Drones over U.S. get OK by Congress

[Janice]

Drones over U.S. get OK by Congress

Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s … a drone, and it’s watching you. That’s what privacy advocates fear from a bill Congress passed this week to make it easier for the government to fly unmanned spy planes in U.S. airspace. The FAA Reauthorization Act, which President Obama is expected to sign, also orders the Federal Aviation Administration to develop regulations for the testing and licensing of commercial drones by 2015.

Privacy advocates say the measure will lead to widespread use of drones for electronic surveillance by police agencies across the country and eventually by private companies as well. “There are serious policy questions on the horizon about privacy and surveillance, by both government agencies and commercial entities,” said Steven Aftergood, who heads the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation also is “concerned about the implications for surveillance by government agencies,” said attorney Jennifer Lynch. The provision in the legislation is the fruit of “a huge push by lawmakers and the defense sector to expand the use of drones” in American airspace, she added.

According to some estimates, the commercial drone market in the United States could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars once the FAA clears their use.

The agency projects that 30,000 drones could be in the nation’s skies by 2020. >>> The legislation would order the FAA, before the end of the year, to expedite the process through which it authorizes the use of drones by federal, state and local police and other agencies.

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So ... someone tell me just why there is a republican party again? And who are the leftist career pols running the GOP? Does anybody believe this program wont be abused at some point down the road? Esp in conjunction with all these other liberty robbing laws being passed at "fast and furious" break neck speed?

Does it feel like 1984 yet? Do you miss having a representative republic based on the constitution yet?

[fettpett]

which is safer? a helicopter full of cops or a drone with no one?

[noonwitch]

which is safer? a helicopter full of cops or a drone with no one?

Good point, but I really don't want either randomly policing my neighborhood.

I think the use of unarmed drones for border patrol along the southern border with Mexico is a good thing, though. The technology gives the INS the ability to monitor larger regions for illegal activities. I really don't want to see a wall built along the border.

[Starbuck]

Drone? Airplane?

Why would I care where the pilot is?

[JB]

The agency projects that 30,000 drones could be in the nation’s skies by 2020

I'm gonna get some Iranian software. I want one of these. And with 30,000 of them flying around it will take years before they notice one went missing. If ever.

[Janice]

First the man child marxist declares we are not a christian nation as he speechifies at Georgetown University after requesting and getting all references to Christ covered up. Then Janet Incompitano declares that terrorism is not terrorism but "Man-Caused Disasters". How quaint. Then Tea Partiers (along with returning veterans) are called 'terrorists' by those holding this economy hostage. And look at Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Look at the contempt she has for the bedrock of the laws of this nation. Is this how we "fundamentally transform" this country?

So according to this administration I guess, we dont really need to be overseas looking to engage terrorists ... as they all appear to be right here in our own back yard. Perhaps the Drones can be used to help locate the bunkers of those "insurrectionists" who might refer to themselves as survivalists. These undoubtedly pose some of the more serious threats to our national security.

Oddly enough, parts of Europe are trying similar stuff. Says one BBC reporter: "Imagine a perfect walk in the country, a few years from now - tranquility, clean air, birdsong in the trees and hedgerows. Suddenly a model plane swoops overhead. But there is no-one around manipulating radio controls. This is not a toy, but a drone on a photographic mission. Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometres up in space, the same area is being photographed by a satellite, which clearly pinpoints individual trees and animals. What is there to spy on? No secret military installations here."

If it was a "one off", I would think nothing of it. But liberty is always under assault, all over the world. And here too. Liberty is never safe from tyranny. And our constitution is constantly being shredded. This is nothing new. Its been in this process little by little over the last hundred years or so. But the Marxist in Chief is clearly "off to the races" on this quest. Question is, will enough of us take note before the federal government is completely unmoored from its origin and a centralized, top down, administrative oligarchy that is a power unto itself is in its place? Or is it too late?

I think they are off to a wonderful start (from their point of view) as they constantly change the meaning of the language. The words. What do they call it? Doublespeak? God is expelled, absolute truth abolished, while "doublespeak" is promoted. What constitutes "terrorism" now?

Sorry, I just dont trust these power hungry elitist utopians.

[Starbuck]

I'm gonna get some Iranian software. I want one of these. And with 30,000 of them flying around it will take years before they notice one went missing. If ever.

[Novaheart]

I'm gonna get some Iranian software. I want one of these. And with 30,000 of them flying around it will take years before they notice one went missing. If ever.

Maybe they can pull advertising banners like the planes that ruin the peaceful sounds of the waves.

[Odysseus]

The only real change is that they are allowing remotely piloted vehicles to occupy US airspace. They won't be going into cities and blowing up drug dealers, but they will be able to remain on station to observe drug trafficking across the border and other activities in remote areas. The technology itself isn't evil, it's just a matter of maintaining vigilance so that the power is not abused.

[Novaheart]

The only real change is that they are allowing remotely piloted vehicles to occupy US airspace. They won't be going into cities and blowing up drug dealers, but they will be able to remain on station to observe drug trafficking across the border and other activities in remote areas. The technology itself isn't evil, it's just a matter of maintaining vigilance so that the power is not abused.

I think the understandable public response is that drones or any other eye in the sky is another nail in the coffin of the Fourth Amendment, piercing the veneer of privacy. Like some other societies, our security isn't making us feel safer, it's making us feel like prisoners. The public is getting tired of being told that the War On Drugs justifies these measures and isn't quite willing to buy that they are essential for national security. The public wants to be able to swim naked in the back yard if it wants, without feeling like the government is watching.

If a drone lands in my yard, I am keeping it and selling it on ebay-slovenia.