The ongoing assault on privacy continues with this ridiculous story: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/court-reaffirms-fourth-amendment-rights-not-violated-if-the-pol/#comments

Apparently it's not a violation of our privacy for the police to sneak onto our property and plant a tracking device on our vehicals as long as it isn't in a garage. Did I mention they can do this without a warrant?

This is absurd.

Yeah...a little over the top.

My brother is in law school right now and is particularly interested in Constitutional law; he text me this morning with a link to an article addressing this very issue. It is sad that our current government (not administration, but the entire government as an entire entity) is trampling all over the Constitution.

I am wondering if children should even learn about the Constitution anymore as it really no longer is applicable in present-day America. Judges legislate from the bench and Congress does whatever they want. Our politicians are out of control and the only way for us (the citizens) to regain control, outside of a full-scale revolution which would be crushed in minutes, is to vote every single incumbent out of office. Let these dickwads know that if they continue to abuse us, they will be ousted.

Sadly, majority of the American public is totally oblivious to this and, IMO, most don't care. How some people can tolerate the trampling of our Constitutional rights is beyond me. Judges interpret the 4th amendment in such a way that grants the government control over our private property. This is not how the founding fathers intended on this amendment being interpreted.

I've heard some people I know say, "what do I care if they follow me, I have nothing to hide?". That is the most idiotic statement I've heard and I have some family memebers that feel that way. If you allow the government a little bit of control, they will want more and more and more until we have no freedom left.

People that brush this notion aside are the ones that will be crying the loudest when it happens. It is in the nature of government to attempt to assume more and more power, it is up to us to stop that from happening. We are the ones that are supposed to be in control, it is time we take the power back!

Remember to vote in November and I suggest voting against every incumbent no matter what the letter, D or R, is next to their name. They are all one in the same. Get rid of Congress and elect new leaders in Washington D.C.!

This ruling just allows cops to be lazy. If they would have done their due diligence, they could have easily been granted a warrant, but they wanted a short-cut. This irritates me almost as much as the invasion of privacy/illegal search and seizure issues.

Votiing all the incumbents out of office is not necessarily the solution. How do we know that the new people will be any better? Because they say so in their TV ads?

Our congressman from the Steubenville area is terrible, yet I am going to vote for him in November because I don't want the Congress to turn Republican. The Democrats have been very good to me (Obama Care, etc.) and I want them to continue to be in power.

As long as they take care of me, the hell with the country. Is that what you're saying fairwood? That's why Steubenville ended up how it is now.

FairwoodKing;464550 wrote:Our congressman from the Steubenville area is terrible, yet I am going to vote for him in November because I don't want the Congress to turn Republican. The Democrats have been very good to me (Obama Care, etc.) and I want them to continue to be in power.

This is exactly what I mean by when I say that there's still enough "old timers" (babyboomers and up) mentality that will vote democrat no matter what. It is precisely this line of thinking that has got the democrat party where it is now = stagnation in no man's land. People voting for the same old/same old just so the party doesn't lose power.

So Charlie Wilson just voted to cut food stamps (this is one of the helpme policies you love) in order to pay off unions, and then tried to spin it off that he did it to punish big business overseas. Charlie Wilson hugs himself with his left arm and then stabs the needy with his right hand. And this is who/what you want to keep on board???!!!

What a friggen joke!

There is something seriously wrong with that kind of thinking. Hence, that's why there is something seriously wrong with our government, as it stands, today.

FWK, you are part of the problem.
.........................

*EDIT
I voted for Charlie Wilson myself and I'm sorry I did. I will NOT make that mistake a second time.

I tend to think FWK can't be serious with most of what he writes on here...

^^^^^ The arrows were meant towards Center.

To me, its the 21st century way of a stake out. whats the difference if you watch his house and follow his car wherever he goes or put a GPS on his car when its in a public area and track his movment from the office?

There may not be any expectation of privacy outside, but what about the police trespassing to do this? Do the courts condone that as well? Last time I looked, a car parked in the driveway is still on private property.

tk421;464694 wrote:There may not be any expectation of privacy outside, but what about the police trespassing to do this? Do the courts condone that as well? Last time I looked, a car parked in the driveway is still on private property.

hmmmm are you sure(i am not 100%). because the sidewalk leading up to your front door and the area around the front door is not private property. i have a feeling your driveway may fall under that.

