Category Archives: Fifth Amendment

A frequent flier suing seven US airlines said he plans to file an amended complaint on Monday, which will add multiple plaintiffs to his lawsuit over the airlines' mask requirements.

Lucas Wall, of Washington DC, said via email on Friday that he planned to add new charges against the airlines, including "conspiracy to interfere with civil rights."

Wall had previously told Insider: "It will be a stronger case with multiple plaintiffs showing the wide-ranging discrimination in the airline industry."

The lawsuit was filed June in US District Court in Orlando against Southwest, Alaska, Allegiant, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, and Spirit. Wall, who is representing himself, also has an ongoing lawsuit against the Biden administration.

Wall, in his original complaint against the airlines, claimed each had discriminated against those who couldn't wear masks for medical reasons, including himself. In his initial court filings, he included his medical records for generalized anxiety disorder.

In conversations with Insider, several people who were expected to join the lawsuit as plaintiffs claimed they'd had experiences similar to Wall's.

"The disabled are being criminalized during the pandemic attacked, harassed, and blamed," said Shannon Cila, of Kentucky, in an interview on Thursday.

Cila said her involvement with the case began after she was arrested in Kentucky. The arrest rattled her, she said.

"That set me up for a lot of anxiety, with having to deal with these mask exemptions, non-exemption policies, with private businesses everywhere, including airlines," she said. "If you have an invisible disability, people look at you. They think because you're not on an oxygen tank, or something they can't tell what your problem might be."

Cila found Wall through his GoFundMe campaign, she said.

Uriel ben-Mordechai and his wife, Adi, planned to join the lawsuit, he said on Friday. He moved to Israel about four decades ago, but regularly flies back to the Bay Area and Southern California to visit family.

A Torah scholar and lecturer, ben-Mordechai said his decision to join Wall's lawsuit was in part driven by his faith. He said he looked to Deuteronomy 16:20, part of which translates to "justice, pursue justice."

"It tells you, you have to make justice happen and it's not going to happen unless you do the part that God is giving you to do," ben-Mordechai said in a phone interview from Israel.

Leonardo McDonnell, another traveller seeking to join Wall's lawsuit, was more forceful in his language. "I will sue these sick tyrants' granddaughters if the legal system lets me," McDonnell, of Florida, said in an email when Insider reached out to him.

The airlines in late August filed their initial responses to Wall's lawsuit. Each one sought to dismiss the case on technical grounds, saying in part that Wall didn't have the standing to sue them in federal court under the Air Carrier Access Act.

Some legal experts and academics said they have doubts about whether the wave of lawsuits over federal mask requirements will put an end to Biden's mandate, although they weren't asked specifically about Wall's case.

Others said there were flaws in the Biden administration's argument that the mask mandates were not unconstitutional.

Paul Engel, founder of The Constitution Study, an online guide to the constitution, said the federal mandates were unconstitutional for a few reasons. The Fifth Amendment, for example, requires "due process of law," he said.

"[G]overnments at all levels are prohibited from enforcing mask mandates until they have shown probable cause that the individual is a danger to others," Engel said via email.

Monday is Wall's deadline for filing an amended complaint.

Continue reading here:
Man suing airlines over mask rule plans to accuse them of a conspiracy - Business Insider

HARTFORD, Mich. On May 25, 2021, former Hartford Police Officer Matthew Mistretta was charged with multiple counts of assault and battery, and misconduct in office. He is facing years in prison.

The reason Im telling my story, is I have nothing left to lose," Mistretta said. "Total cumulative charges are seven years,

The charges were brought forth by the State of Michigan Attorney General's office and surround an arrest Mistretta made in August 2020.

The AG's office says Mistretta can be seen throwing a man he is arresting to the ground while they are in handcuffs. This was documented on videos posted to social media.

The person Mistretta is arresting in the video is said to be 21-year-old Lauro Espino. Espino made no complaints about the arrest at the time of the incident.

Mistretta tells FOX 17 Espino was driving fast down Red Arrow highway, and appeared to be driving drunk. Mistretta pulled him over alone.

But shortly after pulling Espino over, Mistretta says he's not sure when exactly, he's told over his radio that Espino is involved in a nearby homicide scene. 911 dispatch audio has not been made available by the state to Mistretta's defense. He says it is critical to understanding what happened that night.

I was told over my radio, you have my shooter at a traffic stop, something to that effect, Mistretta said.

Only it wasn't a shooting. Espino is charged in connection to the death of 17-year-old Jesus De La Rosa.

De Le Rosa was hit by a car and killed.

