police baton and poked at my genitals.”
Malaysia is one of at least 70 countries that criminalize homosexuality — others include Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia. The country has both civil and Sharia law;, the latter are drafted state by state. Although the religious codes technically only apply to Muslims, they are frequently used to target the general population. These laws, as Pang explained, forbid “anal sex, lesbianism, cross-dressing, and a whole range of similar behaviors.” He said police often look for parked cars to harass gay men violating the sexual ordinances.
Although many of these laws result from the legacy of British imperialism, Neela Ghoshal, senior researcher in the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, said local governments began to pass harsher legislation targeting LGBT people in the 1980s and ’90s. During that time, the federal government became Islamized and moved toward a “more fundamentalist” rule, she said.
“This relates to the increasing feeling on behalf of the ruling coalition that they need to appease hard-line Islamists in Malaysia,” she said.
Prior to the country’s extremist turn, the ’60s and 7’0s marked an era of relative tolerance. Thilaga Sulathireh, an organizer with the trans advocacy group Justice for Sisters, told The Advocate that gender-confirmation surgeries and affirming health care were available at Malaysian hospitals until 1982, when a series of fatwas “forcibly terminated” these services. Traditionally, transgender women held a special place in Malaysian society, playing a sacred role in weddings and the court system.
“These social roles were eliminated and stigma began to increase as they became used as a political pawn,” Ghoshal said.
This stigma has had disastrous effects, not only on trans women but the wider LGBT population in the country. Hate crimes against transgender people have skyrocketed in recent years, Thilaga said, but many of these incidents aren’t reported by local news media. Just this year, she said, two trans women were murdered — a phenomenon familiar to the United States. Fourteen transgender people have been killed in the U.S. so far this year, most recently 17-year-old Ava Le’Ray Barrin.
As anti-LGBT violence escalates in Malaysia, Najib’s government has continued to endorse conversion therapy to “cure” the country’s queer and trans population.
Six years ago, Pang said, government ministers began identifying gender-nonconforming students and sending them to camps to “toughen them up.” More than 60 young people were sent to these four-day religious education seminars, which included a boot camp. Pang said that camp activities included hiking to “teach kids to be more masculine” and workshops on how to find one’s “true self” — or rather, how not to be a homosexual. The recent video competition, for which the Ministry of Health has since apologized, indicatesthat the government’s position has changed little since 2011.
“These actions send a pretty clear message — both to LGBT people and to anyone who has homophobic leanings,” Ghoshal said. “It says, ‘Well, maybe I can take the law into my own hands to get rid of these people who are not wanted in this country.’”
Even despite the immense challenges that Malaysia’s LGBT population faces, there have been small signs of progress in recent years.
After 16 transgender women were arrested for celebrating a birthday party in 2014, three of the those charged with violating the Sharia ban on “cross-dressing” challenged the law. They said the religious codes violated constitutional protections mandating equality. In November of that year, the Putrajaya Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, stating in a 33-page ruling that the law “deprives” the country’s LGBT people “their right to live with dignity.” The court further called the ordinance “degrading, oppressive, and inhuman.”
The excitement over that groundbreaking court victory would be short-lived. The decision was thrown out on a technicality in the Federal Court the following year, erasing a nearly four-year court battle.
Even though Nhaveen’s sexuality is unclear, a lot is riding on his case. For many LGBT people, punishment of his attackers will represent the justice that has eluded them for so long — as they continue to be forced back down into the shadows. The four teenagers accused of beating him to death are currently on trial for murder, pictured holding their shirts over their faces as they were brought in for testimony. News reports say two of the accused, who have pleaded not guilty to the charge, broke down crying as they saw their family members in court. If they are convicted, the maximum sentence is the death penalty.
A full recognition of the pain Nhaveen suffered prior to his death, though, will continue to be an impossibility under current law. Jessica Stern, executive director of OutRight International, told The Advocate that because sodomy is illegal, the legal codes don’t make a distinction between between same-sex intercourse and rape. This means that men who are victims of sexual assault cannot bring charges their assailants.
“When we don’t have that clear legal distinction, consensual homosexuality and rape are confused with one another,” Stern said. “All LGBT people could be seen as sexual predators — because there’s no context in which homosexual acts are permissible.”
OutRight International, which advocates for LGBT rights around the world, has called on Malaysia to repeal its sodomy laws. That will likely take decades. But in the meantime, advocates will continue to build community wherever they can. Community groups frequently hold lectures and education seminars in bookstores, tucked away behind the stacks. Although these events are open to the public, they are publicized quietly to avoid government scrutiny. There are queer dance parties and private Facebook groups, if you know where to look for them.
But as Stern argued, LGBT people can’t afford to keep waiting for society to come around.
“There are some silver linings as a result of this crisis, but no one wants to wait for the murder of another 18-year-old,” Stern said. “As this brutal killing shows, change can’t come soon enough. They need justice now.”
TAGS: WORLD, CRIME, HATE CRIMES
New Blogs Part 9 Updated March 24 2018
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2017
A brief primer on forensic hypnosis
In the November Reasonably Suspicious podcast, my colleague Amanda Marzullo and I discussed a capital case out of Dallas – Ex Parte Flores – in which the Dallas PD used hypnosis on the primary witness, who ultimately switched her story. She at first said a long-haired white man was the perpetrator before identifying a short-haired Hispanic man (Mr. Flores) at trial.
On the podcast, we marveled that DPD had access to an on-staff hypnotist, wondering whether DPD might also consult Tarot card experts or palm readers? But Grits underestimated the level of official status that “forensic hypnosis” has achieved in Texas, by quite a bit! I’m putting these links up mostly for my own purposes, but thought Grits readers may also be interested, so here you go:
For starters, to be clear, most states (28) do not allow hypnosis-influenced testimony to be admitted into evidence at all. Of the states that do, Texas has over the years had one of the more robust programs. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals approved the use of hypnosis in a case called Zani v. State from 1988, the year after the Texas Legislature via SB 992 ordered what was then the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) to create an “Investigative Hypnosis certificate.” (See a 2015 synopsis of their 50-hour training course, and here’s the relevant section of the Occupations Code.)
The CCA reaffirmed the use of hypnotically induced testimony in a 2004 case, State v. Medrano.
The best journalism on this topic that your correspondent has seen came from Andy East at Reporting Texas in December 2014, in a story I’d missed when it came out. According to Mr. East:
Texas and 21 other states allow court testimony by witnesses who previously were hypnotized to enhance their memories, according to a study by Steven Lynn, a professor of psychology at Binghamton University in New York. The Texas Rangers have used hypnosis 66 times since 2009, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Most law enforcement agencies in Texas don’t keep statistics on hypnosis.
Further:
Investigative hypnotists in Texas must be certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. That requires taking a 50-hour course and passing an exam. Since licensing was mandated in 1987, commission records show that 858 law enforcement officers have been certified . Four officers have been certified in the past two years. In October 2013, the commission began requiring licensed investigative hypnotists to take a refresher course every two years.
According to an article by a former DPS trooper and prominent forensic hypnotist (touting the “Texas model” and outlining a “Road Map to Admissibility” for hypnotically enhanced witness testimony), some 80 police officers participated in the first TCLEOSE training once the official certification was created.
There is actually a Texas Association of Investigative Hypnosis, and regrettably we just missed their annual conference! That would have been a hoot. Here’s a website of a prominent practitioner and former DPS trooper.
American Public Media in 2016 took on the story from a national perspective. They warned that:
Especially if done poorly, the process – basically a means of trying to induce a more focused state of mind — can plant memories or skew existing memories. It can also make witnesses or victims more certain of what they saw, even if the recollections turn out to be false. Today, hypnosis is a rare feature in police work and even rarer in the courtroom, partly because so many courts have ruled “hypnotically induced” testimony inadmissible. The process is viewed as roughly on par with another quasi-scientific investigative tool, the polygraph test.
They noted that, “Minnesota was one of the first to restrict such testimony when the state Supreme Court ruled in State v. Mack, in 1980, to bar testimony recalled for the first time under hypnosis.” Here’s a Candadian case from 2007 declaring post-hypnosis witness identifications inadmissible.
Over the years, scientific support for the technique has eroded significantly. These days, a 2016 academic analysis concluded, “Scientific research … suggests, fairly overwhelmingly, that hypnosis does not reliably increase the accuracy of eyewitness recall and recognition; rather, the research shows that when effects do occur, hypnosis can produce an increase in false, distorted, or manufactured memories.”
Further, said the same source: “it is not only the distortion of memory which is at issue, but also the sincerity with which people believe their distorted memories to be accurate. Because hypnotically recovered memories are remembered in such detail and with such emotion, subjects often develop and false confidence in it.”
According to this academic analysis (FN 35), there are at least five DNA exonerees who were convicted after information about hypnosis-induced testimony was concealed from their juries!
A DOJ manual for US Attorneys informs practitioners, “The information obtained from a person while in a hypnotic trance cannot be assumed to be accurate.”
Memory expert Elizabeth Loftus has shown that hypnosis can be used to implant memories of things that never occurred.
Most academic papers I’ve found on forensic hypnosis are behind paywalls. The abstract to this 2015 academic paper suggests that hypnosis poses more risks of error than other memory recall methods. Another academic paper suggested more errors occur from hypnosis when the contents of memories are very emotional.
As far as Grits can tell, this is junk science at its worst. In Zani, ironically, the CCA already understood that proponent’s claims had been seriously challenged: The majority opinion observed that:
Proponents of the use of hypnosis to restore a crime victim’s memory to facilitate his trial testimony, most notable of whom is Dr. Martin Reiser, a psychologist and forensic hypnotist with the Los Angeles Police Department, advocate a “videotape recorder” theory of human memory. By this theory the human mind is thought to receive and store in the subconscious every bit of data taken in by the senses. Hypnosis is regarded as a legitimate vehicle for tapping the subconscious to retrieve data recorded therein which has proven to be inaccessible to the subject’s conscious memory. “The assumption, however, that a process analogous to a multichannel videotape recorder inside the head records all sensory impressions and stores them in their pristine form indefinitely is not consistent with research findings or with current theories of memory.”
Today, thanks to research with fMRIs and other modern neuroscience advancements, we know conclusively that the “videotape recorder” theory is hoakum. It can’t even be said to be a disputed question anymore. And that’s the main basis upon which proponents rested their arguments for using hypnosis on witnesses.
It’s hard to understand how “forensic hypnosis” is still a thing in 2017. Further evidence, if any were needed, that judges in general make rotten forensic gatekeepers. This is just embarrassing.
POSTED BY GRITSFORBREAKFAST AT 3:09 PM
New Blogs Part 9 Updated March 30 2018
Another tidbit from Grits for Breakfast:
Open records review should include criminal justice
The House Committee on Government Transparency meets next week in part to discuss updating open records laws (see coverage from the Caller Times). The push to do so doesn’t involve criminal justice, but transparency laws in that area need serious attention. See this Grits commentary from 2016 regarding aspects of the Public Information Act related to the justice system which have been gutted in favor of opacity over the last three decades.
Why do all my gay rights posts; seem Identical to my sex offender posts? And why do all my gay rights posts remind me of civil rights posts. I watched a movie recently that compared gay rights to civil rights. The movie “The Shape of Water” has a most excellent scene. I could not have said it better that this web site says:
Del Toro also overplays his hand in characterizing the heroes. Midway into the film, he reveals that Giles is gay when the character makes a pass at a friendly restaurant owner; the latter promptly kicks Giles out of the restaurant, along with a black couple who want to eat there. Though superfluous to the story, the scene reflects the movie’s mission, to inspire sympathy with outsiders and anger toward anyone who would prevent them from experiencing love.
I don’t know why but this reminds me of a Bible verse: Mark 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
And that leads to my next post that totally resembles a sex offender post about the ACLU or the like:
This is another of copy and paste from this great web page: From Here
Washington has become the tenth state to pass a ban on conversion therapy on minors.
Gov. Jay Inslee signed the legislation banning the debunked and dangerous practice on Wednesday. The law takes effect in June, and will deem any therapy attempting to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of any person under the age of 18.
The law defines conversion therapy as “a regime that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”
“Conversion therapy does not include counseling or psychotherapies that provide acceptance, support, and understanding of clients or facilitation of client’s coping, social support, and identity exploration and development that do not seek to change sexual orientation or gender identity,” it continues.
There does remain a religious exemption, saying “non-licensed counselors acting under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or organization may not be construed to be unprofessional conduct.”
“Conversion therapy is not so much therapy, it’s abuse, and we are today prohibiting the abuse of our children,” said Inslee. “Conversion therapy, which has caused scars for decades across the country, is something that is inhumane and not acceptable in the state of Washington. We know today there are nationwide efforts to strip away the protections of our LGBTQ youth, and to prevent them from living safe, stable, and confident lives. As many of our friends, neighbors, and children today live in fear, we need to step up for them to protect them from conversion therapy, and we’re doing that today.”
“No child should be put through the dangerous and abusive practice of conversion therapy,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin in a statement. “Medical professionals agree this harmful and discredited practice not only doesn’t work, but can also have life-threatening consequences. We thank the many advocates, allies, parents, and survivors who spoke out against conversion therapy and urged their elected officials to adopt these crucial protections. We also thank Governor Inslee and the Washington State Legislature for enacting this legislation to protect LGBTQ youth.”
“Today we applaud Washington state Governor Jay Inslee’s decision to sign into law SB 5722. We are heartened by the progress made by legislators to uphold the safety, health, and well-being of LGBTQ individuals in Washington state,” said National Center for Lesbian Rights Youth Policy Counsel and Born Perfect Campaign Coordinator Carolyn Reyes. “We know that few practices hurt LGBTQ youth more than attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity through the debunked practice of ‘conversion therapy.’ Washington state sets an example for the rest of the country in ensuring every child knows they are born perfect.”
Pastor Matthew Dennis Patterson of Nolensville Road Baptist Church in Tennessee, which “cites the Bible as the only authority for faith and practice, belief in the sinful nature of man, biblical family roles and local church autonomy,” was arrested for molesting at least 8 children over a period of 20 years.
The Tennessean reports:
Children at the church told adult members that Patterson had asked them to sit on his face and stomach, sometimes in their underwear, according to a police statement.
Detectives John Thomas and Jacob Masteller from the department’s Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Unit led the six-month investigation into the complaints.
After interviewing multiple church and staff members, police said the detectives identified multiple victims, most of them boys, who were molested from 1998-2017. Police did not say how old the children were at the time of the alleged abuse.
Patterson has been indicted on eight counts of aggravated sexual battery. Each count is linked to a different child, according to police.
Police said more charges relating to additional victims “are anticipated” as the investigation continues.
Patterson was a “vocal opponent” of Tennessee anti-discrimination bills designed to protect LGBT people from bias in housing and employment.
We’re making the news for all the wrong reasons on this one:
SUNDAY, APRIL 01, 2018
NY Times story on Galveston indigent defense ripe for other reporters to localize
In the New York Times last week (March 29), former Austin Statesman editor Richard Oppell authored an article that could resonate throughout Texas indigent defense systems, as it describes a practice that’s widespread, not remotely limited to the judge or attorney in Galveston at the center of the story. Here’s the heart of the allegations:
A criminal defense lawyer in Galveston, Tex., says he was pulled off cases defending poor clients because he spent too much time on them and requested funds to have their charges investigated.
Needless to say, his clients were not the ones complaining. Instead, it was the judge, Jack Ewing, who appoints lawyers for those in his courtroom who cannot afford them. “You overwork cases,” Judge Ewing told the lawyer, Drew Willey, according to excerpts from a recorded conversation cited in the lawsuit.
Though an estimated four of every five criminal defendants in the United States use court-appointed lawyers or public defenders, many of the nation’s indigent defense systems have been criticized as desperately inadequate, leading to false guilty pleas and overincarceration.
Lawyers who represent the poor can be required to juggle hundreds of cases at a time, accept pay far lower than the market rate, or take cases for which they have little experience.
This new case, though, exposes another potential problem: Indigent defense lawyers often get their assignments from the judges in whose courtroom they appear. This discourages a robust defense, experts say, and leads to an emphasis on resolving cases quickly.
The tensions may be familiar to lawyers, but they are rarely so candidly aired as in this lawsuit, filed in federal court last week and bolstered by parts of a recorded conversation with the judge.
Grits has heard similar stories from defense attorneys for as long as I’ve paid attention to the Texas justice system, including attorneys stiffed not just for time worked but also for investigators’ fees or even forensic services.
Which brings me to this observation for Texas-based reporters: This is a national story which can be localized. This isn’t the only Texas jurisdiction, by any stretch, in which judges reduced pay requests from lawyers as excessive when they tried to put on a zealous defense. There are also stories out there of lawyers losing out on appointments because judges considered them a tad too zealous. Attorneys who make a living representing indigent clients must routinely take on caseloads well beyond bar-association-recommended guidelines in order to pay for a mortgage, middle-class lifestyle, and law-school debts. This story explains why, and it’s not just happening in Galveston.
So, for my reporter friends on the local courthouse beat: There’s a courthouse paper trail on cases where judges reduce attorneys’ fees, which a local attorney who takes indigent cases or the court coordinator can help you identify. Then, one simply calls up the attorneys to ask why they requested the additional pay. Follow up with calls to the judges in question to get their side of the story; the county judge so s/he can lodge a complaint about unfunded mandates from the state; then make a call to indigent defense experts like the Texas Fair Defense Project or Civil Rights Corps (the two nonprofits that sued over Harris County’s unconstitutional bail practices), and you’ve just localized a national story.
Indeed, there’s a small mountain of data, including lawyer-specific payment information, available from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. Once you dig into these topics, there’s a lot of material for an enterprising reporter with which to work.
