Keep On Your Neighbors' Good Side

[Excaliber]

According to an article in the Washington Post, the FBI is in the process of amassing a database of detailed background information on American citizens who are not directly suspected of any crime but who come to the agency's attention based on "suspicions" of law enforcement officers or "neighbors." Pages 3 and 4 of the Post article describe this new program in some detail. It also describes other surveillance and intelligence programs you may not have been aware of before.

If you found the new TSA pre flight screening procedures reassuring, and Janet Reno's WalMart "See Something, Say Something" announcements comforting, this should make certain that you rest easy knowing such vigilance is in place.

The program may also improve neighborly relations, because wise folks won't want to have disagreements with anyone who might put them on the FBI's special attention list with just a phone call. From a "nutty neighbor's" perspective, that would beat the heck out of calling in a trespassing complaint against another neighbor's cat to the local PD.

[Dragonfighter]

<SNIP>
If you found the new TSA pre flight screening procedures reassuring, and Janet Reno's WalMart "See Something, Say Something" announcements comforting, this should make certain that you rest easy knowing such vigilance is in place.

<SNIP>

Why comrade, this post is suspicious. I will have to report this to the politat.

[RPB]

Subject:
Effective utilization of resources
Proposal:
Bring all FBI agents to the border, obviously they have too much time on their hands.

[chasfm11]

Has anyone noticed a trend here?

- Neighbor spying on neighbor - and the results ending up in a data base for FBI scrutiny. Don't I remember something about the right to face our accuser and isn't this data base a list of accusations?

- the TSA scanning everyone nearly naked. Don't I remember something about the right to unwarranted search?

Just sayin'

[Barbi Q]

Has anyone noticed a trend here?

- Neighbor spying on neighbor - and the results ending up in a data base for FBI scrutiny. Don't I remember something about the right to face our accuser and isn't this data base a list of accusations?

- the TSA scanning everyone nearly naked. Don't I remember something about the right to unwarranted search?

Just sayin'

The legitmate, constitutional government of the United States wouldn't do those things.

Enemies foreign and domestic would.

Just sayin'

[cheezit]

seems I read a book about this many years ago...
1984.

[RPB]

seems I read a book about this many years ago...
1984.

Them dang books, a'fore ye know it, people who read Flash Gorden will wanna make some sorta flyin' contraption and head to the moon.

There's a lot to be aware of in literature, but surprisingly, people allowed it.

Now, what' kinda dog is that on your front porch on Google Street view?

[OldSchool]

seems I read a book about this many years ago...
1984.

Which was required reading in High School lit.

[RPB]

seems I read a book about this many years ago...
1984.

Which was required reading in High School lit.

Fahrenheit 451 too, when they block access to your tablet/e-book reader or monitor what you read

[WildBill]

seems I read a book about this many years ago...
1984.

Which was required reading in High School lit.

Fahrenheit 451 too, when they block access to your tablet/e-book reader

It must be all of those liberal teachers.

[RPB]

I can see the FBI database listing people who download Bible/Torah etc to their e-reader on lists of "extremists"

I mean in the 1970s, "a camera on every street-corner? yeah right.....

[WildBill]

According to an article in the Washington Post, the FBI is in the process of amassing a database of detailed background information on American citizens who are not directly suspected of any crime but who come to the agency's attention based on "suspicions" of law enforcement officers or "neighbors." Pages 3 and 4 of the Post article describe this new program in some detail. It also describes other surveillance and intelligence programs you may not have been aware of before.

History repeats itself. The FBI starting collection this type of information on people of German, Italian and Japanese descent at the beginning of World War II. After World War II it was people who might be or associated with communists.

[RPB]

Like Monk .... I'm not "paranoid" just aware/attentive .... they ARE out to get us

[Oldgringo]

According to an article in the Washington Post, the FBI is in the process of amassing a database of detailed background information on American citizens who are not directly suspected of any crime but who come to the agency's attention based on "suspicions" of law enforcement officers or "neighbors." Pages 3 and 4 of the Post article describe this new program in some detail. It also describes other surveillance and intelligence programs you may not have been aware of before.

History repeats itself. The FBI starting collection this type of information on people of German, Italian and Japanese descent at the beginning of World War II. After World War II it was people who might be or associated with communists.

What was that guy's name...? It's coming to me now, does the name Joe McCarthy ring any bells? I think he was a Republican from Wisconsin?

[bnc]

seems I read a book about this many years ago...
1984.

Thought I would post a fairly complete list:

1984 - George Orwell (1949)

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (1932)

We - Yevgeny Zamyatin (1924), this book is said to be quite similar to 1984, but was published long before; some scholars have claimed that Orwell was likely familiar with this novel

It Can't Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis (1936), I read this recently and it is amazing how close it is to our situation today, had to remind myself it was released in 1936

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (1953)

Pictures of the Socialist Future - Eugen Richter (1890), he was in the German parliament at the time opposing Bismark's development of the modern totalitarian state, available at http://mises.org/store/Pictures-of-a-So ... 10384.aspx for $12 (the others should be widely available)

Any of Ayn Rand's novels:
We The Living - 1936
Anthem - 1938
The Fountainhead - 1943
Atlas Shrugged - 1957

Has anyone noticed a trend here?

- Neighbor spying on neighbor - and the results ending up in a data base for FBI scrutiny. Don't I remember something about the right to face our accuser and isn't this data base a list of accusations?

- the TSA scanning everyone nearly naked. Don't I remember something about the right to unwarranted search?

Just sayin'

The legitmate, constitutional government of the United States wouldn't do those things.

Enemies foreign and domestic would.

Just sayin'

The domestic are the most troublesome.