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Policing Porn Isn't Part of The Job
Rick Zeman wrote to mention a Washington Post article about an incident at a Bethesda library. Two uniformed men from a Homeland Security detachment made an announcement stating that pornography was not acceptable viewing at the library. They then questioned a patron's choice of reading material. From the article: "A librarian intervened, and the two men went into the library's work area to discuss the matter. A police officer arrived. In the end, no one had to step outside except the uniformed men. They were officers of the security division of Montgomery County's Homeland Security Department, an unarmed force that patrols about 300 county buildings -- but is not responsible for enforcing obscenity laws."
Where have I seen this before... /me tries to remember... uniformed men, telling the civilian populace what is acceptable viewing, and what is not.
Sweet god, people, how far does this farce have to run before you realise that the "threat" that Homeland Security was set-up to combat is *you*?
I agree that the public library is *NOT* the place to be doing one's pr0n surfing, HOWEVER, I'm more than a little concerned that the dept. of homeland insecurity folks have taken it upon themselves to assume the role of nanny. I would say the DHS folks went WAY beyond their jurisdiction here. In an actionable sense, if you get my drift. Two thumbs way down.
Today is a good day to code.
A lot of people have been saying for a long time that "homeland security", the PAT-RIOT act and the war on terror were just codewords for more government interference in people's daily lives. So now pornography is a homeland security issue?
Various conservative factions first gained power at the local government level and leveraged that power to take control nationally. Between RICO and PATRIOT and executive orders authorizing surveillance, the federal government certainly has the capability of being just as interfering as these Montgomery County officials.
I'm starting to feel like that corny old poem about first they came for the Jews, then the homosexuals and I never spoke up. In the case of the U.S. it's already progressing from the terrorists to Muslims in general, non-violent political agitators, and now pornography viewers.
When will the "small-government" conservatives put their votes where there brains are? A "wasted" vote for the libertarian party would demonstrate commitment to their principles and send the major parties a message.
We are the 198 proof..
A federal employee gets hassled by Homeland Security for antiwar stickers on his car. Is it a mistake, a new rule, or the part of a trend of the First Amendment being bullied out of existence? Read the transcript, read the rules and decide for yourself
This space for rent.
I am a registered Republican (lesser of two evils, etc.).
So now we have our own versions of the Muslim world's "Morality Police"?
The main problem I have with the GOP is this damn puritanism. This is the 21st century, dammit! If we force our views (actually their views, not mine. I have TB's of pr0n) on others, how are we better than the damn Islamist's?
The GOP is liable to take it up the ass big time in November. Hopefully this will clear out some of the ancient old farts so we can later elect younger pols with more of a Libertarian bent.
But I'm not holding my breath...
Cheers to the librarian who had the guts to stand up to defend the rights of the people.
As the article mentions, the library system in that county includes privacy screens so that people can view whatever they want without disturbing anyone else. A very reasonable alternative to blocking sites based on content.
Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
People shouldn't look at porn in public libraries
Define "porn".
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
lesser of two evils, etc.
These situations will not improve until people learn to count higher than two.
If you've got your dick in your hand while you look at it it's porn.
Great. Well, as of last night, Better Homes and Gardens and the American Machinist's Handbook are both porn.
And stop looking at me like that.
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
Define "porn".
Exactly my point. If I'm looking at a nude piece of art and some tooth-fairy worshipping zealot thinks its gross, I shouldn't be stopped. They have a choice not to look over your shoulder.
And if you are worried about the children, guess what? They got here through SEX!! Yes, a penis actually entered a vagina and sperm was injected! There might have even been some oral sex to get the whole thing started!!
How about not worrying about the kids being parented by the government and start parenting them yourself.
Sound waves should be free!
When people are standing in the libraries monitoring what we read, the terrorist have won.
They haven't killed any more people, but they've killed what makes America, America. Our freedom.
.
The library is EXACTLY the place. There are many reasons for looking at "porn" besides getting off. If it was being done in a library, from a book specifically bought in for its value, then the chances are that this "porn" was actually quite historically, culturally or socially important, and that a lot was being learned from it. I for one am very thankful that the library prevailed in this instance.
