Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Constitutional Issues Big brother is watching

itstarted,

Sorry to hear about your problems with comcast and the Dept of Agriculture. I'll bet that more than one-half the "views" are by government agencies and other interested parties. I sent direct evidence of illegal electronic surveillance to State Attorney Steve Meadows. State Attorney Meadows wouldn't even acknowledge the evidence provided or respond to my Public Record Requests. At least Assistant State Attorney Lewis did with I suspect a little prodding from then AG Charlie Crist and wrote that there was "no basis to my charges." ASA Lewis is a liar and covering-up. Yesterday I received a letter, dated 9-12-07, from Assistant Attorney General Joslyn Wilson regarding the status of my request for mediation to obtain my closed case file from the SAO. I want to see the basis for ASA Lewis' determination and the nature of his "inquiries." On 8-28-07 AAG Wilson contacted Mr. Lewis with a request that she be notified by 9-5-07 if mediation would be helpful in resolving this dispute. (Coincidentally, AG McCollum was the featured keynote speaker at the bi-annual Bonifay Republican Reagan Day Dinner on 9-6-07.) The mediation program is voluntary and requires participation of both parties. I'm willing. Mr. Lewis for obvious reasons isn't. AAG Wilson wrote that Mr. Lewis hasn't replied so she's closing her case file. Now that's efficiency! So much for government accountability and transparency.

Joe

Florida state government and its public officials can be efficient when they want to do something

On Aug 27 I received a reply to my general email inquiry about the Open Government Mediation Program from JoAnn Carin, the Director of Open Government, EOG. Director Carin wrote that the issues I described are appropriate for the OAG’s Open Government Mediation Program. Ms. Carin sent copies to Jessica Dodson, EOG, and Jordan Chapman, EOG.

On Aug 28, I emailed Assistant Attorney General Joslyn Wilson requesting Open Mediation regarding the SAO’s inadequate response to my Public Records Request for my closed file.

On Aug 28, AAG Wilson contacted Assistant State Attorney William Lewis requesting that he notify her by Sept 5 if the SAO wished to participate in this voluntary program.

On Aug 29, in the interest of government transparency and accountability, I emailed Attorney General Bill McCollum requesting the OAG’s Open Government Mediation Program.

On Aug 30, I mailed a certified letter to AG McCollum requesting Open Government Mediation regarding the SAO’s inadequate records response to my Public Records Request.

On Aug 31, the USPS verified receipt of my letter by the OAG.

On Aug 31, I received a copy of AAG Wilson’s letter to Assistant State Attorney Lewis, 14 Judicial District SAO.

By Sept 5 Assistant State Attorney Lewis, 14th Judicial District SAO, was supposed to notify Assistant Attorney General Wilson if he wished to participate in what Open Government Director JoAnn Carin described as appropriate for the OAG's Open Government Mediation Program. He didn't wish to participate. The State Attorneys don't report to the Attorney General, but the Attorney General provides leadership.

On Sept 6, Attorney General Bill McCollum was the keynote speaker at the Bonifay Republican’s “bi-annual” Reagan Day Dinner.

On Sept 7, I read in the local weekly paper’s Sept 5 edition that AG McCollum was to be the keynote speaker at the “bi-annual” Bonifay Republican Day Dinner. US Rep Jeff Miller and State Rep Don Brown were expected to attend.

On Sept 8, I emailed AG McCollum expressing my regrets that I did not get a chance to discuss an on-going issue with him while he was in Bonifay for the Reagan Day Dinner.
I also mailed a hard copy.

On Sept 8, WRJMFM deleted all the posts in their Forum due to a “spamming surge,” which consisted of 200 spams (Well, at least one surge is working). Although I only began posting to this Dothan, AL, messageboard recently and had less than 10 posts to it, the thread that I started was the most popular. My posts to this website also pissed The Local Powers That Be off, probably because of my references to the rural electric co-op- a sacred cow with a lot of political clout.

On Sept 10, I faxed a copy of my Sept 8 letter to AG McCollum.

On Sept 12, a Leslie Jacobs who said that she was with the OAG and calling about a fax that a Joe Keegan sent to AG McCollum left a message at 7:39 am on the answering machine. Leslie left a phone number to call. She wanted to know what the issue was that I wanted to discuss with McCollum. Apparently they didn't know.

