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I suspect these folks are only getting calls and letters from entities who think that if the person votes, they will vote for the special interest groups that fund the entities. And that the whole purpose of the mailings and calls is to swing the election in favor of the special interest groups that fund the entity sending out the mailings and calls. Just a guess. But when money's involved it's not hard to make educated guesses. http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2014/11/03/arizona-accountability-project/18436497/ Is it OK for others to 'grade' your vote? The Republic | azcentral.com 4:58 p.m. MST November 3, 2014 A new get-out-the-vote mailer features some peer-pressure tactics that rub some readers the wrong way. Following are some responses to the campaign. I HAVE THE RIGHT NOT TO VOTE I recently received a piece of campaign mail from the Arizona Accountability Project. This card contained phrases such as, "We are monitoring turnout in your neighborhood and have been disappointed to see that many of your neighbors do not vote regularly." And "We will review the voting turnout across Arizona after the election ..." And "We may be calling after the election to ask about your voting experience. Please do your civic duty, and do not disappoint us or your neighbors." This piece of election material can be very intimidating to many people. The way it is phrased that people have to vote, that if you do not vote you may have a black mark entered against you or have a neighbor inform on you. In this country, the right to vote without fear is a right guaranteed to us — as is the right not to vote. This mailer is nothing more than an attempt to get votes out through intimidation when persuasion does not work. — Kim Allen, Chandler WHY WOULD YOU SHAME MY MOTHER? A few days ago my mother-in-law received a "voter report card" "paid for by the Arizona Republican Party." It says she is receiving the communication because of "low expected voter turnout in your area." "What if your neighbors knew whether you voted?" it trumpets. "Your individual voting history (is) ... public record ... (your neighbors) can now see yours." They assigned her a grade of "D." Then came the threat: "A follow-up report may be issued to detail who in your neighborhood does and does not vote ..." Here is my response to the Arizona Republican Party: My mother-in-law's "neighborhood" is an assisted-living community. She has suffered multiple strokes and cannot communicate her voting desires. She cannot speak, nor can she write. And you presume to give her a grade? Please, fellow Arizonans, vote these scoundrels out of office — every single one of them. They have no respect for you, your parents or your children. They do not deserve your vote. — Bill Maki, Green Valley
We see H. L. Mencken quote at work in this article: "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/columns/east_valley_voices/article_20bb9fee-6167-11e4-8d8f-d7c154d90df0.html Patterson: White House response to Ebola another in chain of incompetent actions Posted: Saturday, November 1, 2014 12:45 pm Guest Commentary by Tom Patterson When the stock market crashed in 2008, most Americans, one way or another, were badly hurt. But not all. Barack Obama’s then chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, saw it as a golden opportunity to jump-start the new administration’s agenda. “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” he crowed and they didn’t waste a thing. We got trillions of dollars of stimulus spending, which failed to stimulate anything other than the massive growth of government. Obama’s union buddies got a windfall, but workforce participation to this day is stuck at historically low levels. Just as Obama and his administration could use another crisis — talk about luck — Ebola fell into their lap. They don’t seem too serious so far about the medical side of it. Travel bans and quarantines are mostly out but a serious political response is underway. Even fundraising is set aside for now. As CNN’s Van Jones explains, “We got to get our base going … this Ebola thing is the best argument you can make for the kind of government we believe in.” That would be Big Government. So the first order of business is to ratchet up federal spending, this time on the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The chorus immediately began that we have identified yet another federal agency that is dysfunctional because it is starved for money. The facts tell a different story. NIH funding has been relatively stable the last few years after going from $14.9 billion in 1998 to $31 billion in 2010. The White House actually proposed cuts in CDC spending in 2013 and 2014 that were rejected by Congress. But the same agency that claims not to be able to afford Ebola vaccine research sponsored a grant to develop origami condoms, fancifully designed like the Japanese folding papers, for $2.4 million. Didn’t anybody there find that a little excessive? About $1.8 million bought information about how athletes perceive their surroundings, including the discovery that golfers can make 10 percent more putts if they imagine the hole is bigger. A total of $666,000 nailed down the key insight that watching old movies or TV shows helps us feel reconnected with people we used to know. Who knew? There’s plenty more, of course. NIH’s is hardly the first agency to try to benefit from a crisis. In spite of its meteoric funding increases, the VA tried to claim its appointment fraud was due to lack of resources. The IRS explained that it targets exclusively right-of-center groups because it didn’t have the money to do otherwise, or something like that. Every tornado, flood or drought, formerly considered naturally occurring events, now becomes evidence for the “global warming,” I mean “climate change” agenda. Need more convincing that the Obama administration views Ebola through a political lens? Two words: Ron Klain. Think about this decision. Faced with evidence of a deadly disease being imported here which conceivably could become pandemic if not dealt with properly, they had a wide range of choices to coordinate the response. Top doctors, public health officials and executives experienced in handling complex organizations would have been glad to help out. Instead, they picked a political fixer, who knows all about political messaging but nothing about medical management or Ebola. Klain’s history isn’t reassuring. In 2000, he was a senior attorney for the Gore team in the presidential election recount. Fortunately, the Constitution prevailed but only after a bitter, divisive battle. As chief of staff to Vice President Biden (admittedly, that had to be a challenge), he was in charge of implementing the stimulus program in 2009, which floundered for lack of “shovel ready jobs.” Klain also engineered the infamous Solyndra bailout, in which Obama campaign bundlers were given $575 million in federal loan guarantees after Obama assured us this was the “future of energy.” The company went bankrupt amid charges of fraud and tax evasion. Americans have been repeatedly admonished to avoid panic over Ebola. But we’re unnerved when we see incompetence and politicization of decisions regarding our health. We don’t need lectures, we need to see some evidence that our safety is being adequately prioritized by people who actually know what they’re doing.
Mesa piggy Bill Richardson want more money for the cops??? I think what former cop Bill Richardson is saying in this editorial is that we need to shovel money to his cop friends. And of course he is using an emotional topic trying to convince us to shovel the money to his pig friends. Just shovel a few million bucks to the cops and this horrible rape of a 91 year old women in Tempe will be solved. Sadly most REAL crimes, like rape are very difficult to solve, and throwing millions of dollars at them really won't help. As Richardson pointed out only 1 out of every 4 rapes are solved. I doubt if giving millions to the cops for computers will bump that dismal success rate up much. And of course that's why the cops love the "War on Drugs". It's really easy for the cops to make drug war arrests so they can claim they are frigging heroes who are saving us from imaginary dope fiends who are about to cause the collapse of Western civilization as we know it. All the piggies have to do is illegally stop 100 people and illegally search them for drugs and they are bound to find 1 or 2 people they can arrest. Last I also think there is a lot of evidence that Mark Goudeau was framed by the Phoenix police for rape and murder. http://eastvalleytribune.com/columns/east_valley_voices/article_8f5f360e-6167-11e4-a132-c31d9f05bfed.html Richardson: State, police need to invest in tools to reduce sexual assaults Retired Mesa master police officer Bill Richardson lives in the East Valley and can be reached at bill.richardson@cox.net. Posted: Sunday, November 2, 2014 2:15 am Guest Commentary by Bill Richardson Only about one in four sexual assaults committed in Arizona is ever solved by police. One attack that hasn’t been solved by police is the brazen and savage attack by an unknown assailant on a 91-year-old woman in one of Tempe’s better neighborhoods. According to a KTAR story, “the Tempe attack has now been linked to other attacks in the East Valley.” A serial rapist will no doubt bring back memories of serial rapist and killer Mark Goudeau, who terrorized the Valley in 2005 and 2006 before he was finally captured. Goudeau was no stranger to the criminal justice system and had a lengthy record with multiple criminal justice agencies. Agencies that still aren’t able to share information in a way that can identify and track sex crimes while linking the criminal behavior with past crimes with new crimes in real time. In my March 2007 East Valley Tribune guest editorial, “Police officials make pleas for information sharing system,” I refer to a letter written by current Surprise Police Chief and then-acting Phoenix Police Chief Mike Frazier to former Gov. Janet Napolitano. In the letter, Frazier said, “The Phoenix Police Department made progress in solving two of the serial events that occurred in Phoenix in 2005 and 2006. I am extremely proud of the dedication and commitment that occurred. However, one has to wonder whether these episodes could have been solved, or even recognized as serial crimes, more efficiently if criminal justice entities had a system of information sharing?” One can still wonder because it’s been almost a decade since serial predators terrorized the Valley and there still isn’t a system in place to put a quick end to serial criminals and their crime dangerous and terrifying sprees. In my 2006 East Valley Tribune Sunday Perspective editorial, “Withholding information — To improve public safety, law enforcement agencies across the Valley must do a better job of sharing data and resources,” I wrote, “In 2004, Gov. Janet Napolitano appointed a committee of experts to develop a plan to address the investigation, collection and sharing of information and resources on violent crimes in Arizona. The panel developed a state-of-the-art program called Sex Crimes Analysis Network (SCAN) that was patterned after Washington state’s Homicide Information Tracking System. It was developed during the 1980s in response to serial killer Ted Bundy and the Green River serial killer. Arizona’s SCAN project died after the Arizona Department of Public Safety diverted its $400,000 in funding.” One can only wonder if the rape of the 91-year-old Tempe grandmother might have been prevented had the SCAN system had been developed and put in place in 2004 and her attacker had been identified early on? One can also wonder if authorities had heeded Chief Frazier’s 2007 words and advice and picked up where DPS failed and put SCAN online for Arizona police agencies? Four-hundred-thousand dollars is not that much money when you consider how many millions the state Legislature gave away to a couple of county sheriffs with political agendas that trumped statewide law enforcement priorities. To the credit of Mesa and Tempe police, they’re doing all they can to find the elderly woman’s attacker and I don’t doubt the dedicated Mesa and Tempe detectives will eventually get the attacker. One has to wonder how many more victims there will be before the attacker’s capture by police takes place? Hopefully this tragic crime will reopen the discussion for the governor, Legislature and law enforcement to find the funding and implement the SCAN program as soon as possible. Sexual assault and sexual violence are all too common in Arizona, and that makes it all the more reason to identify and capture sexual predators as soon as possible. • Retired Mesa master police officer Bill Richardson lives in the East Valley and can be reached at bill.richardson@cox.net.