Mistretta says he saw a passenger, a bloody lead pipe in the car and that Espino smelled of alcohol.

Here I am, as a single officer, with two suspects in the car, that I was just told shot someone in the face. Hes covered in blood, Mistretta said.

This information was not admissible in court on September 2nd for Mistretta's preliminary hearing. Espino invoked his fifth amendment rights to not incriminate himself. He is currently out on bond awaiting trial for the death of De La Rosa. That case is being prosecuted by Van Buren County.

That defendant was able to stand mute, after he gave his full testimony, as he chose to do for the state, Mistretta's attorney Jonathan Paasch said.

Mistretta's case was bound over to circuit court.

Mistretta was let go from Hartford PD months after the August incident for an unrelated issue.

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Former Hartford Police officer charged with assault, misconduct, speaks out - Fox17

The following is a transcript of my radar from Mondays edition of Rising on Hill TV.

Populists on the left and right find common ground on many issues, economic and cultural. Abortion is not one of those issues. But opponents of the powerful political and media establishment should care about elite distortion of the debate.

Theres a serious discussion on the right about the legal and practical wisdom of Texass new abortion law. Every honest person left and right can at least agree its a dramatic piece of legislation with high-stakes consequences. Depending on your perspective thats either tragic or wonderful.

Why, to the right, should it be wonderful? Im not here to debate the wisdom of the bill, which may indeed be replicated soon by other states. But outside, perhaps, Fox News, there is almost no representation of the anti-abortion perspective in major media. That means this entire conversation is completely distorted.

A 2020 survey found that eight in 10 journalists who said they lean towards one party or ideology which was 78 percent of them identified as liberal or Democrats. The same survey found sampled journalists were far to the left of the average Twitter user and even to the left of prominent liberal politicians like former president Barack Obama. The vast majority of Democrats, of course, support abortion rights, as Gallup found in recent years.

Even all the way back in 1990, David Shaw of the LA Times noted Most major newspapers support abortion rights on their editorial pages, and two major media studies have shown that 80% to 90% of U.S. journalists personally favor abortion rights.

We know from the bulk of legacy media coverage that journalists are liberal on abortion. Some on the left actually dispute this, arguing that medias insistence on including both sides of the debate in coverage gives abortion opponents undue moral equivalence.

The public is not broadly pro-life. The right should understand that. According to Gallup, only 32 percent of Americans support overturning Roe. A full 58 percent oppose it. That said, according to Gallup, Americans who believe abortion should be legal in all circumstances are easily outnumbered by those who believe it should be legal only under certain circumstances. Actually, as of 2021, the percentage of Americans who identify as pro-choice and pro-life differs by only two points, 49 to 47 respectively. That includes 43 percent of women.

So why is this important? Because, as with many issues, it means our national debate pits the liberal perspective against a straw man, rendering the whole discussion completely unproductive.

Chris Cuomo demonstrated this well recently. It almost feels unfair to pick on Cuomo at this point given how hes so thoroughly beclouded himself. But hes employed as an anchor at one of the countrys largest news networks, which oversees one of the most-visited websites in the world.

As people digested the news out of Texas, Cuomo tweeted a quote from professor Carliss Chatman that asked whether opponents of abortion would back starting child support, citizenship, and life insurance for unborn babies implying they would not because they are hypocrites. Cuomo purports to follow this issue closely, as is his job. He once claimed the pro-life movement was more about faith and feelings than facts, which would be fine if he didnt claim to be neutral.

Nevertheless, if he actually understood the pro-life position, he would know that Chatmans attempted counterpoint isnt a dunk at all. Its something most pro-life people would get behind. Thats exactly why child care proposals like Sen. Mitt Romneys start during pregnancy.

If you dont talk about these issues with the 47 percent of the country that considers itself pro-life, you end up operating off a stereotype that caricatures the pro-life movement as feeling-based fundamentalists who havent fully thought through their position. Thats how the debate is then represented by the political establishment. Pro-life activists are as skeptical of the GOP elite as progressives are of the DNC. As I said on this show after the Texas law was signed, I bet it made a whole lot of people at the RNC very, very nervous.

College graduates and people whose households earn over $100,000 a year are much, much more likely to identify as pro-choice than people with some or no college education in lower household income brackets. Those old white Republican men Democrats like to imagine as villains from the Handmaids Tale? A whole lot of them would be pretty unhappy if Roe were overturned because theyre much more concerned about the politics than the policy. Why do you think Republicans in Congress rarely prioritize pro-life causes when theyre in control?

