Joe The Plumber, Records: Ohio Probe Begins into Government Snooping

Joe The Plumber Probe:
Investigation Begins in Ohio
Over State Government Snooping



Smiling Faces
Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within
Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes
They don't tell the truth uh
Smiling faces, smiling faces
--The Temptaions; The Undisputed Truth

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Joe The Plumber Snooper Gets Paid Leave

DBKP reported before, and perhaps initially, that Helen Jones-Kelley violated both State and Federal Regulations when she ordered staff to conduct an investigative sweep of Joe The Plumber using the Child Support investigative computers. These computers have more access than any other in government, being able to review files for taxes, property records, traffic, crime, prison, drivers license, court, and on and on. The reason given is that the need is imperative and the use is non-criminal.

Hence no warrant needed.

Joe the Plumber Ohio Records: Illegal Child Support Searches Violate Laws

It now appears that despite the cover given her by the despicable and corrupt Governor Strickland, that the Attorney General--who in fact administers the Child Support collection efforts and knows the law well, or at least assigned staff who does--has put together enough of a case to commence disciplinary proceedings.

Jones-Kelley put on paid leave by governor

As the Dayton Daily News reports:

"COLUMBUS — Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and former head of that department in Montgomery County, has been placed on paid administrative leave by Gov. Ted Strickland.

Charles already was investigating reports that a department computer was used to gather personal information about "Joe the Plumber" — Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo — after Wurzelbacher emerged as a key figure in the presidential race in Ohio. The information included whether he owed child support, which he said he didn't.

He criticized Democrat Barack Obama's tax plan and endorsed Republican John McCain.

Charles is investigating whether such use of a state computer is legal. Jones-Kelley said there was nothing wrong with the check and suggested it was common practice for her department to do research on Ohioans in the news.

...

"

Michelle Malkin also reports this, Ohio government snooper put on leave for plumbing Plumber’s records.

Well, it sure took them long enough, didn’t it?

Via Dayton Daily News (which you’ll notice fails to mention that Jones-Kelley is a max contributor to Obama’s campaign)

An Ohio Highway Patrol trooper was stationed at the end of Jones-Kelley's driveway in Clayton on Friday night. He declined to allow a reporter to approach Jones-Kelley's home.

Strickland, a Democrat, has said that so far he had received no information to suggest that any state employee either accessed or disclosed information in an inappropriate or improper way."

Sure.

That is why the entire country knows that Joe the Plumber does not owe Child Support, etc.

The TRUTH is this: Strickland did not ask Charles to investigate. Charles did so on his own after being informed by his staff that such information such as the child support and court status of Joe the Plumber, as was leaked to the media, had to involve the illegal usage of a Ohio State Child Support Investigative computer.

A simple check matching the security entry codes (issued to each child support investigator) with a search relative to Joe the Plumber quickly revealed the investigator who accessed his files, all files by the way. A security review of the investigator, usually conducted by Bureau head, quickly produced the fact ther investigator was ordered to do the review by Helen Jones-Kelley under the fallacious excuse that Joe had requested information on his file.

It was also revealed that the investigator had no idea who Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Joseph Wurzelbacher was. The given name was unfamiliar to her. Even though Jones-Kelley is not entitled to the information as she is not in the need-to-know loop, it is likely the investigator thought she was merely passing on good news to someone.



Ms Jones-Kelley must be fired. As a law enforcement official, she has totally compromised her position and the trust of the public. She should be charged with both State and Federal crimes. (of course, we all know that Bush only prosecutes Republicans)

As for Strickland, he waited until after the election because Charles was running for office. No doubt hoping it would blow over if Charles lost.

Unfortunately for Strickland, Charles did not let go.

As for that guard at the door, he is there to make sure the press do not learn it was Governor Strickland who asked Helen Jones-Kelley to commence the computer sweep.

That is my guess.

[ABOVE: Ohio Governor Ted Strickland]


by pat
images: lorraincountydemocraticparty
Sources:
* Dayton Daly News
* Dayton Daily News

Barney Frank, Fannie Mae's Herb Moses and Sarah Palin: Private Lives

Barney Frank & Fannie Mae's Herb Moses
Frank in September: Personal life on the table
Conservative Punk

---

Barney's own standards allow for scrutiny of his personal life, he stated so in an Associated Press article dated September 2nd:

Rep. Barney Frank is among the first Democrats to publicly say Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's family background, including the pregnancy of her unwed teenage daughter, should be fair game for campaign discussion.

