http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/01/26/my-heart-is-in-san-francisco-open-line Comments On: My heart is in San Francisco open line by Max Brantley en-us Copyright 2013 Arkansas Times. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Arkansas Times readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Arkansas Times. robert@arktimes.com (Arkansas Times Webmaster) Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:01 -0500 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:15:00 -0500 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
From Friday's Crittenden Evening Times,

Abram steps away from post

Saying he was doing what was best for everyone involved, Reginald Abram stepped aside Thursday afternoon as one of the Crittenden County Democratic Central Committee's choices for the Crittenden County Election Commission.

James Pulliaum, the newly elected chairman of the Democratic committee, said last night that he already has contacted committee officials about holding a new election for a commissioner at the committee's next meeting on Feb. 5.

Abram, whose status as a convicted felon had brought new controversy to those controversy-plagued political bodies, was never sworn in to the post, by his own choice.

“I'm going to do what I think is best,” he said in a phone call from his home in Earle. “Even though I had some legal people that I was supposed to get back with, I decided to just go ahead and step aside. You know, right now the county is about split; this is about the constituents of this county; we need to be of one accord. ...

“I am in the process of doing some things to get my record clear but I'm not doing that for anyone else. I just need to get that straightened out for myself.

“I just feel like this is what you've go to do. I didn't want to get sworn in and then get removed and then you got to do this and then you got to do that.

“When I went to that meeting, I wasn't expecting to be elected to nothing. This is just how it came out.

“So for the best interest on the part of everyone, I just want to do what is right.”

Abram had come under scrutiny after the Democrats, reorganizing after the last election cycle, voted him to the commission along with returning chair Patricia Henderson.

Abram had served 10 months in a federal prison in Mississippi after being convicted of taking a bribe to smuggle cocaine into the Crittenden County Detention Center in 2004. He had been administrator of the jail for less than two months at the time that the transaction was caught on videotape.

Abram would have taken the position held by Daniel Hatchett, whose term on the Election Commission had been marked by controversy from the start.

Hatchett alleged he was ousted because of conflicts with Henderson in a move engineered by party leaders.

Pulliaum saidthe election would be held at 6 p.m. on Feb. 5 at the county courthouse.

Abram also sent out this e-mail:

“To: Chairman and all that's concerned,

“Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be and opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. I Reginald Abram have decided in the best interest of the DCC to submit my resignation. It is not because of the local media pressure or no one else. I am doing what I think is best for the democrat party. I want the party to stay unified because where there is unity there is strength. I will continue to remain faithful to our local and state party to get Democrats elected to office.

Sincerely Yours,

Reginald Abram”

Earlier Thursday, Pulliaum said he and Abram had gotten together earlier this week to discuss Abram's options, with Abram promising a decision by Friday.

Pulliaum dismissed comments that the choices of Abram and Patricia Henderson were the result of some sort of conspiracy, saying about comments from a former opponent for the party chairmanship: “He's saying all this, so I just want to ask him, what was the purpose of him bringing in 28 people to the meeting?”

Pulliaum said he did not have any particular favorites for the election commission posts. “It didn't make a lot of difference to me who served on the election commission,” he said.

Pulliaum and new parliamentarian Denny Sumpter have been moving ahead on new bylaws for the central committee, meeting yesterday afternoon with the bylaws committee.
Posted by Razorblade]]> Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:24:22 -0600 Arkansas Times
He was indicted for a large JSTOR download. However, JSTOR itself was not interested in having him charged.

Clearly, the federal injustice system is backassward, using the courts to hamstring free speech instead of pursuing truly dangerous criminals, like bankers who steal people's homes and savings and get away scot-free.

What do you expect when the U.S. Attorneys' offices are run by political hacks like A$a and Timmy G.?
Posted by YossarianMinderbinder]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 21:56:07 -0600 Arkansas Times
That explains why it is the economic powerhouse that it is.
Posted by Doc]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 19:48:24 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyathei…
Posted by Doc]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 19:47:26 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by the outlier]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 19:46:19 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/26/w…

Yoss, I am still sad every time I see a picture of Aaron Swartz or read about him. He was a rare and gifted soul. His girlfriend was on UpWithChrisHayes this AM. I had thought of him as a modern Thoreau, practicing civil disobedience. She said he was not. He did not believe he broke any laws. She also spoke movingly about our justice system being out of control and the many people who don't have Aaron's friends or resources.

If you have not listened to this video of Aaron at a conference you should. Cory Doctorow put it up with his eulogy.

http://boingboing.net/2013/01/12/rip-aaron…

It is so sad. He had much left to give us, and we had much still to learn from him.
Posted by the outlier]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 19:44:48 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Atlas999]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 19:29:45 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://assets.amuniversal.com/86e496d03c0f…
Posted by Cato]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 18:29:32 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by mountaingirl]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:35:54 -0600 Arkansas Times
"Cool."

BUSTED!

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/24/lapd_using…
Posted by Norma Bates]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:47:12 -0600 Arkansas Times http://www.aaronsw.com/ ) was involved in the development of the web feed format RSS, the website framework web.py, and the social news site Reddit. Aaron launched the campaign against the Internet censorship bills (SOPA/PIPA). He committed suicide 2 weeks ago after the feds threatened him with 35 years imprisonment and $1M fine for, basically, downloading scholarly articles in his attempt to share this knowledge with the public.

State prosecutors who investigated Swartz had planned to let him off with a stern warning, but federal prosecutor Carmen Ortiz took over and chose to make an example of the Internet activist, according to a report in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Swartz was charged with using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computer networks to download more than 4 million articles from JSTOR, an online archive and journal distribution service. The equivalent of being arrested for checking out too many books from the library.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57565927…
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In other news about draconian electronic laws, a provision of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) goes into effect today. It makes it illegal to "unlock" your cell phone.

