Md. Police Put Activists' Names On Terror Lists (WP)

[Nambe]

Source: Washington Post

The Maryland State Police classified 53 nonviolent activists as terrorists and entered their names and personal information into state and federal databases that track terrorism suspects, the state police chief acknowledged yesterday.

Police Superintendent Terrence B. Sheridan revealed at a legislative hearing that the surveillance operation, which targeted opponents of the death penalty and the Iraq war, was far more extensive than was known when its existence was disclosed in July.

The department started sending letters of notification Saturday to the activists, inviting them to review their files before they are purged from the databases, Sheridan said.

"The names don't belong in there," he told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. "It's as simple as that." ...

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/07/AR2008100703245.html

[grannie4peace]

1. people need to complain about this!!!!!

[williesgirl]

35. Read the hundreds of comments on WP and hear our screams! rec'd

[Demeter]

2. Don't Cheney and Rumsfeld Live Maryland?

Cowards that they are, bet they put the squeeze on the police...

[LiberalEsto]

7. It was former fuehrer Gov. Ehrlich

who was responsible for this. He's a crony of W. and a total creep.

[Blue_Tires]

22. +1 he was a king shit

[sasquuatch]

46. Gov.3rd REICH

nc

[treestar]

58. Their names ought to be on the list then

[ixion]

3. which is why the unPATRIOTic Act MUST be repealed.

so fascist bastards like this one don't have a legal foundation to harass free citizens.

[jtrockville]

4. * checks mail for "the letter" *

[Nambe]

5. 65% of Oregonians should be on that list. Undercover that.

[Burma Jones]

6. Our disgusting Republican one term Governor's legacy

Boy, I leave the state for three years and they elect a stinking Republican shit eating funny haircut pedophile slice of pus pizza and this is what we get.

[IsItJustMe]

8. The Bush mentality police state has arrived folks. We are living it. If this does not smack of

fascism, I don't know what does. The Republican version of America if you would. Scary as hell.

[mallard]

66. They all belong in Guantonomo ...

... about as much as the other 'terrorists' already looned up there.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. BINGO! That's what we were afraid was going to happen,.

[Krashkopf]

10. ENOUGH!

Naomi Wolf is right.

A coup d'etat has taken place. Thank GOD for true Patriots, like Superintendent Sheridan for having the courage to speak the truth.

NOW is time for the rest of us, who love the Constitution, and what it STOOD for, to stand up to the FASCISTS and to work to restore the Republic.

[Joe Chi Minh]

11. Find out which senior officer is responsible. Be sure he pays

for his "anti-American activities", when the law is restored in your country. What was good enough for Joe McCarthy is good enough you.

[lonestarnot]

26. Yes that NAZI fucker should pay!

[barbtries]

12. this was what it was always about

screwing their political enemies. bin laden still loose and they're running after non-violent domestic activists. truly shameful. this should really inspire more and more and MORE people to get active. i hope it doesn't have the opposite effect.

[LiberalFighter]

13. Thomas E. Hutchins was the State Police Superintendent at the time.

[L0oniX]

14. Adding Bush and Cheney to the list now.

[gratuitous]

15. I don't think anyone could have foreseen . . .

You know, everyone saw the potential for this, and this is just one more example to toss on a very big heap of abuses. Citizens judged guilty and damaged forever because some disgruntled pinhead doesn't like someone's political views. I wonder if Bush's federal judges will decide now that citizens have standing to challenge these unconstitutional overreaches?

[go west young man]

16. Unbelievable and scary.

America is fast becoming a police state where people will soon end up "disappeared". To truly see how our police behave check out this video where a state trooper leaves his onboard camera/mic running. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7e4_1223130840 That is the mentality of many of our police.

[MonteLukast]

32. They don't have to disappear you.

What's more likely to happen is the everyday: your ability to get hired hampered, your credit worthiness called into question, your college admission process derailed.

Simple, plain old reputation damage, in an era where everyone's worried about their personal brand.

[go west young man]

33. I suppose your right.

These days all they need is an IP address and a quick check of ones political leanings on the web and they could shut you down financially.

[MonteLukast]

38. IMO it's a loophole in employment laws.

Say a Republican boss doesn't want to hire Dems. In most states, he can take advantage of at-will employment. In the other states, where it's illegal to discriminate because of political leanings or outside activities, he has another tactic, one that all bosses will relate to: the need to make sure the applicant is a "good fit" and "has the right attitude".

The Democrat will not be hired, and all they'll be told is "we found somebody who's a better fit".

[mallard]

67. That's exactly right

Are you a 'they've got your number', or just a 'regular' citizen?

Martial law lite, with officially-unofficial blacklisting. Don't ask, don't tell.

Attempts to open up the blacklist with only add more entries. Don't ask, don't tell.

[dixiegrrrrl]

55. Blackwater has been busy training hundreds of police.

Recent news article revealed this.

They are getting ready.

edit: spelling

[NOLALady]

17. I wonder how many hate groups are on that list.

[kestrel91316]

20. None, of course.

[ReadTomPaine]

36. They won't put their friends in hate groups on any list other than "preferred customer". n/t

[lisainmilo]

18. To misuse the "patriot act"

To stifle civil liberties is the MOST unpatriotic act of all!

