Abate of Florida

Next State Meeting

Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and Like to Complain About Our Pets:
They live here. You don't. 
If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.) 
I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. 
To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly. 
Dogs and cats are better than kids ...they eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called, never drive your car, don't hang out with drug-using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, and don't need a gazillion dollars for college - and if they get pregnant, you can sell the children. 

Q: Why did the spider go to the computer? A: To check out his web site. 

Q: What do you call a knight who is afraid to fight?  A: Sir Render 

From Gov Bush Newslatter
On Monday, Columba and I reinforced our commitment to reducing underage drinking in Florida. As part of our commitment, I presented a check for $25,000 to the Community Drug and Alcohol Council to be used in implementing a spring break public awareness campaign focusing on prevention of underage drinking in the Bay county area. According to the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey, alcohol use among middle and high school students within the 30-day period prior to the survey has declined by six percent since 2000.
Efforts to reduce binge drinking have achieved greater success with statewide reductions at 15 percent among middle and high school students.
While the numbers show a downward trend, alcohol remains the most frequently abused substance by youth in Florida.www.myflorida.com/drugcontrol

Mexico Public Announcement 
April 6, 2005 
This Public Announcement is being issued to alert U.S. citizens to the deterioration in recent weeks of local law enforcement in Cancun caused by a persistent shortage of municipal funds to pay for police and public services. 
Police responsiveness to emergency calls and investigation of crimes has been severely impaired, and the U.S. 
Consulate in Merida has received several reports of petty corruption and extortion aimed at U.S. travelers. This Public Announcement supplements the Announcement issued on January 26 and it expires on May 31.

The U.S. Consular Agency in Cancun has received numerous allegations of tourists being extorted for money by taxi drivers and malfeasant police or individuals posing as police officers. In some cases, tourists have been taken to ATM machines for immediate payment of alleged infractions. In other cases, extortion attempts occur after a motorist (typically in a rental car) is stopped for an alleged moving violation. The motorist is threatened with imprisonment if a "fine" is not immediately paid, even though there is no proof that any infraction has been committed.

Visitors to Cancun should be aware that a written citation should be received before the payment of any fine. No money should be paid directly to a police officer. If you believe you are the victim of an extortion attempt, you should make a note of the officer's name and badge number, the time and location of the incident, and the number of the patrol car if applicable, and immediately call the U.S. Consular Agency in Cancun or the U.S. Consulate in Merida.

Patriot Act's secret searches used 108 times 

By Declan McCullagh http://news.com.com/Patriot+Acts+secret+searches+used+108+times
/2100-1030_3-5655112.html 
Story last modified Tue Apr 05 07:44:00 PDT 2005 The section of the Patriot Act permitting police to surreptitiously enter and search a home or office without notifying the owner has reportedly been used 108 times during a 22-month period. 
The U.S. Justice Department released the figures, which cover the period from October 2001 through April 2003, late Monday. The release comes as the Senate and House of Representatives are beginning a series of hearings this week to decide whether to renew portions of the controversial 2001 law that are set to expire on Dec. 31. The section of the law that allows the searches is not one of those set to expire, but data about the provision was released as part of the review. 

"Delayed-notification search warrants are used in a wide spectrum of criminal investigations, including those involving terrorism and drugs," the Justice Department said in a statement. "Like any other search warrant, delayed-notification warrants under Section 213 may only be issued after showing probable cause and obtaining the express approval of a judge."

Section 213 of the Patriot Act authorizes so-called sneak-and-peek entries in cases where alerting someone that a surreptitious search took place may have an "adverse result" on a police investigation. Eventually the owner of the home or office is supposed to be notified, though the law says that deadline can be "extended" without limit if police make a good case for it.

Even though the Patriot Act was enacted as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Section 213's powers are not limited to investigations of terrorists and spies. Instead, sneak-and-peek searches may be used to investigate any federal felony or misdemeanor, from firearms violations to marijuana possession or copyright infringement.

Sneak-and-peek searches were used before the Patriot Act, but their legality was less clear then. One case involved the FBI surreptitiously entering the office of an alleged mobster to implant a key logger that recorded his PGP passphrase.

In a 1979 case called Dalia v. United States, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police could secretly break into an office to plant a bugging device and then return several weeks later to remove it.

In a dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote: "Until Congress has stated otherwise, our duty to protect the rights of the individual should hold sway over the interest in more effective law enforcement."

The American Civil Liberties Union said Monday: "We encourage Congress, as it begins its review of the Patriot Act this week, to ask the Justice Department to fully explain and expand on (its) partial picture" of Section 213.
Copyright ©1995-2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. 

