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| Congresswoman bitches about vid cameras at national monuments |
| 2002-03-24 |
The decision, disclosed in testimony Parsons submitted for delivery to a congressional panel today, drew sharp questioning from members even before his appearance. "I know they need to protect the monumental core, but this is a surprise to us," said Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.), chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on the District, which called a hearing on the expanding use of electronic surveillance in the nation's capital. "How long are they going to capture on these cameras every face of every person who is there? How long do they hold this material? Who will have access to it?" I won't bother dwelling on Congresswoman Morella's silliness. Jeff Jarvis has already done that better than I could. Since there is an organized network of people in the world who are demonstrably trying to kill as many of us as they can, it makes more sense to me to take measures against them than it does to worry about whether some bureaucrat is going to see my face on a screen. I'm a lot more indignant about traffic light cameras, which is a lot more Big Brotherish than surveillance of national treasures. If the government goes overboard and uses the surveillance for other than the announced purpose, then bitch, moan and vote them out of office and into jail. I suppose the next step for Morella is to legislate hiring preferences for blind, deaf, or wheel chair bound guards at these parks. I absolutly agree with Jeff Jarvis I lived in Britain for a year and they have cameras everywhere in PUBLIC places. They did not bother most people who were well aware of their existence. Where the hell do people get the idea that they would or should or could have some expectation or right of privacy in a public place |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |