Mrs. Johnson:
Jasper County, IA, previously produced evidence of failing to prosecute and protect the Complainant’s rights regarding evidence of a domestic abuse protection order violation in August 2019. Numerous documents I have received from school districts in the States of Iowa and Montana show this led to an Education Director of Iowa State University concealing my children from court-ordered appearances in San Diego, CA, that coordinates field trips for Iowa public school children. Honorable Judge Martin of San Diego East County Superior Court case: ED100465 ordered these children to appear and provide their testimony on 05 JUN 2019 (DV-116) regarding the allegations of sexual abuse Claudia J. Bergman and her conspirators utilized to conceal these children. At the same time, Claudia J. Bergman used these allegations of sexual abuse on 17 MAY 2019 to acquire a DVRO; she brought 0 evidence to the court on 05 JUN 2019 to support. San Diego East County Superior Court ultimately documented on 16 SEP 2021 that there is zero evidence to support these heinous malicious allegations.
In June 2022 (during this election year), elected leaders of Jasper County, IA, produced evidence of blocking the Complainant on social media while introducing a variable that has abridged, restrained, and halted my public testimony from being indexed and viewed with their public government body Facebook Pages (shown on their official website) by other Jasper County, IA citizens.
Upon receiving an inadequate response from Jasper County, IA, regarding the records requested, including the list of Facebook users Jasper County, IA, currently has blocked on social media, I filed a complaint with the Iowa Public Information Board.
You submitted a Dismissal Order for Iowa Public Information Board case: 22FC:0091 on 11 OCT 2022 while communicating, “Public records are defined in Iowa Code section 22.1(3)(a) as records “stored or preserved in any medium, of or belonging to… any county…..” If the government body does not store or preserve a specific record, then there is a no record to be released to a record requester.”; “The Jasper County attorney contacted the IPIB on September 16, 2022, and filed a response on September 22, 2022. In response to the complaint, the County attorney stated that the County “has no such list.” It does not exist anywhere. There is no “public record” of such a list kept anywhere in Jasper County, including in its computer systems. Because such a list does not exist, it is impossible to comply with Mr. Merritt’s request.” The Iowa Public Information Board did not provide the Complainant any evidence of any interaction between Jasper County, IA, and the Iowa Public Information Board until 06 OCT 2022, followed by a Dismissal order three business days later on 11 OCT 2022.
What did Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson communicate to the IPIB on 16 SEP 2022, Mrs. Johnson? Evidence indicates the IPIB failed to forward this conversation record to the Complainant.
The problem with this misrepresentation of facts by Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson is that the electronic mail he provided the Complainant in a previous open records response earlier this year is not stored and preserved on information systems owned and maintained by Jasper County, IA. The electronic mail Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson provided “does not exist anywhere” in Jasper County, IA, “including its computer systems. Public DNS records show Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson’s electronic mail is hosted on information systems owned and operated by Microsoft Corporation located in their data centers (Microsoft 365).
Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson’s electronic mail address is: general@jaspercoatty.org
Domain hosting electronic mail for the Jasper County, IA Attorney’s office: jaspercoatty.org
Publicly available DNS records show that Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson’s electronic mail is hosted at: jaspercoatty-org.mail.protection.outlook.com – 104.47.64.110 – Microsoft Corp.