"The ban means that you won’t be able to (lawfully) decouple your phone from one carrier and move to another carrier that uses the same cellular technology (GSM, CDMA, etc.) unless your carrier agrees to send you an unlock code. Imagine buying a car equipped with software that prevents you from taking certain roads—and being legally barred from disabling the software!"

This corporate-friendly rule is yet another of the consumer-gouging provisions of DMCA. A violation of this rule could result in a fine that could be as high as $500,000 and include prison time.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2026236/pho…
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DMCA was enacted on the Fed and state level to ostensibly combat movie and software piracy, but has become a way to allow industry to own what we've purchased. This has fundamentally changed the concept of ownership. When you buy a house, the contractor cannot put you in jail if you decide to invite people over for a party or rent it to another person. Under DMCA, if you use a device you own in a manner the manufacturer does not approve of, they can have you arrested, fined, and incarcerated.

The DMCA gives police sweeping powers to invade your privacy, search your home and seize your possessions with the onus on YOU to prove your innocence. This is similar to the extreme abuses of the drug forfeiture laws (see the 4th paragraph of the CNET citation above).

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a lengthy list of the severe consequences of DMCA.
https://www.eff.org/wp/unintended-conseque…
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The erosion of civil liberties has been constant under the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations.
Posted by YossarianMinderbinder]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:40:15 -0600 Arkansas Times For some reason no one in Little Rock is reporting on the on-going Crittenden County election commission turmoil. So here is your opportunity to scoop both Jason and the Dem Gaz. Information is on Friday, the Democratic Party of Arkansas interceded and negated the recent election in that county committee, so perhaps now the story can get some traction. The goal is to put an end to the unacceptable activity that everyone has turned a blind eye to except Stephen Jones, the former county committee chairman. They ran him out of office for his trouble.
From the Crittenden Evening Times on 24 January:

Outcry grows over board vote

The selection of a convicted felon to serve on the Crittenden County Election Commission has drawn increased media scrutiny and an outcry from a few officials.

Reginald Abram, who served 10 months in a federal prison after being arrested for taking a bribe to smuggle cocaine in the Crittenden County Jail in 2004, has said he will make a decision by Friday as to whether he will step aside or pursue the position. Abram was the newly appointed jail administrator at the time of the arrest, and was caught on tape making the transaction.

Abram was elected by the Crittenden County Democratic Central Committee last week to replace Daniel Hatchett, who has been among those denouncing the action.

One of the 76 members of the Democratic committee has sent an open letter to the media:

“Dear fellow CCDCC members and members of the press,

“Crittenden County Election Commission chairwoman Patricia Henderson actively campaigned against fellow Election Commissioner and Democrat Daniel Hatchett because he had followed the letter of the law and wouldn't rubber stamp the unethical actions Patricia Henderson had called for. Patricia Henderson spearheaded the campaign to remove Daniel Hatchett by spreading untruths and other disinformation to the voting body of the CCDCC, and had the new Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee, James Pulliam, nominate convicted felon Reginald Abram to replace Hatchett.

”In 2004, Reginald Abram, then the Chief Administrator for the Crittenden County Sheriff's Department, was arrested after accepting delivery of more than two ounces of cocaine for delivery to an inmate. Reginald Abram is clearly constitutionally ineligible to hold public office because he has an unexpunged felony conviction. Article 5 of the Arkansas Constitution, Section 9 states that; "No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery or other infamous crime, shall be eligible to the General Assembly or capable of holding any office of trust or profit in this State."

”Chairwoman Patricia Henderson has had numerous complaints filed by citizens, voters, and political candidates this past election season. These complaints are on file with the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners. As a concerned citizen, voter, and Committeeman for the Crittenden County Democratic Central Committee, I believe this matter needs further investigation.

“In (Tuesday's) Crittenden County Evening Times newspaper, our new Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee, James Pulliaum, denied nominating the convicted felon, Reginald Abram, where in fact, as many of you may recall, Pulliaum nominated both Henderson and Abram simultaneously, as I, and numerous other members of the CCDCC witnessed. Pulliaum is clearly lying, which demonstrates his allegiance with Henderson and begs to question the motivation and agenda of both Henderson and Pulliaum.

“Thank you for your kind attention.

“David R. Shelby

“Committeeman, Crittenden County Democratic Central Committee”

Stu Soffer, a longtime close observer of the Crittenden County Election Commission and a member of the State Board of Election Commissioners, noted in an e-mail to the Evening Times and other members of the press that he was rebuffed in his attempts to assist the commission in the performance of administrative duties of the election process.

Says Soffer: “ Turmoil has been ongoing for at least two years and the Republican election commissioner has been subjected to continuing significant public verbal abuse by the past and current Democratic CBEC chair. It stemmed from the chair refusing to follow voting laws and state board procedures and rules while county officials ignored events, voters suffered and complaints were made to the state board.

”My position was since county officials had not demonstrated a willingness to provide needed relief and the state board possessed the needed authority to intervene, we should. That was not the opinion of the other board members and I was frustrated.

”Now comes a Democratic election commissioner unseated because he sided with the Republican in following the law, and substantiating the appropriateness of state board involvement - not in the current representation dispute which is a county committee issue, but in compelling the CBEC chair to follow the law. Voters and candidates for office in Crittenden County deserve better.”
Posted by Razorblade]]> Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:37:47 -0600 Arkansas Times