Politicians should be held to the same standards as everyone else

Below is an Op-Ed I wrote for the Sun-Sentinel after Lauren Book was arrested for trespassing. Of course, the Sun-Sentinel refuses to publish anything negative about the Book Crime Family. 

Politicians should be held to the same standards as everyone else

Derek Logue, April 5, 2023

In 2015, I engaged in a peaceful protest in Tallahassee against now-Senate Democrat leader Lauren Book. Book tried having me arrested. Then she filed a restraining order against me in an attempt to prevent me in organizing future protests. She even sent pictures of me to local law enforcement and had me arrested on theft charges. 

I was arrested in Ohio and spent six days on the road in an extradition vehicle with no air conditioning. By the time I reached the Broward County Jail, my blood pressure was 200/140 and my feet had swollen 4 times the normal size. I was held an additional time in jail to be forced to register as a “sex offender” before being release.  I spent years defending myself against this barrage of false allegations brought on by Florida State Senator Lauren Book. 

Every single false allegation made against me by Lauren Book was ultimately tossed out of court. See Logue v. Book, 297 So. 3d 605. 

But that was not enough for Lauren Book. In 2021, Book added an addendum to CS/HB 921, a bill addressing cyberstalking, to make public criticism of people like her a felony. In 2022, Book sided with Republicans to pass CS/HB1571, the controversial DeSantis bill that outlawed many types of public protest. Needless to say, Lauren Book is no friend of free speech. 

Fast forward to the night of April 3, 2023, when this same state senator who tried to imprison me for exercising the right to peacefully assemble by the state capitol in 2015 was arrested for engaging in a protest. Sure, Senator Book was detained. Sure, Senator Book was handcuffed (very carefully), Sure, Senator Book was taken to the police station with the other ten arrested protesters. But state law prevents Senator Book’s (and Nikki Fried’s) mugshot from being released, while the faces of the commoners who protested were published. Senator Book was the first to be released. The police assured us that she was treated with the utmost care. Despite the fact that I was innocent and she was arrested in the commission of a crime, we were treated vastly different. 

Florida State Senator Lauren Book should have been treated the same way as any other accused criminal. Keep her in a cell for hours for processing then moved to another cell to await your first appearance up to 72 hours later. Feed her food not fit for human consumption. Strong-arm those handcuffs on her even if she isn’t resisting. Make her sit in a sweltering van for six days. Release that mugshot and make it look hideous for added effect. 

Alternately, perhaps we can treat the common folk who stand accused of offense with the same air of dignity as Senator Book was treated. We have seen in both Tallahassee and in New York City that the criminal justice system works differently for the rich and powerful than it does for the average citizen. That is something that needs to change. 

VINDICATION Part 1: Lauren Book's bogus restraining order tossed out by Florida Appeals Court! Eat Crow, Haters!!!

Shockingly, people found the notion of registered persons stating they are human beings "controversial"

Lauren Book tried to silence her largest critic, and for a time, she succeeded, but the appeals court concluded what we knew all along-- saying mean things about someone is not stalking. This would not be possible without a huge assist from Jamie Bemjamin and from Florida Action Committee.

For those who stood by me, many thanks, and to the trolls and critics who attacked me, especially those within this movement who tried to derail me, you only get this recipe for crow. Bon Appetit!

Read the appeals decision here:

https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Logue-v.-Book.pdf

News story:

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/08/14/court-voids-stalking-injunction-involving-florida-senator-lauren-book/

Court Voids Stalking Injunction Involving Florida Senator Lauren Book
August 14, 2019 at 12:43 pm

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami/AP) — An appeals court has overturned a stalking injunction placed on a man who disagrees with a state senator’s view on sex offenders.

The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that the injunction violated Derek Logue’s free speech rights and did not meet other Florida legal requirements.

The injunction barred Logue from several forms of contact with or proximity to Democratic state Sen. Lauren Book, a well-known supporter of strict offender laws involving child sexual abuse.

Logue had protested Book’s appearance at a children’s march in Tallahassee. He also criticized her publicly at a New York film festival and through social media and blog posts.

A lower court granted the injunction, but the appeals judges found Logue’s conduct fell short of the legal definitions necessary for one.

