Policies

Since starting this blog, I've gotten a lot of attention, which is fun, but also a lot more less-than-charming communications from certain mouth-breathers who glory in the anonymity of the internet, which is not so fun...so anyway, here are the policies for Sunshine State Sarah.  Subject to change at any time, for any reason, in my sole discretion.  Don't like it?  Get your own website.  Blogspot is free.

Free Speech

First and foremost, I direct you to the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment.  If you aren't familiar with these great documents, then there's little point in you reading anything else on this site, or  any further efforts on my part to explain anything to you. 

I believe very strongly in my right to free speech.  I believe in your right to free speech too, but remember this is my blog, not yours.  If you don't like what I'm saying here, start your own website.  This site is my personal, individual opinion only.  Nothing I write here should be attributed to any other person, company, or organization. 

I am not a professional or paid journalist, nor do I pretend to be.  I generally try to cite to references and evidence when I have them handy, but this is an opinion site, not a scholarly thesis, and sometimes I am simply writing from the heart about my general feelings on an issue,  or commenting on something I found amusing, and won't always have comprehensive footnotes to back up every little thought.  If you see something on this site that is incorrect, misrepresented, or otherwise inaccurate, then let me know, and I'll consider making a correction.  My willingness to make corrections will be directly related to your ability to communicate without name-calling, profanity, or abusive language.

This blog is intended to express my personal opinion only,  Everything here is wholly independent of and is not authorized by any company, political party, candidate, candidate's committee, or any other individual or organization, and is independent from my legal practice, my consulting work, my employer, my family, any of my business partners, and any candidates or clients who I represent or have represented in the past. Nothing on this blog should be construed as legal advice or as an agreement or offer to provide legal representation to any person or entity.

Endorsements and Favoritism 

UPDATE August 2013: I am no longer going to be issuing endorsements directly on this site due to some new activities in which I'm involved. I leave the policy language below posted here in an effort to be transparent about my past policy on endorsements. You can safely assume that I will be personally voting for candidates who honor the principles I've always supported: fiscal conservatism, ethical transparency, and responsible government.

I am under no obligation to give equal or fair coverage, to remain unbiased, or to refrain from promoting one candidate over another. I have openly disclosed an official list of endorsed candidates, and have strong opinions about many other races. I am intentionally "unfair" in how I cover the candidates on this site.  

I have not taken, and will never take, any financial compensation for my endorsement.  If a candidate hires me as an attorney or as a political consultant, that takes place only after I have decided to personally endorse that candidate. I would make more money if I were willing to work for whoever showed up first with a check, but I refuse to have any conflicts between my personal political convictions and my business practices. 

If you are a candidate or working on the campaign of a candidate in a race where I have not already endorsed anyone, my number one rule for official endorsements is that I don't endorse anyone unless I've met them in person. Due to common requirements for involvement in Republican organizations, in most cases I cannot endorse Democrats, except in primaries or if no Republican candidate is in the race.

So if the candidate is a Republican (or in certain limited circumstances, nonpartisan or judicial races) and has already met me or you can set up a meeting, then I'm willing to discuss it. I don't necessarily have a black-and-white list of deal-breakers, but in general I would describe my beliefs as fiscally conservative, pro military, a strong advocate of states' rights, supportive of the FairTax and similar tax reform philosophies, and a card-carrying member of the Federalist Society since law school (strict constructionist).  I am a proud native Floridian who appreciates the glorious natural environment that God has provided us.  I think simple, transparent, and common sense environmental regulations are needed to allow economic prosperity while preserving our green spaces. I believe in God and I am strongly pro-life.  I think our government, especially the federal government, is spending way too much money and trying to regulate way too many aspects of our lives, and needs to be sharply reigned in.  I didn't like the overspending and overreaching under Bush, and it's gotten exponentially worse under Obama. My generation, and my future children's and grandchildren's generations, are getting stuck with a debt that is frighteningly unsustainable.  I strongly support the Tea Party Movement but not any of the third party tea parties. I will not work with any candidate or organization that affiliates with or works with Doug Guetzloe, Fred O'Neal, or the "Florida Tea Party" third party.

