Drones everywhere!
Don't look up! but you won't see them at 10,000 feet.

I'd like to submit a complaint about corruption...at city council.

Don't care much about banning sodas or having to use slop pails? They are merely gateway rules preceding the larger picture stuff to follow. Wait till you get your tracking implant, then wake up the next morning and spot a bumble bee size camera drone peeking into your bedroom window.

Thank you George Orwell. And we thought it was just fiction.

The story also appears here
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120604/NEWS01/706049932

I'd still like verification from the EPA but their list of contact numbers is off putting.

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/hotline.htm

I guess the only thing one can say is: "Forward!"

Oh, that whole "rat out your neighbor" thing? That was just a misunderstanding.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/portlandcityhall/2012/06/portland_officials_say_rule_on.html

Fastest backtrack dance I've seen in a while. It turns out that "business-friendly Portland" just wants you to report non-compliant businesses.

Oh, well then. That's so much better!

The EPA is WAY over the line. But who is going to stop them? And what is being done that we don't know about?

Alex Jones? Really? Every time I encounter something from this guy I find myself wondering if he misplaced his Thorazine.

Oh, if they were only watching you...

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/05/23/groups-concerned-over-arming-of-domestic-drones/

Oh geez. You gotta be joking...

Well at least Jack has some berries up to brighten the mood. They look like Hoods. Sure wish I could grow those out here. For a second I thought they might be mine. Could be from mid May...prolly not.

As for those drones, I'd love to see one out here. The big land owners would put a bounty on them for sure. If they fly any of those things over my berry field they better be flying high. I guess they are used for military service so flying high is probably standard.

Still. I'd like to see one fly low. If I put one down I'd be a legend around here. :-)

Gibby - Your slippery slope argument is hard to swallow at this point. Not that it's not true, but you seem to be saying this crap is just starting. Man, it's already here and been here for a long time. The things you mention are not a symptom of what is to come, the are simple reminders that it's already here.

The real intrusions that started the slippery slope happened years ago. Hell 9-11 and the resulting Patriot Act/s (as well as unilateral moves by the executive) blew huge holes in electronic surveillance protections. They now read and record EVERYTHING. There have been books written about it. Well researched non-crackpot testimony about them basically tracking all cell phone and email communication. Stuff that used to be just wacky conspiracy theory is now a reality. Kinda scary.

As far as aerial surveillance, the real intrusions, setting the legal and procedural precedents, happened years ago. I'm not sure the date but it has been decades since the question of surveillance by air was resolved. The verdict was that it's fine, no problem, no privacy protections, no expectation of privacy even, fly and photograph all you want. Use infrared even. The only difference is now we have the tech to do it with drones on a wide scale.

Use infrared even.

I thought this case settled that part of the question.

The lowest crime rate in modern history was Nazi Germany.

Although the USA is much larger to police than Germany, the methods are much more sophisticated.

We fought the fascist once, looks like we will have to do it again (and again, and again...)

Ever fly into Newark Airport? Notice the slimy green ponds that looks as if they hold a lifetime supply of used radiator fluid?
Even so, an EPA air force? Isn't it ridiculous enough that the EPA has its own police, when there would seem to be plenty of police on federal payrolls if they are doing an investigation that might meet physical resistance. And local officers are available for hire. This is what happens when petty people have petty authority.
The Oregon heat-sensing case (a BLM officer used a National Guard heat imager to locate a penny-ante pot grow in the home of a guy who lived next door to the BLM's actual suspect) did fail to win approval from Scalia and Thomas to create a privacy majority. But it was 5-4. So that could change.
On the side of the cause of freedom, chances are government austerity program will ground EPA flyovers before the court takes another look.

Rettig - I was under the impression that using heat detectors while flying was fine. That's how they can see pot being grown. I know of that case but it seems to be narrow, applying only to driving by with infrared without a warrant. They are still using infrared from aircraft last I heard.

Note there are supposed to be numerous protections against electronic surveillance as well. But they are routinely ignored. Surely the heat sensor thing is also ignored.

If one takes a few steps out of the legal weeds for a second and starts looking at it from a policy point of view one starts to notice some major problems and abuses. So no matter the letter of the law, the law has failed.

Because of the reduced now bi-weekly garbage service, the city needs to establish neighborhood disposable dirty diaper dump sites (DDDDS) with the first one located at City Hall in the mayor’s office. The aroma will fit well with the stink of the policies that are developed within.