Below is the "Offensive" song that Book claims is about her. LOL! (Oh, "Trigger Warning" for you with virgin ears)

People who now will owe me an apology and/or financial compensation:

Ronald Lee Book
Lauren Francis Book
Claire Van Susteren
Peter Schorsh of Florida Politics
Judge Andrew Kaplan
Dwayne Daughtry
Michael McKay
TNF_13

Lauren Book is using her position as Florida State Senator as a position for revenge

We al know daddy Ron's pulling the strings

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

--Friedrich Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146

Lauren Book is the worst kind of monster. She is someone who blatantly abuses her position of power in every way possible on her quest of vengeance. We all know that, though most folks are afraid to say it. 

I think she's just a puppet for her convicted criminal daddy Ron. While registered citizens cannot get jobs anywhere, Ron Book still works as a lobbyist even after his conviction for illegal campaign contributions.  I think her role as puppet came out this week when she inexplicably pulled an anti-sex trafficking bill that had unanimous support. (For the record, the bill was bullshit.) Still,  I'm willing to speculate she pulled the bill because daddy Ron likely represents the hotel industry (or at the very least, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America). Going against daddy's wishes would lead to the end of her dubious tenure as a state "senator."

Lauren Book has not really accomplished much in her time as state Senator. In fact, Lauren's sole accomplishment in 2017 was exploiting a legal loophole to allow herself to vote to give her own organization, Lauren's Kids, an extra $1.5 MILLION in taxpayer dollars while sitting on the Senate Appropriations committee. Think about this-- the daughter of a lobbyist who was convicted for illegal campaign funds sat on an appropriations committee (the committee that hands out money) and gave her own organization $1.5 million. To top it off, she even lied about stepping down as CEO if her organization (not that it matters much since Ron Book is still the chairman).

So what is her only real accomplishment of 2018? She got a bill passed that reduces the time a registered citizen can visit Florida before having to register (from 5 days to 3) and expands the use of  mandatory electronic monitoring as punishment for various offenses. I would not be surprised if Ron Book lobbies for the electronic monitoring industry given the fact that GEO Group, the private prison company, has donated to Lauren Book and has hired Ron as a lobbyist. Let's be honest, there is one key reason she wanted to pass this bill -- anti-registry activism. Specifically, my anti-registry activism. 

She is still smarting over getting embarrassed by the Anti-Registry Movement in 2015. Since that time, she has constantly changed up her method of marching across the state. By pushing the law to reduce registration time while visiting, Book hopes to stymie anti-registry protests. If you think that was not the reason for this bill, then I'd like to share statements from her closing statement in her attempt to obtain a restraining order against me in her efforts to prevent me from protesting:

The reality is she cannot handle any form of protest. Our protest was peaceful. Hell, one person who showed up even tried to offer an olive branch to Lauren, which was rejected. The Book family retaliated against my peaceful protest by calling my registration office in an attempt to get me in trouble. However, I was not in Tallahassee long enough to register in Ohio (which already has a three day rule). The fact she suggests protests should be at least 1000 feet from her places of business (that presumably includes the state capitol) is proof enough that Lauren Book's true intention with her vexatious litigation was to silence anti-registry activism. 

 

It is abundantly clear that Lauren Book is using the law to attack the Anti-Registry Movement. This statement is also a look into the mindset of a woman who is extremely paranoid. Lauren Book believes that everyone who supports OnceFallen is a "pedophile/ sexual predator compatriot." She believes that the film crew from the BBC paid me to protest her (they didn't, and they didn't even use my interview in the final project). The only person intoxicated is Lauren Book, intoxicated with her own power by using unlimited resources to silence a man from Ohio who collects a $750 a month disability check and food stamps. 

Again, Lauren Book used the term "pedophile" to describe everyone who shared my viewpoint that the registry should be abolished. In the eyes of Lauren Book, if you don't support her efforts, YOU are a "pedophile." Still not convinced?

If posting her address was threatening (it is a matter of public record), then how much more is the posting of the addresses of America's registered citizens? I bet I can think of a handful of examples of registered citizens murdered or assaulted by someone who used the registry as a tool for vigilantes. You know, vigilantes like Bikers Against Child Abuse, who rode with her in 2015. 

