TheAgitator.com
Morning Links
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011- This is a pretty terrible story. What an awful way to die.
- The state of New Jersey wants to steal your gift cards for the government if you don’t use them within two years.
- The year in photographers and videographers who were harassed by the government.
- Chile’s racy coffee shops.
- The toppling of the Saddam statute was a made-for-media event.
- Great single-serving blog that posts out-of-context excerpts from medical journals.
- Prosecutor with rep for being harsh on DWI offenders—you know where this is headed—busted for DWI.
- Finally, here is a monkey, wearing a kimono, photographing a buxom woman in a bikini.
More Californy goodness
Just for variety I’d sometime like to see the DWI enforcers outed and the gay-bashers busted for drinking and driving.
First item was straight out of a “Final Destination” screenplay.
The Saddam statue thing is not really news. At the time there were photos published – though certainly not by any major media outlet – showing how the event was staged.
The last link was the first one I clicked on, and I’m not sorry for it. This is what it’s like to be a man.
Let me translate…
“Blizzard is going to work with District Attorney Jack Roady to ensure this unfortunate incident does not detract from the important public service he provides the citizens of Galveston county,” Lewis said.
=
“Hand slap”
From the DWI article:
So much bullshit packed into such a tiny little sentence.
What Joey said at #4
This incident was fisked pretty thoroughly in that documentary about al Jazeera a few years back. (Control Room? War Room?). But then, few Americans probably saw that, including The New Yorker.
#4, #8 – The linked article actually debunks the idea that the toppling was staged, at least as it was put in the Control Room. After reading it I came to a different conclusion than Radley… the event was, in part, created by military leaders that were very aware of the importance of the media, and was shaped by the presence of the media, but it wasn’t actually “made-for-media.”
The Saddam statue thing is old news, but it never hurts to mention it again from time to time, if for no other reason than to remind people what a giant load of bullshit the the post-hoc justifications for the Iraq war are.
I’m guessing that with the first story it was another kind of “personal massager” and probably not a necklace. Just sayin’.
You want a terrible story?
Horrible.
Thanks for the monkey in a kimono photo. How about a few of Chile’s racy coffee shops?
Finally, here is a monkey, wearing a kimono, photographing a buxom woman in a bikini.
I am guessing that was originally intended to mock Japanese tourists with cameras, but it also works for mocking Perez Hilton now.
#11 – Why did you do that to me…
From the DWI article:
“It is always very unfortunate when any public servant is arrested,” Lewis said.
Unfortunate? Who are they kidding? It’s getting to be
one of the peak moments of my day.
Sorry Jennifer. I say the same to Althouse for posting it.
we watched the documentary ‘War Made Easy’ last night- it dovetails pretty nicely with the statue toppling story. It’s not a great documentary, but if you’re wanting to find an entry point to help develop skepticism of govt, the war machine, and media, you could do a lot worse.
Anyone catch this from the gift card story:
“Americans for Prosperity, the conservative organization financed by David Koch, went after the law aggressively in a radio spot.”
No surprise that the liberals at NPR condone this seizure thus those who oppose it must be conservative.
I have a relative who was injured when a Dremel she was using got caught in her long, loose hair. PSA – do take care with your hair and jewellery when using mechanical objects near your head and shoulders. Even stupid little appliances can hurt you.
Did people in New Jersey *really* approve the government helping itself to their gift cards and traveller’s checks? That seems incredible. It also seems incredible that any government would be so shameless as to propose this scheme.
The link to the Photography is Not a Crime 2010 rundown loads at the bottom of the page. It would be better to remove “#comment1234″ from the end of the URL.
</nitpick>
From DUI article: “I expect that the law enforcement agencies involved will handle these cases as they would with any private citizen and that these cases won’t receive any special treatment.”
I’m on the edge of my seat. Wonder if they’ll release his BAC so we can compare with his own prosecutions. Also, what is an “administrative investigation”? Don’t they just put him on trial? Are they deciding what his punishment should be until the trial?
