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Lynn Brezina's avatar

I've been thinking, for weeks, that airports would be a handy place to grab people. But, never in my wildest dreams, did the information you have just reported cross my mind. We are in such deep shit.

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Jayne Ericksen's avatar

I knew that if Trump and his henchmen got into office we were doomed. The tragedy of not really being sure Trump was legitimately elected plagues me everyday. Elon worked his computer magic and here we are. Stupid and gullible Americans walked right into it. They will be the ones

In who whine the loudest when there’s no turning back

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Lynn Brezina's avatar

American voters have taken their democracy for granted for, at least, the last 45 years. I blame Ronald Reagan for setting the stage for all of this. Citizens United is the last nail in the coffin. As long as that stands we are screwed.

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Beth Peters's avatar

Yes, you're absolutely right about Ronald Reagan. Trump is destroying any trust we and other countries have in our country. Very hard to watch his idiotic followers supporting him. What a nightmare, not sure if it will ever end.

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Lynn Brezina's avatar

Agreed 100%

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Mike Bechler's avatar

I heartily agree that you could see this coming when Reagan was elected.

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Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

If you qualify that with *white* American voters, I pretty much agree with you. Now ask "What set the stage for Reagan?" If we stick to the 20th century, it would have to be Nixon's "southern strategy" -- a big backlash to the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, and to civil rights for people of color in general -- coupled with the backlash to Roe v. Wade and women's rights in general. That's where Reagan and Reaganomics came from, and though Reagan left office in January 1989, we're still very much living with both the causes and the consequences of his election.

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Lynn Brezina's avatar

Yes, well the Republicans have been a problem pretty much since they were the good guys during the Civil War.

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Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

But the Republican Party has evolved plenty since the Civil War. Despite its claim to be "the party of Lincoln," the only thing it has in common with Lincoln's party is the name. It's not really the party of President Eisenhower either, or of Ed Brooke, who when he took office in 1967 became first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction (and the first ever to be popularly elected). The Democratic Party is no longer the party of Andrew Jackson either, or of more recent arch-segregationists like James Eastland. Thank heavens for that!

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Lynn Brezina's avatar

I would say the Republican party devolved since the Civil War.

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Susan Marquet's avatar

Olivia thank you this is really important and it’s not getting enough attention. Keep up the good work!

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Mike Bechler's avatar

Welcome to the future.

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Lynn Brezina's avatar

Indeed

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Punkette's avatar

Terrifying. 😱 Thanks for warning us, Olivia. And here I thought post-9/11 surveillance was bad. I feel like we are living in a scary science fiction movie.

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Robot Bender's avatar

Minority Report.

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Barbara's avatar

Your post Olivia is very timely. I am leaving tomorrow on a flight from the Midwest to the Northwest. I have not updated my driver's license on purpose: I have a passport and I paid for it so I intend to use it. But I do get an interesting look when I use it since I am flying domestically. I also use it in protest for all my brown and black brothers and sisters who are here in the United States and have to carry their "papers" with them at all times and even then they are meaning less and less to ICE and other agencies. Thank you again for sharing with us.

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pj's avatar
2dEdited

This is not new, the US government did a lot of internal spying against US citizens in the 1960s and 1970s....the abuses were made public as were the changes to the way the intelligence community executed their missions...this spawned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court... fast forward to 2002...right after 9/11 the government, out of fear, convinced the citizenry to trade safety for liberty...hello Homeland Security (a useless organization) and Transportation Security Agency...for those with short memories the Bush Administration passed the Patriot Act, which included the warrantless wiretap program..a program designed to spy on US citizens...this program was declared unconsitutional (eventually) and replaced with an upgraded internal surveillance act known as section 702....the current situation is a result of a desensitized populace...WAKE UP!!!!!!! Take back your country from those who have no loyalty to the constitution.....

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Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

You can safely push that back to the 1950s (Joe McCarthy died but McCarthyism never did), then to the '40s (the internment of Japanese Americans), and then to the anti-communist freakout after the Russian Revolution. The federal Bureau of Investigation was established in 1908, but guess who became head of it in 1924? Got it in one: J. Edgar Hoover, who went on to become the head of its successor, the FBI, in 1935.

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pj's avatar

Hoover would be proud to have a son like miller...miller provides a glimpse into true evil and malice...

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Ezekiel Springer's avatar

Disturbing how easily America slides into police state fascism.

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Lana Lawrence's avatar

I'm glad you're able to track this info and interpret it for the masses, Olivia. Still, I want someone to make this make sense given that the GOP is quite vocal about government overreach!!

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Al Draycott's avatar

Thank you Olivia for that informative update. It appears Trump is trying to restructure the court system. It reminds me of 1942 Germany with the formation of the Peoples Court operated under the Nazi laws. Justice Roland Freisler was the main man who acted as the interrogator and the justice.. The look of Emil Bove gives me the creeps, the dark evil eyes and his responses at a committee hearing just makes me wonder . He will be swearing allegiance to Trump. Yes the data grab was initiated with DOGE and passed on to palantir , Now the transportation systems are selling off your persona data to be used to track your whereabouts. They want to track women's menstrual cycles, They will be gathering your DNA We will all just end up been ponds in the pool. Yes Stephen Miller will be cashing in big time What a deplorable mess.

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Mike Bechler's avatar

'While TSA insists the program is "voluntary," declining a scan means stepping aside for manual verification,...'

'Opt-Out at Security: If this is all too much, you are allowed to decline facial recognition and request a manual ID check.'

It's a trap. Any system capable of what you are describing is intelligent enough to flag non-cooperators. Yes, they will let you on the flight without a scan, but the system will note that in its database and flag you as someone who needs to be watched more closely.

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Euan Hood's avatar

Not sure but reminds me Hitler getting people to fill in forms for such and ask there religion. Easy to find them.

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Richard Brody's avatar

I liked this but don’t like the subject matter. It’s great when Olivia and her crew have our backs. While I have nothing to hide, this system is a horrific power grab which is a hallmark of a fascist, autocratic state.

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DidntThinkWeWouldBeHere's avatar

Nothing to hide? You’re on Substack! It’s benign to you and me in pre-Trump 2.0 America, but in Putin’s Russia, Substack would be risky. Where do you think the Demons are headed with their agenda? First they came for the Browns, then they came for the Muslims….

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James Seever's avatar

Orwellian, isn't it?

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Frans's avatar

Oh my, this is a lot to absorb that I wasn't aware of! And of course there is no stopping this, once you're in, there is no getting out. COI like owning more of Palantir and similar stocks outside an Index basket for folks working in government is just one of those "perks" many in government expect to have. I am sure that many in government (both in US and Europe) scooped up shares of companies that may benefit from pending resolutions or contracts either themselves (not so smart perhaps) or via family members, golf buddies etc We may only see 5% of all insider trading being publicized. And it is a bi-partisan perk too, Democrats take advantage of it as well. We are not a Banana Republic (yet), but we share some characteristics for sure.

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Kimberlyanne's avatar

Olivia thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. This is so important & scary!

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CJ's avatar

Okay, now this is very concerning and scary. Thank you!

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MPT's avatar

Seems like the perverted trump admin and the grotesque miller are trading American's privacy in order to make bank on trading stock in the companies that steal American's privacy. Quite the racket, but nothing unexpected from the most corrupt admin in American history.

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Bobbie Deuell's avatar

Olivia, your knowledge is amazing. Thank you for explaining it all in a way I can understand. It’s frightening but necessary and enlightening. Thanks again

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