Posted on 05/17/2009 7:29:04 AM PDT by guildnavigator
I live in a small town in Southern Maine. Last week I encountered the local police in the process of setting up a roadblock/checkppoint on one of the more heavily-travelled county roads. It was mid-afternoon - not your usual midnight sobriety checkpoint. Apparently the reason for the checkpoint was to screen motorists/vehicles/drivers/passengers for any and all possible violations. My son later drove past the checkpoint from the other direction and saw one of his friends standing outside his vehicle while police searched it. Unknown whether that was a "probable cause" or "consent" search. Several days before that I went to park at Logan Airport's terminal B short term parking while going in to pick up my daughter. In order to pass through the gate to the parking garage I had to consent to have my vehicle searched. A surly attendant demanded that I pop my trunk. He fiddled with the trunk door a bit then wave me through. Increasingly intrusive airport security checks for passengers. Bus stations now require ID to purchase tickets. Cameras log your motorvehicle plate at various locations including intersections and toll booths. If you have a TransPass or similar toll-paying device, you are duly logged and date-stamped for each position. Your cell phones transmit gps coordinates of their current location for "enhanced 911" systems. The list goes on. Where does it end? Why not a camera in every bedroom? I suspect some illegal activity may be going on in there as well. There seems to be little protest. The sheep line up. The cattle shuffle into the shoot. I'd like to hear of other peoples experience with the ongoing violations of the 4th Amendment.
In the mean time, I'll be waiting for the "if you have nothing to hide" crowd to show up...
You didn’t get the memo? The Bill of Rights only protects criminals now. Honest people have “nothing to hide” so they shouldn’t object to some minor inconveniences to stop crime...
...committed by criminals...
...who have more rights than we do.
Hey...wait a danged minute!! That’s not right!
Relax. It’s for your own good. It’s for the children. You have nothing to fear as long as you have done nothing wrong and can prove your loyalty to the State. And your papers are in order.
“There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to livedid live, from habit that became instinctin the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.”
http://www.alternativereel.com/includes/top-ten/display_review.php?id=00085
Look for the coming of viewscreens. Winston and Julia worked around them and we’ll have to as well.
Put your bike helmet on, put your cig. out, put your seatbelt on, don’t eat ANYTHING w/ any fat, sugar or taste, etc., etc., etc., When does the revolution start?
They are on the way! I am convinced that Liberals have mistaken “1984” as a blueprint rather than a warning. Here, we see how the telescreens can be integrated into “cost cutting” and “disease prevention” in the upcoming National Health Care Plan:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugue/324772543/in/set-72157594424295518/
I’ve had to put up unfriendly “NO Tresspassing” signs at the setback to my property to keep the police from continuing their no knock searches of my backyard for “contraband” called in by my next door neighbor. That way, next time they try to ticket stuff in my backyard without coming over with a warrant, the judge will throw them out again.
Tell the police that you’re an illegal alien, and they’ll wave you through.
Maine’s been doing these “vehicle compliance” checkpoints for decades. I first ran into one in Rockland 25 years ago. They are principally for revenue generation.
Living in a "sanctuary" city, I've thought of that was a potential defense.
You and me both - I’ll be the guy living underground in “Demolition Man” that wants to eat steak, drink whiskey, etc. ;-)
A lot of people on this forum complain about the Federal Government and want the States to reassert their rights.
I want the States to reassert their rights too but:
There are too many State and Local governments whose oppression would be just as bad or worse than the Federal Government’s if they weren’t reined in.
The Federal Government is not the only problem.
Reasserting State’s rights won’t cure that.
Secession won’t cure that.
Checkpoint nets are unconstitutional. Hopefully a supreme court will eventually DO ITS DUTY and throw checkpoints out once and for all.
1984 Is Not A Blueprint- great bumpersticker
That’s a very good point. Look at the way that some of those Good Ol’ Boys run their counties in certain areas. The problem is deep, and it’s rooted in the psyches of most Americans. Not sure how to swing the trend in the other direction.
You said it yourself: ONGOING violations.
The aim is to make these anti-Constitutional acts part of everyday life so that those protesting and/or refusing to comply will be portrayed as criminals.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.