Jessica Archambault thinks it's time to boot those religious nut jobs on the Gilbert School Board out of office??? http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/letters/2014/10/30/gilbert-textbook-censorship-another-option/18213745/ Hey, Gilbert, there's another option to censorship Jessica Archambault 7:25 a.m. MST October 31, 2014 Regarding Gilbert school-board member Daryl Colvin's statement: "The cheapest, least disruptive way to solve the problem is to remove the page" ("Gilbert to 'edit' biology textbook," Republic, Thursday): I'd like to suggest another option: The cheapest, least disruptive way to solve this problem is to change the board majority by voting Tuesday for Charles Santa Cruz and Jill Humpherys. Censorship should not be taught in our schools. — Jessica Archambault, Mesa
Personally I think Joan Klein is right. But the purpose of the law that is the center of this controversy in Gilbert, is not about educating the children, but rather shoving the Christian religion down their throats by blindly telling them the Christian religions view on these things. http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/letters/2014/10/31/gilbert-public-schools-textbook/18247989/ Instead of editing textbook, can't teachers explain? Joan Klein 4:01 p.m. MST October 31, 2014 Instead of editing textbook, can't teachers explain? Regarding "Gilbert to 'edit' biology textbook" (Republic, Thursday): I cannot help wondering where the district's teachers are. Is it not their job to explain, clarify and expand upon textbook material? Couldn't they discuss, in class, the topic of childbirth to include adoption options? That seems to me to be a more intelligent approach to this issue, rather than "removing" a page of their textbook? — Joan Klein, Glendale
Who says America hasn't turned into a socialist country???? Of course Irwin Feiles didn't mention that the Republicans shovel the corporate welfare to rich people in exchange for "campaign contributions", just like the Democrats shovel normal welfare to poor people in exchange for votes. http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/letters/2014/11/01/arizona-democrats/18273669/ With Democrats like these, who needs the GOP? Irwin Feiles 7:14 p.m. MST November 1, 2014 Let's face it, folks. The GOP candidates are all racists, bigots, homophobes and hate women and children, expect you to take responsibility for yourself, and hope you all die from lack of care. The Democrats just love everyone and will see to it you get whatever you want. A home, a car, a cellphone. They'll also feed you and clothe you, medicate you, pay you not to work and educate you, too. (Well, maybe not that). Why would anyone vote for a Republican? — Irwin Feiles, Maricopa
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/letters/2014/11/02/letter-to-the-editor-arizona-school-funding/18390091/ Schools have enough money, but where's it all going? Rod Hartman 7:36 a.m. MST November 3, 2014 If I hear or read one more left-winger sobbing about the need to increase public-school funding in Arizona, I think I'll have to dig my work boots out of my TV! Let's have a reputable party look into where the money's going now. Conflict-resolution classes, ethnic-studies programs, student-fulfillment advisers, assistant to the assistant of the vice principal? Arizona spends about $7,600 per pupil per year, and for a manageable class of 25 students, that equals $190,000 per year per class. Deduct a decent salary of $65,000 for the teacher; $50,000 for lights, air-conditioning, janitorial, etc. over 180 days; and 5 percent overhead for staff ($9,500), and you're left with a surplus of $65,500. There are no rent or mortgage payments, since those are almost always covered by bond issues. Students have to buy or rent their books and supplies, and the federal government covers all of the inedible breakfast and lunch costs. Anybody ever check the staff's travel vouchers? Teacher-development sabbaticals? High-dollar consultants brought in for "diversity training"? And the list goes on. If the Democrats think the schools are destitute, one fruitful place to look for added funding would be for them to track down the parents of illegal-immigrant students and collect a few bucks from them! — Rod Hartman, Phoenix
Mixing government and religion in the Gilbert Schools???? http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/letters/2014/10/31/gilbert-public-schools-textbook/18273015/ I'm ashamed of my overprotective school board Sonja Damazio 7:14 p.m. MST November 1, 2014 As a parent of children in Gilbert Public Schools and a Republican, I am embarrassed of our school board. Important decisions that affect our entire district are being made by a few people who are a part of a very far right-wing religious fringe. Their latest decision to edit a biology book to remove any reference to abortion is absurd. The board is using a state law that recommends educators "present childbirth and adoption as preferred options to elective abortion" to assert their religious views even though the book was reviewed by an administrator in the state Department of Education who said the book does not violate the statute. Nobody is saying abortion should be encouraged to the students. It is a fact that abortion is a legal option, and to not mention this fact sets a dangerous precedent. History and the present simply can't be rewritten. We can't allow our political or religious views dictate how students are taught. Many people object to the death penalty, but is this issue going to be left out of a textbook? Of course not, and it shouldn't be! Educators must not be stifled by an overprotective school board. While teachers should never endorse their views, they should be able to teach what is going on in our world. It is their job to present the issues of today and the past, and the school board should not take that away from them. — Sonja Damazio, Mesa
I would rather have kids smoking pot then smoking cigarettes. The medical side effects of smoking tobacco kill about 6 million people every year world wide. The medical side effects of smoking marijuana kill a whopping ZERO people every year worldwide. Same goes for using liquor. Again the medical side effects of drinking liquor kill about 2.5 million people every year worldwide. Again the medical side effects of smoking marijuana kill a whopping ZERO people every year worldwide. Also for a number of reasons I would rather have kids smoking pot then using booze. Booze turns people into *ssholes, pot just makes them want to eat and laugh. I don't think it's smart to drive stoned or drunk. But if you are doing to do it, it's a lot safer to smoke pot and drive then it is to drink and drive. http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2014/11/01/marijuana-arizona-youth-survey/18303111/ Note to teens: Pot really isn't that cool Editorial board, The Republic | azcentral.com 7:17 a.m. MST November 3, 2014 Our View: Teens are turning away from alcohol, cigarettes and most drugs — except for this one. That needs to change. First, the good news. Drug and alcohol use among Arizona teens continues to drop, according to a biennial survey. They're also smoking less — tobacco, anyway. The more than 48,000 eighth, 10th and 12th graders who took the survey reported they're more likely to use marijuana than smoke a cigarette. To explain, let's look at the numbers in the survey conducted by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission. (Find the full survey at azcjc.gov.) Alcohol remains the most popular mood-alterating substance among teens, but the survey reflects a downward trend. Four years ago, nearly 22 percent of eighth-graders reported having had a drink in the past month; this year, it's 13.4 percent. The percentages are dropping even among high-school seniors, to 40.6 percent this year from 45 percent four years ago. Messages about how alcohol affects young brains appear to be making headway. So are anti-smoking messages. The downward trend is steeper — a drop of about one-third in four years for every age group. Now the bad news: Marijuana is resisting the downward trend. Its use dropped slightly among eighth graders, remained flat among high-school sophomores and rose for seniors. (Nearly one in four seniors reported using pot within the past month, and almost half have tried it at least once.) This is significant as advocates gear up to put legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes on the 2016 ballot. If teens continue to use pot when it's legal in Arizona only for medical purposes, what will happen if it becomes fully legal? Set aside for now the argument as to whether marijuana is dangerous or a gateway to harder drugs. There is no question pot, like alcohol, damages a developing brain. Both stand in the way of youthful potential. In extreme cases, they derail a life before it really begins. Messages warning teens off of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs are everywhere. This survey indicates they're having an effect. In addition to alcohol and tobacco, the abuse of prescription drugs and bath salts fell significantly over four years. They're just not cool anymore. But the messaging around marijuana is different. It's now a healer, treating symptoms real and created. While three in four teens who use pot get it from a friend, a rising percentage gets it from someone with a medical-marijuana card. In Colorado and Washington, marijuana has moved into the mainstream, just as legal as a bottle of Cabernet. Why would kids turn away from something gaining such public acceptance? We could launch another public-interest campaign aimed at getting teens to abstain from pot. But it makes more sense to just turn away from this misguided campaign to give respectability to a drug banned for good reason to begin with. This year, we can celebrate the good news that fewer high schoolers are drinking. But that's against a bigger context in which two-thirds of seniors have had a drink at some point. That's a big number. Expect the same if recreational marijuana becomes legal.
Missouri cops use FAA to keep media from reporting police during riots???? http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/02/ap-exclusive-ferguson-no-fly-zone-aimed-at-media/18377269/ AP Exclusive: Ferguson no-fly zone aimed at media Associated Press 1:29 p.m. MST November 2, 2014 WASHINGTON — The U.S. government agreed to a police request to restrict more than 37 square miles of airspace surrounding Ferguson, Missouri, for 12 days in August for safety, but audio recordings show that local authorities privately acknowledged the purpose was to keep away news helicopters during violent street protests. On Aug. 12, the morning after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed the first flight restriction, FAA air traffic managers struggled to redefine the flight ban to let commercial flights operate at nearby Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and police helicopters fly through the area — but ban others. "They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out," said one FAA manager about the St. Louis County Police in a series of recorded telephone conversations obtained by The Associated Press. "But they were a little concerned of, obviously, anything else that could be going on. At another point, a manager at the FAA's Kansas City center said police "did not care if you ran commercial traffic through this TFR (temporary flight restriction) all day long. They didn't want media in there." FAA procedures for defining a no-fly area did not have an option that would accommodate that. "There is really ... no option for a TFR that says, you know, 'OK, everybody but the media is OK,'" he said. The managers then worked out wording they felt would keep news helicopters out of the controlled zone but not impede other air traffic. The conversations contradict claims by the St. Louis County Police Department, which responded to demonstrations following the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, that the restriction was solely for safety and had nothing to do with preventing media from witnessing the violence or the police response. Police said at the time, and again as recently as late Friday to the AP, that they requested the flight restriction in response to shots fired at a police helicopter. But police officials confirmed there was no damage to their helicopter and were unable to provide an incident report on the shooting. On the tapes, an FAA manager described the helicopter shooting as unconfirmed "rumors." The AP obtained the recordings under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. They raise serious questions about whether police were trying to suppress aerial images of the demonstrations and the police response by violating the constitutional rights of journalists with tacit assistance by federal officials. Such images would have offered an unvarnished view of one of the most serious episodes of civil violence in recent memory. "Any evidence that a no-fly zone was put in place as a pretext to exclude the media from covering events in Ferguson is extraordinarily troubling and a blatant violation of the press's First Amendment rights," said Lee Rowland, an American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney specializing in First Amendment issues. An FAA manager urged modifying the flight restriction so that planes landing at Lambert still could enter the airspace around Ferguson. The less-restrictive change practically served the authorities' intended goal, an FAA official said: "A lot of the time the (lesser restriction) just keeps the press out, anyways. They don't understand the difference." The Kansas City FAA manager then asked a St. Louis County police official if the restrictions could be lessened so nearby commercial flights wouldn't be affected. The new order allows "aircraft on final (approach) there at St. Louis. It will still keep news people out. ... The only way people will get in there is if they give them permission in there anyway so they, with the (lesser restriction), it still keeps all of them out." "Yeah," replied the police official. "I have no problem with that whatsoever." KMOV-TV News Director Brian Thouvenot told the AP that his station was prepared at first to legally challenge the flight restrictions, but was later advised that its pilot could fly over the area as long as the helicopter stayed above 3,000 feet. That kept the helicopter and its mounted camera outside the restricted zone, although filming from such a distance, he said, was "less than ideal." None of the St. Louis stations was advised that media helicopters could enter the airspace even under the lesser restrictions, which under federal rules should not have applied to aircraft "carrying properly accredited news representatives." The FAA's no-fly notice indicated the area was closed to all aircraft except police and planes coming to and from the airport. "Only relief aircraft operations under direction of St. Louis County Police Department are authorized in the airspace," it said. "Aircraft landing and departing St. Louis Lambert Airport are exempt." The same day that notice was issued, a county police spokesman publicly denied the no-fly zone was to prevent news helicopters from covering the events. "We understand that that's the perception that's out there, but it truly is for the safety of pilots," Sgt. Brian Schellman told NBC News. Ferguson police were widely criticized for their response following the death of Brown, who was shot by a city police officer, Darren Wilson, on Aug. 9. Later, under county police command, several reporters were arrested, a TV news crew was tear gassed and some demonstrators were told they weren't allowed to film officers. In early October, a federal judge said the police violated demonstrators' and news crews' constitutional rights. "Here in the United States of America, police should not be bullying and arresting reporters who are just doing their jobs," President Barack Obama said Aug. 14, two days after police confided to federal officials the flight ban was secretly intended to keep media helicopters out of the area. "The local authorities, including police, have a responsibility to be transparent and open." The restricted flight zone initially encompassed airspace in a 3.4-mile radius around Ferguson and up to 5,000 feet in altitude, but police agreed to reduce it to 3,000 feet after the FAA's command center in Warrenton, Virginia, complained to managers in Kansas City that it was impeding traffic into St. Louis. The flight restrictions remained in place until Aug. 22, FAA records show. A police captain wanted it extended when officials were set to identify Wilson by name as the officer who shot Brown and because Brown's funeral would "bring out the emotions," the recordings show. "We just don't know what to expect," he told the FAA. "We're monitoring that. So, last night we shot a lot of tear gas, we had a lot of shots fired into the air again. It did quiet down after midnight, but with that ... we don't know when that's going to erupt." The recordings do not capture early conversations about the initial flight restriction imposed a day earlier, but they nonetheless show the FAA still approved and modified the flight restriction after the FAA was aware that its main intent was to keep the media away. One FAA official at the agency's command center asked the Kansas City manager in charge whether the restrictions were really about safety. "So are (the police) protecting aircraft from small-arms fire or something?" he asked. "Or do they think they're just going to keep the press out of there, which they can't do."
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2014/11/03/tucson-officer-in-unmarked-car-hits-bicyclist/18397911/ Tucson officer in unmarked car hits bicyclist The Associated Press 10:13 p.m. MST November 2, 2014 Tucson police are investigating a bicyclist's death after an undercover officer struck him with an unmarked vehicle. Authorities say 49-year old Francisco Galvez was struck late Saturday as officer Alon Hackett was working a surveillance operation. According to investigators, Galvez rode in front of Hackett's 2012 Nissan Pathfinder and was hit with the right front corner of the vehicle. Police say Galvez was transported to University Medical Center where he later died. Authorities say he was not wearing a helmet. Hackett was not injured. Detectives from the Traffic Unit and the Office of Internal Affairs are conducting an investigation into the collision.
I suspect this article about Marijuana Policy Project or MPP isn't really an attempt to legalize marijuana in Arizona, but rather an attempt to give a government monopoly of growing and selling recreational marijuana to the members of Andrew Myers, Arizona Dispensary Association or Arizona Association of Dispensaries. If you read thru Prop 203, which I am told was written by Andrew Myers and the folks at Marijuana Policy Project or MPP it looks like a government welfare program that gives an almost virtual monopoly on growing and selling medical marijuana to the members of Andrew Myers, Arizona Dispensary Association. Prop 203 is Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act. Currently per Prop 203 and according to the Arizona Department of Health Services July or September medical marijuana newsletter, less then 4 percent of the medical marijuana users are allowed to grow their own marijuana because of the 25 mile rule. Here are a could of quotes from the article which lead me to think this. "the Arizona initiative would be modeled closely on a previous movement in Colorado" "The Marijuana Policy Project's Tvert said existing medical dispensaries could have first dibs on selling recreational products" From what I have heard the Colorado law still makes it a felony to possess more then a certain amount of marijuana. And the Colorado law also makes it a felony to grow more then a set number of plants. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2014/11/02/arizona-legal-recreational-pot-move-afoot-ballot/18397621/ Marijuana Policy Project calls for legal recreational marijuana in Arizona Lauren Loftus, Cronkite News 10:53 p.m. MST November 2, 2014 Arizona proposal would separate medical, recreational businesses The people who brought medical marijuana to Arizona four years ago now want marijuana legal for everyone over the age of 21. The Marijuana Policy Project has filed paperwork with state election officials to form a committee to begin raising funds for a 2016 citizens initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use. Arizona voters narrowly passed Proposition 203 allowing medical cannabis use in 2010. Communications Director Mason Tvert said the group has plenty of support in Arizona despite the state's traditionally conservative voting patterns. "It appears most Arizona voters are ready to adopt a more sensible policy," he said. "There were a large number of supporters who got on board (in 2010) and are ready to move forward." Tvert said the Arizona initiative would be modeled closely on a previous movement in Colorado, which became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012. Washington was a close second. According to Tvert, the medical-marijuana business here needn't worry about losing its 52,000 registered cardholders. Like Colorado, there would likely be a differentiation in the medical and recreational business models. First, only people 21 and older could purchase recreational weed. In both Arizona and Colorado, the threshold for a medical card is 18 years old. Those under 18 can obtain a medical card if their legal guardian is their designated caregiver. There could also be a marked difference in pricing. In Colorado, recreational shoppers pay nearly 13 percent in general and special state sales tax, plus a 15 percent excise tax at the wholesale level. Meanwhile, medical cardholders pay the 2.9 percent state sales tax and any local taxes. Dispensaries for recreational and medical marijuana are kept completely separate, even if the same owner operates both. Tvert said this separation, as well as the different tax rates, keeps existing medical-card holders from flocking to the recreational dispensaries en masse. "If you went into a business in Colorado that was doing both and said, 'I want Product A, but it's only on the medical side,' then you can't get it if you don't have a license," he said. Sarah Philyaw, a manager at Arizona Organix in Glendale, one of the first medical dispensaries to open in the state, said she would definitely welcome recreational sellers to the fold, even if it meant more competition. She said one way to differentiate the two business models would be to sell specific strains and products to medical cardholders and recreational users, as Colorado does. One of the more popular medical products at Arizona Organix, Philyaw said, is a CBD, or cannabidiol, tincture. The sublingual oil doesn't contain THC, the main psychoactive property of cannabis. "We have patients that buy the bottles for anxiety. They feel a decrease in anxiety and there's other benefits," she said. "It's comparable to taking a vitamin C pill." Not everyone sees marijuana as so harmless. The Arizona County Attorney and Sheriff's Association signed a resolution in July opposing full legalization, citing various detrimental effects of marijuana use. "It is demotivating, it hurts student achievement, it creates additional crime," said David Leibowitz, spokesman for the Arizona Association of Counties. [Rubbish, the reason the cops and prosecutors hate it, is because it cuts into the "War on Drugs" which is a jobs program for cops and a government welfare program for police departments] The resolution was sponsored by MATFORCE, an organization aimed at reducing substance abuse in Yavapai County and statewide. Executive Director Merilee Fowler said there is a lot of misinformation about marijuana use, particularly among young people. "In kids' minds, when you say that something is legal, the perception of risk goes down and youth use goes up," she said. Fowler also pointed to teens abusing legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco. "Why would we want to add a third legal substance that's going to cost our nation?" she asked. [To be honest that is a direct LIE. If marijuana it legalized we won't be paying cops to arrest and jail people who commit the victimless crime of using marijuana] State Rep. Ethan Orr, R-Tucson, disagreed with the perception that minors would be more likely to use marijuana if it were legalized. [This skips over the fact that despite the fact marijuana is illegal, millions of people use it] "I believe it's actually less likely to get in the hands of the minor because the people (licensed dispensaries) that are supplying it have an incentive to work with the state because they want to keep their license," he said. Orr, who is planning to introduce a proposal of his own to legalize recreational marijuana before the state Legislature next year, said one only has to look at Colorado to see the benefits of legalization. "I think once they're stabilized, they'll be making $100 to $150 million in tax revenue now that they've overcome some of the federal barriers," he said. "In addition, I think that by decriminalizing it, you're going to save $75 to $100 million within your criminal-justice system." [Sadly the politicians want to legalize marijuana for the wrong reasons. They should want to legalize it because the laws making marijuana are unjust, unfair and the punishment is draconian for a victimless crime. Of course the reason the politicians want to legalize pot is for the cold hard CASH it will bring to them.] Orr said that extra money could then be funneled back into law enforcement, education and possibly tax cuts. Orr said he also favors a dual-track system that allows medical dispensaries to continue operating independently of the recreational side. The Marijuana Policy Project's Tvert said if recreational use passes in Arizona, existing medical dispensaries could have first dibs on selling recreational products as long as the inventories were kept separate. [Which makes my point. The folks at MPP want to give the current medical marijuana dispensaries a government monopoly on growing and selling both RECREATIONAL and MEDICAL marijuana. I.e. the members of Andrew Myers Arizona Dispensary Association] "Those businesses have established themselves and demonstrated they're willing and able to follow the law," he said. "It certainly makes sense to let those businesses be among the first to start providing marijuana to adults if the initiative passes." [Again, this makes my point. The folks at MPP want to give the current medical marijuana dispensaries a government monopoly on growing and selling both RECREATIONAL and MEDICAL marijuana. I.e. the members of Andrew Myers Arizona Dispensary Association] Whatever happens with Arizona's marijuana business, Tvert said the initiative coalition will be sensitive to local needs. [Yea, that's like Hitler saying he is sensitive to the needs of the Jewish folks. If you ask me base on past events this sounds like the only folks the people at MPP want to benefit are members of Andrew Myers Arizona Dispensary Association.] "It will constantly evolve," he said. "It will be, 'This is what we believe is the best possible policy right now.'"
Brittany Maynard, right-to-die advocate, ends her life Personally I think that terminally ill people should have the right to commit suicide if they are facing a life with nothing but pain and suffering. There is a group called the Hemlock Society which attempts to help these people who are terminally ill, along with being in intense pain and want to die. I think the Hemlock Society changed it's name to Compassion & Choices. But sadly many states have made that illegal. I suspect that is because many states flush the US Constitution and in our case the Arizona Constitution down the toilet and mix religion and government. While I am an atheist now, I was raised as a Catholic and we were taught that killing yourself was a mortal sin, that would cause you to go to hell. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/11/02/brittany-maynard-/18390069/ Brittany Maynard, right-to-die advocate, ends her life USA Today Network Jessica Durando, USA TODAY Network 5:57 a.m. MST November 3, 2014 Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old face of the controversial right-to-death movement, has died. She captivated millions via social media with her public decision to end her life. Sean Crowley, spokesman for the non-profit organization Compassion & Choices, confirmed Maynard's death Sunday evening. "She died peacefully on Saturday, Nov. 1 in her Portland home, surrounded by family and friends," according to a statement from Compassion & Choices. The statement said Maynard suffered "increasingly frequent and longer seizures, severe head and neck pain, and stroke-like symptoms." She chose to take the "aid-in-dying medication she received months ago." Her death brings a new element to the movement in the age of social media because the conversation has included younger people. "She's changed the debate by changing the audience of the debate," Abraham Schwab, an associate professor of philosophy at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, told the Associated Press earlier. One commenter on Twitter posted, "RIP #BrittanyMaynard. To die with dignity still eludes many. May you find peace." Another had mixed feelings. "Brain cancer is a horrific way to die but, being raised traditional Catholic, suicide still a no-no," a commenter wrote. Maynard was diagnosed with a stage 4 malignant brain tumor. She moved with her family from California to Oregon, where she could legally die with medication prescribed under the Oregon Death With Dignity Act. Tim Rosales, spokesman for Patients Rights Action Coalition based in Princeton, N.J., said that for every Brittany Maynard, there's a Barbara Wagner, an Oregon woman who fought her insurance company when it said it would cover drugs for her suicide but not for chemotherapy to fight her lung cancer. "We have to look at assisted suicide in much broader terms," Rosales said in a phone interview Sunday evening. "Obviously, we're very saddened to hear the news about Brittany Maynard. However, that being said, suicide or assisted suicide sends the wrong message to a lot of young people are the country, particularly those who are dealing with psychological or physical challenges or serious illnesses." Barbara Coombs Lee, co-author of Oregon's death-with-dignity law and president of Compassion & Choices, underscored the importance of Maynard's age in this national conversation. "The general public has sort of an unspoken expectation that this is what old people deal with. Brittany Maynard's situation is so different. She's young, she's vibrant," Lee said to the AP earlier. "She could be my daughter. She could be a granddaughter, a neighbor, a school friend." An evangelical inspirational speaker and Catholic seminarian who has brain cancer has been outspoken about Maynard's decision. "I understand she may be in great pain, and her treatment options are limited and have their own devastating side effects, but I believe Brittany is missing a critical factor in her formula for death: God," said Joni Eareckson Tada last month in an article for Religion News Service. Philip Johnson, a Catholic seminarian from the Diocese of Raleigh, N.C., said on Oct. 22, "Suffering is not worthless, and our lives are not our own to take. As humans we are relational — we relate to one another and the actions of one person affects others." Maynard's YouTube video posted on Oct. 6 has received 9.5 million page views to date. In the video she explained her diagnosis and how she planned to die. "I plan to be surrounded by my immediate family," she said in the video. "I will die upstairs in my bedroom that I share with my husband (...)and pass peacefully with some music I like in the background." Four other states, including Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico, allow patients to seek help from doctors in dying. Rosales, citing that every major disability rights group that has taken a position on assisted suicide has opposed it, said that once people become more educated and get into the policy, "the more they turn away from it as the answer to the end-of-life question." USA TODAY Should choosing when to die be an option? Your Say Interactive Under the Oregon law, the person must be capable, an adult, live in state and have been diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months. Maynard's initial plans had been to die Saturday, two days after her husband's birthday on Oct. 30, but earlier this week she announced in a video she was potentially postponing it due to her current health. "I still feel good enough and I still have enough joy and I still laugh and smile with my family and friends enough that it doesn't seem like the right time right now," she said in a video on her website The Brittany Maynard fund posted on Oct. 29. "But it will come, because I feel myself getting sicker. It's happening each week." The video has now been viewed more than 2.2 million times. Contributing: Carolyn Cerbin, USA TODAY Follow @JessicaDurando on Twitter
Jesus will also pay your bar tab. Well only if he is your husband. http://www.teleguiaenespanol.com/Edicion/index.htm Mujer aseguraba que "Jesucristo" pagaría su cuenta La estadounidense se negó a saldar la cuenta y fue trasladada a la cárcel. Kristi Rhines, una ciudadana estadounidense fue arrestada tras negarse a pagar la comida y bebidas que consumió en un restaurante mexicano ubicado en la ciudad de Lawton. La mujer ordenó varias bebidas alcohólicas y comida, al rehusarse a pagar el consumo declaró que Jesucristo, "su esposo legal", pagaría la cuenta. La cuenta ascendía a 56 mil dólares, pero mientras la policía la arrestaba, ella insistía en que "su marido" Jesucristo llegaría para pagar. Rhinne insistió en que estaba legalmente casada con Jesucristo, pero no tenía licencia de matrimonio. De acuerdo con actualidadRT, los agentes que trasladaron a Kristi a la cárcel de la ciudad aseguraron que la mujer no estaba ebria cuando fue detenida.
The First Amendment should allow religious nut jobs to preach whatever they want. Even if it is politically incorrect. And the government shouldn't be interfering with that right religious nut jobs have. I consider religion nothing but superstition, but religious folks should have the right to state their views even if I disagree with them. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/10/29/houston-mayor-drops-bid-to-subpoena-pastors-sermons/ Houston mayor drops bid to subpoena pastors' sermons By Todd Starnes Published October 29, 2014 FoxNews.com City of Houston attempts to censor pastors' sermons Subpoenas issued to five Houston pastors demanding all sermons and correspondence dealing with homosexuality, gender identity and the city's Equal Rights ordinance have been withdrawn, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor announced at a Wednesday press conference. "After much contemplation and discussion, I am directing the city legal department to withdraw the subpoenas issued to the five Houston pastors who delivered the petitions, the anti-HERO petitions, to the city of Houston and who indicated that they were responsible for the overall petition effort," said Mayor Annise Parker in remarks covered by television station KPRC. My column on the issue sparked a bit of national outrage – well – a lot of national outrage. To be honest it was a full-scale hullabaloo. City Hall was deluged with telephone calls, letters, emails – along with hundreds of Bibles and sermons. More than 50,000 supporters signed a petition. The only way to stop the bullying is to allow the good people of Houston the right to vote on that nondiscrimination ordinance. Nevertheless, the mayor still seems hell-bent on defending the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance – a piece of legislation that will in part give grown men who identify as women the right to use the restrooms of their choice. "It is extremely important to me to protect our Equal Rights Ordinance from repeal, and it is extremely important to me to make sure that every Houstonian knows that their lives are valid and protected and acknowledged," Parker said. "We are going to continue to vigorously defend our ordinance against repeal efforts." The subpoenas were issued in response to a lawsuit filed related to the so-called bathroom bill. An overwhelming number of religious groups were opposed to a provision of the law that would allow men who identify as women to use the restrooms of their choice. Critics gathered 50,000 signatures to petition the city to put the issue on the ballot. But the city attorney threw out the petitions – alleging there were not enough legitimate signatures. Erik Stanley, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, represented the five pastors. He said he was gratified the mayor withdrew the subpoenas. “She really had no choice but to withdraw the subpoenas,” Stanley told me. “She was roundly criticized from the right and the left – from all across the nation.” Stanley said the mayor’s actions were a violation of the First Amendment and an abuse of power. “They were only intended to intimidate and to bully pastors into silence,” he said of the subpoenas. “It sent a terrible message to the faith community in Houston and across the country.” Pastor Steve Riggle was one of the ministers who was subpoenaed. “You don’t mess with the pulpits,” he told me. His opinion of the mayor remains unchanged. “You are not a little dictator to do whatever you want – and that’s what we have right now in Houston, Texas,” he said. “It’s important that everybody keep their eye on what’s happening here.” The Family Research Council is hosting a nationally-simulcast rally at Riggle’s mega-church on Sunday. Thousands are expected to attend “I Stand Sunday” in person and more than 2,500 churches and home groups have signed up to air the simulcast. The event includes messages from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Duck Commander Phil Robertson, and yours truly – among others. “This is what bullies do when people stand up to them,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. “They back down.” Perkins told me the response to “I Stand Sunday” has been overwhelming. “Americans realize this agenda is not simply about equal rights,” he said. “It’s about elevated sexual behavior above religious freedom. Americans are tired of being bullied by the left.” And let’s be honest, folks – that’s exactly what’s been happening in the Lone Star State. Christians are getting bullied by Houston’s mayor and city attorney. And the only way to stop the bullying is to allow the good people of Houston the right to vote on that nondiscrimination ordinance. “This is about political intimidation,” Perkins said. “And that intimidation continues as long as the citizens are denied the right to vote on this ordinance.” Randy White, the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Katy said his congregation is prepared to fight. “They will stand for any kind of removal of pulpit freedom,” he told me. “The pastor, the church, the congregation has got to be able to speak their mind on issues.” White delivered an impassioned sermon about religious liberty that went viral online. “I will not turn over a jot or a tittle,” he announced from the pulpit. He warned that turning over any sermons to the government is the “first step towards totalitarianism.” But he warned that the fight is not over in Houston. “We haven’t won,” he said. ‘The citizenry of Houston is still denied the right to petition and to vote on this matter,” he said. And quite frankly, I’m not sure Houston’s mayor will allow them to vote. On Tuesday a group of clergy met with Houston’s mayor. Afterwards, some of those ministers met with Pastor Riggle. They relayed a portion of the private conversation they had with the mayor. “She told them, ‘I’m not going to let the citizens of Houston vote on my civil rights,’” Riggle said. Friends -- that is a very chilling statement. And it’s just more that whenever you see the word “nondiscrimination” it usually means religious folks are being discriminated against. I encourage you and your local church to join us on Sunday to send a message to those who would infringe on religious liberty. We will not be silent. We will not be intimidated.
Paula Pennypacker supports legalizing marijuana They had one of those fact checking articles in today's Sunday Arizona Republic that says Paula Pennypacker supports legalizing marijuana. I couldn't find the article in the online version of the Arizona Republic or I would have reposted it here. The article was titled "Pennypacker clarifies comments on drug laws" and it was written by Vivian Padilla In the article Paula Pennypacker was accused of wanting to legalize all drugs, but she said she only wants to legalize marijuana. While I want to roll the clock back and re-legalize ALL drugs, just like it was before 1914, when the "1914 Harrison Narcotics Tax Act" was passed, I will still support candidates that only want to re-legalize marijuana. As you all know America has become the worlds largest police state and it mostly because of our insane and unconstitutional "War on Drugs". At the Federal level 51 percent of the people in Federal prisons are there for victimless drug war crimes per US Bureau of Prison statics. At the state levels two thirds or 66 percent of the people in American prisons are there for victimless "drug war" crimes. I got that statistic from Reason Magazine years ago.
Early ballots show Republican lead in Sinema race AZ/DC Remember there is still time to boot government tyrant Kyrsten Sinema out of office. Will Kyrsten Sinema says she wants to legalize marijuana that seems to be just "I will say anything to get elected" talk. Kyrsten Sinema when she was a member of the Arizona Legislator tried to flush Prop 203 or Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act down the toilet by slapping a 300% tax on medical marijuana. That tax didn't pass but it would have put a $900 tax on an ounce of marijuana that currently sells for $300 and ounce bring the price of medical marijuana to $1,200 an ounce. Kyrsten Sinema also shovels the BS that she supports the little guy, but when you look at how she votes she supports the police state and the military industrial complex. Kyrsten Sinema is the enemy and needs to be removed from government. This article in the Arizona Republic seems to say that Kyrsten Sinema can be booted out of office is all you people who hate government tyrants just show up and vote for Wendy Rogers. Sure I would rather have Libertarian Powell Gammil in office, but lets face it Powell ain't going to win. http://www.azcentral.com/story/azdc/2014/11/01/early-ballots-show-republican-lead-in-sinema-race/18340149/ Early ballots show Republican lead in Sinema race AZ/DC Rebekah L. Sanders, The Republic | azcentral.com 6:05 p.m. MST November 1, 2014 Early ballot returns in Arizona's hottest U.S. House races are full of surprises. Republicans had cast 5,600 more ballots in the race between Democratic U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Wendy Rogers as of Friday, even though Sinema is considered the strongest of the three Arizona Democrats in toss-up congressional seats. The partisan tally amounts to a 6-point lead in voting for the GOP. Meanwhile, Democrats are ahead in ballots cast by nearly 2,000 in the district represented by Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz. That's a 1.5 point lead in voting for Democrats in the southern Arizona district where Barber is being challenged by Republican Martha McSally. For months, Barber has been considered the state's most vulnerable congressional incumbent. In northern Arizona's 1st District, where Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., is fighting for re-election, the parties are virtually tied in ballots cast, with only about a 50-vote difference. Republican state Rep. Andy Tobin is running to unseat Kirkpatrick. The early ballot returns are only a snapshot. Many candidates win despite lagging in early voting by members or their party or they lose despite gains early on. Candidate vote tallies won't be known until after 8 p.m. on Election Day. However, the returns do indicate how topsy-turvy the competitive races have been, with little public polling to show who's up and who's down as groups on both sides of the aisle pour in millions of dollars to capture the seats. One big unknown: the way independent voters will lean. Independents are a huge group in all three races, returning about a quarter of early ballots. The bump in Republican voting in Sinema's Tempe-based 9th District helps explain why Democrats recently spent a bunch of money on ads and sent a mailer touting the Libertarian candidate in the race, whom they hope could siphon votes from the Republican challenger. Rogers has said the race is "breaking our way." A Republican edge in early ballots doesn't equal a win for Rogers, said Arizona Democratic Party Executive Director DJ Quinlan. "In this district, there are a lot of crossover voters. There are Republicans there who are voting for (Democratic gubernatorial candidate) Fred DuVal and Kyrsten Sinema. And independents tend to lean our way," Quinlan said. He said Democrats are spending money in the 9th District as insurance because elections can shift at any moment. Arizona Republican Party spokesman Tim Sifert said it's encouraging to see the GOP leading in early ballots. The party not only leads in the number of ballots, but also in the percentage of voters turning out. But it's still a tight race, he said. Democrats are turning out in greater numbers in the 9th District than elsewhere in Maricopa County. "It's clearly a competitive district," Sifert said. "Those independents are enough to swing the election one way or the other." The 9th District counts come from both state parties as of Friday. The 1st and 2nd District counts are from the Democratic Party.
I am kind of surprised that this Arizona Republic editorial seems to agree with my position that government sucks, even thought they didn't come out and say it exactly that way. One of my usual lines is that voting is a waste of time because you usually have a guy named Stalin running as the Democrat and a guy named Hitler running as the Republican and either way you vote your screwed. We need a "None of the Above" or NOTA on every ballet and if "None of the Above" or NOTA wins the office should be unfilled for the term. http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/2014/10/31/vote-arizona-general-election/18204675/ C'mon, people, just hold your noses and vote Jennifer Dokes, viewpoints editor | azcentral.com 4 p.m. MST October 31, 2014 Voting has been a hold-your-nose affair for several election cycles. This one seems worse, mostly because of the amount political muck put at voters' feet. It was deep. Thanks to those who trudged through it to do the essential work of choosing leaders and answering questions that define us. Too many people won't bother. Shame on campaign gurus for creating a culture of crud. Shame on non-voters for not even bothering to hold their noses.
Note to feds: Fourth Amendment isn't a 'guideline' About 2 weeks ago I was falsely arrested by Chandler piggy Ariel Werther. She didn't even think twice before ordering another Chandler pig to search me, violating my 4th Amendment rights against an illegal search. I was never told why I was falsely arrested, and I was un-handcuffed and released after about 15 minutes. For more on that check out this URL - http://bad-chandler-cop.100webspace.net/false_arrest_oct_17_2014/0_index.php http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2014/10/31/las-vegas-fbi-fourth-amendment/18272797/ Note to feds: Fourth Amendment isn't a 'guideline' Editorial board, The Republic | azcentral.com 7:12 p.m. MST November 1, 2014 Our View: Why shouldn't the FBI be able to snoop anywhere it sees a need? Oh, probably because we fought a revolution over that. FBI agents in Las Vegas suspected that a group of men renting three luxury villas at Caesar's Palace were up to no good. The men had taken a huge cache of electronic equipment into the villas. One recently had been expelled from Macao — a gambling mecca in China comparable to Las Vegas — for running an illegal gambling operation. All the evidence, circumstantial as it was, suggested an illegal online sports-betting business had been set up. The FBI agents were pretty sure they knew what was going on. The hotel engineers, savvy as they were about the technology of gambling, were pretty sure, too. So was the casino security team. But this being the United States, where the Fourth Amendment protects citizens against capricious intrusions on our privacy by the state, the FBI agents couldn't simply march into the villas. They needed a warrant. But their suspicions did not meet legal standards for obtaining one. What to do? Well, the agents arranged to have the Internet service to the villas turned off. Then, pretending to be cable-company repairmen, they entered the villas, surreptitiously photographed all the electronic gear and then used that evidence to obtain a warrant and arrest the men. Defense lawyers for the eight men contend they are eager to go to court to challenge the constitutionality of the FBI ruse. Their enthusiasm appears warranted. There often may be a thin line between legal sting operations and illegal searches and seizures. But, in this case, it looks like the FBI jumped over that line with both feet. The FBI's Vegas caper could be chalked up to local over-enthusiasm for defending a vital local industry — gambling — against illicit competition. But the incident didn't occur in a vacuum. It came to light on the heels of at least two other dodgy federal "sting" operations, including one that included creating a fake "news" story attributed to the Associated Press. The AP complained that the use of its identity in the sting "undermined AP's credibility." Federal disregard for the privacy of its citizens has been getting a great deal of attention of late. But have those revelations changed the behavior of federal snoops? It doesn't seem so. The National Security Agency meta-data-gathering practices revealed by Edward Snowden embarrassed federal spy agencies. But they have not yet prompted any significant reforms of agency practices. First Amendment as well as Fourth Amendment issues arise. The Justice Department's pursuit of government whistleblowers resulted in a virtual bulldozing of federal restraints on investigating the press. In 2013, Attorney General Eric Holder approved phone taps on 20 AP reporters, including their home phones and the telephones of their parents, as well as an aggressive, round-the-clock monitoring of journalist James Rosen of Fox News. Holder personally approved an investigation that deemed Rosen an "aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator" in a criminal scheme to receive secret government information. They treated him like a spy, not a reporter. MACEACHERN: Why is media ignoring Attkisson hacking? Reporter Sharyl Attkisson depicts chilling evidence in her book, "Stonewalled," that her personal computer and a computer at the offices of her former employer, CBS News, were hacked and compromised by professional hackers using protocols consistent with those used by federal snoops. CBS News in 2013 confirmed that its own investigators found such evidence. None of this necessarily suggests a government conspiracy to abandon the Constitution. But it certainly suggests that federal agents are seeing the bedrock limitations in a less deferential light. More what you call guidelines than actual rules. Thing is, they are actual rules — rules that, we expect, a judge will explain in some detail soon to Justice lawyers in Las Vegas.
