Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Simple enough to understand, even for the laymen or arm chair lawyer. This shit (excuse my French) ain't rocket science! It really should come as no shock that two other major fourth and fifth amendment violations stories are also plastered all over the bandwidths today.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Oh yes, you read that correctly. Synopsis: Guy growing weed has GPS tracker placed on his car, in his own driveway in middle of the night by DEA agents who then proceed to "follow" him around, electronically, until he leads them to his pot field. Sounds like sound police work to me. Instead of using good old tail and chase techniques with physical man power, they go high tech and violate his property rights and personal effects. Warrant? We don't need no stikin' warrant!
What is far worse is the mere fact that the 9th Circus AGREED to allow the use of this tactic for this case and all future cases! Yeah, the guy screwed up, was violating the law, but that doesn't mean that the law enforcement agents get to violate the laws meant to protect innocent people from the law enforcers, at least not without prior judicial approval. Don't give me the crap about "not doing anything illegal, you got nothing to worry about," either. This country's heritage is meant to protect innocence until proven guilty, not the other way around. Remember, we work within a system that our founders agreed to that would let 10 guilty men go free rather than punish one innocent man. If you don't like that system, AMEND THE CONSTITUTION? Yes, the amendment process is significantly hard. Meaning that there has to be an almost unanimous agreement, for good reason, to prevent a slow take over of tyrannical forces (it's a shame that's forgotten today).
With usurpation like this, can we ever be completely sure that we are free in mind and spirit with big brother watching us or even a small portion of us? As the saying goes, the average American commits at least three felonies a day. (Tip on WSJ onlie: If you want the full article, simply Google the web address). Is it really that far fetched that you could violate some obscure law and then get a shake down from the fuzz? What would some newbie government enforcer, who wishes to rapidly advance through the bureaucratic system, do to us in an effort to bestow great honor upon himself? Will they hassle you into a confession? Charge you with lying to a federal official? Obstruction? Sounds outlandish, but ask yourself, does it? Given how simply crazy stories like this are and how frequently they occur, it's quite possibly in the realm of reality.
Minority Report comes to real life! Excellent. Again, this is only currently being implimented for "known" criminals, but how can we ever be so sure. Police agencies in major cities across the country have been using closed circuit TV systems to "monitor" for years. Other countries, like England, have tried to pass "pre-crime" laws. What exactly constitutes a pre-crime, and who gets to make that determination? Hell, at least I know that Google is just trying to make a buck with their rover vans and UVA drones for street view and Google Maps. The power of the almighty dollar is more trust worthy than those who serve as the last line of defense that are meant to protect the Republic (read Judges enforcing the rule of law).
It is simply mind numbing to see where we are headed and how we are getting there. When insanity reigns, the psychopath's are considered normal. If that's the case, than please sign me up to be considered a psychopath.
