Greenies are destroying the USA in very tangible ways

redrumloa

redrumloa

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Anthony Brasfield saw romance when he released a dozen heart-shaped balloons into the sky over​
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Dania Beach​
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with his sweetie. A​
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Florida Highway Patrol​
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trooper saw a felony.​
Brasfield, 40, and his girlfriend, Shaquina Baxter, were in the parking lot of the Motel 6 on Dania Beach Boulevard when he released the shiny red and silver mylar balloons and watched them float away Sunday morning.​
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Also watching the romantic gesture: an FHP trooper, who instead noted probable cause for an environmental crime.​
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Brasfield was charged with polluting to harm humans, animals, plants, etc. under the Florida Air and Water Pollution Control Act.​
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Endangered marine turtle species and birds, such as wood storks and brown pelicans, seek refuge in John U. Lloyd State Park, about 1.5 miles east of the motel.​
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Between 2008 and 2012, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said there were 21 arrests statewide under the rarely used environmental crime statute. The third-degree felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.​
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Err, what? Sorry about the formatting. Not sure what is up with that.
 
wildlife-noaa-bird-with1.jpg


aniken-balloon.jpg
 
@rlb

So you are saying this guy should be arrested and charged as a felon for essentially just littering?
 
Some of the laws are crazy that one doesn't have a sliding scale that would be usable. In this case a misdemeanor seems more in order than a felony.
 
This isn't a good thing (see Faethor's response), but this certainly won't destroy America. Why must you be so alarmist? Since when has it been a fundamental right of all Americans to pollute the environment and endanger wildlife through negligence? This is a simple case of an overzealous police officer and this is probably the least worrisome example of such behavior. And there's no need to pin it on "Greenies".
 
@Glaucus -- That's the Libertarianism at work. All the benefit to the person and screw the planet. They seem to not understand that at best we only know of 1 foundation that sustains their life and the life of their offspring.

“I have always found it quaint and rather touching that there is a movement [Libertarians] in the US that thinks Americans are not yet selfish enough.” -- Christopher Hitchens
 
redrumloa said:
@rlb

So you are saying this guy should be arrested and charged as a felon for essentially just littering?
Click to expand...

no... just trynna show that while the law seems silly when you say it out loud, it has a very real purpose. it isn't a victimless crime... i think he should have been given a citation... and some press coverage to attract attention to the harms of it... cop coulda done something like that in days gone by... conservatives and libertarians have been foisting the broader concept of the "rule of law" upon us for so long that we no longer hire LEO's that think, just "do", then "beat and shoot" if you even question them...
 
Glaucus said:
This isn't a good thing (see Faethor's response), but this certainly won't destroy America. Why must you be so alarmist? Since when has it been a fundamental right of all Americans to pollute the environment and endanger wildlife through negligence?
Click to expand...

Trust me, it is not common knowledge that simple littering is now a felony. Plus, this law is apparently so vague and so rarely enforced that it appears to be a used as a weapon against certain people. If this guy was an 8 year old redheaded white girl with pig-tails who released balloons, I doubt she would have been arrested and charged with a felony. I smell racism.

My opinion is not an endorsement of littering, just an enforcement of common sense. The punishment does NOT fit the crime.
 
redrumloa said:
If this guy was an 8 year old redheaded white girl with pig-tails who released balloons, I doubt she would have been arrested and charged with a felony. I smell racism.
Click to expand...

Guess he won't be allowed to vote ever again.
 
metalman said:
release helium balloons?
unlock your phone?
When Everything is a Crime
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To the first point - ALL helium balloons should be illegal.
To the second - that's absolutely nuts and completely contrary to a thousand years of common law and common sense.
To the third - I do believe I have ranted about that a few times - especially when I'm talking with someone about the rising security state and they say something along the lines of "so long as I'm not doing anything wrong why should I worry?", the point being that everyone is doing something wrong quite a lot of the time though they don't know it but ignorance of the law is no excuse.

plus the law is malleable. One second you're a whistleblower with all sorts of legal protections but suddenly it's a "security" matter and you go into solitary confinement for years.
 
FluffyMcDeath said:
To the third - I do believe I have ranted about that a few times - especially when I'm talking with someone about the rising security state and they say something along the lines of "so long as I'm not doing anything wrong why should I worry?"
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Mike and faethor have uttered those words IIRC, but you would never see me type it or say it.
 
they could've just flogged the guy and gal... you know... in keeping with our talichristian/christiban heritage...:D
 
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