Thank God. Maybe they'll let me know where I put my car keys.

Let 'em watch. *shrug* It'll only put them to sleep.

I'd be for it so long as no evidence they discover could be used against you unless they could prove that they had probable cause to watch you. If a "fruit of the poisonous tree" argument would apply, I see no harm. It removes any incentive they have to abuse the system.

I'm for it because many wise people have taught me over the past few years that people with nothing to hide have nothing to worry about.

Let's just hope that all Americans have less and less to worry about with every passing day from now on.

Christ.

Good bye probable cause hello creeping in Orwellian society.

Well duh, right?

People who aren't breaking the law have nothing to worry about. After all, can trust the government at all times, with all things. Not like this has been abused in the past...

/maybe they should have waited to see if they were getting a Republican into office before passing this one. Just thinking maybe you don't hand a bat to someone until you know how they'll use it...

from an AP article referenced in the Slashdot post:

As described by some law enforcement officials, the new policy would let agents open preliminary terrorism investigations after mining public records and intelligence to build a profile of traits that, taken together, were deemed suspicious.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the rules, said factors that could trigger an inquiry would include travel to regions of the world known for terrorist activity and access to weapons or military training, along with the person's race or ethnicity.

We know from an article in the last few days that bicycles are considered terrorist weapons by the Denver Police. And travel to regions of the world known for terrorist activity would obviously include the USA, so just staying here and riding your bicycle could put you on their watch list.

God help you if they find out you have access to Fark.

hubiestubert: People who aren't breaking the law have nothing to worry about. After all, can trust the government at all times, with all things. Not like this has been abused in the past...

This "terror watch list" thing purportedly contains 400,000 people on it. Those who are on that list--most don't even know they're on it--already will find their freedom hindered, particularly when they try to board a plane, and that's likely only the beginning.

Way to circumvent the judicial system entirely and persecute American citizens directly.

The worst part is, the citizenry is allowing this Orwellian creep to continue. We (myself included) sit around and biatch about it, but then we keep voting in the same bosses. We really need to clean houses with these sumbiatches and start over.

hubiestubert: Well duh, right?

People who aren't breaking the law have nothing to worry about. After all, can trust the government at all times, with all things. Not like this has been abused in the past...

/maybe they should have waited to see if they were getting a Republican into office before passing this one. Just thinking maybe you don't hand a bat to someone until you know how they'll use it...

I can't wait to get my stun baton. I'll wear a goofy gas helmet with a voice box, and zap you to the ground in your V mask, if you don't move along when I say so.

Razorwolf: hubiestubert: Well duh, right?

People who aren't breaking the law have nothing to worry about. After all, can trust the government at all times, with all things. Not like this has been abused in the past...

/maybe they should have waited to see if they were getting a Republican into office before passing this one. Just thinking maybe you don't hand a bat to someone until you know how they'll use it...

I can't wait to get my stun baton. I'll wear a goofy gas helmet with a voice box, and zap you to the ground in your V mask, if you don't move along when I say so.

Citizen, that is "friendly condemnation."

Proceed to the Re-Education Center immediately...

Another thought, the whole "if you aren't doing anything wrong then you don't have anything to worry about" line. Well, see that's exactly how things like this are accepted.

One day you may very well wake up and realize that something you're doing is now suddenly considered wrong. By then, there will be nothing you can do about it.

make me some tea: Another thought, the whole "if you aren't doing anything wrong then you don't have anything to worry about" line. Well, see that's exactly how things like this are accepted.

One day you may very well wake up and realize that something you're doing is now suddenly considered wrong. By then, there will be nothing you can do about it.

make me some tea: Another thought, the whole "if you aren't doing anything wrong then you don't have anything to worry about" line. Well, see that's exactly how things like this are accepted.

One day you may very well wake up and realize that something you're doing is now suddenly considered wrong. By then, there will be nothing you can do about it.

That depends on who is in office. Guarantee you, the moment you see a Democrat in the White House, about to get his own people into DOJ, you're going to see pundits galore hop all over this as a wild abuse of power.

make me some tea: This "terror watch list" thing purportedly contains 400,000 people on it. Those who are on that list--most don't even know they're on it--already will find their freedom hindered, particularly when they try to board a plane, and that's likely only the beginning.