"They're the ones that made an issue of her family," Frank, D-Mass., said Tuesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

This undoubtedly opens the door to scrutiny of Frank's relationship with Fannie Mae executive Herb Moses, while he was writing legislation. If Palin's personal life as it relates to her daughter's pregnancy is fair game, Frank's personal life as it relates to defrauding the American people is fair game.

WANT more rizzuto and Conservative Punk? Try these recent posts: * CNN calls BS on Obama's Ayers narrative * New McCain Ad: Hypo * McCain goes on the offensive! Finally asks the right question of Obama.

by rizzuto
image: dbkp file
Source: Barney Frank in September: Personal life on the table

Lawmaker Enters Legislature With a Bang!

"We're not the World Federation of Wrestling."

--Colorado State Rep. Wes McKinley, D-La Junta

"Let's Get Physical"

--Olivia Newton John

A bi-partisan special committee has been convened by House leadership to examine an incident Monday in which freshman state legislator Doug Bruce, R-Colorado Springs, allegedly kicked a Rocky Mountain News photographer.

The incident between prominent tax foe Bruce, and Rocky photographer Javier Manzano, occurred Monday morning during a prayer on the House floor, just prior to Bruce's swearing in.

Because the episode took place when Bruce had not yet been sworn in to his freshman term as a legislator, Romanoff said, the probe could not be assigned to the House ethics committee, since Bruce was not formally a member of the House when it occurred.

Bruce said in an interview Tuesday that he never actually kicked Manzano, only touching the photographer's leg with the sole of his shoe, after Manzano ignored Bruce's request that he not snap frames during the prayer.

"My view is that this is not a mountain out of a molehill, this is a mountain out of a molecule," Bruce said Tuesday. "It's the photographer who engaged in the misconduct."

"He'd been taking pictures literally non-stop for over an hour," Bruce said. "I stood up for the prayer and bowed my head and he kept taking pictures. And I said, 'Don't do that.'''

Bruce added, "Ii feel the flash and hear the click and he's doing it again. I took my right foot and I tapped it on his knee. It was a nudge, a prod, a tap, whatever you want to call it. It's nothing."

Douglas Bruce (Lee?).........sheesh.

Two men enter, one man leaves.

by RidesAPaleHorse
[images: RAPH; myfoxcolorado]
Source: State Lawmaker Denies Kicking photographer



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

PageGate II: Investigation Ordered by Pelosi, Boehner

Mark Foley was anxious to turn over another page

Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi moved quickly to snuff out "PageGate II", the revelations that the House Page Board has been getting timely information.

These are the same charges that dogged Republicans last year after the Mark Foley scandal broke. House leadership knew but didn't do anything.

Now it seems that those charges are back, even though the leadership of the House has changed from Republican hands into that of the Democrats.

Two members of the board resigned last week, calling attention to recent misbehavior of the pages that wasn't received by the Board "in a timely manner".

Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) and Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) both quit the Board after revelations of page misconduct that was known by the House leadership, but left the Board out of the loop. This is the same charge hurled at Republicans when the Foley news broke late last year.

“It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I announce my intention to resign as a member of the House Page Board," Capito said through a spokesman.

“I looked forward to the opportunity to reform a very valuable program. Unfortunately, the problems with communication between board members that plagued the program in the past have only continued under new House leadership.

“Members of this board cannot productively tackle problems that may occur with our pages when questionable incidents are held from members of the Page Board.

“There have been numerous occurrences this year in which board members have not received timely information, and it is my belief that to move forward we must start fresh with a truly open dialogue.”

Capito and Waite resigned to protest what they called lax oversight.

Five Congressional pages have been involved in misdeeds recently: two were expelled for shoplifting. The items shoplifted were "a large amount of merchandise; not a stick of gum", according to a spokesman for Capito.

Two pages -- usually high school juniors who serve Congress as messengers -- have been dismissed for allegedly having oral sex in public areas of their Capitol Hill dormitory.

"It wasn't kissing and hugging -- let me put it that way," said Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Florida, last week. "It did go beyond that. There were not only a young male and female involved, but there were also observers and other page participants who were, let's say, enablers."

