Monday, July 7, 2008

Racial Profiling: The FBI Gives Up on Pretense

Feeling it's safely out of the light of scrutiny for the time being, the Justice Department is considering allowing the FBI to use race or ethnicity as traits which could trigger a national security investigation. Henceforth, it seems, the burden of proof will be on all people of Middle Eastern decent to show that they're not a terrorist.

Here's the money shot.

Currently, FBI agents need specific reasons — such as evidence or allegations that a law probably has been violated — to investigate U.S. citizens and legal residents.

How quaint and antiquated.

One official, while defending the proposed guidelines, raised concerns about criticism during the presidential election year over what he called "the P word" — profiling.

The "P word?" Has journalism fallen so far as to grant credence to such inanity? Careful, unnamed official, you don't want to give people the impression that the rule would allow the FBI to target people from Yemen for no reason other than they are people from Yemen. The public might be mistaken and think Justice was engaged in some sort of profiling.

Of course, we're assured that the FBI would not be allowed to wiretap without a warrant, but we know where that goes.

Independence Day brings out the lauding of freedom in everyone, not the least of which our humble leader, but when it comes down to protecting those freedoms, the government invariably comes down on the side of obliterating such profanities.


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