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Oh balderdash.

I am more aware of my surroundings and woudl not hesitate to report on activity that seemed odd considering the Sept 11th attack, aren't you? Our law enforcement can't be EVERYWHERE at the same time. And I don't want to pay more taxes to salary MORE paid police, etc. Do you?

It is GOOD that more citizens are being aware of their responsibility to help secure the safety of our nation.

I'd like to think that hikers or just regular folks, upon seeing suspicious activity around say a water plant, or a nuclear plant or a naval base or a port or a church or a ballgame or ANYWHERE would be willing to report it instead of simply noticing it and then going about their private business, doing nothing.

Do you have a neighborhood watch in your area? Does that SCARE you too? Does that say POLICE STATE to you? Give it a REST.

As I mentioned on my pitiful blog (very) early this morning, I think that people should report truly suspicious behavior to the authorities. People should be alert and pay attention to their surroundings. The problem comes when you start organizing a system of official informants, sanctioned by the state, operating en masse as domestic intelligence agents.

I do not fear is people reporting suspicious behaviour. I do fear the government organization of an official network of informants. I'm a big believer in the strength of individuals, working in self-forming networks, to get the job done, like neighborhood watches and like how the passengers of United Flight 93 performed, the only successfully stopped terrorist hijacking of 9/11.

(It is of note that the same government that is organizing this "TIPS" debacle in waiting is the same government that would rather shoot down an airliner than allow pilots to carry an effective means of defense. I know that this is a bit off topic, but just how much empowerment are citizens to be trusted with by this government?)

People don't need the government to officially sanction them being informants for them to be effective at spotting terrorism, and the risks of organizing such a network, IMHO, outweigh the benefits.

And, for what it's worth, your comparison to a neighborhood watch is a bit disingenuous, no matter how many words you type in all caps.

It scares me that every personal feud could be turned - literally - into a federal case by one of these domestic spies. Maybe the victim would be cleared eventually, but his life could be made into a living hell for a long time and the stain of the accusation would never fade completely.