Loss of Freedom Archives - Page 12 of 33

Congress Wants To Spy On Your Computer

NY Post: If Congress had to name laws honestly, it would be called the “Forcing Your Internet Provider to Spy On You Just In Case You’re a Criminal Act of 2011” — a costly, invasive mandate that even the co-author of the Patriot Act, Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), says “runs roughshod over the rights of people who use the Internet.”

But because it’s disguised as the “Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act,” the House Judiciary Committee approved it last week by a wide margin — even though it’s got little to do with child porn and won’t do much to protect kids.

The centerpiece of this ill-conceived law is a sweeping requirement that commercial Internet providers retain a one-year log of all the temporary Internet Protocol addresses they assign to their users, along with customer-identification information. The Justice Department says this will help track down child-porn peddlers by linking online activity and real-world identities. But the government would be able to access that sensitive data for all kinds of investigations, most of which would have nothing to do with child porn.

Expect To Give A DNA Sample If You Get Arrested By The Feds

ABA Journal: An en banc federal appeals court has upheld a law authorizing the collection of DNA samples from all federal arrestees.

In an 8-6 decision, the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that routinely collecting DNA samples from arrestees for a national database does not violate the Fourth Amendment. The Legal Intelligencer covered the decision (PDF).

“DNA profiling is simply a more precise method of ascertaining identity and is thus akin to fingerprinting, which has long been accepted as part of routine booking procedures,” the majority opinion said.

Despite Privacy Concerns Law Enforcement to Use iPhone Iris Scanner

Reuters: Dozens of police departments nationwide are gearing up to use a tech company’s already controversial iris- and facial-scanning device that slides over an iPhone and helps identify a person or track criminal suspects.

The so-called “biometric” technology, which seems to take a page from TV shows like “MI-5” or “CSI,” could improve speed and accuracy in some routine police work in the field. However, its use has set off alarms with some who are concerned about possible civil liberties and privacy issues.

Feds Apparently Unaware of Economic Crisis – Continued Hiring, Never Firing

The Washington Examiner: A new analysis of federal workforce data shows that even in this time of retrenchment and downsizing, the federal government almost never fires or lays off workers. In fact, in many corners of the federal government, it is virtually impossible for an employee to be fired. “Federal employees’ job security is so great that workers in many agencies are more likely to die of natural causes than get laid off or fired,” writes USA Today, which conducted the survey.

The paper reports the federal government “fired 0.55% of its workers in the budget year that ended September 30.” For the private sector, the figure is about 3%. And for some parts of the federal workforce, the firing rate was even lower. For example, USA Today found that federal workers in the Washington, DC area have 99.74% job security. Some agencies, like the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, did not fire or lay off anyone in the last year.

Is Gun Ownership Relevant to Healthcare?

From the ABA Journal:

Physicians fighting a Florida law that restricts them from asking all patients about guns or dropping a patient simply because he or she has a firearm could be facing an uphill legal battle.

During a court hearing today on a lawsuit filed by several physician groups, an assistant attorney general said the doctors are misreading the statute and a federal judge expressed skepticism about their case, reports the Associated Press.

The physicians say asking about guns, as a number of standard questionnaires do, is a legitimate inquiry about patient health.

“What’s relevant about asking about my gun when I came in with a cold?” said U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke. “Maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe the questionnaire is overbroad and not the statute.”

This article can be found on the ABA Journal’s website by clicking here.