My political philosophy is basically that Big Business and Big Government are inherently corrupt and power-hungry and need reasonable checks. Im a cultural conservative Christian. I used to be much more libertarian on abortion, especially up until about 12 weeks. Even so, Im so opposed to government controlling womens bodies that I believe prostitution should be legal. As I learned more about abortion, my perspective changed. I think life begins at conception and the Fifth Amendment, then, legally and morally protects that life. You dont have to agree with me at all. I know most of you watching probably dont.

But the bad-faith partisan caricature of abortion opponents as fundamentalist rubes and cynical sexists is not broadly true and is therefore not helpful. People are not uniformly pro-life because theyre religious zealots eager to control womens bodies. Its often pro-abortion men who coerce women into aborting their babies against their will who try to control the female body. One of them is CNNs chief legal analyst.

But the political establishment and the media do not accurately represent this debate, which splits the country almost perfectly in half. People are pro-life because they believe the baby is alive and should not be killed. That is the proper starting point for the pro-life side of the debate. As conversation over new state laws and legal challenges to Roe heats up in the coming months, wed all do well to recognize that.

Continue reading here:
Media's Lack Of Pro-Life Representation Reveals Bias And Distorts Debate - The Federalist

Letter writer David Gary was spot on when writing Breckenridge should not be selecting winners and losers.

The Fifth Amendment also does not allow the government to take property without just compensation, so I would suggest any and all owners who may be affected by the decision-makers in Breckenridge and Frisco and for that matter Aspen and Steamboat Springs to have their properties appraised for after repair value. If you need to ask what that is, you probably wouldnt understand.

Property owners who rent long term have tenants, duh! Tenants often damage property, dont pay rent or think they dont have to because of the government unfairly enforcing an unconstitutional eviction moratorium and other issues. There is also the fact that the owners usually buy these homes or condos to recreate, so they would not have use of their properties. How is that fair?

The majority of workers affected by housing right now cant even afford to rent where they live now. How can they afford to rent a million-dollar home? The workforce solutions used in Prudhoe Bay with the oil industry would be a great fit for this. Workers could get shelter, food, recreation and health care that is designed for them. They would be with people like them.

To support my opinion, here are my credentials (to satisfy Kate Neuschaefer):

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Now more than ever, your financial support is critical to help us keep our communities informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having on our residents and businesses. Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.

Your donation will be used exclusively to support quality, local journalism.

The rest is here:
Letter to the editor: Short-term rental limits could violate 5th Amendment - Summit Daily News

Item 3.03 Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders.

To the extent required by Item 3.03 of Form 8-K, the information regarding theReverse Stock Split (as defined below) contained in Item 5.03 of this CurrentReport on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference herein.

Item 5.03 Amendment to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in FiscalYear.

At the special meeting of stockholders of Jaguar Health, Inc. (the "Company")held on December 9, 2020 and reconvened on December 22, 2020 (the "SpecialMeeting"), the Company's stockholders approved an amendment (the "FifthAmendment") to the Company's Third Amended and Restated Certificate ofIncorporation (the "COI") to effect a reverse stock split of the Company'svoting common stock ("Common Stock") at a ratio of not less than one-for-two andnot greater than one-for-twenty, with the exact ratio within that range to bedetermined in the discretion of the Company's board of directors (the "Board")on or before December 9, 2021.

Pursuant to such authority granted by the Company's stockholders, the Boardapproved a one-for-three reverse stock split (the "Reverse Stock Split") of theCommon Stock and the filing of the Fifth Amendment to effectuate the ReverseStock Split. On September 3, 2021, the Company filed the Fifth Amendment withthe Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, and the Reverse Stock Splitwill become effective in accordance with the terms of the Fifth Amendment at12:01 am Eastern Time on September 8, 2021 (the "Effective Time"). When theReverse Stock Split becomes effective, every three (3) shares of the Company'sissued and outstanding Common Stock immediately prior to the Effective Timeshall automatically be reclassified into one (1) share of Common Stock, withoutany change in the par value per share. The Reverse Stock Split reduces thenumber of shares of Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of the Company'soutstanding non-voting common stock and the exercise or vesting of itsoutstanding stock options and warrants in proportion to the ratio of the ReverseStock Split and causes a proportionate increase in the conversion and exerciseprices of such non-voting common stock, stock options and warrants. In addition,the number of shares reserved for issuance under the Company's equitycompensation plans immediately prior to the Effective Time will be reducedproportionately. The Reverse Stock Split did not change the total number ofauthorized shares of Common Stock or preferred stock.