I checked Florida’s website 411 employee directory, which listed a Leslie H. Jacobs with the Gov’s Office but at a different number than the one she left.

On Sept 14 around 7:30 am, I returned Ms. Jacobs' call. I got an answering machine that indicated the line belonged to Jacobs/McCollum. I left a message that the issue involved my request for open mediation with the SAO.

On Sept 14, I received a letter, dated Sept 12, from AAG Joslyn Wilson that she closed my mediation case file because Assistant State Attorney Lewis hadn’t replied to her. The program is voluntary, which seems to defeat its purpose. FL state government can be efficient when it wants.

On Sept 16, I picked up a free newspaper, ADVERTYZ-IT, dated Sept 12, which devoted most of the front page and one-half of another page to AG McCollum’s speech at the annual Reagan Day Dinner. US Rep Jeff Miller didn’t make it, but State Rep Don Brown and Alabama State Senator Harri Anne Smith (Slocomb, AL, which is outside Dothan) did attend.

Joe

I formally notified FL AG Bill McCollum that Florida's 14th Judicial District State Attorney's Office is covering up the official misconduct described above. By law, the AG is required to address this matter. In my letter, I wrote that if I had known beforehand that he was going to be the keynote speaker at the Reagan Day Dinner, I would have attended and presented him with evidence of my charges that the SAO refuses to acknowledge. And, since I missed this opportunity, I offered to either forward this evidence to him or present it personally. I also wrote that the reason that Chief Assistant State Attorney Lewis refuses to participate in the OAG's Open Government Mediation Program is that he lied that my charges are baseless in order to cover-up. A simple check of my closed "case file" and his so-called "inquires" would prove my charges. Although the State Attorneys don't report to him, AG McCollum provides the leadership and ethical and moral tone for public officials.

Joe

Assistant Attorney General Wilson apparently replied to my above letter to AG McCollum not only on his behalf but that of the OAG itself. I pasted in the text of my reply to Assistant Attorney General Wilson's Sept. 25, 2007 letter below.

Sept. 28, 2007

Joslyn Wilson
Assistant Attorney General
PL 01 The Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050
Fax: 850-922-3969

Dear Assistant Attorney General Wilson,

Thank you for your letter, dated September 25, 2007. Unfortunately, there appears to be some misunderstanding, which I wish to correct. I wasn’t requesting that the Office of Attorney General Bill McCollum investigate my charges, but rather I was notifying him of these charges and requesting that he submit evidence that I provide to a judge or someone in authority who would do something. This is the evidence that I referred to in my Aug. 29, 2007 email and Aug. 30, 2007 certified letter to Attorney General McCollum and it speaks for itself. Furthermore, Chief Assistant State Attorney Lewis’ refusal to participate in the OAG’s Open Government Mediation Program raises some disturbing and troubling questions about the integrity of the SAO. The issue isn’t prosecutorial discretion, but rather government integrity, transparency, and accountability.

As stated earlier, if I had known that Attorney General McCollum was to be the featured keynote speaker at the Republican Reagan Day Dinner here in Bonifay on Sept. 6th, then I would have attended. In addition, the local weekly newspaper reported that FL State Rep. Don Brown was in attendance. The Honorable’s office is well aware of what’s going on. If he had so wished, Rep Don Brown might have confirmed my charges if asked by Attorney General McCollum. The opportunity was certainly there to do so.

Finally, correct me if I’m mistaken, but are you saying that a public official within the OAG who knows about criminal misconduct by Florida law enforcement officers doesn’t have to do anything about it? Thank you for your swift and timely replies to my concerns.

Sincerely,
Joe Keegan

In August, I filed two FOIPA requests with the FBI. I filed one with FBI HQ and one with the Jacksonville, FL, Field Office. The USPS verified delivery of both. FBI HQ acknowledged theirs and assigned Request No.: 1091663-000 to it. Today I received FBI HQ's response: "No records responsive to your FOIPA request were located by a search of the automated and manual indices. If you desire a search of the Field Office files, you must contact the appropriate Field Office." David M. Hardy, Section Chief, Record/Information Dissemination Section Records Management Division signed the response. Mr. Hardy's letter was dated Sept. 21, 2007, postmarked Sept. 28, 2007, and received today, Oct. 3, 2007.