So thanks, Richard Oppell, for exposing a statewide problem in the form of this Galveston anecdote. Now it’s up to Texas reporters to pick up the baton and expose the same practices in their own jurisdictions. The story’s there to be had, and “It would make some local judges mad” isn’t a good enough reason not to report it.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated April 06 2018
WILL FIGHT A JUDGE’S RULING ORDERING THE STATE TO CONSIDER EARLIER PAROLE FOR SEX OFFENDERS
March 6, 2018
[Time.com] (SACRAMENTO) — California said Monday that it will fight a judge’s ruling ordering the state to consider earlier parole for potentially thousands of sex offenders, such as those convicted…
PA: STATE SUPREME COURT REMANDING CASES AFTER MUNIZ
March 7, 2018
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Sex offender cases in Pennsylvania are being remanded in the wake of Commonwealth v. Muniz, the PA case which found their registry unconstitutional under the ex post facto clauses…
TX: TARRANT COUNTY JUDGE USED ELECTRIC SHOCKS TO PUNISH SEX OFFENDER, WHO IS GETTING A NEW TRIAL
[star-telegram.com]
FORT WORTH
State District Judge George Gallagher of Tarrant County told a bailiff on three occasions to punish an uncooperative defendant with electric shocks, and now the sex offender’s conviction has been overturned and a new trial ordered.
Stun belts can be strapped around the legs of some defendants and used to deliver thousands of volts of electric shock in the instance a defendant turns violent or attempts to escape the courtroom. However, in the case of _______, who was convicted in 2014 of charges of soliciting sexual performance from a 15-year-old girl, an appeals court found that Gallagher used electric shocks as punishment after ____ failed to answer the judge’s questions properly.
MN: WEST ST. PAUL VOTES TO LOOSEN RULES ON WHERE SEX OFFENDERS CAN LIVE
March 13, 2018
West St. Paul loosened its rules on where sex offenders can live Monday night, after struggling to strike a balance between residents’ concerns and possible legal repercussions of its highly restrictive policy. Full Article
FL: A NATIONAL PUSH FOR VICTIMS’ RIGHTS IS NOW HITTING FLORIDA. BUT CRITICS ARE FIGHTING BACK
March 13, 2018
[injusticetoday.com] Voters in Florida may soon get to decide whether to give victims of crime a bigger say in the criminal justice system. A proposed amendment to the state constitution…
The lowest level of convicted sex offenders would be required to register with local police and face increased scrutiny under plans to expand the state’s registry. A proposal by Senate…
IL: SEX OFFENDER FACING CHARGES IN TROY SUES, SAYS BURDEN TO PROVE INNOCENCE IS TOO HIGH
March 14, 2018
A Florida man facing child sex assault charges has filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois alleging that the burden of proof placed on him to prove his innocence…
NATIONAL REGISTRY OF EXONERATIONS 2017 REPORT [DOCUMENT]
March 15, 2018
[law.umich.edu]
The National Registry of Exonerations recently issued its 2017 report. Of the 139 exonerations they added to the registry in 2017, 21% were for sex crimes, not counting the two for registration crimes.
About half of all the exonerations were based on the conclusion that no crime had been committed (as opposed to the finding that the exoneree was not the perpetrator). Eleven of these were child sexual abuse convictions.
NJ: OPPOSITION TO BLANKET COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION IN NEW JERSEY
March 17, 2018
[sexlawandpolicy.org] Today, SLAP Center delivered a letter to Assemblywoman Amy Handlin and Senator Christopher Bateman outlining our opposition to their proposal to allow for community notification of New Jersey’s Tier…
WV: STATE SUPREME COURT RULES PROBATION INTERNET RESTRICTIONS VIOLATE FIRST AMENDMENT
March 19, 2018
[UPDATED LINKS 3/20/18] [floridaactioncommittee.org] The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled that completely restricting a person’s access to the internet as a condition of their parole from prison…
MI: FELONY CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST CLINTON TOWNSHIP SEX OFFENDER IN FERNDALE
March 20, 2018
[macombdaily.com] Felony charges have been dismissed in Ferndale against a convicted sex offender accused of failing to give his correct address and vehicle information under the state’s Sex Offender Registration…
FL: FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA SEX OFFENDER RESIDENCY RESTRICTION DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
March 26, 2018
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The Ft Lauderdale Sex Offender Residency Restriction was declared unconstitutional. Wait… what?!?! A Florida SORR was declared unconstitutional? YES! The municipal ordinance in the City of Ft. Lauderdale that…
I have been complaining about these ads; since I first logged on to the internet around 1994. As recent as my college years around 2004; I would complain about trying to get references for my artwork, by entering cowboy; and get gay porn links in Google images. I would never click on those links but still it was irritating.
There is never a excuse; for people doing a simple innocent search and having to deal with pop up ads of porn. This should be and can be stopped. I used to complain about it in 1994 and ever since then. Back in 1994 to about 2000’s people would be so prejudice of the internet saying all it was , was porn. I would say; all they have to do is stop the porn pop ups, for instance, to end this bad impression people have of the internet.
I have a sneaky suspension these folks from Arizona may have something to do with listing peoples police records online for the whole world to see. Don’t forget how that Arizona company was shut down for listing police records online. Listing police records online for profit; is a absolute disgrace and a disgrace of our whole country.
My wife reads me the news every morning and I thought she said pop up ads. I just read the article hours after posting this and found out it was not pop up ads. I am still leaving the article posted because it is out of Arizona because of the possible connection of the police records people.
Law enforcement authorities raid founder’s home, release few details after post on sites known for adult escort services
PHOENIX — Sex ads platform Backpage.com was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Friday hours after its founder’s Phoenix home was raided.
Visitors to the site landed on a notice from the federal government announcing its seizure.
“Backpage.com and affiliated websites have been seized as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, with analytical assistance from the Joint Regional Intelligence Center,” the announcement read.
Founder Michael Lacey’s Sedona home was raided by the FBI Friday morning, Evan Wyloge, of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, tweeted. He said Lacey’s neighbors witnessed the raid, reporting that “about 20 undercover cops” swarmed the property.
Phoenix FBI told The New York Daily News that “law enforcement activity is occurring.”
The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other agencies were also involved in the enforcement action, with more information forthcoming, the FBI said.
The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, known as SESTA, passed both houses of Congress last month as part of a push to crack down on Backpage.com and other sites accused of facilitating human trafficking.
It awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.
Some sex workers argued that the legislation hamstrings their ability to safely earn a living.
Backpage.com lets users create posts to sell items, seek a roommate, participate in forums, list upcoming events or post job openings. It also known for listing adult escorts and other sexual services, and authorities say advertising related to those services has been extremely lucrative.
Last year, the creators of the website were charged with money laundering in California.
State prosecutors in California have said the website’s chief executive Carl Ferrer and founders Lacey and James Larkin illegally funneled money through multiple companies and created various websites to get around banks that refused to process transactions. They have pleaded not guilty.
Lacey and Larkin are former owners of the Village Voice and the Phoenix New Times, but retained ownership of Backpage.com.
A decade ago, they were arrested by then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office in 2007 for publishing information about a secret grand jury subpoena demanding information on its stories and online readers.
They won a $3.75 million settlement from county government as a result of their now-discredited arrests.
Arlan Stangeland (R-MN) U.S. House of Representatives (1977 – 1991). He lost his campaign for re-election in 1990, largely because of a scandal, having made several hundred long-distance phone calls on his House credit card to a female lobbyist from Virginia. He admitted that he had made the calls, but denied having a romantic relationship with the woman. After his loss he subsequently retired from politics.(1990)[63][64]
Austin J. Murphy, Representative (D-PA), acknowledged fathering a child out of wedlock after a political opponent came forward with video of Murphy leaving the home of his mistress.[65] (1990)
Charles S. Robb Senator (D-VA) while married to Lynda Bird Johnson, Robb acknowledged drinking champagne and having a nude massage with Miss Virginia Tai Collins denying an affair, though he admitted an “indiscreet friendship.” Collins claimed it was an 18-month affair. Soon after, Collins appeared nude in Playboy.[66] (1991)
Brock Adams, Senator (D-WA), was accused by eight women of committing various acts of sexual misconduct, ranging from sexual harassment to rape.[67] Adams denied the accusations, there was no criminal prosecution, and he did not run for re-election.[68] (1992)
Robert Packwood, Senator (R-OR), resigned his office after 29 women came forward with claims of sexual harassment, abuse, and assaults. His denials of any wrongdoing were eventually contradicted by his own diaries boasting of his sexual conquests. (1995)[69]
Ken Calvert, Representative (R-CA), was involved with a prostitute, but claimed that no money was involved, and he was not arrested.[70] Calvert apologized: “My conduct that evening was inappropriate….it violated the values of the person I strive to be.”[70] (1993)
Helen Chenoweth-Hage, Representative (R-ID), called for the resignation of Bill Clinton, and then admitted in 1998 to having had a six-year affair with a married rancher before she entered government.[71] Chenoweth said: “Fourteen years ago, when I was a private citizen and a single woman, I was involved in a relationship that I came to regret, that I’m not proud of….I only wish I could have learned the lessons sooner.”[72] (1998)
Bob Barr, Representative (R-GA), had an affair while married to his second wife. Barr was the first lawmaker in either chamber to call for Clinton’s resignation due to the Lewinsky scandal. Barr lost a primary challenge less than three years after the impeachment proceedings. (1999)[73]
Dan Burton, Representative (R-IN): In 1995 speaking of the then-recent affairs of Republican Robert Packwood and the unfolding affair of Democrat Bill Clinton Burton stated “No one, regardless of what party they serve, no one, regardless of what branch of government they serve, should be allowed to get away with these alleged sexual improprieties….” In 1998 Vanity Fair printed an article detailing an affair which Burton himself had in 1983 which produced a child. Before publication Burton admitted to fathering a son with a former state employee.[74][75]
Robert Livingston, Representative (R-LA), called for the resignation of Bill Clinton and when his own extramarital affairs were leaked, his wife urged him to resign and urge Clinton to do likewise. (1998)[76][77]
Newt Gingrich, Representative (R-GA) and leader of the Republican Revolution of 1994,[78] resigned from the House after admitting in 1998 to having had an affair with a staffer while he was married to his second wife, and at the same time he was leading the impeachment of Bill Clinton for perjury regarding an affair with his intern Monica Lewinsky. (1998)[79][80]
Henry Hyde, Representative (R-IL): in 1998, Salon.com stated that from 1965 to 1969 (before Hyde won federal office), he conducted an extramarital sexual affair with a married woman who had three children from her marriage. Hyde, who was 41 years old and married when the affair occurred, admitted to the affair in 1998, describing the relationship as a “youthful indiscretion”.The revelation of this affair took place as Hyde was spearheading the impeachment hearings of President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky scandal.[81]
Pete Domenici Senator (R-NM) voted for the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998 after his affair with Monica Lewinsky. In 2013 he confessed that in 1978 he fathered a son, Adam Laxalt, outside of his marriage; Adam Laxalt’s mother is Michelle Laxalt, the daughter of Senator Paul Laxalt and a prominent Republican lobbyist.[82][83]
Bill Clinton, President (D) Revelations that White House intern Monica Lewinsky had oral sex with Clinton in the Oval Office leading him to famously declare on TV on January 26, 1998, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” The scandal led to impeachment by the House for perjury, for lying about the affair under oath. He was acquitted in the Senate with 55 senators voting Not Guilty to 45 senators voting Guilty (falling 22 votes short of the two-thirds necessary to convict). (1998)[84][85] In a plea bargain to avoid another trial alleging charges of impeding the initial investigation, Clinton’s law license was suspended by the state of Arkansas for five years.[86] Additionally, Clinton was accused by Juanita Broadrrick for sexual assault.[170]
Mel Reynolds, Representative (D-IL), resigned from Congress in 1995 after a conviction for statutory rape. In August 1994, he was indicted for sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old campaign volunteer that began during the 1992 campaign.[87] Despite the charges, he continued his campaign and was re-elected that November; he had no opposition.[87] Reynolds initially denied the charges, which he claimed were racially motivated. On August 22, 1995, he was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. He resigned his seat on October 1 of that year.[88]
2000–2009
Gary Condit, Representative (D-CA): his affair with 23-year-old intern Chandra Levy was exposed after Levy disappeared. Her body was found a year later and in 2008, an illegal immigrant with no relation to Condit was charged with her murder.[89] Condit had often demanded that Bill Clinton “come clean” about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. (2001)[90]
Ed Schrock, Representative (R-VA), announced he would abort his 2004 attempt for a third term in Congress after allegedly being caught on tape soliciting sex from a male prostitute after having aggressively opposed various gay-rights issues in Congress, such as same-sex marriage and gays in the military.[91]
Strom Thurmond, Senator (R-SC), noted segregationist, fathered a child, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, with a 15-year-old African American in 1925 who was employed by the Thurmond family. (2003)[92]
Steven C. LaTourette, Representative (R-OH), was elected in 1994 and had voted to impeach Bill Clinton for the Lewinsky scandal. He himself had a long-term affair with his chief of staff, Jennifer Laptook, while he was married. He married Laptook after his divorce. (2003)[93]
David Dreier, Representative (R-CA), voted against a number of gay rights proposals, but was outed concerning his relationship with his chief of staff. (2004)[94] He is featured in the 2009 documentary film Outrage.
Don Sherwood, Representative (R-PA), failed to win re-election following revelations of a five-year extramarital affair with Cynthia Ore, who accused him of physically abusing her. (2004)[95]
Mark Foley, Representative (R-FL), resigned his House seat when accused of sending sexually explicit e-mails to teenage male congressional pages. He was replaced by Tim Mahoney. (2006)[96]
David Vitter, Senator (R-LA), took over the House seat of former Congressman Robert Livingston, who resigned in 1999 following revelations of an extramarital affair. At the time, Vitter stated, “I think Livingston’s stepping down makes a very powerful argument that (Bill) Clinton should resign as well….”[97] Vitter’s name was then discovered in the address book of the Deborah Jeane Palfrey (the “D.C. Madam”). (2007)[98]
Randall L. Tobias (R), Deputy Secretary of State and former “AIDS Czar” appointed by George W. Bush, stated that U.S. funds should be denied to countries that permitted prostitution.[99] He resigned on April 27, 2007, after confirming that he had been a customer of Deborah Jeane Palfrey (the “D.C. Madam”).[100]
Larry Craig (R-ID), a U.S. Senator for 18 years, was arrested on June 11, 2007 and charged with lewd conduct arising from his behavior in a men’s restroom at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.[101][102][103] Craig pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct; he later unsuccessfully sought to withdraw his guilty plea.[104][105][106] He announced his resignation three months later on September 1, 2007, but changed his mind again, although he did not seek re-election in 2008. (2007) [107][108][109][110][111][112][113]
Tim Mahoney, Representative (D-FL), was elected to the seat of Mark Foley, who had resigned following sexual harassment charges from his congressional interns. Mahoney ran on a campaign promise to make “a world that is safer, more moral”. In October 2008, he admitted he placed his mistress on his staff and then fired her, saying, “You work at my pleasure.” He then admitted to multiple other affairs.[114]
Vito Fossella, Representative (R-NY), was arrested for drunken driving. Under questioning, the married Congressman and father of three admitted to an affair with Laura Fay that produced a daughter. (2008)[115]
John Edwards, Senator (D-NC), admitted to an extramarital affair with actress and film producer Rielle Hunter, which produced a child, seriously undercutting his 2008 presidential campaign.[116] (see federal political scandals)
John Ensign, Senator (R-NV), resigned his position as chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee on June 16, 2009, after admitting he had an affair with the wife of a close friend, both of whom were working on his campaign.[117] Under investigation, he then resigned his Senate seat 20 months early in 2011[118] In 1998, Senator Ensign had called for President Bill Clinton (D) to resign after admitting to sexual acts with Monica Lewinsky. (2009)[119]
Chip Pickering, Representative (R-MS): on July 16, 2009, it was announced that his wife had filed an alienation of affection lawsuit against a woman with whom Chip allegedly had an affair.[120] The lawsuit claimed the adulterous relationship ruined the Pickerings’ marriage and his political career. (2009)[121]
2010–2018
Eric Massa, Representative (D-NY), resigned to avoid an ethics investigation into his admitted groping and tickling of multiple male staffers. He later stated on Fox News, “not only did I grope [a staffer], I tickled him until he couldn’t breathe,” (2010)[122][123]
Mark Souder, Representative (R-IN), a staunch advocate of abstinence and family values,[124][125] resigned to avoid an ethics investigation into his admitted extramarital affair with a female staffer. (2010)[126][127][128]
Chris Lee, Representative (R-NY), resigned hours after a news report that he had sent a shirtless picture of himself flexing his muscles to a woman via Craigslist, along with flirtatious e-mails.[129] He did not rely on a pseudonym or a false e-mail address but used his official Congressional e-mail for all communication. Lee said: “I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents…. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.”[130] (2011)
Anthony Weiner, Representative (D-NY), admitted to sending sexually explicit photos of himself to several women through his Twitter account.[131] He resigned from Congress on June 16, 2011,[132] but kept sexting after his resignation.[133] (2011)
Scott DesJarlais, Representative (R-TN), admitted under oath to at least six affairs, including two affairs with his patients and staffers while he was a physician at Grandview Medical Center in Jasper, TN. Additionally, while running on a pro-life platform, DesJarlais made his ex-wife have two abortions, and tried to persuade a mistress who was his patient, into an abortion as well.[134][135][136]
David Wu, Representative (D-OR), resigned from the House of Representatives after being accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a fundraiser’s daughter. July 26, 2011.[137][138]
Herman Cain (R) 2012 Republican presidential candidate, was accused of sexual harassment by several women. These accusations eventually caused him to suspend his run for the presidential nomination (2012)[139][140] including Sharon Bialek, Karen Kraushaar, and having a 13-year affair with Ginger White.[141][142] Donna Donella also reported possible inappropriate behavior.[143][144][145]
Vance McAllister, Representative (R-LA), who is married and the father of five, was caught on surveillance camera deeply kissing a married staffer. Several prominent Republicans asked McAllister to resign. In response, he stated he would not seek re-election in 2016.[146][147] McCallister said: “There’s no doubt I’ve fallen short and I’m asking for forgiveness. I’m asking for forgiveness from God, my wife, my kids, my staff, and my constituents who elected me to serve”. (2014)[148]
Matthew P. Pennell (R) staff for US Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) of the Tea Party, was arrested on 17 counts of alleged child sex crimes. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison (2015)[149][150][151][152]
Blake Farenthold, US Representative (R-TX) was reported to have paid $84,000 of taxpayer money, via the House of Representatives Office of Compliance, to settle a sexual harassment complaint from a former staffer. Farenthold’s former communications director Lauren Greene sued the congressman in December 2014,[153] and a settlement was reached in 2015. The identity of Farenthold with respect to taxpayer involvement was made public in 2017. This was the first documented case of taxpayer funds being used to settle sexual harassment complaints against a member of Congress. (2014)[154]
Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (R-IL), pled guilty to structuring bank withdrawals in order to conceal deliberately-unspecified misconduct by Hastert against an unnamed individual years earlier.[155] At a sentencing hearing in October 2015, Hastert admitted that he had sexually abused boys while he worked as a high school wrestling coach decades earlier. (2015)[156][157]
Donald Trump (R), the 45th President of the United States, was accused of sexual assault by 13 women during the 2016 election and he denied the allegations.[158] The allegations arose after The Washington Post released a 2005 video of Trump, recorded on a hot microphone by Access Hollywood, in which he brags about groping women.[159] In the video, Trump said, “I’ll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married. … You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. I just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”[160] The tape was released two days before a televised debate against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, at which he dismissed the video as “locker room talk.”[161] Trump himself renewed the controversy a year later by alleging that the video was fake,[162] to which Access Hollywood replied, “Let us make this perfectly clear — the tape is very real. Remember his excuse at the time was ‘locker-room talk.’ He said every one of those words.”[163][164]
Tim Murphy, Representative (R-PA), had an extramarital affair with Shannon Edwards, a 32-year-old forensic psychologist. The pro-life Murphy asked Edwards to have an abortion after she became pregnant. The information was revealed as part of Murphy’s divorce proceedings and published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after it fought in Pennsylvania state court to have the documents unsealed. Murphy resigned his seat in Congress.
