Hello friends and readers,
A lot of verbiage has been hitting the media and airwaves, with the recent passing of Senate Bill 1867.
The military will invade your home screams one headline. They can detain you indefinitely screams another.
If people had been this disgruntled 10 years ago, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, would have never bore fruit. Instead, people were yelling ' Yes, I'm a patriot'! and singing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" over and over. Harrumph I tell you. All anyone needs to do is click this link to see that what they are screaming about today, was what they should have been screaming about 10 years ago...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act
If you read the text of Senate Bill 1867, all they really did was redefine who they could detain.
- Persons with known associations with Al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations.
- Persons who provide support to those terrorist organizations
- Persons who give money to those terrorist organizations
If you are law abiding, you have nothing to worry about.
Since 2001, our Government could garner information received through a cell signal and pick out key words ( anyone seen The Bourne Supremacy, specifically the Blackbriar scene ). One word was picked up, by the CIA or whomever, and within minutes, they knew who said the word and where the conversation took place. Honestly, I feel safer with stuff like that. Can you imagine how many calls are going on right now in America, where the bad guys aren't saying " Al Qaeda", "Jihad" or "Osama Bin Ladin".....just for sheer fact that they know we will find them if they do.
Since 2001, our Government has drilled backdoors into sites that glorify the Jihad movement and ideology...so that they can track URL's visiting the sites. Do I feel worried or threatened when I visit the English language Al Jazeera website? Not in the least. Certainly, someone is tracking, but they will see my comments that I post to the site and know that I do not agree with them.
People need to realize after everything is said and done...that they hold the power in Government...they don't make the laws, but they can change them.
In closing, until the laws get changed for the better or for the worse, don't get cozy with terrorists or join a mujadeen and chances are, your life won't change one bit.
Have a great day everyone...I am still waiting to hear back from any member in the Senate, regarding my email from the other day.
Trevor M Dodge
Its a sad day in America when you have to think about whos watching you. You may be OK with this but only a fool would call this freedom!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Krueger...but the fact is that we are being watched constantly by no one associated with the Government. I would rather the Government watch and know I don't have nor ever will have ties to terrorism abroad or here, than to have a neighbor or anyone take indiscriminate video of me anytime. The proliferation of phones ( cell phones ) that can take video and pictures and are so small as to not be seen by the person being monitored keeps me more cautious than worry if the Feds will swoop down upon me. Freedom is what we choose it to be.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest with you I'm not worried about my neighbor watching me or even the government for that matter but rather the fact that a law like this truncates our Bill of Rights!!
ReplyDeleteThird Amendment – Protection from quartering of troops.
ReplyDeleteNo Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Would these be the two specific Bill of Rights you refer? So far, nothing in the 'Patriot Act' prohibits Freedom of Speech, the Right to Bear Arms, the 3rd and fourth shown above, due process, trial by Jury ( unless you are at Gitmo ), etc etc.
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