Governmental Overkill: Woman Fined 1.9 Million For "Pirated" Works

CNN reported another incidence of corporate/governmental overkill now going on in our nation with respect to the recording industry's pursuit of any and all Americans that download songs or sounds without paying for them from the internet.

Now I admit there is quite a problem with this for writers and other artists, especially due to the fact that there is a clear lack of regulation over the commercial websites that market to the public for writers and artists in order to make the ad revenues and also for other nefarious purposes.

And there are citizens who abuse the Internet also as a free source of material which is, under U.S. laws and those of most countries which are under "common law" civil provisions (including Canada, Britain and most of the European nations in the EU) with respect to copyright protection for artistic works.

Many citizens also have been misled to believe that since the Internet is a public communications tool, that any and all material on it are covered under public domain provisions.

That is not the case anymore than you can copy text out of a library book simply because it is in the library.

The problem with this particular case was not so much the infraction, but the costs of the trial and the award involved for going after a woman who illegally downloaded five songs, which due to judicial error and technicalities with respect to jury instructions given ended up resulting in two different jury trials in a federal court. It didn't even meet the CIVIL threshhold for an afforded trial by jury, since those limits are $20.00 under the Constitution.

And while U.S. citizens throughout the nation now under the new criminal DUI "social drinking" levels and laws are denied jury trials in many states throughout the nation due to another redefinition and unconstitutional Supreme Court ruling in effect attempting to eliminate the right to trial by jury for "ALL criminal matters," by inserting the words "unless the term of incarceration is six months or more," this trial was initiated over a civil infraction actually due to the financial "loss" involved for five downloaded single songs.

There is an has been a move to criminalize such activities which has been in the works for years and this may be the case, but if so would appear the criminal fines and penalties are still out of whack for the actual infraction and loss involved here, in my and most rational citizens opinion. This would clearly have been a criminal misdemeanor, since the amounts involved don't even meet the civil jury trial minimum of $20 under the Constitution.

Apparently, the jury found her guilty, and the amount of the "fine" imposed was 1.9 million, over the amount of the original award in the first trial of $220,000. "Cruel and unusual punishment" doesn't even begin to describe how ludicrous the actual award was, and also the lengths that the federal courts went to in order to prosecute this woman and mother of four.

There was absolutely no report or evidence, apparently, that she had redistributed the works, or made any profit off of her illicit activity. So the loss involved to the recording company as the "injured" party under both civil and criminal common law according to the "proof" of damages required in such a case as this would have simply been the amount of the cost of the retail price for the music, which was less than $5.00.

Of course, now there will be another appeal, and the legal fees at this point must also be off the charts, and wonder just exactly why the judge didn't simply throw this case out the window due to the amount of the proveable damages involved as less than even the provisions for civil minimums for jury trials.

It did not state also whether or not the jury actually did determine the award, or whether these "fines" were determined under federal statute and levied by the federal judge which has become the case with many a "political" case meant to set a precedent or as a tyrannical power move by the federal government, and if that was the case, we do have a bunch of governmental officials that are off their rockers in again their lack of even giving any cursory value to the Constitution. Fines in that amount are beyond what any "average" American could pay and nothing more than again tyrannizing the public for the record executives, apparently.

I wonder if the jury instruction was given that the jury had the power to actually also examine the law and the penalties for applicability in this case based upon the actual facts and losses involved.

True bootleggers would have redistributed the work, and then there would have been certainly more to gain in going after those that are profiting off of pirated works, not simply for their own enjoyment.

You can make a tape off a radio station, for heaven's sakes, or a CD from your friends purchase which carries no penalties at all unless it is also "resold" for commercial purposes and meets the damage threshhold.

If this was a jury determined award, I wonder if the lawyers voir dire in the jury selection determined whether or not any of these jurors were record executives, or federal employees.

And with awards such as these, it would appear our federal government is flush with cash due to their tyranny and are truly bankrupting the citizenry with such abusive practices, so perhaps had more than enough in the kitty rather than borrowing from the Fed at the public's expense, in order to bail out at least one of those automakers without also placing the debt on the public - since this poor woman is going to be paying this off for the rest of her life, in addition to funding the Big Three.

