Updated August 2016: Information is power and abused power equates to control

(by Mark Lerner  03/27/2015)  UPDATED Monthly 10 August 2016.  Increased power by government with diminishing transparency in government equals a loss of freedom for all people regardless of their political ideology, religion, race, ethnicity, age, gender or financial status. It is not too late to do something about the path our country is heading down. In the past a person for the most part only came into contact with law enforcement when they were a victim of a crime, a witness to a crime, the perpetrator of a crime, or got pulled over for a traffic violation. Today we each come into contact with law enforcement or our intelligence agencies on a daily basis in many ways we do not even know about.  As bad as the domestic spying taking place today is, you can still make a difference. That difference starts with you educating people and informing them we are at a point of critical mass.  We must act now or we will have missed the last exit before reaching the point of no return.  If you have a web-site and you are not sharing a link to this article to your readers, I ask you if have you provided all the information that is in this essay to your readers already?  I promise you the answer is “NO” because there is no other place on any web-site that is as all encompassing as this one essay.  Ask yourself who is in the business of collecting your personal information today?  It is your government and they are doing it in ways you will learn about in this essay. “Not to act, is to act” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

UPDATE – JUST SINCE THE ORIGINAL POSTING OF THIS ESSAY THERE HAS BEEN MORE THAN 100 LINKS/STORIES ADDED IN LESS THAN 300 DAYS!!!  If you read this essay previously, you need to read it again for NEW information.  Yes, this essay is longer than the articles typically published by the Constitutional Alliance, but once you have finished reading it you will understand why.  Events are unfolding quickly as this essay illustrates.  We must stop confusing lifestyle with freedom.  When will you draw a line in the sand? When will you call your state and national elected leaders and say “No, to mandated biometrics?”  When will you give generously to the Constitutional Alliance so we can continue to work for legislation to end mandated biometrics?  When will you share a link to the Constitutional Alliance with everyone you are in contact with and ask those people/organizations to do the same?

 

For the purpose of providing a sense of what you are about to learn I am providing a link to an article released by the Rutherford Institute.  This article will be exponentially expanded on within this essay.  http://www.mintpressnews.com/forced-blood-draws-dna-collection-and-biome…

 

UPDATE FOR MAY 2016 – scroll all the way down to item 105

 

UPDATED January 2016 – Nothing would make me happier if this essay did not continually require updated instances of abuse of power. This latest example is the NSA spying on members of Congress. Further down you will read about the CIA spying on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Our duly elected members of Congress must be permitted to do their job without interference from the intelligence community. If our intelligence community will illegally, and unconstitutionally spy on members of Congress, how safe are any of us from the all seeing eye of our intelligence and law enforcement communties? As you work your way through this essay you will dozens of examples of federal, state, and local law enforcement violating the Constitution, and federal and state laws. http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/264448-house-panel-looking-i…

 

UPDATED Februray 2016 – You may wonder why I am positioning this particular case of abuse after an UPDATE from January 2016. The reason is that the UPDATE above from January still leaves a bitter feeling in my stomach. The CIA spying on the U.S. Senate and nobody is held accountable. Anyway, this is one of February’s abuses. It’s an article about a Fire Chief suing because his medical records, and other very personal information was searched repeatedly by law enforcement leading to the Fire Chief being charged criminally. The charges were eventually dropped, but not before his repudation had been tarnished. It was all legal even though there was no probable cause. This particular abuse may not seem too bad. That being said it raises a very important question. Is it an abuse of power when lawmakers pass an unconstitutional law that is then used to bypass the Fourth Amendment? One should ask themselves if we want to be in a society where for every problem, we allow and at times, call for a solution that erodes our freedom. Think about all the challenges our country faces such as, but not limited to, terrorism, immgration, drugs, fraudulent welfare claims, identity theft, and many more crimes that are national challenges. If we continue to encourage or support solutions that eat away at our constitutional rights, we will reach a point where there are no more rights, except those government thinks we should have. http://www.sltrib.com/news/2438954-155/fire-chief-sues-over-alleged-misuse

 

UPDATED January 2016 – The abuse is not going to stop. As long as the public sits back and believes we have no choice but to trust those in a position of power the abuses will only continue. I have commented to the best known civil society organizations including legal advocacy groups that making bad legislation a little less bad is not progress. The Constitutional Alliance participates weekly and monthly with other privacy organizations. Having a seat at the proverbial table means nothing if when you walk in the room, nobody else is there. By nobody, I mean the government officials that are supposed to be listening to the voice of the people. This most recent case of abuse is especially bad because we have to jump through many hoops to get on a plane, only to have to worry about the very people who are supposed to be protecting us. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dea-tsa-agent-cash_us_569f9db5e4b087…

 

UPDATED November 2015 – Some of the 200 links in this essay will provide articles about the extent that government goes to so there is no transparency. Most of the abuses of power documented in this essay are far more insidious than no transparency in government.  https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151110/01353532771/doj-has-blocked-e…

 

UPDATED December 2015 – This is a clear abuse of power. We should not be required to prove our identity to get non-classified information from our government. This is another example of hindering transparency rather than doing what can be done to provide greater transparency, and thus confidence in government. The FBI has changed their rules despite what the courts have previously ruled. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/12/no-photo-ids-fbi-foias

 

UPDATED 19 November 2015 – Unauthorized programs, programs where authorization has expired, top secret databases with little safeguards, all adds up to DHS being out of control.  Where is Congress? Where is the oversight? http://technocracy.news/index.php/2015/11/20/homeland-security-running-h…

 

UPDATE 31 August 2015 -  Two things that are commonly said:  1)  Trust in government is all but gone.  2)  There is too much intrusion into the lives of citizens.  When is enough, enough?  Government assuming the identities of people without the public knowing under what circumstances.  As you read this essay you will find there is no bias when it comes to the information provided.  The information will come from center left media/organizations and from center right media/organizations.  The reason is because we want to emphasize there is a systemic problem regardless of which party is in control.  https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-future/heres-how-law-enforcement-agencies… and UPDATE 21 September 2015 What arguably is an abuse of power that rivals anything Obama has done. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/21/us/21foia-stellarwind-repo…

 

UPDATE 15 October 15 – As you read this essay you will learn what abuse of power means, Can you imagine a U.S. agency actually using flaws in software to their own advantage rather than warning Internet users that their computers are likely compromised? You do not need to imagine it because it is true. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/research-shows-nsa-exploited-flaws…

 

UPDATE 30 September 2015 – Further down as you get into this essay will learn that the CIA not only placed malware on the computers staff people and members of the senate intelligence committee used, but also alleged falsely that staffers had illegally compromised classifed documents. You will learn of the abuse of power of many agencies and departments of the federal government, state government, and yes local government.  The abuse of power by the Secret Service should send a message to all citizens that nobody is exempt from being a target of those in positions of power with access to our personal information. Consider the following quote and the read the story:

“”It’s scary to think about all the possible dangers in having your personal information exposed,” Chaffetz said in a statement late Wednesday afternoon.” http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/secret-service-broke-privacy-law-emb…

