I think the the people of the western world stopped being citizens and even subjects a long time ago, customers, is probably a better word. This leaves everybody else as either 'potential' customers , or terrorists. The police in Northern Ireland have been using stop and search powers for decades, I remember when I was a kid in the 70s before entering Belfast city center every man, woman, child and vehicle was physically searched by the security forces. Now this might seem crazy, like living in a police state, but it was needed as the shops in Belfast were being blown to pieces on a regular basis along with some people. So, in order to protect people it seems you effectively have to take away some of their rights....even if the outcome isn't 100% that effective. The fact that today, the people taking away your rights might actually be ones creating the reason for doing so....and are blatantly making money in the process. Is what's making it a much more bitter pill for people to swallow. Suffices to say, the best advice for dealing with the police has already been said and it's simple 'Don't be a dick' whether ya know yer rights, or not.
As for the Democrats, hmmm...it's still only the best of a bad bunch, so is it really any better? Mind you, until any of us get of our butts and offer something better, can we really complain about it.
