State Tracked Protesters in the Name of Security - Los Angeles Times

State Tracked Protesters in the Name of Security - Los Angeles Times
State Tracked Protesters in the Name of Security
Officials say they have stopped monitoring antiwar and political rallies. The practice violates civil rights, Atty. Gen. Lockyer says.

By Peter Nicholas, Times Staff Writer
July 1, 2006

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office in charge of protecting California against terrorism has tracked demonstrations staged by political and antiwar groups, a practice that senior law enforcement officials say is an abuse of civil liberties.

The Times obtained reports prepared for the state Office of Homeland Security in recent months that contain details on the whereabouts and purpose of a number of political demonstrations throughout California.

The source of the information is listed in some cases as federal law enforcement agencies, including the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, an investigative arm of the U.S. Homeland Security department.

The source of the information is listed in some cases as federal law enforcement agencies, including the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, an investigative arm of the U.S. Homeland Security department.

Trent's Thoughts
I really wish I hadn't read George Orwell's 1984 so recently! I reread it when Chris read it for school. It's frightening to see the actions we associate with a totalitarian state being accepted so blithely by Americans. How is it that one strike against America seems to justify throwing away all of the hard won civil liberties our fathers and grandfathers fought so hard to preserve?
Another thought spurred from 1984 has to do with the internet as a historical source. Once most print media is gone, will jobs like Winston Smith's actually exist, where people go back into the "internet" and change "history" to meet the current political expediencies? Will we even be able to tell when it starts?