The ACLU currently believes the "no-fly" list has over 1 million names on it.

Countdown to copy on Wikileaks in 3.. 2.. 1..

hubiestubert: That depends on who is in office. Guarantee you, the moment you see a Democrat in the White House, about to get his own people into DOJ, you're going to see pundits galore hop all over this as a wild abuse of power.

Oh, you know it. I can already hear ol' Rush salivating at the thought of Obama getting elected.

I should ask them what the Porn/Fark ratio is.

abb3w: ...now, WAVE HELLO!

What's all that?

I totally feel safer now. I won't feel completely safe until all of our homes have CCTV installed.

Just to make sure we're all doing our daily exercises.

/pass the Victory gin...

hubiestubert: Razorwolf: hubiestubert: Well duh, right?

People who aren't breaking the law have nothing to worry about. After all, can trust the government at all times, with all things. Not like this has been abused in the past...

/maybe they should have waited to see if they were getting a Republican into office before passing this one. Just thinking maybe you don't hand a bat to someone until you know how they'll use it...

I can't wait to get my stun baton. I'll wear a goofy gas helmet with a voice box, and zap you to the ground in your V mask, if you don't move along when I say so.

Citizen, that is "friendly condemnation."

Proceed to the Re-Education Center immediately...

Move along.

Why is it so onerous to get a warrant?

We're learning from others.


/this is not in the least bit Orwellian

make me some tea: What's all that?

Various gibberish alleged to be able to get the attention of the NSA line eater (with one or two... oddities thrown in). TFA concerns just one more step down along an already much-traveled road.

KaponoFor3: I'd be for it so long as no evidence they discover could be used against you unless they could prove that they had probable cause to watch you. If a "fruit of the poisonous tree" argument would apply, I see no harm. It removes any incentive they have to abuse the system.

Wow. That's farked up. I mean really, really farked up.

smeegle: Good bye probable cause hello creeping in Orwellian society.

It didn't happen in 1984 so Orwell was wrong. Drop that book into the Memory Hole and forget about Orwell.

And again, the innocent have nothing to fear. Legal mechanisms like this one are designed to catch actual criminals quickly without having to jump through hoops of bureaucracy.

skookum: And again, the innocent have nothing to fear. Legal mechanisms like this one are designed to catch actual criminals quickly without having to jump through hoops of bureaucracy.

Is that the new term for the Constitution these days?

skookum: And again, the innocent have nothing to fear.

The FBI reserves the right to define "innocent" as it sees fit.

You have been warned.

Boy, I'm so glad we voted conservative to keep the government small. Imagine what life would be like if we hadn't gotten that tax cut.

Soon only oddly-named celebritard spawn will be able to board commercial flights.

Peter von Nostrand: skookum: And again, the innocent have nothing to fear. Legal mechanisms like this one are designed to catch actual criminals quickly without having to jump through hoops of bureaucracy.

The fact is that this mechanism will more than come in handy someday when an actual threat is neutralized because of it.

make me some tea: hubiestubert: People who aren't breaking the law have nothing to worry about. After all, can trust the government at all times, with all things. Not like this has been abused in the past...

This "terror watch list" thing purportedly contains 400,000 people on it. Those who are on that list--most don't even know they're on it--already will find their freedom hindered, particularly when they try to board a plane, and that's likely only the beginning.

Way to circumvent the judicial system entirely and persecute American citizens directly.

The worst part is, the citizenry is allowing this Orwellian creep to continue. We (myself included) sit around and biatch about it, but then we keep voting in the same bosses. We really need to clean houses with these sumbiatches and start over.

Well, unless you've got a pocket army of about 10,000 people or so, good luck to you. Because I guarantee that if there are less than 100 of you and you start talking seriously, you will be denounced as terrorists and blackbagged.

PS: When the party gets to pick who you vote for, does your vote really mean anything?

Whenever a database is created, it will be used in ways that were never initially intended.

funny how fbi director mueller took over the fbi a week before 9/11

/still waiting for the fbi to release all the videos of the pentagon attack of 9/11

Lionel Mandrake: The FBI reserves the right to define "innocent" as it sees fit.

