homeland security agency's new mission - child porn

[dfong63]

does anyone else agree with me that this is an outrageous case of mission creep, that sets a dangerous precedent? since when does a federal agency get to set its own mandate like this? shouldn't that be up to congress? if Tom Ridge gets away with this, will he stop at child porn? of course not. to me this looks like another step toward the HSA becoming the all-purpose homeland gestapo.

``...
homeland agency leads crackdown on child porn

Washington -- The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it was broadening its mission to include a crackdown on people who traffic in child pornography or otherwise prey on youngsters.

Tom Ridge, head of the department, said various federal law enforcement agencies had stepped up their cooperation since the Sept. 11 attacks and, in some cases, had been merged to better combat terrorism. That process, he said, has given law enforcement authorities "a vast set of resources" to apply to other threats, including criminals who prey on children.
...''

[NickDanger]

1. pathetic

eom

[Julien Sorel]

2. If it's all in the name of a good cause, why should you care?

I am, of course, being facetious.

One would think that, if the 'war on terrorism' were such a pressing, harrowing affair, the Department of Homeland Security would be too busy fighting terrorism to worry about pornography, or absentee Texas lawmakers. I'm beginning to think this is an example of the 'Iron Law of Bureaucracy' at work, and in this case, the bureaucracy in question is hardly a year old.

[Ponderer]

3. Child pornography is very different from the Texas lawmakers

To even compare the two is unconscionable.

[arcane1]

4. they do have one thing in common

Homeland Security went after the TX Lawmakers, and now the child porn

I agree that it's a reprehensible crime, but we already have agencies for that. Why exactly does HS have all this free time all of a sudden?

smells like just another way for them to get into your door. Probably too difficult to plant al Qaeda connections, but porn would be easy for them.

What else will they take over, apply the Patriot Act to, that is unrelated to the very purpose for which the dept was created??

[dfong63]

10. does HSA have too much money?

obviously HSA does have too much money if it is casting about for new missions like this. but is this what Congress gave them the money for? if not, then why is HSA doing it?

Congress should be screaming bloody murder over this.

and those "vast new powers" that were referred to in the article were supposed to be for combating terrorists, not ordinary domestic criminals.

[tomp]

12. aren't the dems screaming that it is underfunded?

shouldn't they be the first one's on this? if there's enough money to expand into areas that clearly have nothing to do with national defense, then there's too much money, not not enough.

[JohnyCanuck]

5. Remember COINTELPRO

Will they just be looking for kiddy porn or will they also be planting kiddy porn on the computers of Bush detractors and outspoken critics of the Pretzeldunce (à la infamous FBI operation COINTELPRO)?

When congressional investigations, political trials, and other traditional legal modes of repression failed to counter the growing movements, and even helped to fuel them, the FBI and police moved outside the law. They resorted to the secret and systematic use of fraud and force to sabotage constitutionally protected political activity. Their methods ranged far beyond surveillance, amounting to a home front version of the covert action for which the CIA has become infamous throughout the world.

<snip>

Final authority rested with FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Top FBI officials pressed local field offices to step up their activity and demanded regular progress reports. Agents were directed to maintain full secrecy "such that under no circumstances should the existence of the program be made known outside the Bureau and appropriate within-office security should be afforded to sensitive operations and techniques." A total of 2,370 officially approved COINTELPRO actions were admitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee, and thousands more have since been uncovered. Four main methods have been revealed:

1. Infiltration: Agents and informers did not merely spy on political activists. Their main purpose was to discredit and disrupt. Their very presence served to undermine trust and scare off potential supporters. The FBI and police exploited this fear to smear genuine activists as agents.

2. Psychological Warfare From the Outside: The FBI and police used myriad other "dirty tricks" to undermine progressive movements. They planted false media stories and published bogus leaflets and other publications in the name of targeted groups. They forged correspondence, sent anonymous letters, and made anonymous telephone calls. They spread misinformation about meetings and events, set up pseudo movement groups run by government agents, and manipulated or strong-armed parents, employers, landlords, school officials and others to cause trouble for activists.

3. Harassment through the Legal System The FBI and police abused the legal system to harass dissidents and make them appear to be criminals. Officers of the law gave perjured testimony and presented fabricated evidence as a pretext for false arrests and wrongful imprisonment. They discriminatorily enforced tax laws and other government regulations and used conspicuous surveillance, "investigative" inter views, and grand jury subpoenas in an effort to intimidate activists and silence their supporters.
(my emphasis /jc)

4. Extralegal Force and Violence: The FBI and police threatened, instigated, and themselves conducted break-ins, vandalism, assaults, and beatings. The object was to frighten dissidents and disrupt their movements. In the case of radical Black and Puerto Rican activists (and later Native Americans), these attacks-including political assassinations-were so extensive, vicious, and calculated that they can accurately be termed a form of official "terrorism."

