As the idea of state resistance to NSA spreads and takes root in state legislatures across the country, the establishment that feeds at the trough of the growing police state is getting spooked. Their meal ticket is now in jeopardy for the first time in generations. People are re-discovering their rights, and the crooks want to nip that in the bud. That is why they are going back to their old bread and butter: irrational fearmongering.
That is exactly what Lyle Mann, director of the Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training board, resorted to in a recent AZ Daily Sun article covering the 4th Amendment Protection Act introduced in that state. Mann said that warrants are antiquated and only prevent police from getting the bad guys.
According to the article, Mann “said a police officer could be given ‘important information’ about a shooting or terrorist attack from a federal source but be unable to confirm that information came from a court-approved warrant.”
Of course, he couldn’t go into specifics. Had he gone into the specifics, his hysterical narrative would have fallen to pieces. The facts of the matter paint an entirely different story than Mann’s spin.
When the Department of Justice was asked earlier this month exactly how many criminals were apprehended and convicted as a result of metadata collection, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said that there “may be one” instance where this occurred. This demonstrates that the situation Mann described to reporters is incredibly unlikely to happen and is certainly no excuse to destroy the 4th Amendment rights of Arizonians.
Mann’s hyperbolic, cartoonish portrayal of crime and terrorism belongs in trite, superficial Hollywood productions instead of serious public policy debates. His mentality shows exactly what Big Brother and its lackeys are really concerned about: their own power. They do not want to be tied up or hamstrung even in the slightest of ways and if that means you have to sacrifice your basic freedoms, so be it. The national security state and its minions have proven over and over again that they are chomping at the bit to throw the Constitution into the dustbin of history, and never hesitate to come up with the most absurd justifications imaginable to dupe the public into acquiescing with their totalitarian beliefs.
But we aren’t rolling over! As a matter of fact, the AZ 4th Amendment Protection Act has already passed through the Senate Government and Environment Committee by a 4-2 vote. (learn about it here)
We now have the Lyle Manns of the world shaking in their boots, and we must refuse to let up. They’ll never stop conniving for their power grabs, and we must never stop being vigilant in defending our rights from these scavengers. It begins with YOU.
Take our 4th Amendment Protection Act (local or state) to your state legislatures, county commissions and town councils. Join the movement, and help us make the NSA’s illegal spying operation obsolete through nullification today!
