Blogging All the Way to Jail
August 9, 2006 Posted by mitch | internet | 1 Comment
What is this world comming to... more and more we seem to be drifting towards a Police State. The reason for this rant? Well its over a situation reported on by TIME.
Wolf was thrown into federal prison for refusing to testify before a U.S. grand jury and for failing to hand over unpublished video footage he shot during a raucous clash on the streets between San Francisco police officers and anti-G8 protesters last year. Wolf posted some of the video on his blog, and some clips were aired on TV newscasts that later paid Wolf for the footage. But the feds are demanding to see everything that wasn't made public. They allege that the unused portion of Wolf's video may show the patrol car being set afire — part of a federal crime, the government asserts. Wolf denies there is an attempted arson on his videotape. The feds say they have jurisdiction over the case because the police car is partly U.S. government property since the S.F.P.D. receives federal anti-terrorism money.
So... because the US government gives money to the SFPD that means they used that money to buy a police car that was later set on fire by some anti-G8 protesters? Wha?!? It doesn't make sense... I mean an employer has no right to any of the property or other posessions an employee might buy as a result of their pay check from the employer... so why would they have any right to this police car, assuming the money that paid for it came from the government? I'm not entirely sure about Mr. Wolf's rights as far as refusing to testify before a U.S. grand jury, but I don't see how or why he should be required to give up his video footage. When multiple parties have said there is no information on the tape that the police/government are looking for. It seems they just want the tape to identify those at the protest, but traditional journalists are protected by California Law to not require them to give up information while gathering news. Why can't an independant journalist be afforded this same protection? To make it worse... hes looking at a year in prision just because he won't stand before a grand jury on the issue. The whole situation stinks to be honest. I don't condone the act of violence that the anti-G8 protesters performed by burning the police car, however, they still have their right to protest, which is why he shouldn't have to give up the tape, since it doesn't have the actual act of burning the police car on it.
This is just one more instants that I feel the police(and/or our executive branch) have over stepped boundries they they really shouldn't be crossing. I haven't written on the previous ones, but there have been a few in the news over the last couple months, and I'm really at a loss for words about it... It seems we as a people are giving up everything that was fought for by our founding fathers and since. Many people died to give way to the freedoms we've enjoyed over the last 2 centuries, and this is how we repay their sacrifice... I close this with a quote from one of those founding fathers
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.-- Ben Franklin
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