More importantly, it appears due to the publishing by CNN of this case it is simply another example of governmental tyranny on the public more than anything.

This mother was simply made an example, so I truly wonder how "impartial" that jury was, or whether it actually was one of her "peers," or a loaded jury with public federal or state employee "professional" jurors which is becoming more and more the case when there is a governmental agenda involved, or when there is federal grant monies tied in with some of the convictions (as in the low level DUI laws now), since there are strings attached to most of those pork sums sent "back home" by the feds in order to keep the states in line with the federal agendas, and the funding rolling in.

Unbelievable.

Maybe going after the Chinese and Taiwanese designer rip-off artists who import to their buddies living in the U.S. through the mail and ports of entry would be a much better use of our courts, and those internet scam artists now luring writers and artists making ad revenues of their designs and work for advertising purposes, and then attempting to shelter themselves from any and all liability if such work is redistributed either intentionally or accidentally within their non-negotiable "terms of service" agreements written also by their "corporate" lawyer scam artists.

We don't need free speech regulation of the internet unless harassment and stalking websites and engaging in repeated and profane personal attacks are involved, we need "corporate commercial" regulation of the scammers preying on the public, and paid governmental "grant money" bloggers promoting their propaganda for governmental purposes, both political and for their "corporate" personal gain, such as the Republican, Democratic and other mainstream extra-Constitutional fringe "party" members, marketers and spin doctors spewing party platforms and their agendas as "Constitutional" positions.

That, too, is civil fraud, and actually worse, criminal treason ala Benedict Arnold, the highest criminal "public" offense "against the state" and people in this country under the governing law, the U.S. Constitution and intent of the founders. And neither private citizens, nor especially public servants or individuals have any inherent immunity in that respect, especially for intentional negligence or intent in their public servant positions, since their oath is to the Constitution and not "public opinion" or "state or personal interests."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/18/minnesota.music.download.fine/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

USA Today Story Misses The Mark On Immigrant Issue

As a former long term border state resident, I read with interest a story in one of this week's editions of USA Today, a global and corporate owned newspaper in the United States.

Never in my lifetime has the media become so blatantly misrepresentative of the idea of the founders for our press and 4th estate as it has in more recent years become.

This story, below a picture of the continued riots going on in Iran over the election, bore the headline "For Immigrants, Living The Dream Is Getting Tougher." Interesting headline, given I am a political refugee now living in another state due to three "illegal" immigrant crimes due to the U.S.'s appeasement policies and open borders with that questionable government.

I say questionable because some of the past corruption of the Mexican government is well known by those who live within 200 miles of the border, or have been frequent visitors there.

Of course no distinction was made in the article in order to support the headline between the recent immigrants, illegal immigrants, or first or second generation Americans. There is a difference in their experiences in this country, and as an only second generation American on one side of the family can also truly attest.

In the story, written by a writer from Chicago no less on the Sanchez families hardship, it did point to the fact that originally this family were illegal immigrants "who swam across the Rio Grande" in 1967 to fulfill a dream of bringing Mr. Sanchez's family here and working together.

Mr. Sanchez is now 63, and I lived in a border state during that time period also as this piece actually simply demonstrates how long this situation has gone unaddressed by our federal government actually.

His story of working as a butcher for only $1.85 per hour, taking a second job at a candy factory and working 14 hours a day is told in vivid detail. He eventually brought his wife, family, siiblings and parents here, although again after originally entering this country unlawfully.

The writer also makes note of how "immigrant" owned businesses such as Mr. Sanchez's are a key part of the U.S. economy, and now being threatened by the recession. He stands to lose one or two of the three clothing stores he now owns.

I'd like to compare Mr. Sanchez's story with a more personal one of my own "legal" immigrant familes, who came over to this country, and how they compare, as a second generation natural born American on one side, and fourth or fifth on the other.

My grandparents came over to this country in the 1920s from Scotland, with my grandfather betrothed but still as yet married due to the poor economic conditions in Scotland at the time, and the high taxes there.

He applied for a visa and green card from Scotland, there was a thorough background and medical check undertaken prior to its approval, and he then booked his ship passage, after having arranged for a German family to sponsor him during the minimum two year approval process at the time for citizenship.