Whatever happened to Lauren Book does not excuse the fact that Lauren Book is abusing her power in the worst possible way. She is mentally unstable, and as seen by the current state of our Presidential office, it is never a good idea to allow someone as mentally unstable as Lauren Book to have a position of power.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." -- Lord Acton

OnceFallen's Opposition Statement to SB 1226 & HB 1301

http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/#Senators

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx
In response to the FAC Call to Action, here's my letter I'm sending in the mail to the FL legislators (Except Lauren Book, because what's the point?):

From: Derek W. Logue
Registered Citizen Advocate
Founder of OnceFallen.com

To: Members of the Florida Legislature
RE: SB 1226 & HB 1301

Dear Florida State Legislators,
I am writing you today to oppose both SB 1226 and HB 1301, similar bills which will have a detrimental impact on the lives of thousands of individuals.

These bills will impact both the ability of free humans to travel as well as shackle individuals with costly and ineffective electronic devices that will cost the state tens of millions of dollars. I will address each of these parts individually.

REDUCING TRAVEL REGISTRATION

I am an advocate for the restoration of individuals forced to register for life as “sex offenders.” I live in Cincinnati, Ohio but I have taken numerous trips to your state in order to assist those on the registry improve the quality of their lives. I have engaged in a peaceful protest right outside the State House while Lauren Book completed her march across the state in 2015. I have visited (and stayed at) the homeless registrant camp on multiple occasions in order to report on conditions at the camp as well as provide much-needed supplies to the camp.

I know for a fact that “Senator” Lauren Book came up with this idea of lowering the time I can visit before registering specifically to try to deter me from visiting Florida to help the homeless registrants of Hialeah, the camp a law named after her was responsible for creating. Unfortunately, Senator Book has become a master of using the law as a weapon of vengeance against those who are forced to register. It is important to keep this in mind since I am currently engaged in a legal battle with Lauren Book. She is filing vexacious litigation against me trying to prevent me from exercising my 1st Amendment right to protest and speaking out against her reprehensible actions. This bill is just another attempt to bend the law to her will. Justice isn’t supposed to be about vengeance!

Of course, even if this bill passes, I will continue to engage in protests against the Book family, as I already live in a state that requires me to notify my travel plans, so forcing registration when I . Quite frankly, I would not want to visit your state much less live there, but many registered humans have ties to Florida and this would impact them as well. I am well aware of the fact that only 45% of those listed on your registry actually live in Florida communities. However, you force individuals to register for life even if they haven’t lived in Florida for years. You are also one of the only states that allow registry info to pop up on a Google search. This encourages vigilante violence against registered citizens. I have endured vigilante violence, including harassment by associates of Senator Book.

It also raises concerns that individuals not publicly registered in one state will have their registry information plastered all over the Internet. For example, Washington and Massachusetts are among the states that do not post registry info online. If one were to visit from those states, then they would be forced to register for life and be placed on the internet even though their conviction state does not do either.

Finally, it should be worth noting that there is already a lawsuit in the works over keeping out-of-state registrants on the Florida registry, so passing this bill will add the number of people eligible for this costly class-action suit.

ELECTRONIC MONITORING

When I had visited the homeless registrant camp (Lauren’s Kingdom) in Hialeah, I was shocked to see the number of homeless registrants wearing these bulky, uncomfortable, radioactive devices. Imagine the time it takes recharging your smartphones, only with that smartphone strapped to your body. I imagine it would be hard to do things like go job hunting or shop for groceries while recharging. Imagine trying to find a place to recharge at a homeless camp. Who is paying for this? Your constituents, that’s who!

I am concerned the GPS devices are costly and ineffective in reducing sex crimes, as well as constituting such a great burden to both law enforcement and to the former offenders who have served their time and are struggling to successfully reintegrate into society.
It was estimated back in 2007 that the cost of GPS is around $10 per day per device. (I imagine that number is higher now.) If the law was applied to 6,660 offenders currently on the list, the state will have to shell out $24.3Millions dollars per year just to maintain the devices by the $10 a day rate. The chances of passing the expenses onto former offenders is unlikely, as most former offenders struggle to find steady employment in a slumping economy and employers hostile to people with criminal records.

