Ketchikan City Councilman Jack Shay Arrested, Now Charged With A Total Of 91 Counts Possession Of Child Pornography

Update November 10th: Post title changed to reflect dramatic and unfavorable development in this case for Jack Shay.

Jack Shay (Alaska Municipal League)

Ketchikan now has a much bigger political problem than the love-struck Kyle Johansen. On Friday November 4th, 2011, Ketchikan City Councilman John W. "Jack" Shay was arrested on 10 felony counts of possession of child pornography after workers at a local computer repair shop discovered child porn images on a computer Shay brought in for repair and then notified police, as the law requires. Police obtained a search warrant and report that they discovered several printed images of child pornography at Shay's home.

The 80-year-old Shay was arraigned Saturday morning and pleaded innocent; he was released on $30,000 bail. Shay has previously served as both Ketchikan City Mayor and mayor of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. He has no prior entries in the Alaska Court System database under the names of either Jack Shay or John Shay. However, this case is now documented as Case No. 1KE-11-00980CR. Since this post was first published, Shay has now announced his resignation from the city council.

Update November 10th: This case just took a huge turn for the worse for Shay. He has now been charged with an additional 81 counts of possession of child pornography for a grand total of 91 counts, as police discovered, amongst other things, a homemade video in which at least one scene involves Shay and an unidentified pre-pubescent girl. Bail is to be reset at $100,000 and a third-party custodian required. His Alaska Court System database entry now reflects these changes.

When the story initially broke on November 7th, the negative comments began to show up in the Anchorage Daily News. But what some of those commenters may not know is that child porn can actually be planted on your computer with malware or viruses without your knowledge. The FramedForChildPorn.com website contains links to a number of stories of such incidents; in the case of Michael Fiola, it took him 11 months and $250,000 in legal costs to prove that he did not willfully or deliberately acquire the child porn found on his computer. Actual pedophiles can exploit virus-infected PCs to remotely store and view their stash without fear they'll get caught. Pranksters or someone trying to frame you can tap viruses to make it appear that you surf illegal websites.

Unfortunately, the fact that additional paper copies of child porn were found at Shay's house during the search does not help his case -- unless he discovered it at home, printed out a few copies for evidence, then took the computer to the repair shop for a virus/malware check. It's hard to imagine an 80-year-old having any sex drive at all, never mind a taste for child porn. Of course, subsequent developments indicate that for some reason, whether it was a lifelong problem swept under the rug, or some occurrence along the way which awakened this desire, an 80-year-old man can have a sex drive -- and one that turns in the wrong direction. I'm not sure I even want to know what Shay was doing with that girl in the video.

The Sitka News published a background story on Jack Shay back on November 23rd, 2010. Shay was born on May 10, 1931 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When the Korean War broke out, he joined the Air National Guard and spent his time at an air base in northern Missouri. He eventually rose to the level of E-5, the equivalent of a staff sergeant in today's Air Force. His first duties were as a cryptographer, but he was also a supply sergeant. He turned down an opportunity to attend Officer Candidate School to separate and attend the University of Minnesota. In 1960, Shay and a friend flew aboard a Grumman Goose to Ketchikan; after seeing the First City, Shay decided to stick around for a while, and has been there ever since.

Occupy Anchorage Protesters Get A Bit Rowdy, Invade Fifth Avenue Mall To Target Wells Fargo Branch In Concert With Bank Transfer Day, Two Arrested

The Occupy Anchorage movement, which until now had been essentially a model of decorum, got a bit rowdy on November 5th, 2011. About 40 of the protesters entered the Fifth Avenue Mall in downtown Anchorage to target one of the big predator banks, Wells Fargo, and ultimately two of the protesters were arrested for trespassing (according to KTUU). And judging by the response in the comments to the Anchorage Daily News, they may have played up to the negative stereotypes promoted by leading neoconservative pundits. KTUU news video embedded below:

 

However, it appears the intent of Occupy Anchorage was not destructive, as they fully intended to clean up any mess left before departing the mall. Around 2:30 P.M., the protesters entered the mall, a few carrying signs, and some attired in white hazmat suits. Another protester dumped some fake paper money as "dirty money" in front of the Wells Fargo branch to symbolize the contention that the bank's profits were ill-gotten. This action was also designed to correlate with the national Bank Transfer Day observance, in which Americans were urged to transfer their assets from the big predator banks to smaller community banks and credit unions.

