… the news headlines could have read if I was an actual terrorist.

I was on my way out of the office and heading for the South Ferry 1 train. I noticed a group of three NYPD officers standing to the right of the turnstiles with their sign saying they can ask to search bags leaning up against the decorative gating. I see this from the bottom of the steps at the old N and R entrance and so I prepare myself for the possible bag search request.

Lately there has been an obvious increase in the frequency of these stations. Perhaps its a result of the grants from the federal government to expand the city security theater or something related to the recent stimulus bill. I don’t know and I’m not going to chat it up with one of the blue light gang to see if they know either.

So I always carry with me a cheap digital camera just in case I need to snap a photo of the growing police state or an official abusing their so called authority. Near the Metrocard machines at the N/R entrance I took the camera out of my pocket, made sure it was on video mode, and turned it on. Or so I thought.

As I walk toward the turnstiles and the officers a young woman with a large bass in a case with a single wheel walks out in from of a pillar and I pause to let her go around me. As that is occurring I’m tucking my copy of Ludwig Von Mises’ Socialism under my left arm pit so my left hand was free to take the Metrocard out of the sheath I keep in my right pocket in which I store my work ID and government transportation cards. Before the woman is able to get around me I hear: “HEY BUDD!” I know its directed at me since a prior survey of those walking with me showed no one else with a bag. I ignore it and continue to reach for my card but have yet to move forward again from stopping for the bassist. “HEY!” I hear again. I hesitate for what was not more than 500ms but surely felt longer in order to decide if I should respond or play deaf. I turned and with a innocent but slightly concerned and questioning look said: “Excuse me?”

I don’t recall if it was “Can we” or “We need to” “check your bag.”

I’ve gone through this situation before and in one case a far more intimidating scenario where I had already gone through the turnstile and was absolutely the only person around except for the officers standing three feet in front of me demanding to look through my things. So I’ve done mental exercises in hopes of better handling a similar encounter in the future. Maybe something to the effect: “For what reason? Under what authority? Do you have a warrant? Why can’t I use the subway? What if I just go down the street to the next station? What’s your name and badge number?” Unfortunately that all went out the window when I was in the spotlight and it came time for my response.

I say with a completely different demeanor from a second early, one of seriousness and likely contempt: “No.”

“You’re going to have to leave the subway then.”

Acting ignorant… “Can’t go over there either?” Pointing to the N/R entrance.

“No. Gotta go outside.”

“Hmm… OK.”

While this back and forth occurred I had turned to the right to face them and meandered a little to their left. To collect myself and put away my Metrocard. I notice the other office who was not behind the table talking to me but to his left was getting real close to me as if to escort me out. He didn’t lead me out but did follow me as I slowly walked toward where I entered. I kept peaking back and he eventually stopped and starred me down as I walked up the steps.

I started down the street toward the Bowling Green station. Turning back occasionally to see if I was being followed. After less than a block I decided I wasn’t in the mood to put up with that or take the Green line to Grand Central Station and then go to Port Authority by way of the Shuttle. I was already running late and given that the news of the MotorhomeDiaries crew’s arrest and imprisonment was still trickling out I wanted to get home as soon as possible.

So I turned around… headed back down the steps carefully checking to see if the officers were watching for me or in my direction. The way they were positioned give them the ability to see all those who entered so if I was going to get onto a train I needed to be careful or face arrest. So I waited a few minutes for a crowd to come down the steps and followed it to the turnstiles of the N/R and walked through down to the platform and onto the train. There was a slight scare when a couple stops down the train was held for several minutes without a reason and I noticed some officers on the south bound side looking around. But the doors eventually shut and I made it home with an elevated heart rate but otherwise untouched by the actors of the police state that is NYC.

So as I and many others have said hundreds of times before… baggage checks are nothing but security theater. In this instance I pushed it and entered the same station secretly but other times before the new South Ferry 1/N/R station combo I would be denied entry to the 1 and then just walk back across the street to the N/R and head uptown without a hitch. It’s extraordinarily ridiculous. If I’m rejected at 1… I’d suspect I’m not legally allowed to enter the N/R or any other station. Do they expect that once you are denied entry once that you can never ride again? If I’m a terrorist and am on my way to blow some train station up and am actually stopped… what keeps me from just going to the next station or waiting a few minutes and hiding in a crowd as it enters? Shouldn’t that officer followed me until I was off the island? It’s a big joke… on the public. They get to pay taxes to further oppress themselves with absolutely no gain. At least in Benjamin Franklin’s quote he assumed that the individual was giving up freedom for more security. In our case it is freedom for less security and explicit tyranny.

So my camera turned out not to be recording for the beginning of the brief conversation. I caught only the last of it and then I have a bunch of subway noise from when I made my reentrance. In the future I’ll just turn it on before I go in and leave it on. I’m thinking a digital audio recorder with an extended mic with a clip that I could have on my shirt would be better or maybe an audio/video recording wrist watch.

I’m going to try to better prepare myself for my next encounter by going over my script more and when I see the officers stationed in front of the enterance again I will pause, collect myself, go over the plan, start the recorder, breath deeply, and then go in. We’ll see…

Those who participate in the CUE aren’t freeloaders… they are trying to limit their exposure to and the harm done by a gang of thugs calling themselves the Canadian government.

http://www.salon.com/…

Following up on this weekend’s extreme raids on various homes, at least 250 people were arrested here today in St. Paul, Minnesota. Beginning last night, St. Paul was the most militarized I have ever seen an American city be, even more so than Manhattan in the week of 9/11 — with troops of federal, state and local law enforcement agents marching around with riot gear, machine guns, and tear gas cannisters, shouting military chants and marching in military formations. Humvees and law enforcement officers with rifles were posted on various buildings and balconies. Numerous protesters and observers were tear gassed and injured.

