Sunday, December 31, 2017

Voting for the 2017 Shiitake Awards January 1, 2018 through January 31, 2018

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XLFLZBF --  The 2017 Shiitake Awards is finally here, click the link to cast your ballot today!

Below is the list of finalists for review before you vote. 

DUMBEST BILL/LAW OF 2017

1. New York S6021: AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to prohibiting child SOs from possessing a depiction of any minor during their incarceration. I can see a lot of issues with this bill. If a teen gets locked up on an R&J, he can't have pics even of his siblings because they are minors? A father can't have pics of his kids? What about pics of yourself as a kid? Thankfully, it stalled in committee.
2. Nebraska LB 60: If the bill had passed, it would’ve require registrants dating someone with kids to send humiliating letters to baby mammas/ baby daddys to warm them their exes are dating registrants. This bill thankfully did not pass.
3. Texas HB 821: A bill to prevent those convicted of sex offenses from having penpals. Thankfully, it died in committee.

DUMBEST NEWS MUTT OF 2017

1. Jeff Edelstein, The Trentonian (NJ): Applauds the fact the US will mark passports like the Nazis and Soviets used to do. “I’m all for the law, for the record. It’s just a shame we need it. Because if it was up to me, anyone convicted of molesting a child would never get a chance to “move into town.” Life imprisonment is fine by me. Heck, you could convince me of the death penalty in certain cases…I don’t care about the rights of these people. I don’t care about the fact they’re forever marked wherever they go. They should be marked. The end.”
2. Ashleigh Banfield, HLN: She lied on national TV about reoffense rates, claiming the US Dept. of Justice stated reoffense rates of up to 37%. We all know that's a lie, but on her 9/7/17 show, she really took her stupidity to a whole other level. She lied about recidivism rates, lied about those post-Katrina rapes which were debunked by numerous sources, and even erroneously claimed the National Sexual Violence Resource Center is a government agency. She is taking over the Nancy Grace spot on HLN in more ways than one.
3. Dennis Robaugh (Patch National Staff): I’m reluctant to place independent, self-published articles on the awards, but the Patch has a large readership base. This “reporter” used a person with no criminal background and myths as a justification for the SOR. “In all the years we've published sex-offender maps or sat in bond court, we've never heard of people marching with torches to a child predator's home. We have, however, seen many parents weep in court because their child was raped or molested…Some studies show there's a one-in-four chance a convicted sex offender will run afoul of the law again, but most sex crimes go unreported, which means the true recidivism rate among molesters and child rapists cannot be known.”
4. Brad Schmidt/ Danny Moran/ John Canzano/ Mark Katches, The Oregonian: When Oregon State baseball was in the College World Series, one of the star pitchers for the team was outed as a level 1 (that means low risk for you outsiders) registered citizen for an offense committed when he was 15 in Washington state. These reporters teamed up to engage in a targeted campaign to damage the career of a young man who has served his time as a juvenile.

DUMBEST/ WORST POLITICO OF 2017

1. Chris Smith, R-NJ Congressman: Three words. International Megan’s Law. Need I say more?
2. Connie M. Leyva, D-CA State Senator: Bashes registry reformists in slanted Op-Ed. “I met with sex offender advocates throughout the legislative process and was disappointed at how serious sex-related crimes continued to be minimized. I clearly remember how one sex offender tried to minimize his offense by saying that ‘it was just child pornography.’ Well, in my world and that of most Californians, possessing pornographic images of children is absolutely wrong. Though some sex-related crimes may not have caused direct physical harm, even sex offenders convicted of “lesser” crimes like child pornography are still dangerous. These offenders should never be around children unsupervised. I authored SB26 because children should always be protected from dangerous sex offenders. We can and must err on the side of caution when it comes to the safety of our kids.”
3. Eric Zahnd, Platte Co MO Prosecutor: Threatened and intimidated people who wrote letters of support to a man on trial for a sex crime. “Zahnd’s office did something highly unusual: It contacted the people who had written character letters on behalf of Paden and told them to get in touch with assistant prosecutor Chris Seufert. When they did, Seufert told them that, unless they withdrew their letters, he would expose them as supporters of a defendant who had engaged in pedophilia. Zahnd’s office also subpoenaed the letter writers, ordering them to appear at Paden’s sentencing hearing. But when they showed up, none of them were called to the witness stand."

