ACLU Says Ohio's Anti-Terror Tip Program May Increase Profiling, ..

[struggle4progress]

.. Violate Privacy

COLUMBUS, Ohio - January 25 -The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed deep concerns with the Ohio Department of Public Safety's new initiative, "See Something, Say Something," which encourages residents to call a toll free line if they witness something they believe is "suspicious."

"Programs such as this almost always prove to be ineffective in gathering information on possible terrorists," said Christine Link, Executive Director of the ACLU of Ohio. "Even though they are created with the best of intentions, they only serve to reinforce stereotypes and cause innocent people to be subjected to government scrutiny."

The state's campaign will focus on distributing flyers and posters urging residents to report suspicious activity. Some of the cited examples of this type of activity include videotaping a government building ...

The "See Something, Say Something" program lists a few organizations as co-sponsors, most notably the American Red Cross ...

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0125-12.htm

[Botany]

1. I have some hot tips

Ken Blackwell
Tom Noe
Bob Taft
Bernadette Noe
Bob Nye
Jean Schmidt
The Texas Strike Force
Wally O'Dell
Rev. Rod Parsley
Ralph Boehner

My state is either dying or dead .... the thugs have won.

[rodeodance]

2. Ohio does seem to have a problem--and now Blackwell is up in the

polls--what IS IT with Ohioans (majority)?

[Botany]

5. We have our share of dumb ass born again repugs but

..... the majority of Ohio voted for Kerry in 04 but the machines and crooks took it
away ..... the repugs in the state capital are busy trying to maintain their ill gotten power.

[ewoden]

3. I remember a lecture i attended once where a holocaust victim

described the environment in prewar Germany. Someone, obviously seeking to discredit the holocaust claims, asked the lecturer how it was even possible that so few SA and Gestapo were able to find and imprison so many Jews and political prisoners. The lecturer smiled and said, they didn't have to "find" them. All they had to do was establish a climate where that was rewarded and the public took care of that "finding" task themselves.

[NYC]

4. Gestapo files.

I saw a program on PBS. A woman had a file over an inch thick. Most of it was unsolicited reports voluntarily filed by neighbors.

[MercutioATC]

6. Maybe we should just flood the number with calls about Ohio Repubs.

Somebody with a Bush sticker on their car disabled under a bridge on the highway? They could be planting a bomb. It's suspicious.

...you get the idea...