We usually don't re-publish material in full, but this was too good to cut up. A Tim Fox for Attorney General email from yesterday:

Throughout this campaign, I've been very vocal about my plans to get tough on sex predators in Montana. It's an issue that I'm extremely concerned about, and I've recently outlined a three-part plan to modernize Montana's laws to address the growing problem of cyber-predators, increase policing power to track down sexual offenders, and implement a comprehensive education program for kids and parents.

Yesterday my opponent attacked me for my positions on sex predators. They're saying that I'm using scare tactics and that the dangers presented by sexual offenders aren't as serious as I make them out to be. It's incomprehensible to me that they would minimize those dangers; that they would say that it's really not that big of a deal. And it's chilling that Steve Bullock would take that casual attitude with him if he's elected to be our state's next top law enforcement official.

keep hearing reports that some convicted sexual offenders keep track of how aggressive states are with managing their sex offender registries and policing online. I don't want Montana to be a "safe haven" for sex predators.

Steve Bullock just doesn't get it. Sex predators are a big deal, and they present a growing danger to Montana's kids. Every day more and more children are sexually solicited online. Every day kids are abused by sex predators they unwittingly meet on sites like Myspace. Every day we have sexual offenders moving into Montana communities.

Steve Bullock must not read the same news that I read. If he did, there'd be no way that he'd so cavalierly minimize the threats that they pose. Well, Steve, here's a few of the most outrageous articles just from this past month that should start to help you wake up to the seriousness of this issue:

• Forsyth, MT. 9/30/08 - "An Internet-based investigation led to the arrest of a Forsyth man Saturday on suspicion of sexual intercourse without consent... Samuel Casey, 30, met a 14-year-old girl through MySpace, a social networking Web site. He allegedly traveled to Spearfish, S.D., last weekend and brought her back to Forsyth... Casey likely faces additional federal charges for transporting the girl across state lines." Click for full article"

• Indianapolis, IN. 9/29/08 - "A convicted sex offender died Sunday during a struggle with a father who found the naked man in or near his 17-year-old daughter's bedroom... Police said (52-year-old David T.) Meyers was naked except for a mask and latex gloves and had entered the home through a window near the girl's bedroom with rope, condoms and a knife...Police did not anticipate any charges against (the father)." Click for full article.

• Helena, MT. 9/24/08 - "A 37-year-old Helena man who had sex numerous times with a 13-year-old girl and photographed her in a sexual act last year was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to a 196-month prison term... After initially meeting the girl, Dietz tracked her down through her MySpace account online and spoke with her about sexually explicit matters...He used his computer and cell phone to entice the girl into sexual activity, according to federal court documents." Click here for full article.

• Florence, MT . 9/12/08 - "A judge says an 18-year-old sex offender must move out of his grandmother's home next to a Florence school...Jerry Jerome Little's sentence was modified this week to make it clear he cannot live within 1,500 feet of a school or day care center...Little was convicted in 2006 and designated by the state as a sexually violent predator." Click for full article.

• Phoenix, AZ. 9/10/08 - "A sex offender who posed as a boy while enrolling in charter schools has pleaded guilty to seven charges... Authorities don't believe Neil Havens Rodreick II, 30, sexually abused any children at the schools, just attended classes and befriended them...Rodreick was caught on Jan. 17, 2007 after spending a day in the seventh grade at a Chino Valley school posing as a 12-year-old. Authorities said Rodreick powdered his face and shaved his body to look younger." Click for full article.

Go get 'em Tim!

Keep an eye on the Democrat candidates for Attorney General, especially Steve Bullock and Mike Wheat.  Many consider Wheat the frontrunner on account of his close ties to the resource-rich trial lawyers.  However, Bullock has outraised Wheat during each of the first two finance periods.  Wheat has the ability to put more personal dollars into his race (he's already chipped in $30k), but Bullock may be able to neutralize that advantage if he can keep up his fundraising pace.

The X factor in this race may be Gov. Schweitzer.  Schweitzer worked closely with Wheat during the latter's days in the Montana Senate, but Bullock has close ties to Schweizer as well, serving as his campaign lawyer in 2004.  These days, the Democratic Party seems to go wherever Schweitzer wills it, and we'll see if the Gov is going to throw his weight behind one of the AG contenders.