Domestic Terrorism

White House Hoist on the Patriot Act?

This entry was posted in ashcroft bush Domestic Terrorism Iraq Patriot Act War on Terrorism on by

Maybe.
Samual Dash argues that the perps who leaked Plame’s identity appear to have violated at least 2 sections of the Patriot Act and should, under the act, be considered domestic terrorists.
Furthermore, Dash then suggests the additional set of tools that the Justice Department could be bringing to bear:

Can they treat this investigation differently from any other terrorist investigation? Under the Patriot Act, they have acquired expanded powers to wiretap and search. Will they place sweeping and roving wiretaps on White House aides? Will they engage in sneak, secret searches of their offices, computers and homes? Will they arrest and detain incommunicado, without access to counsel, some White House aides as material witnesses?
Certainly, nobody expects they will and I hope they would not employ such police-state tactics.

While no law enforcement officials should have police-state tools at their disposal the current administration is certainly a deserving target if said tools are going to be used against anyone.
The entire article is worth a read.
Via Talkleft.

Food Fight?

This entry was posted in bush Domestic Terrorism Federal Government US Foreign Policy War on Terrorism on by

After reading this Financial Times article Tim Dunlop concludes :

If this is true, then my conslusion from that earlier post stands: if this is the case, this is a much more serious issue than the case of simply trying to smear and intimidate a dissenter (ie Joseph Wilson). This indicates a complete breakdown in trust between various government agencies.

Are the bushies really playing these kind of silly and dangerous to us games?

Senate Supports Spammers 97-0

This entry was posted in Capitalism Constitution Culture Domestic Terrorism Economics Federal Government Internet Libertarianism Marketing Spam on by

Well, it sure looks this way to me.
For instance,

the bill now includes a provision, supported by some opponents of spam, that directs the Federal Trade Commission to come up with a plan for a no-spam registry.

I think the off shore spammers will love this one: a list comprised of mostly good email addresses! Yea, I know that the spammers are supposed to send in their lists for scrubbing but I suspect joes p*rn shop won’t be sending in their list.

(more…)

Wal-Mart Illegals

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Economics Immigration Law on by

Surely no one is really surprised by this:

Federal officials are sweeping Wal-Mart stores across the United States as part of an effort to arrest some 300 illegal workers by Thursday evening…..
Officials say investigators are concerned about a pattern of Wal-Mart using contractors who employ illegal aliens and that Wal-Mart has, in fact, continued to use contractors who have been convicted of hiring aliens in the past.

Or that Wal-Mart would try to hide behind the ‘contractor’s employees’ argument:

“They arrested a number of members of the floor cleaning crews.” Williams emphasized the workers are employed by contractors, saying, “they’re not Wal-Mart associates.”

If Wal-Mart really did not know then there are some management types who need to be fired for failure to do due diligence in hiring the contractors.

Bad MATRIX

This entry was posted in Constitution Culture Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Law Law Enforcement Patriot Act War on Terrorism on by

Some of you may have thought I was being a bit paranoid in my earlier post Canadian Big Brother. Especially since congress cut off funding for Total Information Awareness.
But ashcroft’s Justice Department figures to hell with congress. If we can’t get TIA we’ll go for MATRIX or in normal speak: Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange. Justice and Homeland Security are providing funding for what started out as a state based system in Florida:

The U.S. Justice Department recently provided $4 million and the Department of Homeland Security has pledged another $8 million to expand the MATRIX program nationally. Homeland Security will also provide the computer network for information-sharing among the states.

Still not bothered? Try this:

Phil Ramer, special agent in charge of Florida�s statewide intelligence told a Washington Post reporter in early August that the system could be intrusive and pledged to use it with restraint. “It’s scary. It could be abused. I mean, I can call up everything about you, your pictures and pictures of your neighbors.”

Whew, I feel quite comforted by Phil’s promise to use the system with restraint. But what about Ralph or Mary tomorrow?
Why not link in the Canadian’s Bar Watch info, or, you take your pick of the information source. If Matrix, TIA or other similar systems stay in place their operators will figure out a way to include that information.
Yep, use cash. Start becoming as invisible as you can.