It s like they aren t even trying to pretend anymore

http://reason.com ^ | July 16, 2002 | By Brian Doherty

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

It’s like they aren’t even trying to pretend anymore.

Sure, even since the launching of the War on Terrorism, lip service has been paid to American traditions of civil liberties and freedom. Of course, sometimes that lip service to freedom is spookily Orwellian, such as dubbing President Bush’s plan to have every American devote two years of their lives in service to the state the “Freedom Corps.” (Even more disturbingly, this scheme encourages people to create a “record of service” documenting what they’ve done for the state in a “private journal” maintained on the government’s Freedom Corps Web site.)

Making news this week is the latest wrinkle in George Bush’s Citizen Corps -- a program known as the Terrorism Information and Prevention System, or Operation TIPS. (Our allegedly civilian homeland is becoming lousy with new “corps” these days.) The East Germans had a more stylish and nakedly sinister name for the same idea: the formerly feared, and apparently now fondly missed, Stasi.

TIPS in essence deputizes 1 million Americans in 10 cities as government informants. (That’s just the beginning for its August debut -- the program will be expanded next year.) The announcement names “American truckers, letter carriers, train conductors, ship captains, utility employees, and others” as potential members of this proud army of snoops and busybodies.  A Washington Times story on the program points out that a common denominator for at least a couple of those categories is that their “jobs allow them access to private homes.”

These TIPS soldiers have been given the mission to go where the police can’t necessarily go, see what the police can’t necessarily see, and then report findings to the Justice Department, which will maintain a database of tips.  It remains to be seen whether this will save the country from attack, or simply bury bureaucrats in thousands of vague, frightened, meaningless reports that sully the reputations of the innocent. But we have already seen the effects of creating a system of omnipresent government informants who treat all fellow citizens as potential enemies.  It used to be called “living behind the Iron Curtain.”

Many Americans seem to have forgotten the days (less than a decade ago) when you didn’t need to show a government-issued identification to travel by air. It seems likely that with more programs like Operation TIPS in effect, the very spirit of a free people that should be viscerally disgusted by such programs will be reduced to a half-remembered ghost. The banner in the eagle’s mouth on the back of the Great Seal of the United States might as well change from reading “E Pluribus Unum” to “The innocent have nothing to fear.”

Brian Doherty is an associate editor of Reason.

[APBaer]

“American truckers, letter carriers, train conductors, ship captains, utility employees, and others”

An intersesting collection:
The letter carriers can't find the right mail box, but want more postage as additional incentive.
The train conductors can't drive an Amtrak train without driving it off the rails.

Captain Hazlewood, might be a good observer, but wait, he was so besotted that he couldn't seee a clearly marked reef...

Well, maybe "the others" will make better spies; I hear that Maxwell Smart might be available, call him on his shoe phone?

[GaConfed]

Why didn't you know that this is just a lil oh "compassionate conservative" program we have here for the welfare of all God's sweet little chicken hearted sheeple? Because it's a brainchild of Dubya, and not the Slickmiester, it's got to be good. ;)

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

What you dont think clinton the clown would have done this i think we would be under lockdown since 911 if it was gore or clinton and i mean AMERICAN CITIZENS not ileagles or anyone else [jmho] i dont trust any of them anymore

[rmlew]

Some of us see a difference between the STASI and citizens in key areas trained to look for potential terrorists.

I suppose that in order to be free, a rental car agent should ignore it if a bunch of Arab men come with shoddy IDs to rent a large truck and ask for directions to a military installation of landmark.

I forgot which justice said it, but one said that he Consitution is not a suicide pact.

[Huck]

sometimes that lip service to freedom is spookily Orwellian, such as dubbing President Bush’s plan to have every American devote two years of their lives in service to the state the “Freedom Corps.” (Even more disturbingly, this scheme encourages people to create a “record of service” documenting what they’ve done for the state in a “private journal” maintained on the government’s Freedom Corps Web site.)

Ooooooh! Spooky! This paragraph is misleading. Saying the President plans " to have every American" serve gives the impression this is compulsory service. It isn't:

The USA Freedom Corps will promote a culture of responsibility, service, and citizenship. It will work with key service agencies in government and the nonprofit sector to provide incentives and new opportunities to serve at home and abroad. The USA Freedom Corps will draw on help from Americans of all ages and of every background. --From the Freedom Corps. website

It is a volunteer organization. You can argue that this is a waste of money, but there is nothing "Orwellian" about it(that tag is as overused as comparisons to Nazism, a cliche which immediately follows the Orwellian riff.) As for the "disturbing" record of service, it is optional, and the terms are contained the privacy terms for anyone to see. Articles like this only serve to lessen the credibility of the organization that publishes them. Reason.com just gave me a reason to discount their worthiness. They should be called trite.com.

[alpowolf]

King George will take care of that pesky 4th Amendment, won't he? Search and seizure for everyone!

[steve50]

klintoon could never have gotten away with these "laws". Won't be a peep out the crew in here if martial law is declared and elections are cancelled.

[SunStar]

This article plays right into the paranoid delusions of many Americans. Many Freepers have obviously been sucked in.

[Huck]

My mistake: It wasn't a Nazi reference, it was a Commie reference.

[alpowolf]

From the TIPS website: Industries that are interested in participating in this program will be given printed guidance material, flyers and brochures, about the program and how to contact the Operation TIPS reporting center

"Printed guidance material" is not the same thing as training. A group of a million people will contain a significant number of yahoos; all of whom will be telling tales about you to the feds.

Many people can't even distinguish an Arab from other ethnicities such as Indian.

[alpowolf]

Indeed, I have seen some of that crowd calling for martial law, breathlessly repeating the mantra "WE'RE AT WAR!"

To quote from another Orwell favorite, "Comrade Napoleon is always right."

[SandfleaCSC]

Nazi = socialist in a pretty uniform, will kill you for the good of the state

Communist = socialist in a cheap suit, will kill you for the good of the state

Easy mistake. Say five preambles to the Constitution and go with God. You are forgiven.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

WANNA BET

[wcbtinman]

American truckers as stool pigeons? I don't think so.

[John W]

Many "in here" have certainly said we're at war,but some have called for martial law?Could you dredge up proof of that,depending on your definition of "some"?

[alpowolf]

I'm not yet savvy enough to know an easy way to search all of the threads out there. I do remember one fellow a few months back telling me this on a thread, and he even said that I was "making a mutiny" by disagreeing with Bush (I believe it was a thread about the PATRIOT Act). (Of course his definition of "mutiny" doesn't jive with the Navy's but he didn't care.)

[steve50]

I'm afraid you ain't seen nothin yet. Our party has been highjacked by the neocons and they aren't going away.

[John W]

"I can't think of a SINGLE thing that Bush has done that Clinton would not have done, or for that matter Al Gore if he had been elected."

Sarge,you need to think a little harder.