Roy Moore U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama (R) was been accused by nine women[165] of sexual misconduct with them when they were in their teens. The first of his accusers said that at the time, she was 14 years old, while he was 32.[166]. Moore lost a special election for Alabama Senate following these accusations.
Al Franken Senator (D-MN), was accused by radio newscaster Leeann Tweeden of forcibly kissing her and later groping her without consent during a U.S.O. tour in 2006. Tweeden produced photo evidence of the grope, taken by Franken when Tweeden was asleep. Franken admitted to the allegations and apologized for his actions and then resigned.[167]
Joe Barton (R-TX) US Representative, acknowledged he took and emailed nude photos of himself in 2015, following their leak in November 2017.[168]
John Conyers Jr. US Congressman(D-MI), A former staffer for Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan accused the Detroit Democrat of unwanted sexual advances. A woman who had settled a sexual harassment claim against him stated that the lawmaker had “violated” her body, repeatedly propositioned her for sex and asked her to touch his genitals. He then resigned.(2017)[169][170][171]
Pat Meehan (R-PA) US Representative used tax payer funds to settle a sexual harassment claim by a female staffer. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee, but remains in office(2018)[172] [173]
Clint Reed, CoS for US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was fired for allegations of “improper conduct” with an unnamed subordinate(2018)[174][175][176][177]
David Sorensen (R) White House Speechwriter, resigned as a result of allegations by his ex-wife, that he was violent and emotionally abusive during their turbulent 2½ -year marriage. Sorenson denied the charges, but resigned his position.(2018)[178][179]
New Blogs Part 9 Updated April 09 2018
I found another page in our history as a result of yesterdays accidental find (above).
The reason I am posting this; is because one of the first things I have ever posted on the internet about sex offences, like this.: If we rounded up every single person that has committed any type of sex offence like mooning someone or urinating in public. With that many people as RSO’s; we would have to treat sex offenders with human rights and constitutional rights, unlike our present day.
My only complaint is; this list is way too small, because it does not go back in the past, of recorded history, enough.
Entertainment
By late October 2017, cases included, in the entertainment industry, Screen Junkies co-creator Andy Signore,[14][15] Amazon Studios director Roy Price,[16] Agency for the Performing Arts talent agent Tyler Grasham,[17] Nickelodeon’s The Loud House creator Chris Savino,[18] and actor Andy Dick.[19][20][9]
Over 300 women accused filmmaker James Toback of sexual harassment.[6] As of November 23, 2017, the Beverly Hills Police Department has opened 12 sexual assault cases in the entertainment industry, including cases against Weinstein and Toback.[21]
By early November, the number of accusations compounded exponentially:
On October 10, actor Terry Crews revealed that he had been groped by an unnamed Hollywood executive at a party in 2016, declining to speak out earlier for fear of retaliation.[22][23]
On November 15, Crews identified his attacker as Adam Venit, head of the motion picture department of the talent company William Morris Endeavor.[24] Venit was suspended for a one-month period before returning to work.[25] Crews has filed a lawsuit against Venit and WME for sexual assault.[26]
On November 1, 2017, Six women accused filmmaker Brett Ratner of sexual harassment, canceling his work with Warner Bros. and Playboy, although he has denied the claims.[27]
On November 2, actor Corey Feldman announced that former assistant and actor Jon Grissom had sexually abused both Feldman and the late Corey Haim, Feldman’s former close friend and costar.[28]
Actor Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct or assault by over a dozen men (some of whom were underaged at the time, one as young as 14) and announced that he was entering unspecified treatment; all but one of his projects were cancelled as a result; the one which was not cancelled saw Spacey replaced by actor Christopher Plummer.[29]
Actors Jeremy Piven, Steven Seagal, and Ed Westwick were each accused by varying numbers of women; all three denied the claims.[30]
Actor Robert Knepper and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner each received a single accusation of sexual misconduct, which both denied.[31][32][33] Four more women came forward to accuse Knepper the next month; he denied those allegations as well.[34]
Actor Dustin Hoffman was accused by actress Kathryn Rossetter of having repeatedly groped her during the 1983 Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman.[35] Two other women accused Hoffman of sexually assaulting them and one of exposing himself to a 17 year old on the 1985 television version of Death of a Salesman, two years after the stage version cited by Rossetter.[36][37] Actress Meryl Streep, who co-starred with Hoffman in the film Kramer vs. Kramer, in a 1979 interview with Time magazine described meeting him for the first time at an audition for a play he directed several years earlier: “He came up to me and said, ‘I’m Dustin—burp—Hoffman,’ and he put his hand on my breast. What an obnoxious pig, I thought.”[38] In November 2017, a Streep representative told E! News this was not “an accurate rendering of that meeting”, adding, “there was an offense and it is something for which Dustin apologized. And Meryl accepted that.”[39]
Director Oliver Stone was accused, by Patricia Arquette and Melissa Gilbert, separately, of acting inappropriately towards both of them.[40][41]
Comedian Louis C.K. confirmed multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and apologized; he was also dropped from his projects.[42][43]
Brand New frontman Jesse Lacey was accused of sexual misconduct by two women. The allegations include soliciting nude photos of them while they were underage.[44]
On November 10, 2017, former actor and model Scott R. Brunton told The Hollywood Reporter that actor and LGBT activist George Takei sexually assaulted him in 1981; Takei has denied this.[45]
As of November 10, 2017, chef John Besh was removed from his company after accusations of sexual misconduct from 25 women.[27]
E!’s The Royals creator, executive producer and director Mark Schwahn was accused of sexual harassment by cast members and crew of his former series, One Tree Hill, on November 13, 2017.[46] On December 22, 2017, Schwahn was fired from The Royals.[47]
Entrepreneur Russell Simmons was accused by Keri Claussen Khalighi of sexually assaulting her in 1991, when she was 17 and he was 33 or 34.[48] Simmons denies that the encounter was non-consensual.[49]
On November 13, 2017, actor James Woods was mentioned on a #MeToo sign held by actress Elizabeth Perkins.[50]
Writer Jessica Teich accused Richard Dreyfuss of exposing himself to her and attempting to force her to perform fellatio on him; Dreyfuss denied the allegation.[51]
On November 15, 2017, over a dozen women accused pornographic actor Ron Jeremy of rape and sexual assault.[52] Jeremy has denied all the allegations, though he was banned from the 35th AVN Award because of the accusations.[53]
On November 17, 2017, it was reported Ryan Seacrest was under investigation for sexual harassment allegations by a former E! wardrobe stylist.[54]
Actress Aurora Perrineau filed a police report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department accusing Girls scriptwriter Murray Miller of sexual assault in 2012, when she was seventeen.[55]
On November 19, 2017, Jeffrey Tambor announced he would leave his role on Transparent after Van Barnes, a transgender actress and former Tambor assistant, and co-star Trace Lysette, also transgender, both accused him of sexual harassment. The show’s creator Jill Soloway would not discuss the details of the scandal directly, instead advocating anti-harassment on-set rules.[56] Days later, makeup artist Tamara Delbridge, a cisgender woman, accused Tambor of sexual improprieties on the set of the 2001 film Never Again. Tambor said he did not recall the incident, but apologized “for any discomfort or offense I may have inadvertently caused her.”[57] On February 15, 2018, Tambor was officially fired from Transparent.[58]
John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, and Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering, announced on November 21, 2017 he would be taking a leave of absence from Disney and Pixar after acknowledging “painful” conversations and unspecified “missteps”.[59]
Pinegrove cancelled their 2017–18 North American tour dates following accusations of “sexual coercion” against lead singer Evan Stephens Hall.[60]
On November 22, 2017, actress and singer Melissa Schuman accused Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys of raping her when she was 18, an accusation which Carter denied.[61]
On December 3, 2017, the Metropolitan Opera suspended conductor James Levine over sexual abuse claims that date back over several decades.[62][63] On March 12, 2018, Levine was fired following the investigation.[64]
On December 4, 2017, a woman by the name of Timothy Heller claimed former The Voice contestant Melanie Martinez had raped and sexually assaulted her during multiple sleepovers over the course of two days.[65][66][67]
The following day, December 5, 2017, actor Danny Masterson was fired from the Netflix series The Ranch after being accused of rape. Masterson’s character was then written out of the series.[68] A Netflix executive was also fired after reportedly having told a woman that people at the company did not believe the allegations against Masterson; the woman was, unbeknownst to him, one of several who had come forward to accuse Masterson.[69]
Lee Trull, the Dallas Theater Center’s Director of New Play Development, has been fired from his position after sexual misconduct allegations.[70]
On December 7, 2017, Bryan Singer was sued for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy during a yacht party in the Seattle area in 2003 and promising the teenager acting roles if he would keep silent.[71]
On December 9, 2017, celebrity chef Johnny Iuzzini was accused of sexual harassment by four of his former employees.[72]
On December 11, 2017, chef Mario Batali announced he was taking leave from his businesses after he was accused of sexual misconduct by four women.[73]
On December 14, 2017, Morgan Spurlock admitted to sexual harassment and ‘being part of the problem’; he was not publicly accused of any wrongdoing.[74]
On December 19, 2017, an unnamed woman accused Silicon Valley actor T.J. Miller of sexually assaulting and punching her while both attended George Washington University in 2001.[75] Later that day, Comedy Central cancelled Miller’s The Gorburger Show after one season.[76]
On December 21, 2017, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony severed their ties with conductor Charles Dutoit after four women, including two-time Grammy Award-winning soprano Sylvia McNair, reported incidents of sexual harassment on his part between 1985 and 2010. Dutoit cancelled concerts scheduled for 2018 with the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.[77][78]
Veteran ballet dancer Marcelo Gomes resigned from the American Ballet Theatre on December 21, 2017, after the company began investigating a report of sexual misconduct levied against him.[79]
On December 22, 2017, Max Landis was accused of sexual misconduct by former co-worker Anna Akana. Other Hollywood personalities also accused him of similar behavior towards colleagues or themselves. MAD Magazine Editor Allie Goertz was among them and commented she “couldn’t imagine someone more scared in a post-Harvey Weinstein world.” Among the accusers were Zoë Quinn, Siobhan Thompson, Lexi Alexander, Anthony Burch, Mike Drucker, and others.[80][81][82][83]
On January 2, 2018, Community and Rick and Morty creator Dan Harmon alluded to misconduct from himself towards other people including Megan Ganz, a writer who worked with Harmon on Community. After the exchange, Harmon made a lengthy apology on his podcast Harmontown where he went into detail about his wrongdoings which included making advances on her and then mistreating her after she turned him down. Ganz said that she felt vindicated by the admission and accepted his apology, saying “Dan Harmon, I forgive you”.[84][85]
On January 5, 2018, Ben Vereen was accused of sexual assault by several women who were a part of the 2015 production of Hair.[86]
During the first week of January 2018, screenwriter, film producer and director Paul Haggis was accused by four women of sexual misconduct; two accusing him of rape.[87] Haggis denied the claims and said he believed the Church of Scientology, of which he was a member for 36 years before leaving, was behind the accusations.[88]
Actress and writer Deborah Rennard (Haggis’ ex-wife), actress and author Leah Remini and former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International and the Sea Organization Mike Rinder (Haggis’ personal friends and anti-Scientology activists, hosts of the documentary series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, which Haggis has participated) defended Haggis of the accusations. The Church of Scientology denied any involvement in what it called an “absurd, paranoid and bigoted conspiracy theory.”[89][90]
After the 75th Golden Globe Awards ceremony on January 7, 2018, accusations of sexual misconduct against James Franco came to light.[91][92] Franco won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the ceremony.[93]
Actor and producer Michael Douglas said on January 10, 2018 he had heard from his lawyer the previous month (December 2017) that a woman was planning to bring to light at that time a sole allegation of misconduct against Douglas. Douglas denied the purported claim.[94]
In January 19, 2018, journalist and author Susan Braudy accussed Douglas of sexual misconduct while working for Douglas in 1989, claiming that Douglas asked her to sign a confidentiality agreement soon after, and when she refused, she lost her job 6 months later. Douglas admitted to “coarse language” but denied wrongdoing in a statement.[95][96]
Three days earlier, during and after the 75th Golden Globe Awards telecast at which Douglas’s father, actor Kirk Douglas (aged 101), was honored, posts on Twitter were disseminated that pointed to a series of blog comments, initiated apparently by actor Robert Downey Jr., with claims that the elder Douglas had been accused in the past of having sexually assaulted actress Natalie Wood when she was 16 years old (c. 1954).[97]
Actor and comedian Aziz Ansari was accused of sexual assault by an anonymous photographer who described events that occurred after the 2017 Emmy Awards. The Babe.net article in which the accusations were levied was met with mixed response among commentators and the public and disagreement over whether the described incident constituted as sexual misconduct. Critics have stated that Ansari’s actions were misogynist, lacked affirmative consent, and spoke to a larger culture of harmful male expectations, while some charged his accuser with trivializing the larger movement against forms of sexual abuse and writing revenge porn.[98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107]
In January 13, 2018, actress Eliza Dushku alleged that she had been assaulted by a stunt coordinator, Joel Kramer, on the set of the feature film True Lies.[108] This was followed by two additional allegations of sexual misconduct.[109]
In January 2018, WWE wrestler Eric Arndt, known for ring name Enzo Amore, was accused by Philomena Sheahan of rape, allegedly committed in October 2017 at The Clarendon Hotel & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona; a police investigation is underway. On January 22, 2018, Arndt was initially suspended by WWE,[110][111][112] before being released from the company the next day.[113][114] In a statement, Arndt “fully and unequivocally” denied the accusation.[115]
On January 28, 2018, Scott Baio was accused by his Charles in Charge co-star Nicole Eggert of sexual abuse during the show’s run more than 30 years earlier. She alleged she was only 14 years old. Baio strongly denied this, acknowledging the two had a relationship but not until she was 18 years old and the show had ended, accusing her of lying about the details.[116] On February 13, another co-star from the same television show, former child actor Alexander Polinsky, accused Baio of having called him a “faggot” after he once jokingly jumped into Baio’s lap.[117]
In February 2018, American singer and musician Marilyn Manson was accused of sexual harassment and racist remarks by actress Charlyne Yi.[118]
In February 2018, Philip Berk, former President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, was accused of sexual harassment by actor Brendan Fraser.[119]
On February 21, 2018, Thomas Schumacher, President of Disney Theatrical Productions, was the subject of an internal investigation at Disney into inappropriate behavior, with eyewitness accounts detailing aggressive sexual language and intimidation.[120]
On March 16, 2018, it was reported that John Bailey, the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was under investigation following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.[121][122]
On March 17, 2018, American actress and producer Ellen Barkin accused former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam of sexual misconduct on Twitter, following the director’s condemnation of the #MeToo movement and defense of Matt Damon.[123]
On March 21, 2018, Fred Savage was sued by costume designer Youngjoo Hwang, for alleged harassment during production of the TV series The Grinder. Savage has strongly denied ever doing this.[124]
On March 29, 2018, animator and voice actor John Kricfalusi, best known as the creator of the animated TV series The Ren & Stimpy Show, was accused of preying on two aspiring animators named Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice (both of whom were 13 and 14, respectively), along with sexual harassment, statutory rape and possession of child pornography.[125]
Production
On October 17, The Mist producer Amanda Segel accused Bob Weinstein (Harvey’s brother) of sexual harassment during the production of the series. His lawyer Bert Fields has denied the allegation.[126]
Actor Anthony Edwards wrote an essay on the website Medium alleging producer Gary Goddard molested him and raped his best friend “for years” starting when they were 12 years old;[127][128][129][130] Goddard’s publicist denied the allegations.[131]
On November 29, 2017, Warner Bros. Television announced it had fired Andrew Kreisberg, executive producer on Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow, following allegations of sexual harassment against him.[132]
On February 28, 2018, Variety reported that creator Jeff Franklin was fired from Warner Bros. Television and the series Fuller House after complaints from staff members about inappropriate sexual remarks and verbal abuse. No sexual harassment reports were included in the complaints.[133]
On March 26, 2018, Nickelodeon announced that it had ended its relationship with longtime producer Dan Schneider after staff members accused him of abusive behavior.[134]
In March, 2018, the online production company Channel Awesome was accused of abusing and mistreating its content creators (most notably a former content creator named Allison Pregler), and an unnamed producer was accused of sexual harassment and grooming.[135][136]
Literature and journalism
In literature and journalism, multiple men were accused of sexual misconduct and subject to firing or suspension.[27]
Vox Media editorial director Lockhart Steele was removed in October.[9] Two additional employees resigned after an internal investigation.[137]
Glenn Thrush, a political reporter for The New York Times, was suspended for allegedly groping three women.[138]
Ken Baker was pulled from the air by E! News while they investigated claims of sexual harassment.[139][140][141]
NPR news chief Michael Oreskes resigned at the request of NPR’s president and chief executive after multiple women said that Oreskes had made unwanted sexual advances to them when Oreskes was Washington bureau chief at the New York Times in the 1990s, and after a current NPR employee made a similar complaint in 2015.[142]
New Republic editor Leon Wieseltier apologized following multiple accusations and was removed from The Atlantic’s masthead.[27] He lost funding for his upcoming magazine venture.[6]
After television host Charlie Rose was accused by eight women of sexual misconduct and harassment, the networks CBS and PBS suspended him. He was later fired, on November 21, 2017.[143][144]
On November 21, 2017, Dylan Byers posted a tweet saying that the sexual harassment scandals in media and entertainment were draining those industries “of talent”. The tweet was later deleted.[145][146]
On November 28, 2017, NPR’s chief editor David Sweeney separated from the company after three female journalists made formal complaints against him for sexual harassment. NPR did not provide the full details of the allegations but revealed he’d unexpectedly kissed one of the women in a company car, tried to kiss another woman while out for drinks to talk about her career, and NPR editor Lauren Hodges said he repeatedly sent her gifts and gave her unwanted attention when he was her supervisor. NPR said Sweeney was let go after a formal internal review.[147]
Playwright Israel Horovitz was accused of sexual misconduct by nine women, beginning November 30, 2017.[148]
Radio host John Hockenberry was accused of harassment, unwanted touching and bullying by several female colleagues.[149][150]
On November 29, 2017, Matt Lauer was fired from The Today Show after an accusation of “inappropriate sexual behavior”.[151]
On November 29, 2017, Garrison Keillor was fired from Minnesota Public Radio after being accused of “inappropriate behavior”,[152] which MPR later characterized as “dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents”.[153]
Jann Wenner, co-founder of Rolling Stone, was accused of sexual harassment.[154]
On December 6, 2017, Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review resigned after an internal investigation was opened about unwanted sexual behavior at work including inappropriate touching. He acknowledged he had abused his position and had several inappropriate relations with subordinates including interns and writers for the magazine, however he maintains that all sexual relations and contact was consensual.[155] He resigned from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.[156]
On December 11, 2017, journalist Ryan Lizza’s employment was terminated by The New Yorker. Lizza said he had been in a “respectful relationship” with the accuser, but the newspaper and the accuser’s lawyer rejected that characterization.[157]
On December 11, 2017, Tom Ashbrook, the host of NPR’s show On Point was placed on leave by WBUR and Boston University after allegations of “creepy” sex talks and unwanted contact with 11 mostly young women and men.[158]
On December 11, 2017, Los Angeles TV station KTTV fired Steve Edwards, longtime co-host of the station’s morning show Good Day L.A., after he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by several current and former co-workers.[159]
On December 13, 2017, author and talk host Tavis Smiley was suspended by PBS for allegations regarding sex with employees and creating a hostile work environment.[160]
On December 22, 2017, Fox News confirmed the departure of its chief Washington correspondent, James Rosen. While no reason was given for his departure, NPR reported that it was due to a pattern of sexual harassment and misconduct.[161]
On January 30, 2018, Vice Media released its chief digital officer, Mike Germano, after he was alleged to refuse a woman he wanted sex from a job. He claimed he wasn’t fired, but already planned to leave six months ago.[162]
On February 13, 2018, Thirteen Reasons Why author Jay Asher was accused of sexual harassment.[163] He denied these allegations.[164]
Judiciary
On December 8, 2017, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit judge Alex Kozinski was accused of misconduct by six women including former clerks and junior staffers.[155] A week later, the Washington Post published a story with nine more allegations against him, including prominent accusers such as a professor and a former judge.[165] Four of the women say he touched or kissed them without permission. He announced his immediate retirement a few days later.[166]
Politics
Main article: 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals
Numerous elected officials and politicians also faced allegations.
Longtime Democratic U.S. Representative John Conyers, dean of the Michigan delegation, was discovered to have settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015, leveled by a former staffer who said she was fired for refusing his sexual advances. The complainant received a $27,000 settlement paid from Conyers’ office budget.[167] Several other women have come forward with allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct by Conyers.[168][169] Conyers stepped down from his position as the ranking Minority member of the House Committee on the Judiciary following the allegations,[170] and later resigned.[171]
Democratic U.S. Representative Ruben Kihuen of Nevada was accused by his former campaign finance director of repeated and unwanted sexual advances to the point she resigned her position; Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called on Kihuen to resign.[172] After a second woman accused him of sexual harassment Kihuen announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018.[173] On or around March 7, 2018, Kihuen declared that he was reconsidering his decision to resign.[174]
Radio newscaster Leeann Tweeden accused Democratic U.S. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota of forcibly kissing her in 2006 and presented a photo that appeared to show him groping her breasts as she slept; Franken issued an apology.[175] Three other women came forward to accuse Franken of inappropriately touching them at political fundraisers in 2007 and 2008, and at the Minnesota State Fair 2010.[176][177] On December 7, Franken announced his intention to resign from the Senate, later giving January 2 as the effective date of his resignation from office.[178] Minnesota’s Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith was named to succeed Franken, effective January 2, 2018, until a new election is held.[179]
On November 9, multiple women alleged that Roy Moore, a Republican candidate for the December 2017 Senate special election in Alabama, had made unwanted advances or sexual assaults on them. The alleged incidents occurred when Moore was in his early thirties and they were in their teens. One girl had been younger than 16 (the age of consent in Alabama) at the time.[180] Moore initially admitted he had known two of the accusers but otherwise denied the allegations.[181]
Republican Congressman Blake Farenthold has said he won’t run for re-election and has been pressured to retire early after it was revealed he’d used $84,000 of tax money to settle a 2014 claim for sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. His former communications director alleged he made unwanted sexual advances toward her, and also made sexual comments to others about her including talking to her coworkers about his “sexual fantasies” and “wet dreams” about her. When she complained about chief of staff Bob Haueter creating a hostile work environment, she was informed that was just his nature. She was fired a month after making the complaint, although no action was taken against Haueter. There is a current House Ethics Committee investigation into the event.[182]
Republican Congressman Trent Franks resigned after it was reported he repeatedly asked two female employees to bear his children as surrogates.[155]
Former Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr. was fired from Morgan Stanley after an accusation of harassment was made against him.[40] A later investigation by Morgan Stanley found no proof of harassment.[183]
On December 4, 2017, California Democratic state assemblyman Matt Dababneh was accused of pushing Pamela Lopez into a Las Vegas hotel bathroom, exposing his penis and masturbating in front of her. Another woman accused him of creating a sexually demeaning work environment by regularly making derogatory remarks. A few days after the allegations went public, Lopez said she’d heard from other women with allegations against Dababneh that ranged from sexual harassment to assault. Soon after, he announced he would resign at the end of the year. He said it wasn’t about the allegations, for which he maintains his innocence, but he said he simply no longer felt passionate about lawmaking.[184]
In mid-December, Andrea Ramsey, a Kansas Democratic candidate for the US Congress, dropped out of a race after being confronted by a local journal about a 2005 sexual harassment case where Ramsey was accused of harassing a male subordinate and firing him after he rejected her advances.[185]
Sports
On October 18, 2017, Former Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, using the #MeToo hashtag, became one of the first gymnasts since the start of the movement to accuse former Olympic doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. Other gymnasts, including fellow Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas, along with nearly 250 other female gymnasts would accuse him of molesting gymnasts as young as 6 years old during treatment. Nassar pleaded guilty to all charges on January 24, 2018, and was sentenced to 40-175 years in the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.
On November 17, 2017, Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston was accused by a female Uber driver of groping her in a 2016 incident. Winston denied the allegations, and was defended by former college teammate Ronald Darby, who said he was there with Winston.
On December 6, 2017, a woman who worked for a sports marketing firm led by NFL Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon filed a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment when he told her to wear thong underwear and share his bed during business trips.[186]
On December 11, 2017, the NFL Network and ESPN suspended five on-air commentators and a senior executive after allegations of sexual harassment. Jami Cantor, a former NFL Network employee, accused NFL Network analysts Marshall Faulk, Ike Taylor and Heath Evans of sexually harassing and groping her.[187] ESPN suspended Donovan McNabb and Eric Davis for sending inappropriate comments to Cantor.[188] McNabb and Davis were officially fired on January 5, 2018.[189]
On December 17, 2017, Sports Illustrated reported that “at least four former Panthers employees have received ‘significant’ monetary settlements due to inappropriate workplace comments and conduct by Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, including sexually suggestive language and behavior, and on at least one occasion directing a racial slur at an African-American Panthers scout.” According to the article, Richardson regularly asked women in the team offices to “turn around so he could admire their backsides” on Casual Friday, among other “disturbing” office behavior.[190] Later that day, it was announced that Richardson intended to sell the Panthers franchise at the conclusion of the 2017 season.
On December 29, 2017, a Twin Cities photographer accused Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sanó of sexually assaulting her in 2015 after an autograph session.[191] Sano denied the allegation.[192]
On December 29, 2017, TMZ Sports reported that Detroit Pistons guard Avery Bradley had settled a confidentiality agreement with a reality TV star who accused him of a sexual assault incident during the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals in Cleveland while he was with the Boston Celtics, claiming she was passed out when the incident occurred. Bradley denied the allegation against him.[193]
On January 2, 2018, Rich Rodriguez was fired as Arizona football head coach after a former administrative assistant at the school’s Department of Athletics accused him of multiple instances of sexual harassment, which she first reported in a claim to Arizona in October the previous year before filing again to the Arizona attorney general’s office on December 29, and also accused him of creating a hostile work environment for years. Rodriguez admitted that he had a “consensual extramarital affair with a woman who is not affiliated with the University,” but denied the allegation of harassment against him.[194] Two weeks later on January 21, the same accuser filed a second claim against him, his wife and the university, seeking $8.5 million in damages and also accusing him of “slander, defamation and false light, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”[195]
On February 1, 2018, ESPN Outside the Lines reporter Paula Lavigne reported that there was a widespread attempt to hide allegations of sexual assault at Michigan State University and it’s athletics department dating back several years in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal. Among notable MSU stars involved in the case were several former football and basketball players who played at the school, including NBA G-League guard Adreian Payne and former player turned student assistant coach Travis Walton. MSU President Lou Anna Simon and athletic director Mark Hollis had both resigned prior to the release of the report. Several investigations have been conducted against the school since.[196]
On February 2, 2018, former Houston Texans employee Kristen Grimes sued the team alleging sexual harassment from former director of football operations Jason Lowery, in which she claimed he continuously pursued a relationship with her when she was hired until she left the franchise. The Texans stable later admitted it did not investigate the situation properly when it was first reported to them in November of 2016.[197]
On February 13, 2018, a 2016 lawsuit from former Bad Things drummer Lena Zawaideh against guitarist and snowboarder/skateboarder Shaun White regarding sexual harassment began resurfacing on social media while he competed for his third Olympic gold medal in the Men’s Snowboard Superpipe event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea. White dismissed this in a press conference after his victory as “gossip” before apologizing in an interview with NBC’s Today show the next morning.[198]
On February 16, 2018, a report by The Orange County Register revealed that USA Swimming hid hundreds of sexual assault allegations against multiple female swimmers.[199] As a result, two program directors Susan Woessner and Pat Hogan resigned a week later as investigations continued. [200]
On February 20, 2018, several former Dallas Mavericks employees revealed in a Sports Illustrated report of sexual misconduct involving former President and CEO David Ussery and Mavs.com beat writer Earl Sneed, calling the workplace “hostile”. Mavericks owner and Shark Tank personality Mark Cuban revealed that the team will investigate the matter, but Ussery and Sneed both denied the allegations.[201] However, it was later revealed two weeks later on March 6, 2018 in a report from the Willamette Week that Cuban himself was investigated for a sexual assault incident that took place in April of 2011, where a female patron said he groped her while taking a picture with him in a Portland bar called the Barrel Room.[202] Despite seven photographs submitted to Portland police, two of which Portland Police Detective Brendan McGuire called “significant”, authorities ended the investigation as there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute Cuban for the incident. Cuban denied the allegation, but the NBA revealed two days later that they were investigating the incident.[203]
On March 9, 2018, US Figure Skating suspended coach Richard Callaghan, who coached Tara Lipinski to an Olympic gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, after several male figure skaters accused him of sexual assault within the last two decades.[204]
On March 12, 2018, the Korea Ski Association banned mogul skiers Choi Jae-woo and Kim Ji-hyon for life after fellow female athletes accused them of sexual harassment during a World Cup event in Japan. Choi and Kim had both recently competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics, where Choi made it to the finals in the men’s mogul competition while Kim was eliminated during qualifications for the event.[205]
On March 14, 2018, Baylor University suspended three football players as a result of sexual assault on two members of the school’s women’s equestrian team. The victims said the incident took place on November 12 in an apartment complex in Waco, Texas after Baylor had lost to Texas Tech in a football game the previous night. Baylor head coach Matt Rhule defended the handling of the investigation.[206]
On March 28, 2018, former University of Cincinnati volleyball player Shalom Ifeanyi filed a lawsuit against the school alleging she was kicked off the team because head coach Molly Alvey told her she didn’t meet the “biased image,” and claimed she was racially and sexually harassed from her because she called her Instagram photos “too sexy.”[207]
On April 3, 2018, Idaho University placed athletic director Rob Spear on administrative leave amid multiple investigations into the leadership of the university when it comes to the handling of a botched sexual harassment complaint. The announcement came after he and Vandals football coach Paul Petrino were under fire for a mishandling of a complaint from former diver Mairin Jameson and long distance runner Maggie Miller of harassment against former wide receiver Jahrie Level in April of 2013.[208]
On April 4, 2018, water polo coach Bahram Hojreh, who ran a club affiliated with USA Water Polo, was charged with sexual abuse of seven underage players during one on one coaching sessions, with the incidents occurring between 2014 and January this past year, with four of his accusers 15 or younger. Hojreh was recently suspended by the Southern California regional board of USA Water Polo and had his membership in the national program revoked when allegations of his misconduct began to surface earlier that year.[209]
On April 4, 2018, former USA Taekwondo coach Jean Lopez was banned permanently after the U.S. Center for SafeSport found him guilty of a “decades long pattern of sexual misconduct.” Three women, including Heidi Gilbert, who was coached by Lopez to a gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2002, had accused him prior of sexual assault dating as far back as 1997, with one of them filing a report in 2006. Gilbert said that her incident with him happened on the same night after she had won her weight class.[210]
Other
On October 21, 2017, following a sexual harassment scandal involving Tyler Malka, owner of NeoGAF, most of its moderation staff resigned. The website went offline soon after.[211]
Fashion photographer Terry Richardson was banned by Condé Nast.[6]
Steve Jurvetson stepped down from his role at DFJ Venture Capital after the firm conducted an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.[212]
Benjamin Genocchio, executive director of The Armory Show, was relieved of his position after longstanding allegations of inappropriate behavior were published in November 2017.[213][214]
On November 2017, Daniela Soleri published an account of sexual abuse committed by her late father Paolo Soleri, an Italian architect known for the concept of “Arcology” and as the lead architect of the experimental community Arcosanti in Arizona. Daniela Soleri alleged that her father persistently molested her during her childhood and attempted to rape her when she was 17 years old.[215] Paolo Soleri had been dead for five years at the time Daniela came forward. The Cosanti Foundation Board responded with an official statement, noting that Daniela’s “decision to speak out about her father’s behavior towards her helps us confront Paolo Soleri’s flaws, and compels us to reconsider his legacy.”[215]
Peter Martins, the choreographer for the New York City Ballet was suspended following allegations of sexual misconduct.[216][217] Martins announced his retirement on January 1, 2018.[218]
On December 20, 2017, artist Chuck Close apologized in The New York Times after two models accused him of sexual harassment.[219]
On January 10, 2018, 95-year old Marvel Comics writer Stan Lee was accused of sexually harassing his nurses, which he has denied.[220]
On January 11, 2018, Samantha Ainsley alleged that in 2012 University of California, Berkeley Professor James F. O’Brien had made lewd comments to her and groped her in a night club in Singapore. O’Brien has denied the allegations.[221][222]
On January 15, 2018, Vogue dropped photographers Mario Testino and Bruce Weber after both were accused of sexual harassment. Testino was accused by 13 male assistants and models who worked with him; Weber was accused by 15 men.[223]
On January 28, 2018, real estate businessman Steve Wynn resigns as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee after he was accused by dozens of people of sexual misconduct in which he denies the allegations.[224] On February 6, 2018, he was stepped down as CEO of Wynn Resorts.[225]
On January 29, 2018, Republic Records president Charlie Walk was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee named Tristan Coopersmith, while Walk was still working at Epic Records.[226] Walk resigned from his position as a judge on Fox’s talent show The Four: Battle For Stardom, and Universal Music Group (which owns Republic) suspended him.[227] Walk has hired attorney Patty Glaser, who also represented Harvey Weinstein, to fight his sexual misconduct claims.[228] Walk officially exited Republic Records on March 28, 2018.[229]
On January 31, 2018, model Kate Upton accused Guess founder and fashion designer Paul Marciano of sexual misconduct during a fashion shoot in 2010.[230]
Other countries
The Weinstein effect was felt across the world.
In the United Kingdom, allegations of sexual misconduct against many British politicians became a public scandal involving dozens of women accusers across decades and political parties. It led to the resignations of Defense Secretary Michael Fallon and Welsh minister Carl Sargeant (who took his own life, four days after his dismissal).[231] In January 2018, reports of sexual harassment at the high-society Presidents Club charity dinner caused another scandal.
