HANDS OFF! Citizens Across America Battle Privacy Invasion
By Mark Anderson
By Mark Anderson
California computer programmer John Tyner attracted national attention recently when he posted a video shot from his cell phone in which he is heard refusing to allow a security officer to probe his groin area during a frisking at San Diego Airport on Nov. 13.
Tyner did this despite the fact the officer threatened him with a $10,000 lawsuit if he did not comply. The video was viewed by tens of thousands of people and has now spurred mass citizen outrage over “big brother” invasions of privacy.
Pennsylvania activist Aaron Bolinger is a staunch opponent of these types of security tactics, which include full body scans at airports and the development of identification cards and drivers licenses loaded with personal data on the card holder. Under federal standards, these cards would become a new type of trackable ID card (REAL ID) capable of containing sensitive, private financial and medical information as well.
Bolinger, legislative director of the National Veterans Committee on Constitutional Affairs (NVCCA.net), has informed AFP that the organization’s new workbook, American Leadership, contains detailed legislation that could be introduced immediately to put a stop to invasive, unnecessary security measures initiated at airports and in other public buildings.
“It’s our collection of over 30 pieces of model legislation,” said Bolinger, who strongly believes in getting state and local lawmakers to play a major role in resisting federal tyranny. “There’s county-level stuff. There is sheriff-level stuff.”
The guide covers issues such as REAL ID cards and the use or abuse of radio frequency identification (RFID) chips. These sophisticated chips are embedded in passports and would likely become a part of the REAL ID card. These can be made so small that they are implantable in humans, pets and livestock.
But where does it end? If American citizens think radiation-emitting airport body scanners that show a “naked” image—and patdowns that border on molestation—are bad, imagine tiny chips surgically embedded in the human body that emit a trackable signal and contain personal information.
Notably, South Carolina state Rep. Mike Pitts received the NVCCA’s “State Legislator of the Year Award” on Nov. 18, for introducing legislation to end the requirement to provide one’s Social Security number when filling out state forms. Pitts also introduced the U.S. Accountability Act that would require U.S. senators to meet with their state lawmakers at regular intervals to give a testimonial on whether they are truly representing the states in Washington. The senators could be pressured by state legislators to end the Federal Reserve, abolish the REAL ID Act, stop excessive airport security, and numerous other measures.
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