Re: Clipper Comparisons for non-geeks
From: tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May) Date: Sun, 17 Apr 1994 21:57:23 -0700 (PDT) Speaking of landlords, when I was renting I certainly had no expectation that the landlord had any "rights" to invite the police in to inspect my place for guns, drugs, or other such "contraband." Was I mistaken? (I'm not saying a landlord can't enter the premises...it depends on the rental agreement. Most landlords give warning. Some may snoop. But I think letting in the cops, without a warrant, is still an illegal act. I could be wrong.)
In Ohio, they have to give 24 hrs notice before coming in, unless they smell smoke or gas, or there is some other clear evidence of an emergency situation. Not sure about what they can do if they come in because of an emergency and find you practicing unsafe sex, or something.
With so much of our world increasingly being owned by the State (the consequence of a dollar being taxed many times in its life is that the State ends up controlling lots of land, lots of highways, facilities, military bases, courthouses, schools, etc. Eventually they may get it all.), this "we can frisk you because now you're on our turf" approach may put a de facto ending to the Bill of Rights.
I'm not too worried about protection from the state in this case. That's what the Bill of Rights is about, and I'm certain these warrantless searches will fail any Constitutionality test precisely because the property is government owned. The scary thing has been our general erosion of a right to privacy from private enterprise. For instance, most big companies now routinely make urinating in a jar a requirement for employment. It's much easier for a private entity to get away with something like that than for the government. tw
Tim Werner writes:
The scary thing has been our general erosion of a right to privacy from private enterprise. For instance, most big companies now routinely make urinating in a jar a requirement for employment. It's much easier for a private entity to get away with something like that than for the government.
Some misplacing of blame here. Don't forget that it is the "War on Drugs," the requirements for getting govenment contracts ("a drug-free workplace"), and even the civil liability laws (where a corporation gets sued into the ground if drugs are involved...), etc., that are causing the current hysteria. I know a lot of heads of companies (sometimes I think I'm the only person who worked in Technology Development at Intel in the 1970s who didn't end up the President of a company!) and their attitude on drug use is that they don't want to be bothered with what their employees (or themselves :-}) do on their own time! But their lawyers tell them the government, the "Drug Czar," and the legal system are making it necessary to implement a "drug and smoking and abusive-language free environment." Corporations left to themselves have little interest in testing for previous drug use....obvious inebriation is another matter. (Being drunk on the job is a firable offense at most companies...but I can recall more than one departmental lunch" at Intel where too much wine and beer was consumed and we returned to work mostly drunk, with our department head standing at the door, passing out dimes for the coffee machine and shaking his head in amusement.) Corporations exist to make money, for the most part. A few are run for ideological reasons, which may involve attempts to snoop or to regulate the off-hours behavior of employees. The response of those concerned should be to _leave_. A fair response. What's so bad about government-corporate ties is that the same crummy policy is then enforced everywhere, and there's no "leaving." --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."
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tim werner