Stone Gypsy
“Taxi”

Have we officially became a nation of bed-wetters or what?

Enlarging and maintaining a biometric database on U.S. citizens is “important to protect the borders to keep the terrorists out, protect our citizens, our neighbors, our children so they can have good jobs, and have a safe country to live in.”

Kind of a moot argument, isn’t it? I mean since terrorism will always be ongoing from here on out, won’t those same children be located in far off countries, armed, fighting them over there so that we don’t have to here?

The FBI is gearing up to create a massive computer database of people’s physical characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says to better identify criminals and terrorists.

But it’s an issue that raises major privacy concerns — what one civil liberties expert says should concern all Americans.

The bureau is expected to announce in coming days the awarding of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to help create the database that will compile an array of biometric information — from palm prints to eye scans.

If you live in California, there’s a number of statewide ballot propositions (and some areas such as Los Angeles have additional local propositions). If you’re like me, you’ve been deluged by ads and mailers, some of them claiming X is lying while others claim Y is lying. If you’re like me, you’re also down to the wire for reading up on all of these. You may feel comfortable going to your polling place with one of those “here’s how to vote” mailers from a group you trust. Otherwise, here’s a few sites that might help.

The California Secretary of State website provides information on the propositions and voter guides for download, if you didn’t get one in the mail or can’t find yours.

The Los Angeles Times breaks down who’s backing and who’s opposing each ballot measure.

L.A.-based NPR show Which Way, L.A.? features discussions for and against various propositions over the past few weeks, if you scroll through the shows.

Progressive site Calitics features some posts on various propositions.

I hope that’s of some help! Now I’m off to read…

(Cross-posted at Vagabond Scholar)