In a very disturbing decision, the Supreme Court on Monday, by a 5-4 vote, allowed for police to collect DNA samples whenever anyone is arrested, seeing it as equivalent of photographs and fingerprints, and allowing its collection in a national data base.
The combination of those in favor included Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority decision, along with Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Chief Justice John Roberts , and surprisingly, Stephen Breyer.
The four in opposition were Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and surprisingly, Antonin Scalia.
The attack on constitutional rights is alarming, and the Court majority seems to have no problem with that! Again, very disturbing!
“I tell you what I make of this — we have the elements of a police state here, and I’m not overstating it. When you step back and realize the Supreme Court the other day ruled 5-to-4 that law enforcement can take DNA from you even if you’re arrested — by the way, you’re arrested even when you’re stopped for a speeding ticket, and Scalia was right, concerned about a national database. That goes way over the line of our traditions.
You look at the Internal Revenue Service, what’s going on there today, and they collect extensive financial and personal information, and they put it on a database. This Obamacare is a massive data collection as well of our private personal medical conditions, procedures, drugs, mental, physical illnesses. The Transportation Department, people forget, has proposed black boxes in all of our automobiles to track how they function and how far they go in accidents. We now have domestic drones from EPA to make sure farmers aren’t stepping out of line.
The Department of Homeland Security now is checking laptops and i Phones and other data, making copies of it and keeping it, and now we have this. And some of my brothers and sisters in law enforcement, prosecutors, are saying, ‘Look, look, this is permitted. We need to be able to go through and match —’ wait a minute. You don’t throw a whole net on the entire country and everybody’s phone numbers and check the duration and see if you can come up with some overlaps. That’s not law enforcement. That’s not how national security works. I don’t care what the hell the Supreme Court said 30 years ago or what some judge said 15 minutes ago. This is America, and our government is collecting way too damn much data on we the private citizen.
I want him to clean house, or give a speech to the American people and tell us why we need to live in this semi- or soft-police state, why we need to have all these records collected, whether it’s health care or automobiles or our DNA, whether it’s all these other things. I mean, come out of the shadows, Mr. President, be honest with the American people and tell us about your fundamental transformation. That’s what I want him to do.â€
Mark Levin-Former Chief of Staff of Attorney General Edwin Meese
http://dailycaller.com/2013/06/06/mark-levin-we-have-the-elements-of-a-police-state-video/
Lulz @ Guano’s Guano Droppings! 🙂
The princess is very cheery about the news of the individual Americans loss of rights. On this day in 1944 there were over 4,400 allied troops killed and many thousands more killed in preparation. They did this to preserve our freedoms. It has always been that freedom is not free, paid for in blood by our best. Enjoy your TV show princess, in a hell hole somewhere tonight young Americans are making the sacrifice for all of us.
Dave: Right on ! Right on!
Lulz! That’s my laughing face at your idiotic conspiracy theories! Enjoy your tin foil hats guys! 🙂
Hey Leia,
Check out the “Full Quiver Project” and let me know what you think. I have written a post on this subject. I think you will find it interesting with the true facts on the Religious Fanatics mind set…:-)
The reason why the Regressive Teapublicans are obsessed with scandal is because they don’t have any solutions to more important matters – climate change, gun safety, helping the poor, etc. We the sane people in the US will vote them out in 2014 for not doing their jobs! 🙂
More excellent articles today:
http://www.politicususa.com/republicans-media-forget-role-enabling-bush.html
http://www.politicususa.com/crime-representatives-real-looters-fed.html
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2013/06/president-obama-pokes-gop-in-eye.html
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2013/06/intelligence-agency-conducts.html
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2013/06/things-you-should-read-about-nsa.html
Typical democrat voter. Just like you Leia! I remember when you once asked “Who is Bill Ayers?”LOL!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_JJLLfTR8I
Such deep analysis..
I asked that because I truly never heard of Bill Ayers until you mentioned his name. The Bush administration is when I and my family became more interested in keeping up with politics. They limit theirs to TV and local newspaper. I include reading blogs.
Speaking of privacy:
A scam that has bugged my cell phone this week: http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/04/fake-employment-agency-fools-job-hunters-with-scam-calls/
Another scam that happened to me recently was on my land line. Some guy pretending he was from Microsoft. Started putting pressure on him and he got nervous and hung up.
