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Wow Mike, I thought you’d be for the Patriot Act.

Richard, please explain, in complete sentences, 50 words or less, how Ohio State Agencies snooping into a non-terrorist, US citizen’s driving and child support records applies to the Patriot Act. I’m sure someone will check your grammar, punctuation and spelling. Anxiously anticipating your explanation.

The easier way to explain it is that ANYONE can look up PUBLIC RECORDS. If I want, I could look up your tax records, driving record, child support records, etc. etc. etc.
Pretty comprehensive list of things I can find out. Enjoy….
http://www.publicrecordcenter.com/

Hey, you skipped a few paragraphs there! Guess who the Columbus Dispatch blames for Joe the Plumber’s sojourn in the spotlight? Why, John McCain, of course! See

Media Bias and Joe the Plumber

for more.

Missy asked: “Richard, please explain, in complete sentences, 50 words or less, how Ohio State Agencies snooping into a non-terrorist, US citizen’s driving and child support records applies to the Patriot Act. “

Richard was unable to do so.

Now it would appear he is endorsing spying on private citizens.

Richard, do you also endorse the highjacking and dissemination of Sarah Palin’s email account?

So again, WHO is concerned about privacy rights here?

OBAMA THUG!

@Richard:

“It has not been determined who checked on Wurzelbacher, or why. Direct access to driver’s license and vehicle registration information from BMV computers is restricted to legitimate law-enforcement and government business.”

Now back to the Patriot Act and how it relates to what was done to Joe the Plumber.

Uhhh… Stoutcat: In case you were not aware, we all knew about Joe the Plumber BEFORE McCain brought it up. It was an instant news sensation as the posts on this site clearly demonstrate.

But are you suggesting that if McCain mentions someone then that person is fair game to have their private information displayed for all to see?

Is that the new standard in the looming Obama Thugocracy?

I’m sure “Joe” would appreciate access to those public records. We wouldn’t want him hiring any criminals now, would we?
You’re comment basically stating that you are against someone accessing those records (spying) is ridiculous.
Like Joe and the criminal example, I’m sure there are thousands of citizens out there who are relieved to know they can access public records and find out if a child molester is living on their street.
I’m beginning to think I’m more conservative than you are.

So, look him up, Richard, tell us all about what’s in all of his records.

My son-in-law is a deputy sheriff, I know for a fact that he is not allowed to look anything up unless it pertains to what he is working on. My daughter is a clerk for the county court house and the same goes for her, if she’s not working on it, it’s none of her business.

Apparently you still want to ignore the paragraph in the article I quoted for you.

Here it is again, note, “legitimate law enforcement and government business.”

“It has not been determined who checked on Wurzelbacher, or why. Direct access to driver’s license and vehicle registration information from BMV computers is restricted to legitimate law-enforcement and government business.”

Richard seems to think it’s just dandy to go snooping through Joe the Plumber’s records while at the same time the Ohio Secretary of State is blocking County Boards of Election access to records to determine whether new voter registrations are legitimate.

The new Democrat privacy policy: O.K. to snoop in government records to tar and feather political opponents, not O.K. to use those records to prevent voter fraud.

Missy—They don’t know who looked at those records, and they don’t know why.
Like any reasonable person, I’m not going to jump to any conclusions as to who it was and why they did it.
I saw enough jumping to conclusions with the Ashley Todd incident. Kinda made those who jumped so fast look silly.

Richard seemed to jump pretty fast to link this invasion of privacy to the Patriot Act…. Interesting that he’s now backed away from that.

And I haven’t heard one word from him condeming this kind of sleazy and possibly illegal tactic…

Oh well, when he crosses an Obamaton and it happens to him we’ll hear plenty…. by then it will be too late.

Good grief! This is already a communist country and Obama is not even elected. In communist countries, you are constantly investigated. If you say one word against the government, they will find something in your past, send you to jail and ruin your whole life. This is what Joe the Plumber is going through. If Obama win these elections, I bet you that Joe the Plumber will never be able to work nowhere. His crime? He dared to ask THE ONE a legitimate question.