Law Expands Right to Kill in Self-Defense:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - People in Florida will be allowed to kill in self-defense on the street without trying to flee under a new law passed by state politicians on Tuesday that critics say will bring a Wild West mentality and innocent deaths. 
The Florida House of Representatives, citing the need to allow people to "stand their ground," voted 94-20 to codify and expand court rulings that already allow people to use deadly force to protect themselves in their homes without first trying to escape. 

The new bill goes further by allowing citizens to use deadly force in a public place if they have a reasonable belief they are in danger of death or great bodily harm. It applies to all means of force that may result in death, although the legislative debate focused on guns. 

The "Stand Your Ground" bill passed the Senate last week on a 39-0 vote and now goes to Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, who indicated he will sign it. 

"This is about meeting force with force," said House sponsor Republican state Rep. Dennis Baxley of Ocala. "If I'm attacked, I should not have to retreat." 

Critics have few objections to allowing people to protect themselves from intruders in their homes but said the provision making it easier to use deadly force in public gives gun owners a license to kill. 

"For a House that talks about the culture of life it's ironic that we would be devaluing life in this bill," said Democratic state Rep. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach. "That's exactly what we're doing." 

Like many states, Florida courts have ruled that people have a right to defend themselves in their homes. Florida courts have expanded that "Castle Doctrine" to include employees in their workplaces and drivers who are attacked in their automobiles. 

Outside the home, however, courts have ruled that most victims must at least attempt to escape before using deadly force, a provision gun advocates say puts victims at greater risk. The proposal removes that requirement if a person has a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm. 

Critics say the measure could lead to racially motivated killings and promote deadly escalations of arguments. 

"All this bill will do is sell more guns and possibly turn Florida into the OK Corral," said Democratic state Rep. Irv Slosberg of Boca Raton. 


http://www.news.com/ 

States gang up on Vonage By Ben Charny http://news.com.com/States+gang+up+on+Vonage/2100-1036_3-5662937.html Story last modified Mon Apr 11 12:07:00 PDT 2005 In a sign of another battle between regulators and Net phone service providers, a high-profile Texas lawsuit against Net phone operator Vonage is generating interest from other states' top cops. 
The deceptive trade practices lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in late March alleges that Vonage doesn't adequately disclose how its 911 service differs from what customers are used to. Vonage's emergency call service, for example, has to be first activated by the customer, and the calls aren't routed directly to emergency dispatchers. The litigation surfaced shortly after a Houston-area Vonage customer tried, and failed, to get through to an emergency dispatcher after her parents had been shot during a robbery. Vonage denies the allegations.

Since the filing "several states have expressed an interest in the suit," Abbott spokesman Tom Kelly said. He declined to identify the states because they may be investigating Vonage as Abbott's office also did. To date, no other states have joined the Texas lawsuit or filed one of their own against Vonage, according to several sources.

New York State appears to be a candidate to next pull the trigger. NYS Attorney General Eliot Spitzer began "looking into the Texas lawsuit in greater detail" a few days after it was filed, a Spitzer spokesman said at the time. The spokesman didn't immediately return a call Monday for comment. 

A Vonage spokesman had no immediate comment. 

The interest in Abbott's lawsuit is another indication that time is running out for fast-growing Net phone providers to fully support 911 emergency services, a key but costly public safety feature that few now provide. There's been increased regulatory pressure on Net phone providers to fix their 911 problems as the industry braces for rapid adoption of Internet telephony services with the entry into the market of cable companies and Web giants such as America Online.

The Houston scenario spotlighted once again how U.S. Net phone providers still cannot successfully route a 911 call to the right emergency calling center and also provide emergency operators with the caller's phone number and location. Vonage and other voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers have long posed a problem for 911--a result of the technology behind Internet calling. With VoIP, calls are packaged in Internet Protocol (IP), the same routing instructions that form the backbone of the Internet. The problem, according to Net phone providers, is that the Bells have yet to give providers unfettered access to the 911 infrastructure linking more than 3,200 emergency call centers. 

That forces the Net phone companies into less-effective ways of routing 911 calls. Rather than being able to get them directly to trained emergency dispatchers, the calls are typically routed to administrative lines at call centers, which then transfer them to dispatchers. In an emergency, the few seconds lost could be the difference between life and death. 

This issue is unlikely to derail Net telephony completely, but it could lead to higher prices and increased regulatory oversight of the nascent industry. Ripple effects could also reach traditional phone networks and the Bells, as VoIP providers call on authorities to help broker deals that would allow them to roll out 911 support faster.
Copyright ©1995-2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.