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Wisconsin Joins the Matrix [updated]
unassimilatible writes "Wired reports that Wisconsin has decided to join a controversial interstate antiterrorism database that holds billions of records of ordinary Americans' activities known as the MATRIX, or Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange. Is your state next?" Update: 03/10 19:05 GMT by T : Thanks to reader philthedrill for a correction: according to an article in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Daily Cardinal, Wisconsin has backed out of the Matrix, effective yesterday.
i have hated this state from the moment i saw it, but this is the nail in the coffin...any chance that wisconsin had of keeping me as a post-collegiate resident has now expired and it will be their economic loss
The article and the MATRIX homepage, seem to have some differences in what information they collect. The data that they do collect/have doesn't really seem like it would be a bad thing.
from the MATRIX homepage:
The Data Reference Repository
EXCLUDED DATA
The reference repository does not contain the following:
* Telemarketing calling lists
* Direct mail mailing lists
* Airline reservations or travel records
* Frequent flyer/hotel stay program membership or activity
* Magazine subscriptions lists or reading lists
* Telephone calling logs or records
* Credit card or debit numbers
* Purchases (e.g., retail store, Internet, or even gas stations)
* Mortgage or car payments
* Bank account numbers or account balances
* The costs of a home addition
* Birth certificates
* Marriage licenses
* Divorce decrees
* Utility bill payments (i.e., gas, electric, phone, heating oil, cable or satellite TV)
Therefore, such data is not provided to law enforcement. Under federal law, when such data is required to further a law enforcement investigation, law enforcement must obtain a judicial order (i.e., subpoena) and serve it directly on the organization having or owning such data.
INCLUDED DATA
The data reference repository for the FACTS application contains public records from thousands of locations (i.e., county courthouses and other public records locations) on U.S. individuals and businesses. Examples include:
* FAA pilot licenses and aircraft ownership
* Property ownership
* Coast Guard registered vessels
* State sexual offenders lists
* Federal terrorists watch lists
* Corporation filings
* Uniform Commercial Code filings (i.e., UCCs or business liens)
* Bankruptcy filings
* State-issued professional licenses
How on earth did this get moderated Interesting? It's just some infantile rant by some guy. Hey whiteSanjuro, I've got some news for you: Wisconsin is the most liberal state in the midwest. They routinely vote Democratic. In fact, Madison (the capital) was one of the few cities in the nation to denounce the Patriot Act. I'm not sure where you're thinking of moving to but Wisconsin -- all jokes aside -- is one of the more progressive states in the nation.
GMD
watch this
The citizens of Wisconsin may soon be speculating if they have former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson, a Bush cabinet appointee, to thank for this. Keep in mind most of the reliably liberal population has been quarantined in Madison and Milwaukee. However, the university educated liberty lovers won't necessarily be the decisive factor, as articulate and fact based as they may be.
Competing with elections in November is this little event we call Deer Hunting season in Wisconsin. If this MATRIX thing turns out to be something the NRA doesn't like, we'll be hearing more from the state where beer, cheese, tractors and heavy equipment, Gander Mountain, and Jockey Underwear are headquartered. It isn't just the bearded liberals who demonstrate in Madison. The farmers have rode their heavy equipment around the capitol in the past to make their points. A few dozen combines and tractors positioned at strategic locations around the capitol square can be quite imposing and very photogenic.
Is how a little exposure caused our (Democratic) State Attorney General to back out of the Matrix program. When I called their office at ~ 2 PM yesterday, I was told I was give or take the 20th caller. Helps, perhaps, that the AG was already in a good bit of political trouble for her recent drunk driving arrest.
Ben Masel: 51,282 votes for US Senate in the Wisconsin Democratic Primary