DUMBEST QUOTE OF 2017

1. Rick Perry, US Energy Secretary: If you use wind or solar, apparently you're just setting yourself up to be raped if you believe another one of Trump's esteemed cabinet members. He said a young girl told him that energy is important to her because she often reads by the light of a fire with toxic fumes. “But also from the standpoint of sexual assault,” Perry said. “When the lights are on, when you have light that shines, the righteousness, if you will on those types of acts.”
2. NY State Sen. Jeffrey Kline: Stole a line from Lauren Book. “State Sen. Jeffrey Klein says a state law designed to keep sex offenders away from schools doesn't include universal pre-K and kindergarten facilities. Kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs that exist physically outside of actual school buildings do not receive protection under the law barring convicted sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet. ‘What we found was astonishing,’ Klein says. ‘These ticking time bombs can attack our kids at any time, and the law unfortunately isn't there to protect them.’”
3. John Canzano, The Oregonian: In attacking the USO baseball player for his juvenile record, Canzano stated, “Can we start with the premise that human life matters? Anyone disagree on that? This isn't a complicated starting point. The young relative who was molested by Heimlich deserves your thoughts and respect. The victim matters. She matters more than Heimlich. She matters more than baseball. She matters. Period. Anyone disagree there?” Sounds like Orwell’s Animal Farm

SHITPOSTING SIGNPOSTER 2017

1. Olean NY residents: Two nosy neighbors posted signs together read “Sexually molest a child and you get your home remodeled for free!” This was in response to the mother of a registrant who received home weatherization assistance for her home. “He’s sitting in jail for molesting a child and he’s going to come home to a brand new, remodeled house that the taxpayers paid for,” said Barbara Whiteman of 371 Fountain St., in whose yard the signs about free remodeling were posted. “Does that sound right to you?”
2. City of Salesville, Arkansas: This is not just one person’s effort; the city government approved signs targeting one registrant in town. “It is the total responsibility of this body to make sure the people who come here to visit and the people who live here are notified that that person is in the area,” Mayfield said. “I don’t know if it has ever been done, but I see this big lawsuit that you didn’t do your duty as a public officer to make sure it was known to the public that the person was known to be in the area … I want everyone to know that he’s here.”... “He is a Level 4 sex offender, which is a sexual predator,” Mayfield said. “It’s not if he’s going to offend, it’s when he does.”
3. Shelton Kitchens, Arkansas: Shelton Kitchens said he learned recently that his daughter was in a sexual relationship with a 21-year-old man. "She got lured in by puppies," he said. “He called Crimes Against Children in Little Rock. They said they can’t do nothing about it because she’s 16 years old,” he said. In fact, 16 is the age of consent in Arkansas. There was nothing law enforcement officers could do. So he started a public awareness campaign, putting a sign up that reads, "Danger! Child molester lives in first house on the right.” It lists the man's last name at the bottom.

EVERYDAY ZEROES OF 2017

1. Austin Strickland of Mulberry, FL: Attacked the man who found his lost daughter, then went online to Facebook and continued his attack online, forcing the good Samaritan to leave town. Like a coward, he shut down his FB page after thousands of folks attacked him online for his stupidity.
2. Trae Dorn of “Nerd and Tie”: Outed a convention photographer as a registrant and engaged in an online attack against the photographer.
3. Dana Delaney Loyd, Brevard Co., FL: I guess we can call her Dana BALONEY Loyd after a jury convicted her of making a false claim of receiving reports of CSA. No doubt, at least part of the false claim was likely to increase exposure for her alternative news site "Brevard's Best News," but now her news site has turned into a site defending her actions. She even made her own GoFundMe page to beg for help after getting arrested. Maybe "Safe Kids International"should reconsider their support of this convicted criminal. (She was sentenced to a year in jail but no registry.)

