By Sandy . . . “I’m worried for my family,” he wrote. “Today the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office decided to put a picture of a map of all the houses where registered citizens live on its Facebook page. The comments that were allowed are absolutely disgusting.” As I read the email, I could feel the fear that the writer was expressing.…
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Also published in the July edition of Criminal Legal News. By Sandy . . . For those not tuned in to current trends or social media, cancel culture is most likely new, even unheard of, although according to Merriam-Webster, its first known usage was in 2016. The basic definition is “the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling as…
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Even though police departments have the duty to actively seek those who are violating the law — and this includes those who are out of compliance with their registration requirements — the Oklahoma City Police Department has chosen to do so in an extremely onerous and dangerous way. They have posted the names and pictures of ten such registrants on…
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Updated 11/15 By Sandy . . . To what standard of honest and ethical behavior should a law enforcement officer be held? A recent experience involving the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Dept. in Georgia and Sheriff Darren Mitchum has reinforced to me the importance of this question. Sheriff Mitchum saw fit to do a bit of bragging about his department’s efforts in…
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By Jason . . . Dear Facebook, Winter break-ups are the hardest. It’s been four cold months since you broke up with me. I thought you might want to know I’m doing okay. Sure, at first, I’d find myself flicking my thumb up as if I were still able to scroll the feed. I’d stop, hoping nobody saw. But really, I’m…
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By Sandy . . . This has been an amazing Halloween season. Overall, I sent emails to 73 Patch writers and editors in 25 states. I sent emails to 27 other media outlets and/or journalists. We sent out two press releases, here and here. I engaged in conversation on several Facebook pages, most notably in regard to this piece about a little town…
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By Sandy . . . I read with interest “Facebook block riles advocates of sex crime survivors.” Racheal Gonzales of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has posited an interesting position: Governmental officials and representatives should not be able to block constituents who disagree with them on their Facebook pages because it prohibits the critics’ ability to make their positions known and exercise…
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By Bruce Schreiner . . . LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky went too far in restricting internet access for registered sex offenders, violating free-speech rights by clamping down on their use of social media, a federal judge ruled Friday. In striking down the restrictions, U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove said [the] state law could keep sex offenders from participating…
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By Lincoln Caplan . . . DONALD TRUMP’S TWITTER account now has 40 million followers. It ranks 21st worldwide among 281.3 million or so accounts. It’s no secret that Trump is proud of his ability to use the account to communicate directly with his constituents. This summer, the president tweeted, “My use of social media is not Presidential—it’s MODERN DAY…
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By Robin . . . Having already contacted Mark Zuckerberg by letter dated June 27, 2017, NARSOL has now released a nationwide press release hoping to bring additional pressure upon the social media giant to cease its nearly nine-year-old practice of barring registered citizens from creating or maintaining Facebook user accounts. While it’s important to note that the Supreme Court’s recent decision…
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