PICS
i'm so shaky right now. and having trouble keeping the tears away.
i was just on the bus. doing typical travel things. you know, listening to my ipod, staring out the window, day dreaming about ice cream and puppy dogs. a few stops before mine, a sheriff's car pulls in front of the bus with its lights on. he gets on, moves to the back and an undercover informs a woman that she's being cited for wearing headphones. apparently, having both headphones on while in a bus is a crime. they take her info. they are about to leave when the undercover notices me with my ipod. do you have your id, he rudely asked. i asked why. he informs me that what i'm doing is illegal. that i can only have one earphone in at a time. i was looking at him completely dumbfounded. shaking, i looked through my bag for my id then he took down all of my info. when he saw that my id was from canada, he asked why i was in the country.
this is complete bullshit. as if riding the orange county bus isn't bad enough as it is with its ridiculous service, horrible people and poor routing choices, now this? this inane shit? getting harassed at 8 in the morning is not bloody cool at all, especially for doing something so beyond common. i've never, ever been in trouble with the police. in fact, i've never had to talk to one because of something i've done. so having to deal with this was so stressful.
i informed the bus driver when getting off the bus, sadly whilst erupting in tears and barely being able to speak, that they should probably post signs if we're going to be cited for this.
i called scopitone immediately, completely in tears over this. when he called the sheriff's department to find out what the fuck was going on, he was told that today they are having a zero tolerance campaign. they are making examples out of people, so that possible rapists, or other such types will fear the possibility of undercover cops on the bus. so i was made an example of. me. they told him it was possible that someone else on the bus looked suspicious, and they wanted to scare him. this law doesn't even exist. the closest law to this involves actually operating a vehicle, and not riding the bus. the bus book states one must wear headphones. plural! well done, lying bastard sheriff.
fucking ridiculous. i hate the bus. and i need to calm down still. my nerves are all out of sync. ugh.
acetracer
Hollywood, FL
January 2004
FEB 26, 2006 12:56 PM
Yay 
I was actually thinking about asking if you were going, but I assumed Scopitone would be and therefore you would as well. I need to ask Arete if she's gonna try to head out to either one this year.
And yeah I'm going, though my plans this year are a little less solid than the last. I haven't asked anybody, and I don't even know where I'm gonna be flying in from. I've been thinking recently of quitting my job and moving, and therefore buying a ticket now seems a bit premature.
Still, I wouldn't miss it 
FEB 28, 2006 02:29 AM
Thats when you tell the officer to show you where in the penal code does it say it's illegal and unlawful to wear both headphones on a bus.
If you got the police officer's badge number I'm fairly certain you -can- complain about harassment and even sue over undue emotional distress.
I'm sorry you had to go through that, but that's why I make sure to know enough about the law to know what they can and can't fuck with you over. HOWEVER... it -is- California and they -do- have some rigoddamndiculous laws... but 2 headphones while on a bus? I mean come on really... I would have given the officer so much shit over that (being me and unscared of cops) immediatly asked his badge number and precinct etc etc.
Again sorry you had to go through that hun 
FEB 28, 2006 03:43 PM
On second thought don't do anything...
I consulted a friend of mine who had more to tell about the subject of "foreigners" living int he US than I would have imagined,
Since 2000 and continuing to the present, non-citizens being placed in removal proceedings at an alarming rate by the new Ashcroft driven U.S. Attorney General's Office. And those returning from vacations and from travel abroad, including lawful permanent residents, are being intercepted at U.S. borders and airports. The B.C.B.P. (Bureau of Customs and Border Protection) is now running NCIC computerized checks on those returning to the U.S. in order to determine if they have any criminal histories which could result in their being placed in exclusion or deportation proceedings. Many of these non-citizens are being detained under newly enacted laws allowing their incarceration while their cases move slowly through the immigration courts. Removal proceedings have been made more streamlined in recent months, allowing for expedited removal of non-citizens who unwittingly sign expedited removal consent forms, while making it more difficult for attorneys to defend them.
The adverse immigration consequences flowing from a single criminal conviction these days can be and oftentimes is far worse for a non-citizen than the actual penalties, fines and jail time they will face in the criminal courts. If convicted of any of the following crimes: an aggravated felony, crime(s) involving moral turpitude, drug, domestic violence, sexual abuse, firearms or crime(s) of violence offense(s), then a non-citizen can be deported and permanently barred from returning to the U.S.
This is the story of her friend Huck
http://savehuck.com/
So yeah... Good old US of A.... God bless america 
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