Chandler Officer killed in crash fought DUI Translation: Chandler pig David Payne was an expert at helping the city of Chandler raise millions of dollars by shaking down people for victimless DUI crimes. Chandler piggy David Payne will be missed because of the loss of revenue to the city rulers. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/chandler/2014/10/31/chandler-officer-killed-motorcycle-abrk/18232835/ Chandler officer killed in motorcycle wreck Tyler Fingert and Jim Walsh, The Republic | azcentral.com 11:30 p.m. MST October 31, 2014 The death marks the second time in a week that the agency has lost an officer in a motorcycle collision. Chandler, its Police Department and officers from across Arizona were reeling after two officers from the southeast Valley city were killed in a four-day span. Both officers died while riding motorcycles. David Payne, a motorcycle officer, was pronounced dead at the scene early Friday after police said he was rear- ended by a suspected impaired driver at a red light while working a DUI enforcement operation. Officer Bryant Holmes was struck at a Gilbert intersection Tuesday while riding his motorcycle to work. Gilbert police said he was hit by a 20-year-old man who ran a red light while driving a Jeep Cherokee. Alberto Gutier, director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, said Payne was working a special Halloween driving-under-the-influence enforcement campaign when he was killed. He said it is especially tragic that Brian Yazzie, the man accused of hitting Payne, was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol. Detective Seth Tyler, a Chandler police spokesman and former motor officer, said Payne "really personified the job. He had a way of talking to people so he could reach people. He had a level of compassion dealing with these individuals. He would consider and protect the dignity of the people he arrested." [Translation - He was an expert at tricking people into confessing to victimless DUI crimes, which helped the city of Chandler raise millions in revenue] Chandler police Sgt. Tom Lovejoy, president of the Chandler Lieutenants and Sergeants Association [isn't Lovejoy the dumb Chandler pig that killed his police dog by leaving him in a hot car during an Arizona summer???], said his organization recently partnered with the Chandler Law Enforcement Association to hire Under the Shield, a 24-hour counseling service. He said counselors went to the scenes of both fatalities to assist officers. [translation - Chandler piggies are unhappy because they will have to work twice as hard to raise the revenue lost from Chandler pig David Payne death] "Everyone around here is just stunned," Lovejoy said. "They are just very sad." Lovejoy had the unenviable job of speaking to the officers' survivors and helping arrange their funerals. Brian Yazzie arrested for manslaughter in Chandler Officer David Payne’s death. "I think they are most overwhelmed by the support of the community and the support of the police family,'' Lovejoy said after meeting with Payne's family. "He was born to serve in every aspect. Everything about that man was serving his country and his community.'' Police said Payne, 37, was sitting on his police motorcycle at a red light at about 12:40 a.m. Friday when a car rear-ended him at the intersection of Chandler Boulevard and Pennington Drive. Payne was taken to a hospital, where he died less than an hour later. Police arrested Yazzie, 31, of Tempe, on suspicion of manslaughter and hit-and-run for his role in the collision, said Sgt. Joe Favazzo, a Chandler police spokesman. Yazzie had an 11-month-old child inside his car at the time of the collision, Favazzo said. Investigators believe alcohol was a factor, and Yazzie was driving on a license that was suspended in 2010, according to Chandler police. Payne was a seven-year veteran with Chandler police and began his career as a detention officer before moving on to patrol and finally serving as a motorcycle officer, Favazzo said. Payne was a certified drug-recognition expert who served as a trainer for other officers. [translation - he is loved for helping the city of Chandler raise millions in revenue by arresting people for victimless DUI crimes] Chandler Police Chief Sean Duggan said the two motorcycle collisions represent different scenarios, but "we will review our policies and do whatever we can to protect our officers." The two deaths brought bad memories to state Department Public Safety Sgt. Jimmy Chavez. His agency has lost two officers in a year several times, sometimes during the same incident. "It's a family and a brotherhood,'' said Chavez, president of the Arizona Highway Patrol Association. "It's certainly a traumatic experience. It's definitely something that hits at your emotional core.'' Two accounts have been set up for the families of Payne and Holmes, and donors can make contributions at any branch office of Arizona Bank and Trust, according to a police spokesman. Officer David Payne, account #9361089137, Family Support Group, Inc, Fallen Officer Support Fund.; and Officer Bryant Holmes, Account #9361089057.
Don't these pigs have any REAL criminals to hunt down??? Like some guy poking lava with a golf club is going to cause the downfall of Western Civilization as we know it!!!!! http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-hawaii-lava-couple-20141031-story.html Hawaii pair took photos, prodded fiery lava with golf clubs: police Two Hawaii residents have been charged with trespassing after police found the man and woman snapping pictures within five feet of a slow-moving river of molten lava that is threatening a nearby village, police said. Hawaii County police responding to a report on Thursday evening also found the pair with two golf clubs, each with a ball of hardened lava stuck to its end, in the vicinity of the lava flow north of Pahoa village. Another Hawaii man, 56-year-old Glen Bousquet, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper that he had ventured across restricted lands several times to snap a selfie photo of himself standing near the flaming lava. Hordes of people have flocked to see the lava flow from Kilauea volcano that has been creeping toward the Pahoa community for more than four months, said Darryl Oliveira, director of Hawaii County Civil Defense. The volcanic flow made little progress on Friday, Oliveira said. While the leading edge has paused some 40 yards from a residence, a handful of breakouts upslope continued to spread out along the margins of the main flow, he said. One breakout continued its march toward the solid waste transfer station and by Friday afternoon was about 25 yards from the fence. Another breakout razed a cattle feeding station. Police said Ruth Crawford, 65, of Ainaloa, and Stephen Koch, 59, of Nanawale, had crossed private property to reach the viewing location and were arrested on Thursday. They were charged with second-degree criminal trespassing and released after posting $250 bail each. No homes have been destroyed and no injuries have been reported. The leading edge of the flow has paused about 185 yards from Pahoa Village Road, the main thoroughfare through the old sugar plantation. Kilauea has erupted continuously from its Pu'u O'o vent since 1983, with its latest lava flow beginning on June 27. The last home destroyed by lava on the Big Island was at the Royal Gardens subdivision in Kalapana in 2012. Reuters
F*ck '"de-felonize" all drug use' we need to RE-LEGALIZE all drugs. Just like it was before 1914!!! http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-ff-pol-1101-proposition47-20141101-story.html#page=1 Prop. 47 puts state at center of a national push for sentencing reform By Paige St. John contact the reporter The statewide initiative on Tuesday's ballot to reduce penalties for illicit drug use and petty theft is part of a multimillion-dollar campaign to revise sentencing laws in California and across the nation. Five major foundations, headlined by a philanthropic group run by New York billionaire George Soros, have poured millions of dollars to push for changes in California's policies on crime and imprisonment. The campaign is aimed at shaping public opinion, media coverage, research and grass-roots activism on the issue. Proposition 47 would reclassify possession of heroin, methamphetamine and other illegal drugs, and theft of $950 or less, as misdemeanors in California. If the measure passes, California will become the first state to "de-felonize" all drug use, opening the door for similar efforts in other states. "We hope we're setting a precedent for the nation," said Lynne Lyman, state director of the National Drug Policy Alliance, an active supporter of Proposition 47. "We are hoping it will signal that we don't need to be so tough on crime all the time." Proponents of the ballot measure have raised $9 million — at least $2 million of which came from two of the foundations — for their campaign thus far. Opponents have raised just $526,000, state election records show. That direct support, used for television advertising, gathering petition signatures and other campaign expenses, is dwarfed by the same foundations' larger funding of nonprofit advocacy, The Times found through interviews and federal tax records and internal documents. Since 2011, the foundations have awarded at least $14 million in grants to almost three dozen California-based groups that are earmarked for "criminal justice reform" or to influence public opinion. Soros' Open Society Foundations in 2012 also gave a $50-million grant to the National Drug Policy Alliance to "advance drug policy reform" in states across the nation. The coordination by a few wealthy foundations to change public policy represents a legitimate but worrying form of political influence, said Robert McGuire, who tracks such activity for the Center for Responsive Politics. The foundation grants are not disclosed publicly in the same way campaign contributions are reported. Foundation nonprofit tax filings often do not become public until two years after money is spent. "Nonprofits are allowed to do this, but voters have a right to know what interest is trying to get them to vote a certain way," McGuire said. The California effort was initiated by Tim Silard, who ran alternative sentencing programs for California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris when she was San Francisco district attorney, and Dan Zingale, who was chief of staff to then-first lady Maria Shriver. Silard had taken over the Rosenberg Foundation, a Bay Area philanthropy known for seed grants to social justice projects, such as jobs for felons. Zingale is in charge of a new advocacy push by the $3-billion California Endowment, created to promote better health, to fund "change-making" activism, starting with federal health insurance, immigration laws and now criminal policy. Silard and Zingale said they sought a strategy that could break the grip of "tough on crime" politics in California. In 1994, California voters overwhelmingly passed one of the nation's first and toughest "three strikes" laws, mandating 25-to-life sentences for three-time felons. At the time, the violent crime rate was at an all-time high, and the memory of the 1992 Los Angeles riots and abduction and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma by a lifelong felon were still fresh in voters' minds. Coalition members say they are driven by a belief that California — and the rest of the nation — locks up too many people for too long and that public safety would be better served by putting resources toward job training, mental health and drug addiction treatment. An opening to change that trend surfaced in the U.S. Supreme Court's 2011 ruling that conditions in California's overcrowded prisons were unconstitutionally dangerous, upholding a lower-court order to reduce the prison population. A $25-billion state budget shortfall derailed plans to build more prisons. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown's remedy — to divert a quarter of the state's felon population to county jails — provided what Silard called the "perfect storm" to bring about change. By early 2012, a four-year, $16-million campaign to change California criminal policy was launched. The California Endowment, the Rosenberg Foundation and Soros' Open Society Foundations were joined by the Ford Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies, which is backed by Chuck Feeney, a founder of Duty Free Shoppers Ltd. With more than $3.7 billion in assets and a record of financing drug legalization efforts around the world, Soros' foundations were the biggest player. A Soros representative was put on the three-person board steering the "campaign," according to a campaign official. The coalition created an organization called Californians for Safety & Justice to coordinate the campaign. The organization operates under the umbrella of a San Francisco-based nonprofit clearinghouse, which effectively shields its donor list and financial operations from public view. The organization's initial strategy was to lobby counties overwhelmed by an influx of convicted felons to local jails under the governor's new prison policy. The group urged the local governments to shun jail construction and instead divert the felons to monitored release and rehabilitation programs. The coalition hoped to use this as a springboard to bring about "systemic criminal justice reform in California," especially sentencing reform, according to internal foundation records. The foundations used grants to assemble a network of community groups, state organizations and think tanks to join the Californians for Safety and Justice campaign to change state criminal justice policy. Funding went to student groups at UC Berkeley, to inner-city church ministries and to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. An emphasis was placed on advocacy groups that work in low-income communities: Some $800,000 was awarded to the National Council of La Raza and to South L.A.'s Community Coalition to organize and advocate for changes to the criminal justice system. In 2013, Soros provided money to create a new organization called Vote Safe to launch Proposition 47. Soros, a hedge fund manager widely known for bankrolling progressive campaigns and a decade-long battle against the war on drugs, has a representative on Vote Safe's three-member advisory board. The campaign manager for both Citizens for Safety and Justice and Vote Safe is Lenore Anderson, another former aide to Kamala Harris who once ran the public safety offices in San Francisco and Oakland. Anderson said the ballot initiative was encouraged by polls that showed a softening in public attitudes toward criminal punishment. "The whole country right now is going through transformation in attitudes on criminal justice," she said. "We felt it was a big moment." Violent crime in California had dropped precipitously, hitting a 45-year low in 2011. In the fall of 2012, California voters passed another Soros-backed initiative to lift three-strikes penalties for nonviolent felons. We hope we're setting a precedent for the nation. We are hoping it will signal that we don't need to be so tough on crime all the time. - Lynne Lyman, state director of the National Drug Policy Alliance, an active supporter of Proposition 47 The Ford Foundation has made criminal-justice issues a priority in recent years. In 2012, it provided a $1-million, two-year grant to the Los Angeles Times to increase news coverage of criminal justice, immigration and the Southwest border. The grant was later extended for an additional year, and part of the grant money has helped fund reporting by the author of this article. The Times said that under the terms of the grant, it has sole control over coverage. The Ford Foundation also provided a grant to an independent nonprofit group, the California Budget Project, for a fiscal analysis that would "advance reform of California's correctional system," according to Ford Foundation records. The California Endowment provided a grant to the nonprofit Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice to produce policy briefs on the financial impacts of Proposition 47. Citizens for Safety and Justice also was directed by the California Endowment to try to place articles in newspapers, including 10 to 15 editorials and five news stories "on the need for deeper justice reforms," according to grant records provided by the California Endowment. lRelated Prop. 47 would cut penalties for 1 in 5 criminals in California The California Endowment also spent $620,000 on a communications campaign that emphasized injustice in minority communities. The effort included a social media campaign that pitted state funding for prisons against funding for schools, according to reports released by the endowment. Supporters of Proposition 47 also emphasize that drug laws have a disparate impact on Latino and African American communities. Lyman of the Drug Policy Alliance hammered on that point during a Proposition 47 rally at a Los Angeles church a week ago. "The war on drugs and mass incarceration is just an extension of slavery," she said. paige.stjohn@latimes.com Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
