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What freedom? Kids today

Just a note on this topic as whole. I'm not necessarily coming down on law enforcement with my comments. I'm just dismayed with how everything is today. I'm a supporter of good law and enforcement. Everything just seems out of place to me now or just maybe I am.

We need police officers that can do the job of protecting people from physical harm and property but so much of the system seems upside down. It's the whole system.

You know when I was a kid and you were caught fighting after school you went to the DEAN, your parents were called and you had a Saturday detention. Now the police are called and you are arrested. If the police caught you, they took you home and the parents thanked them and you were dealt with by your parents.

Today, heck, everyone sues everyone. Parents aren't thankful and kids go to jail. Common sense is gone today.

Common sense would have told must people you wouldn't ask a six year old to have vendors license, a permit, or a health inspection to sell a few glasses of lemonade on a Saturday morning in her front yard. Nobody would have thought of doing so when I was a child.

Heck, now in some cities you even have to pay the city to have a yard sale at your own house. Your stuff on your property! What is wrong with everyone?

Almost every movement you make and breath you take is regulated, taxed, fined, unlawful, or open to litigation. As a society we seem to have now accepted it as fact and normal. That is truly my most disappointing revelation. It assures me that I must be in the minority with my opinion or The People as a whole would not put up with it.
 

The Inexplicable War on Lemonade Stands
I’m beginning to think that there’s a nation-wide government conspiracy against either lemonade or children, because these lemonade stand shutdowns seem to be getting more and more common. If you set up a stand for your kids, just be prepared for a visit from the cops.

In Coralville, Iowa police shut down 4-year-old Abigail Krstinger’s lemonade stand after it had been up for half an hour. Dustin Krustinger told reporters that his daughter was selling lemonade at 25 cents a cup during the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Race Across Iowa (or RAGBRAI), and couldn’t have made more than five dollars, adding “If the line is drawn to the point where a four-year-old eight blocks away can’t sell a couple glasses of lemonade for 25 cents, than I think the line has been drawn at the wrong spot.”

Nearby, mother Bobbie Nelson had her kids’ lemonade stand shutdown as well. Police informed her that a permit would cost $400.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, police shutdown a lemonade stand run by three girls who were saving money to go to a water park. Police said the girls needed a business license, a peddler’s permit, and a food permit to operate the stand, which cost $50 per day or $180 per year each, sums that would quickly cut into any possible profit-margin.

In Appleton, Wisconsin the city council recently passed an ordinance preventing vendors from selling products within two blocks of local events – including kids who want to sell lemonade or cookies.

These are hardly isolated incidents. From slapping parents with $500 fines for letting their kids run unlicensed lemonade stands (though this was later waived after public outcry), to government officials calling the cops on kids selling cupcakes, the list goes on and on and on.

Nor does it stop with kids. Food Trucks are also under the gun of regulators and city governments across the country. This isn’t to say that food trucks don’t need any regulations at all, but many of the regulations that come down the pipeline are pushed by brick-and-mortar competitors who want to keep competition at a minimum.

But it’s the shutdown of lemonade stands that I find so inexplicable. Who stands to lose from a couple of six-year-olds selling lemonade? Who stands to gain from shutting them down? Do local governments really think parents are going to pay for $400 vendor permits, or that kids can scrape together the money for food permits? Are there any actual safety risks? Kids have been selling lemonade for decades without permits of any sort. They often set the stands up just for fun, but many lemonade stands (or bake sales) are used to raise money for schools, cancer, or sick pets. Lemonade stands represent the most innocent, optimistic side of capitalism out there.

Fortunately, August 20th is now unofficially National Lemonade Freedom Day, because when life gives you overbearing government regulations…make lemonade, or something.

A map of lemonade stand crackdowns can be found here.
http://www.lemonadefreedom.com/2011/07/29/map-of-restrictions-on-kid-run-concession-stands/
They’re spread out pretty much all across the country.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/08/03/the-inexplicable-war-on-lemonade-stands/
 
Inspectors Shut Down Girl's Lemonade Stand

Here we go again.
(AP) It's hardly unusual to hear small business owners gripe about licensing requirements or complain that heavy-handed regulations are driving them into the red.

So when Multnomah County shut down an enterprise last week for operating without a license, you might just sigh and say, there they go again.

