sos_usa, posts by tag: civilliberties - LiveJournal

arfuni had a troubling encounter with the Homeland Security apparatus.

This whole "no photos" in the name of protecting Amerika from "the terrorists" is way out of control. I have even less patience for stupid consequences of this hysteria than the ones with malicious intent (though, then again, maybe one of the cops took a shine to his equipment, or at least the money it will bring down the road at a police auction).

...at least according to a Montana Supreme Court judge, who had the following to say in his concurring opinion that, yes, the police are free to search your trash without a warrant:

"Justice James C. Nelson concurs.
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I feel the pain of conflict, however. I fear that, eventually, we are
all going to become collateral damage in the war on drugs, or terrorism,
or whatever war is in vogue at the moment. I retain an abiding concern
that our Declaration of Rights not be killed by friendly fire. And, in
this day and age, the courts are the last, if not only, bulwark to
prevent that from happening.
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Like it or not, I live in a society that accepts virtual strip searches
at airports; surveillance cameras; "discount" cards that record my
buying habits; bar codes; "cookies" and spywear on my computer; on-line
access to satellite technology that can image my back yard; and
microchip radio frequency identification devices already implanted in
the family dog and soon to be integrated into my groceries, my credit
cards, my cash and my new underwear.
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I don't like living in Orwell's 1984; but I do. And, absent the next
extinction event or civil libertarians taking charge of the government
(the former being more likely than the latter), the best we can do is
try to keep Sam and the sub-Sams on a short leash.
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I concur.
/S/ JAMES C. NELSON"

(source)