Boston Marathon bombings.......

[Wolfsong]

Originally Posted by Kobi

It is a slippery constitutional slope when one has to weigh protecting the public from imminent danger vs. the rights of one person. I don't usually use Star trek quotes in a serious matter but this fits. "Do needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one."

I don't know the answer.

If I am reading the articles correctly, any self incriminating evidence discovered prior to his Miranda rights can not be used against him in a court of law either. So, it potentially makes charging and prosecuting him a tad more difficult.

But, these are the implications that came with the Patriot Act and 9/11. Anyone, citizen or not, suspected of potential terrorist activities or who is thought to have information about such activities are potentially subject to the same actions. Our houses can be searched without our knowledge or a court order, we can be held without charges or an attorney, we can be questioned without the right to know our rights and without the benefits of an attorney etc.

It's disturbing. It was disturbing to see Boston on lockdown. It was disturbing to see armored vehicles and military/law enforcement people with semi automatic weapons flooding the streets of Watertown. It was disturbing to see a swarm of armed people doing house to house searches. It was disturbing to have shootouts in a residential area. It reminded me of something I have seen in footage from Iran/Iraq/Afghanistan.

Is this the price we pay for the illusion of safety? I dunno. Scary and unsettling shit.

Good points all Kobi. I guess my line in the sand is this, and at any point the government takes a constitutional right away from a single person and justifies it under the guise of public safety my hackles raise a bit. All it takes is a single case to set a precedent.

Respectfully and carefully here.....I am going to point out a moment in history. The persecution of the Jews by Nazis did not start with concentration camps.

"Once in power, Hitler moved quickly to end German democracy. He convinced his cabinet to invoke emergency clauses of the constitution that permitted the suspension of individual freedoms of press, speech, and assembly. Special security forces—the Gestapo, the Storm Troopers (SA), and the SS--murdered or arrested leaders of opposition political parties (Communists, socialists, and liberals). The Enabling Act of March 23, 1933--forced through the Reichstag already purged of many political opponents--gave dictatorial powers to Hitler."

"In 1933, new German laws forced Jews out of their civil service jobs, university and law court positions, and other areas of public life. In April 1933, laws proclaimed at Nuremberg made Jews second-class citizens. These Nuremberg Laws defined Jews, not by their religion or by how they wanted to identify themselves, but by the religious affiliation of their grandparents. Between 1937 and 1939, new anti-Jewish regulations segregated Jews further and made daily life very difficult for them. Jews could not attend public schools; go to theaters, cinema, or vacation resorts; or reside or even walk in certain sections of German cities." (My Jewish Learning - 2013)

I am not saying that our government is anything like the Third Reich. I am saying that we as free citizens in a democracy need to be aware when boundaries are crossed, or about to be crossed, so that we don't find ourselves further down this path that anyone ever intended. I have been contemptuous of the Patriot Act since it was first conceived and that is about as close as I come to siding with the ideas of local militia groups. In my opinion it is dangerous to all of us.