Free Republic

The Bee's posting last week of an online database making it easy to look up the salaries of state workers by name has made two things clear: First, many state workers are irate, complaining it is an invasion of their privacy. Second, the database is wildly popular, with more than 2 million page views in just the first three days, setting a sacbee.com record by a quantum leap that's growing each day. Beyond those two facts, though, there's little agreement. Certainly for hundreds of state workers who called or e-mailed my office, nothing will suffice except the database's removal. Many...

Snow days, kids and school officials have always been a delicate mix. But a phone call to a Fairfax County public school administrator's home last week about a snow day -- or lack of one -- has taken on a life of its own. (snip) It started with Thursday's snowfall, estimated at about three inches near Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke. On his lunch break, Lake Braddock senior Devraj "Dave" S. Kori, 17, used a listed home phone number to call Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer for the county system, to ask why he had not closed the schools....

The other day I posted a thread regarding an incident that occurred with an MHP officer at a traffic scene. I finally posted the video on YouTube I tried to be respectful. I know that the officer was trying to be diplomatic despite being in the wrong. At the end of it all, the traffic scene was really boring and I would have stopped filming on my own, but it gets my neck hairs up when told to stop doing a constitutionally protect activity -- especially one so important to ensuring accuracy. Anyhow - I sent a letter to the...

ST. GEORGE, Mo. -- The mayor of the St. Louis suburb of St. George, already accused of possessing marijuana, is now facing an even more serious accusation: suspicion of possessing child pornography. ~SNIP~ Goodman, 64, is a retired police officer who was elected last year. He was jailed and unavailable for comment. The St. Louis-Post Dispatch reported that police said they found marijuana when they searched Goodman's apartment, but they didn't say why they searched his apartment. snip The mayor's legal problems come less than two months after another embarrassing incident for the city. A young man's car seat-mounted videotape...

MONTEBELLO - A city commissioner was sentenced Thursday to four years probation for his fourth drunken-driving conviction. David Miranda, 43, was appointed to his position as civil service commissioner in March 2005. He also works for the Montebello Unified School District as a job developer, helping high school graduates find jobs. The terms of his probation include having his driver's license suspended for two years, serving 15 days in county jail, and serving 18 months in an alcohol rehabilitation program. The four DUIs are not the only legal trouble that Miranda has been in over the last 20 years. He...

The salaries of government employees in California, including police officers, are a public record and must be available upon request to "ensure transparency in government," the state Supreme Court ruled in a decision released Monday morning. The right to privacy of the information that employee unions argued "is not a reasonable one," the justices wrote, ending a lawsuit the Contra Costa Times filed more than three years ago against the city of Oakland. Even if disclosure of the information "may cause discomfort or embarrassment" it must be released, the decision states. The justices wrote that police salaries must be disclosed...

The founder of a publicly funded school for some of D.C.’s most vulnerable students faces up to two years in prison for his role in a computer-theft ring. Charles Emor is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court this morning. He was convicted last year of conspiracy charges after a jury found that he had bought computers stolen by his friends from the loading dock at the Gateway computer plant in Hampton, Va. Emor, 46, is the founder of SunRise Academy, a private school in D.C. that takes in learning-disabled and emotionally disturbed children from the public schools. Almost all...

The old saying that crime doesn't pay is certainly true for corrupt politicians hoping to get their pension. The board overseeing public employees retirement benefits has slashed benefits of several public servants who tried to collect pensions after corruption convictions or guilty pleas. When former state Senate President John Lynch gets out of prison, he'll be eligible for about 267 dollars a month. That's compared to the 18-hundred a month he would have received had he not pleaded guilty last year. The reduced pensions are part of a law that went into effect in April. The law makes it impossible...

This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=29769 Monday, November 25, 2002 Senator continues discourse on evils of talk radio Posted: November 25, 20021:00 a.m. Eastern By Michael Ackley © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com The Senator: … and so, you see, we Democrats were so fair and ethical in the conduct of our campaigns in past elections we were at a disadvantage. We lacked the edge enjoyed by our opponents – their backing by the shrill, mean-spirited hosts of right-wing, ultraconservative, fundamentalist, entertaining talk radio – not to indulge in name calling. Reporter:...