 

UPDATE 13 August 2015 – There is no other word to describe what the USPS (United States Postal Service) is doing for law enforcement other than outrageous!  There are upwards of 150 links in this essay.  This is a taste of what is to come as you read this essay. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/us/copy-of-postal-service-audit-shows-…

 

UPDATE September 2015 – You cannot make this type of abuse of power up.  I know the overwhelming majority of law enforcement people want to serve and protect the public. The problem is one of culture; a culture that has a cancer that is spreading and threatening our Constitution. Eventually there will be nothing of substance left.  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/11/clash-over-dea-no-warrant-sea…

 

Many of the links/articles provided in this essay will document that local, state and federal law enforcement, and our intelligence community are working hand and hand to know everything about each of us.  This is not to say they have achieved their goal yet but the progress is astounding.  With more databases being linked and new databases being created we do not have the luxury of waiting to act. As more technologies are developed and new applications of existing technologies are implemented government unquestionably has the tools to know what we are doing, where we are at doing what it is we are doing, who we are with when we are doing whatever it is we are doing, how we traveled to wherever we are at, when we arrived at wherever we are at, and even to know where we are going when we leave where we are at.  Predictive analytics or as some refer to it the “thought police” is a reality today as you will find out from one of the over 100 links/articles below.  I can understand that many people are not aware of the ways in which all this information is made available to intelligence and law enforcement personnel.  As you read this essay you will learn about the many ways all this information is being obtained. 

 

All the information being collected about us is digitized thus creating what I have call our 24/7 digital footprint.  This footprint allows for information to be shared both horizontally and vertically.  Local law enforcement can share information with other local and/or state law enforcement within a state or around the country with other local and/or state law enforcement.  Federal agencies and departments can share information with one another at the federal level.  These are both examples of the horizontal sharing of information.  Just one example of the vertical sharing of information is Fusion Centers.  Theses are centers that are located in states that house in the same building local law enforcement, state law enforcement and federal law enforcement working side by side.  You will find links to articles about Fusion Centers within this essay.  The sharing of information being collected about each of us is not being limited to just within the boundaries of our country.  International standards have been developed and utilized for the collecting and sharing of our PII (Personal Identifiable Information).  There are international telecommunication networks that you will learn about as you read this essay.  There is only one reason to develop and utilize international standards; to facilitate global information sharing. 

 

There are a little over 170 links (was 50) provided to different articles and documents in this essay.  Nearly every link is to an article or document published within the last 18 months or so.  The reason this document focuses primarily on just the last 18 months is I want everyone to understand just how much ground we are losing and just how fast we are losing that ground, thus our rights eroding and/or being converted into privileges.  My own personal library for 2014 alone is well over 500 links to articles and documents.  For 2015 my library is already over 150 links to articles and documents. These documents represent many thousands of pages. 

 

I want to ask those that believe the domestic surveillance has a proper place in our society that they also weigh the value of domestic surveillance against the known abuses of power by government that this essay provides.  If in fact some domestic surveillance is constitutional, should we also not consider if the same domestic surveillance should be limited if those in power abuse their power?  I often hear people say that domestic spying can assist in preventing crime and terrorism.  There is an assumption that comes with this thinking and that is that the people doing the domestic spying can be trusted not to use the information gathered for their own purposes rather than for the good of the country.  After reading this essay there should be no doubt that power is being abused.  There should also be no doubt that often power is abused not for the good of the country but rather in many cases, to further the ambitions of individuals and/or corporations.  Richard Clarke, the who formerly headed a cross agency counter terrorism security group in charge of getting Osama Bin Laden addressed the issue of NSA domestic spying in an interview done by the Washington Post roughly a year ago.  The following is directly from the Washington Post story:

“Richard Clarke, a member of the White House review panel and a former White House counterterrorism adviser, said he thinks the NSA can use traditional methods — such as obtaining a court order — to obtain data as part of counterterrorism investigations.

“Although we might be safer if the government had ready access to a massive storehouse of information about every detail of our lives, the impact of such a program on the quality of life and on individual freedom would simply be too great,” the group’s report said.”

We have been updating this article every month since March 2015. Few things could make me happier than if there was nothing to add to the 200 or so links; each of which highlights another instance of abuse of power. As you scroll down to the bottom of this essay you will find another abuse of power that came to light in Februray 2016. I chose the following to illustrate that the 4th Amendment is in many ways. A person’s health and medical issues is between the person and their doctor. We realize there are also insurance companies and more importantly family members that will learn of an individual’s situation. Nowhere does law enforcement fit into the equation unless an illegal act has taken place. Then and only then is there probable cause for a warrant. Only when there is a warrant should law enforcement have the ability to access a person’s medical information. http://www.sltrib.com/news/2438954-155/fire-chief-sues-over-alleged-misuse

I do not have a great deal of hope that Congress and/or bureaucrats will stop the bleeding.  This is why it is incumbent on state lawmakers to enact state legislation that will protect citizens against the overreaching of the federal government.  State lawmakers were never intended to be the surrogates of the federal government.  State lawmakers must be the buffer between an overreaching federal government and the people.  Many surveillance programs originated under President Bush but President Obama has arguably made the situation more dire.  Regardless of which party has controlled either of or both chambers of Congress, domestic spying has only increased.  The problem has become so bad that there are documented cases where criminal charges against individuals have been dropped rather than law enforcement divulging how evidence was obtained.  Law enforcement at the state and federal level are going to extreme lengths to protect the types of technology being used, how the technology operates, and who the technology has been targeted at.  There are also documented cases where law enforcement officers have lied to the courts, prosecutors, and defense attorneys about where evidence originated. 

 

I am not suggesting every elected leader, every bureaucrat, every corporation, every law enforcement officer, or everyone in our intelligence community is corrupt, or has a complete disregard for “our rights.” What is undeniable is the “culture” in which government and corporations operate is corrupted. We are fundamentally allowing the relationship between government and the people to change for the worse. The culture has not improved regardless of which political party has been in power.

 

It is not our purpose to lessen the respect we should each have for our brave men and women in our military, law enforcement and intelligence community.  Culture is a direct result of the actions and words of those in leadership positions. The fact is the Constitutional Alliance reviews threat assessments done by those in our military, law enforcement and intelligence community.  Many of the threats are actual threats that must be dealt with. The problem from our perspective is it is clear our government’s thinking is to collectively deal with all threats by collecting the PII (Personal Identifiable Information) including biometrics of all people. Obviously there are additional measures our country takes to deal with individual threats.  When all information is collected about all people in a non-transparent manner, it inevitably creates distrust between government and citizens. What is given little thought by those in policy making decisions is that the actions of government directly impact what people may do and certainly how people think about government.  Distrust breeds contempt and contempt can often lead to disruptive if not violent reactions.  We have a Constitution that is and must be the framework for what government does.  If there is no such framework the result is no different than a house being built without a solid foundation; the inevitable result is a destruction. 

