Blogroll of nominees for the Annual Shiitake Awards, which spotlights the dumbest "sex offender-related stories of the year." The Shiitake Awards is a project of Once Fallen. For a full description of the Shiitake Awards and its mission, or to learn how to submit a nominee, click on the "About the Shiitake Awards" tab. Articles on this site fall under Fair Use Doctrine (Copyright Act of 1976, 17 USC 107) for purposes related to news, information, and social commentary.
Let's get something clear. Registered Person-owned businesses should have the same rights as any other business.
Registered Citizens with crimes against minors and certain pornography offenses are banned from
receiving Federal Small Business Loans thanks to the passage of H.R.5297, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, 111th Congress (2009-2010), sponsored Rep. Barney Frank [D-MA-4]. It amended 12 U.S. Code, Sec. 5710, Oversight and audits, to add subsection (b)(2) which reads, “With respect to funds received by a participating State under the Program, any private entity that receives a loan, a loan guarantee, or other financial assistance using such funds after September 27, 2010, shall certify to the participating State that the principals of such entity have not been convicted of a sex offense against a minor (as such terms are defined in section 20911 of title 34).” Under subsection (c), “None of the funds made available under this chapter may be used to pay the salary of any individual engaged in activities related to the Program who has been officially disciplined for violations of subpart G of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch for viewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography, including child pornography, on a Federal Government computer or while performing official Federal Government duties.” This needs to be overturned, BTW.
As far as country clubs getting PPP loansd, plenty of them got PPP loans last year. This guy obviously doesn't do his research.
Fox News Host Claims Biden's Stimulus Plan Includes 'PPP Loans for Sex Offenders'
BY DANIEL VILLARREAL ON 2/22/21 AT 9:38 PM EST
Fox News host Jesse Watters has said that the $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposed by President Joe Biden includes Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans "for sex offenders."
The Quote
Speaking on a Monday Fox News broadcast, alongside a panel that included former Trump Administration White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, Watters said:
"They have PPP loans for country clubs in here. Like, the squash courts and the putting greens are in such disrepair they needed an immediate injection of money? They have PPP loans in here for fraternities and sororities, Dana. Like, do you really think they're struggling right now? They have PPP loans in here for sex offenders. So you rape a child. 'Here! Here's a loan! Take it,'" he said...
Why it Matters
Watters comment comes at a time when the House is about to take up the $1.9 trillion bill. Democrats have touted the bill as necessary to revive the national economy hurt by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans, however, have generally opposed the package as too costly.
It's unclear what Watters meant when he referred to PPP loans for sex offenders. The full text of the bill contains no reference to sex offenders. It only mentions sexual assault and rape in reference to funding programs that help survivors of both.
While it's possible that Watters may be suggesting that businesses who employ former sex offenders or programs that rehabilitate them may be eligible for PPP loans, that too remains unclear.
Newsweek contacted Fox News for comment.
Later in the broadcast, Watters said the bill contains "the things [Democrats] say they hate most about government: the special interests, the lack of transparency, the pork." Pork is a disapproving term for taxpayer-funded government programs that only benefit a small group of people.
Fox News' criticism, as a right-leaning media outlet, is especially notable as the stimulus package may be passed without any Republican Senate support, using the budget reconciliation process. Republicans have denounced Democrats' plan to use the process as "partisan."
This is typical Republican grandstanding on immigration issues. What better way to scare the public than linking immigration to Predator Panic? Operation Talon, like past FALCON raids and various compliance operations, are blatantly unconstitutional.
To make this report even sillier is the fact this alleged "Operation Talon" apparently was never in operation in the first place, and it was ICE, not Biden, that suspended the program before it ever got off the ground.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today led a coalition of 18 states in urging President Biden, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Johnson, to reverse the Biden Administration’s last-minute cancellation of Operation Talon. Operation Talon is a nationwide ICE operation that focuses on removing illegally present convicted sex offenders from the United States.
“Today, I’m pleased to lead this coalition of 17 other states in urging President Biden to reverse the decision to cancel Operation Talon, which focuses on removing convicted sex offenders who are illegally in the United States. Broadcasting that sexual predators and traffickers are potentially immune from deportation or other legal action only worsens the crises of sexual assault and trafficking at the border and potentially in Missouri,” said Attorney General Schmitt. “In combating human trafficking in Missouri, we strive to send the message that our state is inhospitable to trafficking through our actions and initiatives - The United States needs to send the same message.”
