drip, drip, civil, drip, drip, rights.... DNA police sweeps......

[ChairOne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/10/national/10cape.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=3b2dc4302ab377b5&hp&ex=1105419600&partner=homepage

"TRURO, Mass., Jan. 7 - In an unusual last-ditch move to find clues to the three-year-old killing of a freelance fashion writer, police investigators are trying to get DNA samples from every man in this Cape Cod hamlet, all 790 or so, or as many as will agree."

And no dissolution of civil rights is complete without the standard government explanations. In this case, of course, it's "If you're not guilty, then you've got nothing to hide":

"Sgt. David Perry of the Truro Police Department and other law enforcement authorities here say that the program is voluntary but that they will pay close attention to those who refuse to provide DNA.

"We're trying to find that person who has something to hide," Sergeant Perry said."

Sigh. Americans who hate America - they actively work to destroy it by willingly - eagerly even - giving up their own civil rights....

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. up is down and

you're now guilty till proven innocent.

[Walt Starr]

2. So by refusing to give up your DNA

you're automatically a suspect.

The times just got even more interesting. What a curse.

[wtmusic]

3. Wonder if the ACLU is on this n/t

[zbdent]

12. If I were the ACLU, I would check

the town for level of RED influence.

If I heard one "ACLU stands for . . .", I'd tell them "You're on your own. Try defending yourself one at a time."

Besides, if it is a deeply red area, they're more likely to find DNA matches of more criminals than they bargained for.

[kcass1954]

13. Not really what the ACLU does...

Their integrity is in the fact that they don't just defend liberals and liberal positions. They defend all Americans against any violations of the Bill of Rights. They're not a "liberal" organization.

[zbdent]

27. Well aware of that

They defended the scuzbag Summit County GOP chairman Alex Arshinkoff, who decided that zoning violations do not apply to Republicans when it comes to yard signs.

Also defended the KKK's right to assemble, plus Rush Limbaugh's "right" to privacy despite possessing more pills required to be considered (by law) a drug dealer.

See, the left actually believes in freedom, not the right.

[wicket]

14. they are, check out the LBN thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1138352

[anarchy1999]

4. the mantra is "well, if you don't have anything to hide".

"we the people" are screwed. Same with airport security, even my RW Christian fundamentalist mother-in-law believes she is safer now.

Feel safe yet?

[ChairOne]

6. Just waiting for the day.....

... that people realize that by giving up their civil rights, they are simply trading one threat for another - and a worse one at that. It's possible, at least notionally, to destroy the terrorists, and discourage them from attacking us. It *isn't* possible, by contrast, to get rid of the government - especially not a government that has been given wide-ranging powers to use against the people...

I think there's some poetic justice in the fact that republicans have been soooo eager to endorse the loss of such individual rights. Their thirst for power has given to us the one nugget of truth that they could lay some claim to. Now the bigots have none. Presumably they're banking on the idea that "The govt only wants to go after THEM" for the bigots' own future saftey. This is of course folly, as the WWII German atrocity-bystander saying illustrates.

All because of the republicans' thirst for power, and the bigotry and stupidity of the American public.... Sigh.... What a way for America to go out....

[whistle]

5. Once the police have DNA samples on file and tests are...

...completed, what happens to the leftover DNA material? Here would be 790 individuals whose DNA could be misused by the police in some future time. I would refuse on the basis of privacy. If they want my DNA they will have to charge me with something, sorry. :wtf:

[ChairOne]

7. Article says.....

"The police say they will discard any DNA that does not match their sample and will not keep a databank. But several Truro residents, even those who gave their DNA, said they were skeptical of that, as did John Reinstein, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts."

But of course, trusting the police is like, well, trusting the police...

[whistle]

11. With Romney as governor there is no way I would trust the word

...of the police.

[Nimrod]

8. I got fired once

For refusing to take a mandatory drug test. It was not that I would have failed (I would have come out clean as a whistle), the problem was management were exempt.

The second time I told the management that the day they peed in a cup I'd be right there in the next stall, but not before, they canned my ass.