From Cointelpro in the 60s posted at the web site www.thirdworldtraveller.com

Edited to fix link

[Allah Akbar]

6. When you buy a joint you're sending money to Osama

to kill more Americans. Maybe he runs all the kiddie porn sites from his cave in an unfindable location?

[ILeft]

7. Sounds like this is a diabolically clever trial balloon.

If the citizen opposes the Homeland Police investigating "child pornography," the citizen must be in favor of child pornography, right? But if the citizen will accept this "mission creep," the citizen is fucked. What a dilemma. I'll just reject the framework and state I am against child pornograhy and the Homeland Police.

[BiggJawn]

16. The iron-clad battle cry: "It's FOR THE CHILDREN!!!"

Who can be against that? If you have no kiddie porn on your hard drive, WHAT are you afraid of? Thus, if you're against this gross breach of civil Rights (right to be secure in your person, papers, etc.)then you MUST be HIDING something....1984-think or cold-war-think....

I wonder sometimes, just how much stuff have we all downloaded and stored that might have come from the RW and might have kiddie porn "embedded" in it? Photo-shopped pix of the Chimp, PDF files of articles, etc....All when run through the proper "decoder" would shock Larry Flynt...

[PurityOfEssence]

8. Kill, subjugate and tyrannize, but no sex, liquor or dancing

John Ashcroft is so thoroughly insane that he makes that famous old picture of Charles Manson look tranquil. Ridge is a nice pleasant functionary for the regime, sort of a Rudolf Hess type.

Your point is dead on: mission creep. The equating of "things ah'm agin" is always the nightmarish province of the hate-filled stupid. It really is natural in this kind of brain to lump all things "other" as equally evil. There is no mandate for quashing all human activity they find distasteful, and the implication that they may use their newfound tools at will is chilling, galling and IMMORAL.

How long did it take for these nazis to use the resources to try to round up them eeeevil Texas Legislators who were using parlimentary tactics to avoid having a legally instituted districting--as dictated by the Constitution (what, that old thing again???)--be illegally overruled by the current flood-tide of fascists? Not very. There isn't much outcry, is there? They's terr'rists at the gates, gummy, we gotsta stand by our Prez-dint!!

Let's just call it the Gestapo and be done with it, okay? I'm fine with that. When two things is really close-alike, y'all kin just call 'em Himmler.

[silverweb]

9. Very scary.

What do they call those guys in the Taliban and Saudi Arabia... "morality police" or something like that?

I think this is a trial balloon to see how far in that direction the Christian Wrong Wing will be allowed to drift.

:scared:

[joycep]

11. Homeland security my foot

These people are for the birds. I trust them as far as I can throw them. I despise child pornograpy and abuse. All too often though people who are "against" these things are using fighting them as an excuse. Either to stick their nose in other things or getting their sexual kicks. I would really like some homeland security. I feel less safe by the day and as long as these creeps are in control we will be less safe. I would also like some security for our troops and the Iraqi people.

[AlienGirl]

13. Not just mission creep

To me it looks like a trial run: will anyone object to it as long as the targets are thouroughly enough despised?

Tucker

[teryang]

14. This doesn't suprise me a bit

The Gestapo,SS and SD spent a great deal of their early resources collecting information on the sexual activity of friend and foe. This served a dual purpose. Blackmail and/or justification for incarceration those who fail to do the bidding of the fuhrer.

Once the file is created, you belong to the government even if your moral deriliction is something which isn't a crime but which would cause grievous damage to your reputation, economic and social life.

This will start a competition among government agencies in an effort to protect themselves and their turf from the threats to leak embarrassing information for political purposes.

The centralization of police powers represented by Homeland Security is a dire threat to the Constitution. I have never understood the Democratic elected leaders who supported the creation of this agency. Our government organization prior to 911 was adequate for WWII and the cold war. It wasn't government organization which was responsible for 911, it was the people running it.

[izzie]

15. And next if you are the wrong party? I can see that coming.

For some reason if you think the town should run and own the water works your a Commie.What next corp owned Fire dept?

[htuttle]

17. Anyone else remember the CDA and the Clipper Chip in the 90's?

They used these same arguments when they tried to censor the net using the Communications Decency Act during Clinton's tenure. The Clipper Chip (a backdoor for the Government into all encrypted telephone conversations) was pushed for the same reason as well:

WE NEED TO PROTECT YOU FROM PEDOPHILES AND DRUG DEALERS!

Who dares argue against it?

[hang a left]

18. you are kidding right!

They don't even have enough man power and funding for the current job they have been charged with. Child Porn and locating Dem absconders seems like borrowing from their inadequate resources. resource