Comments on: It Isn’t a Crime When the Government Does It

By: Links 16/11/2012: Fedora 19 is Schrödinger’s Cat, Android Grabs 90% Smartphones Share in China | Techrights

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:20:17 +0000

[...] It Isn’t a Crime When the Government Does It So remember when Chicago police were arresting people for recording them, and charging them with crimes punishable by 10 or more years in prison? Remember the woman who was arrested and charged because she attempted to record Chicago PD internal affairs police browbeating her when she tried to report a sexual assault by a Chicago cop? Remember all that stuff we heard from Chicago PD and Cook County DA Anita Alvarez’s office about protecting privacy? [...]

By: theCL Report: A Man-Made Disaster

theCL Report: A Man-Made Disaster — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:53:36 +0000

[...] It Isn't a Crime When the Government Does It [...]

By: liberranter

liberranter — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:24:45 +0000

Croaker, be sure to ask your masters for a PADDED thrall collar. It’ll be much more comfortable.

By: Militant Libertarian » It Isn’t a Crime When the Government Does It

Militant Libertarian » It Isn’t a Crime When the Government Does It — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:40:48 +0000

[...] The Agitator [...]

By: rodsmith

rodsmith — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:21:54 +0000

It’s hardly treason to conduct a legal “citizen’s arrest” and then have a trial and using THIER OWN LAW!

By: croaker

croaker — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:59:09 +0000

@16 If you want to end up like John Brown go right ahead. The government has a few words for actions like that: Insurrection, rebellion, treason.

By: liberranter

liberranter — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:10:16 +0000

I see emerging a compelling new case for “citizens arrests” of state-employed scum becoming the new norm. “Citizens trials and penalties” should follow.

By: Personanongrata

Personanongrata — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:22:42 +0000

Arbitrary rule via fiat; aka tyranny.

By: Steve Verdon

Steve Verdon — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:15:51 +0000

And this is why voting is so important, because with democracy and voting things like this never ever happen.

By: Weird Willy

Weird Willy — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:10:52 +0000

“…maybe I’m naive for not seeing what’s so offensive about recording members of the media conducting interviews with public officials, especially if those interviews are on the record?”

No, you don’t seem naive, you merely seem to be missing the essential point of this discussion. The issue is not whether it is offensive for someone to record members of the media conducting interviews, it is the fact that a double-standard is being applied to give politicos virtually complete impunity to engage in behavior of a similar ilk but far worse than that which characteristically prompts the vicious, aggressive pursuit and persecution of private citizens. *That* is what is being addressed here.

By: C.E.

C.E. — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 01:53:24 +0000

Obviously it should be perfectly legal to record police officers engaging in their duties in view of the public, and it should be legal for members of the public to record their interactions with the police.

But maybe I’m naive for not seeing what’s so offensive about recording members of the media conducting interviews with public officials, especially if those interviews are on the record?

By: JLS

JLS — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 23:30:14 +0000

See, Nixon was right after all!

By: Bergman

Bergman — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 22:32:38 +0000

There’s also the evidence tampering aspect.

Some random guy breaks the law and destroys a piece of evidence the government wants: Felony charges and prison time.

Someone who is ostensibly highly educated in the law and the responsibilities of government deletes an illegal recording that is evidence of their crime: A gentle reminder to follow the law and the matter is forgotten.

By: Pi Guy

Pi Guy — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 21:29:35 +0000

Being from MD I’m only vaguely familiar with the laws here. What I know is that the State’s Attorney General had to issue a statement informing LEOs that videotaping them in in the course of performing their duties in public is not a violation of the state’s wiretapping law. IOW, taping a conversation without warning the other party – who’s likely assumed a private conversation is taking place – is still against the law. In public, no such restriction exists.

By: Cynical in New York

Cynical in New York — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:13:02 +0000

I would laugh if it wasn’t so sad. Government has to be the only job in which you can be found dead to rights guilty and still receive a paycheck.

By: SJE

SJE — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 18:05:36 +0000

Worse, is that the citizen’s were arrested for recording in public places where there was no reasonable expectation of privacy, while I assume the journalists were interviewing the superintendent in an office.

By: Boyd Durkin

Boyd Durkin — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:32:32 +0000

Illinois is the Florida of the Midwest,

More like “Chicago is the Florida of the Midwest”. Outside of Chicago, the state is pretty sane (in a pig-farmer way).

I don’t think government will change until there is a very powerful competitor that starts siphoning off capital.

By: Mattocracy

Mattocracy — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:39:46 +0000

@ Angie,

People have always been complacent. It’s easy for people to think things are worse now. I think that way a lot. But the sad fact is, The Land of the Free has been pretty shitty to people at all levels of government since day one.

Where we make some great gains in freedom, we just end up sacrificing freedoms in other areas. It’s almost like people by and large can only concentrate on one freedom issue at a time, allowing the control freaks to take away freedoms where we aren’t focusing our collective outrage.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:30:20 +0000

“…we reminded employees to continue following the law.”

continue?

By: Angie

Angie — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:19:40 +0000

Sometimes I think I should just give up. Everyday people just aren’t angry enough about this to do anything. To create any change. As has been said …

It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices. – Chief Justice Roberts

… how long have you been at this now Radley? Calling out the same issues time and time again. Instead of any improvement, seems we just see more and more of the same.

Probably just post-election blahs talking.