They never surprise me anymore! :mad: :puke:

[TWiley]

27. There are no civil liberties in heaven

so, why would a conservative christian care?

I doubt there are many conceptions of God that are not dictatorial by nature.

[cui bono]

65. Unfortunately, it's not a misuse of it since that's exactly what it was designed for.

[kestrel91316]

19. And they probably wonder why the public doesn't like them......

[TWiley]

21. REPUBLICAN BASTARDS !

I really have come to hate them all. I always thought it was a simple matter of time before the department of homeland security was politicized to attack the democrats.

[Sam Ervin jret]

23. It's time the department of homeland security and the "patriot" act be disappeared.

They are dangerous arms and tools born in a case of mass hysteria created naturally and then purposefully, cynically nurtured for political purpose by the right wing political neocons.

It is time to rededicate ourselves to the principles outlined in the The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

McCain wants to do away with the Department of education and Medicare. He has said as much many times in many ways. I think it's time to use our Department of Education and our senior citizens (who may be lucky enough to remember when they could be sure their telephone conversations were private)to inform and arm our young people with the knowledge of what is at risk by the actions of a few and the inaction of the many regarding civics and civil liberties. The time is right. The kids are engaged in the process in a way as they have not been in my memory.

The election must not be the end but the beginning. The re-birth of a nation. The fundies are fond of the expression being "born again into Christ." I want a nation born again into Liberty and Justice for All.

Another expression that is getting around is "Manhattan type project." This has been used here on DU by myself and many for some time regarding energy development. The term, though a bit tired by now, applies to this Liberty project as well. A nation, using its best minds and its capital (though it won't cost a damn compared to , well anything the rethugs do) in a concerted effort for the betterment of all.

This all presupposes, of course, that Obama wins. If he does not win I honestly fear the reaction of the young people. Not that I fear violence, though it seems the government does, but something much worse.

Complete disillusionment and disconnection.

[redqueen]

24. We all knew this was the real intended use of these systems.

Peace activists started being detained at at airports, what... five years ago? Six? What a nightmare... and most people just seem to ignore it.

We already had how many of those terrorists on watch lists before 9/11?

What a scam.

[RoccoR5955]

28. They have been "watching" us since the sixties!

Many of us who were involved in the peaceful protests against the Viet Nam War, against the building of a nuke plant on Long Island, against the covert war in Central America, have had our groups infiltrated by these bass turds. Now they have these laws that they made up for the specific purpose of locking each and every dissenter up.

These guys are nothing more than control freaks, who believe that people should just follow the leader, tow the line, and shut the frak up.

Someone should inform them that our country was founded by people who stood up to the powerful, and we, are in fact, the truest forms of patriots. It's easy to get along, and go along. One has to use one's brain to figure out how, why, when, and who are getting things wrong, and also what is needed to make them right for everyone.

[aquart]

40. Sweetie, it began long before that.

The technology improved, is all.

[Enthusiast]

25. I figure all our names are on a list

somwehere. I mean, we are against Bush's war we must be un-American. I'm for environmental measures, I must be a wacko. Then we have your 'feminazis', surely they should be on a list. Extermination priorities. Once they get the gas chambers started up again. :sarcasm:

[TankLV]

29. "review their files before they are purged from the databases"

Does anybody really believe that all these names will actually be purged and cleaned from ALL databases?!

These names will be on some list FOREVER - they just moved them all to some hidden, repuke only accessible, storage place.

Bet on it...

It's just to "tempting" to keep it...

you can't put toothpaste back into the tube...

[sasquatch]

30. Start posting Maryland PD officers home addresses on the internet

Fight fire with fire.

[krkaufman]

31. Big surprise... surveillance took place under previous Republican administration...

The surveillance took place over 14 months in 2005 and 2006, under the administration of former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R). The former state police superintendent who authorized the operation, Thomas E. Hutchins, defended the program in testimony yesterday. Hutchins said the program was a bulwark against potential violence and called the activists "fringe people."

[tekisui]

34. Just as Naomi Wolf warned us.

These people can now be disappeared, if the "need" arises.

[intheflow]

43. Didn't need Wolf to tell me.

I was put in the Denver spy files in 2001. This is not at all new.

[tomp]

37. no accident tht this is occurring at the same time as...

...the mccain/palin incitement of violence against obama.

[Piewhacket]

39. This is what was planned for all of YOU here in DU!

Y'all feeling warm and fuzzy now?

What should be plain is that our country has been brought to the brink of
a police state where political "opposition" equals "terrorism".

Those who would impose a police state on the US, on the world, believe
in it fervently and that such ends justify any means used to accomplish it.
Understand in your bones that they have no shame, they have no sympathy,
they have no regard for "so-called" rule of law.

The age of deregulation in which all limits of excess were stripped away,
all consumer protections stripped away, all civil rights of individuals
against the state stripped away, that age which left individuals
helpless and without protection of law while criminals looted, that age
will not go quietly, THAT AGE MUST BE BROUGHT TO AN END!

