GOVEROTRAGEOUS: You can’t record Maryland cops; even if they are abusing you

Saturday, May 29, 2010

http://reason.com/blog/2010/05/29/maryland-cops-say-its-illegal

In Spite of State Law, Maryland Law Enforcement Officials Still Arresting, Charging People for Recording Cops
Radley Balko | May 29, 2010

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Graber’s case is starting to spur some local and national media discussion of the state’s wiretapping law. As I mentioned in my column last month, his arrest came at about the same time the Jack McKenna case broke nationally. McKenna, a student at the University of Maryland, was given an unprovoked beating by police during student celebrations after a basketball game last February. McKenna would probably still be facing criminal charges and the cops who beat him would likely still be on the beat were it not for several cell phone videos that captured his beating. According to Cassily’s interpretation of the law, if any of those cell phones were close enough to record audio of the beating, the people who shot the videos are felons.

*** and ***

Whatever their motivation, their legal justification is dubious. The McKenna case is a strong argument in favor of more citizen monitoring of on-duty police. The police not only beat the kid, they then lied about it in police reports. The security camera footage of McKenna’s beating, which is controlled by University of Maryland Campus Police, mysteriously disappeared. The officer in charge of the camera system is married to one of the officers involved in the beating. Does anyone really think the charges against McKenna would have been dropped—and the officers who beat him suspended—if it weren’t for the cell phone videos?

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Video recording police abuse should be applauded; not prosecuted.

It would appear that “wiretap” laws need a Federal preemption that: (1) Permits recording any interaction with a gooferment official performing their duties. (2) Permits recording any situation where there is no expectation of privacy. (3) Guarantees any citizen being taped must have suitable controls to prevent it’s “accidental” deletion when the cops don’t like what it shows.

The cops have dash cams; why not the citizens?

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RANT: No work for fat old white guys. Even if they are not fat

Saturday, May 29, 2010

XXXXX told me an interesting story about his law practice. He gets most of his business from referrals. YYYYY is still out of work. Guess another not so fat old white guy is screwed.

Sad.

And, as an employment trend, it portends more problems for the country later on. If you can’t find work after say 50, 55, or 60, then we’re screwed as a country. During your working life, say from 20 to 50, you have to put away enough to carry you from 50 to 65. Where one assumes that “social security” and “pensions” will begin.

Argh! Bad assumption.

Let’s reuse that math principle I quote a lot (2.4M$ @ 5% = 120k$ per year) and apply it to our situation. In the 30 years in 20 to 50, you must save 2.4M$. Or, 80k$ per year!

Can’t be done. It not solvable. So what does one do?

I don’t know.

If someone had shown me this when I was younger, I don’t know what I would have said. Even now I’m speechless.

Go to work for the gooferment! You can’t be fired and you get a gold plated pension!

Argh!

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