Just last week, another page was "involved in a fist fight" and also expelled.

Capito was cheered by news of the investigation.

“I applaud the Minority Leader and the Speaker for addressing this issue in a bipartisan manner,” said Rep. Capito.

“A program designed for young people truly deserves such a bipartisan – even nonpartisan – approach.”

A year ago, questions about what Republican leaders knew about Foley’s communications with former male pages and when they knew it cost GOP candidates at the polls.

Now, with sex and pages in the news on the Democrats’ watch, Pelosi appears to be trying to minimize the political fallout by bringing House Republican Leader John A. Boehner into the loop.

Pelosi and Boehner emerged from a meeting Thursday over allegations of sexual and criminal activity by pages with a rare joint statement directing the House Inspector General to conduct an independent investigation.
“We expect the Inspector General to gather the facts and recommend the appropriate and necessary corrective actions to be taken by the House,” they said. “We will also work together to select a highly regarded, independent entity to conduct a thorough review of the Page Program’s organization and operation, and make recommendations concerning its long-term future.”

The move follows reports that two pages engaged in oral sex in front of other pages at their Capitol Hill dormitory. The criminal allegations involve shoplifting. At least four pages have been sent home this year for misconduct.

Page Gate II: page misconduct and the leadership appears to have known about it without informing the people responsible for oversight of the page program.

We heard about this last year. We were told changes were made and the results would be different.

It appears that something is wrong again. The circumstances are similar.

What remains to be seen is if the media will engage in the same feeding frenzy as a year ago--when the Republicans were running the show.

by Mondoreb
Sources:
Pelosi, Boehner Order Investigation of Page Program
House Investigates Alleged Congressional Page Scandal
Capito Web Site Press Release
Notes, talk with Capito press spokesman, Jonathan Coffin



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Lori Drew, Megan Had it Coming: All Big Internet Stories Start as Local Ones

The Internet is a big place and stretches over the world.

It ties together people from America with those in England, France, China, Japan, Australia: in short, every nation on earth.

Although the big stories on the Internet often happen in New York, LA, Hollywood, London and other big cities, sometimes they originate in much smaller locales.

And they almost always start with a single individual who hears or sees something and tells someone else. Sometimes, that single individual is a reporter where that 'something' happened.

That's apparent after reading the latest from Steve Pokin, the journalist who reported the original Megan Meier story for the St. Charles Suburban Journal.

The Megan Meier story, her online harassment by "Josh", a fake boy created in the household of Meier's neighbor, Lori Drew and the subsequent uproar and outrage, swept over the nation a few days after the story appeared on November 11, 2007.

On November 18, a blog appeared with the name "Megan Had it Coming".

The blog's author claimed first to be "Kristen", then on December 3, the author published a post entitled "I'm Lori Drew".

For most of those who read and reacted to the Megan Meier story, this was a story with more twists and turns than a best-selling novel or TV movie. It inspired countless posts on countless blogs across the Internet, and in some cases, calls for justice for Megan Meier.

Particularly, readers of those blogs responded with an outpouring of comments, most of which were of the outraged variety.

For Steve Pokin, the saga of Megan Meier's MySpace Suicide and the subsequent happenings is different one: a local story. It happened to local people in a place with which he is familiar.

"Megan Meier--it's a local story for us," commented Pokin.

The people affected were local people. The businesses contacted were local businesses.

This is Steve Pokin's latest article, dated December 8, 2007.

POKIN AROUND: Who is 'Kristen'? And who, really, is 'Lori Drew'? Let the Investigation Begin

"I'm Lori Drew" is the introduction to a Dec. 3 posting on the inflammatory blog "Megan Had It Coming."

The blog's creation Nov. 18 was a painful and sad moment in a story with enough pain and sorrow for a lifetime.

Megan Meier, a 13-year-old who lived in Dardenne Prairie, took her life in October 2006 not knowing that Josh Evans, the 16-year-old boy who was mean to her on MySpace, was not real. Instead, he was created as part of a hoax played out by neighbors down the street and an 18-year-old girl.And now the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department, with its highly regarded computer forensics department, will try to find out who stooped so low.

"The matter is under investigation," Lt. Craig McGuire said. "Where that is going to lead us, we don't know."