Mall security guards soon arrived, blocked the bank entrance and told the protesters to leave even though the protesters wanted to finish sweeping up the "dirty money" strewn about. Anchorage police arrived and arrested two of the protesters, although one of them was quickly released; the other had an outstanding warrant. There is some dispute among Occupy protesters as to just what exactly went down, though. While the Anchorage Daily News reported that people started chanting, "The banks got bailed out, what about us", another participant reported differently:

Jay Stariwat November 5th 10:44 P.M:
Casey [in reference to Casey Grove, ADN reporter], if you're going to be covering this issue, please pay attention to the details. The chant was, "They [the banks] got bailed out, we got sold out!". We're not asking for bailouts or erasure of debt for ourselves as you (with your misinformation) and one other poster suggest. We're not all as self-interested and greedy as you may think. Not that we don't have problems ourselves, but at least we're trying to make this nation and this world better for everybody.

If you look at our society, our economy, our politics and you don't see problems, then you are certainly not living in the USA. We're trying to shine light on the reality of these problems when everybody else, from corporate media to our own government, refuses to do so. What happened to government of the people, by the people, and for the people?

If you think we are wrong for critiquing a system full of corruption, exploitation, and a disregard for our basic rights, then you are saying the rights guaranteed to us by our founding fathers through the Constitution are wrong or not needed.

The first step to solving any problem is to be aware of the problem itself.

Unfortunately, the damage was done, as there have been an upsurge of comments critical of OWS in the Anchorage Daily News. Many people persist in perpetrating the stereotype of OWS protesters being a bunch of unemployed hippies and students looking for student loan forgiveness. On the other hand, too many of those defending OWS also attack the right and the Tea Party, which further perpetuates the artificial righty-lefty feud dividing our society. Another comment best nails down what Occupy Anchorage is all about:

El_Fudd November 6th 1:41 A.M:
Somehow, I am not too surprised by the anti-support sentiments here directed at the Occupy demonstrators. Reminds me of many sheep being led to the slow slaughter ahead and cannot fathom it actually happening. There is a lot of "I got mine, you go get yours" mentality. It is possible to actually have yours and support what they are doing if one can remember that a good deal of this nation`s greatness has been born in dissent and demonstration.

The Occupy Movement is non-partisan, for both parties` policies have failed its` citizens. No matter how hard the left leaders try to attach themselves to the momentum, it is too grassroots to be hijacked; unlike the Tea Party movement. To those who vehemently insist they all get a job, from my point of view, I see many of the past couple generations paying more than twice the rent I paid with less than half the real wages adjusted for inflation I made back then. All one has to do is follow the money and see the excess has gone either overseas or to the top 1%. We have been living in a modern Robber Baron era and this backlash and adjustment to the system is long overdue.

And here's a useful comment from Steve Pratt, a perennial political candidate who's part of the Republican establishment:

StevePratt November 6th 10:30 A.M.:
If the protestors have a point, they should make it – you can’t just be against something. What are you in favor of?

To repeat a previous post on a different thread:

It is true that a middle class fueled by US hegemony is disappearing.

China invests in roads, bridges, power lines, pipelines, railroads, manufacturing plants, fossil and renewable energy supplies, and education.

We invest in unemployment benefits, no-bid contracts to conduct wars, regulatory paralysis, investment banker bailouts, politically chosen industries and companies like the solar company that went south.

In 2007 Zheng Xiaoyu, the head of the Chinese food and drug agency, was put to death for taking bribes from pharmaceutical companies.

In 2007 Franklin Raines, former Fannie Mae CEO in the US, nearly wiped out the mortgage lender and received $52.6 Million in bonuses.

In the US, investment bankers that lied to America's middle class investors and the US government about their liquidity positions received millions in bonuses paid for by taxes imposed on those very families.

China demands accountability for its public servants. The US demands "accessibility" to its public servants.

Corporations and companies that employ are not the enemy. The lack of accountability in corporations and government IS the enemy.

If you are worried about government handing out goodies to the wrong people, the answer is simple: less government control over resources to hand out.

Limited government = Limited Government mischief

Army Specialist William Colton Millay Proclaims His Innocence Of Any Espionage Charges; FBI Involvement Contaminates The Case

U.S. Army Specialist William Colton Millay has proclaimed his innocence of any espionage charges, according to his lawyer Steve Karns of Dallas, who says he spoke with Spc. Millay by phone on Friday November 4th, 2011. Spc Millay is being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.

Spc Millay was arrested at 6:30 A.M. on Friday October 28th at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) by special agents from the Army counterintelligence service and the Army Criminal Investigation Command. Eric Gonzalez, spokesman for the FBI in Anchorage, said the 22-year-old Millay was arrested following an investigation by the FBI and Army counterintelligence. He said the case is being handled in the military justice system. Neither the Army nor the FBI have yet disclosed the specific allegations against Millay and no charging documents are yet available, although they did deny that the arrest had anything to do with Pvt. Bradley Manning and Wikileaks. They also said Millay never transmitted any information because he was observed before any damage could have occurred. Formal charges under the UCMJ are expected to be preferred next week. Steve Karns believes Millay will be charged with attempted espionage.

Update November 7th: Spc Millay has now been formally charged with attempted espionage, failing to obey regulations, issuing false statements, solicitation, and communicating defense information. Read the full statement from the local Army Public Affairs office for more details.

However, Stars and Stripes has disclosed that Spc Millay, assigned to the 164th Military Police Company, part of the 793rd Military Police Battalion of the new 2nd Engineer Brigade, did not have access to sensitive classified material and is not a spy. They also reported that Spc Millay was upset at not being deployed to Afghanistan with the rest of his unit in March 2011, and allegedly offered to sell classified information to an undercover police officer to get revenge. Spc Millay was assigned to the company's rear detachment, a small group of soldiers who remain behind at their home base during a deployment. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Bill Coppernoll did not know why Millay specifically was left behind.

Some spy experts are already suggesting that if an espionage case gets to the point of formal charges, then the government's got the goods on the person. Linda McCarthy, a retired 24-year CIA veteran, says that because espionage is a difficult charge to prove, chances are there is a boatload of documentation, to include wiretaps, available to the government. Of course, this presumes that the documentation itself is valid and that it wasn't cooked up or planted.

Hometown friends of Millay in Owensboro, KY were astonished at the news. Longtime friend Drew Bramschreiber said Millay hardly fit the spy persona, characterizing him as a simple country boy who never got into trouble, and adding that Millay wasn't particularly computer-savvy. Janssen Payne, who now lives in Phoenix, said the Army's arrested the wrong guy, explaining that Millay idolized his brother, who is also in the Army, and that he had been in the ROTC program in high school. He was also a supporter of George W. Bush and the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan. Millay's lawyer Steve Karns, a former U.S. Army major specializing in military criminal defense who was retained on Thursday by Millay's parents, said his client came across as a simple country boy who seems like a really good kid who doesn't sound like he has a malicious bone in his body or malevolent intent.

The involvement of the FBI in the case raises a red flag. The FBI had a checkered record in the various Corrupt Bastards Club cases; Chad Joy blew the whistle on his fellow FBI agents, saying that prosecution errors and omissions amounted to serious violations of federal rules and possible criminal violations. Among other allegations, Joy said the lead FBI agent in the Ted Stevens case had an improperly close relationship with FBI snitch Bill Allen and other sources. And one of the two informants in the Schaeffer Cox case, Gerald Olson, is so unsavory that an Alaska judge dropped all state charges against Cox and his four cohorts; the Feds will now find it even more difficult to prosecute their case. In the Edgar Steele case, the FBI used a snitch, Larry Fairfax, who was so depraved that he actually attached a bomb beneath the car of Cyndi Steele, a bomb which could have detonated at any time. The bottom line: While military authorities can still be trusted, the FBI cannot be trusted. If the FBI discloses the existence of a confidential informant, it's almost a guarantee that this case is being blown out of proportion.

My gut instinct at first glance tells me that Spc Millay was pissed off about not being allowed to deploy, shot his mouth off to the wrong person who snitched him out to the FBI, who in turn set him up with an undercover cop who made the case. It has to be investigated, but a full-blown arrest and court-martial seems like overkill.

Providence Alaska Medical Center To Implement Ban Against Hiring Smokers And Users Of Nicotine-Based Smoking Cessation Products

On November 3rd, 2011, the Anchorage Daily News and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner report that Providence Alaska Medical Center and its affiliates, which employ approximately 4,300 people around the state, will stop hiring tobacco users beginning on November 17th, even if they only use tobacco off the job. Current employees will be grandfathered and allowed to stay on so long as they don't use tobacco on any property owned by Providence.

Those who currently use tobacco products, as well as those who have used tobacco products within the previous six months, will be excluded from employment. And the ban also extends to any nicotine-based smoking cessation or substitution products, to include patches, pills, gum, and even e-cigarettes (which also deliver nicotine, albeit without smoke). Providence will screen prospective employees for nicotine use by testing for a byproduct called cotinine; they say those who are merely exposed to second-hand smoke "shouldn't" come up positive.

The quote from Tammy Green, director of health management services for Providence Health & Services Alaska:

"We believe that by doing this move, to where we are no longer going to hire tobacco users, that we are sending a very clear message into the community that we are not only the leaders in health care, but we're really the leaders in health".

Proponents of the policy also argue that precluding smokers from employment can save employers an extra $3,400 per year on the average, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that a smoker costs an employer an extra $3,400 a year on average. They also note that smokers also are more likely to suffer injuries such as cigarette burns, which in extreme circumstances could prevent a nurse from scrubbing. In addition, unlike 29 other states and the District of Columbia, Alaska does not recognize smokers as a protected class under state labor law, which minimizes the threat of a smoker filing an ADA lawsuit claiming that tobacco addiction is a protected disability.