HOLY SHIITAKES/ DUMBEST SO-RELATED STORY OF 2017

1. St. Charles Parish LA bribes kids with toys to use the public registry: “Upon completion of the program, and with parental assistance, children will print a map of their local area, sign it, and submit it to their teacher. Once the assignment has been completed, children will receive a safety prize from Adventure Quest Laser Tag, providing children with a choice of a FREE Laser Tag or Bumper Car Ride or Putt-Putt Game, according to the news release issued by the sheriff.”
2. Battle Creek MI refuses to let registered citizen open a place of business to help the hungry and poor: Major Jim Grafton of the Battle Creek Police Department said Wednesday that Adkins was told Monday not to be in the space that houses his business because it is within 1,000 feet of Battle Creek Central High School and St. Philip Catholic schools. "The idea of the business is to help low-income people with food," Dian said. "I have taken this week off to think and pray as to how to proceed.”[
3. British inmates complain their blankets were made by sex offenders: Inmates at Walton prison fear they could be sleeping under blankets made by SOs. The prisoner describes himself as “horrified” to learn a “sex offender’s hands have been all over my blanket” and questions why they are distributed throughout the prison system
4. Oh, SNAP! Leader of SNAP resigns amid lawsuit over exploiting abuse "survivors": So SNAP has "allegedly" been exploiting their clients by sending them to their special lawyers in exchange for some kickbacks? What a shocker. If she wins, founder Barbara Blaine will receive the award posthumously.

KEYSTONE KOP OF 2017

1. Butler Co OH Sheriff Richard K Jones: Aside from proclaiming a “76% re-offense rate,” he also lied on the Ashleigh Banfield show that Ohio does not welcome registrants in any homeless shelter.
2. Shady Grady, Sheriff of Polk Co FL: Shady Grady told registrants NOT to seek shelter except for prison during Hurricane Irma and bragged about it on social media.
3. Fairfax Virginia Police Detective Jeremy Hoffman: He actually tours the country to promote making bestiality a sex crime while claiming that child abusers also have sex with animals. “I found that people who were engaged in crimes against children were also engaged in sexual crimes against animals,” Hoffman said.
4. Homer "Gator" DeLoach, Putnam Co. Sheriff (FL): Narrowly wins a hotly contested and controversial election, apparently by only 13 votes, reorganized resources and created a position known as a “Sex Offender Compliance Specialist.” “We refuse to allow Putnam County to become a safe haven for sexual offenders and predators,” said Gator Deloach, who was elected Sheriff in Nov. 2016. “While we can’t control in which county they choose to live, we can certainly make Putnam County as inhospitable as possible for them.”

ICBS NAT'L CHUMPS AKA DUMBEST STATE OF 2017

FloriDUH: Is the ongoing drama of the homeless camp in Miami and the potential "solution" of criminalizing homeless and the hurricane shelter bans by Shady Grady enough to help the "land of 'Duh" continue its dominance over this category? Or, will it be upended by...
Ore-GONE PLUM CRAZY: Oregon sentenced a guy to life in prison for flogging the bishop on a train. If that wasn't enough, the reporters at the Oregonian engaged in a targeted campaign to derail the career of a young baseball player who made a mistake in his teenage years. 
JOKE-lahoma: Oklahoma gave us Danyelle Dyer, the campus feminist who wants to increase the number of places registrants cannot legally live, getting blind support from legislature. Expect to see Danyelle's law in next year's voting. 

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Voting for the 2016 Shiitake Awards going on now until March 1, 2017

VOTE HERE -- https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F5NZN2J

The 8th Annual Shiitake Awards is here! For 8 years now, the annual Shiitake Awards spotlights the most insane and inane stories surrounding the "sex offender" topic. The Shiitakes is a parody of the infamous Golden Raspberry Awards ("Razzies"), which parodies award shows like the Oscars or Golden Globes. So we are, in essence, a parody of a parody. Our job at the Shiitakes is to spotlight and ridicule the people who use the "sex offender" issue to advance their careers in the worst way possible, as well as spotlighting and deriding their inane ideas.

Each year, we open up voting in January, we open up the voting for each of 8 categories plus a special category. This year, the special category pits two famous victim industry profiteers against each other in our special "Civil War" category, and of course, your chance to determine which state is the worst/ dumbest state in the USA, a.k.a., the legendary ICBS National CHUMPionship. Florida has maintained a stranglehold on this category for much of the existence of the Shiitake awards, but as always, two states have staked their claim for the title. Who was the dumbest politician, newscaster, cop, and wannabe vigilante of the year? What was the dumbest news story or new law of the year? That is up for you to decide.