I still consider it a victory.

[ChairOne]

9. Doh! Sheesh - that totally sux dude - assholes.... /eom

[punpirate]

10. This veiled threat is an appeal...

... for people to surrender their 4th and 5th Amendment rights, and much of this tactic is based on an unexplained FBI suggestion that the murderer is one of the town's residents. Having to provide a DNA sample in order not to be considered a suspect is turning the process inside out.

This area of Massachusetts has several small nearby towns, and it is, even in winter, a place for occasional visitors. This story begs for more information--and better police work.

[anarchy1999]

15. Just kicking back to the top. Thank you punpirate for weighing in on this

n/t

"we the people" are in great danger.

[LibertyorDeath]

16. Is it anywhere near Salem

Local police find an alternative to invasive DNA testing.

We merely drop you in the bay. If you float you are indeed the murderer and must be burnt at the stake! However, if you sink...

[Guaranteed]

22. LOL they should try that one in Dallas...

See how many "murderers" they get.

[Mike Niendorff]

17. christ, what a rationale.

Next up:

Either agree to let the police conduct warrantless searches, or get listed as "suspicious" because you "must have something to hide".

And so vanishes the Bill of Rights.


MDN

[bobbieinok]

20. common practice of police, DA in mystery stories...eg, Perry Mason books

Mason is always emphasizing to his clients....'do not answer any question unless I am present; do not let any policeman into your home, office without a search warrant'

cops in mystery books, TV shows, movies, often say 'what do you have to hide? if you're not guilty, why won't you help us?'

I guess a lot more of the public should have read Perry Mason stories when they were younger.....I did and learned a lot about citizen rights...

wasn't the author, Earl Stanley Gardner, one of a group that investigated cases in which it appeared the person in jail was wrongfully found guilty???? I remember some books in which he wrote in the preface about cases the group had overturned....

[Walt Starr]

18. You KNOW it's ourtrageous when even Freepers are howling!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1317604/posts

At least, the ones who are not totally brainwashed into acceptance of an absolute tyranny!

[ChairOne]

26. It is weird tho, watching the mental gymnastics they go thru...

It's weird how many of those "individual liberties" folks end up in favor of tossing the 4th amendment - and soooo dismissively too!

Of course they do this because they're torn between their desire for their own freedom, and their desire to round up those nigger criminals.... lol - must be hard for them....

But yah - the brighter (a relative term) of them realize there's no principled way to distinguish between their own personal freedom and everybody else's - so they end up shamefacedly being on the ACLU's side.... lol

It's a Scylla and Charybdis for them - lol

[Guaranteed]

19. These police ought to just be fired.

Not only is the patently unAmerican, it's also a collosal waste of time.

3 years old? For all these cops know, the guy who committed the murder is long-gone by now.

And then they're going to thoroughly investigate everyone who won't submit to a DNA test? What'll that be, at least half of these guys?

Yeah- go for it, assholes.

That's just shoddy-ass police work. Pathetic.

[poe]

21. you are all "politically paranoid"

when the 109th congress convenes in washington in january, senator bill frist, plans to file a bill that would define 'political paranoia' as a mental disorder. "rick smith, a spokesman for senator frist, says that the measure has a good chance of passing-something that can only help a portion of the population that is suffering significant distress."
all dissenters get your paxil and hoover vacuums and whistle while you work.

[Guaranteed]

23. I think that Frist bill was actually a joke.

Some people in the thread I saw that in said it wasn't true.

[Al-CIAda]

24. Trading liberty-

"Those who would trade liberty for safety deserve neither and will eventually lose both".

-Jefferson

[ChairOne]

25. O shit - I thought that was Ben Franklin.... /eom

[ProfessorGAC]

28. I'd Say No, Just To Waste Their Time!

They will be keeping an eye on me because i won't give them a slice of skin? Good. Waste your time, and let the real perpetrator slide, stupid!

I'm not contributing my DNA because the police are too incompetent to do their job well. Let's just fire Sgt. Perry, and hire some competent investigators. There's my solution.
The Professor