In Canada, accusations against Just for Laughs comedy festival founder Gilbert Rozon led to his resignation, and 15 people accused Quebec radio host Éric Salvail of sexual misconduct. Broadcaster and former baseball player Gregg Zaun was fired.[232]
Canadian actor and director Albert Schultz was accused of sexual misconduct by four professional actresses who worked with him at the Soulpepper Theatre Company, where he was founder and artistic director. Those who accused him were Kristin Booth, Diana Bentley, Hannah Miller and Patricia Fagan. Schultz resigned his position as artistic director on January 4, 2018.[233]
At the end of October 2017, prominent Hungarian theater director and former head of the Comedy Theatre of Budapest, László Marton was accused with sexual assault by multiple actresses. Subsequently, the theater initiated the termination of Marton’s employment.[234] In November 2017, Miklós Gábor Kerényi, the artistic director of the Budapest Operetta and Musical Theatre was accused of sexual harassment by former students and actors, and was dismissed from his position.[235]
Hong Kong-based British movie executive Bey Logan was accused by a number of women of sexual misconduct. Logan, an associate of Harvey Weinstein, denied all allegations.[236]
On December 2, 2017, actor Geoffrey Rush stepped down as President of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts following allegations of “inappropriate behavior” during an Australian stage production of the Shakespeare play King Lear.[237][33] Rush claims the allegations are untrue and sued The Daily Telegraph for making false accusations.[238]
New Zealand actor Rene Naufahu pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent assault relating to six women who attended private acting lessons conducted by him in Auckland between 2011 and 2013.[239][240][241] In January 2018 he was sentenced to one year of home detention. Naufahu had an earlier conviction for common assault and wilful damage arising from an altercation in a Christchurch bar in 2001, for which he was fined by the court.[242][243][244]
Australian television presenter Don Burke was accused of sexual misconduct by several women. He denied these and said, “The Harvey Weinstein saga in Hollywood started a witch hunt.”[245]
The allegations against Weinstein prompted Björk to accuse Lars von Trier of sexually harassing her during the production of Dancer in the Dark. von Trier said “That was not the case. But that we were definitely not friends, that’s a fact.”[246]
In Australia around late October, barrister, author and producer Charles Waterstreet (whose life and career was the inspiration for the drama-comedy series Rake[247]) was accused of sexually harassing law student Tina Ni Huang during a job interview in August 2017.[248] Waterstreet has denied these accusations.[249]
In November 2017, 2,000 women working in the Swedish music industry signed an open letter claiming that they had been sexually abused during their careers. The signatories included singers Robyn and Zara Larsson and the folk duo First Aid Kit.[250]
In the Philippines, artists and online personalities expressed messages of support to Weinstein’s victims.[251] Several netizens came forward to share their experiences with artists and local band members who allegedly committed sexual misconduct.[252]
Ramin Gray, artistic director of the ATC Theatre, was accused of sexual harassment by eight women after calling the search for “the Weinstein of British theatre” an honourable one.[253]
In France,[254] political organizations close to the Socialist Party, in particular the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (UNEF), were accused of systemic sexual harassment. The French daily newspaper Le Monde published in late 2017 two articles on alleged sexual harassment and predation supported by former UNEF presidents, Jean-Baptiste Prévost and Emmanuel Zemmour.[255][256] In an editorial, more than 80 UNEF female members and militants came forward to accuse the Union of “sexual violence”.[257]
In Norway, Trond Giske, the deputy leader of the Norwegian Labour Party, resigned from his political positions on 7 January 2018 after being accused of an extensive pattern of sexual assault and sexual harassment of young women, and of taking advantage of his political positions to make unwanted sexual advances.[258] The accusations came in the context of the international debate in the aftermath of the Weinstein affair, and dominated Norwegian media for several weeks from December 2017.[259]
In India, law student Raya Sarkar set up a Google Docs, accepting anonymous testimonials to sexual abuse taking place within universities in India. Up to 59 academics from 29 colleges were named, some of whom were prominent figures.[260] Sarkar’s list sparked a debate on whether anonymous testimonials recollecting campaigns were fair, and on whether due process could be subverted. Several prominent academics, including Ayesha Kidwai and Nivedita Menon, issued a letter of response to Sarkar’s list.[261]
In Australia, on January 8, 2018, stage and screen actor Craig McLachlan was accused of sexually assaulting Christie Whelan Browne, Erika Heynatz and Angela Scundi in 2014 during an Australian tour of The Rocky Horror Show.[262] The revelations forced McLachlan to drop out of a current tour of Rocky Horror.[263]
In January 2018, preliminary charges were filed against Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan in two cases of rape alleged by women who sought his counsel. Ramadan denies any wrongdoing and has filed his own counter-suit asserting false allegations against the two alleged victims.[264]
In February 2018, several women, including Josefina Pouso, Mariela Anchipi, Karina Mazzoco, Virginia Godoy, Ursula Vargues and Emilia Claudeville, accused Argentine television presenter Roberto Pettinato for sexual harassment and abuse. They stated that he would “suck” their necks without their permission until he made them cry, and humiliate them in front of other people with whom they worked.[265][266][267][268] Pettinato refused to talk to Argentine media about the accusations, and afterwards left Argentina for Paraguay, alleging that he was going to start a television show in the country, but reports from both countries summarized that Pettinato left Argentina to become a “media exile” due to the accusations.[269]
In March 2018, Ahn Hee-jung, a prominent South Korean politician was accused of multiple rapes by his aide. He announced resignation afterwards.[270]
On March 9, 2018, after being accused of sexually assaulting eight women, Korean actor Jo Min-ki was found dead in an underground parking lot.[271]
In March 2018, Dubstep DJ Datsik was accused of sexual assault spanning multiple years, resulting in public backlash and cancellation of all Datsik appearances at upcoming shows and festivals. He officially stepped down from his label Firepower Records.[272]
New Blogs Part 9 Updated April 09 2018
This page and list; seems very small, compared to the other two, aforementioned, above.
Just like women criminals and any sex offence, the media loves to exploit religious leaders who commit sex offences.
Tony Alamo – Headed a Santa Clarita commune. Convicted of tax evasion in 1994 and then resided in a halfway house in Texarkana.[1] In 2009, he was convicted of ten federal counts of taking minors across state lines for sex, and sentenced to 150 years in federal prison.[2]
Shoko Asahara – Founder of Aum Shinrikyo sentenced to death by hanging under Japanese law for involvement in the 1995 Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.[3]
Wayne Bent (aka: Michael Travesser) – Founder of Lord Our Righteousness Church, sometimes called Strong City. Was convicted of one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2008.[4] Was sentenced to 18 years with eight years suspended.[5]
Graham Capill – former leader of Christian Heritage New Zealand. Sentenced to nine-year imprisonment term in 2005 after multiple charges of child sexual abuse against girls younger than twelve.[6]
Matthew F. Hale – Former leader of Creativity Movement sentenced to a 40-year prison term for soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill a federal judge.[7]
Warren Jeffs – Once President of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (a polygamist Mormon sect), convicted of rape as an accomplice (overturned in 2010). Jeffs also awaits trial in other states and in the federal court system.[8]
Jung Myung Seok – South Korean religious sect leader and founder of Providence. Convicted for raping several of his followers.[9]
William Kamm – An Australian religious sect leader and self-styled Pope Peter II who was sentenced to prison in October 2005 for a string of sexual attacks on a 15-year-old girl. In August 2007 his sentence was increased after being found guilty for a series of sexual abuses against another teenage girl over a five-year period.[10]
Ervil LeBaron – Led a small sect of polygamous Mormon fundamentalists, and was convicted of involvement in the murder of two people and plotting to kill another person in 1981.[11]
Alice Lenshina – Zambian head and founder of the Lumpa Church. Conflicts with the government over the sect’s rejection of taxes led to a violent confrontation and her subsequent imprisonment.[12]
Jeffrey Lundgren – Headed splinter group from Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, executed October 24, 2006, for multiple murders.[13]
Charles Manson – Leader of the Manson Family who served life in prison for first degree murder until his death in 2017.[14]
Shukri Mustafa – Egyptian leader of Takfir wal-Hijra who was captured and executed for the kidnap murder of an Egyptian ex-government minister.[15]
Fred Phelps – Leader of anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church. Convicted for disorderly conduct and battery.[16][17]
Swami Premananda of Tiruchirapalli – Indian religious leader convicted and sentenced to two life sentences for the rape of 13 girls and murder in 2005.[18]
Theodore Rinaldo – Leader of a religious group in Snohomish, Washington convicted of third-degree statutory rape for having sexual intercourse with one minor girl and of taking indecent liberties with another.[19]
Paul Schäfer – Former head of Chile-based Colonia Dignidad, was convicted of sexually abusing 25 children.[20]
Roch Thériault – Former head of “Ant Hill Kids commune” served a life sentence in Canada for the murder of Solange Boislard.[21]
Yahweh Ben Yahweh – Head of Nation of Yahweh, convicted for Federal racketeering charges and conspiracy involving 14 murders.[22]
Dwight York – Head of Nuwaubianism, convicted in 2004 of multiple RICO, child molestation, and financial reporting charges and sentenced to 135 years in prison.[23]
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh -an Indian guru, music producer, singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He has been the head of the social group Dera Sacha Sauda since 1990. On 28 August 2017, Singh was sentenced to 20 years in jail for rape.[24] He has also faced prosecution for murder and ordering forced castrations. He is also alleged to have committed sexual assaults on many of his followers. He is also involved in murder of a journalist[25]
Non-violent crimes
Jim Bakker – Created the PTL organization. Convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges after illegally soliciting millions of dollars from his followers.[26]
Hogen Fukunaga – Founder of Ho No Hana who was given a twelve-year jail sentence for fraudulently gaining 150 million yen from his followers.[27]
Kent Hovind (Dr. Dino) – founder of the Creation Science Evangelism ministry. Willful failure to collect, account for, and pay over Federal income taxes, knowingly structuring transactions in Federally-insured financial institutions to evade the reporting requirements, and obstructing and impeding the administration of the internal revenue laws.[28][29]
L. Ron Hubbard – Founder of Scientology. He was convicted of petty theft and ordered to pay a $25 fine in San Luis Obispo, California 1948[30] and in 1978 was convicted of illegal business practices, namely, making false claims about his ability to cure physical illnesses in France. He was sentenced to four years in prison, which was never served.[31][32][33][34][35]
Jesus – A first century preacher central to Christianity.[36] Sentenced to death by crucifixion on the orders of Pontius Pilate.[37]
Luc Jouret – A founder of the Order of the Solar Temple. He was convicted in Canadian Federal Court of conspiring to buy illegal handguns.[38]
Henry Lyons – Former President of National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Convicted for racketeering and grand theft.[39]
Barry Minkow – Head pastor of San Diego’s Community Bible Church, and founder of the Fraud Discovery Institute, who had turned to religion and entered the ministry after release from prison for the notorious ZZZZ Best fraud, returned to prison in 2011 for further acts of securities fraud while serving as a clergyman.[40]
Sun Myung Moon – Leader of Unification Church, imprisoned for criminal tax fraud in the 1980s.[41]
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh – later called Osho. Fined $400,000 and given a 10-year suspended sentence following a plea bargain agreement in which he made an Alford plea to (1) a charge of having concealed his intent to remain permanently in the U.S. at the time he applied for his visa extension and (2) a charge of having conspired to have followers stay illegally in the country by having them enter into sham marriages.[42] Deported from the United States.[43][44][45][46][47]
Kong Hee – Founder of City Harvest Church. Original sentence of eight years, reduced to three and a half years for misappropriation of church funds amounting to SGD50million, in 2016. See City Harvest Church Criminal Breach of Trust Case
New Blogs Part 9 Updated April 11 2018
The only way the unconstitutional, inhuman, registered sex offender laws and all of these types of perverted sex offence laws, are going to change in our present day; is if people sue in court.
Something people like this should be doing:
The (incomplete) list of powerful men accused of sexual harassment after Harvey Weinstein
Grits is broadly sympathetic to the much-ballyhooed claim (championed most prominently by the Texas Association of Counties) that Texas state government unfairly cost shifts to county and municipal governments via “unfunded mandates.” But critics of unfunded mandates are wrong to include indigent defense in the “unfunded mandate” critique and are only doing so by ignoring the real and much more costly “unfunded mandates” running in the other direction.
In the Waco Tribune Herald, McLennan County Precinct 4 Commissioner Ben Perry articulated the oft-heard complaint:
Indigent defenses expenses are a good example of an unfunded mandate forced on counties, Perry said.
The state once covered the costs of providing legal representation for people accused of crimes who cannot afford adequate defense, as required by the U.S. Constitution. But the state has been reducing its contribution for years.
The county has almost $4.7 million budgeted for indigent defense this year, up from $4.1 million in 2014.
That includes $270,000 in state money this year, down from $532,000 in 2014.
The Texas Fair Defense Act of 2001 does not include a way to pay for its requirements, shifting the expenses to county taxpayers, the county’s resolution states. Statewide spending on indigent defense in 2016 was more than 2.7 times as much as it was when the act passed, according to the Texas Association of Counties.
The state spent $247.4 million in 2016, up from $91.4 million in 2001.
The second paragraph in that pull quote is just a lie. There has never been a time when the state paid for all indigent defense costs in Texas; it was entirely a county-level responsibility until after the new millenium. The article itself includes a graphic demonstrating that claim is false:
Notice the state contribution in 2001 was $0. The state began to put in MORE money after the Fair Defense Act, not less. Moreover, the majority of the increase at the county level may be accounted for by inflation and population growth.
The big (unstated above) problem is that, before the Fair Defense Act, counties simply didn’t comply with their obligations to appoint counsel, especially in misdemeanor cases. That was, indeed, cheaper. In many counties, when the Fair Defense Act passed, no misdemeanor defendants were appointed counsel – zero, zilch, nada. Now, appointment rates often approach 50 percent, not great but better. You can blame the state for making the locals comply with the constitution, if you prefer to deprive defendants of their 6th Amendment right to counsel to save a buck. But that doesn’t make this an unfunded mandate, any more than it’s an unfunded mandate to require counties to pay for local prosecutors.
The volume of indigent defense services required is largely a function of local priorities, so if the DA’s office is still prosecuting lots of penny ante cases even after crime has declined for two decades, locals should foot the bill for those defense costs.
The flip side of this “unfunded mandate” argument are the un-discussed unfunded mandates to the state. McLennan County has a reputation for securing tougher-than-typical plea bargains, but state taxpayers must pick up the tab for high incarceration rates and longer sentences. And those costs are FAR greater than the costs for those prisoners’ lawyers.
Grits has long believed the Lege should offer the Texas Association of Counties a deal on indigent defense: The state picks up the full indigent defense tab, and counties pay to incarcerate every defendant they send to TDCJ for the whole time they’re inside. Then everything would be “fair.”
Except that “fair,” as I frequently tell my granddaughter, is a place where they judge pigs. It doesn’t generally have much to do with the Texas justice system, and certainly not with how it’s financed.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated April 17 2018
I know I have said this before, but it is worth repeating. Homosexual behavior in the Bible is described basically; as equal to adultery.
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Now that we have established that most men and some women commit adultery allot….
John 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
John 8:9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last
That leads to this story, from two days ago:
Police Seek Three Assailants Seen Viciously Beating Gay Men in D.C. – VIDEO
Police are seeking three assailants seen on video beating two gay men early Sunday morning in what is being investigated as a homophobic hate crime.
Watch ABC7’s report above.
The Washington Post reports:
Police said the victims were assaulted by three men about 12:30 a.m. in the 2000 block of 10th Street NW, near the U Street Metro station.
The victims were hospitalized with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening — though little more was known about the attack. A D.C. police incident report was not ready for release Sunday afternoon, police said.
Authorities are investigating the attack as “potentially being motivated by hate or bias,” the department said in a statement. The incident was categorized as an aggravated assault.
D.C. police released a video of the attack: “The Metropolitan Police Department seeks the public’s assistance in identifying three persons of interest in reference to an Aggravated Assault incident which occurred in the 2000 block of 10th Street, NW, on Sunday, April 15, 2018, at approximately 12:31 AM. The subjects were captured by a nearby camera. Anyone who can identify these individuals or who has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE to 50411”
New Blogs Part 9 Updated April 19 2018
Go to Grits or Breakfast for all the links and such concerning these stories: Click Here
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018
An undocumented necropolis at the (former) Central Unit, TX Supreme Court Chief Justice inspired by the Ferguson report, and other stories:
Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits’ readers attention:
Galveston sued over bail schedule
ACLU has sued Galveston County over its bail schedule, adding that county to Harris and Dallas as bail litigation sites. If your county still operates under a bail schedule, they’ll soon have to change. Better to do it now before you’re successfully sued. Ask the judges in Harris County.
Central Unit property an undocumented necropolis
Here’s a postscript to the closure of TDCJ’s Central Unit in Sugar Land, which long-time readers will recall was the first prison unit closed in the Lone Star State since the founding of the (Texan) Republic. When Fort Bend ISD began preparing a portion of the sight for a construction project, they began unearthing bodies. Lots of them – 22 as of when this Houston Chronicle story was written. These were inmates from the convict leasing era and later who worked for the Imperial Sugar Company as de facto slave labor through the early part of the 20th century. A cemetery on the prison site included only white inmates’ remains, which led activist Reginald Moore to believe that black prisoners were buried in unmarked sites elsewhere on the grounds. Turns out, he was right. See related, earlier coverage from Texas Monthly and commentary from Grits.
TX courts limit pretext stop searches
Following a reversal by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the First Court of Appeals issued a ruling limiting the scope of searches incident to arrest. The First Court ruling limits law enforcement’s authority to arrest drivers for Class C misdemeanors as a pretext for searching their car. The case involved a driver arrested for failure to signal a lane change. Police found drugs in his car trunk, but the courts have now ruled they had no reason to search there: “What police officers may not do, even when they conduct a search incident to a lawful custodial arrest of a recent occupant of a vehicle, is to search the vehicle when the arrestee is secured and not within reaching distance of the passenger compartment,” according to the new opinion. See coverage from TheNewspaper.com and all the relevant court documents.
Looks like pot to me!
A Harris County crime lab employee was fired for drylabbing marijuana samples.
Is fast track a death-trap for innocents?
Check out an innocence-based argument against Texas’ petition to fast-track death-penalty appeals. Anthony Graves has rightly pointed out that he would have been executed before he ever could have been exonerated under the new rules.
Ferguson report inspired TX debtors-prison push
Marc Levin of the Texas Public Policy Foundation interviewed Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht about his decision to champion debtors-prison and bail reform issues. See also a related blog post. Hecht was introduced to the debtors prison issue thanks to the USDOJ’s report on overreliance on fine revenue out of Ferguson, Missouri, he told Levin.