If your candidate is incompatible with these positions, then it's not worth your time to pursue an endorsement. I have come to these positions after over three decades on this planet, years of collegiate study of politics and history, a law degree, and about a bazillion hours spent reading, watching, questioning, and investigating. Please respect my intelligence and my self-professed stubbornness and realize that you are not going to change my mind.

Advertising policy

There are several Google AdSense ads on this site, and there may from time to time be other paid ads from candidates or businesses on this site.  I publish this blog on my own free time, with my own resources, and any advertising goes to cover my expenses and support my writing.  Your support of my advertisers is appreciated.

I do not necessarily endorse or support any statement or position advocated by any of the ads on this site.  I have made some efforts to filter out the opponents of my endorsed candidates from the AdSense ads, but cannot list every possibility.  If you see something that appears offensive or incompatible with this site, please right click on the ad in question, chose "copy link location" and paste the link into an email to me so I can review the ad.

I may from time to time publish a Sponsored Blog Post. These posts will always be clearly labeled as sponsored. While I review the content of any sponsored post before I publish it, as with any other advertisement, I do not necessarily endorse or support other positions that the sponsor may advocate elsewhere outside my website.

If you would like to advertise on SunshineStateSarah, please contact me with a proposal for ad content, when you would like the ad to run, and a number where I can reach you.  

Privacy Policy
At Sunshine State Sarah, the privacy of my visitors is of extreme importance. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by www.sunshinestatesarah.com and how it is used.

Like many other Web sites, www.sunshinestatesarah.com makes use of log files.  I use this information to optimize the site and its content. I am fairly computer savvy, but honestly, most of this stuff is way beyond my expertise.  I do have several tracking programs like Google Analytics and AddThis running that automatically create these "log files" but I am not actively creating them.  Anyway, the information inside the log files may include internet protocol (IP) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable. 

Sunshine State Sarah does not use cookies, but some of my advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on the site.  My advertising partners  currently include Google Adsense and Amazon Affiliates.  Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on www.sunshinestatesarah.com.  Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to www.sunshinestatesarah.com and other sites on the Internet.   Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following URL: http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html. 

These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to the advertisements and links that appear on www.sunshinestatesarah.com sent directly to your browsers. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. Other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons) may also be used by the third-party ad networks to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and/or to personalize the advertising content that you see.  Sunshine State Sarah has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.

You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices. Sunshine State Sarah's privacy policy does not apply to, and I cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.

If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers' respective websites. 

If you require any more information or have any questions about my privacy policy, please feel free to contact me by email at sarahrumpf at gmail dot com. 

Comments

Comments by other users do not necessarily represent my opinions or positions.  I moderate all comments, and I am the only one who will be allowed to post comments under my name, so if the comment isn't labeled "Sarah Rumpf," it's not my opinion.  I expressly disclaim any responsibility for comments by any other users.  I do not edit comments, they are either published as originally written or rejected in their entirety.

I will not approve any comments that make excessive use of profanity or  that are, in my opinion, threatening, abusive, or just too nutty.  Currently, I allow anonymous comments, but that may change in the future in my sole discretion. I cannot verify the identity of any poster or that the name they declare is actually theirs.  That being said, any obvious attempt to impersonate someone else will result in the comment being deleted.

Limited Permission to Use Content

My writing here is truly a labor of love - and sometimes blood, sweat, and tears - and I value my intellectual property very highly.  I will not hesitate to take the necessary legal steps to protect what I have created.  

That being said, I encourage discussion and constructive criticism.  If you want to use what I've written here, or any of my original photographs, graphics, videos, or any of my other original content, on your own website, paper, radio, or television program, podcast/webcast, or any other media, I hereby grant limited permission to quote or link any content from Sunshine State Sarah, for non-commercial uses only, provided that (1) I am properly attributed as the author (either in my individual name or as Sunshine State Sarah), and (2) a link to this site is provided, or the address www.SunshineStateSarah.com is listed along with any content that is used. All other rights are reserved, and I expressly reserve the right to revoke this permission at any time, for any reason, at my sole discretion.  If you wish to make any other use of the content, contact me.  

Thank You, and God Bless America.