I was searching the web, and found this interesting article on Reddit. It seems that firefighters do not need warrants to enter people’s homes, allowing them to be a powerful potential tool in the pocket of the Dept. of Homeland Security.
I like this quote:
Mike German, a former FBI agent who is now national security policy counsel to the ACLU, said the concept is dangerously close to the Bush administration’s 2002 proposal to have workers with access to private homes — such as postal carriers and telephone repairmen — report suspicious behavior to the FBI.
Personally, I think that firefighters should be employed to fight fires like so:
Plano Firefighters, originally uploaded by got80s.
Their secondary function is to look cute for the ladies (or the men, if they lean that way…).
Here is another snippet:
Homeland Security also trains the New York City fire service in how to identify material or behavior that may indicate terrorist activities. If it’s successful, the government intends to expand the program to other major metropolitan areas.
Personally, I can see that these firefighters and other emergency workers would be a valuable asset to notify the authorities if there is terrorist or suspicious activities, but I can see the concerns. Simultaneously, is this any different than a person having a heart attack in a grow house and having the firefighters tell the cops about the weed?
This seems very unlikely to reap any dividends unless a terrorist cell were to have a fire (or a heart attack) and decide to call emergency personnel to the place that they are planning their terror as well as not hide their terror-related paraphernalia. I expect the dangerous terrorists would likely let the place burn or the people die… but someone could get lucky.
I am most assuredly against terrorism, but I believe that more dividends could be reaped through diplomacy and proactive programs preventing the conditions that lead to terror.
