Unmanned drones coming to a city near you in the future
On December 11th of last year I wrote a post about how the North Dakota police had used an unmanned drone to locate three Americans who were fugitives from justice. In this post I admitted that this seemed to be a legitimate use of an unmanned drone by the police in order to ensure they weren’t headed into a dangerous situation, but I also lamented about the very real possibility that these drones would become commonplace and would soon be flying over all major American cities:
This story might be a benign example of the usage of a Predator drone on American soil, using a drone on a reconnaissance mission to ensure a situation is safe before the police enter a potentially dangerous situation seems harmless enough, but does anyone not think that their usage will become more commonplace as we move forward if we simply accept this? And as Predator drones flying over American soil becomes more commonplace are we to believe that they will not gain the authority to take more enlarged powers in law enforcement?
I am not talking about a future where Predator drones are called on to fire on American citizens, but rather a future where the drones are routinely flying over American cities and spying on Americans under the justification of stopping potential crimes. I am talking about a future where the military is charged with policing the American people BEFORE a crime has taken place.
Part of my concern came as a result of the Defense Authorization Bill which designated the United States as a battlefield in the war on terror, and the news that Barack Obama’s lawyers have decided that citizens of the United States were legitimate targets for assassination in that same war:
Section 1031 of the NDAA reads: “Congress affirms that the authority of the President to use all necessary and appropriate force … includes the authority for the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons…. [including] [d]etention under the law of war without trial….” This “indefinite detention” section hands over to the executive branch the power to have the military arrest U.S. citizens. No trial needed. Simple suspicion would suffice.
My fears were soon realized when the Congress passed a bill which authorized the funding an implementation of 30,000 unmanned drones to start patrolling the sky over America by the year 2020. Both the Defense Authorization Act and the FCC Reauthorization Act were passed with the consent of the Republican controlled House–and I thought we sent the Tea Party Republicans to the Congress to shrink the size of government, not to institute a policy of spying on law abiding American citizens.
It has now been confirmed that unmanned drones will be soon flying over Washington DC, and government agencies such as Homeland Security, Agriculture, and the Energy Department will be using these drones, as well as some college campuses:
Drones will certainly have a purpose and a reason to be in this region in the next, coming years,” said Fairfax County Police Chief David Rohrer, while speaking on WTOP’s “Ask the Chief” program on Monday. “Just as a standpoint as an alternative for spotting traffic and sending information back to our VDOT Smart Traffic centers, and being able to observe backups
We will soon be living in a nation where the use of unmanned drones will become commonplace and I don’t think it is a stretch of the imagination to believe that once the use of these drones has become commonplace that law enforcement and federal agencies will increase the use of these drones with even more intrusive and extensive authority–and more agencies could eventually become involved, such as the ATF and the DOJ.
While we really began to see an attack on our personal liberties about 100 years ago with the implementation of the entitlement programs which sapped our independent nature and began us toward a path of government dependency, it is over the last decade or so that we have seen the government start to intrude on our liberties under the guise of keeping us safe and it all started with the PATRIOT Act signed into law under President Bush. These drones are just an extension of the PATRIOT Act.
Just last week the Obama regime declared that the war on terror was over, so why then is the United States still considered a battlefield in this war, why are American citizens still considered legitimate targets, and why are these drones still needed? What war is the federal government preparing to fight?
Our liberties are slowly slipping away and we had better wake up very shortly or we will be left wondering how we let it all get away from us as we look up and see the government looking down on us.
America's Watchtower 
Lately i have taken to watching the military channel’s documentary’s on Hitler’s war of deception which paved the way for his assumption of all authority and power in Germany. The similarities to the war being waged today on the American people’s freedoms is eerily similar. The elimination of all opposition is on today’s menu, make no mistake about it And now the mere idea of the possibility of drones reconnoitering THE HOMELAND send chills up and down my spine as did the first mention of HOMELAND SECURITY and THE PATRIOT ACT. Just as Nixon laid the groundwork for the environmentalists so did Bush lay the foundation for Obama’s emerging Reich. Useful idiots all……
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There are similarities between what we are seeing now and the revolutions of the past in Europe. The class warfare and OWS (which has been endorsed by CPUSA and the American Nazi Party) is a perfect example of how dictators have come to power in the past.