The use of GPS devices should be reconsidered, as the technology suffers from numerous limitations. Among the common technological problems: “Geometric Dilution Of Precision” (GDOP), meaning if the angle of the receiver to the satellite is too small, the satellite may give a false reading; satellite visibility- buildings, metal, and other terrain obscures the signal; speed limits- if it is going above a certain speed, it will not work; and temperature limits- will not work in extremes of temperature.

Washington state did a test run with “passive” devices (passive devices merely record where the person has been and must be uploaded to read, whereas active devices send out constant signals), and found 4000 “notices of violation,” the vast majority of which were false alarms due to technical difficulties [Jonathan Martin, “GPS tracking beset by problems of terrain, technology, and time.” Seattle Times, Sept. 28, 2005].

The batteries could fail to charge, be defective, or possibly leak or even explode. What about the health concerns? There is growing evidence that these radioactive devices can negatively impact your health. The overall health of those struggling with homelessness is already poor to begin with, so these devices can exacerbate an already existing problem.

GPS use also raises a number of ethical and constitutional issues. One senator who voted against the Wisconsin bill stated it would create a “big brother bureaucracy” and was unnecessary [Steven Waleters et al. “GPS tracking for sex offenders OK’d.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 25, 2006]. Most states are imposing the devices on all offenders, even low-risk offenders. It raises questions on the limits states can invade in the private lives of freed citizens. There is also a question of whether the devices violate the fourth amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.

With all the concerns and limitations regarding GPS, it makes little sense to pass such sweeping legislation. Both the state and the offender will be burdened with the number of false alarms, as noted in the Washington study. Furthermore, GPS does not monitor the offender’s actions, just location, and can easily be removed by an offender who is determined to re-offend. In other words, GPS will not prevent crimes, but places an undue burden on the registrants who cannot afford to pay and state taxpayers/ constituents who will end up footing the bill. . Former offenders are concerned of being “branded for life,” a mark of infamy which lowers his chances at successful rehabilitation and reintegration. Such expenses would be better spent on prevention, treatment, and reintegration programs that are proven effective in reducing sex crimes in general and reducing recidivism rates for registrants.

THEREFORE, I strongly urge you to not advance this terrible piece of legislation. Both of these bills will end up costing constituents millions of dollars without offering any benefits. For those who are religious, remember, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:20. This is not about preventing sexual abuse but about vengeance and harming an unpopular group of people. That was why we created a Constitution in the first place. No victim advocate turned State Senator should advance laws based upon hatred and revenge, lest we return to the days of inquisitions, trials by ordeals, and witch hunting.

_____________________________
Derek W. Logue of OnceFallen.com
Registered Citizen Advocate
iamthefallen1@yahoo.com
513-238-2873

ARM official review of the "Untouchable" documentary at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival

Listen to the full commentary and synopsis of the film here:

https://youtu.be/o-U4LYan4Ik

Tom Madison of Oregon Action Committee and Derek Logue from Once Fallen took a bite out of the Big Apple and watched the much-hyped film "Untouchable," playing at the Tribeca Film Festival.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Tom gave it a 6, I gave it a 4.9. I found the film to be lacking in criticism of the Book family an catered to the Books. Tom found it somewhat valuable because Ron Book makes an ass of himself.

David Feige himself stated his intent wasn't to "talk solutions," and he felt the message of ARM was "too harsh." in the end, the film fails to deliver some hard-hitting truths. On the upside, a number of researchers were in the film (Jill Levenson, Eric S. Janus, and others), and last year's Rally in Tally does make an appearance, albeit in an incomplete form that stressed the Book family rather than our message of reform.

Quite frankly, it wasn't worth the $25 I spent to see this film.

Rally In Tally HD Video with commentary

Below is my video review of the 2015 Rally in Tally. The coverage of the event is pretty comprehensive, and now people will need a better excuse to not attend future events besides fear of arrest.

A quick update about the Rally In Tally

The JTC Camp display that was part of the Rally in Tally

I know everyone is wondering what happened at the Rally. I had technical difficulties so I could not live stream as I hoped to do. There will be a full report on the Rally but it is safe to say that Lauren's Kids spent a lot of money to try to censor us. We were completely blocked off by a tight wall of uniformed FDLE motorcycle cops, they used colored smoke to hide the Books as they RAN past us, and, according to some reports, even threatened us with arrest. Lauren's Kids alluded to us and how they were going to deal with us on her website. However, we were there, and there was some press coverage:

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Walk-in-My-Shoes-Arrives-in-Tallahassee-300716231.html

-- Tom Madison is interviewed and given a moment in the WCTV vid (can anyone record it for us?)

http://floridapolitics.com/lauren-book-ends-statewide-trek-with-tally-rally-to-protect-florida-children-19921/

-- I got coverage in the Florida Politics website, though for some reason they said we identified ourselves as Anonymous members. I did no such thing.

Here's the thing-- the local news was more concerned about FSU QB Jameis Winston's crab legs theft than the Lauren's Kids event. None of the local media gave it any significant coverage save for a generic AP blurb. I would have though they would have received more press, but what little coverage was there included us. Lauren failed to completely censor us but they pulled out all the stops.

A couple of independent film crews also recorded us for future projects for this is all the immediate coverage for now.

There will be an open conference call on Monday, April 27, at 8pm EST.

Call in # 712-775-7031

Meeting ID # 490-643-495

Ron Book, Lauren Book, Florida Governor Rick Scott, and the GEO Group connection

On April 22, 2015, members of the Anti-Registry Movement will be at the Florida State House at the corner of Monroe and Alapachee in Tallahassee, FL. We will be protesting the efforts of the Book family as they help promote Florida's "Scorched Earth" policy. 

There are many reasons to protest the Book family, but there is one major detail that most of us have not considered. At last year's event, Gov. Rick Scott gave his blessing to Lauren's Kids. Rick Scott is a major supporter of the private prison industry, so much so he hosted a $10,000-per-seat fundraiser at the home of GEO Group's president, who lives in Boca Raton. A number of people protested Scott's fundraiser because they understand just how bad private prisons run by GEO group can be. 

Last November, Lauren Book opened a political committee called Leadership for Broward. It had raised $423,750 -- much of that from Ron Book's past and present clients, including the GEO Group, who donated $25,000. So Ron Book and Lauren both have connections with the GEO Group. 

GEO Group has been immersed in a number of controversies over the years and has been sued hundreds of times. "Violence abuse and death" apparently run rampant in GEO Group private prisons. Perhaps one of the most egregious cases involves Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in Mississippi, sued in 2012 in federal court. Federal Judge Carlton Reeves wrote that the youth prison "has allowed a cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions to germinate, the sum of which places the offenders at substantial ongoing risk." 

Among the conditions described in a report against the facility in 2012:

• Prison staff had sex with incarcerated youth, which investigators called "among the worst that we've seen in any facility anywhere in the nation."
• Poorly trained guards brutally beat youth and used excessive pepper spray as a first response.
• The prison showed "deliberate indifference" to prisoners possessing homemade knives, which were used in gang fights and inmate rapes.
• Some guards had gang affiliations — a finding confirmed to NPR last year by former inmate Justin Bowling.

The former mayor of Walnut Grove was convicted of witness tampering after telling a female inmate not to rat him out for having sex with her. He served only seven months. 

There are lots of lawsuits against GEO Group but this one stands out because of the level of sexual abuse rampant in this case. I want you to wrap your minds around the concept of Lauren Book, "Sexual Abuse Survivor/ Educator/ Advocate" pocketing $25,000 from a corporation that ran an institution with the most rampant sexual abuse cases in the entire nation! This is right up there with that Oprah Winfrey orphanage controversy from a few years ago. 

This is also something that bothers me because I was inside a facility called the "Eufaula Adolescent Center" for a year, a place that was closed in 1996 for similar issues. My only reason for being sent to such a horrific place was because I was abandoned by my family as a teenager and became a ward of the state, and no foster homes would take teenage boys in my area. Thus, I was in this hellhole for over a year for no reason at all. I was not a juvenile delinquent, nor was I ever charged with a crime. Info on the facility is sparse, but over two decades later, I still remember the abuse and maltreatment I received at that place. My time there made me distrusting of the police and the courts. Imagine that-- a kid never in trouble with the law but dragged through the courts and the police simply for being abandoned. But I guess that does not matter to most people. 

