Thursday, March 28, AD 2024 4:13pm

Police State

 

From behind the Cheddar Curtain:

A 16-year-old Wisconsin high school sophomore who had symptoms of the coronavirus and posted about it on social media was ordered by a sheriff’s deputy to delete the posts and threatened with being taken to jail, her attorney said Friday.

The teenager is a student in the Westfield School District in Marquette County. Her attorney, Luke Berg, wrote to both the county sheriff and district administrator, who called the posts a “foolish means to get attention,” asking for apologies. The girl also should be permitted to post on social media again without fear of being charged or taken to jail, said Berg, an attorney with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.

Sheriff Joseph Konrath and school administrator Bob Meicher did not immediately reply to messages seeking comment Friday.

According to the girl’s attorney, she suffered a severe respiratory illness with symptoms matching those of COVID-19. She tested negative for the disease, but her attorney said that doctors told the girl’s family that she likely had the virus but missed the window for testing positive.

The girl posted about her experience on March 26 on Instagram. Her first post showed her looking out a window with the message, “i won’t be back for a while longer due to me … having the COVID-19 virus….I dont want the attention it’s just the truth.”

A second post, showing her in a hospital bed hooked up to what appears to be an oxygen mask, included the caption “Winning the fight with Covid-19.” It was that post that the sheriff’s deputy had a screen shot of and demanded she remove, according to her attorney.

Her parents also contacted multiple staff at the school to warn other parents whose children had been on a spring break trip to Florida with her between March 7 and March 15.

Instead, Berg alleges that the school district administrator contacted the county sheriff, who then sent a deputy to the girl’s home on March 27 and said that if she didn’t remove the post, she and her parents could be cited for disorderly conduct and taken to jail.

Go here to read the rest.  This whole coronavirus debacle illustrates why the Founding Fathers were so concerned with the misuse of the power of government.  With all restraints off, the inner Hitler is coming to the fore in all too many government bureaucrats and elected scoundrels.

 

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Tom Byrne
Tom Byrne
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 8:14am

Don:
I’ve worked on several school faculties and unfortunately many adults (and kids) have an “inner Hitler”. In seems to start with bluster as a cover for nervousness or incompetence, then degenerates into arrogance. It does not help that our society since at least Roosevelt has heap responsibility after responsibility on government, and the powers along with them. Like fire, some folks are good servants but terrible masters.

David WS
David WS
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 8:45am

I had a bad experience with a school superintendent years ago. It was over something my son had been alleged to have done. Which he did not do.
This superintendent was all too eager to throw any child under the bus to protect their reputation and to quell any disturbance they perceived in the school. This administrator moved on to another town not too long after, which in my experience is something they often do. Never staying in the same place very long and always looking to promote themselves to a higher salary at the “next” job.

Dave G.
Dave G.
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 10:17am

I’ve seen many different references around the press and social media comparing our time to WWII. President Trump has done so. A few memes have said we are now the Greatest Generation. It seems to me that a big difference is that in WWII, millions were prepared to lose their lives to save their freedoms. Today, we’re willing to lose our freedoms to save our lives. For me, that speaks volumes.

Tom Byrne
Tom Byrne
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 11:04am

Yet Dave: even in WWII we did things that turned out to be unnecessary as the war evolved. We printed special money for Hawaii in case it was invaded. We blacked out the West Coast and installed AA batteries against air raids that never came (and were impossible after Midway). Shamefully, we interned Japanese-Americans. When all this is over we need to do the same searching examination of government efforts to determine what was necessary, what was not (if at least understandable at the time) and what was an unjustified violation of the people’s rights.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 11:38am

I can believe a school administrator was stupid enough to call the Sheriff for arbitrary reasons. That’s an occupation that attracts and retains a great many of the world’s inadequate people. What I find bizarre is that the Sheriff paid said administrator any mind. Something about this story seems off.

Dave G.
Dave G.
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 12:32pm

Tom, FWIW, Germans and Italians were also forcibly removed and sent to camps as well. The precautions against an invasion were just prudence our part. That’s the sort of thing we can look back in hindsight and evaluate that people then wouldn’t have known. But my broader point wasn’t aligning the two eras and doing a point by point comparison. My broader point is that we live in a secular age the puts the highest premium on the here and now, including our physical lives now. Other things – like rights, freedoms, or heck, religion – have taken a distant second. That, to me, is a big difference between the two eras being compared today.

T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 1:20pm

I feel as if I’m interned.

Apropos on public TV was a documentary on the Japanese-Americans’ internments.

It said that the entire west coast was declared a military zone.

However, racism and race envy largely played in the internments.

Not to worry. Hollywood quickly atoned with a movie showing the efficiency and gallantry of the 442 Regimental Combat Team.

OT Seen on Facebook.

Spelling lesson:

American ends in “I can.”

Republican ends in “I can.”

Democrat ends in “rat.”

Coincidence? I think not.

Dave G.
Dave G.
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 1:58pm

T. Shaw, yes it certainly happened. Though again, it happened to Germans and – to a much lesser extent, Italians – too. I always point that out because to only focus on the Japanese helps buttress the America=Racism narrative of today. Not that it wasn’t there. But like so many things, it’s more complicated than we care to deal with today. I think that is one reason we’re seeing so many today say whatever happens doesn’t matter as long as I survive the virus.

