On Monday, January 7, 2002, at 08:52 PM, Declan McCullagh wrote: > On Mon, Jan 07, 2002 at 04:46:02PM -0800, Tim May wrote: >> Setting a trap gun to blow away anyone who inserts a floppy (or hooks >> up >> a cable) to a machine he has not been given access to is morally >> permissable. > > Except when the local firefighters show up when your house is on fire, > you're away, and the gun is rigged... > >> As the Mafia case shows, Big Brother and his courts no longer even >> think >> a warrant is needed. > > Actually, the warrant in the Scarfo case was signed by a federal > magistrate judge. That doesn't mean it's constitutional, but the > judge had exactly this in mind.
I meant a wiretap warrant, as you talked about in your article. A "search warrant," duly presented to the resident and defining the general scope of the search, is substantially different from a wiretap order or secret search warrant. But such secret or extra-warrant search orders are part of the public lore, hence part of the current law. In "The Sopranos," Tony's entire house is wired for sound. In "Law and Order: Criminal Something or Other," a completely warrantless keystroke logger is inserted in a witnesses computer. I think those who violate the C. should be killed. --Tim May > --Tim May "They played all kinds of games, kept the House in session all night, and it was a very complicated bill. Maybe a handful of staffers actually read it, but the bill definitely was not available to members before the vote." --Rep. Ron Paul, TX, on how few Congresscritters saw the USA-PATRIOT Bill before voting overwhelmingly to impose a police state