A LAWFUL BUT DETERMINED BACKLASH must be our answer. Our full power must be
brought to bear, and the backlash cannot depend on or await an election.
The problem goes deep, and cannot be limited to the top. Those who have
threatened America with lawless action must pay the price of their abuse.

THIS GAME OF TERRORIZING AMERICA AND AMERICANS MUST END.

[MonteLukast]

41. This is also why we MUST elect Obama.

If McCain gets in, expect to see widespread discrimination against Democrats and liberals. Especially in employment. We've got to have "the best people" working for us, after all, those who are the most pro-business and can best promote the boss' personal brand. :sarcasm:

[verbomb]

48. it's all the same...

our country is not suffering from a republican problem. democrats are just the other side of the disfunctional, outdated coin.

maybe if mccain wins, we can expect to see "widespread discrimination against Democrats and liberals" but regardless of who wins, mccain or obama, we can expect to see continued widespread discrimination and persecution against dissenters, independents and any who oppose the current corporate, profit-motivated business/government/religion hybrid that rules this country. both republicans and democrats support/rely on that system of governance and when it's the SYSTEM you oppose and fundamentally disagree with and seek to change, then youre an affront to both sides of the isle.

a change in america's figurehead might slightly alter the rules, but it doesn't change the game. and that's no consolation to those who no longer feel anyone will win and thus, don't want to play anymore.

[Alcibiades]

56. It's not all the same

These programs have been conceived and implemented under Bush. They read like Nixon's wish list, but the difference is that we still had the rule of law to uphold the Constitution back then.

The system itself is part of the problem, but another part of the problem is not understanding the difference between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats are not nearly progressive enough for me, have not fought to protect the Constitution from executive encroachments, and have been complicit in bankrupting the country and turning it into a garrison state. The Republicans, however, are today the party of a capitalist, theocratic and militaristic authoritarianism. That side of the aisle is far, far worse.

[Piewhacket]

60. sigh... we can stand up for America.

point taken, and i weep that there is truth in your comments.

yet still, we cannot give up. we must believe that there are still those who
are willing stand and defend freedom's bridge, even against
impossible odds, even for the sake of others who may seem undeserving
as they huddle in fear behind stone walls.

such a champion would not give regard to his own self, comfort, or mortality,
nor give way to feeling of despair. such a champion would see duty and task and
bend himself to it, as countless others have done in our history.

history tells us that such champions can exist, leaders and warriors in many
forms, Leonidas of Sparta, Horatius of Rome, Ghandi of India, Martin Luther King
of America. why must we think a cause hopeless when such as they have lived to
show us how one person can make a difference.

When Rome was threatened with imminent extinction, a brave Captain stood and
declared that he would stand and face the invading army, would guard the bridge
to Rome and provide a brief but critical delay while the bridge was cut
down BEHIND him. Two others declared that they would stand with Horatius.
It is there, written in the lays of early Rome. (see the poet Macaulay).

Freedom stands in peril. The bridge to it must be defended or the world will fall.
Is there no champion, man or woman, to defend the bridge?
Does it fall to me to do it? Then I will stand, even in fear, even if alone.

Yet is there another, a champion who would stand with me
to defend the bridge even against fearful odds,
so that the light of Freedom may illuminate the world rather
than being extinguished?

Is there a champion with the courage to stand and fight for liberty?
THEN IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO STAND UP!

[madrchsod]

42. nothing new....

99% of the people in these types of groups are under surveillance and the 1% are the informants

[fascisthunter]

44. Everyone of Them Police Officers SHould Lose Their Jobs

[Joanne98]

45. Next year we can put THEM on the terrorist list!

[AnnieBW]

47. Wonder if I'm on there?

I'm in Maryland. I wonder if I'm on there? Or people that I know?

[Vattel]

49. Don't get me started on Maryland cops

I will never forget their treatment of people who protested the Iraq war in 2003. The worse corruption in government is in the executive branch. I firmly believe that Obama will help to reduce that corruption at the federal level. State and local corruption in the executive branch (at least in Maryland where I live) is another story.

[desktop]

50. Well at least it's not Texas, you would never even get a letter there

eom

[yellowcanine]

51. If Ehrlich runs in 2010 I want a bumper sticker saying "Another Fringe Person for O'Malley"

[yellowcanine]

52. The former State Police Super called the activists "fringe people"

[Javaman]

53. sounds like the beginnings of a new House Un-American Activities Committee. nt

[colsohlibgal]

54. This Is Police State Stuff

When any government institution or authority within brands dissent as some kind of crime we're all in trouble.

This kind of thing has to stop, and that starts happening on November 4 - when we can reclaim America.

[warriorusa]

57. This is shameless

[EndElectoral]

59. Did this include Right to life activists or Alaskan secessionists as well? Bastards!

[MadMaddie]

61. Police Superintendent Terrence B. Sheridan is the new

Superintendent - he replaced the guy that put the names on the list. Keith O just reported on it.

Sheriden wants the names removed.

[snot]

62. how did it come out? did the police decide to send these letters purely out of

unprovoked contrition/generosity?

[newtothegame]

63. Disturbing

[earth mom]

64. Naomi Wolf has been warning people about this...the question is: who is next?

:scared: