Who's really being naive here? It might not seem feasible for the cops to trace some comment here, but the Patriot Act (and other blatant violations of our civil rights) sure do make it a lot easier now. A little paranoia under the current situation might just be a healthy attitude.
A personal story along these lines: The local state "officers' association" makes a habit of calling citizens for donations. The first time I was pulled over for a questionable violation about a month after turning these guys down (more than a bit vehemently because I didn't want to contribute to their "Iraq fund"), I paid little attention to it. The second time about a year later, however, it definitely caught my attention. Strange thing: when I called the duty officer to ask about the curious behavior of the officers who stopped me for the second supposed offense, he made a point of informing me that officers were "allowed" to violate the law. We just had to "trust them" that it was in our best interests. How far does this kind of thing go before we reach a "police state" condition?
Slashdot Mirror
Who's really being naive here? It might not seem feasible for the cops to trace some comment here, but the Patriot Act (and other blatant violations of our civil rights) sure do make it a lot easier now. A little paranoia under the current situation might just be a healthy attitude. A personal story along these lines: The local state "officers' association" makes a habit of calling citizens for donations. The first time I was pulled over for a questionable violation about a month after turning these guys down (more than a bit vehemently because I didn't want to contribute to their "Iraq fund"), I paid little attention to it. The second time about a year later, however, it definitely caught my attention. Strange thing: when I called the duty officer to ask about the curious behavior of the officers who stopped me for the second supposed offense, he made a point of informing me that officers were "allowed" to violate the law. We just had to "trust them" that it was in our best interests. How far does this kind of thing go before we reach a "police state" condition?