 

I intentionally have not included any links/articles that are “political”, or in other words suggest that either Democrats or Republicans are more or less likely to abuse power than the other party.  Domestic spying is an equal opportunity offender that has taken place when Republicans have held power and when Democrats have held power.  There are Republicans, Democrats and Independents that support the Constitutional Alliance because they understand the need, the absolute need to uphold and defend our Constitution. 

 

We only have a few years before the “Chilling Effect” of a surveillance state will numb the majority of the people in our country. Singapore is an excellent example of where confusing lifestyle with freedom led to a surveillance state in which self-censorship is now the accepted norm.  Looking from the outside a person would think that Singapore is a thriving state where there is a vibrant economy and citizens are encouraged to be innovative and think outside the box.  If you think what took place in Singapore cannot happen here in the United States, you are wrong. The United States is a Constitutional Republic or at least that is what our forefathers created.  We have a representative form of government but are now being forced to ask just who is being represented?  There are links below provided in the body of this essay that document not only that the Chilling Effect is real but quantify as best as possible just how real the Chilling Effect is here in the United States.  I wrote about the Chilling Effect and in doing so described it and the consequences of a Chilling Effect ( http://constitutionalalliance.org/articles/chilling-effect-domestic-spying )

 

If you have been following the work of the Constitutional Alliance you know our position is that biometrics is the linchpin of a surveillance state.  The Constitutional Alliance opposes mandated biometric enrollment (i.e.. fingerprinting, iris scans, digital facial images for use with facial recognition software, voice recognition, vein geometry and DNA).  Many organizations will tell you the sky is falling.  There is no doubt we paint a very disturbing picture of what is to come. What separates the Constitutional Alliance is our people are working to end mandated biometric enrollment and have your current biometrics in state databases wiped clean.  The Constitutional Alliance has made available legislation that can be introduced in state legislatures that would allow people to receive an exemption from providing their biometrics.  We provide the documents to support why such legislation should be passed and signed into law.   The Stop Real ID Coalition which is the sister organization of the Constitutional Alliance authors the legislation.  The Constitutional Alliance has helped individuals but now with the legislation, more people can he helped with your assistance. 

 

The fact is there are many legal and privacy advocacy groups doing fine work.  These groups are focused on federal legislation and court cases that protect the rights of citizens.  The Constitutional Alliance in some cases works with these groups and/or organizations.  The Constitutional Alliance watches what states and the federal government is doing.  The federal government decided that if the federal government can get the states, including state and local law enforcement, to act as surrogates for the federal government then the Privacy Act of 1974 can be ignored.

 

There is a difference between the low resolution analog photos used before 2001 and the currently used high resolution digital facial images specifically taken today for use with facial recognition software. The photos appear the same on a driver’s license but the analog photo is not facial recognition compatible because of the extremely high error rate.  The Constitutional Alliance does not suggest there should not be photos on driver’s licenses, only that the photos not be facial recognition compatible and state legislatures should enact legislation that would prohibit the use of facial recognition software. In addition, we support the right of people such as the Amish and some Jewish people to not have their photos on any identification documents because of their sincerely held religious beliefs. The Constitution either has meaning and value or it does not.

 

2014 was the year that the FBI’s NGI (Next Generation Identification) program focused on facial recognition and voice recognition.  Phone calls can be recorded but just knowing whose name is on the account of a specific cell phone number does not assure that the person who is actually using the phone is the account holder. To know who is using the phone would require a database of the voices of people that links a voice to a specific person/name. Just as facial recognition is a biometric, so is voice recognition.  The FBI announced in 2014 that the NGI database is fully operational.  As one of the links below to an article states, law enforcement at some point going forward would like to see a national DNA database that includes the DNA of all people in our country.  Please do not think “that will never happen.”  If I told you fifteen years ago that the depth and scope of domestic surveillance taking place today would exist you would have told me I was a conspiracy theorist.  It has been well over ten years ago that I warned people that there would be a global system of identification and financial control.  When I first started speaking out there were few states in the United States that required people to provide their biometrics in order to acquire a state driver’s license.  Today every state is collecting at least one biometric of every applicant for a state driver’s license or state ID card for those that do not drive.  The FBI has openly said it intends to create the world’s largest biometric database. 

 

There have been verified multiple occurrences of law enforcement using facial recognition software to “identify” civilians doing nothing more than exercising their right to peacefully assemble, right to free speech, right to associate with whom they choose, right to seek redress of their grievances and right to be protected against unreasonable search and seizure.  This is despite the fact that the Supreme Court has ruled even though we do not have a general right to privacy when in public, we do have a right to anonymity, unless there is reasonable suspicion that we have or are doing something wrong.  Currently there is no federal law that protects each of us from being identified in public when CCTV, smart phones, or drones capture our facial image and the facial image is compared to tens of millions of facial images in federal or state databases using facial recognition software.  You are going to have the opportunity to click on close to 200 links in this essay.  Keep in mind this essay is updated continiously has new corroborable information becomes available.  How much surveillance is too much?  When should search warrants be required?  The following link is to an article published on 13 August 2015:  https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/08/san-diegos-facial-recognition-prog…

 

Until recently reasonable suspicion was based on what a law enforcement officer observed.  Today, using facial recognition law enforcement is identifying people in public and looking at a myriad of databases in addition to what they observe to determine is there is reasonable suspicion.  Reasonable suspicion should be based on observation; not big data.  Databases contain our education level, our marital status, what groups/organization we belong to, what, whether we own a weapon, our military experience or lack thereof, and many other pieces of data that should not be the basis for our loss of anonymity or having to “show our papers.”  As you will learn from one of the links below data mining companies have as many as 1500 data points about each of us.  The partnership between data mining companies, and agencies and departments of the federal government is well documented.  https://epic.org/privacy/profiling/datamining3.25.03.html

 

We each have a responsibility to the children of today and tomorrow to ensure the liberty and rights we inherited at such great sacrifice of previous generations is protected for future generations.  We must honor those that have died or have been injured protecting our freedom; not allowing their sacrifices to be in vain. 

 

For Jews and Christians there is a responsibility to warn others!  Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from me.”   There are some Jews and Christians that for different reasons understand the biblical consequences of mandated global biometric enrollment.  Many but not enough Christians see the undeniable connection between what we are told in Revelation 13:16-18 and what is occurring in the world today.  Regardless of when a Christian believes the Rapture will occur, there is a responsibility to warn non-Christians of what is to come.  The Constitutional Alliance connects the dots for Christians in a document titled “Religious Objections to Biometric ID” which is contained in a section on our homepage titled “What Christians Need to Know.”  The article “Religious Objections to Biometric ID” was first written seven years ago. Currently there is legislation, The Legal Workforce Act before congress that will require every employer regardless of size to collect the biometrics of each prospective employee.  The employer then would be required to provide the biometrics to the Department of Homeland Security.  Previously on multiple occasions The Photo Identification Security Act was introduced in congress.  We expect this legislation to be introduced again.  The Photo Identification Security Act requires all financial institutions to collect the biometrics of all customers.  There is no definition within the legislation that defines what a financial institution is.  It can be any place where any form of money is exchanged, used, or deposited.  Literally our ability to work, travel, buy, and sell is being tied to our body or in other words, our bodies are becoming our ID 

 

To understand just how right the Constitutional Alliance was and is about mandated biometric enrollment all one needs to do is read one of many articles we have published over the last year.  I personally recommend “There can be no denying we are each being enrolled into a single global system of identification and financial control.” http://constitutionalalliance.org/articles/there-can-be-no-denying-we-ar…

 

Before getting to the 170 links (this includes all the links in this essay) I want to start with 5 links that in some way “set the board” for the rest of this document.  Also I am sure some will skim down the page and click on some links that look particularly interesting to them.  Some will not open any links. There might be some that click on all links either now or over a period of time.  You have to ask yourself if not opening any links is meeting your responsibility to those that have sacrificed for our country, and the children of today and tomorrow. 