The letter argues that canceling Operation Talon could embolden sexual predators who seek to enter the United States illegally and exacerbate issues of sexual assault and trafficking in the immigrant community.
The letter states, “According to data collected by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, during the period from October 2014 to May 2018, ICE arrested 19,752 illegal aliens with criminal convictions for whom the most serious prior conviction was a conviction for a sex-related offense.”
Protesting the cancellation of Operation Talon, the letter says, “The cancellation of this program effectively broadcasts to the world that the United States is now a sanctuary jurisdiction for sexual predators. This message creates a perverse incentive for foreign sexual predators to seek to enter the United States illegally and assault more victims, both in the process of unlawful migration and after they arrive. It will also broadcast the message to other criminal aliens who have committed less heinous offenses that any kind of robust enforcement against them is extremely unlikely.”
The letter also details how human trafficking and sexual assault are major issues in the immigrant and migrant communities, especially at the border. The letter, citing the Polaris Project, continues, “the overwhelming majority of victims of sex and/or labor trafficking in the United States were foreign nationals, not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. For cases in which citizenship status was known, 77.5 percent of trafficking victims (4,601 out of 5,939) were not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.”
The letter closes with, “We urge you to immediately reinstate Operation Talon, adopt an aggressive enforcement policy against illegal aliens convicted of sex crimes, and send a message to sexual predators that they are not welcome in the United States of America.”
The letter, led by Missouri Attorney General Schmitt, was also signed by the attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
This hack reporter has engaged in a seres of articles designed to harass Registered Persons living in the town of Orangedale CA. First, she writes about a guy that allegedly "has an interest in cannibalism", then she writes a crap piece about Registrants living together in one home (see below) and follows up with, "OMG the registry info is wrong, sound the alarm."
While shitty, scaremongering reporting is typical when news outlets want to gain viewership (i.e., "sweeps week"), any time a reporter goes out of its way to cause harm to Registered Persons for the sake of ratings, tit deserves a spot on our Shiitake Awards blog.
‘Nobody Wants That Kind Of Crap’: Orangevale Neighbors Want To Know More About Who Really Lives Next Door
By Marlee GinterFebruary 18, 2021 at 6:45 am
ORANGEVALE (CBS13) — With a three-month-old baby on her hip and a four-year-old daughter always riding her bicycle in the neighborhood, Melanie Osterman wants to make sure she knows her neighbors.
Jason Scarcello is a convicted sex offender who authorities say has interests in cannibalism. Neighbors reached out to CBS13 after receiving an alert about Scarcello living on Drywood Way.
“Nobody wants that kind of crap in this neighborhood at all,” said Osterman.
After our original story aired, the homeowner told CBS13 Scarcello had applied to live there, but was denied. But the Federal Defender’s office confirms Scarcello did live there in November and moved out December 1.
“I don’t know if something’s not being updated. But something’s not right,” said Woodmore Oaks Neighborhood Watch president Tom DiGiacomo.
DiGiacomo sent the initial alert to neighbors but has since told them Scarcello isn’t there anymore. When you search the Drywood Way address, it doesn’t show any sex offenders living there. But after checking further, CBS13 discovered three convicted sex offenders listed at the address. One of them is listed with a score of 5, “above average risk to commit a new sexual offense,” according to the Megan’s Law website.
“I haven’t let her out front and that’s [expletive.] We pay for this house. We should be able to be free and feel safe and I don’t feel safe right now,” said Osterman.
“Right now I don’t know what to say. This house needs to be shut down,” said James Pruitt.
The homeowner’s attorney, who is an advocate for sex offenders, wouldn’t talk on camera but tells CBS13 the homeowner is giving individuals an opportunity to live their law-abiding lives.
“I don’t care what you think about non-violent. Everybody needs to know so they know how to handle their children. This is not right,” said Pruitt.
“That’s fine, second chances. People who want to make their lives better. But sex offenders and people that are sick and twisted in the head and want to do things to kids, no they chose their life, they don’t get a second chance living in a neighborhood with kids,” said Osterman.
The homeowner wouldn’t comment on camera. Sex offenders do have a right to a residence. They have to live somewhere.
Meantime, the Woodmore Oaks Neighborhood Watch is holding its monthly meeting online Thursday, February 18th at 7:00 p.m. hoping to get answers.
Dishonorable mention goes to the other Karen of this article, Melanie Osterman.
What is the Florida Smart Justice Alliance? From their "About Us" page:
The Smart Justice Alliance’s goals are to:
Make Florida’s communities safer;
Save the taxpayers money; and
Hold offenders accountable while providing the tools for them to live law-abiding lives
Any serious attempt to create meaningful change in Florida’s approach to criminal justice must be comprehensive and include all stakeholders. Therefore, mission Number One for the Florida Smart Justice Alliance will be to forge consensus among the broad range of affected parties – including law enforcement, prosecutors and public defenders, the judiciary, state government, victim rights groups, service providers and the business community. Members of the Alliance are working to develop policies that:
Minimize the extent to which children and the mentally ill are locked up;
Incorporate assessment tools to effectively guide sentencing diversion alternatives and reentry; and
Make greater system-wide use of evidenced-based programs that reduce costs and lower recidivism.
Based on the words of Barney Bishop, however (who is no stranger to the Shiitake Awards), the Florida Smart Justice Alliance needs to do a lot of soul searching. Barney Bishop, in a testimony to the Florida House Judiciary Committee on March 3, offered this gem of a comment regarding a proposed 50 year minimum sentence for sex offenses law in committee:
"We think that very long sentences are warranted; in fact, we'd like longer sentences. And I would just say in closing that with respect to smart justice that maybe what we ought to really be doing is thinking about giving the victims’ families an opportunity to have visitation with the perpetrators and a pair of scissors. That's our idea of smart justice, Mr. Chairman, not anything short of that."
(ADDENDUM: It seems Barney Bishop has a failing memory, so the offending statement can be found by CLICKING HERE and going to about one hour 51 minutes into the video. For the impatient types, the clip is below as well)
This is NOT the type of person running a criminal justice reform agency. He should resign immediately. Then again, his "Smart Justice Alliance" can't seem to keep staff around for long so it appears this "alliance" is an alliance of one. As noted by FAC, Barney Bishop is the lobbyist for The Wakulla County Sheriffs Department. Last year Wakulla County had to pay City Walk $160,000 to settle a lawsuit. Think Barney should have mentioned this in his opinion piece. Sketchy!
I'd gladly challenge Barney Bishop III on the issues in a face-to-face meeting. He can even bring a pair of scissors if he likes but he better keep them to himself. But since his cowardly response is to threaten me with a gun and arrest, like the cowardly thug that he truly is, I'll be content with showing him up for the fool he is. BTW, fuck the NRA, bragging about your membership just proves you're a kook.
City Walk shelter violates zoning code and needs to move out of the neighborhood | Opinion
Barney Bishop III Your Turn
A recent column mentioning the shelter on Mahan Drive cites it as a “homeless” shelter. It is also a “low barrier” shelter for sex offenders. It is to be expected that supporters of this facility would neglect to cite this fact and attempt to obscure the issue as a homeless issue.
While it was initially only to be used as a temporary cold night shelter, City Walk shelter was surreptitiously and illegally transformed into a permanent shelter that includes sex offenders.
It is across the street from Hilltop Academy and near public schools. This violates Florida law, common sense, and is highly inappropriate. Moreover, the neighbors were never notified of the change. In one article, Renee Miller, the executive director, claims they looked in the city code and did not find any restrictions that applied to them.
There is no need to check the city code if this shelter is temporary and only for cold nights. But there are restrictions if its usage is changed to a permanent location with sex offenders. So Ms. Miller knew exactly what she was doing from the beginning. For that alone, the permanent request for a zoning change should be rejected out-of-hand, if not for the other reason that you do not reward a purposeful violator of the city code.
A low barrier sex offender shelter is defined as a facility that provides food, drink and a bed to sex offenders, but no treatment is provided whatsoever. They can come and go as they please. Consequently, women and children have every right to fear for their safety.
Ms. Miller knows full well, having been a shelter provider in other locations, that sex offenders must register every time they move. Her lack of oversight is unprofessional and dangerous. Sex offenders have strict statutory requirements and one newspaper story indicated one of the sex offenders was already on probation, which means they have already violated the law.
I have worked as a lobbyist for nonprofits that deal with issues of substance abuse/mental health, juvenile justice and adult corrections for 28 years now. My clients put facilities like this in industrial areas, where neighborhoods are not adversely impacted. Warehouses and such are not incompatible neighbors, and so long as there is a bus line nearby, the shelter occupants still have access to grocery stores, social services, etc.