They are above the law, they are royal government rulers!!!! Well, at least that's how the probably feel about it!!! Again more of the old "Do as I say, not as I do" from our religious leaders, government masters and police??? http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-county-supervisors-brown-act-violation-20141031-story.html L.A. County supervisors violated open-meeting law, D.A. finds Los Angeles County supervisors violated the state’s open-meeting law earlier this year by discussing compensation negotiations behind closed doors without properly informing the public, according to the district attorney’s office. The D.A. investigation followed a July meeting where Supervisor Gloria Molina said she thought it was inappropriate that the board had discussed in closed session an increase of taxpayer contributions to a top art official’s compensation package. Deputy Dist. Atty. Bjorn Dodd concluded it was not improper for the board to discuss the matter in closed session, but that the supervisors violated the state's open-meeting law, known as the Ralph M. Brown Act, by failing to include those discussions on the public agenda before the meeting. Eric Preven, a county resident who often scrutinizes board business and unsuccessfully ran for supervisor, filed a complaint with the district attorney’s public integrity division after hearing Molina's comments this summer. He said he was pleased with the recent finding. “This goes to accountability,” he said. Failing to put the item on the agenda robs the public of the chance to bring up the issue with the board before they meet in closed session for discussion, said Terry Francke, general counsel for the open-government group Californians Aware. Related story: Head of L.A. schools' technology division resigns Last week, Dodd wrote to county supervisors informing them of his finding. He told them he expected his letter would prompt them to be more careful when preparing agendas and said he didn’t plan to take any further action on the issue. County counsel Mark Saladino said he agreed with the D.A.’s finding, adding that the county had included the discussions on the agendas for several closed session meetings but had done so incorrectly. They were listed as department head performance evaluations, he said, instead of as a labor negotiation. “If that’s the way they want it on the agenda, then sorry, we goofed," he said. “We’ll get it on correctly in the future.'“ The closed session discussions were about the county's contributions to a compensation package for Laura Zucker, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission's executive director. The recent violation by the board adds to the county's checkered history of complying with the Brown Act. In 2002, the county inadvertently released documents to The Times revealing that the board had held closed-door meetings to discuss killing a ballot measure. A couple of years later, then-Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley concluded that supervisors broke the law by deciding in secret to close a local trauma center. (A Superior Court judge ultimately disagreed with Cooley.) Several open-government experts criticized supervisors again in 2007 for selecting a headhunting firm in private. Under state law, it is a misdemeanor crime to violate the Brown Act if a government official “intends to deprive the public of information to which the member knows or has reason to know the public is entitled.” Despite the county's controversial record, Dodd said the district attorney’s office can't take further action unless prosecutors see a pattern of similar violations. “At this point there’s nothing else we can do,” he said, adding that “in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t really a big one.” Supervisors Don Knabe and Mark Ridley-Thomas didn’t respond to calls for comment, and spokesmen for Mike Antonovich, Zev Yaroslavsky and Molina declined to comment. For news from the Los Angeles County criminal courts, follow @marisagerber
CHP officer resigns - Is charged with felonies If your a pig lover don't worry, the charges will almost certainly be dropped. Or the piggy will get a slap on the wrist. And the former CHP piggy will be hired by some other police department to terrorize people. http://www.mercurynews.com/my-town/ci_26838883/dublin-chp-officer-charged-felonies-stealing-explicit-photos CHP officer resigns - Is charged with felonies Dublin CHP officer resigns, is charged with felonies for stealing explicit photos from female arrestees By Malaika Fraley and Matthias Gafni Posted: 10/31/2014 02:28:17 PM PDT MARTINEZ -- A Dublin-based CHP officer has resigned from the agency and was charged Friday with two felonies for allegedly secretly forwarding himself explicit photos from female arrestees' phones and then sharing the images with colleagues. Officer Sean Harrington, 35, of Martinez, faces up to three years and eight months in prison under the two counts of computer theft filed against him Friday afternoon in Contra Costa County Superior Court. Harrington submitted his resignation to the CHP on Wednesday, according to a statement released by his attorney Friday afternoon. Contra Costa deputy district attorney Barry Grove said his office is declining to file charges at this time against CHP Officers Robert Hazelwood and Dion Simmons who, according to court documents, each received stolen photos from Harrington. Grove called the conversation between the officers about the women and their stolen photos in text messages "unethical, unappealling, and maybe immoral," but not in violation of the penal code. In a statement from his attorney, Michael Rains, Harrington offered "his deepest apologies to the women whose cellular telephones were accessed or reviewed," and apologized to law enforcement colleagues, saying he was " embarrassed to have tarnished the reputation of the California Highway Patrol and law enforcement generally." An attorney for two of the women arrested welcomed the charges. "We are pleased to hear of the felony charging decision today by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office with respect to CHP Officer Harrington, and agree that those charges are merited by the shocking evidence and admissions in the search warrants," said Attorney Richard Madsen Jr. —Although, the investigations are ongoing, we respectfully disagree with the interpretation of the evidence pertaining to Officers Hazelwood and Simmons. Given that Harrington is charged with the theft of private images, it would seem intellectually inconsistent that the knowing and voluntary receipt of those same images would not also constitute criminal activity." The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office first began investigating the officers in early October after a 23-year-old San Ramon woman came forward to report that Harrington secretly stole her nude and partially clad photos while she was in custody for a DUI arrest in August. The investigation has since widened, with the Alameda County District Attorney's Office launching its own probe this week. Harrington is being charged for allegedly stealing the San Ramon woman's photos, and a photo from a 19-year-old woman who was arrested in August for a suspected DUI crash in Livermore. He is also under investigation related to a third woman's complaint this week that her phone may have been tampered by Harrington when he arrested her. According to court documents, Harrington told investigators that nude photo stealing and swapping is a "game" he learned while stationed at the CHP's Los Angeles office, and it's a practice that continues at the Dublin CHP office where he, Hazelwood and Simmons worked. Harrington allegedly admitted to doing this for "several years" on a half-dozen occasions. A second, unnamed officer has been pulled from patrol duties, the CHP said. He expected to turn himself in Monday. Chief Avery Browne of the CHP's Golden Gate Division said that he believes any "game" of secretly trading explicit cellphone photos of female suspects is isolated to the Dublin office. "As an organization we expect the highest level of integrity and moral strength from everyone in the California Highway Patrol, and there is no place in our organization for individuals who chose to manipulate the law and departmental policy for their personal gain," Browne said in a statement. He said the department would continue its internal investigation and would discipline any officer involved, including firing them. In a Friday release, Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson said they interviewed several other officers at the CHP Dublin office, including forensic examinations of their phones. "Based on our review of the evidence gathered to date, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office will not be filing criminal charges against any other CHP officer," he said. "Should additional evidence later be obtained that an officer violated the law, he/she will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law." Contra Costa prosecutors have also said they are only investigating crimes that may have happened within their jurisdiction. The attorney representing the 23-year-old San Ramon woman and the third woman, along with the public defenders in both counties, have said they aren't reassured by the CHP's stance that the practice isn't widespread. The CHP has also acknowledged two officers were found to have done similar acts in Southern California in 2012, with one losing his job and the other resigning before the probe ended. Peterson said it was the first time in Contra Costa County history a law enforcement officer was charged with this type of crime. He said he expected Harrington to appear in court for a formal arraignment soon. Contact Malaika Fraley at 925-234-1684 or mfraley@bayareanewsgroup.com. Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026 or mgafni@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Probe of FBI agent leads to release of convicted drug dealers from prison You think you're going to get a fair trial??? Don't make me laugh!!!! http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/probe-of-fbi-agent-leads-to-convicted-drug-dealers-released-from-prison/2014/10/31/48e7b1e6-6064-11e4-9f3a-7e28799e0549_story.html?hpid=z1 Probe of FBI agent leads to release of convicted drug dealers from prison By Peter Hermann October 31 at 5:36 PM An investigation into possible misconduct by an FBI agent has forced authorities to quietly release at least a dozen convicts serving prison sentences for distributing drugs in the District and its suburbs, according to law enforcement officials, court documents and defense attorneys. In addition, several suspects awaiting trial on drug charges and a man convicted but not yet sentenced have also been freed. Officials said more cases that could involve the agent are under scrutiny, including one involving 21 defendants. None of the suspects or felons have had their charges dropped or convictions overturned. Most are on home detention in what many of their attorneys describe as a holding pattern, awaiting the outcome of the investigation into the agent, who was assigned to a D.C. police task force. The scope and type of alleged misconduct by the agent have not been revealed, but defense lawyers involved in the cases described the mass freeing of felons as virtually unprecedented — and an indication that convictions could be in jeopardy. Prosecutors are periodically faced with having to drop cases over police misconduct, but it is unusual to free those who have been found guilty. A law enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the agent has been suspended indefinitely. The agent has not been criminally charged. The U.S. attorney’s office for the District said in a statement Friday that it is “conducting a case-by-case review of matters in which the FBI agent at issue played some role.” “We have already begun taking steps to address this issue and are committed to doing everything that is necessary to preserve the integrity of the criminal justice process,” the statement said. The decision to release the defendants and convicts was made with little or vague public notice. In one case, eight convicts and one defendant who pleaded not guilty were released to home detention Monday, with no indication publicly filed in court. One man who had served nine months of a 10-year sentence was sent back to the District from a federal prison in North Carolina. In another case, a cryptic court document ordered the “immediate release from incarceration” on Oct. 17 of four convicts and others with pending trials for the “duration of a current investigation.” “I’ve never, ever seen something like this before,” said Robert Lee Jenkins Jr., a lawyer from Alexandria who is representing Anthony McDuffie, 50, who pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge and has been released pending sentencing. “It suggests to me that whatever is going on is very significant.” Said another defense lawyer, Gregory English, whose client was released as he awaits trial: “This is stunning.” Among the cases was one that the head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office highlighted in a news release last year as the culmination of a year-long investigation that police said traced heroin and cocaine from suppliers in California to street dealers in the District, Maryland and Virginia. In all, 11 pounds of the drugs were seized in the searches of 26 homes and storage facilities, along with five guns. Affidavits filed in the case show that police listened in on cellphone calls during money and drug drops at a Metro station in Northeast and a barbecue restaurant in Northwest and that the dealers frequently exchanged bundles of cash totaling as much as $85,000. Police also alleged that the group was involved in identity theft involving hundreds of credit cards, Social Security cards and driver’s licenses. U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. hailed the indictments last year and said police were “able to remove guns, drugs and dangerous people from the streets and take another step toward making our community safer.” Now, all 13 people indicted — including five who pleaded guilty — are free from jail or prison. One is the alleged ringleader, Lester Pryor Jr., 63, who is awaiting trial. English, who is representing Brandon Beale, 58, in the Pryor case, said he was planning to fight the charges before the revelations. He said Beale, who has been freed pending trial, was an addict, not a distributor, and he plans to argue that authorities targeted “what they thought was a group of major dealers who turned out to be a very small one,” and that the others indicted were mostly users. “It cost the FBI a lot of money to run a wiretap, and they didn’t get what they wanted,” said English, a former federal prosecutor. He said his case is “in a holding pattern” but added: “I’d be surprised if the prosecutor proceeds with the case. If they do, our case has become infinitely stronger.” In a statement, the spokesman for the FBI’s Washington Field Office said allegations regarding the agent first surfaced the week of Sept. 29 and involved “possible misconduct.” The statement said authorities “took immediate steps to address the incident” that included notifying prosecutors who had cases involving the agent. The Justice Department’s inspector general’s office is leading the investigation into the agent. FBI officials declined further comment, and D.C. police declined to comment. Some earlier cases of police misconduct in the District have had sweeping implications. In 1987, authorities dropped 300 pending criminal cases amid an investigation into D.C. police officers skimming drugs and money seized during raids. In that same case, convictions were dismissed against 12 who had already been sentenced. Authorities said they were looking into virtually every case in which the agent, who has not been publicly identified, was involved. It was unclear what role the agent has had in the cases thus far. One of those cases involves alleged drug kingpin Angel Costello and 11 others indicted with him on drug charges, according to officials familiar with the investigation. Although there was no notice publicly filed in U.S. District Court indicating a change of status for the defendants, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows eight people convicted in the case were freed Monday — months and years before completing their sentences. Costello has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. In the Pryor case, a three-page order in the public court file calls for the release of five defendants who pleaded guilty, four of whom had already been sentenced. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton describes the “court’s authorization to order the [defendants’] immediate release from incarceration for the duration of a current investigation being conducted by the government that resulted from its acquisition of new evidence.” He added that the release was in the “interest of justice.” Several defense lawyers interviewed said they are in a difficult position because they know little of the allegations involving the agent. Many of the defendants have what are called “status” hearings in the next few weeks during which lawyers said they hope to learn additional details. Prosecutors could still move forward with some or all of the cases but would face an additional hurdle of proving that any misconduct on the part of the agent did not have any impact on the charges. Officials said decisions will be made on the merits of the case against each suspect. Defense lawyer Ron Earnest, who is representing James “Sweet Baby James” Burkley, 59, said he readily recommended that his client accept a seven-year prison sentence for his alleged role in the Pryor drug case. Burkley pleaded guilty Sept. 23, a week before the FBI said the alleged misconduct became known. Earnest, who has an office in Riverdale, Md., said that in late October his client called him from the D.C. jail, where he was awaiting placement in a federal prison in North Carolina. He said Burkley told him that co-defendants in the case were being released, including the alleged kingpin. Earnest said he called prosecutors and was soon summoned to court. He said the judge told him and other defense lawyers that “something was wrong with the investigation” and “everybody would be released, including the people who pleaded guilty.” Earnest said his next step is to file a motion asking that Burkley’s conviction and sentence be vacated so “that my client can get back to his life. . . . But it’s also possible that the government doesn’t want to invalidate the conviction.” Clarence Williams, Jennifer Jenkins, Justin Jouvenal, Keith L. Alexander, Ann E. Marimow and Sari Horwitz contributed to this report.
In tight elections, groups try shame as turnout tactic Because such a small percent of the registered voters actually show up and vote the name of the game is getting all the people with your views to vote so your side can win the election. The side that wins is the side that gets more of their people to vote. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/10/30/interest-groups-experiment-with-shaming-people-to-vote/18179423/ In tight elections, groups try shame as turnout tactic Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY 4:35 p.m. EDT October 30, 2014 WASHINGTON — In the frantic race to turn out voters on Election Day, interest groups are relying on new forms of public shaming to get you to the polls. In Alaska and Colorado, for instance, conservative groups have sent out mailers that compare your voting record to your neighbors' voting histories. The Alaska mailer, funded by a super PAC with a Texas address, goes further and threatens to send an updated report card after the election that will tell your friends, neighbors and work colleagues whether you actually cast a ballot. In Oregon, a coalition of unions and liberal groups is taking peer pressure to a new level with a novel app — didtheyvote.org — that allows users to check their Facebook friends' names against Oregon's official voting records to see whether they have voted. (Registered voters in Oregon — along with those in Washington and Colorado — already have received their ballots by mail and must return them by Tuesday.) Getting nagged to vote by your social media friends "is a far more welcoming contact than someone you don't know knocking on your door," said Ben Unger, executive director of Our Oregon, the group behind the new app that is aimed at getting young people to vote in a state with a high-profile U.S. Senate and governor's race. "Young people are harder to reach at their phones and harder to reach at their doors," Unger said. The Facebook prod "is an effective way to remind them to get their ballots in the mail." USATODAY 2014 Election Forecast & Predictions As invasive as the social pressure seems, the practice is legal. How people vote is secret, but whether they have is generally public information. Candidates, political parties and legions of consultants long have purchased these public voter files to determine who already has cast ballots as they refine their get-out-the-vote efforts in the final stretch to Election Day. In Oregon, for instance, more than two dozen individuals and groups pay to receive daily updates of the state's voter file, according to the secretary of State's office. Just because it's legal, doesn't mean everyone approves of using the data in this way. Paul Gronke, a political scientist and director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Portland, Ore., said the voting app is an inventive method to reach voters and is far cheaper than rounding up hundreds of people to knock on doors. But, he said, it "does feel like Big Brother is looking over your shoulder. ... It's inventively creepy and appropriate for the Halloween season." Residents cast their votes at Vernon Park Mall in Kinston, Residents cast their votes at Vernon Park Mall in Kinston, N.C., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, the first day of early voting in the state.(Photo: Zach Frailey, AP) To be sure, political parties, candidates and interest groups are largely deploying traditional methods across the country to turn out the vote. In North Carolina alone, the League of Conservation Voters is spending $5 million to boost endangered Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan in a tossup race with Republican challenger Thom Tillis. The environmental group plans to knock on more than 640,000 doors by Election Day, spokesman Jeff Gohringer said. In Colorado, Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group affiliated with billionaire industrialist David Koch, has knocked on nearly 200,000 doors, said Dustin Zvonek, the group's state director. The organization, however, also supplemented its efforts by sending thousands of report card-style mailers to conservative-leaning Coloradans who only vote occasionally. The mailers compare their voting histories with the perfect records of some of their neighbors. Zvonek said Americans for Prosperity is not pushing a partisan message, but wants to remind voters that "it's an important election here in Colorado." The state is home to two closely watched contests: the hard-fought battle between incumbent Democrat Gov. John Hickenlooper and Republican Bob Beauprez and the tight race between Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall and Republican Rep. Cory Gardner that could determine which party controls the Senate. In Alaska, home to another hotly contested Senate race, the Opportunity Alliance PAC's mailing opens with this line: "What if your friends, your neighbors and your community knew whether you voted?" The group's treasurer, Cabell Hobbs, declined to discuss the organization. "I just do the accounting and the FEC (Federal Election Commission) reports," he told USA TODAY. "It's just a policy of mine that I don't speak to the press." Most of its spending has targeted Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley. Its biggest funder is a retired business executive in Oregon John Bryan, who donated $200,000 to the super PAC in May. He is a major contributor to Tea Party-affiliated PACs and supports foundations that back charter schools. Bryan did not respond to messages from USA TODAY. He has told the Associated Press that he wants Republicans to gain the Senate majority and said he was unaware of plans to distribute the mailers. Gail Fenumiai, director of Alaska's elections division, said her office has received "dozens and dozens" of complaints since the mailers began appearing last week. Two people have canceled their voter registrations in protest, she said. "What they are doing isn't illegal, but whether it's tasteful, I would question that," she said of the mailers. "It has upset voters, and that's the last thing we want to see happen." The language in the Opportunity Alliance's mailer mirrors one used in a 2006 experiment that tested whether public pressure inspired people to vote, said Chris Larimer, an associate professor at the University of Northern Iowa who conducted the study with two other political scientists at Yale. Voting by those who received the mailing was 8.1 percentage points higher than those who did not, the researchers found. "People are more likely to comply with social norms when people are watching," Larimer said. Follow @fschouten on Twitter.
E-mails: VA secretary sought changes in Phoenix report More of the old "Do as I say, not as I do" from our religious leaders, government masters and police??? http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2014/10/31/va-secretary-emails-sought-changes-phoenix-report/18269065/ E-mails: VA secretary sought changes in Phoenix report Dennis Wagner, The Republic | azcentral.com 9:52 p.m. MST October 31, 2014 A top Department of Veterans Affairs official and a White House appointee successfully pressed for changes in an inspector general's report on the Phoenix VA medical center. According to newly released documents, the report was amended to add a finding that there was no conclusive evidence that delays in care resulted in veteran deaths. In recent congressional testimony, acting VA Inspector General Richard Griffin adamantly denied that changes in the final report, which downplayed links between delayed care and up to 40 veteran deaths, had been "dictated" by VA headquarters. But e-mails released Friday by the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs show that Sloan Gibson, who had been acting VA secretary, personally corresponded with Griffin in early August, asking him to amend the report. Specifically, Gibson asked the inspector general to add findings about a Phoenix whistle-blower's claim that up to 40 veterans died awaiting care. E-mails show White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors, appointed by President Barack Obama this summer to monitor the VA scandal, also urged the change. The e-mails also asked the OIG to share its planned "message" to the media about veterans' deaths. Once the report was revised to include new language, records show,Assistant Inspector General John Daigh sent an e-mail to a VA administrator, asking, "Was the message on the deaths well received by leadership?" Later, Gibson sent a note to Griffin, whom he addressed as "Griff." "Thanks on all counts!" for changes in the Phoenix report, he wrote. "I appreciate the focus on the 40 deaths ..." Robert McDonald was confirmed as the new VA secretary in July; Gibson returned to his post as deputy secretary. On Friday, VA officials released a statement saying the agency had no role in deciding what would be in the final report. "VA does not and cannot dictate the final content of any reports to the independent entity that authors them," the statement said. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House committee, sent a letter to the president this week asking Obama to expeditiously replace Griffin with a permanent inspector general. The position has been vacant since George Opfer retired Dec. 31. "In the midst of the largest and most damaging scandal in VA's history," Miller wrote, "it is vitally important that VA Office of Inspector General have an independent and objective leader in place to combat waste, fraud and abuse." In a separate letter to Griffin, Miller asked that his oversight committee be provided all drafts and other versions of investigations in the future. OIG spokeswoman Joanne Moffett said correspondence about the Phoenix report does not reflect "dubious motives" or indicate Gibson was trying to improperly influence the OIG. Instead, she said, it shows he was trying to ensure a thorough report. Moffett noted that inspector-general probes over the past decade repeatedly exposed scheduling fraud, yet VA administrators failed to correct the problem. As an agency leader, Gibson moved "to address wait-time issues once and for all," she said. The language with regard to 40 deaths was inserted because media had widely reported on alleged fatalities, she said, and the topic needed to be addressed publicly. It was "not at the request of VA," she added, but based on internal deliberations among OIG staffers. With regard to Miller's letters, Moffett said VA officials could not respond because they had not seen them Friday. The Aug. 26 OIG report confirmed that Phoenix VA Health Care System systematically falsified appointment records and provided untimely care to thousands of patients, some of whom suffered adverse affects. With regard to allegations that 40 veterans had died, however, the report said inspectors "were unable to conclusively assert that the absence of timely quality care caused the deaths of these veterans." In subsequent press interviews, Gibson recited that phrase as a vindication for the VA; some media reported that the finding debunked allegations by the Phoenix whistle-blower, Dr. Sam Foote. Foote never asserted that patients had died "because" of untimely treatment. He said they died while awaiting care in a dishonest system, and he asked the inspector general to investigate a potential linkage. No previous OIG report has ever listed untimely care as the cause of a death, and medical experts say that would be an impossibility: Death is caused by a disease or injury, and delayed care could only be a contributing factor. Foote testified that the OIG finding was a "whitewash" and a retaliatory smear that would discourage other potential whistle-blowers. Members of Congress also expressed skepticism about the finding, and grilled VA officials during hearings. In testimony before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Griffin repeatedly was asked if his office was pressed to revise the Phoenix report by VA headquarters. He acknowledged some "minor things" were changed as a result of consultation, but insisted no revisions were "dictated" by VA administrators.