No fractional shares will be issued as a result of the Reverse Stock Split.Stockholders who otherwise would be entitled to receive a fractional share inconnection with the Reverse Stock Split will receive a cash payment in lieuthereof.

American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, LLC is acting as exchange agent forthe Reverse Stock Split and will correspond stockholders of record regarding theReverse Stock Split. Stockholders who hold their shares in book-entry form or in"street name" (through a broker, bank or other holder of record) are notrequired to take any action.

Commencing on September 8, 2021, trading of the Company's Common Stock willcontinue on The Nasdaq Capital Market on a Reverse Stock Split-adjusted basis.The new CUSIP number for the Company's Common Stock following the Reverse StockSplit is 47010C607.

The foregoing description of the Fifth Amendment does not purport to be completeand is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the FifthAmendment, which is filed as Exhibit 3.1 to this report and incorporated byreference herein.

Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

The Company held its Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company ("AnnualMeeting") on September 3, 2021. Six proposals were submitted to and approved bythe Company's stockholders. The proposals are described in detail in theCompany's proxy statement. The final results for the votes regarding eachproposal are set forth below.

1. Proposal to elect one Class III director, Greg J. Divis, was approved by the

stockholders by the following vote:

Broker Non-For Withheld Votes38,359,499.55 5,847,699.00 20,221,518.00

2

2. Proposal to ratify the appointment of Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. as the

Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal yearending December 31, 2021, was approved by the stockholders by the followingvote:

Broker Non-For Against Abstained Votes59,982,055.55 2,644,826.00 1,801,835.00 0.00

3. Proposal to approve an amendment to the Company's Third Amended and Restated

Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, to increase the number of authorizedshares of Common Stock from 150,000,000 shares to 290,000,000 shares, was notapproved by the stockholders by the following vote:

Broker Non-For Against Abstained Votes48,327,240.55 14,569,030.00 1,532,446.00 0.00

4. Proposal to approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation paid by

use to the Company's named executive officers, was approved by thestockholders by the following vote:

Broker Non-For Against Abstained Votes34,344,282.55 6,926,168.00 2,936,748.00 20,221,518.00

5. Proposal to indicate, on a non-binding advisory basis, the frequency of future

advisory votes to approve the compensation paid by the Company to theCompany's named executive officers, whereby the frequency of 3 Years wasapproved by the stockholders by the following vote:

Broker Non-3 Years 2 Years 1 Year Abstain Votes24,431,696.00 3,043,578.00 12,946,265.55 3,785,659.00 20,221,518.00

6. Proposal to approve a proposal to grant discretionary authority to adjourn the

Annual Meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies in the event thatthere are not sufficient votes at the time of the Annual Meeting to approveProposal 3, was approved by the stockholders by the following vote:

Broker Non-For Against Abstained Votes53,287,111.55 8,623,027.00 2,518,576.00 0.00

Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.

On September 3, 2021, the Company issued a press release announcing the resultsof the Annual Meeting, a copy of which is furnished as Exhibit 99.1.

On September 3, 2021, the Company issued a press release announcing the resultsof the Reverse Stock Split, a copy of which is furnished as Exhibit 99.2.

The information in Exhibit 99.1 attached hereto shall not be deemed "filed" forpurposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the"Exchange Act"), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, orincorporated by reference into any of the Company's filings under the SecuritiesAct of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly setforth by specific reference in any such filing.

3

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit No. Description3.1 Certificate of Fifth Amendment of the Third Amended and RestatedCertificate of Incorporation of Jaguar Health, Inc.99.1 Press Release Announcing Results of the 2021 Annual Meeting ofStockholders of the Company, dated September 3, 2021.99.2 Press Release Announcing the Reverse Stock Split, dated September 3,2021.104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded with the inline XBRL document)

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Edgar Online, source Glimpses

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JAGUAR HEALTH, INC. : Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders, Amendments to Articles of Inc. or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year, Submission...

Writing for the Washington Post on Sunday, conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin explained that several lower-level national laws should effectively unmake the Texas law encouraging vigilante citizens to capture women who have had abortions.The Texas law didn't go through the required legal process that every other case must face before being put on the Supreme Court docket. In fact, the case didn't even have oral arguments before the High Court before a decision to allow it to go into effect was decided.

Had the case been heard in lower courts and debated before the Court, there are several arguments for why the law is unconstitutional.

Rubin cites Section 1983 of Title 42 in the U.S. Code which says: "Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress."

Rubin's take on the law is that because it forced every clinic to stop doing abortions, surely it "is a deprivation of constitutional rights."