Vote for one, and ONLY one, candidate. I know that the decision is hard enough for you, but for the Shiitake Awards Selection Committee (tm), we struggled more to whittle down the candidates to three of the worthiest selections. Vote on every category, and share with your friends.

Note: This is a project that I enjoy doing because it is fun and a form of stress relief. All joking aside, it is sad to note that I've been running this award for almost a decade and there is an abundance of nominees every year. This award is "just for fun," but it is also useful for advocates because we point out the worst abuses of registered citizens, and these stories are indictments against the registry. Please vote and share, then follow & send nominations to the official Shiitake-Worthy blog at http://shiitakeweekly.blogspot.com/

-- Thanks for voting!
Derek W. Logue of OnceFallen.com

Shiitake Awards 2016 FINALISTS

DUMBEST NEW BILL/ LAW OF 2016

1. Virginia SB 666: This bill bans registered citizens from buying those obnoxious "specialty license plates" that benefit children's programs. (Sadly, this law actually passed.) This bill affected a whopping 13 license plates.
2. Florida HB 1179: Fee scale bill that would have forced registrants to pay up to $300 just to visit Florida. (Thankfully the bill died.)
3. Virginia Robby’s Rule”: Legislation passed and enforced adding 5,604 names to the Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry. The so-called "Supplement" to the list includes information on individuals not previously listed who were convicted of certain sexual offenses on or after July 1, 1980, and before July 1, 1994, according to a state police news release.

DUMBEST POLITICO OF 2016

  1. Mass. State Rep. Shaunna O’Connell: In criticizing a state Supreme Court nominee for stating the registry was “too expansive,” Rep. O'Connell (R-Taunton) argued that the nominee’s stance "render her unfit to serve as a justice." She took to talk radio and her own online platforms urging Massachusetts residents to write Governor's Council members and encourage them to reject Budd's nomination. Earlier in the year, she claimed, “"The sex offender registry is constantly attacked so that sex offenders can hide." 
  2. Catherine Hanaway, Missouri Gubernatorial Candidate (lost primary): Blamed “liberal sexual permissiveness” for what she claims is a growing acceptance of CP.
  3. Hector Balderas, New Mexico Attorney General: He and his staff walked out of a legislative session in protest over a bill allowing teen sexters to get off the registry, citing that the NM ICAC would lose funding. At least he admitted it is all about the money!

DUMBEST QUOTE OF 2016

  1. Darryn Hinch, Australian Senator: In promoting Australia’s version of IML, Hinch stated, "100,000 convicted sex offenders on the register ... the private register, go to Indonesia every year…They're not going there for the sun, they're going there for the sons and the daughters. That's [an issue] that I can get involved in, and they are the sort of thing I want to do."
  2. Tina Dionne of East Millinocket, Maine: Admits she sees the registry as a form of shame and vengeance. “I didn’t care how much prison time [Cote] got, I wanted him to be on the list for life. I don’t want him to be able to do this to anyone else. No matter where [Cote] goes, people are going to have to know what he did…The sex offender registry helps people be aware of what people like him have done. They can’t just take off to another state and start over. That has to follow them.” 
  3. Mass. State Rep. Shaunna O’Connell: Her direct attack on the anti-registry movement; "The sex offender registry is constantly attacked so that sex offenders can hide."

2016 EVERYDAY ZEROES (Vigilante Fails)

  1. Jeb & Jessica Lessley, B’ham AL: Posted a billboard in their yard and made many allegations on her registrant neighbor, and possibly involved in a “suspicious” fire at the neighbor’s house. Also, harassing registrants online. 
  2. Conchita Sarnoff: Wrote a book claiming 1 MILLION children are sex trafficked in the US without any evidence and bashed anyone who challenged her dubious stats.
  3. Curtis J. Hurt, Kelso WA: Failed at winning a local election because he’s mostly known for forming a wannabe vigilante group called “The Punisher Squad.”