Will it lead to Lori Drew? The real Lori Drew? The one in Dardenne Prairie?

Absolutely not, says James L. Briscoe, Drew's attorney.

"Someone claims to be her," Briscoe says. "It's not her. She has not done anything anywhere. So that makes it pretty simple."

Briscoe on Friday released a statement that, in part, said: "Any internet message that purports to be a member of the Drew family is being managed by an impostor and undoubtedly is being done for the purpose of further damaging the Drews' reputation."

Then who is it?

Some insider? Someone close to the story? Someone in the Waterford Crossing neighborhood?

Or will investigators discover this dismaying chapter was penned by someone a thousand miles away who'd read about the case and had no personal connection to it?

Will it be someone who, for whatever reason - maybe there wasn't anything good on TV that night - sat down at a keyboard to see how much anger, hate and sadness could be set in motion?

The debate in the blogosphere is whether this was really Lori Drew. Some argue it must be. There was so much detail, they say.

I read the posting and, for many reasons, I say it's not.

The "Lori Drew" post ends this way:

"The final word from authorities has come down that there will be no charges, so I don't have to remain silent. There's no point in hiding anymore. The internet has made it clear that mob revenge must prevail, even if there's no justice in it. So be it.

"Here I am internet. Come get me."

Can you imagine anyone in Lori Drew's position saying that?

I can't.

But if it's not Lori Drew, asks Randy Bierce, who in August created the blog "Death By 1000 Papercuts," why hasn't the real Lori Drew called Google and demanded that "Megan Had It Coming" be taken down?

"Lori Drew could have this blog shut down at the touch of the button," says Bierce, who blogs as Mondoreb and, at times, as Randy Richochet, in an office near Pittsburgh.

His blog has covered extensively the Megan Meier story, as well as the controversy surrounding "Megan Had It Coming."

Bierce says he and co-workers are split on whether the person posting as "Lori Drew" is really Lori Drew.

"The question is, 'Why would anybody in their right mind do that?'" he said. "But the reaction to the whole story is why would anybody do what she did in the first place?"

"Megan Had It Coming" falls within Blogger.com, which is owned by Google. A spokesman for Google on Friday responded to my questions via e-mail.

According to Google's Terms of Service, although negative and distasteful content is allowed, it is a violation to impersonate someone by using their real name. (Impersonating someone by using a nickname, handle or screen name is allowed.)

"When we are notified of the existence of content that may violate our Terms of Service, we act quickly to review it and determine whether it actually violates our policies," according to the Google spokesman. "If we determine that it does, we remove it immediately. We are currently reviewing an impersonation claim related to this blog."

The "I'm Lori Drew" poster also claimed to be the same person who started the blog. The creator, in that first post, wrote in the persona of a teenage girl who called herself Kristen, acknowledging that Kristen was not her real name.

Kristen claimed she and Megan were "sort of friends," and she called Megan a "drama queen" just as likely to have killed herself for not getting enough to eat at dinner.

Predictably, others responded with shock and anger and accused "Kristen" of being the real Lori Drew.

It makes me wonder: Who writes this stuff? For what purpose? Just to do evil?

Bierce explained that "trolls" are people who have no connection to a story but post comments simply to pour gasoline on a burning controversy.

Bierce said his analysis of postings from "Kristen" and "Lori Drew" indicates that Kristen, after making that first entry, did not post for several days. That behavior is unlike a typical "troll," he said.

On the other hand, "Lori Drew" posted and responded for several hours until, apparently, he or she quit following an avalanche of response. This would more closely fit the "troll" pattern.

Bierce said he expects law enforcement to eventually ascertain who really posted as "Kristen" and who really posted as "Lori Drew."

Ron and Tina Meier, who are divorcing in large part because of Megan's death, support the investigation by the sheriff's department.

Ron said the blog puts his daughter in an untrue, negative light.

"I am just glad that they are looking into this stuff and treating it more seriously," he said. "I don't know if it's Lori Drew who did it. I believe not."

Tina Meier sees irony in that someone posing as Lori Drew could possibly be charged under a new Dardenne Prairie law created in response to Megan's death and the MySpace hoax behind it.

Tina wants the sheriff's department to pursue not only this case, but also all local cases where there's a complaint of cyberspace harassment, bullying or impersonation.