Mary De Voe
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 9:36pm

The states are releasing prisoners from jail to protect the prisoners from coronavirus. The states are arresting people for speaking and/or suffering coronavirus. Schizophrenia, schizophrenia, schizophrenia

Mary De Voe
Sunday, April 19, AD 2020 9:42pm

“Apropos on public TV was a documentary on the Japanese-Americans’ internments.”
Protective custody, as most Americans would have killed the “Japs” or the Germans. I lived through it. We beat up the kids next door because they were “the Germans”. Now, the Supreme Court is making payments for protective custody of the “Japs” Yeah. Hate America First.

Don L
Don L
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 3:17am

The real problem with people abusing authority (it seems to be a new virus in itself today) is that none of these government officials will probably suffer personal financial loss or serious punishment. They use taxpayer’s funds to fend off lawsuits and unless the politics of their environment are against them (highly unlikely) they are free to continue or even accelerate their abuse. We need badly to rethink the entire idea of powerful officials being protected without much risk to them.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 4:43am

I’m thinking there’s rather a different problem in this story from what’s presented. Never forget, you CAN be prosecuted for yelling “Fire” in a crowded theater. I’d wager they’re much more concerned about a public panic than about a teenage kid spouting off.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 12:40pm

You’ve demonstrated why it could. She may not be infected, yet her actions suggested she had. However mild the crime of people ignoring public safety requirements may be, …she still helped incite refusing to abide by those regulations by her actions.
If it might be dismissed from court, it still served as warning to the general public. …That may be what school administrators and law enforcement aimed for anyway. Hopefully the young lady will learn a lesson about expressing her views prudently.
If anything, this case mostly proves to me that people have become entirely too suspicious of law enforcement.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 1:27pm

“I’m home sick with Chinese lung rot.”

How is that supposed to incite public disorder?

It’s not like she was out in Wal-Mart coughing and spewing all over the cleaning products aisle and then posting it to the internet for all the world to see.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 1:34pm

I would hope that the lawsuit would be summarily dismissed.
I would hope that any judge would recognize how a pandemic changes matters; normal expectations do not apply.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 1:37pm

I would hope her lawsuit would be quickly dismissed.
School and law enforcement actions would be considered abusive IF we had normal circumstances. …With a known, worldwide pandemic, we don’t have normal circumstances.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 1:39pm

Drat. The system has displayed comments immediately before. IN this case it didn’t. Sorry ’bout the mutliple posting.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 1:40pm

What pandemic?

“On April 5th, the U.S. saw 1,344 COVID-19 deaths, as the number of cases in the U.S. accelerated. The overall number of deaths in the U.S., or the crude death rate did not show a correlated rise [emph. add.].”

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 1:42pm

Mr. Schrieber,
I don’t think anyone would be worried about her showing herself being ill online per se. I think they’d be more concerned that her latter posting implied needless or illegal restrictions being placed, That COULD incite people to criminal behavior. THAT would be what police would be concerned about.
Most of their job does amount to one degree or another of crowd control, after all.
Like I said originally, I think there’s more to this case than what has been presented.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 1:55pm

I have mentioned (elsewhere) how I’m very wary of declaring laws unjust. I’m equally wary of declaring that a national crisis…doesn’t exist. In both cases, we’re prone to acting as we wish, then threatening lawsuits when officials…aren’t as optimistic.
Since we might well throw lawsuits regarding negligence if they don’t act, I will not chastise them for being cautious.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 2:23pm

I feel pretty good about saying that a national crisis doesn’t exist.

There are scattered local crises, and maybe even a regional crisis of two, but a national crisis doesn’t not exist at this time.

And I’ll grant that New York’s regional crisis does have national implications.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 2:25pm

double negative

looks like a pwned myself. heh

There is no national crisis. I stand by that.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 2:32pm

Don’t forget California and Louisiana. Iowa too. I think it safe to say we’re having a nationwide discussion of this situation. I think we’re all eager to return to normal.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 2:41pm

I’m living in the heart of last week’s hottest hot spot, and I think I’m doing a reasonable job of following what’s been happening in the upper midwest. It’s not so much a discussion as it is a shouting matched based upon a priori assumptions and/or political positions (granted, my voice is raised too, but I’d like to believe I’m not shouting —yet). Anyways, what I’m seeing on the ground here doesn’t justify the –to be frank– national hysteria.

But to be fair, I’m used to the East Coast establishment media types freaking out over things that folks ’round here accept as part of life, because those things are outside of their ordinary everyday expectations.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 2:52pm

chuckling I’m a native of and live in Nebraska; I’ve usually considered “Upper Midwest” to refer to the Dakotas, maybe Minnesota and Wisconsin. …I once dated an Ohio lady and struggled with Ohio as “Midwest”. I readily agree we’re having a case of national hysteria, much of it media driven. …That doesn’t mean our political leaders in each state lack cause to act for public safety.
I expect we’ll be back to routine within weeks in most areas.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 2:57pm

Just north of you on the I-29, buddy. East River, as the locals say.

CAM
CAM
Tuesday, April 21, AD 2020 12:27am

Threaten a teenage girl with jail because she says she’s sick. Yet governors let prisoners out of jail early because of the virus.
Doesn’t compute.

Foxfier
Admin
Tuesday, April 21, AD 2020 8:31am

What about Iowa?

You mean people testing positive in a meat packing facility?

Iowa, where we have yet to hit half of the increase of refuse-medical-treatment caused deaths that New York City is hitting a day?

Quit trying to drag my state in to support putting a kid in jail for speech.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Tuesday, April 21, AD 2020 9:08am

I was wondering if that’s why Iowa’s numbers jumped over the weekend.

It’s interesting to me that when we go aggressively looking for it, we find it. A lot.

That suggests to me that it’s far more widespread than our daily counts of confirmed cases, active cases, deaths, recoveries etc. indicate. Which in turn suggests that it’s much less lethal than the national media and the “Stand back! I’m in charge here!” politicians would have us believe.

Foxfier
Admin
Tuesday, April 21, AD 2020 10:04am

And fits both the outbreak pattern– if it was both deadly and contagious as claimed, New York’s outbreak would have started no more than two weeks after Chinese New Year, rather than five weeks later– and the early antibody testing results.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Tuesday, April 21, AD 2020 2:20pm

The good news, if it can be considered that, is that if a significant chunk of your corona virus numbers are coming from a workplace in an essential industry, it’ll likely have the effect of driving your overall death numbers down, since the median age of the sick will be lower overall.

Foxfier
Admin
Wednesday, April 22, AD 2020 6:58am

This hit my news today:
https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/04/22/public-health-jumps-in-covid-19-cases-result-of-increased-testing/
Over the last several days, the number of cases of COVID-19 in Iowa has jumped considerably, though the cause might not be what you think.

Ann Cochran, Health Navigator and Public Information Officer with the Dallas County Health Department, says the cause of the steep jump in positive tests likely isn’t that we’ve reached the peak of the outbreak. Instead, it’s a result of there being more tests conducted and more virus surveillance at particularly susceptible locations. “There was a jump in positive tests – and negative tests too, for that matter – because there was simply more tests done. Because of several different areas where there was an outbreak, including at some long-term care facilities, they just in general tested more people and therefore they got more test results.”

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Wednesday, April 22, AD 2020 9:15am

And here I thought it was because your recklessly irresponsible governor refused ground everyone like naughty children.

You know, what the fearless and noble humanitarian to your north did.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Wednesday, April 22, AD 2020 2:24pm

I WILL include Iowa, Foxfier. I well understand your apparent view of no pandemic, thus law enforcement abused her rights. I disagree. If media have over-stated the risks, such does not eliminate the presence of any risk. Hype does not render all numbers irrelevant. These past few weeks, Iowa’s numbers have been higher than Nebraska’s, which surprised me. I expected it the other way ’round. We may ultimately determine most from Nebraska or Iowa stem from meat packing plants–growing evidence suggests this. Such does not undermine the original legitimate cause for great concern. I won’t fault governors and law enforcement for acting for public safety.

Foxfier
Admin
Wednesday, April 22, AD 2020 6:59pm

I WILL include Iowa, Foxfier.

Then you make it clear that you are knowingly using a falsehood to justify depriving someone of their first amendment right– which, rather fittingly, demonstrates why the First Amendment is there.

Such does not undermine the original legitimate cause for great concern.

By the time we did anything objectionable in the US, there was enough information to recognize that the cause for alarm was not actually there; when there was something to be worried about, the people urging a freakout were screaming folks were racist for avoiding Chinese disease vectors.

Foxfier
Admin
Wednesday, April 22, AD 2020 7:00pm

And here I thought it was because your recklessly irresponsible governor refused ground everyone like naughty children.

Yeah, our insane laxness has resulted in a per million death rate that’s one seventh of the national average.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Wednesday, April 22, AD 2020 8:47pm

I won’t fault governors and law enforcement for acting for public safety.

I’m more cynical than you. I figure the politicians and bureaucrats (like the school district superintendent) are primarily motivated by the desire to be seen as doing something, anything, to protect their phoney-baloney jobs.

Law enforcement is a blunt instrument. I would wish that it were wielded more adroitly under the circumstances.

And the sheriff, like all sheriff’s is a politician. If I lived in this Wisconsin county, I’d remember this come the next election.

John Flaherty
John Flaherty
Wednesday, April 22, AD 2020 9:55pm

Politicians and bureaucrats typically have ample cause. Some will raise a rowdy ruckus at the slightest perceived unneeded change from everyday life; others will be equally rowdy in demanding virtual house arrest nationwide. Governors and law enforcement have the unenviable task of balancing the two extremes. Like usual, you can’t please all the people all the time.
It’s true there’s risk about “never let a good crisis go to waste”. We should be very careful to level that charge justly. If I have little typical trust for Democrats, I may not assume them all to be vindictive opportunists. Let’s not be so fiery about the First Amendment as to obliterate the Eight Commandment.

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