Signs of the Times

An entire blog devoted to tracking government harassment of photographers.

Comments

[J sub D]

That this blog even exists, much less serves a law abiding constituency, indicates a sad state of affairs in America.

[Jozef]

Funny. Just yesterday I've read another blog entry titled Sign of the Times...

[Legate Damar]

Can anyone recommend a good site for learning about your rights when stopped by a LEO or other stooge? I know I could google, but I guess I'm looking for a personal recommendation.

I live in VA and work in MD if that helps/hinders anything.

Thanks.

[Wise Guy]

I live in VA and work in MD

My advice would be to move. Now.

[Jesse Walker]

Funny. Just yesterday I've read another blog entry titled Sign of the Times...

Clich?s: the blogger's friend.

[de stijl]

I would've used "Sign o' the Times" and included a link to the I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man video.

[Cracker\'s Boy]

@Legate Damar

You could start here...

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html

Hahahahahahahaaaaa...

CB
(Whew... Sadly, I got a good chuckle out of that.)

[Dave Woycechowsky]

This was a nice catch over at the highclearing the other day. Whoever does the photographer harrassment blog does a good job.

[adrian]

legate: try norml.org , i think they have some stuff there.

[mitch]

My father is a railroad hobbyist, or train nerd, or whatever you call it, and I have been scolded by public employees more than once for taking photos of trains and train stations to show him.

[VM]

Since you're obviously less skilled at reading and thinking, there, HFCS boy, that's real nice that someone xplaned it to you.

jackass.

[src]

When my neighbor was 15, she was questioned by Homeland Security for taking pictures of telephone lines for an art project. She had the last laugh, though; wrote a college essay on the experience and went to Harvard.

[sage]

Legate, the best place by far to educate yourself when pulled over is flexyourrights.org. Check our their videos. Very informative.

[Dave Woycechowsky]

Oh, VM, don't tell me that we are in a fight now . . . Don't u like videos?

[Tom]

I started in the newspaper biz in 1980 as a reporter and photographer, and you can rest assured that the times have changed. It's all about control now. Police will only allow you to shoot a wreck or house fire from across the street or down the block "for your own safety". Gone are the days when several small police departments with whom I worked would ask me to photograph crime scenes, bodies and all, if their Polaroids weren't working; I would just hand them the roll of film when I was done, and then shoot my own pix.

Last year I was escorted off a church parking lot for trying to get pictures of the funeral of a Marine killed in Iraq. I was allowed to shoot from the public street, not the parking lot as that was private property.

And don't even talk about photographing kids anymore. I will only shoot a pic of a kid anywhere if I can find the parent first, introduce myself, present a business card, and ask permission to take the shot.

If you go on to school grounds now, even if invited by the school for a photo op, you often are saddled with an escort to make sure you don't sneak any shots of what you're not there to shoot.

THe best days of news photography are behind us. The public doesn't have a right to know.

[Taktix?]

Tom,

No worries. You should be looking for the "free speech zones" set up for you. They are there to ensure that your photography doesn't offend anyone, that's all.

Oh, and don't mind the fencing and locks, those are there for your protection.

Have a nice day!

[Legate Damar]

Thanks, all. Especially sage. That was what I was looking for.

[TrickyVic]

I guess the plain view doctrine is for LEOs only.

[VM]

what videos? the ones where you try to teach Professor Greene econometrics on the first day?

[Dave Woycechowsky]

Professors are quite a handful. I have the teaching bandwidth only to teach but one.

[Dave Woycechowsky]

Oh, yeah and the Vancouver airport taser death video (taken by a citizen photographer) is supposed to be released today, and it will be interesting to see if they release it an release it unedited.

[VM]

oooh. the videos of our threesome with DUNDEROO. gotcha.

[VM]

and when can I borrow your costume? You said I could play with it, too.

[Timothy]

Dave: You're either the dumbest person on the ENTIRE INTERNET, which would be an impressive feat in itself...or you're the best dada performance artist in a century. Of course, either way, you're still a fuckface.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

You know that guy in the first post was taking photos of hot little honeys in their skimpy beach attire and they didn't like it. No sirrreeee. Not even a little. Which is, of course, why the wore that skimpy attire to the beach.

I could write a really creepy story about this. 🙂

[VM]

and as for your "teaching", what lesson did your tirade against Phil bring across? Didja teach Phil? What was that you kept saying to him? Well, whatever it was, and if anyone remembers, that was how this fellow expresses how he teaches.

So you can't tell me about the omega matrix when doing GLS? damn. since you, like, obviously understand econometrics better than I do. Or what about a Markov Chain Monte Carlo Simulation?

Or could you help me with intertemporal optimization with several periods?

hier's some advice: quit your day job, see if the Muppets will hire you back as their stall cleaner, and accept my pity because you are obviously really sick.

and not a cute kind of sick like, "oh, look at how I can make my erection dance" but sick like "I cause people to pity me and feel sorry for me when they laugh at me when the cap't of the chess team trips me in the lunch line"

and if that won't work, maybe you could travel back in time (and stay there, of course) and be the chief second in command assistant to the junior roadie to Culture club.

[Dave Woycechowsky]

and as for your "teaching", what lesson did your tirade against Phil bring across? Didja teach Phil? What was that you kept saying to him? Well, whatever it was, and if anyone remembers, that was how this fellow expresses how he teaches.

What Phil did was wrong, and, no, I haven't seen Phil, or anybody else, try to help "out" anybody's real life identity here at HnR since Phil was doing that with me all those years ago. joey bee said that he had some similar troubles at one point, but I think it was before I really hit my stride at HnR. I don't usually like to teach in such a harsh manner. For example, I am always quite gentle and patient with T. Unfortunately, Phil did a serious no-no, and serious discipline was required (and effective) in that case. I don't enjoy meting out that kind of discipline, and I am glad nobody has required that kind of treatment since Phil left (or perhaps just changed pseudonyms).

Somehow I get the feeling that you would think I was sick, and not a cute kind of sick, even if the Phil thing never happened. Anyway, why is my sickness making us fight, VM? Is our fight mostly about the Phil thing, or mostly about something else? Is this a fight that can end, or is it like that fight Peter Griffin has with the chicken guy?

I don't think I am sick, but, as I have said b4, the sick person never seems to be able to see their own sickness. At least I can console myself with the fact that I can make total genius music videos. Download'em today in glorious better-than-youtube-resi at:

http://www.archive.org/details/Succor_vid_by_Farces_Wanna_Mo

You'll be glad you did!

[Not Phil - of course]

oh, hay hai Phil.

[Dave]

Damar, you may also want to check out Bert P. Krages's page on the rights of photographers at http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm.
--Dave