Seadog Loc: Western MA, USA

Cholly. I think that most are worried that it will turn into a police state. Every right we give up, every new law proposed just pushes us closer to that development. There is also a serious disconnect with people seeing the direction we are moving. Ya I've seen police state. Have done my time overseas etc. Did my duty. But it also opened my eyes as to how these rights were lost. I find it odd too that your profile picture is a spy plane. Maybe you are big brother. hehe

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

SERIOUSLY... I know a little something about Homeland Security.

Both Patriot Acts gave the government a lot more power to invade our personal freedoms than the average person knows. Given to us by the Congress and Administration that WE voted for.

People have absolutely NO clue what they are talking about when they say this is a police state or that we have lost any rights. NONE AT ALL. We haven't and this isn't and it's frustrating to hear smart people parroting what they hear on fright-wing radio.

If this government wanted to take our rights or freedoms, believe me, there wouldn't be a single darn thing we could do about it. :(

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Cholly,
You seem like a politically astute person. When you say we got the administration WE voted for you must realize that the moneyed interests select the candidates with the help of the bought and paid for political parties and news media. I voted for Obama twice and realized he promoted most of the same programs as Bush. The moneyed interests (defense, oil, banks, energy, pharma, prison corporations, big agribusiness, etc.) provide all the lobbying and campaign funds and influence needed to select and elect only people acceptable to them to be the candidates. All the regulatory agengies have a revolving employment door with the corporations they are supposed to regulate. The electorate gets to vote for a red hat or a blue hat, but it doesn't matter who wins. The closest analogy is a pro wrestling match where both oponents work for the same promotors. So I agree we are not a police state, but what we do have is a functioning fascist state where the corporations have bought and paid for the president, the congress and the supreme court and most state and local governments as well, through the monopoly of the two parties that decide who gets to run for almost every office in the country. There are exceptions, but they don't count because they are in the minority. And I totally agree there's nothing we can do about it. If an honest man ever ran, he'd never get the nomination.

Lazy Old Coot Loc: Gainesville, Florida

Getting back to the original subject of this thread, the largest Drone manufacturer just today announced two new products. And they aren't Drones. Go to: http://news.fidelity.com/news/news.jhtml?cat=Tech&articleid=201509102248MRKTWTCHNEWS_SVC000513&IMG=N .
...... Coot

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

Bob, most people in this country are deliberately apathetic when it comes to politics. They don't take the time to learn about the issues or understand how they effect everyday life, much less go out and vote. And they don't realize the connection between money and politics or they would call for immediate change.

They are fooled and hoodwinked by a profit driven media and they respond accordingly. Last summer was a perfect example with the Ebola scare. Now there will NEVER be an Ebola epidemic in the U.S.... EVER, but the media had everyone crapping their pants and irresponsible politicians taking advantage of of that hysteria. Politicians who actually did the opposite of what a century of Public Health dictated should have been done, thereby INCREASING the risk to the American people.

And yes... that's what WE voted for, whether we pulled the lever or stayed home and didn't.

But this is NOT a police state, and the rules and regulations we have in place are for the most part, there to protect the public against fools, idiots, and criminals.

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

China is a lot closer to being a police state than this country will ever be. Chinese manufacturers have been placing back doors in microprocessors destined for U.S. electronics for years... even more reason to regulate these products.

Violameister Loc: michigan

So now you will regulate not only against idiots and crazys, but also back doors in the electronics. I have asked for examples of how you propose to regulate and you avoid answering. I can only surmise, with this new set of problems, you want to regulate these devices out of existence altogether.

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

More hysteria. :roll:

It is completely over the top.

And since I am neither a legislator or an expert in this field you can stop wasting your time by asking me what I personally would do to address the problem. That's as irrational as asking a cab driver who commented about the weather the exact details of how HE plans to address global climate change.

The fact that I personally don't have the solution does not mean that there isn't one, or that regulation isn't necessary. Quite the contrary. We know that property was lost because air tankers were grounded because of drones in emergency airspace during the fires out west. Well, that is proof enough.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Cholly I agree with 99% of what you say. Except the drug laws create criminals, they don't protect us from them.
Bob

Violameister Loc: michigan

Your stance suggests you trust your elected representatives to come up with a rational regulation scheme. But if you have no ideas, or concepts of what should be done, you have no basis for choosing wisely the one who will do the regulating. I submit that whatever is wrong in our legislatures is because those doing the voting are ignorant of the issues, as you so proudly claim to be in this case.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

My first idea is that the government should stop evading the constitution and the bill of rights, read the federalist papers to see the intent and go from there. Cholly can ignore my post that listed a very few of the violations imposed on us, the list is unfortunately long. Most of this government crap is foisted on us in the name of public safety. The fact that the police can set up a roadblocks (checkpoints) and stop and interrogate people without an inkling that a law was broken is a good indication we are living in a police state. The fact the IRS can accuse anyone of tax fraud, and the individual must prove innocence rather than the state proving guilt is another.

Moreover and besides the constitution, people that want to protect the public from everything simply piss me off. If you want to be safe, build yourself a rubber room and spend your life in it. Much better than trying to put your damned rubber room around everyone else.

For Cholly, Websters defines a police state as:

"a country in which the activities of the people are strictly controlled by the government with the help of a police force."

Now, if you think government isn't controlling strictly, I refer you here:

http://extent-of-regulation.dhwritings.com/

Make sure your scroll down to see the total federal regs in 1925, it was in one small volume. This doesn't count state and local government laws. We are being protected to death. It's stifling, disgusting and ball busting.

Macronaut Loc: Redondo Beach,Ca.

Thank you!

joto9d7 Loc: Laguna Hills

Police State or not? We can only judge it by it's apparent power in the moment.

Judge it now, then, you say.

by it's power alone, it is causing a large group of photographers to consider siding away from the photographer's best interest and in giving it's power away to people who think that they know better.

joto9d7 Loc: Laguna Hills

If it's true that our government could take our freedoms away without us being able to do anything about it...

Then, it has to be true that we already live in a police state.

Macronaut Loc: Redondo Beach,Ca.

A very good point indeed.