Can anyone park in your driveway if they feel like it? You can have a car towed, so that would seem to me to say private property.

I'm dead serious. As far as it goes, everyone votes for his own self interest, not just me. And what is good for me is also good for a lot of other people, so I am taking the country into account.

As far as Wilson on food stamps, these are a state issue, not a federal issue. He has nothing to say about it.

I Wear Pants;464625 wrote:^^^^^ The arrows were meant towards Center.

what?

I just don't understand why it would be so difficult to get a warrant to put a GPS on his car?

Horrible trampling of the 4th amendment. I mean I'm glad the guy got caught, just not in the way he got caught.

tk421;464757 wrote:Can anyone park in your driveway if they feel like it? You can have a car towed, so that would seem to me to say private property.

no, but anyone cant just walk up to the front steps of your house and hang out there either, yet its not considered "private".

FairwoodKing;464550 wrote:Votiing all the incumbents out of office is not necessarily the solution. How do we know that the new people will be any better? Because they say so in their TV ads?

Our congressman from the Steubenville area is terrible, yet I am going to vote for him in November because I don't want the Congress to turn Republican. The Democrats have been very good to me (Obama Care, etc.) and I want them to continue to be in power.

This is the mentality that has gotten our country into the terrible shape it is in. You do realize that once those in power have bankrupt the country the programs you love so much will be gone, right?

Glory Days;464688 wrote:To me, its the 21st century way of a stake out. whats the difference if you watch his house and follow his car wherever he goes or put a GPS on his car when its in a public area and track his movment from the office?

Glory Days;464925 wrote:no, but anyone cant just walk up to the front steps of your house and hang out there either, yet its not considered "private".

Actually, as I interpret the ruling from the article, your driveway and sidewalk leading to your front door would be private property, but is accessable by the public. So, legally it is still private property. That is the issue I have with this ruling. A stakeout is one thing, but trespassing without a warrant is another. If they got a warrant to do such a thing, I'd have less of an issue here.

dwccrew;465815 wrote: Actually, as I interpret the ruling from the article, your driveway and sidewalk leading to your front door would be private property, but is accessable by the public. So, legally it is still private property. That is the issue I have with this ruling. A stakeout is one thing, but trespassing without a warrant is another. If they got a warrant to do such a thing, I'd have less of an issue here.

but if its accesible to the public, how can it be trespassing?

Glory Days;465856 wrote:but if its accesible to the public, how can it be trespassing?

It's cool for people to just walk all over your yard then?

Glory Days;464925 wrote:no, but anyone cant just walk up to the front steps of your house and hang out there either, yet its not considered "private".

Yes it is. Your steps are private property.

I Wear Pants;465873 wrote:Yes it is. Your steps are private property.

ok, next time the girl scouts or local highschool student selling something knocks on your door, call the cops for trespassing since they are on your steps(private property). let me know how that works out.

Glory Days;466275 wrote:ok, next time the girl scouts or local highschool student selling something knocks on your door, call the cops for trespassing since they are on your steps(private property). let me know how that works out.

You would be in the right. If they didn't leave when asked you would be perfectly within the law to have the police escort them off the property. Now should you do that with kids fundraising? No. But your property is indeed private property. Unless you live in a park or something.

Private proptery does not mean that it is illegal to be on it (it can mean that if the owner so chooses). But if the owner tells you to leave you must. Your yard is very much private property.

CenterBHSFan;464802 wrote:what?

I was trying to say
"this".

But someone posted in between.

I Wear Pants;466284 wrote:You would be in the right. If they didn't leave when asked you would be perfectly within the law to have the police escort them off the property. Now should you do that with kids fundraising? No. But your property is indeed private property. Unless you live in a park or something.

Private proptery does not mean that it is illegal to be on it (it can mean that if the owner so chooses). But if the owner tells you to leave you must. Your yard is very much private property.

They have every right to approach your door and knock though aslong as they don’t go around to the rear of your house or anything, just like how it works with law enforcement.

And don’t forget, its private property in plain view. If you are stupid enough to be smoking crack infront of the window of your house and a cop sees it, they have every right to arrest you.