Lauren Book claims to stand up for children, yet she takes money from a corporation that abused children. That is hypocrisy at its finest. That is simply another reason I will be joining those protesting in Tallahassee on April 22. 

L'Oreal provides the makeup to hide the monster Lauren Book has become

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. – Friedrich Nietzsche

It is often said a picture is worth 1000 words. This particular picture speaks volumes. This picture was taken some time during the international embarrassment known as the Julia Tuttle Causeway sex offender colony, a.k.a. “Bookville.” Standing in the forefront is the notorious Ron Book, along with his daughter Lauren, standing defiantly. Behind them is a homeless camp created by the very policies these two worked to create, along with two people the Books forced to live under the bridge. Together, Ron and Lauren Book campaigned to create the most onerous residency restriction laws in the country in Dade County, forcing a number of registered citizens to live under a bridge. Years after the homeless camp was dismantled, homelessness remains a problem among a significant portion of Miami's registered citizens.

Much of the focus over the years has been on Ron Book, while for the most part his daughter Lauren has been pretty much relegated to the view of her of Ron’s lackey or puppet. After all, Ron was by far the more visible and vocal of the two. Ron is the powerful and corrupt South Florida lobbyist, while Lauren has always been invoked whenever Ron needed a victim to justify his policies. Ron is even the president of Lauren's Kids, a victim industry organization named for Lauren. We seemingly forget the role that Lauren has played in the debacle that was Bookville.

Lauren's annual “Walk in My Shoes” campaign turned into campaigns and even legislation designed to further erode the rights of the accused. In fact, the state of Florida passed the “Walk in Their Shoes Act,” which expanded the admissibility of collateral crime or “similar fact” evidence in cases where a person is charged with child molestation or a sexual offense. In other words, the Act allows hearsay evidence such as a prior allegation, even a false allegation, as evidence in abuse cases.

It was brought to my attention that L'Oreal Paris has an annual award event entitled, “Women of Worth,” and Lauren Book was given the award in December 2013. Considering the recent controversial actions that Lauren Book has taken, the L'Oreal company should reconsider giving an award to a person like Lauren Book. It is obvious that Lauren, in her quest to fight “monsters,” has become Nietzsche's proverbial monster herself.

Consider her more recent actions. Last month, during Lauren's annual Walk in My Shoes campaign, Lauren stopped to give her blessing to a pocket park that was built specifically to force registered citizens to move out of a community, driving untold numbers of registrants into homelessness. “I can't tell you how many times I ask parents, ‘Do you know who's living next door?' and they're afraid to look,’” Lauren said. “So, it's being educated within the law: know who's around you and use examples like (Bayberry Lakes), where you build a park to keep a vulnerable section of your community safer.” Lauren is now encouraging other communities to build pocket parks in order to force registered citizens out of communities. She wants to make the rest of Florida like Miami-Dade County.

More recently, Lauren put her support behind a controversial bill that would literally play scarlet letters on the driver's licenses of registered citizens. The state of Florida already marks the driver's licenses of registered citizens with the number of the statutes under which they were convicted. Under the new law, those the state considers “sexual predators” will have the term sexual predator written on their licenses in scarlet letters. It is interesting that Lauren Book invokes both the term scarlet letter and the TSA in the following statement:

 “This designation is a tool that we as community members – from law enforcement officers to TSA agents to teachers, daycare workers, doctors, nurses and everyone in between – can use to further protect the children and families of Florida… I believe a statutory reference is too benign. This is a scarlet letter that clearly states ‘WARNING! Keep this individual away from children!’ They are a clear and imminent danger, and parents and families have a right to know.”

If there is a true imminent danger to our society, it is individuals like Lauren Book using her position and the law to harm other individuals. Perhaps the most distressing of all is the fact that Florida passed a bill this year that gives victim industry advocates like Lauren a place on a committee that determines which registrants become candidates for civil commitments upon their release from prison.