Except this entrepreneur was a 7-year-old named Julie Murphy. Her business was a lemonade stand at the Last Thursday monthly art fair. The government regulation she violated? Failing to get a $120 temporary restaurant license.

Turns out that kids' lemonade stands - those constants of summertime - are supposed to get a permit in Oregon, particularly at big events that happen to be patrolled regularly by county health inspectors.

"I understand the reason behind what they're doing and it's a neighborhood event, and they're trying to generate revenue," said Jon Kawaguchi, environmental health supervisor for the Multnomah County Health Department. "But we still need to put the public's health first."

Julie had become enamored of the idea of having a stand after watching an episode of cartoon pig Olivia running one, said her mother, Maria Fife. The two live in Oregon City, but Fife knew her daughter would get few customers if she set up her stand at home.

Plus, Fife had just attended Last Thursday along Portland's Northeast Alberta Street for the first time and loved the friendly feel and the diversity of the grass-roots event. She put the two things together and promised to take her daughter in July.

The girl worked on a sign, coloring in the letters and decorating it with a drawing of a person saying "Yummy." She made a list of supplies.

Then, with gallons of bottled water and packets of Kool-Aid, they drove up last Thursday with a friend and her daughter. They loaded a wheelbarrow that Julie steered to the corner of Northeast 26th and Alberta and settled into a space between a painter and a couple who sold handmade bags and kids' clothing.

Even before her daughter had finished making the first batch of lemonade, a man walked up to buy a 50-cent cup.

"They wanted to support a little 7-year-old to earn a little extra summer loot," she said. "People know what's going on."

Even so, Julie was careful about making the lemonade, cleaning her hands with hand sanitizer, using a scoop for the bagged ice and keeping everything covered when it wasn't in use, Fife said.

After 20 minutes, a "lady with a clipboard" came over and asked for their license. When Fife explained they didn't have one, the woman told them they would need to leave or possibly face a $500 fine.

Surprised, Fife started to pack up. The people staffing the booths next to them encouraged the two to stay, telling them the inspectors had no right to kick them out of the neighborhood gathering. They also suggested that they give away the lemonade and accept donations instead and one of them made an announcement to the crowd to support the lemonade stand.

That's when business really picked up - and two inspectors came back, Fife said. Julie started crying, while her mother packed up and others confronted the inspectors. "It was a very big scene," Fife said.

Technically, any lemonade stand - even one on your front lawn - must be licensed under state law, said Eric Pippert, the food-borne illness prevention program manager for the state's public health division. But county inspectors are unlikely to go after kids selling lemonade on their front lawn unless, he conceded, their front lawn happens to be on Alberta Street during Last Thursday.

"When you go to a public event and set up shop, you're suddenly engaging in commerce," he said. "The fact that you're small-scale I don't think is relevant."

Kawaguchi, who oversees the two county inspectors involved, said they must be fair and consistent in their monitoring, no matter the age of the person. "Our role is to protect the public," he said.

The county's shutdown of the lemonade stand was publicized by Michael Franklin, the man at the booth next to Fife and her daughter. Franklin contributes to the Bottom Up Radio Network, an online anarchist site, and interviewed Fife for his show.

Franklin is also organizing a "Lemonade Revolt" for Last Thursday in August. He's calling on anarchists, neighbors and others to come early for the event and grab space for lemonade stands on Alberta between Northeast 25th and Northeast 26th.

As for Julie, the 7-year-old still tells her mother "it was a bad day." When she complains about the health inspector, Fife reminds her that the woman was just doing her job. She also promised to help her try again - at an upcoming neighborhood garage sale.

But while Fife said she does see the need for some food safety regulation, the county went too far in trying to control events as unstructured as Last Thursday.

"As far as Last Thursday is concerned, people know when they are coming there that it's more or less a free-for-all," she said. "It's gotten to the point where they need to be in all of our decisions. They don't trust us to make good choices on our own."

But Multnomah County's top elected official realized the county was overzealous in fining the 7-year-old. Chairman Jeff Cogen apologized Thursday for health inspectors who threatened to fine a 7-year-old for opening a lemonade stand last week at a local arts fair without a license.

"A lemonade stand is a classic iconic American kid thing to do," county Chairman Cogen said. "I don't want to be in the business of shutting that down."

Cogen said he called Julie Murphy's mom to say he was sorry and that she appreciated the apology.