"What about 'under color of any statute?'" she also asked. "Does that not limit Section 1983 to so-called state actors? In fact, there is a well-developed body of law that says private individuals acting in concert with state actors can be sued."

She then cited the 1988 case, West v. Atkins, where the Supreme Court specifically outlined, "The traditional definition of acting under color of state law requires that the defendant in a [Section] 1983 action have exercised power 'possessed by virtue of state law and made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state law.'"

There are several other lower court cases with similar positions among other state laws. She explained that the law was designed in exactly that way because they knew that they couldn't block the abortions directly.

"To be clear, a Section 1983 case requires a high level of intermingling state and private actions," Rubin wrote. "The degree of collaboration required against private actors in 1983 cases may not exist in this situation. Ironically, simply announcing the intention to file 1983 suits against bounty hunters might be enough to stop or to borrow a phrase, chill the whole charade."

The same question can be asked about HIPAA laws. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act blocked anyone from having access to your private healthcare records without your permission. While subpoenaing that information in a criminal case may be admissible, it's unclear how it would work in a civil case. How else would these courts be able to prove that someone was pregnant or had an abortion without accessing those records without the woman's consent?

Then there's the matter of the Fifth Amendment, asking the patient and the doctor whether she was pregnant and had an abortion would violate the Fifth Amendment for both.

"The Texas statute breaks new legal ground, and women's rights defenders must be creative and bold in their counterattack. Any and all viable strategies should be tried," closed Rubin.

See the full column at the Washington Post.

Link:
Conservative outlines national laws that should nullify the Texas vigilante abortion law - Raw Story

TAMPA Days after two men went to trial on murder charges related to the shooting last year of a Tampa teenager, a judge granted a request from defense lawyers that both be found not guilty.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Christopher Sabella granted a motion for judgment of acquittal for Jarkese and Jaris Youngblood, shortly after state prosecutors finished presenting their case Thursday to a jury.

Defense lawyers routinely ask judges to acquit their clients in trial after the state has finished presenting its case. But such requests are typically a formality done for appellate purposes and are rarely granted.

For the Youngbloods, the difference came with two eyewitnesses who refused to testify at trial, according to the Hillsborough State Attorneys Office. Without their testimony, the prosecutions case crumbled.

We anticipated having testimony from both those eyewitnesses and in the end neither of them took the stand, said Grayson Kamm, a spokesman for the office of Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren. It really highlights the reality out there that if people dont trust law enforcement or theyre really worried about retaliation, it blocks us from keeping the public safe.

Jarkese, 23, and Jaris Youngblood, 21, who are brothers, had been charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 24, 2020, death of TaZion Bibby Levison, 17, who was shot while riding in a car on I-4 near Branch Forbes Road in Plant City.

Drivers called 911 that afternoon to report that someone in a gold Ford Taurus was shooting out a window at another vehicle in the interstates eastbound lanes. Levison, who was a passenger with two friends in a blue Nissan Sentra, was shot in his upper torso. His friends drove him to South Florida Baptist Hospital, where he died.

Another driver got a number from a temporary tag on the back of the Taurus, which investigators later linked to the Youngbloods.

At the time of their arrests last year, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister described the shooting as being the result of some type of beef between the brothers and the victim.

ShaQuandra Williams, who authorities described as Jarkese Youngbloods girlfriend, was also charged with murder. Investigators said she was in the Taurus front passenger seat with her one-year-old son in her lap while her boyfriends brother fired a gun from a rear passenger window.

She was one of the two witnesses who refused to testify.

Refusing to testify can land a person in jail for contempt of court, but in Williams case, prosecutors said she is protected by the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forbids the government from compelling a person to be a witness against themselves.

Williams remains charged with murder. It was not immediately clear how the case against her might be impacted.

The other witness who declined to testify was a passenger in the same car with Levison. Although prosecutors had worked to try to make him comfortable testifying, he expressed fear of retaliation.

Hes legitimately afraid, said Kamm, the state attorneys spokesman. Hes done nothing wrong.

Prosecutors had spent the better part of two days presenting their case to a jury before Assistant Public Defender Donna Perry and Tampa attorney Justin Petredis successfully argued for the judgment of acquittal. They argued at trial that the pair were innocent.

The brothers, who had been jailed since their arrests, were expected to be released late Thursday.

Originally posted here:
Tampa judge acquits suspects in fatal I-4 shooting that killed teen - Tampa Bay Times

On May 18 from 8:01 p.m. until 9:30 p.m., I was a pretrial detainee protected by any punishment under the 14th Amendments due process clause.