I guess to some small degree we can reasonably expect a makeup company to do a very good job of screening candidates for some meaningless award created by their company. In our society, it seems the victim industry is rarely, if ever, scrutinized for the policies that they support or advocate. What Lauren Book advocates for is summarized by a picture. Lauren Book advocates for the suffering of human beings. Lauren Book is just as responsible for the Julia Tuttle Causeway sex offender colony as her father was. It was not just Ron we thought of when I and fellow members of SOSEN started calling the colony “Bookville” in 2009.

However, I also feel it is our responsibility as citizens to scrutinize those who use of emotional stories to justify sweeping laws that cause potential harm to thousands of citizens. It seems Lauren Book has failed to heed Nietzsche's warning, choosing to become a monster to fight those she considers monsters. Not even all the makeup produced by the L'Oreal Corporation could cover a Miami sized blemish on Florida's sex offender policy. Giving Lauren Book such an award is as much a faux pas as naming Hitler time magazine's Man of the year.

Bookville II: The sequel no one wanted to see

It seems the saga of the Miami Sex Offender Colony has spawned a sequel. I'm not surprised. They were warned that without a change to the current laws, they were merely playing musical sex offender. Well, the Julia Tuttle Causeway Camp is now the Shorecrest camp.

Read my take on this latest development at The Examiner:

http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-cincinnati/the-sequel-no-one-wanted-bookville-ii-return-of-the-miami-sex-offender-camp

Its okay to tell.... the truth about Ron and Lauren Book.

From one exploiter of sex offenders to another: Lauren Book fawns over Mark Lunsford's infamous "Save a child, Hang a Pedophile" badge. I wonder if Lunsford was drunk that day, too.

I have to admit, I flat out despise Ron Book and his daughter Lauren Book-Lim. My faorite memory of Ron Book will always be the day I got Ron Book so angry he was screaming on the ARC Talk Radio (around the 1:35:00 mark) show. I'm not the only one who dislikes the Books, and it is not just because he was the Emperor of "Bookville" (a.k.a. The Julia Tuttle Causeway Causeway Sex Offender Camp). I have an entire article on that saga already, so I won't go too deep into that subject. I will, however, bring up some more of the Book's recent controversies.

Book is currently under investigation by the FBI for issues related to South Florida corruption in politics:

In Broward and Tallahassee politics, influence peddling comes in countless forms. Here's one currently under investigation by the federal government:

A powerful lobbyist, seeking to curry favor with a state senator and benefit a major client, helps to secure the senator's boyfriend a job at the development firm the lobbyist represents. The boyfriend also happens to be a Housing Authority honcho who goes on to oversee two new multimillion-dollar publicly financed projects with the very developer who hired him.

This is one scenario that sources say the FBI is currently investigating as part of a major probe that involves recently convicted GOP fundraiser and lobbyist Alan Mendelsohn, who had deep ties to numerous politicians, including former Gov. Charlie Crist, former Senate President Ken Pruitt, embattled Congressman David Rivera, and state Sen. Eleanor Sobel. The same federal investigation also involves several figures from the massive Mutual Benefits Corp. Ponzi scheme, including MBC fraudster Joel Steinger, who is awaiting trial on federal charges himself.

Here are the players in the scenario:

The lobbyist: Ron Book, who represents a host of governments, including Broward County, and private clients, including the Miami Dolphins, as perhaps the most powerful lobbyist in Florida.

Ron Book apparently has not reformed since his own conviction for illegal campaign contributions in the mid-1990s.From what I've seen, corrupt South Florida politics are par for the course. Maybe that is partly the reason why he remains one of the most sought-after lobbyists in Dade County (in fact, many local news hounds call him the uber-lobbyist). For the right price he'll even represent both sides of the issue (though it is unethical if not illegal).

Well, whats a person to do while his Empire slowly closes in on him? Like Rod Blagojovich and Bobby Jindal, the best way to divert attention is to bring up the sex offender issue. Ron Book is President of an organization that bears his daughter's name (Lauren's Kids). An organization that lobbied for a law named for Lauren which, among efforts to deny the accused the right to a fair trial, also put $1.5 MILLION DOLLARS into an already fully funded program. Book is denying he asked for that money while admitting he asked for TWICE as much. Well, you can always use that money to shelter those Bookville residents now forced to sleep in the parking lots at the Florida Dept. of Corrections:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/nonprofit-run-by-lobbyist-ron-books-daughter-nets-15-million-but-not-for/1169436

TALLAHASSEE — It pays to be the daughter of a super lobbyist, but things can get complicated.