The real Lori Drew has not complained to law enforcement.

Jack Banas, the St. Charles County prosecuting attorney, said he asked the sheriff's department to investigate the blog after being questioned by a TV reporter.

"I have not talked to Mrs. Drew about this at all," Banas said.

He would not comment on what the possible violation might be.

"I'm not going to speculate on what crime it might be or what it might not be because I don't know until it is investigated," Banas said.

To read more Steve Pokin, Pokin Around, the first entries are on the Megan Meier/Lori Drew story.

The search box can also be used for finding earlier articles he did on the story.

The debate continues to rage over the Internet, among people hundreds and thousands of miles from Dardenne Prairie and O'Fallon and nearby St. Louis.

"After this dies down, we'll still be here covering what happens here", Pokin quietly said on Friday.

Megan Meier's story is known in countries the world over: DBKP alone has had readers from 131 countries read at least one story on Megan Meier and the subsequent story of Lori Drew, Megan's parents, and the Megan Had it Coming blog.

Meanwhile, Steve Pokin will continue to report on what remains for him, a local story about local people.

by Mondoreb
[image:insidesocial]



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Lori Drew, Megan Meier: Megan Had it Coming Blog Watch

Some times to keep in mind and ponder for 'Megan Had it Coming' blog-watchers.

Time Elapsed Sine the Megan Had it Coming Blog published its first post on November 18, 2007 at 1:01 pm.



Time Elapsed since the following post appeared on the "Megan Had it Coming" blog.

[at 4:53 am EST December 7, 2007]: 11 hours 30 minutes]


K said...

FOR ALL OF YOU OUT HERE THAT THINKS THIS ISN'T LORI DREW,I HATE TO BREAK THE NEWS TO YOU BUT IT IS.I TALKED TO A FAMILY MEMBER WHO SAID THAT WHEN LORI WROTE THIS SHE THOUGHT PEOPLE WOULD BE UNDERSTANDING ONCE THEY HEARD HER SIDE OF THE STORY,SHE DIDN'T EXPECT TO GET THE BACK LASH THAT CAME AND IS STILL COMING.SHE HAS DECIDED TO LET PEOPLE VENT AND IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HER FAMILY THEY WILL HAVE SOMEWHERE TO START(THIS BLOG LIST).

December 6, 2007 5:24 PM

NUMBER OF COMMENTS on 'Megan Had it Coming' BLOG [4:35 am EST 12-07-07]: 2845

Blogger.com, which houses the blog and lists "impersonation" as one of the things banned from the site, said it has no information that would call into question the authenticity of the "Megan Had It Coming" site.

"We take violations of Blogger's policy very seriously as such activities diminish the experience for our users," a spokesman for Google, Blogger's parent company, told FOXNews.com.

"Once we are notified about a blog that impersonates a person, we act quickly to remove it. We have not received an impersonation claim to date from the individual allegedly being impersonated."

As we said before, we'll wait and see what happens.

Meanwhile, the numbers accumulate.

by Mondoreb
[image:dkimages]
Sources:
Megan Had it Coming, Lori Drew: What Her Lawyer Says, What Google Says
Megan Had it Coming Blog Still Going Strong

Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Baby Grace: Hundreds of Tips Flood Police

VIDEO REPORT
CBS News has reported that "police have been flooded with tips about Baby Grace".
Police have said that they have narrowed the search down to three girls, but they now have expanded it to about two dozen missing little girls. They also said they have been "flooded with tips" from all over the United States about possible leads. More from CBS News:

Investigators on Monday said at least two dozen girls reported missing from across the country match the physical description of the child investigators have named "Baby Grace."

Investigators were pursuing 170 active leads and on Monday were conducting follow-up interviews with people who had given promising clues, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said, according to the Galveston County Daily News.

Hundreds of tips from around the country have poured in since authorities released sketches of the unidentified child on Friday. A fisherman found the toddler's body a week ago along the Intercoastal Waterway.

Police first suspected the body of the girl may have been that of Madeline McCann, an English girl kidnapped during her parents' vacation in Portugal. They then ruled her out, only to leave the door open later.

The search for the identity of the little girl police have named "Baby Grace" continues. At the end of the case, one family may at last know the fate of their daughter.

by Mondoreb
& Little Baby Ginn




Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.