Your Fire Department: Not Just For Kittens Anymore

Steve Clemons at The Washington Note: Imagine a society where even the firemen were trained to spy on a nation's citizens -- reporting back to central "big brother headquarters" what suspicious things that they may have seen while in someone's home ostensibly to save lives and squelch fires.

That used to be places like the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Vietnam and the like -- but today, we need to look at ourselves -- the United States of America.

Then, quoting former GOP Rep Bob Barr: "The image of the friendly firefighter helping rescue a wayward kitten from a tree might need updating. If the federal Department of Homeland Security has its way, firefighters across the country will be armed not only with firefighting equipment, but also issued training materials on how to recognize suspect behavior on the part of citizens and what to look for in peoples' homes that might be "suspicious." In other words, firefighters would become domestic spies. In fact, such training already has begun."

I got a fire lieutenant lives across the street from me. I like the guy.