Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Equal opportunity bullies...

We wrote the other day about the refusal of a District Attorney in upstate NY to prosecute a man for having 9 bullets in his legal 10-round magazine, which exceeded the new state limit of 7 bullets under the so-called SAFE Act. While the District Attorney...

Change.org, one of the most widely used petition websites, with over 35 million users in 196 countries, was hacked this weekend. Unauthorized modifications that are said to have been “cosmetic” in nature were made Friday to twelve petitions hosted on the site, according to a spokesman for the organization. From CNN:

No personal information was stolen, spokesman Benjamin Joffe-Walt said in a written statement. He added that none of the 12 petitions targeted had its number of signatures affected. The modified petitions included one calling for officials to end the prosecution of a Florida teen charged in connection with a same-sex relationship with a 14-year-old; a petition to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay; and a petition and to allow gay Boy Scouts leaders, said Brianna Cayo-Cotter, a spokeswoman for Change.org.

The organization said its website was taken offline while a “minor vulnerability” exploited by a hacker was fixed.  Apparently the hacker had modified text and photos on those twelve petitions after gaining access to the site. The petition to end the prosecution of the Florida teen in question is likely for that of 18 year old Kaitlyn Hunt, a story that has made nationwide headlines in recent weeks.  Her father, Steven Hunt, set up a Change.org petition over a week ago to “Stop the prosecution of an 18 year old girl in a same-sex relationship.” Kaitlyn Hunt was expelled from Sebastian High School and arrested and charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a child 12 to 16 years of age after it was discovered she was in a consenting relationship with a 14 year old female student. The hacker collective Anonymous has been outspoken in its support of Hunt, and has lobbied for the resignation of the officials involved in prosecuting the girl.

In the letter released by Anonymous, the group claims the Indian River County State Attorney's Office has "lost perspective" and vows to put together a petition with 200,000 signatures on it calling for the resignation of the officials involved. "The truth is, Kaitlyn Hunt is a bright young girl who was involved in a consensual, same-sex relationship while both she and her partner were minors. She has a big future ahead of her and there are people, thousands of people in fact, that have no intention of allowing you to ruin it with your rotten selective enforcement." The group also cites alleged intolerance by the younger girl's parents. Kaitlyn's mother had previously posted on a Facebook page, entitled "Free Kate," that the girlfriend's parents "conspired with police to entrap Kaitlyn" because they disapproved of the relationship.

Also mentioned by Change.org as one of the affected petitions was one to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

I wonder how this will be reported in the press. Press coverage or complicity? https://twitter.com/NoahPollak/status/338694756337078273 From The Commentator: A video has surfaced which claims to show Palestinian terrorists hurling firebombs and rocks at Israeli soldiers while hiding behind reporters and other media.  ...

It is well known that the Golden State is experiencing economic troubles. In fact, 10 California cities are poised to declare bankruptcy. Stockton has recently been given the go ahead to lead this fiscal emergency parade:

On Monday a judge ruled that Stockton, Ca. could enter bankruptcy. The city of 291,000 counts among its woes hundreds of millions of dollars in retirement promises it hasn't funded and hasn't been able to afford since a steep economic decline began several years ago. Today, unemployment in the Stockton metro area is a daunting 15.5 percent, which doesn't do much for the local tax base.

Los Angeles residents just elected a new mayor who will be forced to deal with budget shortfalls and the long term consequences of sweetheart pension deals for government employees.

Eric Garcetti will be Los Angeles' next mayor. By 3 a.m. Wednesday, with 100 percent of the votes counted, Garcetti had received 54 percent of the vote, making him L.A.'s first elected Jewish mayor.

Garcetti has his work cut out for him. One LA department is now making plans to distribute free condoms via bus to city residents:

The wheels on the bus go round and round all throughout Los Angeles…passing out free condoms. The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health announced this week that it will be sending a 40-foot-long bus filled with free condoms throughout the city of angels, encouraging them to “suit up” with condoms to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. “Suit Up” was the winning theme from the city’s condom wrapper design competition. All condoms distributed by the city’s condom bus will feature the bow-tie logo. LA residents can also check the condom mobile’s website to find a stop nearest them. The health department’s goal is to not just distribute one million condoms, but rather one million and one before the bus’s tour is finished. The health department has also partnered up with local LGBT sports leagues to help spread awareness.

Garcetti and other LA leaders may want to consider an analysis by Michael S. Greve, a professor at George Mason University School of Law. In the Library of Law and Liberty, he wrote on Conservatives, Condoms and Compassion: