California Law on Voice Recording

California Wiretapping Law

"California's wiretapping law is a "two-party consent" law. California makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on any confidential communication, including a private conversation or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation. See Cal. Penal Code § 632. The statute applies to "confidential communications" -- i.e., conversations in which one of the parties has an objectively reasonable expectation that no one is listening in or overhearing the conversation. See Flanagan v. Flanagan, 41 P.3d 575, 576-77, 578-82 (Cal. 2002).  A California appellate court has ruled that this statute applies to the use of hidden video cameras to record conversations as well. See California v. Gibbons, 215 Cal. App. 3d 1204 (Cal Ct. App. 1989).

If you are recording someone without their knowledge in a public or semi-public place like a street or restaurant, the person whom you're recording may or may not have "an objectively reasonable expectation that no one is listening in or overhearing the conversation," and the reasonableness of the expectation would depend on the particular factual circumstances.  Therefore, you cannot necessarily assume that you are in the clear simply because you are in a public place.  

If you are operating in California, you should always get the consent of all parties before recording any conversation that common sense tells you might be "private" or "confidential." In addition to subjecting you to criminal prosecution, violating the California wiretapping law can expose you to a civil lawsuit for damages by an injured party. See Cal. Penal Code § 637.2."

Source:  http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/california-recording-law

Euphemistically speaking

A good friend of ours, and TheFundamentals, of long standing, has been quite consistent over many decades in focusing on just a few key issues.  Key among them has been America’s constant and growing trade deficit – the dislogic of treating certain groups of people in America as “protected” versus others and, the Democrat party’s constant need to come up with a word or two or three to mask the vote buying game they are playing.  This post is about the latter category:

Affirmative action – this term has lost some of its cachet of late.  It actually can be used to stigmatize a recipient – not good.  We now have a top judge who proudly claims to be one of its poster girls.  Of course, implicit in that claim is her self judgment that she would otherwise have never been recognized for her many skills, talents and gifts.  Or, in simple language, she deems herself to be a gift to all of us (remind you of anyone who is cautiously considering a run for president?)   Be careful of anyone, affirmative action baby or not, who so sees himself/herself.

War on women – this term is recent, political and quite insulting to those who actually do go to war where the stakes are a bit higher than being able to hire a trial attorney on a pure contingent fee basis with the hope of winning a lottery style settlement at the expense of all the rest of us.

Living wage – this dopey term has always been our supporters #1 bugaboo.  Today we most frequently find it applied to the movement to raise the “minimum wage.”  We recently pointed out to our friend/supporter that TheFundamentals was going to take the stand supporting the minimum wage increase but only if we could get it up to $25 or $30 an hour because that shift would do away, hopefully,  with all the fast food franchises and their eyesore presence across America and elsewhere.  It would also drastically reduce their advertising on the Hollywood media and keep their other garbage and debris off our streets and front lawns.

Immigration reform – this catchy phrase usually means – accelerated citizenship for those who enter and remain in the country illegally.  So why have any immigration laws at all if those who ignore them get more favorable treatment than those who follow them?  Also, this essayist cannot fathom visiting a foreign land, ignoring their laws about anything, and then seeking favorable consideration for such actions.  Anyone who implies a consequence with no intention of enforcement is a fraud; a bluffer.

The right to choose – now this one continues to be a problem.  The right to choose has this one big downside – a declining population – which is antithetical to any political movement that depends on a “Ponzi” style scheme to keep things going (which is why the Democrats need very loose “immigration reform” policies). 

The Democrats have stolen Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi playbook.  Mr. Madoff never called his investment programs a Ponzi scheme.  To do so would have been self defeating but everyone who invested with Mr. Madoff and hung around for all the great returns turned into a loser – big losers.  For many years, Madoff garnered quite the reputation as a wunderkind capable of producing spectacular results consistently.  Sound familiar?  It should.  The Democrats are doing it to you right now – buying votes with fake money; fake commerce; fake output; fake results.

The not-so-clever ways of presenting these vote buying schemes (euphemisms) are just part and parcel of a “Ponzi” scheme to keep Democrats in power.  And many people flock to get something that a reasonable person knows is fakery.  But we ask this simple question of you who buy into the scheme – name one Ponzi scheme that lasted?  That’s all – just name one.  For a few dollars today you are willing to sell out your family; their future and that of your neighbors also.  What should we call that?

The top Democrat calls it – hope and change.

Please contact FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler

The FCC is the regulatory agency that is responsible for the Comcast disaster – the regulatory agency that can say “yes” or “no” to Comcast’s request to expand its successful wealth building project for its ownership – the Roberts family while burdening the American public with its disastrous stranglehold on America’s broadband distribution and information/entertainment services.

The FCC’s top guy is Tom Wheeler.  Here is Tom, in a speech on April 4, 2014 to the National Association of Broadcasters:

“Today, I have the American people as my client, and the actions we take at the FCC are built around the interests of that client.

Our mantra at the FCC is “Competition, Competition, Competition.” We believe that competition is better than regulation at stimulating innovation and protecting consumers.”

In light of Tom’s words above, let’s take a quick look at some facts that Tom must know.

Last year, ESPN carried the telecast of 31 out of a total of 35 NCAA "bowl" football games.  If you wished to watch any of these games you had to pay a provider who pays ESPN/ABC for the right to watch a commercially supported broadcast.  (Think about that. You pay to watch commercials!)  So ESPN/ABC charges exorbitant fees for the commercially supported signals for these games, which we, the public pay for in the form of exorbitant package fees for TV programming.  But here is something you may not know:  did you know that ESPN owns 11 of them?  Yes they own the game.  Our ESPN sources are:  http://espn.go.com/ and http://espnevents.com/

Now where is the competition Tom?

Did you know that Comcast has a virtual monopoly in all the cities where it offers it broadband services and its cable TV services and its telephone service and its security service.  Where is the completion Tom?

Did you know that Comcast wants to buy the number two broadband/cable TV company, Time Warner Cable?  Did you know that Comcast says that will not be anti competitive even though it means that Comcast will be the sole provider of costly TV/Internet bundles to 4 out of 10 American homes and will control 55% of the US market?  Comcast will then be the MONOPOLISTIC BROADBAND/CABLE TV PROVIDER in 20 of America’s top 25 cities.  They may as well be selling us swamp land in Florida or a bridge in Brooklyn.  So Tom, we ask you, where is the competition?

Tom has the words right – competition best serves the American people.  Alas, Tom thinks that words suffice – forget about the follow through, the actions, the results.

We recently sent Tom a brief email asking him to visit a local Comcast office to conduct a simple transaction – say, pay a bill or return some equipment or just seek some information about a product or service.  We have done this exact same thing at three Comcast offices in two states and it can take up to 50 minutes.  It actually reminds us of one of those pictures of eastern European people standing in line in a communist country to get a loaf of bread or a quart of milk.

We ask that you contact Tom and share with him your Comcast experience.  Or just tell Tom how much you like Comcast and hope he continues with his program to enrich the Roberts family.

Here is Tom’s email address:  Tom.Wheeler@fcc.gov

Comcast – time for a change

Our position on the value and utility of the Internet to the American economy is basic – this electronic, digital delivery mechanism will continue to change the way commerce, education, health care and societal interactions are conducted.  It is as important to our developing world as electricity and telephone.  The basic delivery, meaning the availability, must be efficient, reliable, low cost and high quality.

Comcast is opposed to efficient, low cost, high quality Internet availability and delivery.  Yes, we know, their propaganda says otherwise.  Words are cheap as we all know from listening to our politicians and bureaucrats.  Words can be manipulated now, routinely, to bear no relevance to fact and reality.

The reality of Comcast is that people who need to use the company’s services and offering hate the experience – the cost; the inconvenience; the horrible customer service experience but, mostly, it is just too darn expensive for most of us.  And, of course, no one wants to be forced to buy something they don’t want; don’t use; and never will.  Comcast jams down our throats “packages” of crap programming and acts as if it is some form of public service.

In our opinion, Comcast is now the best example we have of a government authorized organized crime syndicate run by one American family – the Roberts family.

Here are the comments coming from the recent quarterly report of Netflix, Inc. regarding their experience with Comcast as well as its recent announced plans to acquire the number two Internet/entertainment company – Time Warner Cable.

“The Internet faces a long term threat from the largest ISPs driving up profits for themselves and costs for everyone else as detailed in our recent blog post. 

If the Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger is approved, the combined company’s footprint will pass

over 60 percent of U.S. broadband households, after the proposed divestiture, with most of those

homes having Comcast as the only option for truly high-speed broadband (>10Mbps). As DSL fades in

favor of cable Internet, Comcast could control high-speed broadband to the majority of American homes. Comcast is already dominant enough to be able to capture unprecedented fees from transit

providers and services such as Netflix. The combined company would possess even more anticompetitive leverage to charge arbitrary interconnection tolls for access to their customers. For this

reason, Netflix opposes this merger.”

Source:  http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/NFLX/3110810897x0x745654/fb5aaae0-b991-4e76-863c-3b859c8dece8/Q114%20Earnings%20Letter%204.21.14%20final.pdf

The position of TheFundamentals is stated above – the Internet pipeline into American homes and businesses is a utility that must be regulated to meet the above criteria - efficient, reliable, low cost and high quality.  Comcast does not meet these criteria so it is time for a change.  Permitting Comcast to expand its coverage would be an obvious step away from low cost, high quality broadband access.  The best way to communicate this position is an email to your congressman, senators and the FCC which will decide on the merger.  To do this go to:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

http://www.house.gov/representatives/

http://www.fcc.gov/contact-us (if you only have time to send one email, please go here)

How much money and control does the Roberts family need?  They have more than enough right now.  Does our government represent our interests or the interests of the Roberts family?  So far, the Roberts family is way ahead in that arena.  So, we say to our representatives; our senators and our regulators at the FCC – you represent us, not this one family.  Do your job now; stop this merger; break up Comcast (let them offer all the crap programming that the market will bear) and let’s get everyone low cost, efficient, reliable and high quality broadband Internet access.

