[debo-dumbo-ears]

Ok, so all the Oprah watchers are going to know about this one already, so for the rest of you . . .

Her show today was about Senate Bill 1738, the PROTECT Our Children Act. The bill would give A LOT of money to law enforcement to combat child molestation via child porn on the internet. There has been new software developed that can pinpoint IP addresses trading in child porn images or video. So now the cops in the existing agencies trying to fight these crimes are overwhelmed w/ the amount of solid leads that can be generated from this software.

If this bill can be taken at face value, and this money would actually go to directly combat child molestation crimes, then I'm all for it. But I know that sometimes these things can be tricky, and they're not always all about what they claim to be about.

I've only done a quick search on opposition to the bill, but all I've come up w/ is that some Senators oppose the bill saying it's too expensive. I found this article http://www.protect.org/childPornography/coburn5-08.pdf , which answers some direct questions from a Senator in opposition. It's 10 pages long, and kinda a bear to read, but it was actually interesting.

That article came from this website http://www.protect.org/index.shtml and there is more information about the bill here http://www.protect.org/childPornography/ . There is a link on the homepage to send an e-mail to Senators. There is also info on the Oprah website on how to contact your Senator in support of this bill http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsh...tows_predators .

So far, I'm all for it - I can't see anything bad about it. But I am interested in other points of view. Does anyone see anything potentially wrong w/ this bill?

[pitchik]

I watched this yesterday. heartbreaking isnt it?

Im gonna try and do all I can.

Sad people, this bill needs yalls help-its no joking matter. Nothing to play around with.

[CoolHandJean]

I was watching that. The whole thing made me angry, but it also made me angry that they said law enforcement doesn't have the resources. Maybe if they spent less times going after drug dealers/users and Dog fighters, and making sure people had a freakin' seat belt on, they could put that time and effort into catching these damn sickos molesting the babies.

Heck, if law enforcement just tells me where the SOBs live, I'll take care of the bastards myself. They wouldn't have to pay me a freakin' dime, and I'd cut down on court fees.

I haven't read the bill yet, so, I am not sure if they have any hidden things within it. The concept of the bill sounds good, though.

[debo-dumbo-ears]

Good points Jean. My main question is where is the money coming from? I know it's coming from the federal gov't, but it would seem that something else needs to get cut then.

And I fully agree: why not re-prioritize the law enforcement agenda & make these crimes against children a higher priority? I heard on the show and/or read in some articles that that never happens though. Even when cops are investigating these crimes, they get pulled off to investigate different crimes, often identity theft. There was a video clip on that website of a Senate meeting, and one Senator was saying how the FBI has over 2000 agents working on "white collar crime" (I don't even really know what that is?), but only 234 agents working on these child molestation via the internet crimes.

IDK. I'm not generally for saying "lets have more cops", but if the agenda can't be re-prioritized (for whatever reason), then I guess we need more cops to fight these crimes against children.

[pitchik]

You know what else made me angry? The fact that each individual case takes so much damn time to convict. Before they can even go and bust someone they have to spend hours and hours and days and nights talking to these perverts and watching porn and talking like these dirtbags before I guess they gather enough info to bust them.

I think that if you even type in the words child and porn in your google tool bar or anywhere else, you should be at least harassed.

I mean, that guy said and explained how someone will actually take the video camera and you can see just the light from it and go into the room and rape a child, or that on some videos you can hear the child screaming-

Hello~BUSTED immediatly! Busted before it gets that far.
Busted when someone becomes even interested in that crap. If someone shows interest in child porn-rape-abuse-they are liable to pursue it you'd think-so why not prevent it in the first place and cut them off at the path?

I dunno-Im not a politician-my family are-police chiefs and state assemblyman, but Im not. I hate the stuff. But Id be a good punisher

[CoolHandJean]

I agree, Pitchik. It made me mad that many of them are let out very soon after, and then just go and get another pc. These monsters can not be fixed, so, they should just be hanged before they hurt another child/baby. They have no right to exist. They lost all their civil liberties the day they decided to moleste/rape a baby/child/human.

[luvapit]

Originally Posted by CoolHandJean I was watching that. The whole thing made me angry, but it also made me angry that they said law enforcement doesn't have the resources. Maybe if they spent less times going after drug dealers/users and Dog fighters, and making sure people had a freakin' seat belt on, they could put that time and effort into catching these damn sickos molesting the babies. Heck, if law enforcement just tells me where the SOBs live, I'll take care of the bastards myself. They wouldn't have to pay me a freakin' dime, and I'd cut down on court fees. I haven't read the bill yet, so, I am not sure if they have any hidden things within it. The concept of the bill sounds good, though.

I agree....give me a gun, bullets and their address and the problem will be solved

[CoolHandJean]

Originally Posted by luvapit I agree....give me a gun, bullets and their address and the problem will be solved

Let's call them up, and tell them we'll do it. lol.

[luvapit]

I'm all for it, we can be like the Boondock Saints

[pitchik]

Ill help! Got the guns and ammo already-Im game!"Open Season"

[debo-dumbo-ears]

So, I'm surprised this thread hasn't gotten more attention Is this bill so universally agreed on, that no one is bothering to mention that they support it & have told their Senators to support it?

If you have contacted your Senator, speak up!

If you have not, why? Do you not support the bill? What are your reasons? It is a lot of money; is that why?

The urgency in contacting your Senators is that the proponents of the bill would like to get it voted on before the Senate takes a break at the end of the month (before 9/26 actually).

I for one am supporting it (at this time), but I certainly won't bash anyone who doesn't agree. My purpose in starting this thread was to gain any other perspectives. It seems all good to me so far, but there is always a flip side & I would like to find out what that is.

I think it's worth supporting because in the grand scheme of things, the money is actually not that much. It's a billion or less. Our gov't just gave $85 billion to bail out AIG (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080917/...re/wall_street) and they've already bailed out a few other financial giants. I'm not saying that is not worth it (I'm still undecided there), but certainly a billion to help save molested children & prosecute their abusers is also worth it, no?

[debo-dumbo-ears]

Bump - opinions?

I just received a response from one of my Senators. It tells a little more about the bill:

Thank you for contacting me about S. 1738, the Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2008. It was very good to hear from you.
The Combating Child Exploitation Act was introduced by Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) to provide additional resources, strategies and coordination to combat crimes against our children. The bill is currently before the full Senate for consideration. You will be happy to know that I am a cosponsor of S. 1738 and I fully support this effort to give our children greater protection from those who would harm them.
As you may know, S. 1738 would increases penalties for crimes against children. It would create a National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction and establish within the U.S. Department of Justice a National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. It would also create a grant program to support state and local ICAC task forces. Finally, the Combating Child Exploitation Act would authorize increased numbers of agents in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other federal agencies to combat these types of crimes.
As a U.S. Senator, I have made the health and safety of our children one of my top priorities. I will continue to fight for strong federal support for programs that prevent child exploitation, aid victims and assist in the investigation and prosecution of these despicable crimes. Please rest assured that as the Senate considers legislation on this issue, I will keep your concerns in mind. Please keep in touch.

[jonnylovespitbulls]

In my area all the damn money goes to roads meanwhile our schools are failing CUT OUT THE CRAP AND PUT THE MONEY TO GOOD USE.. my wife was molested and raped for 11 years until she met me and came to live with me and my family and seeing the lingering effects of that to me make it worth it to protect children rather than fix adults.. the step dad in my wifes case which was the most minor of what happened to her...there were several served 4 months work release and 2 years probation all rest got plead out no jail time no registering or anything...she was 7 whenit started and 18 when we met after graduation.. the rapist didnt even get charged due to statute of llimitations