I had invoked my Fifth Amendment and Sixth Amendment constitutional rights on numerous occasions prior to being brought to the Idaho State Police, District 2 office, where I was subjected by a trooper and unknown detective to a ultimatum: Either I speak to detectives who are trying to gather information and incriminate myself or by the officers own threat be placed in the back seat of a police car and sit for however long these unknown detectives chose to investigate.

Without any sign of threat or disturbance, I fearlessly invoked my aforementioned constitutional rights. Instantly after this invocation, handcuffs were placed on me so tightly they nearly broke skin and my arm was yanked up high. I was placed in the back seat of a vehicle for more than an hour.

I begged the officer to loosen the handcuffs three separate times.

I was punished with malicious and sadistic intent for invoking my constitutional rights to remain silent and have counsel present.

The Supreme Court stated that the due process clause protects a pretrial detainee from the use of excessive force that amounts to punishment.

This type of behavior is prohibited by Congress and all agencies involved shall be held accountable in my civil case, CV35-21-1092, by a pretrial detainee at the Nez Perce County Jail,

Agrees with Dugger, Bentz

... I really had to agree with the recent commentary written by Marvin Dugger in which he relied heavily upon remarks by Rusty Bentz. I agree with about 90 percent of what they had to say. I didnt agree with the headline. It read: Breach the lower Snake River dams and we will lose our fish. I believe a more accurate rendering would have been Breach the lower Snake River dams and we might lose our fish, but we will surely lose them if we do not breach.

The wording was probably not theirs but the Lewiston Tribunes. ...

They threw a lot of numbers from a 1984 study that has been largely discredited, even by the agency that originally distributed the study results, the defunct National Marine Fisheries Services. ...

If data is left out of an equation, the results may be misleading. ...

For example the sentence that reads: The fish that were barged came back 11 times greater than those left in the river is an accurate statement that came directly from the study. However, the study also revealed fish did not return to the point of origin. The count was taken at Bonneville Dam on the lower Columbia, not at the Central Ferry Hatchery on the Snake. ...

Dugger and Bentz are good men and wonderful outdoorsmen and conservationists. ...

But ... studies that are outdated and scientifically discredited have to be willowed from the arsenal of defense for the fighting fish to have a fighting chance.

No man is an island

There are two epidemics taking place right now a COVID-19 epidemic and a misinformation epidemic.

Interestingly, from 1901 to 1903 an outbreak of smallpox in Boston claimed the lives of hundreds of citizens. A program of house-to-house vaccination was initiated with physicians authorized to vaccinate all who were not too ill.

Ultimately smallpox was eradicated within the city. But the epidemic led to a landmark legal case on the constitutionality of compulsory vaccination.

In 1905 the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-to-2 in favor of the state, ruling that it could require vaccination in order to protect the public in case of a dangerous communicable disease. In other words No man is an island. Our choices affect not only ourselves, but our families and the public as well.

Here is the original post:
Sept. 2 Letters to the Editor: Our Readers' Opinions - Lewiston Morning Tribune

Apple today announced that eight US states will soon allow citizens to host their official digital state identifications and drivers licenses in their Apple Wallets. This is going to be incredibly convenient, itll speed up numerous services, and it really freaking sucks for democracy and personal privacy.

Heres why, in a nutshell: its giving law enforcement a clear and defensible point from which to compel you to unlock your phone. One that will sound good to juries and give prosecutors who like to pretend the Fifth Amendment doesnt exist a leg to stand on.

Sir, I just need to see your drivers license. I need you to unlock your phone and pull your documents up and then hand it to me so that I can scan it back in my cruiser.

The Apple announcement is very clear to point out uses cases where users will not have to hand their devices over to anyone.

Per the press release:

Drivers licenses and state IDs in Wallet are only presented digitally through encrypted communication directly between the device and the identity reader, so users do not need to unlock, show, or hand over their device.

This sounds good on paper. Its not. And that should be obvious.

But I can practically feel the rage of a billion Apple users building to a fever pitch, and Id like to preempt a few questions.

Cant you read? It says right there that you dont have to hand your phone over to anyone.

Police officers in the US use unauthorized trials of Palantir and Clearview AI software to conduct digital stop and frisks, spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year in payouts to the victims of police misconduct, carry qualified immunity from civil and criminal suits, and have been caught numerous times attempting to illegally coerce citizens into unlocking and handing over their phones.

If you trust every police officer in the US, you have nothing to worry about.

So just use your physical ID for the police and your Apple Wallet ID for other stuff.

