Robert O'Harrow, Jr. of The Washington Post on Surveillance Proposal Expanded – CAPPS II Would Look At More Air Passengers:
A passenger-screening system designed to help capture terrorists could also be used to target people suspected of violent crimes, under a proposal approved by Department of Homeland Security officials.
This is the exactly what us civil libertarians said was going to happen. All of these sweeping police powers granted via the PATRIOT Act and Administrative decree are slowly being expanded until they will eventually be used to cover anyone, anywhere, anytime for any reason. We warned you, folks.
Officials envision deploying CAPPS II — short for the second-generation computer-assisted passenger pre-screening system — to screen truckers, railroad conductors and other transportation workers.
At least for now. They will keep expanding it, inch by inch until the coverage is as complete as the budget and a weakling Congress will allow. And still the sheep that inhabit this country cower in fear, ever willing to trade liberty for security, not grokking that they're being hoodwinked.
James X. Dempsey, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the change shows that officials will be always be tempted to expand the program's reach. "The system hasn't even been launched yet, and they're already thinking up other uses for it," he said.
But we're all paranoid, and besides if you didn't do anything wrong you have nothing to fear. Go and rent Minority Report, or better yet, read the story. This is our future – without the psychics anyway – if the current crew get their way.
Link courtesy of Patrice McDermott via the In Defense of Freedom mailing list.