He worked in a shipyard long and hard hours, saving every penny he had in order to eventually send for his betrothed and his mother. My family still has some of his letters to them which they found after his death many years ago. He wrote of how kind his German immigrant hosts were, and lived in a section called Germantown in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He eventually made enough to send for my grandmother, and his mother and they married and settled in Philadelphia. Soon the kids began to arrive (five in all), and my grandfather began working in a union shop as a tool and die maker (cutting the holes for cabinets). He did not make a fortune, and there were few benefits even with his union membership.

They bought a simple row house in Philadelphia and were living the American dream, although frugally.

Then the depression came, and they lost their home and their life savings. Whatever monies they had for retirement were gone and had little savings. The house was gone, and ended up renting from another kind soul who exchanged rent for the odd jobs my grandfather performed for the rental properties. He also sold a Scottish delicacy, "blood sausage" for extra money on the street corners in Philadelphia.

During this time they lost one of their children, who had contracted spinal menningitis which was misdiagnosed by a doctor as "teething." She was 18 months old at the time.

After Roosevelt's "New Deal," they did eventually get back on their feet, of course, after my grandfather found work, and he eventually had his own small shop but found that being an employer left him little family time and he was undercut by the major large companies. He again went back on the assembly line, and his son later joined him.

They did eventually get their American dream home, another simple row house in Philadelphia. And that was their legacy. Their entire life's wealth consisted of that small little house.

My mother and father married later in years, after World War II ended, and my father was fortunate enough to have served this country honorably, and was awarded with the GI Bill and graduated from college. First in his family as a fourth (or fifth, we're not sure) generation American.

Due to the number of applicants, he got in through the good word of one of the alumnists whose son was a friend from his service time. He waited tables in the women's cafeteria to help pay his expenses, since the cost of tuition was the only "free money" he received after his tour of duty.

He graduated and they were married, and he was then employed by successive non-profit business organizations in his line of work, a chemist specializing in wood technology. He mainly worked for lumber manufacturers and small businesses. We also had a rather large family, four children, and at the time of my high school graduation my father still made less than $10,000 per year with a college degree.

The recession of the 70's hit, and he was laid off. Fortunately, they had some savings put aside for a rainy day and were able to make their mortgage payments of less than $300 per month while my father collected unemployment, and worked in a sawmill cutting timber until he could find work in his chosen field. He finally did, back in Pennsylvania and our family was separated for almost a year until they could sell their home in Arizona. My father only could "visit" us once a month for two days during that time.

They left and I stayed in Arizona, got a job after high school since there was no money and few scholarships or grants at that time, and began working in a bank in 1972 for less than $320.00 per month (less than Mr. Sanchez since minimum wage then was $1.60 per hour). My apartment rent took nearly 2/3's of that, and my car payment the other third. I ate bake potatoes quite a bit.

My fiance attended ASU at a cost of $160.00 per semester for 16 credit hours, $10.00 per credit hour. Today, that tuition cost is eight times the increases in the consumer price index at over $6,000 per semester. He went to school on student loans at low interest, although we had to pay them all back within 10 months of his graduation.

I worked, he went to school during the fall and worked summers. We moved to Nebraska eventually so he could continue his degree and were separated summers while he found employment in Arizona through a job connection he had there.

We married, and after three children as 50% of the marriages in this country do, eventually divorced. Much of the stress of those early years contributed, and other factors of course.

But I was faced with living in the increasingly dangerous City of Phoenix, with the highest property and identity theft rates, Mexican gangs and drug problem in the nation as a single mother of three. I used up what savings we had attempting to be a "present" parent but even that was not enough.

The effects of the divorce and its complications, and my fractured energies meant I was not as good a "supervisor" as I needed to be in that city and also became the victim of three illegal immigrant thefts my last ten years living there.

I am without a "home," either state or physical dwelling. And not simply the choice of which of my stores I might need to cut loose.

Maybe next week USA Today will do a story on how much tougher living the American dream is becoming on natural born AMERICANS of two or more generations.

By the way, I'm 56. Hardly the age to be rebuilding either from scratch, and with the loans still as usurous as they were when I had to refinance, not very likely I will ever own a home as my grandparents eventually did.