Sunday night he reported:

Today’s Star Tribune added that the raids were specifically “aided by informants planted in protest groups.” Back in May, Marcy Wheeler presciently noted that the Minneapolis Joint Terrorist Task Force — an inter-agency group of federal, state and local law enforcement led by the FBI — was actively recruiting Minneapolis residents to serve as plants, to infiltrate “vegan groups” and other left-wing activist groups and report back to the Task Force about what they were doing. There seems to be little doubt that it was this domestic spying by the Federal Government that led to the excessive and truly despicable home assaults by the police yesterday.

So here we have a massive assault led by Federal Government law enforcement agencies on left-wing dissidents and protesters who have committed no acts of violence or illegality whatsoever, preceded by months-long espionage efforts to track what they do. And as extraordinary as that conduct is, more extraordinary is the fact that they have received virtually no attention from the national media and little outcry from anyone. And it’s not difficult to see why. As the recent “overhaul” of the 30-year-old FISA law illustrated — preceded by the endless expansion of surveillance state powers, justified first by the War on Drugs and then the War on Terror — we’ve essentially decided that we want our Government to spy on us without limits. There is literally no police power that the state can exercise that will cause much protest from the political and media class and, therefore, from the citizenry.

He goes on to speak of his disgust for those who claim these people deserve this and questioning why the liberals who were denouncing the Chinese for the very same actions weeks ago at the Olympics aren’t speaking out against this now?

I know why Glenn… it’s because they are part of this system. They not only are complacent in it’s creation, they desire it.

It’s one thing to harass and arrest protesters causing trouble. Those ‘anarchists’ who damage property should be dealt with. It’s an entirely different thing to raid homes of individuals who have done nothing and to harm or arrest members of the press who obviously are not causing a problem. These people are thugs. Can anyone not understand why the so called authorities are disliked when they so blatantly infringe the very first amendment to the US Constitution, required by the anti-federalists in order to secure those rights from government infringement.

http://www.wethepeoplefoundation.org/…

Last Sunday we posted our Web Update titled “Next Step: Large Scale Hunger Fast.”

Last Tuesday, WTP Chairman Bob Schulz met for the third time with the staff of the National Park Service (NPS) to discuss the details of WTP’s permit for the hunger fast. The fast was originally scheduled to start on August 11, but was rescheduled to start on September 16, due to the current five week break by Congress.

Until Tuesday, the conditions of the permit included a 24 hours a day, 7 days per week hunger fast, with tents as shelters, provided there were “no sleeping bags, blankets and pillows for comfort.” Chairs would be allowed.

Last Tuesday, NPS informed Bob that no one would be allowed to sleep during the hunger fast! Anyone caught sleeping, they said, would be cited for violating the permit. The cost would be $75 for each citation plus court costs. Bob argued, without success, that our Hunger Fast was a First Amendment expression of our disgust with the Government’s failure to respond to our Petitions for Redress, and that a “no sleeping” rule would, in effect, amount to a denial of First Amendment Rights to Petition, Speech and Association.

Absent the initiation of yet another legal challenge, or hungering by People on 2-3 day shifts, the Park Service’s “no sleeping” Rule effectively cancels the large scale hunger fast.

The Park Service’s “no sleeping” rule did not effectively cancel the hunger fast. Those who where to be part of the We the People hunger fast who are deciding to go along with their rule cancels it. If you are asking the government for permission you deserve to be told no. I find it sad that some of these people will go out of their way to not pay income tax because the government won’t respond to them yet true civil disobedience scares them off. They need to realize that it’s not their government. It’s a group of thugs who need to be denied legitimacy and resisted. Canceling the fast is a sign of weakness in their resolve and just further legitimizes the government’s claimed authority over them.

Thus far, Texas Rep. Ron Paul has “responded” to the Petitions for Redress by having them “forwarded to the Clerk of the House.”

While such a move is unique among the Members of the House, and is not a bad first step in etching the concept of Government accountability into the minds of some of the Members and advancing ever so slightly the question of the constitutional meaning of the last ten words of the First Amendment, it is highly unlikely that the Petitions for Redress will advance to House Committees for consideration, much less a vote to provide Redress. With the possible exception of Ron Paul, we know of no other politician willing to consider the notion of being held accountable to the People outside the periodic electoral process.

Whether or not the Petitions for Redress served on Ron Paul advance beyond the Office of the Speaker of the House, a constituent’s Right to Redress (like that of Religion, Speech, Press and Assembly) is an individual Right that does not depend on the will of any person or majority, not in the House, not in the Senate, not on any Court bench, and not among those voting in any election.

Forwarding the Petitions for Redress to the Clerk of the House has not relieved Rep. Ron Paul of his individual obligation to respond by answering the questions embedded in each of the seven Petitions for Redress. Even if his answer is, “I lack knowledge enough to admit or deny,” he has a legal (constitutional) obligation to respond.

We pray Rep. Paul will personally respond to the Petitions for Redress.

It’s unfortunate that Paul’s staff if not also Paul himself are afraid of responding claiming that doing so would open the door for more petitions and they don’t have the staff to deal with that. Even if they don’t answer them promptly they could at least queue them up and let the petitioner know it’s queued. They get to it when they have the ability to do so. The very idea that it would lead to the Congressmen being inundated with petitions for redress of grievances should be reason enough to do so.