Opponents of the policy, who have posted comments to the Daily News story, not only wonder why Providence didn't first try less drastic measures, such as simply charging smokers more for health insurance or denying them employer-paid health coverage altogether, but are also concerned about the slippery-slope implications. They ask what will come next -- banning jobseekers who ride motorcycles or eat too many Big Macs? Comments are running about 50-50 on the issue. Four excellent comments best express these concerns (after the jump):

How The Clinton Administration Blackmailed The Mortgage Industry To Make Loans To Unqualified Minorities And Trigger The Mortgage Meltdown

Courtesy of Resist.com

While the financial industry deserves much of the opprobrium currently directed towards it, they are not solely responsible for America's economic problems. It turns out the federal government bears a healthy share of the responsibility.

Investors Business Daily has uncovered a smoking gun document that show the Clinton Administration laid the groundwork for the mortgage meltdown through civil rights terrorism. The 20-page document, entitled "Policy Statement on Discrimination in Lending", was entered into the Federal Register on April 15th, 1994, by the Interagency Task Force on Fair Lending to coordinate an unprecedented crackdown on alleged "racist" bank redlining. Prompting this action was an October 1992 Boston Fed study which showed that mortgage lenders were rejecting Blacks and Hispanics in greater proportion than Whites, and the Clinton Administration automatically presumed racism. So Bill Clinton sicced no fewer than 10 federal agencies on the financial industry, ordering banks and mortgage lenders to ease credit for lower-income minorities or face investigations for lending discrimination and suffer the related adverse publicity. They also were threatened with denial of access to the all-important secondary mortgage market and stiff fines, along with other penalties.

But the Boston Fed study was soon discredited. Private analysts concluded that more relevant measures of a borrower's credit history — such as past delinquencies and whether the borrower met lenders credit standards — explained the gap in lending between whites and blacks, who on average had poorer credit and higher defaults. In addition, the study failed to account for a host of other relevant denial factors, including applicants' net worth, debt burden and employment record. Other variables, such as the size of down payments and the amount of the loans sought to the value of the property being bought, also were left out of the analysis. The study also failed to consider whether the borrower submitted information that could not be verified, the presence of a co-signer and even the loan amount. After the missing data was factored in, it became clear that the rejection rates were based on legitimate business decisions, not racism.

Nevertheless, knowing that the presumption of innocence does not exist in the civil rights industry, lenders found it necessary to put race at the top of their list. Banks that failed to lend preferentially to credit-poor minorities were denied expansion plans by the Fed in an era of nonstop financial mergers. HUD threatened to deny them access to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which it controlled. And the Justice Department sued them for lending discrimination and branded them as racists in the press. Civil rights inquisitors openly stated that applying different lending standards to applicants who are members of a protected class and providing different treatment to applicants to address past discrimination would be permissible.

Alaska 2012 Legislative Redistricting: Sources For New District Maps And Candidate Information

On August 11th, 2011, the Alaska Redistricting Board submitted its final legislative redistricting plan to the U.S. Department of Justice for preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 5 requires that certain states - including Alaska - submit changes to their electoral processes and redistricting plans for preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that the proposed change is free from discriminatory purpose and will not result in retrogression in the position of racial minorities with respect to their exercise of the electoral franchise. On October 11th, the Department of Justice granted that preclearance, so even though the possibility of lawsuits still exists, the plan is considered authoritative, and candidates are beginning to announce their campaigns.

The new plan already pits incumbents -- even those of the same party -- against one another. In one instance, two Democratic incumbents, Mike Doogan and Chris Tuck, were placed in the same House district; Doogan decided to bow out. In the new Senate District M, Rep. Anna Fairclough will be challenging the declared incumbent Sen. Bettye Davis. However, I discovered that it is a bit difficult and time-consuming to track down maps and other related information about the new districts and the candidates. This post is designed to resolve this problem.

Pertinent links:

-- Alaska Division of Elections list of legislative candidates
-- APOC list of legislative candidates
-- Alaska Redistricting Board DOJ Submission Documents
----- Scroll down to Index of Volume 03/Folder 04 - Proclamation Regional Maps to see the newest regional maps to take effect in 2012.
----- Scroll down to Index of Volume 03/Folder 03 - Proclamation District Maps to see individual House district maps to take effect in 2012.

Legislative District Maps: Here are the series of regional maps. Note that the alphanumeric designations show the House district first and the overlying Senate district second (Example: 17-I indicates House District 17, Senate District I). Maps available after the jump: