(11-09-2012, 07:00 AM)buzzenator Wrote: TUSK, TUSK, TUSK...you've got to stop smokin man...you're getting a tad bit paranoid these days.
If I recall from my American History and Civics classes...it is the common man's job to not let Government get too big...the Bill of Rights etc have built in protections for that reason...heck the founding Father's grew and used MJ (hemp too).... The government itself has built in checks and ballances...all so government has safeties against abuse (which unfortunately, people have even allowed those checks and balances to be minimalised over the years)
If you've paid attention an individual's rights have eroded significantly since then, and technology and sciences have eaten into it more and more.
The people that wrote the Constitution, I think, would have major issues with how many rights have been given up in the name of safety.
Quote:They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-Benjamin Franklin
I'm not saying we shouldn't allow some things for over all safety, I'm saying that it's important to be alert as to how many rights you're giving up. Initially, the Patriot Act, in part, was only for sniffing out terrorists using the new technology available...since then, the breadth of the 'Act's' has expanded...Once you allow an opening, there's no stopping it. It's important to know how far that expansion stretches into your rights...
When a new law happens that is so in direct opposition to those of the federal govt who has all these technological advances at their disposal, in the name of 'safety'....it's just wise to know exactly where your personal rights are, and how the new law conflicts with the federal law...that's just wise...not paranoid.
(That's not to say I'm against the testing for any inebrient, of Doctors, Police, Pilots etc... I'm mostly talking about generally knowing your rights, and watching for over reach of the law, especially on this subject)