P.S.: Don’t try to explain something to Richard, he’s already sold his soul to communism.

Craig: You might have heard about this film: “The Lives of Others”. It’s in German with English subtitles, but you might be able to follow it:

It’s the kind of socialist perfection we could all look forward to in the looming Obama Thugocracy.

Mike—there you go again jumping to conclusions. Missy at least is being reasonable in sticking with (as I am) “we don’t know who and we don’t know why.”
My bet is that it is the IRS

Yes Mike, I have seen this film and read many books on communist countries. It is almost unbelievable what those bastards will do to you. In a communist country, you can’t even leave the country, nor travel. This is the kind of hell Obama wants for every one of you. If Obama is elected, leave this country before he is sworn in. Afterwards, it might not be possible anymore. I am not joking, I am very serious.

Richard I am just connecting the dots. You’re the one who made a phony comparison to the Patriot Act and I see you still have not recanted from that.

And we do know WHO searched these records. We know the offices they invasion of privacy came from…

Re read the story if you need a clue. And if you want to earn a gold star, look up the party affiliation of the Ohio Attorney General.

That might give you a clue as to the “why.”

Richard, you make no effort to apologize for your snarky Patriot Act comment to Mike, you have no right, imo, to judge anyone who commented on the Ashley Todd story. They were commenting on what was initially reported by the press and it was disturbing. The truth has come out, it was posted for all to see, comments are in line with news as it’s now reported and updated.

Professional people accessed Wurzelbacher’s records illegally.

Again,

“It has not been determined who checked on Wurzelbacher, or why. Direct access to driver’s license and vehicle registration information from BMV computers is restricted to legitimate law-enforcement and government business.”

But, Ohio officials do know that someone broke the rules and what information was looked at and where it was pulled from “three times shortly after the debate.”

“information on Wurzelbacher’s driver’s license or his sport-utility vehicle was pulled from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles database three times shortly after the debate.

Information on Wurzelbacher was accessed through accounts assigned to the office of Ohio Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers, the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Toledo Police Department.”

This is the same as State Department employees snooping in people’s pass port information, it’s not allowed.

Public records do not contain information that the raw files available to law enforcement and court officials have.

Obama will finish the fence on the boarder , if only to keep us in. Wow, my Father and Uncles fought to stop this type of garbage, just to see it reintroduced in this country! I’ve lived to long!

As an IT guy myself, this statement alone tells me they know exactly who checked the files: “Information on Wurzelbacher was accessed through accounts assigned to the office of Ohio Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers, the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Toledo Police Department”.

What they are not doing is releasing the names until the investigation is complete. I will also bet no criminal cases will be brought either but possibly they will be fired, if they haven’t already.

Good point simply lurking…. But unlike the partisan witchhunt launched against Sarah Palin in Alaska, any investigation here is not likely to yield a result before the election so the good people of Ohio and the nation will know for sure whether there is any direct tie between this activity and the Ohio Democrat Party or the Obama campaign.

Richard, you said:

The easier way to explain it is that ANYONE can look up PUBLIC RECORDS. If I want, I could look up your tax records, driving record, child support records, etc. etc. etc.

To get tax records and most anything to do with credit, you need social security numbers. That is *not* part of public record.

An average citizen is not privvy to DMV records, which are also not public. I don’t care what your website advertises. However many do provide access to whatever is within public domain… recorded county docs like divorce decrees (which includes custody agreements), judgments, tax liens, deed of ownership of property etc.

However you are confused as to what is “public” and what is “private.

The DMV records and tax records of Joe the plumber are *not* public domain. You are completely in error, and Missy’s statement that this has nothing to do with the Patriot Act stands.