Murder-insurance program notches LWOP verdict
The Regional Capital Public Defenders Office, which provides representation in capital cases for counties that participate in its so-called “murder insurance” program, won a life-without-parole verdict recently in a case involving the murder of a San Antonio Police officer – the first such trial verdict in their ten-year history.
SAPD to county: We hate your new jail intake facility
Grits doesn’t know enough yet to tell who is right about the dispute between San Antonio PD and the Bexar County commissioners court over whether SAPD should use the new intake center built at the jail. But my gut leans toward the county: the redundancy makes little sense for taxpayers, and Chief McManus sounds like he’s more worried about the officers’ convenience than enacting best practices at the jail.
Ombudsman report tallies inmate complaints
Check out the TDCJ Ombudsman report for 2017. Visitation remains the perennial main source of complaints (6,389), with another 1,424 prisoners complaining they weren’t being housed in accordance with medical restrictions (48 were reassigned). But 955 offenders complained of threats or intimidation by other inmates (offenders were reassigned in 140 cases), while inmates complained 720 times of physical abuse or threats by staff (26 of those cases were referred to the Office of Inspector General). In related non-news, we’re still waiting for the TDCJ Annual Statistical Report for FY 2017, which ended in August of last year.
New Houston rules aim to limit offender services
Charles Blain from Empower Texans has an item up on new Houston zoning rules aimed at excluding facilities for ex-offenders. Wrote Blain:
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and City Council passed an ordinance that bans alternative housing and correctional facilities, including reentry homes, from opening within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, or other facilities. The new ordinance also requires reentry facilities, approved by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, to apply for a city permit. The permit will identify the type of facility so local officials can “monitor” the locations of ex-offenders living in private reentry homes across the city, allegedly in the name of public safety.
Houston’s 99 currently operating facilities will be grandfathered in under the new provision. But once the owner sells the facility or passes away and wills it to an heir, the facility must come into compliance with all of the new regulations, including the distance requirement. So, as facilities inevitably change hands over time, many will be forced to close or open elsewhere.
Supporters claim that the regulation will improve “public safety,” but like in many other zoning disputes, it evolved from small contingents of people who felt uncomfortable with the homes in their neighborhoods.
Comments made during the public hearing for this regulation centered largely on a fear of ex-offenders, rather than statistical public safety data.
Tuff-on-crime cluelessness
Former Texas Democratic Congressman Sylvestre Reyes has a column in the Austin Statesman decrying “How fentanyl got its grip on Texas.” This commentary ignores the best research out there which says Texas has mostly avoided the fentanyl-driven opiod death spike because the cartels that sell in Texas’ market distribute “black tar heroin,” which is less pure and not easily combined with fentanyl. See related Grits commentary on the same hearing Reyes is discussing.
Suicides among cops continue to outpace line-of-duty deaths
A recent spate of reporting reiterated that suicides among police far outpace line-of-duty deaths in shootouts with bad guys. This has been true for a long time, and is exacerbated by a lack of suicide-related treatment services for police.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated April 22 2018
Just got this cool email this morning, felt compelled to share it:
Crime in Texas dropped precipitously over more than two decades. We now have more prisons than we need, and many of them are hard to staff or require millions in repairs. THIS MONTH Texas agencies are building their new budget requests. Tell Executive Director Bryan Collier to budget for fewer, safer prisons.
Taxpayers can have a prison system that costs less and is also better, by consolidating the shrinking inmate population and shuttering two prisons. The remaining system will be better staffed and safer for everyone. But government won’t shrink itself. You have to demand a smaller system or TDCJ will try and solve its problems by asking for even MORE money.
An understaffed prison is an unsafe prison — unsafe for the guards, unsafe for the inmates, unsafe for the surrounding community. Last year, staff turnover in the Texas prison system hit 28%. Some units lost half their staff in a single year. Prisons struggle to fill those open positions and the state has thousands of open guard jobs right now.
Because the jobs are located in distant rural areas or the facilities have serious safety issues, these are often jobs no one wants. Texans would rather dig an oil well, haul off trash, or change bedpans than live in temporary housing far from family in order to guard inmates four days out of seven.
Some of the prisons that are located close enough to population centers to hire staff are also among the oldest facilities in the state and need millions of tax dollars invested to make them safe for both guards and inmates. Last session, Collier asked lawmakers for more than $50 million in repair costs alone.
Tell Collier to present lawmakers with a budget that shrinks the size of our prison system, closing at least two prisons and consolidating populations among facilities that can be staffed more effectively.
We’ve made it easy to send a message to the head of the prison system! Executive Director Collier doesn’t get a lot of email from the public. He will notice and he will need to respond. He is building his new budget request NOW. Help him do the right thing!
I get these emails all the time. Almost every time I read these emails; I want to post something in it like the following. I absolutely believe this article is one hundred percent true, beyond a shadow of a doubt.:
Religion can make gay youth more likely to commit suicide
A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine last month found a link between religiosity and suicide among gay and questioning participants.
The study used data from the 2011 University of Texas at Austin’s Research Consortium, which surveyed 21,247 18- to 30-year-olds. 2.3% identified as gay or lesbian, 3.3% as bi, and 1.1% were questioning.
LGBQ youth reported that they had attempted suicide at least once in their lives at a higher rate than straight people. 5% of straight people said that they had attempted suicide, while the rates for LGBQ youth ranged from 14% to 20%.
While studies have already shown that queer youth are more likely to have attempted suicide, this study went a step further and asked participants to rate the importance of religion in their lives.
Gay and lesbian youth who said that religion was important to them were 38% more likely to report recent suicidal thoughts compared to gays and lesbians who said that religion wasn’t important to them.
The difference was more stark for questioning youth – they were three times more likely to report recent suicidal thoughts if they were religious.
Religiosity was not correlated with suicidal thoughts among bi youth, who reported high rates of suicidal thoughts no matter their religiosity.
For straight people, the correlation was the opposite: they were less likely to report suicidal thoughts if they were religious.
“Religion has typically been seen as something that would protect somebody from thoughts of suicide or trying to kill themselves, and in our study our evidence suggests that may not be the case for everyone, particularly for those we refer to as sexual minority people,” said John Blosnich of West Virginia University, one of the study’s authors.
“It can be very scary to be caught in a space where your religion tells you that you are a ‘sinner’ just for being who you are,” he said. “Sexual minority people may feel abandoned, they may experience deep sadness and anger, and they may worry what this means for their families ― especially if their families are very religious too.”
The study did not ask participants what their religion was, so there isn’t any data to show whether more supportive religions were less correlated with suicidal thoughts.
The authors conclude that faith-based suicide prevention services “should be willing and equipped to assist all people who seek their services, regardless of sexual orientation.”
The problem is that the “gay condemning” parts of a religion cannot be separated from the “suicide preventing” parts. Religious conservatives often say that they are appalled by suicide and want to help queer people, and they imagine that they can be supportive of LGBQ people while still condemning homosexuality.
That’s not how it works, but a lot of religious people aren’t willing to change their opinions, even when people’s lives literally depend on it.
Tell Congress: End predatory phone rates for families of incarcerated people
71% We’ve reached 53,449 of our goal of 75,000.
Sign the petition
The petition to Congress reads:
“Charging exploitative phone rates to incarcerated people and their families is wrong. Pass the Inmate Calling Technical Corrections Act.”
You’ll receive periodic updates on offers and activism opportunities.
Tell Congress: End predatory phone rates for families of incarcerated people
When seven people died during an outbreak of violence in a South Carolina prison in April, state officials didn’t blame prison conditions or the lack of adequate guard staffing – they blamed cell phones. In a press conference about the horrific event, their response was to call for cell phone-jamming technology in prisons.1
Meanwhile, the same companies that make cell phone jammers are charging incarcerated people and their families predatory rates for phone calls on approved phones – even local calls. Families can pay up to $17 for a 15-minute local call to an incarcerated parent, child or loved one.2
Charging exploitative phone rates to incarcerated people and their families is wrong. But prisons get a percentage of companies’ profits as a kickback, so they have no incentive to act. If states won’t step in to protect against these predatory practices, then Congress must.
Tell Congress: End predatory phone rates for incarcerated people and their families.
Phone calls are a lifeline for families to stay in touch with incarcerated loved ones. A 2015 survey found that more than one in three families of incarcerated people go into debt simply to pay for phone calls and visits.3 Staying in touch helps children connect with their parents and helps incarcerated people maintain ties that help them rejoin society when they are free.
President Obama’s Federal Communications Commission set a limit on how much prison phone companies could charge inmates and families. But Donald Trump’s FCC refused to defend the rule from a legal challenge, so now, there is again no upper limit to exploitative charges.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, along with cosponsors Sens. Booker, Schatz and Portman, recently introduced legislation that would limit the sky-high rates that companies can charge for prison phone calls.4 The bill would apply to all inmate communications regardless of technology, so video visitation services and other advanced communications services would be covered as well.
The U.S. prison phone industry is big business worth $1.2 billion, and it will be fighting back. So will the prisons getting kickbacks. To end predatory prison phone rates once and for all, we need to speak out against this abusive system.
Tell Congress: End predatory phone rates for incarcerated people and their families.
References:
Teddy Kulmala, “‘Cellphones didn’t kill 7’: SC prison warden should step down after riot, group says, The State, April 17, 2018.
Sam Gustin, “A new bill could finally ban predatory inmate phone costs,” The Verge, March 13, 2018.
Ella Baker Center, “Who pays? The true cost of incarceration on families,” Sept. 2015.
Gustin, “A new bill could finally ban predatory inmate phone costs.”
Habeas corpus is a good option for any sex offender; in these days of religious persecution. Glade to see it is still not one of the many perverted law’s against sex offenders. We keep perverting laws in our country like; indefinite incarceration, and indefinite sex offender registration is constitutional; we will be a perverted country. I would hate to see what a perverted country reaps what it has sowed.
incarseration meaning:
the state of being confined in prison; imprisonment.
“the public would not be served by her incarceration”
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
NARSOL supports man who won rare constitutional challenge
April 9, 2018
The United States District Court granted habeas corpus relief (set aside his conviction) in Stephen May’s case, finding that his counsel’s failure to challenge the Arizona statute on constitutional grounds violated his right to effective representation. It based its decision on the obvious constitutional flaws in the statute and the Holle court’s decision upholding the requirement that the accused charged with child molestation prove to the jury that he did not act with any sexual intent when coming in contact with a child under the age of fifteen years. The District Court found that the current approach upheld in Holle was inconsistent with the history of Arizona sexual offense laws, which required the prosecution to prove that the defendant’s actions were motivated by sexual interest.
Back before the judicial system became a sprawling monster of inefficiency and inequity, justice was served in America. The punishment fit the crime, and once you got out of prison, ALL of your rights were returned, including gun ownership and voting rights.
Not so much in America today. In the “kinder, gentler” America as GHW Bush would have called it, sentences do not match the crimes, and convicted felons are released according to their sentences, but there’s a catch.
If you’re a sex offender, your sentence doesn’t end at the prison gates, you must then register with the County you reside once you’re out of jail.
Trending: Teenager Killed In Gruesome Accident Seconds After Removing Seatbelt For Selfie #news #selfie
If the same were done with those who write hot checks, the law would be slapped down in a New York minute for violating Constitutional rights.
As much as we may not like it, sex offenders have rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Colorado’s sex offender registry still hangs in limbo seven months after a judge said it violated the constitutional rights of former offenders, subjecting them to an extended punishment and public shaming.
U.S. District Judge Richard P. Matsch’s ruling is the latest to reject states that are reaching for more stringent controls on sex offenders even after they have served their sentences.
Criminal justice reformers say it’s about time the courts strike back. The lifelong punishments that sexual offenders face beyond the courtroom and prison conflict with the country’s tradition of rehabilitation and second chances, they say.
But with federal appeals courts now involved in scrutinizing laws in Colorado, Alabama and Michigan, state attorneys general say they are worried that their legislatures’ work to keep communities safe may be undermined.
“For the national database to work, the states and federal data need to be knitted together, and for one state to be exempted from the registry puts citizens of all states in danger,” Michael Hunter, Oklahoma’s attorney general, told The Washington Times.
He filed a brief defending Colorado’s sex offender registry at the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Kansas, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, which are also part of the 10th Circuit, signed on with Oklahoma.
Mr. Hunter said one 8-year-old girl wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for his state’s requirements for sex offenders.
Oklahoma requires a sex offender’s driver’s license to be designated with a mark. In 2014, that mark led to the apprehension of a sex offender who had kidnapped and raped the girl.
The offender was caught because a store clerk noticed his driver’s license designation when he went to purchase crayons and coloring books. She noted that an Amber Alert had been issued, ultimately leading to his arrest.
“This little girl in Oklahoma wouldn’t be alive right now if it weren’t for the fact that we have driver’s license designation in the state,” Mr. Hunter said.
In their legal brief, the states argue that the sex offender registries are needed because convicted sex offenders are more likely to commit sex crimes than any other group of people. They say sex offenders’ recidivism rates are 40 percent to 52 percent.
Catherine Carpenter, a professor at Southwestern Law School and an advocate for former offenders, disputes the numbers.
“This myth starts to develop that they [relapse] at a very high rate. … It gave state legislatures this green light,” she said.
Ms. Carpenter said state legislatures have been piling on requirements for former sex offenders since 2003, when the Supreme Court upheld Alaska’s online sex offender registry.
The requirements went from registering with state officials to restrictive housing and curfews on nights like Halloween, when children are out trick-or-treating.
Colorado’s law specifically deems that sexual offenders don’t have the same privacy rights as other released convicts. The state posts lengthy descriptions and photographs of those on its registry.
David Millard, the man challenging Colorado’s law after a 1999 guilty plea for sexual assault on a minor, said in the court case that his job at a supermarket is in constant jeopardy because the company, which he had to tell about his past, has said he can continue working as long as his conviction doesn’t become known.
He was transferred from one store to another after a customer discovered his record. He also struggled to find housing. He was ousted from one apartment after a local news report on sex offenders identified him.
He eventually bought a home and is subject to periodic visits by police. When he is not home at the time of the check-in, police post brightly colored “registered sex offender” tags on his door, Judge Matsch wrote. His neighbors, who used to be friendly, have started avoiding him and making pointed remarks, the judge said.
He ruled that the state’s registry law amounted to ongoing punishment for behavior beyond the normal prison sentences prescribed by law, with no consideration for an offender’s risk.
He cataloged other abuses, such as a teacher who was in danger of losing her job at a Catholic school after a parent saw her husband’s name on the registry. In that case, the archdiocese questioned whether she was wrong to remain married to her husband, the judge said.
One of the other plaintiffs in the Colorado case, Eugene Knight, convicted of attempted sexual assault on a child when he was 18, is barred from bringing his children into their school and must turn them over to a school employee on the sidewalk outside.
States’ differing rules can snare some convicts.
Michael McGuire served time in Colorado for raping his girlfriend in 1985. He went on to have a career as a hairstylist and jazz musician in the District of Columbia. In 2010, he and his wife moved to Alabama to care for his elderly mother.
When he arrived in Montgomery, Alabama, he was required to register as a sex offender under what a judge called the “most comprehensive, debilitating sex-offender scheme in the land.”
His wife lives in a house she rents from a family member, but sex offenders are prohibited in the area. One expert said during the case that 80 percent of Montgomery is out of bounds for those on the registry.
Unable to find a place, Mr. McGuire ended up homeless. He listed his residence in the sex offender registry as under a bridge. He has to check in personally each week with the Montgomery police and sheriff’s departments and must get approval from both departments before traveling outside the jurisdiction.
Judge W. Keith Watkins upheld most of Alabama’s law, saying the legislature had valid reasons for its restrictions. But he struck down the duplication for weekly check-ins and travel permits, saying it was overkill.
The case was sent to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently dealt a blow to Michigan’s sex offender registry.
The court ruled last year that Michigan couldn’t apply its sex offender registration law to those convicted before the state created its registry requirement.
The appeals court ruled that even people convicted of nonsexual offenses were ending up on the registry, forced into “years, if not a lifetime, of existence on the margins, not only of society but often, as the record in this case makes painfully evident, from their own families.”
The U.S. Supreme Court in October declined to take the case, and reform advocates said the state would have to rewrite its law. The state legislature is considering the matter, but no legislation has been introduced.
“We have begun to see positive incremental change in the last few years,” said Ms. Carpenter. “I think this last year has been a leap because of these federal court cases.”
Derek Logue, a former offender living in Ohio who runs the website OnceFallen.com, said the court victories have been slow in coming for those who are affected by the laws every day.
“We are living under laws that nobody else in America has to live under — not a murderer, not a terrorist, not an illegal immigrant, nobody else society hates or fears, just us,” he said.
Come on Texas! Give this guy his home. Do the right thing Texas! I am sending this to the governor.
TX: HOW A CHARITY FOR DISABLED VETS ALMOST GAVE A SEX OFFENDER A FREE HOME
April 27, 2018
____ ____, 37, a war veteran and double amputee, was receiving the home mortgage-free, courtesy of the Military Warriors Support Foundation’s “Homes 4 Wounded Heroes” program. The charity worked in conjunction with the home’s most recent owner, Wells Fargo bank.
Getting a house is no small deal. Getting one for free, in a settled and safe neighborhood in small-town America, is even bigger.
____, 14 years after he was maimed by a landmine in Iraq, was ready to begin the next chapter of his life among the families of Stuarts Draft. Television news covered the event. Press releases went to area media.
But after researching a detail about the press release, The News Leader quickly learned via Google something that neither the non-profit nor Wells Fargo had discovered. The man they were about to permanently embed in a neighborhood full of families and children was a convicted sex offender who had sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl, according to Wisconsin court records.
That revelation set in motion a process that led the charity to rescind the home offer.
If you know your history you know the pilgrims were persecuted by the church’s in England; just like the LGBT folks are today. The first Americans were persecuted and now the viscous circle has come back around.
New Blogs Part 9 Updated May 07 2018
Like I have said before on this blog I support gay marriage, because we have put so many people through the prison system that we have helped create a unstoppable gay culture. We as a nation have to take responsibility for our hand in perpetuating a gay USA. I just got these articles in my email and had to post them:
Here are the 6 worst states for gay & lesbian couples
More and more Americans favor same-sex marriage — upwards of 61% in 2017. Yet support still lags in certain states, namely in the South.
