The Government May Install Hidden Cameras on Your Private Property to Spy on You

On rural lands, it is legal for government agencies to secretly come onto your private property without a warrant and install hidden cameras to spy on you. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach ruled that it was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to trespass on Marco Magana's rural private property, install hidden cameras, and spy on him and Manuel Mendoza. The argument is that rural private property is not covered under the Fourth Amendment. Magana and Mendoza are now facing life imprisonment for being marijuana farmers.

Read Declan McCullagh's full story on CNET.

The National Sheriffs' Association Wants Internet Data Retention Rules

The National Sheriffs' Association wants more control over Internet service providers by requiring ISPs keep records of Internet usage for a minimum of eighteen months. This is all being done under the guise of fighting child pornography, but it could affect anyone who uses the Internet.  This further invasion of privacy, which is to be imposed on private companies and presumably at their own expense, is going to make it much easier for all sorts of government agencies to spy on you. 

Hey, here's an idea.  If child pornography is such a big problem, maybe we should stop constantly letting the sex offenders out of prison.  If we keep more perverts in jail and away from kids and computers, maybe a lot the child pornography problems will go away.

Click below to read Declan McCullagh's full article on CNET News.
"Police: Internet Providers Must Keep User Logs"

Monitoring America

The Washington Post is running an excellent, in-depth article about extensive surveillance of ordinary Americans. The article, "Monitoring America," by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin details a vast network of databases, computers systems, and information-sharing programs used by law enforcement to watch and track virtually everyone in a broad variety of ways such as facial scans, license plate scans, cellphone tracking, civilian reports, undercover infiltrations of activists groups, FBI files, etc.

Waste Watch Gets Your Garbage Man to Spy on You

Depending on where you live, your garbage man probably comes by your home once or twice each week or so. While you are inside sleeping, showering, or eating breakfast, your garbage man is out by the curb handling your trash. What you may not know is that your garbage man may be spying on you.

A program know as Waste Watch trains garbage men how to observe suspicious behavior on their routes and report this behavior. Authorities can then investigate the reports and see if a crime is about to be committed.

Sure, Waste Watch sounds like a practical enhancement to law enforcement, but having civilians actively spy on other civilians is a scary proposition. Do you really want the man who visits your home early in the morning and has access to virtually every discarded document, container, item etc. that leaves your residence to be reporting things about you and your property to the government? Think, for a moment, about all of the things you throw out. When you throw them out, do you intend for them to just go away, or do you anticipate they could possibly scrutinized by someone?

When the garbage man is observing your residence from the curb, what sort of things might he be noticing? If you have some bags of fertilizer stacked on the side of your house, will he report that you could be making bombs? If your friend parked a car in front of your house and the garbage man notices some political bumper stickers on the vehicle, will he report a potential radical? What if he notices you are discarding some boxes for high-end electronics, will you be reported as a thief?

Keep in mind that, if your garbage man is spying on you, he will be at your residence once or twice per week looking at your property and everything you discard. Do not do anything suspicious within view of the garbage man. You just might find yourself under investigation.

Civilian spying was one of the most effective tools of the Nazis. It is really becoming fashionable in America these days.

Homeland Security Considers Veterans Potential Terrorists

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, a woman who is eerily similar to former Attorney General Janet Reno, is standing behind a controversial Homeland Security report it recently sent out to law enforcement offices. In the document, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," Homeland Security wants law enforcement to watch certain Americans who it perceives as domestic terrorist threats. If you are against abortion, support immigration controls, etc., Homeland Security considers you a possible right-wing extremist and potential terrorist.

The Homeland Security report also identifies veterans as potential domestic terrorists. These brave veterans have gone overseas and risked their lives to serve this country. The Department of Homeland Security now intends to thank them for their service by spying them in case they decide to become terrorists and attack the country they once defended.

Surveillance Bill Dissolves Rights of Americans

Thanks to the House of Representatives and the US Senate, we are now one signature away from losing more rights and privacy. The Surveillance Bill gives greater power to the Federal government’s initiatives to spy on law-abiding Americans without court approval. It also grants protection to companies, which comply with the Federal government in violating your rights. In short, the government wants to continue to spy on you and give you little recourse, if any.

President George W. Bush is likely to sign this Surveillance Bill and continue an era where you as a private citizen may be put under intrusive investigation without a warrant. And, by the way, the surveillance warrants are available. The Bush administration just does not want to be troubled with requesting them through proper channels. Apparently, convenience trumps your Fourth Amendment rights.

Chicago Mayor Daley Wants Surveillance Cameras at Private Businesses

Chicago Mayor, Richard Daley wants to require surveillance cameras at private businesses that stay open late like bars, clubs, convenience stores, etc. The only thing worse than a politician who wants to spy on the public with cameras is the public that allows it. Haven’t we seen enough science-fiction movies to know that ubiquitous video surveillance is a bad idea?

Click the following link to read the article.
"Daley Wants Security Cameras at Bars"

Government Invades Privacy by Demanding User Search Data

The Federal government has once again overstepped its powers and made another chilling move into the private lives of law-abiding citizens.

The Department of Justice, under the direction of Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez, requested random samplings of user search data. So far, the cowards at Yahoo, MSN, and AOL have surrendered some or all of the requested search data. Google is standing alone in opposition to the government’s attempt to invade what little privacy we have left.

The Federal government is defending itself by saying it does not want names of individual search engine users, and they are just conducting research that will help protect children from pornography. Why does the government suddenly feel it has the duty to protect children from pornography? Parents are responsible for protecting their children from pornography. This is not the responsibility of the government.

Regardless of the government’s reasons, it has no right to make demands on companies in the private sector to aid in spying on American citizens. If the Federal government wants to spy on its citizens, it should have to do it on its own with its own resources.

Hopefully, Google will continue to oppose this ridiculous intrusion by the Federal government. The other search engine companies (i.e., Yahoo, MSN, and AOL), which so quickly baked down, should be ashamed of themselves, and they deserve to lose market share to Google.