Commission candidate Sandra Kennedy faces $100,000 IRS claim More of the old "Do as I say, not as I do" from our religious leaders, government masters and police??? I always thought Democrats loved paying taxes??? No, I think it's Democrats love OTHER people paying taxes. http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/2014/11/01/commission-candidate-sandra-kennedy-faces-irs-claim-unpaid-taxes/18307135/ Commission candidate Sandra Kennedy faces $100,000 IRS claim Ryan Randazzo, The Republic | azcentral.com 12:52 a.m. MST November 1, 2014 Sandra Kennedy, a Democratic candidate for the Arizona Corporation Commission, faces a Internal Revenue Service lawsuit seeking nearly $100,000 in payroll taxes from her failed Denny's restaurant venture in Glendale that ended four years ago. The IRS filed the claim in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, naming Kennedy and her husband, Memie Burton, responsible for federal taxes withheld from employee paychecks dating to 2007. The couple ran a Denny's restaurant that fell on hard times during the recession, and they sold assets back to the corporation in 2010. Burton has been settling debts in a private bankruptcy since that year. But the IRS, not satisfied with those proceedings, moved its claim to District Court where it can try to collect the debt from the husband and his politician wife. The tax issue came to light just ahead of Tuesday's election, where Kennedy hopes to win a second term regulating public utilities such as Arizona Public Service Co. "The IRS has determined that (Burton's) wife, Sandra Kennedy, was also a responsible person during the period in question, and therefore is also indebted to the IRS for civil penalties," the agency wrote in a court filing. The IRS is claiming a total liability of $195,000, but only because it lists identical entries for Kennedy and Burton because they both were responsible for the restaurant. "However, the IRS will only collect once," the agency's lawyers wrote. "As a result, the maximum total amount the IRS will collect from debtor or his wife for these liabilities is $97,549." Kennedy said she believed her husband's debts were being handled in his bankruptcy case. "To be honest, I know nothing about it," Kennedy said Friday. "This is all news to me. I have talked to an attorney to see what I can find out." Kennedy served one term on the commission from 2009-2012 and found the job too time- consuming to continue running a restaurant she and her husband had operated since 1995. Court documents show that in December 2008 and January 2009, the restaurant failed to make required payments to Denny's Inc. They also state that Burton spent $110,000 during the recession to keep the restaurant open and took out a $300,000 mortgage to remodel the restaurant and fix the roof. In April 2009, Denny's Inc. sued Kennedy Restaurants — the limited liability corporation that Kennedy and Burton established to run the restaurant. The corporate chain alleged breach of contract and that the restaurant was not paying proper royalties. When it terminated the franchise agreement, Denny's said the restaurant owed more than $11,000 in overdue royalties, rent and other fees. By January 2010, that debt grew to $39,000 as the unpaid fees mounted, according to court documents. "The economy went bad and that's when the business started going bad," Kennedy said. "You try to keep a business running and afloat and keep your employees employed." The suit with Denny's was dismissed in March 2010 when the parties settled. Kennedy said the chain bought back the mortgage on the building. But Burton's bankruptcy dragged on. Burton's attorneys objected to the IRS claim for $97,000 in withholding taxes, contending Burton, a doctor, did not participate in the day-to-day operations of the restaurant run by his wife. Nonetheless, Burton's team proposed a settlement last year where the IRS would be paid $29,000 immediately upon the court's approval of the bankruptcy settlement and $61,000 over the next three years. In April this year, the IRS objected to the proposed plan, asserting that the unpaid taxes needed to be treated like a priority claim to be paid in full through the bankruptcy proceeding. But the IRS also noted that Kennedy was jointly responsible for the restaurant, but the IRS could not recover her debt through Burton's bankruptcy proceeding. So the IRS moved last month to settle the tax dispute with the couple in U.S. District Court in Arizona. The suit between Kennedy Restaurants and Denny's is the subject of $1.3 million in television advertisements that have been airing ahead of Tuesday's election. A group called Save Our Future Now is running the advertisements, and Kennedy and others widely believe that utility APS is among those funding the group. The Save Our Future ads don't mention the larger IRS dispute, making it unlikely Kennedy's political enemies knew about the issue. Kennedy said the ads and the new IRS issue are not affecting her campaign for the commission. "I have worked over the years to make sure my name has always had a reflection of being a name people can trust and depend on," she said. "My husband's dealings are not my dealings."
Do the words Democrat and Republican both start with the letter "H", like in hypocrite??? http://www.azcentral.com/story/robertrobb/2014/10/31/az-dems-make-case-for-cynicism/18247947/ AZ parties make the case for cynicism about politics Robert Robb, columnist | azcentral.com 2:38 p.m. MST October 31, 2014 The idyllic case for unlimited political speech is that it creates a free marketplace for ideas, and the best ideas will prevail with robust discussion and debate. I support unlimited political speech on liberty grounds. The utilitarian argument, however, runs into real-world difficulties. In politics, often people aren't really prompting ideas they believe it. They say whatever they think will help their side win. Rarely is it as raw as the campaign mailer the Arizona Democratic Party recently sent out in the Ninth Congressional District. The mailer didn't promote its candidate, Kyrsten Sinema. Instead, it touted the Libertarian candidate in the race, Powell Gammill, in hopes he will siphon social conservative votes from the Republican challenger, Wendy Rodgers. According to the mailer, if Gammill had his way, "not a single cent of government money would go to fund an abortion for any reason." Democrats, of course, are ardently pro-choice and favor government funding of abortions for low-income women. So, the party is prompting a point of view it finds abhorrent. Want to argue we shouldn't be so cynical about politics? Don't bother. Addendum: No sooner had I posted this than reports came out that the Arizona Republican Party did the same thing in a mailer against Ron Barber in his congressional race, criticizing him for voting for budget cuts Republicans support and even thought should be deeper. Making the case for cynicism about politics is certainly a bipartisan endeavor. Reach Robb at robert.robb@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RJRobb.
More of the old "Do as I say, not as I do" from our religious leaders, government masters and police??? Hey, Officer Jeffrey Streeter has a gun and a badge. I am sure he thinks that means he has a God given right to video tape the private parts of any woman he want to videotape. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/southwest-valley/2014/10/31/goodyear-police-officer-voyeurism-arrest-abrk/18267773/ Goodyear officer arrested on voyeurism allegations Police said he filmed women while undressing in a tanning salon. Paige Shacklett, The Republic | azcentral.com 8:09 p.m. MST October 31, 2014 A Goodyear police officer was arrested on Thursday after allegedly filming unknowing naked women at an Avondale tanning salon, according to police. A Goodyear police officer was arrested on Thursday after a woman told Avondale police that she saw a strange object lurking over the wall in a tanning salon where she was undressing, according to court documents. Police said the object was a phone belonging to Jeffrey Streeter, a Goodyear officer arrested on suspicion of unlawful taping and recording and tampering with evidence. Police believe Streeter, 44, took videos of as many as 21 different women in the Desert Escape Tanning Center in Avondale. The case began to come together after a 20-year-old woman told employees that an object was poking over the dividing wall on Oct. 15, and police told her that a man — later identified as Streeter — was in the room adjacent to hers, according to police reports. The woman contacted authorities and when investigators reached Streeter, he explained that she must have seen the gun he placed on the 8-foot-tall dividing wall, records show. Detectives later said it was improbable that Streeter would place his weapon there when there was a platform in the room about 18 inches off the ground where clients could place belongings, according to court documents. Investigators contacted Streeter in Prescott on Oct. 20 to serve a search warrant and he immediately handed over his city-issued cellphone while telling the detective that his personal phone was back at his hotel, according to court documents. A detective followed Streeter back to his hotel where, upon arrival, he said he had the cellphone in his vehicle the entire time and had forgotten about it, police said. After forensic examination, it appeared the contents on the phone's memory card had been formatted in an attempt to delete the contents, according to court records. Investigators were able to recover 34 videos from the phone and 23 of those videos provided material relevant to the investigation, according to police reports. "This is not the kind of behavior that I expect or will tolerate from members of the Goodyear Police Department," Police Chief Jerry Geier said in a prepared statement. Avondale police encouraged anyone with information to contact investigators at 623-333-7000 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.
Judge refuses to stop blocking access to Jodi Arias trial Let's not let any silly First Amendment rights get in the way of Arizona sending Jodi Arias to the gas chamber!!!! At least that seems to be how Judge Sherry Stephens feels. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa/2014/10/31/judge-refuses-stop-blocking-access-arias-trial/18271065/ Judge refuses to stop blocking access to Jodi Arias trial Michael Kiefer, The Republic | azcentral.com 9:36 p.m. MST October 31, 2014 What was arguably the nation's most public trial has moved further behind closed doors. On Friday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens denied a motion by The Arizona Republic, 12 News and Meredith Corporation, which owns local TV stations Channels 3 and 5, to prevent her from blocking media access to testimony in the Jodi Arias trial. The media outlets had asked "to stay closed portions of trial." That means not locking out the press and public during any testimony while waiting for the Arizona Court of Appeals to rule on a special action, or expedited appeal, filed late Thursday after reporters were ousted from the courtroom. Stephens said there was minimal harm to the rights of the public and the media because the testimony was video-recorded and transcribed for the court and will be available after the trial. The denial of the motion was expected. But it was mostly a formality on the part of the media so that they could take the motion up to the Court of Appeals. That appeal was filed before the close of business Friday. Under clauses of the U.S. and Arizona constitutions, trials are generally supposed to be conducted in public, and the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure also make it practically impossible to exclude the media. In court Friday, media attorney David Bodney said that Stephens' ruling "would undo 34 years of constitutional precedence" and set a bad precedent for the future, in this trial and others, if the press can be so easily excluded. Defense attorney Kirk Nurmi, however, felt that opening the hearings jeopardized Arias' right to a fair trial under the Sixth Amendment. Bodney countered that the "irreparable damage" would not be to Arias, but to the public. Defense Attorney Kirk Nurmi watches as attorney Chris Moeser representing media outlets argues Judge Sherry Stephens ruling that the courtroom must be cleared of everyone except for the victims and defendants' families for the next witnesses testimony during the sentencing phase retrial of Jodi Arias at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix on Thursday, October 30, 2014. Stephens said the next witness was crucial to the sentencing trial and they wouldn't take the stand if it were public. Arias was found guilty of first degree murder in the death of former boyfriend Travis Alexander, but the jury hung on the penalty phase, life in prison or the death sentence. (Photo: David Wallace/The Republic) "Knowing how the court arrives at a death sentence is critical to the public," he said. Prosecutor Juan Martinez did not support a stay, but he had no comment on whether opening the trial would have any negative impact on the case. The trial resumes Monday. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in May 2013, after a tumultuous five-month trial that was live-streamed across the world — with viral results. The victim, Travis Alexander, who counted Arias among his lovers, was stabbed, shot in the head and had his throat slit. Grisly photographs of Alexander and salacious photos and audio recordings of their trysts beamed through cyberspace. Witnesses and attorneys were harassed and threatened. Crowds gathered outside the courthouse, and groupies and media alike fought for seats inside Stephens' courtroom. With the first jury unable to reach a unanimous decision and the prosecutor refusing to pull the death sentence off the table, a sentencing retrial began Oct. 21. But Stephens, mostly at the request of Arias' attorneys, blocked the live-stream broadcast, forbade video to be aired before the trial's end, and limited cameras to one still photographer. Leading up to October, many of the pretrial conferences — in which prosecutors and defense attorneys map out their strategy and the judge determines what will and won't be allowed at trial — were sealed from the media and public. On Thursday, Stephens called the Superior Court public-information officer into her chambers. The officer then came out and told the press they had to leave and said the cameras had to be taken down. Reporters from The Republic, 12 News and Channel 3 called for an attorney. Stephens held fast over a media attorney's objection because a witness would not testify otherwise. The hearing finding cause to seal the courtroom was also held in chambers, out of earshot of the press and public. The media then filed a petition for special action in the Arizona Court of Appeals, asking that the day's transcript be unsealed and that the identity of the witness be revealed. |