The 2017 American Values Atlas, from the nonprofit, non-partisan Public Religion Research Institute, notes that much of the increased support has come in the last five years, timed with the 2015 Supreme Court decision that granted the constitutional right.
“Strength of support for same-sex marriage has increased dramatically over the past decade, while strength of opposition has fallen in nearly equal measure,” the survey’s report said.
Which states show the least support for LGBTQ couples? Six of them show less than 50 percent:
•Alabama 41%
•Mississippi 42%
•Tennessee 46%
•West Virginia 48%
•Louisiana 48%
•North Carolina 49%
Three more southern states have a slim majority in support of same-sex marriage; Kentucky at 51% and Arkansas and Georgia, both holding at 52%.
In sharp contrast, northeastern states — Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island — exceeded 70% in support.
Even worse for LGBTQ Alabamians, theirs is the only state in which a majority of residents oppose same-sex marriage. And, ironically, American Muslims — at 51% — support same-sex marriage at a higher rate than Alabamians do.
As for other religious groups, support continues to grow among all of them, the survey reported. Almost two-thirds of white mainline Protestants, white Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Hispanic Catholics now support same-sex marriage.
Opposition is even dropping significantly among black Protestants. Just five years ago, 57% of them opposed. In the 2017 survey, only 43% opposed.
White evangelical Protestants still have a ways to go. Only about a third of them support it, and of the 58% opposed, 30% strongly opposed. Just 40% of Mormons support it.
Those two groups are also the only religious groups in favor of service refusals based upon religion. Both white evangelicals and Mormons — at 53% —supported denial of service to LGBTQ people based upon religion.
Among all other religious groups, however, strong majorities disagree with denial of service. And, overall, Americans oppose such discrimination by a wide margin — 60% opposed to 33% in favor.
Through the lens of politics, 73% of Democrats and 60% of independents oppose denial of service. Among Republicans, a slim majority, 52%, approves. Moderate and liberal Republicans strongly oppose, at 55 and 63% opposition.
Beyond denial of service, looking at nondiscrimination protections, support for LGBTQ people continues to climb — by race and by religious group. The survey said 73% of all women and 65% of all men favor laws that protect LGBTQ people.
Majorities in every major religious group also support legal protections against discrimination for LGBTQ people.
The survey data came from 40,017 telephone interviews, including 23,903 cell-phone interviews, between April 5 and December 23, 2017, by professional interviewers. Landline and cell numbers were dialed randomly.
‘Execute the gays’ minister is hosting a Bible conference in DC
Radical anti-LGBTQ preacher Kevin Swanson is bringing his brand of bigotry to Washington, DC, with his Bible conference this summer.
Swanson’s Bible Family Conference will take place August 10 – 11, in Washington, DC. Rep. Mike Johnson (R, La.) was initially listed as a keynote speaker, but his name no longer appears on the conference website.
Swanson’s gone on the record numerous times to suggest that all gays should be summarily executed.
The rest of his “greatest hits” are equally shocking.
•Swanson dedicated a broadcast of his radio program to calling for the execution of Girl Scout leaders for supporting LGBTQ rights and women’s rights.
•Swanson also warned that the Boy Scouts would soon have a “sodomy merit badge” after deciding to allow openly gay scouts to join.
•Swanson condemned Highlights magazine as no better than ISIS for including a story about two gay dads to “encourage the support for the sin of homosexuality among kids.”
•Swanson said on his radio program that the Supreme Court needed to overturn marriage equality to avoid Hurricane Irma.
•Swanson blamed LGBT people for California’s wildfires, because of the 2011 FAIR Education Act, which added LGBT people and disabled people to the list of minorities whose contributions to the state should be mentioned in textbooks. Swanson described it as a “bill that encouraged homosexual indoctrination in California public schools for six-, seven-, eight-, nine- and 10-year-olds.”
•Swanson declared on his “Generations Radio” program that Hillary Clinton would lead “tremendous majorities of American kids” down “the track towards homosexuality.”
•He told his listeners that the LGBTQ community is “the catalyst by which nations are destroyed.”
•Swanson also warned his listeners that the goal of public schools is “for your children is that your kids be transgendered and communist by 20 years of age.”
•On a broadcast of his radio program, Swanson said that God created HIV/AIDS to punish gays and that the disease is a sign of “God’s kindness,” because it gives them a chance to repent and avoid hell.
That’s just a sample of the insanity, and Swanson is bringing to Washington this summer. For the moment, at least, it doesn’t look like any members of Congress are willing to take the stage at Swanson’s conference.
But someone should see if Mike Pence is busy. After all, Trump says he “wants to hang” gay people.
I wrote Andy a email and told him; New Hope was not far from where I live. I said this can not be right, you need to keep a eye on this story. He actually wrote me back and thanked me. I also got this email this morning:
Dallas Morning News, TX, USA
May 5, 2018
Transgender mayor ousted in small Collin County town election
Lauren McGaughy, Texas Government Reporter
Residents in the tiny town of New Hope voted out Mayor Jess Herbst on Saturday, crushing her dreams of holding on to the job and becoming the first openly transgender elected official in Texas.
Herbst, 59, lost to Angel Hamm, the widow of the former mayor who died suddenly before the 2016 election. Hamm, 42, is from McKinney and works there as the office manager at Bewley Electric. She ran on a platform of balancing the town’s budget and “negotiating the best deals possible to ensure we are getting the best value for our money.”
“I want to express my heartfelt thank you to the voters of New Hope for electing me as your mayor,” Hamm said Saturday in a written statement. “I am honored and blessed that you have placed your trust in me. … I will work on your behalf to help address challenges, and to secure lasting and meaningful improvements to our quality of life in New Hope.”
A former alderman and road commissioner, Herbst was chosen to serve in the late mayor’s stead and came out as transgender shortly after her appointment in 2016. She re-established the town’s permits and zoning board and hired a code enforcement officer, and she was featured in newspapers and magazines across the world.
“I want to congratulate Angel Hamm on her win and express how proud I am of New Hope for a record voter turnout,” Herbst said Saturday in a written statement. “Democracies live by voter engagement or die by voter apathy, and democracy is alive and well in New Hope today.”
Hamm did not publicly bring up the mayor’s transgender identity during her campaign. But the race got personal for Herbst in the weeks leading up to the election when voters received an anonymous mailer featuring her social media posts. Residents argued on websites like Nextdoor.com over the mailer and the media attention Herbst’s transition brought to town.
Herbst said regardless of the division, she’s glad her candidacy brought people to the polls. As of Wednesday, 38 percent of the town’s 480 registered voters had cast ballots. Now, she hopes the town continues to move forward under its new leadership.
Melissa Brown, a 42-year-old account manager working in the semiconductor industry, finished second in the race. She ran on a platform to prepare and repel the city of McKinney’s attempts to annex land around New Hope, which she said could pose environmental and traffic for the town.
“I was privileged to take part in our democratic process and to meet so many new friends and neighbors,” Brown said Saturday in a written statement. “I’m humbled by the support I received and am looking forward to staying involved in the community. Best wishes to Mayor Elect Angel Hamm, she can count on my support.”
Chelsea Manning is no longer living as a transgender woman in a male military prison, serving the lengthiest sentence ever for revealing U.S. government secrets. She’s free to grow out her hair, travel the world, and spend time with whomever she likes.
But a year since former President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence, America’s most famous convicted leaker isn’t taking an extended vacation. Far from it: The Oklahoma native has decided to make an unlikely bid for the U.S. Senate in her adopted state of Maryland.
Manning, 30, filed to run in January and has been registered to vote in Maryland since August. She lives in North Bethesda, not far from where she stayed with an aunt while awaiting trial. Her aim is to unseat Sen. Ben Cardin, a 74-year-old Maryland Democrat who is seeking his third Senate term and previously served 10 terms in the U.S. House.
Manning, who also has become an internationally recognized transgender activist, said she’s motivated by a desire to fight what she sees as a shadowy surveillance state and a rising tide of nightmarish repression.
“The rise of authoritarianism is encroaching in every aspect of life, whether it’s government or corporate or technological,” Manning told The Associated Press during an interview at her home in an upscale apartment tower. On the walls of her barely furnished living room hang Obama’s commutation order, and photos of U.S. anarchist Emma Goldman and British playwright Oscar Wilde.
Manning’s longshot campaign for the June 26 primary would appear to be one of the more unorthodox U.S. Senate bids in recent memory, and the candidate is operating well outside the party’s playbook. She says she doesn’t, in fact, even consider herself a Democrat, but is motivated by a desire to shake up establishment Democrats who are “caving in” to President Donald Trump’s administration. She vows she won’t run as an independent if her primary bid fails.
She’s certainly got an eye-catching platform: Close prisons and free inmates; eliminate national borders; restructure the criminal justice system; provide universal health care and basic income. The top of her agenda? Abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency created in 2003 that Manning asserts is preparing for an “ethnic cleansing.”
Manning ticks off life experiences she believes would make her an effective senator: a stint being homeless in Chicago, her wartime experiences as a U.S. Army intelligence analyst in Iraq — even her seven years in prison. She asserts she’s got a “bigger vision” than establishment politicians.
But political analysts suspect the convicted felon is not running to win.
“Manning is running as a protest candidate, which has a long lineage in American history, to shine light on American empire,” said Daniel Schlozman, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University. “That’s a very different goal, with a very different campaign, than if she wanted to beat Ben Cardin.”
Manning’s insurgent candidacy thus far has been a decidedly stripped-down affair, with few appearances and a campaign website that just went up. In recent days, she approached an anti-fracking rally in Baltimore almost furtively, keeping to herself for much of the demonstration. But when it was her turn to address the small group, her celebrity status was evident. People who never met her called her by her first name and eagerly took photos.
Manning has acknowledged leaking more than 700,000 military and State Department documents to anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks in 2010. She said her motivation was a desire to spark debate about U.S. foreign policy, and she has been portrayed as both a hero and a traitor.
Known as Bradley Manning at the time of her arrest, she came out as transgender after her 2013 court-martial. She was barred from growing her hair long in prison, and was approved for hormone therapy only after litigation. She spent long stints in solitary confinement, and twice tried to kill herself.
The Pentagon, which has repeatedly declined to discuss Manning’s treatment in military prison, is also staying mum about her political ambitions. Democratic Party officials say they have no comment, citing a policy not to weigh in on primaries. Republican operatives are quiet.
In Maryland, a blue state that’s home to tens of thousands of federal employees and defense contractors, it appears Manning’s main supporters are independents or anti-politics, making them unlikely to coalesce politically. She recently reported contributions of $72,000 on this year’s first quarterly finance statement, compared with Cardin’s $336,000.
The candidate has barely made an effort at tapping sources of grassroots enthusiasm outside of activism circles. And it’s easy to find Democrats who feel her candidacy is just a vehicle to boost her profile.
“It feels to me almost like it’s part of a book tour — that this is her moment after being released from prison,” said Dana Beyer, a transgender woman who leads the Gender Rights Maryland nonprofit and is a Democratic candidate for state senate. “I don’t think this is a serious effort.”
Manning is indeed working on a book about her dramatic life. For now, she says she supports herself with income from speaking engagements. She’s spoken at various U.S. colleges and is due to take the stage at a Montreal conference later this month.
Last week, she appeared at a tech conference in Germany’s capital of Berlin, arriving to cheers from the audience of several thousand people. She told attendees she’s still struggling to adjust to life after prison and hasn’t gotten used to her celebrity status yet.
“There’s been a kind of cult of personality that is really intimidating and that is overwhelming for me,” she said in Berlin.
At her Maryland apartment, Manning told the AP she occasionally wakes up panicked that she’s back in the cage in Kuwait where she was first jailed, or incarcerated at the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, where a U.N. official concluded she’d been subjected to “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.” She works hard to overcome anxiety, centering herself with yoga, breathing exercises, and reading.
“I’ve been out for almost a year now and it’s becoming increasingly clear to me just how deep the wounds are,” she said in her Spartan living room.
Asked how she would define success, Manning responded with passionate intensity: “Success for me is survival.”
New Blogs Part 9 Updated May 08 2018
There are three things I’m proudest of in my life … and their names are Peter, Eli and Sam. My remarkable sons.
As most parents will tell you, few things are as rewarding as seeing your child grow into the person they’re meant to be. Each of my boys had their own way of getting there, of course, but it was my Sam whose journey came with a few extra hurdles.
At 20, Sam came out proudly as a gay man: to us and to a world where some still hate you just for being different. Ten years later and that hate seems to have only gotten stronger.
But with you, we can help stop hate in its tracks.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ youth face homelessness. For many, it’s at the hands of their own parents. Others face higher rates of suicide than their peers and struggle with bullying and mental health.
Whether you are LGBTQ yourself, a mother, a father, or just a great person with strong convictions about what’s fair and right, I hope I’ve convinced you to stand with HRC and all the Moms for Equality.
This is a good one to right your representatives about:
Media focus should be on Really Dangerous People
by Robert Wolf • May 8, 2018
It seems like Sex cases always go viral. But an extremely high number of children die even more horrible deaths from other non-sex related criminal acts and you never even see a blip on the radar screen, and then something like what happened to Sierra Newbold happens and the radar screens light up like the 4th of July.
A friend of mine, let’s call him John for his own safety, related a story to me. He said that he had a vivid memory of an example of just this set of circumstances that happened to him and his family back in 2004, it was about six months before he was charged with his offense, he and his family were living in a rural area at the time.
His sister witnessed a horrible drunken driving accident that cost her some good friends and killed an entire family. They were all on their way home from the kids soccer game, the mom and dad and three kids were all in their mini-van out on the rural gravel roads leading to home. His sister wasn’t much further behind them because she was going over to visit, she was the soccer coach for their team. The family was going thru an intersection where they had the right of way, the corn was grown up way high so they never saw the big old 2 ton work truck coming that ran the stop sign and broadsided their mini-van. The driver of the truck was a three time DUI offender this was his fourth, he was knocked unconscious and in a coma for awhile but survived.
John’s sister got to the scene shortly after the accident, she had seen it happen from a half a mile or so back and called 911. The mom and one of the kids had been killed instantly. The dad was still barely alive but died before the ambulance arrived. The van was so mangled there was no way to get any of them out. So all she could do was hold the dads hand while he was alive thru the broken out drivers side window and watched helplessly as the other two kids gurgled blood as they were breathing their last breaths. John was sitting there choking back tears just remembering all his sister told him about it and the little article he read about it in the paper. He said that he couldn’t imagine what it was like for her to witness that and for their other extended familys’ and friends to go thru, and this incident wasn’t even mentioned on the TV, just in a local newspaper.
John told me it’s just as hard to not have tears in your eyes when you hear about a little girl getting raped and murdered and then tossed in a ditch like a piece of garbage and then imagining what if that was my little girl this happened to. John said his little girl is now 16 and he is not a part of his daughter’s life now, but hearing about cases like this still make him scared to death for her, regardless of whether or not these cases are rare.
John said he can completely understand the outrage and even how hard it may be for some legislators to not want to pass emotional legislation after something like this, but regardless of that they have a trusted position and a responsibility and need to simmer down and think level headed about these things before reacting.
Later that same year after that drunk driving accident that didn’t even make a blip on the radar, after John had been charged for his sex offense he was sitting in jail watching the TV when he heard about Roger Bentley brutally raping and killing 10 year old Jetseta Gage in Cedar Rapids Iowa. Within 2 days it was on TV all over the country and Iowa was preparing emergency legislation which was passed within a month.. Now what would’ve happened if this drunk driving issue would’ve prompted the legislature to act so quickly in creating a registration and community notification for people with DUI’s and this farmer would’ve been on that registry , would that have saved this family’s life? Probably not.
The standing re-offense rate for people that drink and drive is now, and has always been, over 50% in comparison to that of registered citizens at 1%. About one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of drunk driving are repeat offenders, 31% of fatal crashes during the weekend involve a drunk driver, every day in America 28 people die as a result of a drunken driver and every 90 seconds someone will be injured by a drunk driver. Some where between 50 and 75% of convicted drunk drivers continue to drive on suspended licenses. This would seem to be a section of the population that is even more dangerous to children and communities, yet there is no registration, and there is no community notification. In fact, while sex offender laws have been an passed at a rate of 100% per year, laws involving drunken drivers are only enacted at 18% to 24% per year. Considerable discrepancy when compared to sex offender laws, considering drunk drivers are over 20 times more likely to re-offend and kill someone including children.
Understand I do not agree with the victimization of any child or adult, but I have to ask this question. Who do you think is more traumatized a person who sees someone urinating along the road or for that matter is exposed to a flasher or streaker or someone who is caught viewing CP with no in contact victim. How about the person who have consensual sex under age Does this compare to that of a child or adult in a vehicle that has been hit by a drunk driver, who sits helplessly and watches people that they love and care about dying. If were talking about the trauma of a act I would say that people who survive drunk driver accidents are far more traumatize physically, mentally and emotionally than what happened to a person that has caused somebody else to be added to the registry. yes of course there are extreme cases of sexual victimization. But a drunken driver accident affects not only the crash victims and their family, but the people that respond to it and any innocent bystander that sees it.. The number of victims cause by a drunk driver is incredible.
So if we are to have a registry that is to help protect people especially children then it needs to include everyone, that is an actual danger to the public. (you would think that people would want to know that the soccer mom that is driving 4 extra children to games has a high tendency to drink or use drugs and drive). And of these registries and community notifications should include anyone convicted of a DUI, DWI, selling and distribution of drugs, domestic violence and physical assault. Now if our legislators are unable to justify requiring the same requirements and restrictions that are now placed on sex offenders than they are admitting that the only reason for these laws have been passed are to re-punish people that have paid their debt to society because of some peoples hate and bigotry and the justification that these political terrorists use of public safety kind of of that evaporates when you realize that registered citizens re-offense rate is less than 1%. the lowest of any criminal class.
The question becomes if legislators can’t place these same restrictions on the truly dangerous people in our society who have a re-offenses rate of over 50% per year. Then how do they justify placing those restrictions on the group that has a re-offense rate of less than 1% in a year?
