Another way the government is stealing our rights.

[Faerieglamour]

U.S. agents can seize travelers' laptops

: report Fri Aug 1, 7:31 AM ET



U.S. federal agents have been given new powers to seize travelers' laptops and other electronic devices at the border and hold them for unspecified periods the Washington Post reported on Friday.

Under recently disclosed Department of Homeland Security policies, such seizures may be carried out without suspicion of wrongdoing, the newspaper said, quoting policies issued on July 16 by two DHS agencies.

Agents are empowered to share the contents of seized computers with other agencies and private entities for data decryption and other reasons, the newspaper said.

DHS officials said the policies applied to anyone entering the country, including U.S. citizens, and were needed to prevent terrorism.

The measures have long been in place but were only disclosed in July, under pressure from civil liberties and business travel groups acting on reports that increasing numbers of international travelers had had their laptops, cellphones and other digital devices removed and examined.

The policies cover hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes -- as well as books, pamphlets and other written materials, the report said.

The policies require federal agents to take measures to protect business information and attorney-client privileged material. They stipulate that any copies of the data must be destroyed when a review is completed and no probable cause exists to keep the information.

(Reporting by Paul Eckert, editing by Alan Elsner)


This is not keeping us safer. They are just eroding our rights. Why even bother with the Constitution if they don't follow it. And no, it is not OK to do this under the guise of anti-terrorism.

 

[druvans]

was it 1984 or 2008, I forgot

 

[Faerieglamour]

I sent the article to my DH and he sent this back. Very interesting...

Written by an English judge in 1775:
"Papers are the owner’s goods and chattels; they are his dearest property; and are so far from enduring a seizure that they will hardly bear an inspection. . .. Where is the written law that gives any magistrate such a power? I can safely answer, there is none; and therefore it is too much for us without such authority to pronounce a practice legal which would be subversive of all the comforts of society." - Lord Camden

The same position as captured in our Bill of Rights, 4th Amendment:
"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. "

Written by the US Supreme Court in 1886, referring to the English Judge in 1775:
"It is not the breaking of his doors, and the rummaging of his drawers, that constitutes the essence of the offense; but it is the invasion of his indefeasible right of personal security, personal liberty, and private property, where that right has never been forfeited by his conviction of some public offense; it is the invasion of this sacred right which underlies and constitutes the essence of Lord Camden’s judgment. Breaking into a house and opening boxes and drawers are circumstances of aggravation; but any forcible and compulsory extortion of a man’s own testimony, or of his private papers to be used as evidence to convict him of a crime, or to forfeit his goods, is within the condemnation of that judgment."

Written by DHS, 2008:
US federal agents may search hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, video and audio tapes, books, pamphlets and other written materials, all without any suspicion of wrongdoing. We're preventing terrorism, so it's OK. Go back to sleep.

Oh, and by the way, the Revolution was greatly sparked by England's use of "writs of assistance" - general warrants to search any property without needing to establish any degree of probable cause.

 

[DanC]

This is what Habeus Corpus is all about, showing cause.
It was first suspended (officially) during the Lincoln administration.
It has now been suspended (selectively and unofficially) under the present administration.
It was not constitutional to do so either time.

Remember this:
citizens have the right to keep and bear arms, subjects do not

 

[antdrewsmom]

isnt it all in the name of protection


-Transportation Security Administration Officer

 

[DanC]

protection or freedom? Is that our choice?

I'll take freedom.

Remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

 

[antdrewsmom]

and if another plane went down people would be asking why isn't the government protecting us. These people are trained and believe in what they are doing. I am one of them(there goes my friends list, lol). anyways that all ive got to say.


Religion and politics


yuk

 

[Faerieglamour]

So then the Constitution is simply a 'guideline' for our country. Hey! You know what sounds like fun, let's strip away all of our rights in the name of protection from terrorism. It is NOT OK to take away the rights of U.S. citizens. It simply isn't. It is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of law. The government has broken the law. Who is holding them accountable?

 

[DanC]

Well, it should be the voters, but they'er too concerned with making sure that they elect whoever promises them the most.


How many of these can you identify as happening today in the USA? It all happens slowly, a bit at a time.



1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.

According to the Communist Manifesto, all these were prior conditions for a transition from capitalism to communism.

 

[cybermom]

I'm all for freedom, but being a mom I tell my boys all the time their safety is more important to me then their happiness...I'd much rather them be misrable then hurt.

Do you think this is sort of a "Mom" rule? It's not really a power trip like "Because I said so"!

It's more like they know something we probably don't. "Because I'm the mom!" I don't see them waisting time and money to seize things truely without probably cause. I think it's more to cover their butts when they'd rather not have anyone know what the probable cause is.

........please don't yell at me, or start a big fight thread that gets locked...

I'm just saying, When you're in a position, as a mom (or Dad) or Manager, or Political Leader, where you prime function is to take care of and manage the conditions of the masses (OK, it's only 4 in my family)..not the individual....

You are gonna piss people off. And it's always going to be in the name of their best interest and welfare.











It's just some are elected to the position, some are drafted to the position, and some of us just come in and take over!

 

[DanC]

We wouldn't be having this conversation if 'political correctness' were trashed and we approached security in a logical, rational, THINKING manner. That means profiling, closing the borders, and kicking a$$ where and when a$$ needs kicking.