Tag Archives: privacy

Can You Hear Me? Then Get Off My Phone!

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probablecause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." – Fourth Amendment

Was Bush (Congress, the NSA, whomever) wrong to employ the kinds of wiretaps he did? Did he violate Constitutional law? I don’t know. Just because a certain power is not forbidden to the federal government by the Constitution, doesn’t mean it’s licit.

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An Electronic Leash for Sex Offenders

[Gutter Ball Master's mini bio has been added to the "Who are my guest bloggers?" page. – Funky]

I recently heard that GPS devices have been proposed for use on sex offenders where I live in the Baltimore, MD area.

Tracking Criminals From The Sky

"WASHINGTON — Some call it 'Big Brother,' but this year, Maryland lawmakers agreed to consider global positioning tracking of criminals including sex offenders — something they are doing in 32 states and Washington, D.C."

In other states:

"Beginning June 1, San Bernardino County, Calif., will start monitoring its adult sexual offenders using traditional tracking devices along with global positioning system (GPS) technology provided and serviced by Sentinel Offender Services. Offenders are expected to pay up to $15 per day for the monitoring, so that state taxpayers are not covering any of the program's funding. Additional money from the offender fees will support the hiring of additional probation officers in the county. The state's Riverside County is also considering implementation of the devices for high-risk felony offenders in order to prevent them from coming within five miles of a school or place where children gather. Probation officers will use GPS-equipped cell phones and a secure, Internet-based system to track an offender at all times, and an alarm will alert officers if an offender breaks the bracelet or ventures more than 30 feet from the device."

"A new Oklahoma law also requires habitual sex offenders to wear GPS monitoring devices for the rest of their lives. Ohio's budget funds lifetime GPS monitoring only for people classified as sexually violent predators."

"Many other states use GPS monitoring for selected people on probation or parole but the monitoring ends with the sentence."

The benefits of the GPS devices are obvious:

[WBAL-TV 11 News Deborah Weiner]: 'How does being tracked by a satellite effect your decisions today?'

'James': 'For me, it keeps my mind on top peak — make sure I'm doing the right thing.'

"'James', convicted of molesting an 11-year-old girl, is now working."

"After a registered sex offender was charged in March with killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, Florida legislators quickly mandated tougher prison sentences for people who commit sex offenses against children and required lifetime GPS monitoring after serving time."

"Missouri Sen. Matt Bartle liked the Florida legislation so much that he copied and expanded it to include repeat sex offenders who commit crimes such as exposing oneself to a child that would otherwise be punishable by seven years or less of imprisonment."

On the other hand:

"But some civil-rights experts and defense attorneys contend such requirements are too onerous and attach the stigma and inconvenience of electronic anklets and GPS transmitters to those who may never commit a crime again."

The GPS technology is not foolproof, however.

"Authorities in Boise, Idaho, say paroled child-sex offender William Lightner cut off a GPS bracelet and fled on July 23. Near Tallahassee, Fla., Kenneth Lamberton was wearing a GPS monitor awaiting a child-molestation trial when authorities allege he tried to force one girl into a sex act in March and another to expose herself in April."

"Both men had been assigned passive GPS devices that send information once a day. Florida is switching to the active GPS devices, which instantly alert authorities to any violations."

Kansas City civil-rights attorney Arthur Benson already is challenging Missouri's lifetime sexual offender registry.

"'While these laws are often couched in terms of protecting the public against repeat offenses, at heart they are vengeful, punishing acts,' Benson said."

So, should the tracking of these criminals be done this way? Should they be tracked at all? What former sex offender is not "high-risk"?

(Please keep any discussion civil: this can be a touchy issue.)

ACLU Mining Member Data

A.C.L.U.’s Search for Data on Donors Stirs Privacy Fears

The American Civil Liberties Union is using sophisticated technology to collect a wide variety of information about its members and donors in a fund-raising effort that has ignited a bitter debate over its leaders’ commitment to privacy rights.

Some board members say the extensive data collection makes a mockery of the organization’s frequent criticism of banks, corporations and government agencies for their practice of accumulating data on people for marketing and other purposes.

Does anyone else see an inconsistency in this? Doesn’t the ACLU list privacy as a
civil right?

Scary and Scummy

I got an email from a site called “Share Your Experiences” saying, “Someone
who knows you is attempting to share experiences opinions and experiences about
you via our website.” At first I was extremely freaked out. I checked the site
and found multiple requests and offers of information about me, professional and
social, for a couple of my email addresses. The idea of people exchanging information
about me anonymously was rather disturbing, mostly because anonymity breeds untruths.

Once I calmed down and was able to reason clearly again, I searched for info about
the site. It seems others have had dealings with these nuts and they seem to just
be scam artists. *whew*

I offer these links as a public service.

Spam from ShareYourExperiences.com
/ Word-Of-Mouth.org

ShareYourExperiences.com:
Nobody is sharing experiences about you

Japan
Forum – shareyourexperiences.com

Urban
Legends (Snopes): Word of Mouth

SHAREYOUREXPERIENCES.COM
– SCAM and SPAM?

To Amend or Not to Amend?

I heard a caller on the Marty Minto Show today say something on the line of, “If we leave homosexual marriage to the states, the liberal state governments will screw it up.”This, to me, seems to miss the whole point of the question. It would be an abuse of the U.S. Constitution and contrary to the desires of the framers to amend marriage specifications into law. Homosexuality is mainly a Judeo-Christian sin. Everyone in this country is free to hold whatever religious beliefs they wish, if they wish. If a state wishes to defend Judeo-Christian beliefs, that is an appropriate recognitionof the balance between federal and state powers. The residents of such a state can try to fight such a law and/or leave the state if they disagreed.

Just because the state governments might screw things up, doesn’t mean the Constitution should be altered willy-nilly. It could set a bad precedent for federal invasion of privacy and curtailing of freedoms. The very people who support such an amendment could one day find themselves and their beliefs suppressed by its progeny.