It is for these reasons that both Florida Smart Justice Alliance and Citizens for Responsible Spending oppose any attempt to keep the shelter on Mahan Drive — under any circumstances or restrictions — in its current location. We certainly oppose it being there as a permanent location.
Two Bartow legislators co-sponsor sex offender registration bill
JAMES SWIFT/THE DAILY TRIBUNE NEWS
Posted Saturday, February 13, 2021
BY JAMES SWIFT
Both District 14 State Rep. Mitchell Scoggins (R, Cartersville) and District 15 State Rep. Matthew Gambill (R, Cartersville) have co-sponsored a piece of proposed legislation seeking to reform the State’s sex offender registration requirements.
“The benefit of this bill is that it will help sex offenders stay on the registry longer,” said Scoggins. “Now they’re able to get off after three years if they’re Level I.”
The primary sponsor of House Bill 347 is District 19 State Rep. Joseph Gullett (R, Dallas.)
“Someone that he knew or had dealings with had got off the registry, he thought too early,” Scoggins said. “This bill will help solve that problem.”
Under the proposed bill, those convicted of certain sex offenses would be able to petition for release from registration after “10 years have elapsed since the individual completed all prison, parole, supervised release and probation for the offense.”
The amendment, however, would only be applicable to those “classified by the Georgia Sexual Offender Registration Review Board as a Level I risk assessment classification.”
If a risk assessment classification has not been conducted, HB 347 indicates “the court shall order such classification to be completed prior to considering the petition for release.”
“It changes the ‘or’ to ‘and’ so that the two provisions outlined there both have to be met,” Gambill said. “This just increases the rigors in our sex offender laws, ensuring that nothing is slipping through the cracks, if you will.”
In Georgia, Level I offenders are designated as “low sex offense risks” and are deemed unlikely to commit any additional sex offenses by the State board.
“Level II, III offenders are mostly all repeat offenders and they stay on the registry longer, anyway,” Scoggins said. “This just puts everybody on notice that this person’s been convicted of a crime and if he or she is living next to you, you would want to know that, especially if you had young children.”
Gambill summarized why he co-sponsored the proposed legislation.
“These are very concerning situations and I think that we always want to make sure that when we’re looking into the laws, that they are appropriate and meet the needs of what’s needed to protect our citizens,” Gambill said. “I think this puts some additional teeth into that process.”
I don't follow MMA crap, and Jon Jones apparently doesn't follow criminal justice reform issues. He may be a good fighter in the UFC, but when it comes to understanding law, he is the 2017 Cleveland Browns. Maybe that's why he didn't seem to understand leaving the scene of an accident, an accident he caused, hurting a pregnant lady in the process, was actually illegal.
Jones, stick with using your head as a punching bag, since it is literally all you are good for, and leave the critical thinking to those with a working brain.
Jon Jones lambasts Californians for “passing” pedophilia: “Let me be real clear on where I stand on this topic…”
By Chris Taylor -February 12, 2021
Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar, Johnny Walker, Thiago Santos, Jon Anik
Image: UFC on Instagram
UFC legend Jon Jones was not happy to learn of California’s passing of pedophilia, making his feelings on the subject very clear this evening.
The state of California recently passed SB 145, a bill that is aimed at creating parity in criminal sentencing for young LGBTQ people who have sex with other young people.
Here’s what the bill actually does (via sacbee.com):
“Under existing law since 1944, when a person is found by a court to have had vaginal intercourse with a minor 14 years of age or older, and the age difference is not more than 10 years, judges are given discretion as to whether to require that person to register as a sex offender.”
With that said, the state of California did not actually legalize pedophilia. Still, SB 145 has numerous individuals up in arms, including former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones.
‘Bones’ took to social media where he shared his disgust after hearing news of the passed bill.
CALIFORNIANS PASSING PEDOPHILIA NOW, LET ME BE REAL CLEAR ON WHERE I STAND ON THIS TOPIC, I FIND YOU ALL ABSOLUTELY FUCKING DISGUSTING.
— BONY (@JONNYBONES) FEBRUARY 13, 2021
“Californians passing pedophilia now, let me be real clear on where I stand on this topic, I find you all absolutely fucking disgusting.” – Jones wrote on Twitter.