If you go around using your digital ID in stores (and on camera) and your physical one with police, law enforcement will be able to argue they need to see your phone to verify the digital ID you used in stores against the one youre carrying.

There are a million ways cops can coerce a person to unlock their phones and hand them over. The problem with storing your ID on them, as mentioned before, is that it gives them a reason that may sound very legitimate when a jury hears it, but ultimately should fail the same Fifth Amendment tests that previous attempts to force US citizens and the Apple corporation into unlocking iPhones did.

Its very convenient for you to whip out your phone, press it against a scanner, and have a TSA agent in an airport wave you through.

Its very inconvenient when a police officer uses that convenience to coerce a scared citizen into unlocking and handing over their device.

The more people who choose the convenience, despite the danger, the more normalized the concept will be. And thats when services and utilities will begin popping up that reward citizens for using digital IDs over physical ones.

This is called stratification, and its already a huge problem in US government services.

You dont have to use it, Apples just giving those of us who want to the option.

Thats not a good thing. Just like we needed net neutrality to ensure that TELCOM companies dont create fast-lanes to the internet for their products and slow-lanes for their competitors, its crucial to the future of democracy that we dont allow the government and big tech to create fast-lanes.

Especially when theyre specifically engineered for people who are privileged enough to both own an iPhone and not give a shit about the implications of carrying their IDs in the same place as all the data they generate.

Simply put, it would be a statistical anomaly of universe-altering proportions if US police dont use this to compel iPhone users to unlock and hand over their devices.

If youre okay with that, this feature was definitely designed to appeal to you.

H/t: The Verge

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The remnants of a powerful hurricane may have temporarily halted search efforts in the Crystal Rogers investigation, but work is expected to resume this weekend.After a flurry of activity last week in a Bardstown subdivision, the FBI was forced to suspend its search efforts this week due to deteriorating weather conditions from the remnants of Hurricane Ida. The weather system brought torrential rains to many areas of the Louisville region, including Nelson County, where the Rogers probe centers.It's been days now and weather impacts have subsided. Many have wondered when the FBI will continue its investigation, and that appears to be Saturday.In a statement sent to WLKY, a spokesperson for the FBI said personnel will be "conducting a search of the materials" that were recovered at the subdivision, but from an offsite collection point in Bardstown.The subdivision that has been at the center of the renewed search efforts is Woodlawn Springs, where the FBI initially focused its work on three properties.'I just pray this is it': Crystal Rogers' mother feeling encouraged as FBI search continuesThose properties were built by Brooks Houck, Rogers' boyfriend, at the time of her disappearance. The FBI then zeroed in on one of the properties, which no longer belongs to Houck. Teams spent last week digging up and excavating the driveway, and truckloads of concrete could also be seen around the subdivision.Multiple items of interestThe FBI hasn't shared much since it resumed search efforts last week, a year after taking over the investigation from local authorities.Outside of visibly seeing the teams search and excavate in the subdivision, the first major update came last Friday when the FBI confirmed it had recovered an "item of interest."Then on Monday, while announcing that it would suspend its search for the time being, the FBI confirmed that "multiple items of interest" had been uncovered and that they are "potentially relevant to the investigation into the disappearance of Crystal Rogers."The items have been sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis. The FBI has not shed light on what the items are and how they pertain to the disappearance of Rogers.In an update Thursday, a spokesperson for the FBI said while the teams will be working off-site this weekend, that doesn't necessarily mean efforts have concluded at the subdivision."That is still a day-by-day decision," the spokesperson said about efforts at Woodlawn Springs.Reward for informationLast weekend, for the first time, the FBI announced a $25,000 reward for information in Rogers' disappearance.They are hoping someone in the community will come forward and provide tips that will lead to the identification, arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the mother's disappearance.Previous stories:Day 1 coverageDay 2 coverageDay 3 coverageDay 4 coverageThe main message the FBI has been sending to the community is cooperation. Since the team took over the case last year, they have called on residents to come forward and launched a dedicated website for tips to be submitted anonymously."Now is the time to come forward," the FBI said in a statement Friday.People can also call the FBI at 800-225-5324.What to know about the Crystal Rogers caseRogers went missing in 2015. Her car was found abandoned with a flat tire on Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown with her phone, purse and keys still inside.She had five children, one with Houck. While he is the only person since she disappeared to be named as a suspect, he has never been charged. His home was searched last year when the FBI started investigating. They also investigated his brother Nick Houck's home.At one point, investigators zeroed in on Houck's grandmother, Anna Whitesides.Crystal Rogers investigation: Where feds searched last year and whyThe state believed her car may have been used to dispose of Rogers' body. Whitesides, who had previously talked to investigators, later invoked her Fifth Amendment right, refusing to testify when called to court.Before the FBI came in last year, the Nelson County Sheriff's Department was handling the disappearance. A new detective took over the case a couple of years ago when Det. Jon Snow left the Sheriff's Department. Chief Deputy Joedy Gilliland then became the lead until the feds stepped in.Last year, when the FBI began its investigation, officials reported that they had found human remains at the Washington-Nelson county line. The FBI later reported that those remains were not of Rogers and their efforts remained largely quiet up until the latest flurry of activity this week.Just a year after Rogers died, on Nov. 19, 2016, her father was shot and killed on family property near Bluegrass Parkway, and his killing also remains unsolved.

