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The good news from Pittsburgh is that is all changes against the Tortuga Twitter Two--good friends of Steampunk Magazine and freedom lovers everywhere--have been dropped. Just a little bit of pressure, and the government drop the case quicker than a flaming, radioactive, Arab-looking potato. I guess they wanted to make a statement and weren’t prepared for any sort of fighting back.
The bad news is that, not only are they not going to have their possessions returned in the near future, but the feds have been given the go-ahead to rummage through everything to see if there’s anything which takes their fancy. They can make copies of any electronic data before returning their laptops, memory cards and other electronic gumpth.
The property was seized under a Grand Jury investigation, the purpose of which remains a mystery. Of course, if they find evidence of other crimes during the searches, I’m sure they’ll be sure to prosecute.
So it turns out that, if you live in the US and you do something the government don’t like, they can harass, bully and try to intimidate you, steal your possessions, invade your privacy, and search every aspect of your life to see if they can find a crime you’ve committed. Whose freedoms are being protected here?
The idea that governments exist to protect freedom or protect people is of course a mis-conception. Like any body with power, governments exist to protect their own power. I guess it’s just kind of scary to see it so naked. I guess it’s also scary because, although I believe in what the Professor was doing and I believe in the cause he’s fighting for, and although I’m in another country with another government… I’m scared that it might be me one day. One day, I’ll be trying to do what I think is right, and it’ll be me sitting where he is.
If one good thing can come of this, it’s that they seized copies of Steampunk Magazine and a few more people out there might enjoy Of Mice and Journeymen. Hey, if I can’t be selfish and glib, what have I got left?
The bad news is that, not only are they not going to have their possessions returned in the near future, but the feds have been given the go-ahead to rummage through everything to see if there’s anything which takes their fancy. They can make copies of any electronic data before returning their laptops, memory cards and other electronic gumpth.
The property was seized under a Grand Jury investigation, the purpose of which remains a mystery. Of course, if they find evidence of other crimes during the searches, I’m sure they’ll be sure to prosecute.
So it turns out that, if you live in the US and you do something the government don’t like, they can harass, bully and try to intimidate you, steal your possessions, invade your privacy, and search every aspect of your life to see if they can find a crime you’ve committed. Whose freedoms are being protected here?
The idea that governments exist to protect freedom or protect people is of course a mis-conception. Like any body with power, governments exist to protect their own power. I guess it’s just kind of scary to see it so naked. I guess it’s also scary because, although I believe in what the Professor was doing and I believe in the cause he’s fighting for, and although I’m in another country with another government… I’m scared that it might be me one day. One day, I’ll be trying to do what I think is right, and it’ll be me sitting where he is.
If one good thing can come of this, it’s that they seized copies of Steampunk Magazine and a few more people out there might enjoy Of Mice and Journeymen. Hey, if I can’t be selfish and glib, what have I got left?
2 comments:
I really liked of mice and journeymen. Good work!
Thank you! Means a lot.
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