And today, the illegal immigrants who canvas neighborhoods or who solicit work independently in Arizona want $10.00 per hour for their services, twice the minimum wage, but are threatened by employers with reporting them to CBP if they ask for increases by those corporate employers hiring them, which then leads the less satisfied to steal from the general public in order to survive, or sell the drug cartels product lines on the side in order to afford their cell phones and souped up and many times stolen automobiles.

So it is actually the lawful American citizens that are the victims in this scenario in the border states and beyond, either paying outrageous rates for work for hire privately, or subject to subsidizing the corporate entities through theft or public welfare benefits scamming those in their employ.

And it is the border hoppers that are creating most of the criminal activity, those that do not in any way ever intend to become U.S. citizens and would not take up any offer of amnesty if it were extended. In fact, with the situation in the border states as it is now and all the benefits now granted to illegals through federal provisos which even supercede state laws, there is not a single reason at this point I could think of that would make it advantageous for any illegal in this country any longer to naturalize.

Since the Bill of Rights appears now to apply more so each any every year to corporation "person-hoods", and foreigners and not those for whom it was actually intended, the lawfuly natural and naturalized U.S. CITIZENS as "We the people."

Attention All Americans: More Insourcing and Outsourcing To Come

Much this past week has been in the U.S. press with respect to the GM "joint venture." (The only other story being that of the crime at the Holocaust Museum, by the 89 year old American World War II enlistee, then also reported to be a former "Nazi Officer" according to the fiction writers in the U.S. press nowadays, rather than an apparently senile man who, at 89, somehow still had the mental capability and ability to operate his own website, since arthritis must not be plaguing him as much as my elderly post 80 parents, since my 87 year old Dad has a hard time doing so much as a search since he is and was not of the computer generation).

U.S.A., Inc. purchased, of course, a hefty share of General Motors, courtesy of the American taxpayers and shareholders, whereupon Mr. Obama then essentially fired a great many American citizens in Detroit, and sold out the smaller individual American bond holders to the UAW's larger interest.

Now it appears the company is going to "formally" file bankruptcy and go through the bankruptcy process.

Of course this bewilders me, since it does seem that perhaps this would have been the first step, so that all the details would be then available to the public as a "public" corporation, but it seems it is only the public's activities that seem to be under scrutiny as of late.

I wonder why the American people might be dissatisfied and distrust their government increasingly more and more each year? Hmmmm....

Below is a response I made to a claimed citizen journalist poster (since those sites now have also been infiltrated by many on stimulus grant monies as "educational" sites it appears, along with the 100 million that was given to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, now also somehow worthy as also an "educational", rather than "corporate commercial" U.S. corporation, who contributed their "take" on the situation and simply believed that selling off the gas guzzlers in GM, Ford and Chrysler's lines will be the "cure" to what ails GM.

I doubt, as with the banks, anything at all truly ails GM, who has low wage plants in China and Mexico now since they've moved essentially offshore also, it is just another tool to use to facilitate global government, amass maximum profit due to those countries socialized and communist governments, and continue to merge our economy with that of the "global community," no matter what the sacrifices and costs to the American people.

Apparently, their homes and jobs are not enough, and we are bringing out the flag more and more and using the American people's love for their country now even as a weapon against them.

I hope any and all Americans left in the border states have been forewarned due to that sale.

Because as one who watched that situation explode since the Reagan years, and if all goes as it appears planned, come September with another push for the amnesty while still promoting open borders with Mexico, it will be sure to raise the ire of a good many of those living in the border states.

More than even those who have been their victims.

The response:

No, the Hummers will simply be bought and driven by the drug cartels members after they start being manufactured at the GM plant in Mexico. And eventually then, Arizona, Mexico and California will "officially" become propety again of Mexico through the drug cartel ownerships and profits, and corporate control of the faces sitting on the various state legislations, whose members are and have been indirectly on the receiving end of the drug cartel and open borders gravy train in one way or another.

Of course, it is all the Americans fault due to the "insatiable need" for drugs by the "people" in THIS country which Ms. Clinton trashed and spoke about to the Mexican governent (when a good 2/3's those with addiction problems started while minors due to their target market).

It couldn't be in order to legalize hard and addictive drugs in order to go in partnership with the Mexican and Chinese governments so that the pharmaceutical industry can cash in on this untapped resource, would it?