In the final days of the legislative session, lawmakers amended a bill to protect children from sexual abuse that gave $1.5 million to Lauren's Kids, a nonprofit run by the daughter of Ron Book, the Tallahassee uber-lobbyist from Miami.

The problem is, according to all accounts, neither of the Books asked for the money. The bill, HB 215, says the money must be used to finance a 24-hour abuse hotline and pay for sexual abuse prevention education in schools — programs already offered by Lauren's Kids without state funding.

The money the Books did ask for but did not receive: $3 million to finance the cost of relocating victims of sexual assault who are too threatened to remain at home. Instead, the late-session allocation was tacked onto a bill victim advocates had worked on all year. Among other things, the bill limits a defendant's access to child pornography evidence, allows the admission of prior sexual crimes as evidence and ensures the HIV testing of sex offenders.

The House sponsor, Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, says the House objected after the Attorney General's Office raised concerns that the Senate plan to put $3 million into the victims relocation fund would not be enough to pay for relocation of sexual abuse victims. It didn't want to risk running out of money and having to tap funds for a current program that pays for relocation costs of domestic abuse victims. Book and other supporters disagreed, but the House wouldn't back down. "There is no denying our staff had trouble with that,'' Dorworth said. But he quickly added: "The language didn't originate in the House."

No one disputes the issue got attention from House and Senate leadership because it had Book's name attached.

The commenters are showing how South Floridians are catching on to the corruption:

geoteacher May 13, 2011 4:17 PM

Corruption Period! Paying off legislators with taxpayer funding Repbulican friends. What a way to do business. Let's ask Bondi to put them in jail? Nah, can't do that, she is a Republican.

JohnQCitizenMD May 13, 2011 3:55 PM

Shenanigans, period.

seminolebuck1 May 13, 2011 5:05 PM

can you say "bribery"? Ronnie is super scummy!

JohnQCitizenMD May 13, 2011 6:14 PM

Here are your Republicans being fiscal hawks. The area they demand the money be used in (1.5 MILLION) is already being funded without state aid. This is right up there with the Taj Mahal.

sundog May 13, 2011 9:39 PM

another fine example of the florida legislative branch's complete sense of entitlement fueled by self interest and their never ending quest for personal power and especially personal profit.

FL Geezer May 14, 2011 3:21 AM

Let's see. About 20 Large for Hari-dope's Senate campaign gets you $1,500,000 from Hari-dope's "Money Pit." What a country !!!

seminolebuck1 May 14, 2011 11:06 AM

how long is Ronnie gonna milk his daughter's misfortune?

mattgordonmd May 15, 2011 12:08 AM

"It's always going to be difficult when a high-priced lobbyist advocates for or against something, but that doesn't make it bad,'' said Book"

- Ron, you are being disingenuous. The bill that granted your daughter's "foundation" $1.5M did not write itself. Indeed, it is very "bad" when a bill is passed and the author is anonymous. Perhaps it was intended as a "gift" from the state "pot" of spare money? The pols claimed money was tight, budgets were being trimmed, worthwhile programs defunded... yet, there is a "pot" of money not yet allocated?

With very few exceptions, this is the most untrustworthy group of legislators Florida has had the displeasure of being violated by in a long time. If their sociopathy continues at this pace, then the next session should be held at the mental hospital in Chattahoochee.

Realist 1 May 17, 2011 7:58 AM

It is not his daughters Ron is the president of the non profit.

Follow The Leader: As usual, Daddy Book takes charge, with Lauren behind him.

One of the happiest days of my life will be the day all those corruption finally catches up to Ron Book. At a time when the economy is at an all time low, do we need to give our money to rich (and corrupt) people who can blow a cool million on a wedding that barely lasted a full year while rubbing it in to those they forced to live under bridge? I'd like to "walk in your shoes" but I'm not a rich family, just another guy with a criminal record. Well we have ONE thing in common.