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In Mississippi, Gov't Text Messages Are Officially Public Records
New submitter Chris Elkins (3620071) writes "Text messages [by public officials about government business] are now officially considered public records. An investigative reporter fought for access to what he believed were public records. He took his fight to the state and won. Mississippi open government and transparency advocates view this unanimous commission opinion as precedent-setting for all government bodies and public officials in the state."
In other news, sales of low-end prepaid phones in MS strangely doubled in recent days.
The political class is adept at skirting these laws and going unpunished.
Anthony Weiner would like to have a word with you. I also think he has some pictures you might find interesting.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
I take it you're unaware that the Mayor of Tupelo (who was trying to conceal his text messages from the press) is a Democrat?
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Tony Baloney would like to have a word with you. I also think he has some pictures you might find interesting.
FTFY
old 49-states quote. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...
Awesome win for the Democrats over the Republicans! Those people constantly send racist text messages back and forth, like most old white people, so it's great to see that they're either going to have to stop or face time in prison. This is a huge fucking win.
You would have a cell right next to them with the racism and bigotry you spew.
old white people
Like this guy. Fortunately they caught the perpetrator.
The only viable alternative would be to explicitly require that government personnel use only government supplied mechanisms during performance of their appointed duties. If a government official is discussing government business, We The People have a right to know everything (unclassified) which is said by our government officials regarding the conduct of our government's business. Either use government supplied resources (neatly avoiding privacy issues) or get used to the fact that any public inquiry can reasonably be expected to expose more than public information to public scrutiny.
Said no politician ever.
The end result of this will be: The state decides it's too expensive to track and just disables text messaging on all their service plans.
Public officials and government bodies in Mississippi have been breaking the law for a long time. Public records have retention schedules and archiving requirements, but these officials haven't been retaining and archiving text messages, which are public records. They don't currently have the technology or processes in place to handle this nor have they budgeted funds for this. They should have taken the law more seriously and adapted to open government sooner because now they have to scramble to make this change and pay for it.
Either way, this is a big deal. If Mississippi can make this progress, all states can! This is a win for Open Government!
did you just allow an AC to bait you?
Yes, yes you did.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
If the work is done for the agency, then it's public record.
This is why I don't use my personal devices for any government business.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Then there's Greg Davis, former (R) Mayor of Southaven, who got caught racking up thousands of taxpayer dollars to take his secret boyfriend on trips and buy dildos in Canada. You can't make this shit up.
Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
No. He's the original AC. He's been baiting himself for years!
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
Like that bastard Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York! He avoids email entirely in favor of phone conversations or Blackberry pin-to-pin messages, so there's no record of anything that goes on. Wait, no, he's a Democrat. Thank God, then, it must be perfectly OK.
He's a master baiter!
Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the fish, and please tip your waitress...
Heh! Yeah, I remember that... Always wondered why he chose to mail order from Canada. Are Canadian dildos the best dildos?
Well better a bunch of GOP racist texting a-holes than left wing senators who smuggle in rocket launchers and heavy machine guns.
I'd just as soon have neither, but if I gotta chose the worse of the two...
Mail order? If I remember correctly, he went up to Canada ostensibly on business, and used his city credit card at the dildo store; that particular trip was what broke the scandal wide open. D'oh! If he'd just paid cash...
As for the quality of Canadian dildos, I have no idea.
Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
What technology exists to capture, archive, and retain text messages? How will local governments comply with this?
Go Away! I'm Baiting!
Ow! My balls!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
.... what Mississippi said.
When the whole phone tapping scandal kicked off royally, was I the only one thinking "Shouldn't they be discussing our best interests anyway? And if they are then what's the fuss about"? As someone said before me, government officials should be more transparent if anything -phone records, taxes they pay, property they own -BRING IT ON.
Death comes to those who wait.
In that they keep their elected officials & such on that kind of leash. Correct me if I am wrong if ANY of you reading think that it's a bad thing to do. They are, after all, on taxpayer time and equipment + their payrolls we pay for.
APK
> left wing senators who smuggle in rocket launchers
You got that backward. It is the right wing that loves violence and is flooding the streets with weapons.