The longtime UFC light heavyweight champion, Jones (26-1 MMA), is expected to fight the winner of April’s ‘UFC 260: Ngannou vs. Miocic 2’ contest in his heavyweight debut later this summer.
Jon Jones most recently competed at UFC 247 in February of 2020, where he successfully defended his light heavyweight belt with a unanimous decision victory over Dominick Reyes.
Jon Jones, Dominick Reyes
Image Credit: @ufc on Instagram (photographer not listed)
‘Bones’ would later vacate the 205lbs title in order to make his run at the promotions heavyweight world title.
What do you think of the recent comments from Jon Jones following the passing of Senate Bill 145 in California? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!
For the moment, it seems Poetry magazine is not cowtowing to professional victims and outraged Karens who feel Registered Persons should not have a voice at all.
We still have a little something in this country called freedom of expression, so to all those hating on the having to read a poem by a person convicted of a sex offense, I have a poem for you:
Republicans are Red,
Democrats are Blue,
The First Amendment gives me the freedom to say "FUCK YOU!"
US magazine Poetry faces outcry for publishing work by sex offender
New issue, dedicated to work by current and former prisoners, provokes uproar after it emerges one poet has served time for child pornography offences
Alison Flood
Wed 3 Feb 2021 11.08 ESTLast modified on Wed 3 Feb 2021 11.10 EST
The US’s prestigious Poetry magazine has doubled down on its decision to publish a poem by a convicted sex offender as part of a special edition dedicated to incarcerated poets, telling critics that “it is not our role to further judge or punish [people] as a result of their criminal convictions”.
The magazine, which has been running since 1912 and is published by the Poetry Foundation, has just released its new issue focusing on work by “currently and formerly incarcerated people”, their families and prison workers. It includes a poem by Kirk Nesset, a former professor of English literature who was released from prison last year after serving time for possessing, receiving and distributing child sexual abuse images in 2014. The investigation found Nesset in possession of more than half a million images and films of child sexual abuse.
When a reader asked why the issue included Nesset, Poetry magazine said that its guest editors “didn’t have knowledge of contributors’ backgrounds”, because “the editorial principle for this issue was to widen access to publication for writers inside prison and to expand access to poetry, bearing in mind biases against and barriers for incarcerated people”.
“We recognise the life-shattering impact of violence and denounce harm,” the magazine said in a statement on Twitter. “People in prison have been sentenced and are serving/have served those sentences; it is not our role to further judge or punish them as a result of their criminal convictions. As editors, our role is to read poems and facilitate conversations around contemporary poetry.
“We maintain that these poems are an expression of a human experience and that poetry is a force to advance human engagement and critical self-reflection. We hope the poetry in this issue facilitates deep and empathic reading and extends our discourse.”
Tara Betts, one of the guest editors, reiterated that she and her fellow editors had not known the charges against the poets they included.
“I can say that I had no intent to perpetuate further harm,” she wrote on Twitter. “I’m going to be honest about my life. I barely escaped being a survivor myself. I’ve counseled many friends, family members and former students who are survivors, including incarcerated people. I’m heartbroken about hurting anyone or making them revisit their pain. I’m also devastated by policing and prisons and how these are overtly racist and classist systems that protect property over people. What happens when those hurts overlap?”
A petition signed by more than 500 people is calling for Nesset’s work to be removed from the magazine, saying that his “time served does not equate to the lifetime of emotional, physical, and psychological trauma victims of child pornography and sexual assault endure”.
Tiffany Melanson, another poet featured in the issue, expressed her “deep disappointment” in the situation, “and the lack of foresight and sensitivity that led to it”.
Last year, the Poetry Foundation, which publishes the magazine, was criticised in a letter signed by almost 2,000 people over its brief, “watery” response to Black Lives Matter. The foundation and magazine had said that they “stand in solidarity with the black community, and denounce injustice and systemic racism”. But the signatories, who included the award-winning poet Ocean Vuong, said the foundation had been asked for years to redistribute its “enormous resources” to marginalised artists, and had not done enough.
The writers said they would not submit any work to the magazine until their demands were met, which included the resignation of the Poetry Foundation president and board of trustees chair, as well as for the “significantly greater allocation of financial resources toward work which is explicitly anti-racist in nature”.
Both the president and chair subsequently resigned, with former president Henry Bienen telling the board that he had “lost respect for the staff who did not defend themselves or the foundation from attacks they knew to be false”.