I think Richard realized rather quickly that it was a boneheaded thing to connect the Patriot Act with this obvious political chicanery but he’s not man enough to admit it…

It’s been fun to watch him squirm.

BTW, Richard…. if Joe the plumber is behind on his taxes, the IRS already knows that. They, however, are not permitted to release those records to the public. So I wouldn’t put any big money on IRS as a culprit.

The personnel in the noted departments in the article will have to do some fast talking as to why they accessed those records… ala they need some probable cause by proper authorities. Now I’d just love to see what they think the probable cause is to investigate Joe when all he did… on camera… was ask a question of a POTUS candidate.

If those department members are using their access authority because they were bribed by press or campaign members, they are in a world of sheeeeeeet.

If you’ll remember, they tried to hang Palin for her govt admin doing the same with Wooten’s workman comp medical records in Trooper’gate. But I guess, since it’s just Palin and Joe the Plumber, neither who is an Obama fan, that makes it okay. Right?

BTW, Palin was absolved of all and everything to do with Wooten’s medical record thru the witchhunt investigation. However the fact they were investigating it at all should give you a clue as to just how “legal” improper inquiries are on private info.

For all the scaremongering libs have been doing on civil liberties and privacy rights, especially as it relates to political opponents, you would think they would be extra careful not to violate those rights.

But as I have said all along, the only REAL principle they have is power and if they have to lie, cheat, steal, tar and feather to get that power they will do so.

Power corrupts and Democrats corrupt absolutely.

PROBING THE PLUMBER
Government computers used to find into info on “Joe the Plumber”
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=3162516&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/

Hey Gang;
Good ol’ Joe the Plumber was on the Laura Ingram program Friday and noted he might consider running for Congress:
http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/10/24/joe-the-plumber-says-hes-mulling-run-for-congress/
I can see Craig found a similar clip from yesterday & also posted it, LOL. Good going Craig,

On David’s comments;
We saw the same thing with the Clintons in office digging up information illegally on those who were not “with them”. Socialist Dems have no scruples. They feel they are above the law and everyone in their nationwide network will do anything to help, regardless of the legality of such actions.

The same buddy system could easily be used to get a Democrat supporter working within the system to create a false IDs, such as a fake birth certificate. Look at the cases where DMV employees have been indicted for selling out to criminals by participating with the creation of false IDs for monetary compensation. Nothing is in more dire need of reform than the DNC itself.

@SimplyLurking:

You are right. Just talked to my daughter last night. She said everytime she leaves her computer she has to log off and then log back on using her own access code. Everyone is assigned their own code so unless someone knows someone elses code, the Ohio officials know exactly who accessed Joe the Plumber’s information.

After the drubbing he has taken it appears that Richard has gone dark.

Mike said:

“Uhhh… Stoutcat: In case you were not aware, we all knew about Joe the Plumber BEFORE McCain brought it up. It was an instant news sensation as the posts on this site clearly demonstrate.

But are you suggesting that if McCain mentions someone then that person is fair game to have their private information displayed for all to see?

Is that the new standard in the looming Obama Thugocracy?”

No Mike, if you had read the link, you’d have seen that I was commenting on the blatant bias of the Columbus Dispatch in blaming McCain for bringing Joe Wurzelbacher to the public eye. Clearly Joe was all over the news well before McCain mentioned him. As you say, he was an instant sensation–when?

The new standard here is the same old standard: the MSM so desperately want Obama to win that they’d MUCH rather forget — and cover up — the fact that it was Joe’s question to OBama, and Obama’s reply, and in particular, Obama’s “spread the wealth” response that first brought this man to America’s notice.

Get it?

An update of this story in today’s Columbus Dispatch:

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/26/copy/Joe_folo.ART_ART_10-26-08_A3_GBBN45C.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery to comment on the story. Both Republicans called on Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles to investigate the situation and report findings before the Nov. 4 election.

Aye Chi, Richard’s over at the new MSNBC logo thread “spreading his wealth” of knowledge there.