This is a good principle to keep in mind. When "your" party is in control, it's common for people to start talking about ending the filibuster, take shortcuts in the legislative process, let bureaucracies act with powers not granted to them and so forth. But the same people would scream bloody murder if the other party does the same when they are in power.
The Stasi: Inside the Twisted World of East Germany‘s Secret Police
The Stasi‘s surveillance extended far beyond the realm of suspected dissidents and political activists. Ordinary citizens found themselves subjected to intrusive monitoring of their personal lives, with the Stasi keeping meticulous records on everything from their shopping habits and sexual activities to their private conversations and social circles. The organization even went so far as to collect and store samples of individuals‘ body odors, believing that this could help them track suspects.
To carry out its vast surveillance operations, the Stasi relied on a combination of human intelligence and advanced technology. Miniature cameras and hidden microphones were installed in homes, offices, and public spaces, while specially trained agents were dispatched to infiltrate suspect groups and monitor individuals of interest. The Stasi also developed sophisticated computer databases to store and analyze the vast amounts of information it collected, creating a system that was far ahead of its time in terms of its scope and efficiency.
But, going back, all the government power grabs that have brought us to this point—the PATRIOT Act, the invasion of Iraq, the banker bailouts, the insurance industry bailout known as Obamacare, the covid lockdowns, and more—all of it was only possible because enough of the public fell for the lie that the government was acting in their interest."
And while there may be CCP chicanery, beware those making a blanket accusation that raising questions and objections make you an operative or dupe of the CCP. Its the same playbook used against those raising questions about the Covid jab, election integrity, the dollars shoved mindlessly into Ukraine, doubts about the Patriot Act/Section 702 of FISa, etc....
The article confirms its bias.
The author is quite ignorant about GPS trackers, as the article said it would be illegal to put them into cars. Every car and pickup made since around 2023 has one. The surveillance folks need the vehicle VIN to figure out the signal given off for each vehicle, which makes it somewhat inconvenient.
I purchased a signal detector, figured out which circuit is the culprit giving off the signal, and pulled the fuse for that circuit.
The best surveillance device is a little Trojan Horse called the cell phone. If you don’t want to be tracked via cell phone, just pull the battery. I’m willing to bet the J6’ers wish they had while sitting in DC dungeons.
Flock is bad. The Axon devices are worse. Both need to be banned or curtailed. Motorola’s too.
Re “… the public’s presumption that our elites and institutions are acting in good faith has completely evaporated...”
That presumption ended a long time ago.
If you relieve your self while hiking in the woods, doing it behind a tree and out of sight of others have you committed a public offense because there was a camera in that spot which observed you commit an act of indecent exposure and even documented it in indelible computer memory? And let us suppose that these are woods frequented by bears and deer and racoons and squirrels and all kinds of birds all answering nature's call so there isn't an issue about public sanitation.
Bkmk
Ironically for advocates of pushing power down to the most local, closest government...it is those local governments that are placing these cameras.
Almost always the decision is made in darkness and without public input.
A completely unacceptable state of affairs.
1. Citizens have a constitutional right to go about our business un-accosted by police unless the police have “probable cause” to believe that we have committed a crime...
2. Citizens have a constitutional right to face our accusers in courts of law.
With random traffic cameras there are no accusers.
What should happen: All evidence collected becomes inadmissible, and all evidence it leads to becomes “fruit of the forbidden tree”. It is also inadmissible.
Many courts are waking up to the fact that police using confidential surrogates to collect evidence in settings where the Constitution denies police access is, itself, unconstitutional.
Flock cameras represent the same type of unconstitutional surrogacy.
Feeling good about discussing what is obviously a systematic invasion is like feeling good talking about your cancer being in remission.
Your value system is toxic.
License plates are the issue.
Forbid license plates.
Problem solved!
Communities Nationwide Tearing Down Flock Cameras, Quietly Replacing Them With These Brands
SSDD...?