Yesterday I heard someone mention that the police had used an unmanned predator drone in a police sting of some sort. It took twenty seconds last night to find a story about the event on Google.I often hear said that you have nothing to worry about if you're not a bad guy. But what if someone somewhere inadvertently, or even vindictively out of malice, paints you as a bad guy? In the name of fighting terror, it's my understanding that a lot of our rights are quietly being removed including the right to privacy and the right to a free trial.
Do we have too much government encroachment on our freedoms? Have government regulations gone too far? Are there reasons why the U.S. economy has been sputtering while China's economy has been racing? Yes, yes and yes. There's just too much red tape.
After reading a few articles about the drones I stumbled upon a website called Red Laws, dedicated to exposing the loss of freedoms in America. The site offers some interesting and even entertaining stories. Today's current top story is about a man in Winona, MN, who was not permitted to rent out his house when he went back to the Middle East as an advisor. Another story is about a woman who was hounded by the USDA over a lemon tree, which they ultimately removed from her possession. Another tells the story of a Memphis woman who was told she had to remove the American flag she had installed in front of her optometry business.
As I pondered these things, the opening stanza from a Bob Dylan song came to mind.
Not Dark Yet
Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day
It’s too hot to sleep, time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I’ve still got the scars that the sun didn’t heal
There’s not even room enough to be anywhere
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there
Copyright © 1997 by Special Rider Music
In the meantime, zippity-doo-dah... and have a good day.
The hope has been that Obama will keep his promise and veto it. Then considering his reputation for having kept promises, plus this headline I just read, the hope kinda faded, like multiple others have:
ReplyDelete"White House Allegedly Behind Bill Allowing Military to Arrest and Detain American Citizens Indefinitely"
http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13201
Yes, it's not dark yet, "but it's getting there."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.salon.com/2011/12/12/the_growing_menace_of_domestic_drones/
ReplyDelete"WASHINGTON — The House has passed a $662 billion defense bill after the White House dropped a veto threat over provisions on handling terrorist suspects."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/house-passes-662house-passes-662-billion-1259587.html