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I don’t know how we stop them, Steve. The athorities are going to claim it is no different the police patrol cars. It is different, of course. It seems that advances in technology are making personal privacy impossible. The Brave New World is here.
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That is exactly how they are going to justify it Jim and it is scary to think that we will all be watched because the government thinks we might commit a crime even if they don’t have any reason to suspect us.
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Expect the first deployment over Chicago during the NATO summit in May.
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I have read that as well.
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Chip, this is something to pay attention to, as well. It seems that it is in our face and they are going to do what they are going to do
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http://www.prisonplanet.com/nato-summit-in-chicago-set-to-be-martial-law-showcase.html
It looks like it has been in the making for some time, but to do it on such a large scale, well, we are screwed if they pull it off in Chicago. I was involved in many, many drills in my county in Illinois for years, going so far as co-writing the scenarios of what was going to be dealt with. Never did I suspect that we would come to this. It appears we have lost our say so in much of our day to day living, doesn’t it?
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I saw this story as well last week and it does appear as if they are preparing for something. Chicago could be a test run.
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So, is it going to be just a matter of time before WE are stopped for papers and wanting to know where we are going? I am not too crazy about drones, but don’t they have the ability with satellites right now to watch what we do? We have just not had it thrown in our faces up to now. The have done more quietly sneaky stuff in the past, this administration is just telling us outright what they are going to do AND WE WILL LIKE IT! I have to agree with Jim that it is here and not much we can do to stop them.
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That’s a good point Lou, the government alreay has the capability to basically hone right in on us from space so this seems like an in your face move. Maybe they thing the satellites are too in the background and they want to remind us they are watching.
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I just don’t get why people cannot connect the dots here. Everything from being able to detain American citizens indefinitely to collecting data on each of us. Are people really this dense.
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I think there are many people who just aren’t paying attention and many of them who are think this is a conspiracy theory. I hope they don’t have to learn the hard way, but often that is what it takes.
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John, I think there are a vast amount of people that have been lead to believe that they are doing this to keep us “safe”. i know to the thinking person it sounds amazing, but there are those out there that have this thought process. They think the Government is good and the ones that question it are evil. Go figure.
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Think of all the money our beneficent government will save the taxpayer when drones and cruisers are rendered obsolete once we all have our chips implanted. And will each of us have our choice of ring tones for an additional $9.99 p/month? You mean you think the chip will be free? So while you think those crawlers at the bottom of the TV screen are annoying, be prepared for 24 hours per day public service messages, but that’s only until they can figure out how to sell advertising time. There will be nothing brave about our new world.
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Weren’t they awhile back pushing the chipping for humans and some family volunteered to do it? How wonderful is that? 1984? I have neighbors that think that of course their church would tell them if we were having issues as a nation and of course the government is there to make sure we are safe. On top of that, they are older and say it would not be something that they would have to deal with for long if something happened, anyway. I bring up their kids and grand-kids and they just stare at me like they do not comprehend what I am saying. Add to that the garbage the schools are teaching and I think we have 2 age groups that are either brainwashed or clueless. Scary!
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I have noticed an insane amount of PSAs on talk radio recently and it is clear the government is making a bid to indoctrinate us Peter.
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Eyes in the skys have been around for many years. I never have liked the idea of something flying over my property and looking down at me. I recall back in the 1970, when my father built a greenhouse on the farm—day after day the local choppers would fly over and hover. The old man was growing tomatoes. Personally, I have nothing to hide but hate the government’s intrusion into any part of my life. Use to feel like shooting at them, but never got up enough nerve. It amazing they must have a search warrent to enter your home, but they can still invade you property via the airspace above it. Expanding the domestic drone force is troubling to say the least and knowing how government works the use of these new “air spies” will be abused and more freedoms lost.
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Ron I need to fix something for you:
It’s amazing they must have a search warrant (FOR NOW) to enter your home.
Little by little they are taking our rights away. I just don’t seem to hear the outrage I thought I would hear.
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The fact that more people don’t seem to be outraged by this is just plain scary, Lou. If we accept this what will be next?!
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I have nothing to hide either Ron, which is why I am most opposed to this. Why should the government be watching me without any reason whatsoever? We are losing our freedoms.
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