It's also worth mentioning that a few site downloaders (search engine spammers) and bad bots use a fake googlebot user agent. It's a fairly good indicator that someone is banworthy when that user agent comes from outside google's ip ranges. You may find yourself automatically banned from a lot of other sites.
Well, considering Michael Copps, a Democrat member of the FCC, has almost single handedly driven the Janet Jackson thing to the extreme on TV and radio, and Jonathan Adelstein (also a Democrat) has been pushing for revoking the licenses of radio stations because of his interpretation of obscenity laws then yes, the Democrats have some responsibility for this. That's all in the last five years.
There is more of this too....you know those quaint little stickers on CDs? Tipper Gore's (Al's squeeze), was leading the charge on that back in the day.
This isn't a "one side is doing it and not the other" thing.
"Hoever, I get so damn tired of being told what rights others have, when it comes out of my pocket."
But it's OK when the rights you enjoy come out of others pockets? You, sir, or madam, frighten me.
Virtually all of the rights we enjoy are, in one way or another, out of the public's pockets. We pay for a military, and (supposedly) law enforcement to, among other things, defend those rights.
Democracy and Freedom are not easy, nor for the faint of heart. These concepts demand that you value those concepts to the extent that the guy next door, whose opinions and tastes and religion you absolutely despise, is worth your defending his rights. This may include his right to condemn your favorite candidate, his right to burn the flag we love in protest, and his right to have access to materials in a public media forum that you don't agree with.
I promise you, there are church ladies out there who are angry that they have to pay for your right to look at 14th-century Italian painters at your library - because there might be pictures of naked chubby girls in there. They resent having to pay for your right to view this trash. Ridiculous? How, exactly, are you any different?
Because, believe me - Your neighbor that you despise may not agree with what you have to say, believe, or have access to in your library either. The very essence of the core of our government, that we all pay lip service to, but let slip away when it gets tough, is the concept of inalienable rights. I can't take your rights - and you can't take mine. And we each have to pay a little for that priviledge.
Having actually read the article I discovered that the two morons making the library announcement were county officials in the county dept of "Homeland Security" and were not part of the US Gov't Dept of Homeland Security. Moreover, these two blokes were acting on their own initiative and without approval from their superiors.
Stupid as these two guys were this was not related to the Patriot Act, it wasn't related to Bush, it wasn't related to the GOP, it wasn't related to Ashcroft, Alito, Cheney, Halliburton, Microsoft, SCO, or Rush Limbaugh.
Please becareful navigating posts in this story as the knee jerks could cause serious damage.
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
I don't care what you say... Librarians are sexy, and I'm a conservative! I won't be going to library to see some porn on internet. I'm going to the library to see some library hotties.
Inside that thick dull glasses, boring 2 piece dress, layaway cheap pump shoes and 9 dollar hair cut, there is some really sexy woman just waiting to explode. mmm... daddy like... daddy like...
"Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
I was going to say something about how easy and pointless it is to cherry-pick transgressions from any party, but you know what? It doesn't matter.
I don't fucking care who's encouraging the brownshirt activity; it just has to stop.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
These situations will not improve until people learn to count higher than two.
Unfortunately, the problems with plurality voting are described by game theory, not arithmetic. Everybody knows how to count higher than two; not so many people know the differences between instant runoff, Condorcet, and approval voting.
What's worse: the biggest problem with democracy in America today is apathy, not ignorance. People get furious at anyone who voted for "the other guy"; yet for some reason they take it easy on the more numerous group who couldn't be bothered to vote at all.
"Computers are cheap. Let people do their porn viewing in the privacy of their own home and foot the bill themselves."
... Police Unable or Unwilling to Arrest".
... your guilty of something. They should just arrest ... they can look in the book later, and if they can't find anything, they can just make something up.
I agree! And thanks to your enlightened insight, I now also realize that books are even cheaper. If people want to read "Uncle Tom's Cabin", "Lolita", ot the most insidious thing ever wriiten by modern man - "The US Constitution" - they should buy their own copy of it and jerk off to them in their own home!