Host information for one of the Complainant’s domains at Microsoft’s Microsoft 365 Business admin portal: 0 castlephoenix-com.mail.protection.outlook.com
This displays evidence that Jasper County, IA, Attorney Nicholson hosts all of his electronic mail for his law office with Microsoft Corporation’s cloud-based service Microsoft 365 Business. Providing evidence that Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson’s electronic mail is not in his custody, and he chooses to store and preserve his electronic mail and other office data on servers owned and operated by Microsoft Corporation located in their corporate data centers. Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson has access to these records he previously provided the Complainant in the same way he has access to the Jasper County, IA Facebook Page Block List. Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson navigates to a hosted environment on his local Jasper County, IA maintained computer and views data populated by information system service providers Jasper County, IA has entered into a Terms of Service or other contractual agreement to maintain their data to perform the people’s work and provide additional public accommodations to Jasper County, IA citizens. Naturally, the obvious question produced in this case is why Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson released records in accordance with Iowa Code Chapter 22 that evidence indicates he stores and preserves on information systems owned and operated by Microsoft Corporation located in their data centers. At the same time, he produces evidence of refusing to provide or acknowledge the existence of records that allegedly show evidence of political corruption that belong to Jasper County, IA they produced that Jasper County, IA chose to store and preserve on information systems owned and operated by Meta Platforms, Inc (Facebook) located in their data centers (possibly located in Altoona, IA). Second, why Iowa Public Information Board Executive Director Margaret Johnson would dismiss a case against Jasper County, IA when the argument provided by County Attorney Nicholson is so easily dismantled? At the same time, publicly available evidence indicates the Iowa Public Information Board also maintains a Facebook Page accommodating Iowa citizens indicating she should know this platform. At the same time the Executive Director of the IPIB acknowledges she understands what a public record is as defined by Iowa Code Chapter 22:
“3. a. “Public records” includes all records, documents, tape, or other information, stored or preserved in any medium, of or belonging to this state or any county, city, township, school corporation, political subdivision, nonprofit corporation other than a fair conducting a fair event as provided in chapter 174, whose facilities or indebtedness are supported in whole or in part with property tax revenue and which is licensed to conduct pari-mutuel wagering pursuant to chapter 99D, or tax-supported district in this state, or any branch, department, board, bureau, commission, council, or committee of any of the foregoing.”
Jasper County, IA, establishes ownership of its Facebook page on its official website and on its Facebook Page by communicating:
https://www.facebook.com/JasperCountyIowa/
“Official Facebook page for Jasper County, IA government. Not monitored 24/7.”
Mrs. Johnson how do you reconcile any records produced by authorized personnel within Jasper County, IA, on a leased, contracted, or terms of service Jasper County, IA, has agreed to regarding commercial information systems, information services, accounts, or webpages utilized and supported by tax funds to accomplish the people’s work not belonging to Jasper County, IA? It would seem logical to initiate a record request with Jasper County, IA, regarding the identities of personnel that administer the social media assets maintained by Jasper County, IA, and determine by their annual income the cost to Jasper County, IA citizens that are produced to maintain content that you are articulating does not belong to Jasper County, IA. At the same time, Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson articulates, as you quoted, “has no such list.” It does not exist anywhere. There is no ‘public record’ of such a list kept anywhere in Jasper County, including in its computer systems. Because such a list does not exist, it is impossible to comply with Mr. Merritt’s request” The problem with Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson’s assertion is that the Facebook Block does exist on computers located within Jasper County, IA, in the same manner, the electronic mail public records he has already provided. The information requested is produced on their computer monitors from data hosted on information systems maintained and operated by Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook) located in their data centers in the same way electronic mail Jasper County, IA Attorney Nicholson already provided in response to a previous record request in accordance with Iowa Code Chapter 22 evidence indicates are stored and preserved on information systems owned and operated by Microsoft Corporation located in their data centers.
Mrs. Johnson you previously communicated your electronic mail is a public record. However, public DNS records show the State of Iowa (iowa.gov) does not store and preserve its electronic mail. Instead, public DNS records provide evidence your electronic mail is stored and preserved on information systems owned and operated by Google LLC located in their data centers (Google Workspace).