#15- agreed. Not to mention, what exactly is unfortunate about it? The fact that they hired a hypocrite? The fact that they have to at least pretend to punish a government employee who fucked up?
#19. I thought there was a federal law passed that gift cards can’t expire simply for not using them. I think people were upset that companies were deducting a small charge every so many months for not using the card, and if you didn’t pay attention, the value of the card would eventually be lost. If the company who issued the card can’t take it away, why should the government get to? The idea is ridiculous and I can’t see it actually going anywhere.
P.S. What the hell are they gonna do with them anyway? Pay salaries in gift cards? Give them to kids whose teacher got laid off? Use them to pave roads?
•This is a pretty terrible story. What an awful way to die.
People actually use those things on their necks?
Go figure, learn something new everyday.
LOL. Must be new in these parts. Those of us with a clue expect that they’ll be treated with kid gloves and likely never see the inside of a jail. The fact that this POS was suspended “with pay” says all I need to know.
Big A, they’re going to demand that the issuing companies exchange them for cash, of course. Probably at a discount at or above their average profit margin to minimize any “ethical” objections the company might have. Effectively the government and the companies will be splitting other peoples’ money, under the same basic process and justification as eminent domain. But the slippery slope argument is totally and completely fallacious.
Odd how seldom they ask that question, particularly in the middle east. Brings to mind this picture:
http://www.synthstuff.com/mt/archives/individual/2005/08/al_sharpton_visits_cindy_sheehan.html
Mission Creep – Gift cards, travelers checks today – stocks/bonds, bank accounts tomorrow.
I’d be willing to bet that soon if you have not accessed your bonds/stocks or accounts within a certain time it is forfeited to the gubment.
this gift card seizure type thing has been going on for a long time. states use escheat laws to take property that is ‘unclaimed’. new jersey is just expanding there definition of unclaimed a bit.
having done accounting in the insurance industry for a while, i have had to send thousands to states where policy holders reside due to policy lapses, returned refunds, etc. new jersey’s only getting what they think is due; better hold onto your possessions with a firm hand or it’s unclaimed.
Why doesn’t NJ just get Richard Pryor to write code that collects all the fractions of pennies from transactions. As long as they don’t drive to work in a fancy red sportscar, they’ll be all set.
Was it a year ago that the District of Columbia was trying to force AT&T (to start with) to pay the DC government cash value of all unused minutes on phone plans of DC residents?
hmm…
“It is always very unfortunate when any public servant is arrested,” Lewis said.
Does he mean unfortunate when they break the law or unfortunate when they get caught doing it?
Re: Gift cards which are renowned for going unused. I suppose the choice is to allow them to be stolen by (a) corporations, or (b) government. Granted that, I would actually prefer (b), that is, used for public funds.
I actually agree with the quoted Americans for Prosperity spot: “This is nothing more than a hidden tax hike.” Ok, so it’s a tax and the legislature has the authority to do that. Balance the budget.
The Chile coffee shop thing is straight out of Idiocracy.
#33 delta- oh come on. They’re gift cards- a transaction between a company and a person. If I buy a gift card for my mother to a store she doesn’t like, I’m out the money for no good reason. It was my fault for picking the company. If my mother forgot she had a gift card, I shouldn’t have gotten her a gift she can’t misplace. Why should the company then have to use their resources to reimburse the government for my mistake? No amount of logic can make this make sense. On the other hand, if a company wants to make it a stipulation of buying the gift card that it must be used within 2 years (say so their budget stays current), I have no problem with that. Don’t like the stipulation- give cash. Just because the government is doing something that brings them money, does not mean it’s a tax and therefore the legislature has the authority to do it.
#32 capo- he means it’s unfortunate that he got caught by someone who actually turned him in.
How is a corporation stealing? Are they violating the terms of the contract with purchasers?
If you read the fine print for a gift card and discover that it expires, you have the choice not to buy it. Thus, no theft occurs.
