Do You Have A Terror Score?

Do you often get pulled aside at airports for extra searches? If so, it may be because your Terror Score is higher than average. What? You say you didn't know that everyone who travels in and out of the US through certain modes of transportation or certain entry or exit points (like border crossings) gets assigned a potential terrorist score by the US Government? You aren't the only one who didn't know.

Last week it came to light that for the last four years, the US government has secretly been using a system called the Automated Targeting System (ATS) to build a file on every American or foreigner that flies through American air space or crosses one of our borders. Airlines, Amtrak and maritime carriers (i.e. cruise ships or cargo ships) all pass your data into this system. Like an inverse credit score, the higher the number the bigger the potential risk. If you pay for a one way ticket for business or you want to fly to visit Aunt Sally and drive home that new car she bought you, your score goes up. Request a certain seat on an airplane? Expect your score to go up. Request certain special meals in flight? Yes, you can expect that to factor into your score.

Unlike a traditional credit score, you have no right to see it. No right to find out if there is erroneous information contained in it. No right to challenge it at all. Oh, and did I mention the government plans to keep the score on file for 40 years and may share it with foreign, state or local governments, courts, Congress or private employers at their discretion? Oh, and did I also mention that you could also be denied employment, licenses, security clearance, benefits or entrance to the country based on your Terror Score?

Scary, eh? This is just the latest abuse of civil liberties by the Bush Administration in the name of protecting our country. This latest exercise in data mining comes on the heels of the Bush Administration's attempt to implement a screening program called "Secure Flight" which so alarmed the Republican-held Congress that it refused to let Bush implement it until it met 10 criteria for accuracy and privacy protection. This new program was implemented without Congressional oversight and under the radar. The few that did know of it thought it was only to be used to track incoming cargo or cruise ship passengers. The vast expansion of this program only came to light in the last week when a notice was published in the Federal Register exempting it from a number of Privacy Act provisions that prevent the Federal Goverment from building secret dossiers on its citizens.

This just scares the hell out of me. Not that I think that I'm a particularly big terrorist risk, but because the basic Terrorist Watch flight lists are loaded with bad information and this just carries the errors to new heights. As it is I can't get aboard an airplane without using at least my middle intial or full middle name because someone out there with my name is on a watch list some where. Scads of people with very basic names like John Smith are stuck on watch lists and can't get off them and are being hassled every time they check into an airport. And now we find out that the goverment is keeping secret files on us that we have no way to know if they are correct or not. What is this Russia?

Of course, all of this is being done in the name of our protection from the supposedly monolithic terrorist threat. I don't know about you, but I'm more fearful of our government's shredding of the constitution these days than I am of the terrorists. Now, I'm not your typical big-brother-is-watching-government-conspiracy type of gal. I abhor conspiracy theorists. But, I have always been a big-time civil libertarian. Our right to privacy is woven in the very fabric of our society and numerous clauses in the constitution.

We all take it for granted that we can't be subjected to unreasonable searches and seizures as guaranteed by the 4th amendment. Yet, every day this Administration tries to find new ways to chip away at those rights that our Founders deemed so essential they enshrined them in the Bill of Rights. They've pushed for the right to conduct warrantless searches, the right to monitor where you go on the Internet without judicial approval by subpoenaing records from your ISP, the right to collect information about what you read from your local library, and the list of abuses goes on and on and on. Much of it has been done under the guise of the Patriot Act and the rest of it takes place under the cloak of Executive Orders issued by the President.

And, God forbid, you publicly challenge the administration on their attempts to subvert the constitution or chip away at your rights. You get labeled as non-Patriotic, or even worse an abettor of terrorists. I think one of the most patriotic things you can do is question your government's acts. This Administration is so wrapped up in its own agenda, it has forgotten that it's prime duty is to protect, not shred, the consitution. It's not only our right to question our government when it goes astray, but it's our duty as citizens.

But, luckily there's a new wind blowing in Congress. Plans for hearings on the Bush Administration's abuses are in the works for this winter. You can help move this to the top of the Agenda. Write your Congressional Representatives or Senators. Tell them that you won't stand for further erosion of your rights under the US Constitution.

You can find the information about how to contact your Congressional Representatives by clicking on this link: US Congress

Your US Senators can be reached through this link: US Senate

Schizophrenic First Effort

I got the new Rock Star Supernova CD right before Thanksgiving. After a few listens, my opinion of it remains unchanged. The new Supernova CD is a schizophrenic collection of 11 tunes by second season Rock Star: Supernova contest winner Lukas Rossi, Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Gilby Clark (Guns and Roses) and Jason Newsted (Metallica). Produced by Butch Walker, the disc almost seems to have been created by two-different bands as the front half of the album has a classic rock-n-roll feel to it, while the back half is more of an angsty-style alt rock record.

The front-half tracks, mostly written by Lee and Walker and occasionally Clarke, have a bouncier, grooving, stadium-rock feel to them. Even if you aren't a fan of the more vapid lyrics in the front half, they're easy to remember and sing-along to. The back half--part written by Lee and part by Clarke--with lyrics provided by Rossi are darker and more introspective. They are deeper, moodier, and not quite as catchy, but infinitely better written; it takes a few listens for them to start to grow on you. But then, there are a few songs that never managed to grow on me (Leave The Lights On, Social Disgrace and Make No Mistake). Which half you prefer depends on how much you like to over-think (or under think) your music.

I'd like to blame the musical schizophrenia on the fact that they only had 6 weeks to create the disc after the end of the show, and they, in theory, had no idea who they were writing for. But, INXS had the same issue and still managed to turn out a good, cohesive CD. They were able to integrate JD Fortune and his style seamlessly. The Supernova boys haven't done as good of a job, despite Lee's assertion that he knew it would be Lukas even before the show aired. In fairness the 5 INXS guys have been together for nearly 30 years. But, they at least had the good sense to pick someone that was stylistically similar to them. Supernova chose someone they thought was hip, would draw a younger audience, but was not a particularly good match to their brash, 80s-arena rock style. So, perhaps the end result is not surprising.

Let's hope they have time to bond out on tour and the second effort, if there is one, is a little more cohesive and less all over the place. It will be interesting to see them on stage at the end of January. My final recommendation--skip buying the whole CD and just download the best tracks.

Download These Tracks: Can't Bring Myself to Light This Fuse
, It's On , Valentine ... The Dead Parade
is quirky, but I like it.

If you've got a couple of extra dollars you haven't expended on Christmas shopping: Headspin , and It's All Love

Don't bother or hit fast forward if you buy the CD: Social Disgrace ,
Make No Mistake--This Is The Take