 

The measure of a man

He that walks with the wise will be wise, and he that walks with a fool will harm himself – Proverbs 13:20:

We prefer the shorter version - lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.

So, is this political desperation or just one more crafty, albeit transparent, Axelrod/AKPD messaging manipulation scheme to get out the vote?  Time will tell.  It does speak volumes to the character of Mr. Obama and his ineptitude at leadership and governance.

Issues, issues , issues

First, because he is president, we present Mr. Obama’s issues:

·         All republicans are racist, greedy basterds

·         All republicans are doing their utmost to keep the gals barefoot and pregnant

·         All republicans hate gays

·         All republicans are  white men who belong to fancy country clubs

·         All republicans seek to send all Latinos back to where they came from, and

·         All republicans want to fight any and every possible war as soon as possible

For some unknown reason, these are also the issues covered regularly by:

·         NBC/Comcast/the Roberts family (all one and the same)

·         PBS, NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (all one and the same)

·         CBS

·         Disney/ESPN and ABC – all one and the same, and

·         The NYTimes

Here are the issues that are really affecting most Americans:

·         Too much government but mostly way too much federal government

·         Too many bureaucrats getting paid way too much hoping/waiting for their excessive pensions

·         Way too much debt burdening every one and every thing

·         Way too little jobs – because business will not do business here anymore, because:

o   There are way too many lawsuits, way too many bureaucrats issuing and enforcing way too may rules and regulations, and

o   Way too many taxes burdening everyone but mostly business

For some unknown reason, these issues that are really affecting most Americans are not covered by – well, you know who – just look above.

Get used to it.  It will just get worse, much worse, between now and November 4, 2014.

 

 

 

Easy Addiction Solution Years (EASY)

Voters are addicted; more than half of them.

The entire Democrat party and its union masters – full blown 24/7 addiction.  They and tens of millions of government employees have an advanced case of EASY.  Started in the 1960’s.  The years have become decades.

Many Republicans – closet addicts – many others out of the closet – all EASY addicts.

Washington DC is addiction central – ground zero for the EASY epidemic – but all across America, in large cities and state capitols – EASY addicts are running governments.

What are they addicted to?

EASY solution substances.  We list many of the substances of choice:

·         Borrowed money.  Yes, we have been addicted to this EASY solution for some time now but, and this is a big but, after a while lenders get leery which leads us to….

·         ….Printed US fiat currency – until 10 years ago, this substance was not available in America.  You had to travel to distant spots – Brazil, Somalia, Venezuela, Timbuktu and Argentina to get a fix.  No more.  Legal in Washington – widely available in all 50 states.  No prescription required. 

·         Low interest rates.  Occasionally used by some in the past – now available anywhere except the following locations:

o   Your friendly neighborhood bank/credit card issuer

o   Your friendly neighborhood juice loan provider

·         Extended unemployment benefits – available only from the feds.  A guaranteed solution if a society seeks to embed a large portion of their working age population in leisure pursuits.  This substance has had remarkable results in expanding the leisure class.

·         Marijuana.  Only makes sense.  Something to occupy the time of all the slackers that the extended unemployment EASY solutions create.

·         Rising minimum wages.  This is one of our favorite EASY solutions.  Very much in vogue today.  TheFundamentals has encouraged the comprehensive and extended implementation of this solution.  Why stop at $10.00 or $15.00 per hour.  Go directly to $25.00 or $30.00.  This addiction has a wonderful unintended consequence – it will go a long way in eliminating the hideous display of fast food outlets, their unattractive signage and their debris scattered around our neighborhoods.   How about an $8.00 slider?

·         Affordable health care for all.  Just pass a law – make it confusing but include some EASY solutions such as:

o   Kids can stay, live off and bug their parents into their mid 20’s (extra credit:  name one other species where the parents do things to encourage their young to hang around the nest)

o   Everyone gets free care except those who work – they must buy it (this addiction comes from the EASY addiction rationale described above for “extended unemployment benefits”)

o   Free contraception for the gals – free abortions if they just didn’t have the time or interest to use it before that “magic moment.”   Can anyone think of any downside to a government policy that implements this “EASY solution” for all its young women of child bearing age?

·         Lawsuits.  For any reason.   Make them EASY to file and don’t hold the filing party responsible if their suit is unfounded.  Fill the airwaves with ambulance chasing attorneys pleading to come on in – no charge – tell us your story – let’s get some money.  Attorneys know they can scare the defending party into settling – this is one of America’s great, ongoing, EASY solutions.  Just pump out hundreds of thousands of lawyers with nothing to do but file lawsuits.  The rest of the world has done away with this addiction – America has expanded it.

America is addicted to EASY substance solutions.  Once you get addicted to EASY solutions, the world is your oyster.  We wonder if Obamacare covers treatment for this addiction?

Nah.

What happens when America runs out of EASY solutions?    Should we talk about that?

Nah.