Unless, of course, a third party which had nothing to do with the original exchange comes in and takes the money by force.
Maybe I would rather the money deposited in your checking account each month be rerouted to an account for me at the local electronics store.
But since I didn’t lift a finger to do anything to create that money that goes into your account, I have absolutely no ethical justification for going anywhere near it. Do I?
Just because you call something “public” doesn’t mean it benefits what you naively consider “the public” (i.e., everyone). It benefits politicians and bureaucrats.
The legislature has or had the “authority” to enforce slavery, Jim Crow, miscegenation laws, prohibition, conscription, and all sorts of awful things which any decent, rational person would never try to justify.
From where do they get this authority? Well, apparently the fact that they have a monopoly on the use of deadly force, plus enough suckers who buy into the “social contract” horsespit.
The state of New Jersey wants to steal your gift cards for the government if you don’t use them within two years.
Oregon already does this.
That neck massager story sounds awfully suspicious. Especially that the husband found the massager “beside” her. Hmm…
Are there not two models in that picture?
In law school I slept thru most of Property because it was so boring but I do remember learning about adverse possession–in a nutshell if you don’t use your property or publicly advertize ownership someone else can take it after x number of years. I never did like the idea, partly because I figured the definition could keep expanding and no property would be safe.
“The state of New Jersey wants to steal your gift cards for the government if you don’t use them within two years.”
#38 | Jon Blinko — “Oregon already does this.”
Interestingly, Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states that prohibit pumping of gasoline by non-gas station employees. Weird.
Pablo – For adverse possession, somebody else must continuously and openly use the property for a consecutive period of years (historically 21 years). If you kick them out two days before adverse possession would kick in, they don’t get possession of the property. Even if you don’t use it.
Just to be pissy, the monkey’s not a monkey, the kimono’s not a kimono and the bikini’s not a bikini. The model does appear to be as advertised, however.
http://gizmodo.com/5724586/your-cellphone-is-subject-to-warrantless-searches-in-california
James hit the nail on the head about the gift card thing. Some other things that the state seizes under unclaimed property rights:
Uncashed bonds and bearer bond coupons
Uncashed checks
Savings or checking accounts without activity whose owners can’t be located
I don’t know exactly how this law will work, but typically once you prove that you own the property or are the representative of the estate of a deceased person who owned it, the state will pay you back.
And this stuff isn’t exactly new, the power of escheat has been part of common law since the 12th century. Just because Henry II didn’t anticipate gift cards doesn’t mean its not basically the same thing as abandoned land.
In other words, this isn’t some tyrannous power grab by the state of NJ, it’s been pretty par for the course for nearly 1000 years.
Travis, the two aren’t mutually exclusive. It can be a tyrannical power grab and still be a thousand year old practice. I doubt Dark Ages-era kings were too keen on the rights of their subjects…
It is both long standing policy and good sense that abandoned property goes to the government, and not to whatever private entity happens to be holding it at the time. If you abandon a safety deposit box, say because you die, should the contents belong to the bank? Absolutly not. This would only encourage the bank to make it as difficult as possible for your heirs to find the property. The value of the gift card belongs to the purchaser and not the company. In the case that the value can’t be claimed by the purchaser then it should go to an entity that nominally represents you (at least it did before “citizen’s united” )
“It benefits politicians and bureaucrats.”
Really? Please tell me what percentage of public spending actually goes into the pockets of politicians and bureaucrats.
police beating in St. Louis caught on video… definitely not bad compared to most, but it’s causing some headaches.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_e28e3c02-1829-11e0-8561-00127992bc8b.html
‘Really? Please tell me what percentage of public spending actually goes into the pockets of politicians and bureaucrats.’
our tax dollars are used to buy countless amounts of items that directly and indirectly benefit the politicians and bureaucrats. this seems so obvious to me…
asking for a percentage is a bullshit request- there is no way to measure that. however, you can look through the news and find numerous stories of bribery, tax fraud, pork spending benefiting their friends and families, and obscene amounts of perks. as with asset forfeiture, I’m sure someone’s profiting here, too.
Boyd – The UK government is planning on doing that, unless you explicitly and repeatedly opt out. Oh, they’ll give the money to the charity of *their* choice, sure, but *sigh*.
More evidence this UK government is not the one you’re looking for.
CA Court: No warrant needed to search cell phone
The next time you’re in California, you might not want to bring your cell phone with you. The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that police can search the cell phone of a person who’s been arrested — including text messages — without obtaining a warrant, and use that data as evidence.
The ruling opens up disturbing possibilities, such as broad, warrantless searches of e-mails, documents and contacts on smart phones, tablet computers, and perhaps even laptop computers, according to legal expert Mark Rasch.
The ruling handed down by California’s top court involves the 2007 arrest of Gregory Diaz, who purchased drugs from a police informant. Investigators later looked through Diaz’s phone and found text messages that implicated him in a drug deal. Diaz appealed his conviction, saying the evidence was gathered in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. The court disagreed, comparing Diaz cell phone to personal effects like clothing, which can be searched by arresting officers. ><
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2011/01/court-cops-can-search-cell-phone-without-warrant.html
Look out for Michelle’s Law, requiring all personal massage devices to feature “dead man’s switches,” coming soon to a legislature near you!
The good news is there are dissenting judgments from other courts, which means the Supreme Court will likely take this one up on appeal. The bad news is the Supreme Court will likely take this one up on appeal…
The Saddam Statue thing was a made for media event?!? Oh noes! Next you are going to tell us that they took a second take at Iwo Jima on Mount Suribachi!!!
Salary and budget figures are mostly available on government websites, if you’re honestly wanting that information.
But the spending of money can benefit a politician without going into his “pocket”. First and foremost, a politician spends stolen loot on the types of projects and programs which get him/her votes.
“Blizzard is going to work with District Attorney Jack Roady to ensure this unfortunate incident does not detract from the important public service he provides the citizens of Galveston county,” Lewis said.
That’s what galls me most about these situations. I’m not sure if he’s doing it here, but it just strikes me that a large amount of people in government jobs have this persistent perception that their so called labors in the name of “public service” are so much more important and valuable (I assume we’ve all seen Senator Boxer admonishing the general to call her Senator vs Ma’am) to the society than those of the private citizen and therefore it calls for special treatment. The fact is that the vast majority are simply doing the 9 to 5 and there’s often nothing extraordinarily wonderful about it any more so than the truckdriver who makes sure they can get their morning latte at the corner Starbucks so they’re primed and ready to perform their vital public service. None of them are indispensible and if Blizzard doesn’t come back to his job, I’m sure there are others waiting in the wings to step into his shoes to continue the performance of this ‘important public service’ just like anyone else can be sitting in Sen Boxer’s seat who may or may not work as hard as she did for the title.
I hope that by ‘not detracting from the important public service’ means he’s saying he should get treated as fairly as he’s treated others in his prosecutions.
I have no idea about the fairness of justice involved in all of the people Blizzard has gotten locked up for those lengthy prison sentences. It just appears to me to be a strange metric absent other information as to whether those sentences were well deserved to determine how well one does their job. There’s a huge difference between a mistake or momentary lapse of judgement and a real crime. For example, always going for the maximum penalty for everyone caught at .08 who were only caught because they had a tail light out which is a victimless crime vs those who were really so incapacitated that they caused accidents through their negligence.
I don’t have any pre-judgement against or animosity towards Mr Blizzard, but I don’t have a lot of sympathy either. I would just hope he gets treated as fairly as he treated others. If he was a bulldog in prosecuting people and always demanding the maximum allowable sentences for more minor mistakes vs real criminal negligence I would hope that he get the same treatment in return as anyone he’s prosecuted.
“It is always very unfortunate when any public servant is arrested,” Lewis said.
It is always very unfortunate when any citizen gets arrested for a victimless crime and more so if they get locked up for it. — fixed