Unfortunately, Jacksonville FBI still hasn't even acknowledged my FOIPA request never mind responded to it. For that matter, the Jacksonville FBI Field Office hasn't responded to my inquiries regarding my FOIPA request, either.

I guess my earlier complaint regarding illegal electronic surveillance by FL law enforcement that I filed with the Jacksonville FBI Field Office is so secret that I'm not even supposed to know about it.

Joe

GOP targeting Clinton on phone-call snooping. Privacy and government spying will be a campaign issue in 2008. Considering their own record, the Republicans calling Hillary a hypocrite is an extreme example of the pot calling the kettle black. It's as hypocritical as the Republicans claiming the exclusive monoply on "family values." Only one democratic congressman, who wasn't even my US Rep, helped with the DOD spying- and they do coordinate with civilian law enforcement, all the above political and public officials are Republican. So much for Republican concern for privacy, unless it's their own. Peasants have no rights.

Joe

The above linked worked when I tested it during the preview, but then stopped working after I posted. So in case it doesn't work, try this link or copy and paste it into your browser:
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-targeting-clinton-on-phone-call-snooping-2007-10-16.html If the link is still broken, go to: http//thehill.com . The article is entitled "GOP Targeting Clinton On Phone Call Snooping" and is dated 10-16-07.

Joe

Both links fixed. The last "l" on "html" was missing in both links, Joe.

Speaking of phone call snooping...

SkyHawk,

Thanks. I guess that the coffee hadn't kicked in yet. Phone companies have "assisted" various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies for years in more ways than just providing records. And, regarding providing records: Does letting someone "peek" or even copy records count as providing records?

Joe

The USPS verified delivery of my Freedom of Information Appeal (Label Number: EB 390615961 US) at 11:01 am this morning to the Director, Office of Information and Privacy, US DOJ. I had filed two FOIAs, one with the Jacksonville FBI office, which has the records that I'm requesting, and the other FOIA with FBI HQ, requesting all agency records related to me, including my complaint charging the FDLE and Holmes County Sheriff's Department with illegal electronic surveillane and harassment. FBI HQ replied to my FOIA within the statutory period indicating that they had no records. However, the Jacksonville FBI office still hadn't even acknowledged my FOIA, so I phoned the Special Agent in Charge to inquire about its status. His secretary referred me to the person who handled FOIAs. This individual said that he would look for it and forward it to the FBI HQ in DC, which in turn would then either call or email him authority to provide the records, which seems strange considering that FBI HQ requires you to file a separate FOIA with the local office possessing the records. On Oct. 5, 2007 the Jacksonville FBI FOIA manager left a message that he found my FOIA, forwarded it via Express Mail on Oct. 4, 2007 to FBI HQ, and that HQ would reply to me directly. Originally, he said that Jacksonville FBI would reply to my FOIA when they received authorization. When I still hadn't received a reply by Oct. 24, 2007 from FBI HQ (to my Jacksonville FBI FOIA), I filed an FOI Appeal treating the agency's failure to meet the FOIA's deadlines as a denial of my request. Any agency has 20 working days from receipt to make an initial determination of whether to comply with the FOIA and an additional ten working days is permitted in "unusual circumstances." It has been two months since the USPS verified delivery of my FOIA to the Jacksonville FBI office. FBI HQ has already replied to my separate FOIA that I sent to them for the same records.

When I initially mailed both FOIAs, one to Jacksonville FBI and the other to DC FBI HQ, USPS Track & Confirm indicated that both letters had been scanned twice: once upon receipt in the morning and then a second time in the afternoon. I've never seen this before, so I inquired as to how this could happen. The USPS didn't have any explanation. I suspect, although I can't prove it, that these letters were tampered with and that possibly accounted for the Jacksonville FBI office's delay in responding to my FOIA request within the statutory period.

According to US Rep Jeff Miller the FBI may not even let me know about my complaint because of "privacy" concerns. Huh, privacy concerns? Hey, I hope that I don't get into any trouble because of "privacy" violations. Maybe, I should turn myself in for violating my own privacy?

Joe