What surprises me is that ownership of a motor vehicle in the US did away with crucial constitutional guarantees long time ago. While driving or merely being in a motor vehicle you have no right to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures or to a trial by jury. The cops can at will stop and search, confiscate and auction the vehicle you are driving, whether you own it or not, whether they have any warrant to do so, or whether you are subsequently found guilty of anything. All they need to do is to say that they are looking for drugs.
Moreover, in order to be able to travel, you need a permission from the people who call themselves the government (aka drivers licence), which is a privilege that can be revoked at will so, e.g. when the gummint wants your money.
In short, cars were the main vehicle for introducing the police state and suspending the constitution - yet nobody bitched about that. Au contraire, car has been the synonym of the Amerikun freedom. So what is all that fuss about cameras?
wojtek
> The Free Congress Commentary
>
> Yesterday's Fantasy is Tomorrow's Reality
> by Lisa S. Dean
>
> From the "Endangered Liberties" Television Program
>
> With all the discussion about the recounts, lawsuits and "chads"
>with regard to this circus we are charitably calling a presidential
>election, every American with a pulse should now be an expert in
>Florida election law. Every day we endure every gory detail (pardon
>the pun) - the recounts, the lawsuits, the appeals, the result, then
>more recounts, more lawsuits, more appeals, more results. Well, in the
>words of Monty Python, "And now for something completely different".
>
> Back in the 1950s author C. S. Lewis predicted that years from now
>the government will grow to such an enormous size and wield such
>tremendous power that no one will be able to say to officials within
>it "it's none of your business, because everything will be its
>business." Including where you are going, at what time, what was your
>purpose for travelling and who were you with?
>
> Everyone of course thought Lewis was referring to the rulers of
>Narnia but in fact, he was referring to real leaders in real life. As
>we're finding out more and more each day, Lewis' words couldn't have
>been more prophetic, especially when it comes to the study and
>practice of government surveillance.
>
> Two stories reported recently in the press address the very concern
>a growing number of Americans have regarding the privacy of their
>actions.
>
> The Washington Times reported last month that 48,000 people driving
>on Interstate 95 in Maryland received a letter shortly thereafter from
>the Maryland Mass Transit Administration which read as follows: "Your
>vehicle was seen traveling on southbound I-95 near I-195 on Wednesday,
>Sept. 27. Please provide the following information: Where were you
>going? Who was with you? What was the purpose of your trip?"
>
> The 48,000 drivers who received the letter were not accused of any
>crime. The state was merely asking the questions for "information
>purposes" taking advantage of the new surveillance technology along
>the Maryland highways to conduct traffic surveys.
>
> Traffic cameras have been set up along our nation's highways over
>the past few years and there has been no outcry from the public
>because no one wanted to be labeled "paranoid" to think that these
>cameras would be monitoring them and besides, if you don't break any
>traffic laws, what do you have to worry about?
>
> Well, now the answer to that question is becoming very clear.
>Unfortunately, right now, the State of Maryland has no laws
>prohibiting its agencies from spying on motorists and inquiring about
>their activities and whereabouts. Fortunately though, there is no law
>requiring citizens to respond to those inquiries and intrusive
>questions but if there is no outcry at this stage and no legislation
>enacted to prohibit such invasive government monitoring, the day will
>come when it we will be required to respond to letters from government
>officials or, God forbid, knocks at the front door, asking where we
>have been and what we have been doing. But with the continued
>development of implant technology, even those questions might not need
>to be asked because the answers will already be known.
>
> Applied Digital Solutions has patented a new product called
>"Digital Angel" that was released last month and is being marketed to
>companies, e-commerce businesses, law enforcement and even parents.
>
> Digital Angel is the latest in chip implant technology that, when
>implanted under a person's skin, will transmit all vital statistics of
>the individual from satellite to a ground station manned by officials
>who can monitor the whereabouts of each person who has the chip.
>
> Just think, parents can feel more at ease knowing that if their
>child is kidnapped, law enforcement officials can find him just by
>tracking his whereabouts via satellite. And parole officers can stop
>worrying about parolees fleeing the country knowing that Digital Angel
>will watch over them. When purchasing products online, you will no
>longer need to fumble around looking for a credit card. You can just
>scan your Digital Angel chip and the transaction will be completed.
>
> On its face that may sound like a good deal, but would we actually
>be benefiting by it? Remember, if you give the government the power to
>monitor your activities and whereabouts, you give it the power to
>restrict them as well. Instead of viewing ourselves as children of God
>who gave us bodies to treat with respect and as temples of the Holy
>Spirit, we would allow ourselves, in fact, volunteer ourselves to be
>put on, what amounts to electronic leashes, controlled by the
>government. That's no deal. The movie "Enemy of the State" gave us a
>taste of what life would be like with systems such as Digital Angel.
>Even episodes of "The X-Files" has portrayed it as well.
>
> While it seems ridiculous to use fantasy to illustrate reality, the
>way it appears, yesterday's fantasy is tomorrow's reality. Today if
>people continue to believe the lie that we need to give up more
>privacy in exchange for more security, then as all lies go, we will
>find that in the end, we will have neither.
>
>=========================================================================
> Lisa Dean is Vice President for Technology Policy at the Free Congress
>Foundation.
>
> For media inquiries, contact Notra Trulock 202.546.3000 /
>ntrulock at freecongress.org
>
> For other questions or comments, contact Angie Wheeler
>awheeler at freecongress.org
>
> Visit our website at http://www.freecongress.org
>=====================================================================>
> "Whenever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts
>are unauthoritative, void, and of no force."
> --Thomas Jefferson: Kentucky Resolutions, 1798.--
>
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