– – – mx:iowa.gov
1 d.gov-servers.net 81.19.194.30 NON-AUTH 3 ms Received 6 Referrals , rcode=NO_ERROR iowa.gov. 86400 IN NS a11-67.akam.net,iowa.gov. 86400 IN NS a16-66.akam.net,iowa.gov. 86400 IN NS a26-66.akam.net,iowa.gov. 86400 IN NS a13-65.akam.net,iowa.gov. 86400 IN NS a24-67.akam.net,iowa.gov. 86400 IN NS a1-195.akam.net,
2 a24-67.akam.net 2.16.130.67 AUTH 245 ms Received 5 Answers , rcode=NO_ERROR iowa.gov. 3600 IN MX 10 alt4.aspmx.l.google.com,iowa.gov. 3600 IN MX 5 alt1.aspmx.l.google.com,iowa.gov. 3600 IN MX 5 alt2.aspmx.l.google.com,iowa.gov. 3600 IN MX 1 aspmx.l.google.com,iowa.gov. 3600 IN MX 10 alt3.aspmx.l.google.com,
LookupServer 943ms
The historical evidence some government bodies in the State of Iowa have produced in this case indicating tyranny, lies, misrepresentation, inconsistency, and public records concealment is a mission that I will not turn away from until I have corrected evidence of these failures the State of Iowa has produced showing a failed state of transparency. While evidence indicates many government bodies in the State of Iowa completely lack any form of the spirit of Iowa Code Chapter 22 as articulated by the Iowa Supreme Court and this state’s legislature.
The age-old question asks, “Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?” My passion, my honor, courage, and commitment that drives me every day to expose evidence of the tyranny and negligence in this state that destroyed the lives of my children (and will destroy the lives of future children) is produced in a spiritual reactor that exists in my soul. A passion that will not allow me to fail because of the pain I feel everyday from not being able to process the loss of my children and a star in the northern sky that showed me what love is for the first time who was and will always be my first best friend.
At the next Iowa Public Information Board, I will be standing by personally to listen to you explain to the Iowa Public Information Board why you are allowing Jasper County, IA, Attorney Nicholson to conceal evidence of political corruption in the form of electronic records that belong to Jasper County, IA they produced on information systems owned and operated by Meta Platforms, Inc’s data centers. At the same time, both the State of Iowa and Jasper County, IA, have produced evidence indicating that digital records belonging to and produced by your respective government bodies are public records. At the same time, evidence suggests they are stored and preserved on information systems owned and operated by Google LLC and Microsoft Corporation located in their data centers.
Mrs. Johnson, I respectfully submit, it would seem based upon your interpretation of Iowa Code Chapter 22.1(3)(a) in this case, and evidence supporting the conclusion government bodies are evolving to a paradigm regarding storing and preserving their data on commercial cloud-based information systems located in commercial data centers that are leased, contracted, or used in accordance with a terms of service as agreed upon between a commercial entity and a government body you might be putting yourself out of a job.
It would seem you have successfully dismantled the purpose and spirit of Iowa Code Chapter 22 in one single decision by concluding if electronic-based records are not stored or preserved in a government body facility or government body-maintained information system. At the same time, evidence indicates many government bodies in the State of Iowa store and preserve their electronic records on commercially owned and operated cloud-based information systems. Your conclusion and interpretation in your Dismissal Order for case: 22FC:0091 indicates there are not going to be as many public records released to citizens in 2022 as there would have been in the days of paper records and on-premises file cabinets. It would seem the solution, in this case, would be to reevaluate your decision and make it consistent with other decisions the Iowa Public Information Board has released regarding cases involving electronic-based records that were stored or preserved on information systems owned and operated by a commercial entity located in a commercial data center. At the same time, the government body accessed those records through local government body computers presenting hosted data stored and preserved on commercial information systems located in commercial data centers.
I will continue to move and wait with honor, courage, and commitment with respect for the Iowa Code while those who have produced evidence of actions that violate or misrepresent our laws condemn themselves in the metaphysical courts of their own Waterloo.
The metaphysical battlefield I have chosen is not necessarily focused on the pain some of my fellow citizens have caused my children and I. Instead, it is a place where my adversaries are surrounded by evidence of their historical actions that were executed to conceal evidence of negligence and unethical acts they executed to conceal how that pain was produced.
Respectfully,
Michael J. Merritt, USN Retired/Writer
Founder: cipherphoenix.com
Creative Writer/Musician
Information Warfare Specialist
Information Systems Manager
PO BOX 187
Newton, IA 50208
cipher.hunter@cipherphoenix.com
“The study of Ethics is a pursuit of understanding the philosophical nature of right and wrong in its most perfect form.
A society’s justice system is an ever-evolving pursuit of that perfection.
Corruption is the cultural, political, or personal bias that overrules and interferes with that system.”
Pyrebird
