[Never on my watch]

...taking pictures in areas not normally of interest...

In photography class (a long, long, time ago when we used film), all of our assignments seemed to be 'taking pictures in areas not normally of interest'.

No glamour photography, mostly B&W photos of urban blight.

[AtlasStalled]

The guy should look into whether he has a basis for a civil rights lawsuit against the sheriff’s deputy.

I am a huge fan of law enforcement generally but if they’re harassing law-abiding citizens with such nonsense then the only way to check them is by litigation.

I am sick of terrorism paranoia being invoked to justify a government clampdown on the citizenry.

[bunkerhill7]

Any 5th grader knows that real terrorists use spy cameras disguised as Coke cans, boxes of tissue, wrist watch cams, sunglass cams, hat cams etc.

DHS are and this cop are morons. etc...

[SWAMPSNIPER]

"Meanwhile, a reader posted the New Jersey Homeland Security Terrorism Awareness and Prevention guide, which advises readers to be on the lookout for people “taking pictures in areas not normally of interest.”

Define "not normally of interest".

I've been sitting somewhere happily photographing birds and had rentacops come up and ask what I was doing, they didn't even know the birds were there. I've also been seen on my belly under a bush photographing a bug or lizard. I suppose that isn't "normally of interest" for most cops, but it's what I do!

One of these days I'm going to shove a monopod somewhere the sun don't shine, I'm tired of being messed with!

[mkjessup]

Another thug with a badge who very likely hears voices in their head, in this case it's a chorus singing der Horst-Wessel-Lied.

Sieg Heil Deputy, Sieg Heil you asshat.

[Jack Hydrazine]

I’ve heard that the Feds keep a very close eye on the coal trains in Nebraska.

[LibFreeUSA]

My son is a train buff (ever since he was 5), and he now shoots HD videos of trains and posts them on YouTube for everyone’s enjoyment, and has following worldwide. I would say that unless this person violated, or interfered in any way, with the operations of the train movement, then the officer was out of line.

[SkyDancer]

126 people were indicted for being terrorists in the last two years. Every one of them was Muslim.

But Homeland Security Videos over-whelmingly show terrorists as WHITE MIDDLE CLASS MEN...

[JimRed]

The acronym for the database is STIC (I think I got that right).

So, if a cop doesn't like you, he can STIC it to you!

[familyop]

Turning America into a police state is no good alternative to fighting a necessarily larger foreign war. Police work in a surveillance society will not catch all assassins/guerrillas (terrorists), either. The only practical way to defend against them is to destroy their will to fight in their own countries before more of them try to attack.

[Road Glide]

“The State of Illinois has its own database specifically for law enforement officials to report AT THEIR OWN DISCRETION anyone they feel has been doing something that they felt was suspicious or unwarranted EVEN IF IT IS NOT A REPORTABLE OFFENSE.”

Forget it, Jack, it’s Obamaland….
(apologies to J.J. Gittes)