The remnants of a powerful hurricane may have temporarily halted search efforts in the Crystal Rogers investigation, but work is expected to resume this weekend.

After a flurry of activity last week in a Bardstown subdivision, the FBI was forced to suspend its search efforts this week due to deteriorating weather conditions from the remnants of Hurricane Ida. The weather system brought torrential rains to many areas of the Louisville region, including Nelson County, where the Rogers probe centers.

It's been days now and weather impacts have subsided. Many have wondered when the FBI will continue its investigation, and that appears to be Saturday.

In a statement sent to WLKY, a spokesperson for the FBI said personnel will be "conducting a search of the materials" that were recovered at the subdivision, but from an offsite collection point in Bardstown.

The subdivision that has been at the center of the renewed search efforts is Woodlawn Springs, where the FBI initially focused its work on three properties.

'I just pray this is it': Crystal Rogers' mother feeling encouraged as FBI search continues

Those properties were built by Brooks Houck, Rogers' boyfriend, at the time of her disappearance. The FBI then zeroed in on one of the properties, which no longer belongs to Houck. Teams spent last week digging up and excavating the driveway, and truckloads of concrete could also be seen around the subdivision.

The FBI hasn't shared much since it resumed search efforts last week, a year after taking over the investigation from local authorities.

Outside of visibly seeing the teams search and excavate in the subdivision, the first major update came last Friday when the FBI confirmed it had recovered an "item of interest."

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Then on Monday, while announcing that it would suspend its search for the time being, the FBI confirmed that "multiple items of interest" had been uncovered and that they are "potentially relevant to the investigation into the disappearance of Crystal Rogers."

The items have been sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis. The FBI has not shed light on what the items are and how they pertain to the disappearance of Rogers.

In an update Thursday, a spokesperson for the FBI said while the teams will be working off-site this weekend, that doesn't necessarily mean efforts have concluded at the subdivision.

"That is still a day-by-day decision," the spokesperson said about efforts at Woodlawn Springs.

Last weekend, for the first time, the FBI announced a $25,000 reward for information in Rogers' disappearance.

They are hoping someone in the community will come forward and provide tips that will lead to the identification, arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the mother's disappearance.

Previous stories:

The main message the FBI has been sending to the community is cooperation. Since the team took over the case last year, they have called on residents to come forward and launched a dedicated website for tips to be submitted anonymously.

"Now is the time to come forward," the FBI said in a statement Friday.

People can also call the FBI at 800-225-5324.

Rogers went missing in 2015. Her car was found abandoned with a flat tire on Bluegrass Parkway in Bardstown with her phone, purse and keys still inside.

She had five children, one with Houck. While he is the only person since she disappeared to be named as a suspect, he has never been charged. His home was searched last year when the FBI started investigating. They also investigated his brother Nick Houck's home.

At one point, investigators zeroed in on Houck's grandmother, Anna Whitesides.

Crystal Rogers investigation: Where feds searched last year and why

The state believed her car may have been used to dispose of Rogers' body. Whitesides, who had previously talked to investigators, later invoked her Fifth Amendment right, refusing to testify when called to court.

Before the FBI came in last year, the Nelson County Sheriff's Department was handling the disappearance. A new detective took over the case a couple of years ago when Det. Jon Snow left the Sheriff's Department. Chief Deputy Joedy Gilliland then became the lead until the feds stepped in.

Last year, when the FBI began its investigation, officials reported that they had found human remains at the Washington-Nelson county line. The FBI later reported that those remains were not of Rogers and their efforts remained largely quiet up until the latest flurry of activity this week.

Just a year after Rogers died, on Nov. 19, 2016, her father was shot and killed on family property near Bluegrass Parkway, and his killing also remains unsolved.

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FBI resuming Crystal Rogers investigation in Bardstown this weekend after storm delay - WLKY Louisville