 

Please give as generously as you can $5, $10, $50, $100 or more so that the Constitutional Alliance can continue the fight against mandated biometric enrollment.  We are a 501(C)(3) thus your contributions of $20 or more should be tax deductible. The Constitutional Alliance is the only organization that is solely focused on stopping mandated biometric enrollment.  We have had successes over the years but now we must step up the effort and that requires your help.  We have been in nearly every state over the last few years and met with members of Congress and their staff.  Over the last ten years we have been contacted by people in over 50 countries.  For over ten years we have warned people that the goal of government(s) is total global biometric enrollment that links your body to your ability to be able to buy, sell, travel, and work. At first some people thought we were paranoid or wore tin foil hats; now people come to us to find out what to expect moving forward.  Go to our homepage and give today or send your contribution to Constitutional Alliance, P.O.. Box 2512, Mountain View, Arkansas, 72560. 

 

God Bless these United States Of America

 

This update is from June 2015.  Rather than moving this down to the bottom of all the links provided I decided this article deserves special attention.  The reason for this level of attention is because this is emblematic of how government attempts to minimize a huge problem.  This story will tell of 4 million government employees including people in our intelligence agencies having their personal information compromised.  http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/244084-hackers-make-off-with-4-m… NOW See how the number increased when those in power thought the story had been through the news cycle and nobody was paying attention any longer http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/opm-hack-deeper-publicly-acknowledged-und… BUT WAIT this came out even more recently http://www.govexec.com/management/2015/06/second-hack-government-data-ma… Still not done https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/07/office_of_perso.html Today the total number of people compromised is estimated at approximately 22 million.  UPDATE 23 September The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had originally said that 1.1 million fingerprints of law enforcement and intelligence people had been compromised as part of the “hack.” On 23 September 2015 the truth won out and the OPM now says 5.5 million fingerprints were compromised. Obviously this is a national security nightmare.  Our law enforcement and intelligence people who depend on being able to operate undercover are now at risk.  This begs the question if government cannot protect the biometrics of it’s own why should citizens trust their biometrics to any government entity? http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2015/09/opm-says-more-fingerprint-d…

 

A)  Link to a story about biometrics is not as privacy friendly as you might think.  Dec. 2013 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biometric-security-poses-huge-… and http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/01/us/nsa-document.html?_r=1 Make sure you scroll down what was once a secret document.  There are 4 pages. 

 

UPDATE- A hacker has successfully “captured” the fingerprints of people by using photographs of the people that includes a person’s hands/fingers.  CBS news covered the story on their evening news program 6 January 2015.  The story originally was covered a week earlier by a European media outlet.  http://www.techtimes.com/articles/23714/20141230/hacker-uses-photos-to-c…

 

What I would like you to take away from this story is that the Constitutional Alliance has for years warned people about the danger/risks associated with the belief that biometrics are going to solve our country’s problems that include immigration, identity theft, terrorism, welfare and other fraud, and the list goes on and on. 

 

Biometrics is a fool’s errand.  The day will come when people across the world will understand that “government” will use biometrics to serve itself at the expense of all free people.  There is a reason that section “A” is longer than other parts of this essay.  The reason is to provide some context to the reader that all the other links/articles can be viewed in. 

 

I have used quotation marks around the word government because we each must consider that government can no longer be defined in such a way that we have done so in the past.  In the past we thought of government as the people we elect to office and the bureaucrats that served in life long positions most of the time.  Government now is an unholy alliance between people we elect, bureaucrats, NGO’s (Non-governmental organizations) and corporations.  Polices are no longer developed into legislation by our elected lawmakers, enacted into law, and implemented in the best interest of the people government serves or at least is supposed to be serving.  All too often I hear people say we can change government by electing new people into office.  This is a nice thought but not one based in reality.  The reality is incumbents are reelected 80% to 90% of the time. 

 

We believe that because one party or the other controls congress and/or the executive branch, by electing new people we will see a change in government when the party out of power, becomes the party in power or control.  This may have been true when policies originated with the people we elect to office.  Today we have policies being developed by think tanks and corporations.  Because in large part of the need for dollars to get elected, our elected leaders have become beholden to the people that fund their campaigns.  It is also true that many bureaucrats no longer serve as many years as bureaucrats of the past did.  Today there is a revolving door between bureaucrats and corporations.  This same revolving door also does exist for many of our elected leaders at both the state and federal level. 

 

What was once the largest biometric company in the United States had the former Directors of the FBI, CIA, TSA on their Board of Directors.  At the same time leaders of different intelligence agencies were also either on the payroll of the company or on the Board of Directors.  The person the headed up the State Department’s E-Passport program was also on the payroll of the company.  This company, Viisage Technology, morphed into L-1 Identity Solutions and was later sold to a French company named Safran.  Safran’s U.S.. subsidiary Morpho-Trust produces nearly every state driver’s license, welfare identification card and also is one of the companies involved in the production of U.S.. passports and what is known as Enhanced Driver’s Licenses.  Safran is 22% owned by the French government with offices all over the world including in Russia and China.  Safran has had what they call a nearly 40 year partnership with China.  I know it is hard to believe that this French company plays such a significant role in the production of U.S.. identification documents but when you understand that the former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff’s company was on the payroll of Safran, it all begins to make sense.  A link to Safran http://www.safran-group.com/ and a link to Michael Chertoff’s relationship with Safran http://www.chertoffgroup.com/press-releases-the-chertoff-group-marks-fir…

 

Consider that whether a person is talking about the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare), regulations governing the licensing of drones, or even the most recent budget passed by Congress and signed by the President Obama; corporations in part wrote the actual legislation and/or regulations.  The pharmaceutical industry wrote the provisions in Obamacare that protected the pricing of drugs for the pharmaceutical industry.  It is just one of the many reasons healthcare cost in the United States is so expensive.  The drone industry wrote the actual regulations governing the use of drones.  In the case of the most recent budget passed in December 2014, the banking industry wrote the actual language in the budget that ensures banks that fail can receive a bailout. 