Inspectors need to use professional judgment, he said. "This isn't something we need to be using our limited resources to crack down on," he said.

What's more, Cogen said, he can identify with Julie, noting that he ran lemonade stands as a child and so have his own kids.
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Many Americans have given their lives to obtain and try to retain our freedom from oppressive foreign enemies. So, tell me again, please, what the definition of "oppressive" is, and why Americans are so complacent about our own government obviously run amok?
 
BTW, I heard a rumor that the earthquake in the Virginia/Washington D.C. area was actually caused by our deceased forefathers finally getting fed up with what this country has become to start spinning in their graves......
 
Ok, seriously? We have 10 year olds with guns, in gangs, selling crack, getting pregnant, vandalizing property, and doing God only knows what else, and THIS is our concern? The kids with lemonade stands? The Girl Scouts selling cookies? I mean, I know I've said those Thin Mints were addictive and all, but I definitley wouldn't say they rival meth in that department..
 
Three activists arrested for selling 10 cent cups of lemonade on the lawn of the Capitol building in August are facing up to one year in jail for their thirst-quenching crimes.

Will Duffield, Meg McLain and Kathryn Dill pleaded not guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on Oct. 4 to “sale of goods on U.S. Capitol grounds” — a crime that carries a 180-day maximum prison sentence.

The three face an additional 180 days in jail after refusing to submit to a urine test and being held in contempt of court.

The urine sample was part of a program to avoid going to trial, but the lemonistas said it was a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. They also said it was inappropriate because the accused are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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n October 4th, my fellow “Lemonistas” and I were scheduled to appear in a Washington DC court, and enter our plea for our criminal charges over an “illegal” lemonade stand. The first charge of “vending without a permit” was to be addressed in courtroom #115 at 8:30am. We entered the courtroom, and were instructed to sit on the right side of the room, along with the dozens of others facing charges. A man stood up front and began reading off names, instructing us to move to the left side of the room when our name was called. Once he finished moving almost half of us to the left, he announced that “the government has decided not to prosecute your cases.” We were handed some paper work [see images 1 & 2], then told we could leave.
We went downstairs to the second courtroom, where we expected to deal with our “failure to obey” and “unlawful conduct” charges. When our names were called, we walked to the front. It was at this point three men we had never seen or spoken to walked infront of us, and claimed to be our lawyers. Before we could even speak, the clerk began reading off the charge we were facing. To our surprise, this was not the charges we thought we had, but a new charge none of us had ever heard of (I have since been informed it is one count of illegal Sale of Goods, pursuant to D.C. Code §10-503.14 and §10-503.18). Completely confused at this point, I tried to ask what was going on, only to be yelled at by the judge [see image 3] for talking.

Image 3 - Judge Karen Howze

The judge, prosecutor, and our “lawyers” began moving forward with the proceedings. The “lawyers” entered our “not guilty” pleas without even asking us our names, let alone our plea. The the prosecution requested we be required to go through the approval process for the deferment program, which the judge approved of. She stated we would be banned from the capitol grounds; we would be required to take a drug test that day, and continue weekly drug testing along with a substance abuse program (that we would have to pay for out of pocket, or get tax payer funding if we couldn’t afford it). It was at this point we all spoke up, despite having been warned not to talk; because these terms were unacceptable to us. We didn’t want to be part of this program, and didn’t see how they could demand we be tested for drugs when we were arrested for selling lemonade. After another stern talking to from the judge, she allowed us to leave the courtroom so our lawyers could get us to stop acting up in court.

Will and I sat down with our “lawyers” as Kathryn chased her’s down the halls. I tried to explain that I would not take a drug test under any circumstance, and my “lawyer” just kept interrupting me and lecturing me as if I were a small child.

“It’s my job to get you through court with the least amount of damage to you” he told me. He just didn’t understand that I wanted someone to defend my innocence. I had done nothing wrong and I was being treated like a convicted criminal. It wasn’t until this point he asked, “So what is this about?”

“I was arrested for selling lemonade.”

He was shocked. He didn’t even know why I was there, yet he had just stood before a judge and claimed to represent me.

He opened up my court file (I was not allowed access to a copy) and began reading the police report. As I read it over his shoulder, I was alarmed to see a flat out lie written in it. It said something about giving us multiple warnings about “vending without a permit” AND “demonstrating without a permit”. I tried to tell my “lawyer” this wasn’t true, only to be shushed and ignored. I asked Kathryn, Will, and Eddie if they had heard the cop’s warning about “demonstrating”, and they all said, “no”. In fact, we were told that had we simply not charged people 10cents for a cup of lemonade, we would have been left alone.

