Posted on 07/18/2002 10:03:53 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
You don't think they're recruiting from targeted segment of society with an eye toward expecting to chit chat as they mood strikes them?
If that's the case ... what's the point of the program in the first place. Why wouldn't some "War on Drugs" style commercials and plenty of shiny Soviet-style bills pasted in all state buildings, banks and other Civil-minded entities do the trick?
You don't think there's any actually "signing up" to be a part of the Program?
Now I really don't understand. Help me out here.
Sort of like "crime stoppers"? Ya know this is getting ridiculous. Just exactly what in the hell is the problem? There is not a darn thing being proposed here that is not already in place in one form or the other all over the country. If there is some diabolical plot going on to turn neighbor against neighbor maybe someone could explain to me ..............why?
You're absolutely right. TIPS is asking nothing more of us than we have always been prepared to give. If any of us witnessed someone murdering someone, we would call the authorities; same principle is involved if we saw our neighbor building bombs. TIPS will be specifically for suspicion of terrorist activity is the only difference I see.
It's no different than my local news station giving descriptions of wanted criminals and asking anyone with any information to call in.
That's for sleazy informants and hostile narcs.
We're talking about Joe Patriot, here, who's going to join the TIPS program ... without actually registering, I guess ... based on knowing the Government's looking for a few good Truckers, Cable Guys, Bank Auditors, or whatever other Private Sector folks they think are somehow especially positioned to observe Suspicious behavior.
It is interesting to watch how a country can go from a democracy, more or less, to the fringe of a facist state. All of the apparatus is being put into place. We will await the person who puts it all together for us. Perhaps, it will be the Hildebeast?
Is there something wrong with "joe patriot"?
You gonna be a part of your local Citizen Corps? Surely that's the least you could do.
I guess ... without knowing what you do and where you live ... I can't exactly shame you for not expressing an interest in being a part of TIPS as well. It's possible you're not the Right Stuff for serving as the State's eyes and ears.
You keep inserting insinuation as reality. You appear to do that a lot. I could launch a complete investigation of you or anyone else simply by picking certain posts from this very website. I do not need “TIPS” to do that all I need is a hard drive and a malicious motive. As I said “TIPS” for good or ill is not going to be implemented but that does NOT protect you, me or anyone else from malicious fellow citizens. The only thing “TIPS” would do is that you cannot be had anonymously.
I think patriotism -- as in love of country -- is a magnificent and admirable quality.
It's nationalism that's problematic for me.
Joe Nationalist just didn't have the same ring to it ... although it would have been more correct.
The use of Patriot (like the PATRIOT Act, for example), was just a spur of the moment thing. Pure poetry, don't you think? We'll discuss the nitty gritty some other time.
You joining up?
Shhh ... you'll give folks ideas.
But that is the point. It does not happen even as down and dirty as we get around here with each other.
But I thought we could make anonymous tips and even collect information (folks who truck around the web being valuable sources for complete profiles) to impeach each other or convince management a voice could be silenced, an account killed. (Neither of those always being bad things.)
But this is private property and, contrary to the evidence strewn about the net, being banned from Free Republic will not mean the end of one's life (unless they choose to obsess about it endlessly).
It's not an actionable crime -- or it shouldn't be -- for folks to hate you or shun you or ban you from their property as long as they don't kill you or harm you in the process.
(Hurt feelings don't count. Waaaay to subjective to be actionable despite what the Trial Attorney have to say about Pain and Suffering.)
But to apply the controls and invasions of privacy proper to parents with their kids or a private individual's property are not proper to the government as a matter of course.
We are not their children. They do not own us or invite us to be here.
As you say, we're perfectly capable of calling the authorities as we see fit. What is the point of the Government's specifically encouraging folks from targeted walks to serve as Hall Monitors?
Is this really the beset idea they've got for improving the lousy performance to date of our agencies? They can't chew properly the intelligence they get now. (Probably just swallow as a rule, anyway.)
Is this a Good thing? Would you expect a child who's been properly exposed to Character Training to think so?
Does suspicion breed confidence?
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