Julie Olearcek’s 10-year-old son has an interest in learning to fly, just like his parents, both of whom are military pilots. About a week before Christmas, Julie took him to the local Staples in Colrain, MA, to see if there was any software available that might help her son learn about flying.
When they got there, they couldn’t find a program to their liking. “He was disappointed because there was military stuff . . . all fighting stuff, so I asked the clerk, and he was alarmed by us asking how to fly airplanes and said that was against the law,” Olearcek said. “I said I couldn’t imagine that, but because (the clerk) was a little on edge . . . I left.”
The store clerk then did what any right-thinking American patriot would do when encountering a suspicious mother and her 10-year old son looking to buy computer software a week before Christmas — he called the State Police. By 8pm, a state trooper was knocking at Olearcek’s back window.
State Police Sgt. Donald Charpentier said police received a telephone call from the Staples manager “that a person had been looking for instructional videos regarding flying planes.”
“After 9/11, our store associates were instructed that if they see something suspicious or out of the ordinary, they’re to contact their managers and local authorities,” the store manager said. “It’s all about keeping our associates and customers safe and this was out of the ordinary and kind of raised a red flag and they did what they thought was right.”
On December 13, the day US forces captured Saddam Hussein, President Bush quietly signed into law a bill that grants the FBI sweeping new snooping powers by redefining “financial institution,” which previously just referred to banks. Now, and this is no joke, the FBI is authorized by law to look into the records of stockbrokers, car dealerships, casinos, credit card companies, insurance agencies, jewelers, airlines, the US Post Office, and any other business “whose cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory matters.” All without judicial review and/or due process.
Apparently, when it comes to safeguarding America, due process just gets in the way. And when it comes to individual liberty and freedom from terror, you’ve got to give to get. Ask any 10-year old.
This article appears in Jan 14-20, 2004.
