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Monday, August 12, 2002
The administration's party line on the TIPS program is, to put it politely, a crock of shit. Under the program, the government would encourage tips from everyday citizens about suspicious activities. [Assistant Attorney General Michael] Chertoff denied it would encourage Americans to spy on one another. "The government is asking people to do this, not making them," he said. "I would suspect most of them (tips) will wash out." He also said, "We're not looking for a community of snoops." From dictionary.com: snoop Pronunciation Key (snp) intr.v. snooped, snoop·ing, snoops To pry into the private affairs of others, especially by prowling about. n. One who snoops. Y'see, the way we have things set up now, with local police, state police, the FBI and god-knows-what-all else, isn't going to work. If you use an existing phone line to any of these organizations, you have to have some compelling reason, or they'll smack your wrists for 'wasting their time.' To fight terrorism, we need to open up the machinery of justice for people with hunches and suspicions and 'funny feelings.' People aren't coming forward with these kinds of 'unfounded' semi-allegations because law enforcement scares them. It's too serious; it looks as if it's always going to do something heavy, like shoot someone. Heck, even I'd think twice before calling those goons. We don't have any petty-minded folks in this country who'd blow someone in to make a buck or for spite. Anyway, our government is impartial and unbiased. It treats all citizens equally, so there's absolutely no danger that any innocent people will be imprisoned or that anyone's rights will be violated. Now go fool around with your barbecues or something. 
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