 

The Constitutional Alliance is not anti-government or anti-corporations.  We fully support the free market, free enterprise and capitalism.  What we are opposed to is moving the rights of individuals to the back burner and moving the best interest of corporations and those in government to the front burner.  Not all corporations or people in government are bad actors but the fact is the culture that government and corporations operate within has been corrupted.  The individual and entrepreneurship is what help make this country great.  Individuals are innovators that create small businesses that turn into corporations.  When the rights of the individual are sacrificed at the expense of government and corporations the result is where we are today, a corrupt culture that government and corporations benefit from; not the individual.  . 

 

B)  Link to a story about the testimony of the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper before a congressional committee.  I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. March 2014 http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2014/mar/11/james-clappe…

 

C)  A link to a story about the CIA spying on committee staffers for the Senate Intelligence Committee, the very committee that was investigating the CIA.  July 2014  http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/31/politics/cia-spying-senate-apologize/

 

D)  A link to an article about the FBI wanting a back door to encrypted phone data and other forms of electronic communication “A “Back Door” to Encryption for Government Surveillance”  Nov. 2014 https://cdt.org/insight/issue-brief-a-backdoor-to-encryption-for-governm…

 

E)  A link to an article about “Smart Televisions.”  I am providing this article for two reasons.  I want to educate people about the “downside” of smart appliances.  I also want to encourage people to think about “If the capability does exist, it will be used.”  If there is one lesson that will stand out as you work your way through the links provided it will become apparent that whenever law enforcement or our intelligence community have the capability to reach into the “technology cookie jar” and pull out a technology that furthers the creation of a surveillance state; that technology will be used. http://www.salon.com/2014/10/30/im_terrified_of_my_new_tv_why_im_scared_… ADDITIONALLY – Other smart devices that most people have no idea are smart devices but can be used to “spy” on people in their homes http://finance.yahoo.com/news/generation-genuinely-creepy-electronic-dev…
 

 

5)  Link to an article about the Mayor of Houston demanding sermons from pastors. Whether a person is a Christian or not, the action of the Mayor is reprehensible. Abuse of power is not unique to state or federal government.  Oct 16,2014 http://newsbusters.org/blogs/dan-gainor/2014/10/16/houston-attacks-relig…

 

6)  Link to an article about the FBI’s quiet attempt to be able to increase its ability to hack into anyone’s computer.  November 2014 http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2014/11/fbis-quiet-plan-expand-its-…

 

7)  Link to an article about the collection of student data under Common Core. People in Oklahoma should definitely read this article fully. Sept. 2013 http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/2013/201309100.asp

 

8)  Link to an article about a pilot welfare program in N.C. where welfare recipients will provide a biometric photo from a smart phone to receive benefits.  Sept. 2014  http://www.morphotrust.com/NSTIC?

 

 

9) Link to an article about the “blending of non-criminals and criminals” for tracking care providers. Sept. 2014 https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140925/05433028634/fbis-biometric-pr…

 

10)  Link to an article about how local law enforcement is cooperating with FBI on NGI (Next Generation Identification) database without the public’s knowledge.  Sept. 2014 http://www.biometricupdate.com/201409/la-county-sheriffs-department-to-l…

 

11)  Link to an article about one, one of many, of the largest compromises of a retailer’s database (Home Depot).  Sept 2014 http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/18/technology/security/home-depot-hack/inde…

 

12)  Link to an article about how innocent citizens can be in FBI’s facial recognition NGI database.  Sept. 2014 http://rt.com/usa/187968-fbi-facial-recognition-biometrics/

 

13)  Link to an industry report stating biometrics are not foolproof  July 1014 http://justsecurity.org/15018/justice-department-proposal-massive-expand…

 

14)  Link to an article about law enforcement domestic surveillance is not working efficiently. Sept 2014 http://www.biometricupdate.com/201409/secrecy-surrounds-government-surve…

 

15)  Link to an article about Boston concert goers subjected to facial recognition.  The people were not doing anything illegal.  Aug. 2014 http://www.biometricupdate.com/201408/boston-spied-used-facial-recogniti…

 

16)  Link to an article about domestic spying on innocent citizens; massive data collection.  Sept 2012 The reason I have included this story even though it is over a year old is, I feel it is necessary to comprehend at least in part the massive amount of data being collected.  http://www.biometricupdate.com/201212/big-data-allows-governments-to-spy…

 

17)  Link to an article about a Chinese National hired by Fusion Center who had access to all kinds of sensitive information of citizens, DMV database and other databases, and also had ability to use facial recognition.  This individual literally picked up his things one day and went back to China.  Law enforcement wanted to keep this story about this person secret.  Aug. 2014 https://beta.cironline.org/investigations/data-breach-mystery-leads-from…

 

18)  Link to an article about DHS employees having their own sensitive personal information compromised begging the question if DHS cannot protect their own employee’s information, how can DHS be trusted with the information of innocent citizens? Aug. 2014 http://www.okcfox.com/story/26353246/security-breach-hit-25000-federal-w…

 

19)  Link to a story about the NSA knowing about HeartBleed “bug” for years but did not inform the public so that the NSA could exploit the bug for their own purposes. In all fairness to the NSA, the NSA has denied it knew about Heartbleed.  This begs the question of why should anyone believe what the NSA says?  For over 30 years whistelblowers have came forward and provided revelations about the NSA’s domestic spying.  In each case the NSA denied what we now know to be true.  April 2014 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-11/nsa-said-to-have-used-heartblee…

 

20)  Link to a story about just how secure or not secure your electronic health records are.  June 2014 http://healthenews.cchfreedom.org/newsletter.php/148

 

21)  Link to a story to expand use of ALPR (Automatic License Plate Readers) combining ALPR with predictive analytics and facial recognition.  June 2014 http://cironline.org/reports/plans-expand-scope-license-plate-readers-al…

 

22)  Link to an excellent article by John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute where several Supreme Court decisions are discussed that has given law enforcement unprecedented power creating a police state. June 2014   http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=f6eb78f457b7b82887b643445&id=da090e7…

 

23)  Link to a story about the federal government tracking your credit ratings and other financial data. May 2014  http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/new-federal-database-will-track-americ…

 

24)  Link to a PDF document that discusses the problems surrounding the collection of “big data” and what the federal government is doing and wants to do.  April 2014 http://epic.org/privacy/big-data/EPIC-OSTP-Big-Data.pdf

 

25)  Link to a story detailing facial recognition can be wrong 20% of the time.  Oct 2013 http://reason.com/blog/2013/10/08/wrong-person-may-be-identified-20-percen

 

26)  Link to a story about a state collecting the personal information of people in an effort to determine who is a threat.  April 2014 http://mrconservative.com/2014/04/39840-government-creating-database-of-…

 

27)  Link to a story about biometric surveillance means someone is always watching.  April 2014 http://www.newsweek.com/2014/04/25/biometric-surveillance-means-someone-…

 

28)  Link to a story that clearly shows/quantifies the “Chilling Effect” of domestic spying.  April 2014 http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/heres-more-evidence-that-nsa-fear… and UPDATE – New article/link about how the Chilling Effect of a surveillance state is impacting what writers write – January 2015 http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/arts/writers-say-they-feel-censored…

