Heres a story that should set your alarms going. Police have been given a blank check when it comes to searches. Whatever happened to the constitutional idea of checks and balances. There is good reason to require law enforcement to get a warrant before executing a search. Without that requirement, the door is open to anyone being required to submit to a search at any time with little or no reason.
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Court Opens Door To Searches Without Warrants
NEW ORLEANS -- It's a groundbreaking court decision that legal experts say will affect everyone: Police officers in Louisiana no longer need a search or arrest warrant to conduct a brief search of your home or business.
Leaders in law enforcement say it will provide safety to officers, but others argue it's a privilege that could be abused.
The decision was made by the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Two dissenting judges called it the "road to Hell."
Full Article:
http://www.theneworleanschannel.com/news/2953483/detail.html
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This is a good example of how increased security has been taken entirely too far. While it's true that we do need to increase security, I think it's safe to say that we need to temper this with a certain amount of reason and the plain good sense that God gave us.
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Cross-border church visit costs man $10,000
2/10/2004
MONTREAL (Reuters) - Crossing the U.S.-Canada border to go to church on a Sunday cost a U.S. citizen $10,000 for breaching Washington's tough new security rules.
The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, a resident of rural Maine who lives so close to the Canadian border the U.S. customs office is right next door to his house.
Full Article:
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2004/02/10/cross_border_church_visit_costs_man_10000/
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An "Electronic leash" actually does have legitimate uses, at least it would
be easy to argue in favor of them. After all, there are plenty of people
that the government and law abiding citizens have very good reason to
monitor their movements. The question is, when do these 'leashes' and
other monitoring devices become something that everyone is required to
have? All for our own protection of course.
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Electronic leash would restrict sex offenders
By Elisabeth J. Beardsley
Saturday, January 31, 2004The state's most dangerous sex offenders would be
kept on an electronic leash with global positioning satellites tracking
their every move, under a new Beacon Hill bill.
Full Article:
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/localRegional.bg?articleid=1620