Sex offenders laws
in 2010— 80 bills were proposed in 28 states—– 80 bills enacted in 28 states – (100%)
in 2009 — 130 bills were proposed in 41 states ——130 bills in 41 different states (100%)
Drunk driving / impaired driving laws
in 2010 — 309 bills in 43 different states —— 60 bills enacted in 28 states (19.4%)
in 2009 — 242 bills in 47 different states——- 59 bills enacted in 29 states (24.4%)
in 2008 — 315 bills in 42 different states——- 59 bills in 24 different states (18.7%)
CO: OWNER OF POLYGRAPHY FIRM WOULD HAVE TO QUIT SEX-OFFENDER MANAGEMENT BOARD OR GIVE UP $1.9M CONTRACT UNDER MEASURE HEADING TO COLORADO GOVERNOR
May 9, 2018
[denverpost.com 5/9/18]
Members of the Colorado board that decides how the state’s sex offenders are managed no longer will be able to profit from multimillion-dollar state contracts related to their work with sex offenders under a law legislators passed Wednesday.
House Bill 1427 bars members of the Sex Offender Management Board from having direct financial benefits from the standards and guidelines adopted by that board. The legislation, which passed 27-8 in a final Senate vote, now goes to Gov. John Hickenlooper for consideration.
Legislators reacted in part to a report in The Denver Post on how professional polygrapher Jeff Jenks played an influential role last year as a member of the 25-person board in writing the rules for how often his profession administers polygraphs to sex offenders.
AMERICA NEEDS A NATIONAL TERRORIST REGISTRY TO KEEP US SAFE
May 11, 2018
[foxnews.com 5/10/18]
Domestic terrorist Herman Bell is a free man, walking the streets. And if a New York judge has his way, fellow terrorist Judith Clarke will be free as well.
This raises an increasingly important question: How many more convicted terrorists are already out there? It is impossible to answer accurately.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, more than 500 people have been convicted in the U.S. of terrorist crimes. That number increases when you add in people, who – although investigated for terrorism – were allowed to plead guilty to a non-terrorism offenses such as wire fraud or illegal possession of a weapon.
For example, Edwin Lemmons was arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force after he traveled overseas for jihadist training, yet he was only charged with possession of an assault rifle.
What happens when a terrorist is incarcerated is important. We know that there is currently no adequate prison program in place that deals specifically with rehabilitating terrorists. The federal Bureau of Prisons response to that alarming fact is to inform us that it “offers the same re-entry opportunities for all inmates.”
Does a convicted jihadist really need to learn how to make license plates? Or in the case of bomber Ahmad Khan Rahimi, does it help for him to take drama classes?
While these failures are troubling, what happens when terrorists are released from prison is exponentially more important.
Without a viable post-release program, terrorists who complete their sentences could just be dropped off at a gas station and told to take a bus somewhere. That’s exactly what happen to Shaker Masri after serving seven years in prison for attempting to travel to Somalia and join al-Shabaab, an Al Qaeda affiliate.
The recent case of Casey Charles Spain is an example of why we need a national registry for convicted terrorists.
OH: JUDGE REMOVES FORMER STEUBENVILLE FOOTBALL PLAYER FROM SEX OFFENDER LIST
May 11, 2018
[10tv.com 5/11/18]
COLUMBUS, Ohio
A judge on Friday ordered that an ex-Ohio high school football player convicted of rape be removed from the state’s sex offender registry for juveniles, as allowed by law.
The ruling by Judge Thomas Lipps came in the case of Ma’Lik Richmond, a former Steubenville High School football player who in 2013 was convicted of raping a 16-year-old West Virginia girl at a party that followed a football scrimmage the previous year.
Richmond served a one-year sentence and later rejoined the Steubenville football team. Now 21, he plays for Youngstown State University.
After his conviction, Richmond was ordered to register his address every six months for the next 20 years. In 2014, Lipps agreed to reclassify him so that he had to register only once a year for the next decade. Ohio law allows juveniles to request removal altogether.
A second juvenile convicted in the crime served a two-year sentence. His attorneys plan a similar request in the future.
A message was left with Richmond’s attorney seeking comment. In a November filing, state public defender Brooke Burns argued that Richmond had served his punishment, completed all sex offender programming, and is now a successful college student. He has a strong family support system and is hard-working and remorseful, the filing said.
Richmond’s “court history demonstrates his rehabilitation and commitment to leading an offense-free future,” Burns said on Nov. 9.
MS: SOME PEOPLE TO BE REMOVED FROM MISSISSIPPI SEX OFFENDER LIST
May 12, 2018
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — About 30 people will be removed from Mississippi’s sex offender list after the state agreed that people convicted under a Louisiana law no longer have to register.
However, the legal challenge continues for at least one man who’s on the registry because of convictions under Mississippi’s own statute banning consensual oral and anal sex.
KS: GOV. JEFF COLYER SIGNS BILL TO COMPENSATE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED IN KANSAS
May 15, 2018
[hutchnews.com 5/15/18]
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Gov. Jeff Colyer stood on Tuesday in the modest sanctuary of Mount Zion Church of God in Christ to belatedly draw the hands of justice closer to Lamonte McIntyre, Richard Jones, Floyd Bledsoe and any other Kansan wrongfully convicted of a crime.
Bledsoe, of Burrton, along with the other men spent a minimum of 16 years in institutions operated by the Kansas Department of Corrections for serious offenses they didn’t commit. Each was part of a coordinated effort to build bipartisan support in the 2018 Legislature for a law signed by Colyer to financially compensate the unjustly convicted and extend to each health insurance, college tuition, housing assistance and other social services helpful to rebuilding a life.
“A great injustice was done to these three gentlemen,” Colyer said. “These three men showed compassion, they showed courage and they showed concern for other Kansans. These men stood up, and as Kansans, they were wise and gracious.”
Colyer, a surgeon from Johnson County who ascended to the governorship early this year, said the 16 years served by Jones and Bledsoe and the 23 years that McIntyre spent behind bars would have left most people defeated, consumed by anger or shattered inside.
“It would have turned us to madness,” the Republican said. “What I want to say to Lamonte McIntyre, to Floyd Bledsoe, to Richard Jones: We apologize to you, we love you and we will make it right.”
His signature on House Bill 2579 made Kansas the 33rd state to enact a wrongful conviction compensation statute. It was described by advocates as the “gold standard” for the nation. Individuals found by a court to meet the definition of wrongfully convicted would receive $65,000 for each year held on that conviction and $25,000 for each year wrongfully served on parole, probation or on a sex offender registry.
AVNETNEWS – The following Sex Offender Recidivism Fact Based Research Statistics show that “facts are stubborn things”, refuting the shill, rants and other myths, such as the unsupported “frighteningly high recidivism”. We must read this and understand these laws hoping to protect kids are in reality destroying kids and their families,
A Perspective on Recidivism
Most studies of recidivism begin with the statistics gathered on re-offending. Typically, these figures are assembled by states over three year periods, and this data is appropriately criticized for two principle reasons—that these figures do not reflect accurately what happens over a longer period of time, and that they cannot reflect crimes that are not prosecuted. But these studies do provide a tool by which to compare sex offender recidivism to recidivism for other crimes. And the recent sex offender recidivism numbers (which are included further down here) are lower than any other category of crime.
Persons working in the field—treatment providers and parole officers particularly—tend to rely more heavily on actuarial tools developed that provide predictions about the likelihood of reoffending. Not surprisingly, these tools yield higher rates than the three-year recidivism studies, but rates are often quoted in the 20% range
The myth of very high recidivism seems to rest on a handful of poorly designed studies. I include them here.
Year Study Rate Comments
2004 Ron Langevin—Canada
“Lifetime Sex Offender Recidivism: A 25 year Follow-Up Study”
320 sex offenders referred to a single clinic for eval between 1966 and 1974
61.1% sex crime recidivism
88.3% including confessions in counseling and new arrests that did not result in conviction; another measure that only included offenders outside their own family yielded a 94.1% rate
Criticized as a non-random sample limited to a group who were referred for major prosecutions (“the worst of the worst”).
The sample only dealt with period before prisons included a vastly wider range of offenders now arguably less prone to recidivism.
Study eliminated everyone whose records were lost or purged from system after 15 years because of no new crimes or charges, eliminating most non-recidivists from the study
Since at least 50% of the sample were already recidivists by Langevin’s definition, obviously he would dramatically inflate his figures, since the commonly accepted definition of recidivism is a new crime committed after release
In response to his critics, Langevin himself has cautioned against making claims about all sex offenders based on his data.
1997 Robert Prentky
Study of 136 rapists and 115 child molesters released from Bridgewater civil commitment center in Mass. 1959-1986.
32% sex crime recidivism for molesters; 25% for rapists (over widely varied periods).
Over 25 years, he estimated rates of 52% and 39%
Covers approximately the same period as Langevin study
Also only considers narrow range of offenders; average child molesters had 3.6 offenses already and average rapist had 2.5 offenses. By Langevin’s definition, the recidivism rate would have been almost 100% Even the Prentky team said, “The obvious marked homogeneity of sexual offenders [in this sample] precludes automatic generalization of the rates reported here to other samples.”
2000 and 2009 Andres Hernandes study at Butner FCI – sample of 155 child porn offenders in treatment 85% admitted in treatment to a previous hands-on offense, suggesting that child porn users overwhelmingly are also hands-on abusers The methods of the study are widely criticized for its poor research model. Confessions were coerced by the threat of dismissal from the program with resultant return to the general population bearing the stamp of sex offender. Like the Langevin study, this study also raises serious questions about definitions of recidivism. The study has been dismissed by judges as lacking credibility on multiple grounds. The 2000 study was never accepted for publication; although the 2009 article was accepted for publication by The Journal of Family Violence, the BOP requested that the article be withdrawn (it was not), and a bureau official wrote: “We believe it unwise to generalize from limited observations gained in treatment or in records review to the broader population of persons who engage in such behavior.” The journal’s peer review process has also been criticized as remarkably lax—it is alleged that the journal allows authors to suggest their peer reviewers and to blackball reviewers they wish to avoid. Thus far, we have not confirmed that charge.
Comparisons of who actually commits new sex crimes
According to a recent New York study:
95.88% of arrests for all registerable sex crimes are of persons previously non-convicted of a sex offense.
95.94% of arrests for rape are of previous non sex-offenders.
94.12% of arrests for child molestation are of previous non sex-offenders.
(Sandler, Jeffrey C, et. Al., Does a Watched Pot Boil? A Time-Series Analysis of New York State’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Law. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2008 Vol. 14, No. 4, 290)
These results are closely parallel to figures compiled by the US Department of Justice that show that 93% of child sex abuse is committed by a person whom the child knows. In 47% of the cases, the perpetrator is a member of the family. Only 7% of offenses are committed by strangers.
If sex offender recidivism were not exceptionally low, these figures could not be this high. The hugely disproportionate number of sex offenses committed by previously non-convicted persons raises questions about the utility and justice of a registry which subjects over 20,000 Oregonians to crippling restrictions, none of which address the source of the vast majority of sexual abuse.
Recent Reported Rates of Sex Offender Recidivism*
Most of these studies are based on the standard 3 year reporting system. More details are provided on the next page, including exceptions to the 3 year period. These recent rates are noticeably lower than reported rates a decade ago. This difference probably reflects at least two factors:
crime rates in general have been falling during this period, and sex
offender recidivism seems to reflect that trend;
2) current studies appear to include a larger and different demographic than a decade or so earlier when both statutes and enforcement procedures were substantially different.
In all cases but two here, the rates are 4% or lower. In more than half, they are 3% or lower. Taken together, these figures seem to underline the reason that the researchers in the last study (Connecticut) wrote:
These low re-offense rates appear to contradict a conventional wisdom that sex offenders have very high sexual re-offense rates. The real challenge for public agencies is to determine the level of risk which specific offenders pose the public. [emphasis added]
* All rates come from studies explained with references on the following pages.
Studies since 2007
2007 Missouri DOC study of 2,777 offenders released from 1998-2007 1.9% after 3 yrs.; 3.5% after 5 yrs. These rates were 1.1% and 2.7% for offenders who completed MOSOP, a mandated treatment program.
2007 Alaska Judicial Council report 3% in 3 yrs. Sex offenders had the lowest rate of reconviction for category of offense
2007 Minnesota DOC study 3,166 offenders released between 1990 and 2002 3% in 3 yrs. in 2002 10% av. rate over 8.4 yrs; in 1990, rate was
17% in 3 yrs. This might suggest that rates are falling substantially in recent decades.
2007 Jared Bauer of West Virginia DOC 325 offenders tracked for 3 years from 2001, 2002 and 2003 1% for sex crime w/ victim This rate might be inaccurate, since victimless crimes are not included, although there is little evidence to suggest that the other cohort would have a higher rate. 9.5% of sample returned to prison for other reasons.
2008 California SOMB report 3.55% in 3 years
Cites figures from CDCR for prisoners released in 2003
2009 Endrass et al—Swiss study of 431 users of underage porn .8% w/ hands-on sex offense; 3.9 % w/ hands-off sex offense Study covered 6 years; concluded that child pornography alone is not a risk factor for hands-on offenses.
2009 Orchowski and Iwama study of offenders released in 2001 for US Justice and Research Association AK – 3.4%
IA-3.9%
AZ – 2.3%
NM—1.8%
DE – 3.8%
SC – 4.0%
IL – 2.4%
UT – 9.0%
Comparison national 3 yr. rate was 5.3% for offenders released in 1994
2010Maine study tracked releases for 2004-20063.8% in 3 yrs.
2010California CDCR report5% in 3 yrs.
2012 Connecticut Criminal Justice and Planning Division Study of 746 offenders released in 2005 1.7% returned to prison Study covered 5 years, not 3. It showed 3.6% arrests; 2.7% convictions.
CA: POSTING MUGSHOTS ON INTERNET DRAWS CRIMINAL CHARGES FROM CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL
May 16, 2018
[sacbee.com 5/16/18]
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday filed extortion and money laundering charges against the owners of a website that publishes mugshot photos and charges a fee to remove them.
His office is targeting Mugshots.com, which pulls photos and identifying information about criminal suspects from law enforcement departments around the country. The site charges a “de-publishing fee” to remove someone from its archives, according to Becerra’s office.
Becerra said it has frustrated people who were accused of crimes they did not commit.
“This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit off of someone else’s humiliation,” Becerra said. “Those who can’t afford to pay into this scheme to have their information removed pay the price when they look for a job, housing, or try to build relationships with others. This is exploitation, plain and simple.”
Use copyright law to battle mugshot extortion [abajournal.com 3/27/18]
NATIONAL
USE COPYRIGHT LAW TO BATTLE MUGSHOT EXTORTION
May 16, 2018
[abajournal.com 3/27/18]
After her DUI charge was dropped, Julie Cantu thought her nightmare was over. Then, she went on a date.
Over dinner, Cantu’s would-be-suitor was asking questions anyone asks on a first date. Then he asked about her criminal record. Caught off-guard by the question, she thought about the dropped charge. Her blood alcohol had been 0.021, well below the legal limit of 0.08, and she had no other contact with the law. How did her date know?
After getting home, the Florida resident and retired nurse went online and searched her name. Her mugshot, eyes puffy and red from crying, was displayed prominently between results for her LinkedIn and Facebook profiles.
Making matters worse, she did not find her photo on a newspaper or crime blotter website that reports local crime. Cantu found herself in the mugshot racket. Her photo was on Arrestmugshot.com, Mugshots.com and Tampacriminal.com—all of which demanded a fee to take down these photos (two of these sites, arrestmugshot.com and tampacriminal.com, are no longer active, with the latter now redirecting to a lawyer’s website).
After paying $175 to one site to take down the photo, she found her mugshot pop up on another, which asked for even more money. An exploitative game of online whack-a-mole had begun.
Cantu says she worried that the photo was “going to be there the rest of my life.”
Lawsuits Seek to Bring Down Mugshot Profiteering [courthousenews.com 8/11/17]
New Blogs Part 9 Updated May 18 2018
It can be no secret that this page has gotten way to long. I am going to end this page with this entry.
It can not be a secret that I am a old fashioned Christian. I have practically memorized the entire Holy Bible in my life time. I have quoted the Bible many times in this blog.
My wife asked me recently; why I thought all religions were good? The only solid response I could come up with is; it is better than being a criminal. Well; doesn’t it seem like the only way many criminals stop being criminals, is through religion?
I have always thought of psychology as a type of religion. I think psychology is invaluable as far as helping people who genially need help. The problem I have with psychology is when huge branches of it; grubbing for money, try to convince people they need help that do not. This is hugely counterproductive in maintaining a sane society in my opinion. Psychology in general seems very giving and helpful to people much like religion does.
I am so fascinated by other peaceful religions. Of course, I have come to terms with the fact, I have a great, unending love; for Catholicism. I was practically raised a Catholic and generations of my Sicilian family was Catholic. I went to a Irish Catholic school until eighth grade. I was a alter boy for my church and the Catholic church, I went to with my mom; every single Sunday. During High-school we moved to the country and we just attended a very modern Catholic Church. I never had a bad experience in the Catholic Church ever. I did not even know about priest’s molesting children until I was exposed to it by the paranoid self destructive Nazi, ratings mongrels of the media/internet today. The media/internet that seems to insanely rule our gullible politicians of the world for now.
If I could practice any peaceful type religion, in some alternative universe, it would either be Buddhism or Hinduism. Shaolin Kung Fu has always fascinated me. Peaceful religions like these have always intrigued me. Tibetan Buddhism sounds very cool. I spoke about Tibet on this page stating with New Blogs Part 9 Updated March 23 2018 and I would like to end this page with that now. I still have my prayer flags on display and still like to look at them. I recently got this graphic, in my email from the Free Tibet folks; that explains those pray flags. It is my desktop background right now:
From: Grits for Breakfast: 
:PA may declare a “State Day of Humiliation” for “presumptuous sins” to stop coronavirus pandemic deserve-hell-scaledThe “State Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer” is needed because the pandemic “may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins.” Read more here: 
The Law That Sent a Man to Prison for Life for Stealing a Pair of Hedge Clippers – and What Prosecutors Can do About It Habitual offender statutes, known in some states as “three strikes” laws, are a relic of failed “tough on crime” policies that have had devastating consequences for families and communities across the country.
sexoffenderfaq 