 

29)  Links to two stories about the reverse engineering of biometric templates.  I am not concerned about the dates of these two articles.  I have included these two articles because almost all people believe what they have been told which is biometrics are secure.  Unlike credit card numbers, bank account numbers and even social security numbers, you have only one set of your biometrics.  http://www.wired.com/2012/07/reverse-engineering-iris-scans/all/ and http://www.biometricupdate.com/201304/biometric-payments-in-school-cafet…

 

30)  Link to an article where government official says anonymity is a lost cause.  This article is over a year old but it merits being included in this list because it goes to the mindset of our government officials.  http://www.businessinsider.com/nsa-can-see-facebook-chats-or-messages-20…

 

31)  Link to a PDF document about abuse of big data by government.  September 2014.  This is a 34 page document.  You can cut right to the chase and go to page 25.  http://bigdata.fairness.io/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Civil_Rights_Big_D…

 

32)  Link to a story about police gathering or swiping the DNA of people not even charged with a crime and more. Nov. 13

 

33)  Link to an article about the Department of Commerce going to make a ruling about the commercial use of facial recognition (still waiting).  Dec. 2013 http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-16/facial-recognition-on-facebo…

 

34)  Link to a document (PDF) that in the first two pages outlines the constitutional issues with the use of facial recognition. You can read just first two pages and start to understand why facial recognition is a threat to our rights. 2014 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2394838&download=yes

 

35)  Link to a Harvard Law Review paper on total surveillance. 2013 http://harvardlawreview.org/2013/06/addressing-the-harm-of-total-surveil…

 

36)  Link to an article about the use of predictive analytics by DHS.  Although this is a 2011 article I felt it was necessary to include because it helps people to understand what is meant by “thought police.”  http://gcn.com/Articles/2011/10/14/DHS-predictive-analysis-crime-prevent…

 

37)  Link to an article about just how many terrorist attacks have been stopped by NSA surveillance. I will give you a hint – no, that would ruin the surprise Jan. 2014 http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/youll-never-guess-how-many-terrorist-pl…

 

38)  Link to an article about the use of drones by law enforcement and how people’s rights are impacted.  Oct 2014 http://epic.org/privacy/surveillance/spotlight/1014/drones.html UPDATE – The FBI clings to secrecy even when the FBI has issued conflicting statements about why drones are used January 2015 https://privacysos.org/node/1638

 

39)  Link to an article about state and local law enforcement now having the capability to determine if there is alcohol in a vehicle by using sensor similar to a radar gun.  January 2015 http://thefreethoughtproject.com/designated-driver-what-police-laser-sni…

 

40)  Link to an article about using RFID and biometrics on school children.  I added this link to specifically show how children are being indoctrinated into believing surveillance technologies are acceptable.  Oct.

2014 http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2014/1…

 

41)  Link to an interview about smart meters.  I chose an older link because it covers the concerns of almost all privacy advocates.  There are also serious real concerns about the safety and health issues smart meters are now causing that are not addressed in this article http://stopsmartmeters.org/2010/09/22/interview-with-eff-how-smart-meter…

 

42)  Link to an article about RFID hacking easier than you think. 2013 http://www.eweek.com/security/hacking-rfid-tags-is-easier-than-you-think…

 

43)  Link to a PDF document that specifically addresses the ability law enforcement believes it should have and will have going forward.  I suggest you cut to the chase and go directly to page 21 of the 22 page document and then ask yourself if this is the country you want for you or your children.  I intentionally used this document knowing it is a 2007 document because on page 21 of the document, the author is talking about 10 to 15 years out.  That is 3 to 8 years out from now. http://www.dnapolicy.org/resources/LaBerge-National_Press_Club_07.pdf UPDATE Sept. 2015  The link has been pulled down.  I am leaving it up as a source because what was said at the conference cannot be undone simply by taking down a link.  That being said Kaye Beach a Board member of the Constitutional Alliance published a Power Point document from the original PDF document. https://axiomamuse.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/envisioning-the-future-of… (pages 4 and 5)

 

44)  Link to a very informative story about the dangers of having your driver’s license “swiped.” Oct. 2014 http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=87840

 

45)  Link to an article about the abuses of cities and vendors who use or provide “Red light” cameras.  Aug. 2014 http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/08/29/is-camera-technology-being-misused/

 

46)  Link to an article about the over $3 billion dollars spent on lobbying each year.  http://ivn.us/2014/07/01/a-brief-history-of-congressional-lobbying/  I have refrained in listing most of the links from inserting my own thoughts, but I do have a question.  With each member of Congress on average being bombarded with $5.5 million a year from lobbyists, does anyone really believe members of Congress are putting the interests of the people ahead of the lobbyists and their employers?  I am not suggesting all lobbyists are bad; I am saying the “system” has and is being corrupted.  

 

47)  Links to two articles that go to the issue of state authorities sharing the information of innocent citizens with the federal government.  Feb  2014 http://privacysos.org/node/1324 and 2013 http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/schaefer-says-atf-bureau-and-social-…

 

48)  Link to an article describing the U.S. Postal Service making copies of the outside of all mail for law enforcement. 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/us/monitoring-of-snail-mail.html?pagew…

 

49)  Link to a web-site that provides information about the many database breaches that have occurred.  I decided to use this web-site to illustrate that databases are not secure regardless of whose database it is. 2014 http://www.hackersnewsbulletin.com/category/database-hacked

 

50)  Link number 50 is to an all encompassing article about how data mining companies are working for “Big Brother.” https://www.opendemocracy.net/pratap-chatterjee-tom-engelhardt/data-hack…

 

51)  Link to an article about a court ruling the FBI must reveal more about its NGI facial recognition database because of a significant public interest.  Nov. 2014 http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2014/11/federal-judge-says-public-h…

 

52)  Link to an article that details the ability of the British counterpart to our NSA called GCHQ (Government Communications Center), being able to access U.S. citizen’s Internet and phone data without a warrant. October 2014 http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2014/10/british-spies-dont-need-war…

 

53)  Link to current legislation in Congress that will result in worldwide biometric enrollment for all children.  November 2018 http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/congress-alert/2014/november/18…

 

54)  An article about the CIA torture program.  This is an issue that many people have varying thoughts about.  What is unacceptable is when our elected leaders lied to the public about the extent of the program and in some cases the very existence of the program.  According to a variety of sources including the senate report, President Bush was not aware of the program until 2006.  There is not a reported date for Vice President Cheney.  What is clear is that President Bush went on television in 2007 and said torture was not taking place.  There are many reasons to be concerned about the program and what the consequences will be. December 2014  http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/sen-mark-udall-bashing-cia-revea…

 

55)  The totality of the surveillance network via CCTV and other “cameras” that DHS is putting together is not understood by the public.  To best understand the totality of video surveillance the link provided provides a great overview.  Keep in mind that within a short period of years local, state and federal law enforcement will have thousands of drones flying over U.S. cities and towns.  We should expect the video feeds from drones to be included in the network of surveillance DHS has already in place. December 2014 http://www.blacklistednews.com/DHS_run_police_departments_expanding_surv…