2016 HOLY SHIITAKES AWARD (Dumbest RSO-Related Story)

  1. Littlefield TX throws out mail-in ballots of registrants in civil commitment center: If civil commitment is NOT prison, then there was no legal basis to toss out the votes.
  2. Washington Supreme Court grants release of Level 1 info to crazy vigilante: It apparently does not matter that Donna Zink is violating state law by disclosing the unlisted Level 1 info publicly, the state Sup Ct feels level ones have no rights. Looks to me like the Court has been hitting the legal weed a bit too much.
  3. FBI becomes world’s largest CP distributor: It’s not distribution when the FBI takes over a CP site and runs it for weeks, apparently. Maybe FBI means Feds Bestowing Illegal images?

2016 WORST NEWS MUTT

  1. Larry Huss, OR Catalyst: His article begins like this—“ Are you a sexual deviant?  Are you a serial rapist?  A child molester?  A sexual predator?  Well welcome to Oregon, the government has got your back. Have you repeatedly raped a thirteen year old child over a three year period?  Well you could be Oregon’s governor.” 
  2. Leo Terrell, HLN: Black Lives Matter attorney and friend of OJ Simpson’s family, who attacked a registrant activist Derek Logue on Dr Drew’s show, claiming we want to abolish the registry to go out and commit more crimes. Logue eventually told Terrell to “stick it” on the air. 
  3. Melanie Michael, WFLA: Not only did she write the article about Illuminati “pedo symbols” on Monster truck giveaway toys, she bashed anyone who questioned her approach to the story, claiming her detractors weren’t “patriotic.” 
  4. Nancy Grace, HLN: Nancy Grace is a special kind of stupid, but she officially jumped the shark when she covered the Noah Chamberlin (a TN kid who wandered into the woods and died of hypothermia). Grace’s insistence in wasting police resources harassing registrants was so out of line, even Marc no-Klaas rebuked her.

Keystone Kop of the Year

  1. David Beth, Sheriff, Kenosha Co WI: Actively joined citizen protesters in trying to deter a registered citizen from living in his community
  2. Chris Nocco, Sheriff, Pasco Co. FL: Ordered his department to harass registered citizens suing his department in court then trying to cover it up. 
  3. Carlos Ocasio, Detective, Pasco Co FL Sheriff’s office: Admits to the media the intent of his compliance checks are to scare registrants out of his county, they collect information even on registrants’ family members, and even used Orwellian references in his interview (“Big Brother is watching you.”)

Victim Industry Profiteer Civil War: Who is the GREATER of two evils? You decide

  1. Lauren Book: Daughter of powerful and corrupt lobbyist Ron Book; law named after her forced registered citizens in Miami into homeless camps including the infamous Julia Tuttle Causeway camp; raised $750k from Ron’s political cronies to run unopposed to win a FL state senate seat; Her father run’s Lauren’s Kids, a victim group named after her; wrote a kid’s book named after herself, “Lauren’s Kingdom”; Had a portion of a major highway in Broward Co named after her
  2. Laura Ahearn: Runs “Parents For Megan’s Law” in Suffolk Co. NY; has ties to many powerful and corrupt politicians including disgraced former senator Dean Skelos and disgraced former police chief James “The Porn King” Burke (who may even be a serial killer); runs the ONLY private victim advocacy group in the USA that conducts compliance checks, a function of law enforcement; Routinely sues registered citizens who challenge her regime; is responsible for the persistent “100,000 missing sex offenders” myth


ICBS Nat’l CHUMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS

  1. FloriDUH: FloriDUH just elected Lauren Book to a senate seat, gave us news of Illuminati pedophile symbols on kid’s toys, and the corruption of the Pasco Co sheriff’s office. Plus, FloriDUH has a dynasty. They’re the defending champions. It’s FloriDUH! Need I say more?
  2. Virginia is for Losers: Virginia brings SB 666 and Robby’s Rule as weapons to unseat the national champions but is a pair of stupid bills enough to topple the FlorIDIOT dynasty? You decide. 
  3. Hog-Washington State: The vigilante scumbag capital of the US gives us two high profile Everyday Zeroes candidates in Donna Zink and Curtis Hart, plus the state’s Supreme Court gave zany Zink the green light to name and shame level 1 registrants. But can this dynamic duo topple the Floridiot legacy? You decide.