"I object to the public financing the vehicle for perverts to get a FREE thrill at taxpayers expense. These sickos go wank off in the library then leave the mess behind for someone else. BS to that. That's just flat out wrong."
Again, you nailed it! It is part of the vast liberal conspiracy that they didn't title the article: "Library Patron Masturbates in the Middle of the Library
"And doing it where other people passing by, women and children for instance, that's very, very wrong. There has been a trend of people driving around with porn running on LCD's in their SUV's with the intention of other drivers seeing their porn shows. KIDS are seeing this stuff too.. The police in some cities are pulling these people over and ticketing them but I think they should be arrested, same as a flasher would be."
This reminds me of the last time I was sitting at the library, when I almost got hit by a passing SUV. It was scary, but what was worse is that the driver was a known supporter of the "Bill of Rights"! Even worse, if he had been playing porno on a DVD player, I would have had no choice but to stare into his car, and then by the end of the day I would be morphed into a rapist!
"You want porn? Do it at home behind closed doors but don't do it on the taxpayers tab."
You nailed another one! Did you see the study out in The New England Journal of Fascists that proves as a scientific fact that porn watchers don't pay taxes!
"As for DHS intervening, good for them. They are law enforcement officers are they not? I'm sick of this "hey, it's not MY job" attitude everyone has now. A cop is a cop is a cop. Or should be."
Really. I mean it's not like law is a complicated field. In the end it comes down to a simple formula. Screw the wall of books it takes to describe laws and the funky latin wording. After all, in the end doesn't it all come down to this simple truism: "If the cop doesn't like what your doing, your wrong
"And since the porn in the library problem isn't being handled I think they should simply remove the computers from the library. Let people go buy their own, they're cheap now."
Again, you have enlightened me. If the [substitute content I don't like here] in the library problem isn't being handled, we should just make libraries themselves illegal and close them down.
"-- Fight EVIL (tm) - Boycott Google - Boycott Micro$oft"
Yes, I agree about boycott on Google also. Until they block access to the things I don't think others should see, they are evil! But why Micros0ft? They have shown a strong track record of making decisions for others (the customer) already . They are all for restricting our access (DRM) and helping the police get around that nasty "right to privacy" issue in whatever manner is profitable for them. You leave my buddy Bill alone!
This message has been brought to you by the coalition to protect the rights of morons to be morons
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
It only prohibits the Federal Government from abridging the freedom of speech. Local state authorites are not Congress. It only prohibits Congress.
Let me refer you to the 14th Amendment incorporation doctrine (and n.b. that state constitutions all AFAIK have guarantees that are the same or even stronger than this).
It seperates the Government from the Church, not the church from the Government.
No, it does both. If the government cannot engage in dealings of a religious capacity it can't take orders from a religion either. To do so would be to have one of those religions be officially on top, and then you're back doing what even you agree isn't permissible.
So, the church can influence the Federal Government quite a bit. And they can practicaly run State Governments if it is allowed in that state's constitution.
Let me remind you of the republican clause of the Constitution as well.
If you don't like that, move to a different state. That is the great thing about this country we live in.
No, the great thing about this country is that you can be so wrong that I wouldn't trust you if you said that the sun rises in the east, and yet we're secure enough, knowing that you'll always be marginalized as a nut, that we don't have to lock you away or shoot you or otherwise get our hands dirty in order to keep you from being dangerous to others. It's great.
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
Librarians are some of the most under appreciated people in our society. They're far more than just curators of large book collections, many of them care deeply about issues related to privacy, copyright, freedom of access to reading material, and so on, - basically, many of the issues the likes of the EFF deal with a lot.
:)
The American Library Association, the largest library association in the world, takes a particularly strong stand on civil liberties, intellectual freedom and privacy, and those who really want to show they care can even order themselves an 'Radical Militant Librarian' badge. Hell, kinda makes me wish I was a librarian
Finally, on the general subject of librarian appreciation, his seems like a good place to link to Unshelved, a great webcomic about life inside a library.
Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
I wish marriage between any two people was outlawed. It would have saved me from immense folly. Twice.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good