Keeping Nebraska Safe From Terrorists (and the Fourth Amendment)

Matt Welch | November 21, 2005

The PATRIOT Act's "sneak and peek" provision, which is a cute way of saying "federal law enforcement can search your house without telling you," was not used even once through April 2003 in such terrorist targets as Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, according to a New York Sun investigation last week. The report, which required a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, showed that sneaking and peaking was most popular in such places as Eastern Virginia, northeastern California, and Nebraska. (Link via Behind the Homefront.)

Comments

|11.21.05 @ 12:19PM|#

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that these locales have meth problems.

Just a guess.

|11.21.05 @ 12:27PM|#

The so-called meth problem.

|11.21.05 @ 12:30PM|#

Don't you know that drugs support the terrorist?

clarityiniowa|11.21.05 @ 12:50PM|#

Somebody ought to talk to my so-called brother in law about the so-called meth problem. He'll have a hard time talking back without any teeth, and tweaked so tight his voice sounds like that of a herniated gerbil.

Having said that, however, sneak-and-peek warrents haven't been as effective here in the good ol' heartland as local and state laws to limit access to anhydrous ammonia and pseudoeppy in reducing homegrown meth operations. Now we're just getting Ice from Mexico like everybody else.

|11.21.05 @ 12:54PM|#

Why does the fourth Amendment hate America?

|11.21.05 @ 1:01PM|#

Well, of course. Even well-funded terrorists can't afford to live in Manhattan.

|11.21.05 @ 1:41PM|#

Not to defend this or any part of the PATRIOT Act, but the Eastern District of Virginia includes the part that borders Washington, DC, so that's not too far outside of what would be expected.

|11.21.05 @ 1:42PM|#

Somebody ought to talk to my so-called brother in law about the so-called meth problem.

I don't think anyone was claiming that meth cannot be a personal problem for some people. Rather it is this media-hyped notion of a widespread "meth epidemic" that requires drastic government action that is the "so-called meth problem."

|11.21.05 @ 2:55PM|#

Seems we've reached agreement. Elite heat deceitfully "sneak and peak" on teethless tweakers.

Jason Sonenshein|11.21.05 @ 6:08PM|#

Having said that, however, sneak-and-peek warrents haven't been as effective here in the good ol' heartland as local and state laws to limit access to anhydrous ammonia and pseudoeppy in reducing homegrown meth operations. Now we're just getting Ice from Mexico like everybody else.

So basically, these laws shut down domestic manufacturers and increase imports from Mexico. Someone should alert Lou Dobbs.