First, Massachuetts, Big Brother is here. Massachuetts plans to create a Big Brother database that could map drivers’ whereabouts with police cruiser-mounted scanners that capture thousands of license plates per hour — storing that information indefinitely where local cops, staties, feds and prosecutors could access it as they choose. What kind of a society are we creating here? Should we fear police abuse? There comes a point where the surveillance is so pervasive and total that it’s a misnomer to call a society free any longer.
The computerized scanners, known as Automatic License Plate Recognition devices, instantly check for police alerts, warrants, traffic violations and parking tickets, which cops say could be an invaluable tool in thwarting crime. The Executive Office of Public Safety has approved 27 grants totaling $500,000 to buy scanners for state police and 26 local departments. The purchases are on hold while state lawyers develop a policy for the use of a common state database all the scanners would feed. People who aren’t wanted for a crime, all of their information is stored in a database that is shared with another government agency, the potential for abuse is huge. Do we really think people who haven’t committed a crime should be tracked by law enforcement? The state of Mass. seems to think that they will be protecting freedom by using this data base. But if you have cameras everywhere, of course you’re going to reduce the crime rate, but you’re not going to have a society worth preserving. To the American people, freedom means something. There is a line to draw in the sand, beyond which you don’t want the government poking its nose. This crosses the line.
Next, the state of Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles made $63 million last year selling people's names, addresses, dates of birth, a list of the vehicles they drive, and it's legal. Per federal mandate, there are companies that are entitled to this information. Insurance companies, for example, are entitled to this information. Employers are entitled to this information. The state is currently selling this information to companies including Lexus Nexus and Shadow Soft. Those companies gather data on people and then sell that data. The companies must sign contracts with state claiming they won't harass people. This information cannot be sold to a company that plans to solicit business, such as companies that want you to come to their store or companies that want you to buy their vehicles. Only judges and law enforcement officers can request their personal information not be sold. Unbelievable. When are the sheeple going to wake up and see that our rights are being violated?
Now this next item is the great RACE CARD being played once more. The last of the more than 60,000 Confederate veterans who came home to Alabama after the Civil War died generations ago, yet residents are still paying a tax that supported the neediest among them. Despite fire-and-brimstone opposition to taxes among many in a state that still has "Heart of Dixie" on its license plates, officials never stopped collecting a property tax that once funded the Alabama Confederate Soldiers' Home, which closed 72 years ago. The tax once brought in millions for Confederate pensions, but lawmakers sliced up the levy and sent money elsewhere as the men and their wives died. No one has seriously challenged the continued use of the money in part because few realize it exists. The tax now pays for Confederate Memorial Park, which sits on the same 102-acre tract where elderly veterans used to stroll. Officials say the old tax typically brings in more than $400,000 annually for the park; one long-serving black legislator who thought the tax had been done away with said he wants to eliminate state funding for the park.
Tax experts say they know of no other state that still collects a tax so directly connected to the Civil War, although some federal excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol first were enacted during the war to help fund the Union.
The state used the pension tax to fund the veterans home once it assumed control of the operation in 1903. The last Confederate veteran living at the home died in 1934, and its hospital was converted into apartments for widows. It closed in 1939, and the five women who lived there were moved to Montgomery. Legislators whittled away at the Confederate tax through the decades, and millions of dollars that once went to the home and pensions now go to fund veteran services, the state welfare agency and other needs. But the park still gets 1 percent of one mill, and its budget for this year came to $542,469, which includes money carried over from previous years plus certificates of deposit.
State Rep. Alvin Holmes, a black Democrat who's been in the Legislature since 1974, said he thought funding for the park had been slashed. "We should not be spending one nickel for that," said Holmes, of Montgomery. "I'm going to try to get rid of it." The RACE CARD used again. Were this park dedicated to the Selma March, would it be under attack? I think Rep. Holmes would be fighting tooth and nail to protect the money.....But, hey, I am just a weirdo.
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