The police report was a lie.

We re-entered the courtroom, having made clear to our “lawyers” we would not drug test, we didn’t want our case deferred, and we wanted a trial by jury. As we waited to go infront of the judge again, I got out my ipad to update my facebook status, and Kathryn whispered something to Eddie. Immediately a bailiff instructed all of us to follow him outside the courtroom, where he informed us only lawyers were allowed to whisper or have electronics out. He also warned us to stop “pissing off” the judge; because, “She is already in a bad mood”, and that could effect her treatment of our case. We were instructed to re-enter and remain seated in the back of the courtroom.

Not being allowed to speak, I wrote “Did the bailiff just admit the judge’s mood could effect her treatment of our case?” on a slip of paper and showed Eddie, who nodded. The bailiff then kicked Eddie out of the courtroom.

When we were called upfront again, it took a few minutes to locate Kathryn’s lawyer. Once we were all accounted for, the judge quickly dismissed all our requests, and restated the conditions of our release, to which our “lawyers” made no objection. We were given a map of the capitol with a square drawn around it, and told we were banned from entering the property in that square [see image 4]. We were also handed a paper [see image 5 & 6] that listed the conditions of our release. This included our ban from the capitol grounds; a requirement to be drug tested that day at 2:30pm, and to attend weekly testing, should our tests come out positive (or “dirty” as my “lawyer” called it); and we had to agree to return to court on October 24th for a status hearing.

The clerk indicated where we had to sign our names, and we began reading the documents. When I got to the section about drug testing, I leaned towards my “lawyer” and said, “I told you I wasn’t going to do this.” The clerk overheard me, and instantly ripped the papers from me and Kathryn, and wrote “Refused” where our signatures were supposed to go. When I said, “I never refused anything!”, the judge stopped what she was doing and yelled at me again for talking. Will’s paper was taken as well, then we were ordered to “get out”.

Out in the hallway, Eddie was able to ask the prosecutor how he feels about putting peaceful people in cages. He replied something to the effect of, “Those white suburban kids need to learn they are not above the law.”

So here we are. Facing jail time for selling lemonade; seeking justice from a judge whose mood can determine our guilt or innocence; being prosecuted by a racist who expresses enjoyment in ‘teaching us a lesson’ through threats of violence from the state; being “represented” by people who don’t want to defend our innocence; and now in violation of a court order that violates our 4th amendment rights.

We are now Lemonade Fugitives.

We are currently seeking a liberty oriented lawyer, willing to actually defend us. Ideally pro-bono would be great, as we have little money between us. However, if people would like to help our chances of getting a good defense (or ANY defense), we will soon have a chip-in to help defer our costs.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us, and/or continues to help us in the future. I will continue to post updates as they come in.
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I imagine this will be the rule rather than the exception when the government deals with "protestors". The laws are made to protect the lawmakers by giving them a bevy of "sticks" (they don't see any need to try the "carrot" first) to use against the populace.
 
:censored:'um


WebSlave said:
What kind of CRAP is this? Where did our RIGHTS go to? If you need permission to do something, it is NOT a right at all. If it can be denied or taken away from you, taxed, regulated or in any way limited based on what the government wants, it is NOT a right. So tell me, what exactly is it that we have left that is REALLY a right and not a government bestowed "privilege"?
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On Lemonade Freedom Day, August 20, 2011, I served free lemonade at the Concord farmer's market in Concord, NH. One patron of the farmer's market, who identified himself as 'the president', was particularly offended by the lemonade dispensery and, in his disdain, tried grabbing my cooler and my camera. When he realized I wasn't going to let him just steal my property, he called the police to have armed men do what he wouldn't. However, the police did not see a free lemonade operation as a sufficient enough threat to the health and safety of the community to warrant taking action, and left. The president then decided he would have the last laugh by erecting a makeshift sign declaring, "NOT A MEMBER of the Concord farmer's market".

Lemonade Freedom Day is a national effort to resist the shutdown of children's lemonade stands around the country by government authorities. Kudos to the government authorities for choosing not to take action in this instance and allowing the free exchange of lemonade and positive vibes to commence.
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