 

56)  A wonderful link that provides an overview of the surveillance being conducted by the NSA.  This link is to a six part video where each video is roughly 30 minutes long.  While most people will not invest the nearly three hours to watch the entire six part series I felt it is necessary to provide the six part series for those that will invest the time.  This series does an excellent job of providing the nuts and bolts of what is taking place; the depth and scope of surveillance on ALL people including U.S. citizens. October 2014  http://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2014/11/americas-surveillance-state-par…

 

57) A link to an article that specfically addresses the predictive analytic technology of one company.  The use of the technology results in people being assigned a “threat score.”  The threat score is the most troubling aspect of the article. Predictive analytics as it pertains to an individual is the equivalent of the “thought police.” Being a law enforcement officer is a difficult job at best and as such law enforcement does deserve our appreciation. That being said we need officers that will stand up, uphold and defend our Constitution or our appreciation will inevitably be replaced by distrust. December 2014 http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/12/12/police-data-mining-look…

 

58) A link to an article on a new way to capture a person’s fingerprints using photographs Dec. 2014 http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/30/technology/security/fingerprint-hack/ind…

 

59) A link to a story about the FBI ignoring FISA court rulings and doing what the FBI wants to do by issuing NSL’s (National Security Letters).  The “end run” by the FBI is a clear violation of the intent of the law and shows a clear disregard for the rights of people.  https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20141224/14510929524/when-fisa-court-r…

 

60)  A link to an article about the use of biometrics by teachers in classrooms.  I personally find this very disturbing.  If a child believes there is no privacy growing up, the child will not appreciate why privacy and anonymity are important.  December 2013 http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/future-is-now/biometrics-help-teachers-track…

 

61)  A link to an article that discusses how writers including authors and journalists are affected by government surveillance.  I am including this story to show the “Chilling Effect” of a surveillance state but also to show the percentage of writers influenced by a surveillance state has increased from a similar poll taken e year earlier.  January 2015 http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/arts/writers-say-they-feel-censored…

 

62)  A link to an article that reveals the callous nature of teachers and school administrators with regard to protecting the privacy of students.  Student’s names, grades and much more personal information is available on-line by anyone because of the arrogance and callousness of school officials.  Although this article was written by an individual in Oklahoma, one should ask are parents in other states asking their school officials what measures are being taken to protect their children from such abuses.  UPDATE on this article.  On January 6, 2015 the information that was publicly available has been blocked from public access.  While one may think this should be the end of the “story” I would strongly encourage everyone to keep in mind the mindset of those that thought it is acceptable to have the Personal Identifiable Information of students available to anyone with a computer.  The same mindset does exist in law enforcement, our intelligence agencies, corporations and other entities within our society.  There is a complete disregard for the sanctity of the individual’s Personal Identifiable Information.  Until this mindset or culture is changed the individuality of people will be a secondary consideration and the first consideration will be a collectivism approach of what is good for one is good for all.  January 2015 http://restoreoklahomapubliceducation.blogspot.com/2015/01/im-outraged-a…

 

63)   An article about FirstNet. This story is being provided because it provides a snapshot of a much larger problem.  The following is the opening to the article itself:  “FirstNet is a public/private cooperative surveillance and information exchange enterprise–a vast network to share Americans’ personal information–conceived by and written into law with the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. By law, FirstNet’s purpose is to “create a nationwide, wireless, interoperable, public safety broadband network,” a euphemism that means, “increase the ease with which government agencies share private and public information about people.”  I have included this link/story because it illustrates a major shortcoming in the way policy, law and the implementation of law is formulated and implemented.  Government and corporations recognize what at times is real issue/problem/challenge but then instead of thinking through the issue, policy and law is created that only looks at a problem from one perspective:  That perspective being what is best for corporations, NGO’s (Non-governmental organizations) and government without consideration being given to the rights of people.  One way to look at what I am suggesting is to think about first creating the monster and then thinking about how you will control it after the monster has been created.  We see this thinking all too often.  Fusion Centers were up and running before PIA (Privacy Impact Assessments) were completed much less acted on.  We all must acknowledge that there are times when the monster we create cannot be controlled, so rather than creating the monster we should find another way to address the problem/issue/challenge we are confronted with.  March 2014 http://privacysos.org/node/1360

 

64)  Phone get hacked and/or stolen.  The idea of turning your phone into an ID document is wrong.  Once again convenience outweighs common sense. http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/01/07/375658605/a-pla…

 

65)  How much is the Chilling Effect of surveillance changing what we do and how we do it? http://www.scmagazine.com/pew-research-center-publishes-privacy-study/ar…

 

66)  President Obama’s administration denies most Freedom of Information requests ever.  In an attempt to be fair things were not much better under President Bush. http://www.aol.com/article/2015/03/18/us-sets-new-record-for-denying-cen…|main5|dl36|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D629522

 

67)  Amtrak does not support our rights because it is handing over our records to a government that believes it does not need probable cause. http://papersplease.org/wp/2015/03/20/amtrak-lies-about-police-use-of-pa…

 

68)  Spying is not just limited to when you are in public or in your home but also when you are in you car. http://ericpetersautos.com/2015/03/26/no-more-speeding-for-you/

 

69)  How far government will go to track our health records (scroll down the page the link takes you to) http://us10.campaign-archive2.com/?u=1e013212fb567e546d671b568&id=5811db…

 

70)  This is one that will make the hair stand on your neck.  The FBI using malware.  http://gizmodo.com/the-fbi-has-its-own-secret-brand-of-malware-169482152…

 

71)  Do you think law enforcement would put malware on your defense attorney’s computer?  Think again! http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suspicious_lawyer_finds_malware_o…

 

72)  Facial recognition is horrible enough but capturing our iris at a distance is equally bad.  A two minute video well worth watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13zFQh7BPG4&sns=fb

 

73)  Would the FBI ever knowingly have people lie about forensic evidence?  How many cases now need to be reviewed because of this?  http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/fbi-overstated-forensic-hair-m…

 

74)  So just have effective or ineffective has spying been?  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/25/us/politics/value-of-nsa-warrantless-s…

 

75)  Do you know what crowdsourcing is?  It is being used and you should be more than a little concerned.  http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/crowdsourcing-citizen-science-an…

 

76)  Most know about RFID chips.  Some know about RFID tattoos.  How many know about RFID skin patches? http://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/electronic-skin-tattoo-with-rfid-t…

 

77)  I have written previously how big money has influenced big government.  Do you have any idea?  http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/04/the-political-one-percent-of-the…

 

78)  Is abuse by law enforcement an accepted reality?  How does this go on for so long and nobody steps in to stop it?  How often is this taking place?  Has GITMO come to your town? http://patch.com/illinois/beverly-mtgreenwood/homan-square-detainee-alle…

 