And your overcompensative paranoid attitude aside, the truth is that 99.9% of Americans would be going about their business with a mechanism like this in place.

Actual investigations would focus on actual persons of interest.

Snarfangel: Thank God. Maybe they'll let me know where I put my car keys.

I once read about some guy who was writing his autobiography and couldn't remember everything he did from the 1960s. He filed a freedom of information act request to get his FBI file so he could fill in the gaps.

skookum: Peter von Nostrand: skookum: And again, the innocent have nothing to fear. Legal mechanisms like this one are designed to catch actual criminals quickly without having to jump through hoops of bureaucracy.

The fact is that this mechanism will more than come in handy someday when an actual threat is neutralized because of it.

I'm not trying to be obtuse but this line of thinking is pathetic. And, again, I'm not trying to be rude.

skookum: Lionel Mandrake: The FBI reserves the right to define "innocent" as it sees fit.

And your overcompensative paranoid attitude aside, the truth is that 99.9% of Americans would be going about their business with a mechanism like this in place.

Actual investigations would focus on actual persons of interest.

I'm interested in restraining people who say "overcompensative." Any chance my tax dollars could be used to create a special task force to round up these people and send them to grammar re-education camps?

Ceiling Feds are watching you masturbate.

Doesn't this use up resources that could otherwise be used to, oh, I dunno... spy on actual criminals?

A baby born in the US today is over $30,000 in debt before their first breath, at greater risk of infant mortality than most any first world country, is surrounding by polluted air and dying oceans, and is a suspect in what was called "the free world". We can do better than that.

skookum: And your overcompensative paranoid attitude aside, the truth is that 99.9% of Americans would be going about their business with a mechanism like this in place.

Actual investigations would focus on actual persons of interest.

The law of very large numbers: Any fraction of a sufficiently large number is still a large number.

So, you're ok with 300,000 law abiding Americans being targeted for investigation by the FBI? You would be happy to pay higher taxes to fund those investigations?

The problem with asshat policies like this is, the folk who you want to catch know what's going on and side-step it. For example: the flight watchlist and folks using variations of their names to simply avoid being snagged.

make me some tea: abb3w: ...now, WAVE HELLO!

What's all that?

It's a reminder that it's been alleged that abb3w is a notorious foot tapper

Bucky Katt: Snarfangel: Thank God. Maybe they'll let me know where I put my car keys.

I once read about some guy who was writing his autobiography and couldn't remember everything he did from the 1960s. He filed a freedom of information act request to get his FBI file so he could fill in the gaps.

I think there was a guy on the Daily Show a week or two ago kinda like that. He decided to write his autobiography as just another journalism piece (he's an investigative journalist), so instead of using any of his own memories, he tracked down documents, sources, etc.

/When Obama becomes president, Skookum's name goes to the top of the list

sinanju: skookum: And your overcompensative paranoid attitude aside, the truth is that 99.9% of Americans would be going about their business with a mechanism like this in place.

Actual investigations would focus on actual persons of interest.

The law of very large numbers: Any fraction of a sufficiently large number is still a large number.

So, you're ok with 300,000 law abiding Americans being targeted for investigation by the FBI? You would be happy to pay higher taxes to fund those investigations?

The problem with asshat policies like this is, the folk who you want to catch know what's going on and side-step it. For example: the flight watchlist and folks using variations of their names to simply avoid being snagged.

One must remember that the terrorists hate us for our freedoms so if they take away our freedoms they won't hate us anymore. What could possibly go wrong?

masterskip: Ceiling Feds are watching you masturbate.

Not any more.

/Finished about a half hour ago.

Peter von Nostrand:
One must remember that the terrorists hate us for our freedoms so if they take away our freedoms they won't hate us anymore. What could possibly go wrong?

Exactly. The only way the gubmint can safeguard our freedoms is if we hand them over for safe keeping.

We had this crap with Hoover's FBI... they investigated everybody while denying the mafia even existed -- tough-guy image on the outside and women's underwear on the inside. Actually investigating based on evidence has gotten us so much farther since then.