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Local eyes: fixed on you! By: Tan Williams  |
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 Your local police, firefighters and paramedics are keeping an eye on the communities they serve, just not the way you think. As part of the Bush administration assault on civil liberties, now even the local authorities are out collecting information for the government on the activities of average citizens.
That’s right, everyone from the traffic cop to the utility worker could and very well may be a “terrorism liaison officer” in the service of the government to record and report on any citizen they personally believe to be involved in suspicious activity.
So what is suspicious activity worthy of reporting? A justice Department memo suggest things such as “taking photos with no apparent aesthetic value.” Yep, even bad photographers have got to watch their back. But that’s not the worst of it. The same Department memo also lists individuals who are “making notes” as involved in suspicious activity.
And that’s only outside your home. Heaven forbid they come inside, because it is rumored that firefighters are to be on the lookout while combating fires for individuals who possess questionable reading material. What constitutes questionable reading material? besides half the books in my personal book collection, is any material that the firefighter personally believes to be questionable.
But wait there’s more. The program is currently being expanded to include health care professionals and members of the telecommunications industry.
So what happens to all the data collected?
That data is sent to unknown entities in our government and put into databases that are accessed by unknown persons for unknown reasons.
Why is this important? Because the 4th amendment has been suspended for cases of terrorism, and this program greatly expands the definition of who is and who is not a terrorist.
Think this doesn’t affect you? Think again. Currently 7 States are openly employing terrorism liaison officers, with more States getting ready to sign on. And the worst part, no oversight. Anything these officers believe to be terrorism becomes terrorism, and those who are accused are never made aware of the charges brought against them.
Still thinking that it’s not such a bad deal? Than just ask a Jew who survived the Holocaust how the same type of secret intelligence worked for Germany.
When in doubt, always think back to the quote attributed to Sinclair Lewis, “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.”
Time is running out. There’s never been a better time to fight for freedom. So get to work!
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