Article about the NSA privacy issue: http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2013/06/intelligence-agency-conducts.html
From the above article: The secret many of the outraged seem to miss: living in the 21st century means that, basically, you have no privacy. Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Google all collect personal information, and sell it to their advertisers. All those ads targeted to you on Facebook and Google Mail are a result of data mining personal information on a far grander scale than this latest NSA record warrant.
For example, after the Microsoft phone scam happened, out of curiosity, I Googled my land line number. The land line and my address comes up in multiple online phone directories. Some of the directories even include a Google map of my address! If my land line is out there on the world wide web for all to see, then I’m pretty sure my cell phone may be out there too.
It’s just something we have to accept living in this digital age.
NSA privacy article: http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2013/06/intelligence-agency-conducts.html
Another good point from the article: If people want intelligence agencies’ powers curtailed, then perhaps a better use of their time would be to work to elect candidates who promise to do just that. These expanded powers were voted by overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress.
Getting back to the Ayers guy, none of the progressive blogs I’ve read have mentioned about him.
Of course they would not mention him! It’s essential that few people know about him. Read “Rules for Radicals” by Saul Alinsky and you will better understand why he is not even mentioned ever. Try being open minded once and read “Rules for Radicals” and then make your own conclusions like a grown up.You will probably understand much better why you believe what you believe.
Guano,
I do make my own conclusions like a grown up.
And I make up my own mind about what I want to read and don’t want to read.
End of discussion.
Princess “Organ” , first it was a suggestion, second as always demonstrating you “open-mindedness” and third I will never deny you your right to remain ignorant.
End of discussion.
I’m not the ignorant one around here, Guano.
Guano,
When I came of voting age in the 1990s, my grandfather advised me never to vote Republican. I am wisely sticking to his advice.
Professor, Maggie, Engineer –
I will be heading out of town on family vacation tomorrow. You guys will have to deal with Guano and Davy No Nothing this week.
Juan insists on attacking Saul Alinsky, and gives a very distorted view of his life and activities. But this is what Juan does, character assassination, while overlooking the shortcomings of his own beliefs. Grassroots organizing of the poor is seen by him as evil, but the power of the wealthy over politics is perfectly fine in Juan’s eyes. So the fact that Barack Obama was a community organizer, is made out to be an evil force, because it helped to organize and help the poor in the Chicago ghettoes. So, Princess Leia, I choose to avoid wasting time in a hopeless cause!
Ron: All I am suggesting is that Leia read Rules for Radicals by Alinsky, which is the manual for all community organizers, including Obama. As a matter of fact Obama taught about Alinsky and even Hillary Clinton thesis was about him. So what is wrong with Leia reading Rules for Radicals? Don’t you think it would be good for her to know about some of the ideas that inspired President Obama to become a community organizer? Wouldn’t it be good for her to understand the plan behind community organizing? I would have thought that it would have been you the one to suggest the reading of Rules for Radicals so Leia can make up her own mind about Alinsky’s worldview and ideology, which happened to inspire President Obama. Who knows maybe it inspires Leia even more!! All I am saying is that I do not agree at all with Alinsky’s ideas in Rules for Radicals. Now is that character assassination? But really Ron, you seem to be against Leia reading Rules for Radicals, why is that?
Juan, I do NOT oppose Princess Leia or anyone reading Saul Alinsky, far from it. And you certainly have a right to disagree with him, so I will retract my “character assassination” language! It would be nice if you retracted sometime from some of your overly harsh language at times, as we are all human! 🙂
Replying just once from vacation:
Guano,
Political books are not my cup of tea as far as reading material is concerned. I find them too boring. For reading, I’m more into romance, mystery, and sci-fi/fantasy.
Ron: If any harsh language I used offended you, I retract.
Leia: You really don’t have to explain yourself to me with regard to what you read. All I did was suggest a reading that I thought might interest you based on your posts and inquiries.
Thanks, Juan, for your statement. I deeply appreciate it!
I am now home from vacation. I plan to do like the Professor, Guano, and not waste any more time talking to you. However, I will continue to laugh at your idiotic conspiracy comments.