I wonder in such event how many new cases of AIDS there would be, or how much the street crimes would then increase in order for those mostly kids to maintain their habits?

Of course, at least that would also stimulate the security and "privatized" jail industry booming now in this country, which is one way to get the kids off the streets. Make a profit off simply the addicted users for their incarcerations to make those high lease payments and private costs, and the legal industry in the pool of clients with all those drug profits to fleece, since the illegal sales to minors then would not cease.

Those kid consumers are an untapped source of revenue, and simply waste those allowances (from those parents still flush now enough to give it) on CDs and video games.

This way that hash and smack will then primarily come in tamper-proof packaging, except for those in the inner city who will have to settle for the lesser quality, but lethal, street variety.

If you can't beat 'em, why not join 'em?

We can't win in a "no win" Middle East war, and with open borders, the "War on Drugs" has simply been a farce. So lets just cash in the chips on bin Laden AND the Mexican drug cartels since apparently neither war is winnable. We've been in Iraq now for eight years and counting, and with open borders since the Mexican-American war.

But our "common defense" high tech security and gadget industry utilized priimarily against the American people since America has dissolved into simply a tourist trap for foreigners is truly booming. California's pleading poverty, while Silicon Valley must be bursting at the seams at this point. Another propaganda spin.

The mid to upper level corporate hotel chains catering to tourists and foreigners haven't been heard from as of yet in the major metropolitan cities seeking their welfare. Those California resorts too are flush, as the AIG sabbatical proved.

Of course, as one who has experience with this situation up close and personally, this situation continues to be due to the federal and state governments which have done absolutely nothing about our border problem since the 60's except use it as a political weapon and for political advantage by both mainstream parties, and the drugs simply have gotten much more addictive and lethal that continue to be sold in front of the local high schools and middle schools in the border states by the year.

And the Chinese GM plant and one in Mexico are those which will be retained as their most profitable and most likely will be kept as simply a joint venture now among U.S.A., Inc., the GM major shareholders (UAW "corporate" and other union pensions primarily), and the UAW Corporation itself, so in essence Obama and our Congress simply used GM in order to entrench our government (as part owner now) more and more with the Chinese and Mexican governments, who most likey will be replacing those American union members which were fired. A "buy-out" in essence skirting around SEC disclosure laws and regulations, as it were. Like the bank "bailouts."

And whose largest imports are not those sold on the stock exchange.

Our government is run now by the bankers and global government "state actor" corporations and "associations" of huge national and multi-national industries, including the legal industry, that once hallowed "profession" who also have truly lost their way in some of the "new industries" due to the voluminous unconstitutional bills they have had a hand in writing for their own future incomes and their protected interests - the ones who funded their campaigns, and then and now are simply turning around and presenting their bill for their contributions during the 2008 election.

What better way to globally merge auto production, and then skim the American shareholders of their investments and retirements in the process?

We need room for all the foreigner invaders who are going to hit our shores real soon from both those countries, in addition to the ones already here that we are pushing to legalize from all reports come September - despite the objections and outrage of the American people and victims living in the border states for these trade agreements, including apparently actual people now more valued for their commercial worth to the global community and these corporate industries at this point for their profit and gain.

And AIG is a London based insurer - so for the first time in history, the American people are now holding the debts for a global corporation, in order to also merge our country and its economy more and more with that of the world, rather than protect our own.

Unbelieveable at this point the utter unawareness of a great many of the American people of what this foreshadows.

Hey, Congress and the Obama Administration just handed out more than 100 million stimulus monies to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (which lobbies against really the Americans public for more laws for their welfare on behalf of their foreign global interests and their outsourced employees in order to fatten their pocketbooks), of course while Americans in the border states continue to face loss of their lives and property for the Chamber's agenda and benefit.

Now they have been deemed an "educational" institution, rather than a corporate "trade" organization. We are not only redefining and burning the Constitution, but the English language now in this country in favor of what? That definition isn't even Spanish.

Mr. Obama is simply the "used car salesman" that was picked to seal the deal, and bury our Constitution and sovereign America it appears forever, and since January clearly has been on a global road trip without stop continuing to sell the agenda to the American people wrapped, of all things, in Lincoln and the American flag.