79)  You may think your photo in your DMV database is kept secure but read this about Nlets, http://federalcrimesblog.com/tag/nlets-interstate-sharing-of-photos/

 

80)  Did or do you know the FBI has its own fleet of planes?  What are they doing?  If past experience is an indication of what we should expect perhaps this article does not dig far enough. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-behind-myster…

 

81)  What do you know about watchlists?  This is just one of many articles that you should be aware of.  https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/05/watch-commander

 

82)  This 6 page document will enlighten you about what the federal governments wants to do about Cyber Security.  It is surveillance on steroids.  Advocacy groups on the right and left are speaking out against current legislation that is pending.  https://static.newamerica.org/attachments/2741-cybersecurity-information…

 

83)  Is the CIA still doing what it wants?  June, 2015 and the answer is yes.  Does what it wants include domestic surveillance? Read https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150616/14381731365/cia-still-acting-…

 

84)  There are companies that tells us they want our privacy protected but do they?  https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2015/06/google-chrome-listeni… You would never know of the FBI served a person at Google with a National Security Letter.  There is no warrant required. 

 

85)  How many motels and hotels are turning over their guest registry to local law enforcement without warrants?  The fact is we do not know because this is a fairly new phenomena.  https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150418/11370530715/motel-decides-it-…

 

86)  There are other links provided that detail facial recognition being used on people in public without their knowledge or consent.  When did protesting become illegal?  You and I may have opposing positions on issues, but we each have a right to have our voices heard  http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/08/keystone-protesters-fbi-w…

 

87)  Do you know how much of your child’s information is being collected?  How that information is used?  With whom it is shared?  http://www.marketplace.org/topics/education/learningcurve/day-life-data-…

 

88)  I am very opposed to drinking and driving. That being said the development and use of sensors to detect if there is alcohol in a car while the car is moving is wrong.  There is no law that prevents a person from buying alcohol and taking it home before drinking the alcohol. http://spie.org/x108577.xml

 

89)  Most people do not know how much law enforcement depends on algorithms.  What you should know about algorithms.  http://thefrailestthing.com/2015/06/03/resisting-the-habits-of-the-algor…

 

90)  How is eminent domain abused?  http://fee.org/freeman/detail/abuse-of-power-how-government-misuses-emin…

 

91)  You cannot know too much about the NSA’s spying on YOU!  http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/computers/item/21193-the-shocking-sco…

 

92)  There are a number of articles/links about police misconduct and misconduct by prosecutors and city attorneys.  This article is dated July 6, 2015.  http://nypost.com/2015/07/06/nypd-has-destroyed-evidence-in-quota-case-d…

 

93)  Having been asked about the relationship between smart meters and biometric, we are providing the following paper:  http://www.researchgate.net/publication/239763096_Biometric_authenticati…

 

94)  Surveillance is spreading into every aspect of our society.  Do we really want everyone watched 24/7?  Is that going to be the legacy of this generation?  Corporations and government are out of control.  If We, the Poeple are not going to stand up and protect our rights then who will?  Today is may be someone else but tomorrow it could be you! http://fortune.com/2015/05/26/driver-facing-truck-cameras/

 

95)  There are those that incorrectly believe E-Verify will prevent illegal immigrants from being able to work in the United States.  This belief is wrong.  What E-Verify will do is result in your most personal information being given to the Department of Homeland Security via your employer or prospective emloyer.  There has been and always will be an underground network for illegal immigrants to acquire jobs.  The downside to U.S. citizens personally is because E-Verify is flawed hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens will be denied jobs.  The Constitutional Alliance has put forth a solution (State to State Identity Verification System – SSIVS) that works and does not require you personal information to be in the hands of DHS.  http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/study-e-verify-doesnt-work-could-put-a…

 

96) THIS SHOULD OUTRAGE EVERY CITIZEN.  No warrant for the DEA to get your health records.  http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/07/feds_get_the_power_to_se…

 

97)  Previously I hae quoted a former law enforcement officer saying there will be mandatory collection of DNA in the U.S. in 15 years.  Today your DNA can be taken even if you are not convicted of a crime.  In some states if you are found innocent you must actually pay for haing your DNA expunged.  Once your DNA is in the federal database CODIS it’s there to stay.  http://theantimedia.org/is-a-mandatory-dna-database-for-all-americans-co…

98)  This is not about abuse other than the fact that our government continues to put our personal information at risk.  The number of people who have had their personal information compromised is growing significantly year over year to the point that it now has become a national security threat.  It reminds me of a time when I was sitting in a former state senator’s office.  He pulled out his wallet in front of the legislative liaison for the Department of Public Safety.  The state senator asked the officer whose hands is his personal information going to be better protected; his own or the state police?  The officer shruged and the state senator said “Mine” and then put his wallet back in his pant.  The state police liaison was trying to get the legislature to require people to give more information to get a driver’s license.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/tarunwadhwa/2015/07/21/as-nations-hack-each-…

 

99)  If people are exercising their First Amendment rights they should be left alone if they are not violating the law.  I do not care if people are voicing their support of the 2nd Amendment or any other issue, they have a right to do so without intimidation.  https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/24/documents-show-department-…

 

100)  Something has to be worthy of being #100.  How about if law enforcement cannot come up with something objectionable that you have in or on your car, they believe it is suspicious because you have pro law enforcement stickers or religious items displayed.  Air wick freshners on your rear view mirror suggest you have drugs in your car.  http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/court-declares-air-fresheners-…

 

101)  It never ever ends!  UPDATE 16 August 2015 NSA partners with ATT.  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/us/politics/att-helped-nsa-spy-on-an-a…

 

102)  Secret Service – The operative word is “secret.” If you have read the previous abuses of power you know that we as citizens are not allowed to have secrets. http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=18995

 

103)  California DMV violates privacy laws and state constitution. This is important because DMV’s under the Real ID Act, regardless of what state they are in will all be connected.  Our personal and sensitive information is in DMV databases. http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/02/26/class-claims-california-dmv-vio…

 

104)  Abuse of power starts with a culture of corruption. Elected officials, appointed officials, and bureacrats at all levels of government think that whatever they want to do is acceptable. The Constitution becomes no more than a piece of paper. Make no mistake about it, the culture is determined by those at the top levels of government, but will and has eventually worked itself down to the state and local level. On what planet would anyone believe it is acceptable to record the private conversations of people using public transit? https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/devices-on-public-buses…

 

105)  As long as the capability does exist it will be used and abused. If the FBI has reason to believe a crime has been or is being committed, then a warrant should be asked for that would allow for the phone extensions or cell phones of the people involved in the crime to be tapped, not all calls or texts generated in a certain building or area around the building.

May 2016 http://www.networkworld.com/article/3070110/security/fbi-hid-microphones…

 

106) August 2016 – DEA regulary mines Americans’ travel records to seize millions in cash. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/08/10/dea-travel-record-airport-…

 

 

---

About The Author

Mark Lerner is co-founder of Constitutional Alliance, an alliance of groups and individuals who support the Mission Statement.