State Fusion Centers a waste of time... AND?

[rambone]

they have their uses beyond searching for potential terror plots.

I came into this conversation with the full understanding that their efforts were not about stopping terrorists. The report proves it. It makes the whole operation look worse in my opinion.

But treating Fusion Centers as an evil entity just because of their capabilities isn't much different than being against firearms because they've been used for evil purposes in the past and could be used so in the future. They are tools and tools need to be used correctly and for their proper purpose.

That argument could be used to justify all sorts of Federal power grabs. The Patriot Act is just a tool. Gun Registration is just a tool. A Biometric Database is just a tool.

All of the above would make certain people feel safe from terrorists. They would seem like appealing powers to give a benevolent guardian angel. But history teaches us that the government is ANYTHING but a guardian angel. At some point it becomes pertinent to ask what gave the Federal Government the authority to do the things it does.

 

[Fletch]

The SS and KGB probably had noble-sounding missions too.

 

[Blackhawk2001]

The SS and KGB probably had noble-sounding missions too.

Doesn't sound like it ever did - unless, I suppose, you look at them through their eyes - but I suppose one can overgeneralize anything as much as one can understate it.

 

[rambone]

Mitt Romney LOVES Fusion Centers and the Police State [video]

We unearthed a video that shows Mitt Romney professing his love for fusion centers and the police state during a 2007 town hall meeting in New Hampshire. For many politicians, the first solution to virtually any domestic problem is to throw money at the police state and prison industrial complex.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYyRuv70ovQ"]www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYyRuv70ovQ[/ame]