Problems With "No Buy" Terror Watch List. Impeding Non-Terrorists

[maddezmom]

CBS) Imagine not being able to buy a home, car, or other "big-ticket" item because your name shows up on a terror watch list. That's happening to some people who haven't committed a crime and aren't terrorists, Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen reported Monday.

The "No Buy" list terror watch list, Koeppen explains, is similar to the "No Fly" list you've probably heard of. The latter is designed to prevent terrorists from boarding planes.

And, says Koeppen, the "No Buy" list is hindering some innocent people, in the same way the "No Fly" list does.

Sandy Cortez knows that all too well.

When the grandmother from the Denver area went to buy a car, she thought it would be a simple transaction, but she got the shock of her life: Her name popped up on a terror watch list when the dealership pulled her credit report.

more:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/19/earlyshow/contributors/susankoeppen/main4106816.shtml

[Doctor_J]

1. I don't think the * admin sees this as a problem

As much as they like people to spend money, they like even more having innocent people terrorized. Their fondest dream is to have the entire country trembling in fear.

Hopefully the Denver grandmother will vote Dem in the fall to help dismantle the GOP terror organization.

[rubberducky]

2. K&R Hope this makes it to the front page, where it belongs.

[rubberducky]

3. Another kick

No fly is bad enough, but NO BUY??? This piece is unbelievable.

[Hydra]

5. Unbelievable, you say?

This was their plan all along. Just wait until you aren't allowed to buy food or water. They won;t even have to jail you to kill you.

[juno jones]

4. To the greatest.

Kicking for all americans with common names who are bound to get mistaken for supposed 'terrorists'. Mr. Feb has a name that is about as common as dirt. I'm always worried his 'name' will pop up somewhere and we won't be able to board a plane, etc.

I guess the moral of the car story is buy used, pay cash.

[unblock]

6. once upon a time, germany had a "no buy" list....

[Usrename]

7. Some say we're teetering on the edge of fascism.

The rest of the world sees that we jumped headlong into it and have been in freefall ever since we decided to conquer Iraq.

[Hydra]

11. Outside opinion wins in this case

Do you know what people tell me when I point this out?

"6 million Jews haven't died yet"

So over 1 million Iraqis, who knows how many Katrina victims, and now how many homeless people are somehow ok?

I see that form of denial as proof in itself how far gone we are.

[Daphne08]

13. Teetering? We're there! n/t

[nashville_brook]

8. this is truly a nightmare scenario-question: has any candidate addressed these issues? NO FLY, etc..

Seems like we're seeing more "real life" encroachment on Constitutional Rights. I have so many questions about this. Since this is an area of commerce, does this fall under the heading "constitutional right"? Are any candidates addressing this?

This is so beyond the pale -- what's next? Can't you just imagine other sorts of "watch lists"? Or "no buy" lists? What about a Sexual Offender Watch List. We already have that. What about a Bankruptcy Watch List? Or an Ill-Health Watch List? Yeah, I know "slippery slope" is a logical fallacy, but going from "no fly" lists to "no buy" lists puts the lie to slippery slope being a fallacy. Who is making these decisions? Who decided that a "no buy" list was next on the block. Why is this the first we've heard of this -- seems like such an enormous CHANGE in what's allowed (and what's not) that this would have been covered in news as it was being LEGISLATED. Or, is this not "legislated" -- is this a company just going off-the-rails?

What happens when power and utility companies decide certain people are on their "no buy" list? Or doctors? Well, we already have that with insurance.

OMG -- i could go on forever. As someone who recently divorced and moved to a different state, I just went thru HELL in trying to establish myself with DOCUMENTATION. Banks weren't going to give me an account b/c I didn't have a 3-month established address. I couldn't get my car registration transferred. There were PILES of red tape that I had to filter thru. I wouldn't be at all surprised if my name came up on a watch list b/c of the weird shit you have to go thru to get divorced (and I didn't even change my name!).

[nashville_brook]

10. according to the article, this WAS legislated!

Stuart Pratt, president of the Consumer Data Industry Association, tells Koeppen, "Congress said there had to be a list. And Congress said there's a law that lenders have to look at the list."

seems to me that there should have been a twee bit more debate and information-sharing before this became law, instead of people learning about this for the first time when they are in a car dealership.

[Hydra]

12. "Your Papers?"

There's only one thing wrong with what you've pointed out- this is NOT a "slippery slope," this is a headlong rush toward complete control of society through legislation and economics.

You know, we were supposed to be fighting the Commie Reds for this exact reason. Kinda puts the lie to that, doesn't it?

[nashville_brook]

14. the beginning of the 21st Century will be known as the 'end of slippery slope'

...the whole experience of 2000 to 2008 is the experience of "headlong rush." there's few tin-foil threads that, once pulled, didn't unravel into Technicolor dystopic reality.

[Hydra]

15. That's really the scary part

It seems that no matter how outlandish a "conspiracy theory" sounds, it more closely follows reality than the accepted line.

[nashville_brook]

9. "it's for the greater good," says the Treasury Dept -- oh, where have we heard THAT before?

When Koeppen noted that, "The Treasury Department says, 'Yes, a few innocent people might get caught up in this, but it's for the greater good,'

when i was turned down for a checking account at Bank of America b/c of new "terrorism rules" the fucking 20-something clerk said this exact thing to me. I was beside myself with anger, already, and that was the cherry on top. No, I didn't bite the clerk -- it's not her fault. Unless she voted for Bush.