galenrox

Absolutely not, but that doesn't answer the questions against it. There's no reason to expect that this program will not be abused and that people's lives won't get ****ed up for no reason because of this, and my point is that no position can be complete without taking both factors into consideration.

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chevydriver1123

Police are gonna act on a civilian claim regardless if its bull**** or not. Its part of the knee jerk effect. Whats to say they would or wouldnt arrest the supposed terrorist based on civilian "info" You make it sound that police actually check evidence and behave like they are supposed to.

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1069

You know, it occurs to me when reading this thread that we do have, in each state in the US, some version of "child protective services" (it may have a different name in other states).
Anyone and everyone is encouraged to report their friends, neighbors, relatives, coworkers, and strangers on the street if they suspect that person of child abuse or neglect.
Reports can be made anonymously.
People in certain professions (medical, education, child care) can actually be subject to criminal penalties for not immediately reporting suspected abuse.
Investigations are conducted based on these reports.
People who report suspected child abuse or neglect cannot be sued, even if the reports turn out to be without merit.
Public defenders are not provided for people under investigation by CPS, nor are they provided for those who are found guilty of child abuse who wish to challenge the ruling in court.
One can hire an attorney with one's own money if one wishes to challenge CPS's findings.
For this reason, the poor lose their children to state care far more frequently than the wealthy. The wealthy have recourse: they can hire attorneys to defend them. The poor, lacking funds for an attorney, do not have recourse.

The reason for all this is that "children are important".

Is safety from terrorism equally important?

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Jerry: "...yes, 10 is going to outerspace."

Trajan Octavian Titus

I don't see someone getting arrested on the basis of a report by a citizen about suspicous activity unless ofcoarse there is more than just the report to go on. You can't arrest someone without charging them and the cops aren't going to charge someone with terrorism unless there is evidence to back that up.

Trajan Octavian Titus

How are their lives going to get ****ed up unless they are infact terrorists? Sorry I don't think I should be able to be sued for reporting suspicious activity and if I can I will certainly think twice before reporting any, that's the problem it sends a chilling effect throughout our society and people are going to be less likely to report suscpicous activity.

SouthernDemocrat

If you know someone is repeatedly falsely accusing you of being a terrorist, then obviously their baseless accusations would have resulted in some form of legal action against you, else you would never know they had accused you.

If you baselessly slander and or accuse me as being a rapist, child molester or murderer, then I can sue you for doing so, why should baselessly slandering someone as a terrorist be any different?

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Charles Krauthammer describing Obama:

"He's got both a first-class intellect and a first-class temperament."

1069

How old are you?
Do you think the police, the FBI, the CIA are infallible?
If you don't want me to come to your house and dig through your closet, place hidden cameras in your bathroom, and interview your boss, your landlord, your neighbors and your girlfriend extensively about your personal habits, does that mean you've got something to hide?

Do you understand that accused "terrorists" don't have the same rights and recourses (such as the right to defend themselves in a court of law) as people accused of and arrested for more pedestrian crimes, such as mass murder?

Trajan Octavian Titus

If someone continuously makes false reports then they should be arrested for filing false reports but people who in good faith report suspicious activity should not be able to be sued whether it turns out their wrong or not.

Befuddled_Stoner

There is a word for people who say they support our country, but refuse to to any risk to support the very principles it is founded on: Hypocrite. Any real patriot would do what they thought necesary to safeguard their country, regardless of the consequences. Any ***hole who abuses the ability to call the feds down on their neighbors should and must be bitch-slapped. In this day and age, terrorist attacks don't occur because of a dearth of information, they occur because of we already have too much junk info and not enough people to sift for needles in those haystacks. Anyone who throws more hay in the stack needs to face consequences for their asshatery.

Personally, I would rather die in a terrorist attack than face unwarranted harassment by the very people intended to protect me from terrorists.

Trajan Octavian Titus

That isn't going to happen based on nothing but a citizens report of suspicous activity.

All U.S. citizens have full due process rights.