Public Surveillance PROTEST in Lancaster, PA, Aug. 29th!!

With the help of WeAreChange, we are protesting our public surveillance system here in Lancaster.
Anyone who is close enough to make the trip, please do!!

It is time to fight!
They are considering facial recognition in these Bosch PTZ cameras.

We have new information that has recently hit the news here. I put in a Right-to-Know request of my
Mayor's office and received 160 documents. The Lancaster News then took this information and dedicated almost the entire
A-section of Lancaster Intelligencer Sunday News to the camera situation.

They uncovered the fact that one employee monitoring us has a past criminal record, which was missed by
the LCSC (Lancaster Community Safety Coalition), and the IRONY?? She was charged with harassment for following
a Leola man and sending him annoying emails. Yes, you read this right!
Now, how much more proof do we need that we do not want this system in place???
Remember - the LCSC is a private non-profit company monitoring us 24/7.

Date: August 29th, 2009
Time: 1:00pm we will gather here.
Place: Gathering at Farnum Park (Water & Conestoga Streets)

At 2:00pm we will march under the cameras up Queen Street, 5 blocks, to Lancaster Square for the remainder of
the protest.

Ends at 4pm or 5pm.




Keep watch on the protest news at www.stopthecameras.com

Surveillance Cameras Saturate Lancaster

While working hard to get Pennsylvanians to join the class-action lawsuit against PennDot (May blog), I find myself ironically in the very city that is being deemed a "social experiment". We are now being considered the "most surveilled city in the nation", and I am watched 24 hours a day, just in case I may break the law! Facial recognition is being discussed, which makes me even more nervous as we try to move this lawsuit forward.

The LCSC is a private organization that is made up of prominent business citizens to run an "electronic neighborhood watch" program. Yes, our own citizens are spying on each other!

There is no escaping the fact that Lancaster may be the "make or break" city that may set the precedence for a surveillance society in this nation. What we do here and how we handle it will be watched around the nation. CBS and ABC are already in town getting ready to run stories on this. We do not know how they will slant it, but we do have one hero: Sam Ettaro. He single-handedly took on the City Council, the Mayor, and the LCSC (Lancaster Coalition Safety Commission). He asked the questions that no other media would, and helped bring many facts forward that we had not been able to get.

From RepublicMedia.tv, Sam is running this quick video, and on YouTube. Check out this site at www.republicmedia.tv, as he puts together a documentary on this issue out of Lancaster, PA. Visit his site for the updates on the Lancaster Camera saga.

There are currently 134 cameras in a 10-block radius! Here I take Sam on a tour of Lancaster City.




This video below speaks volumes that I am not the only one who has a problem with surveillance cameras!!

Help Outlaw Real ID in Pennsylvania

From: AFTF Pennsylvania [aftfpennsylvania@gmail.com]
Subject: Real ID and Privacy Update 11 May 09
To: Jim Compton [comptonjr@comcast.net]
Date: Monday, May 11, 2009, 10:03 AM


Good day, Volunteers,

Last week we had some positive news. First the Senate Communications and Technology Committee will have a hearing this Wednesday June 13th on Senate bill 621, (Real ID), and Senate bill 623, (biometrics).
Senator Folmer is the chair of the committee and scheduled the meeting at 9:00 a.m., in Room 8E-B East Wing.

If you can make it to the meeting please do. We’d like to see the room overflowing. Plan to arrive early since one never knows about traffic. I park on City Island and take the 10 – 15 min walk to the Capitol. Cost is $5 for full day parking on the island.

Second, Representative Rohrer has introduced his bill to prohibit Real ID in PA. It’s House Bill 1443. So far, we have 55 co-sponsors on the bill. They are:

ROHRER, BENNINGHOFF, BRENNAN, BROOKS, CALTAGIRONE, CLYMER, CREIGHTON, CUTLER, DENLINGER, DeWEESE, ELLIS, FABRIZIO, FLECK, FREEMAN, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GILLESPIE, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HARKINS, HARRIS, HORNAMAN, HUTCHINSON, KAUFFMAN, KELLER, KORTZ, MARSHALL, MELIO, METZGAR, MILLARD, MILNE, MUNDY, MUSTIO, PALLONE, PETRARCA, RAPP, REICHLEY, ROAE, ROCK, SAYLOR, SMITH, STEVENSON, SWANGER, TALLMAN, TRUE, WAGNER, WHEATLEY and GABLER.

House Bill 1443 and Senate Bill 621 are essentially the same. House Bill 1443 as been assigned to the Representative Thomas’s Intergovernmental Affairs Committee again. We’ll need to keep pressure on Representative Thomas to have a committee hearing on the bill.

Here are the members of the House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee:

W. Curtis Thomas, Chairman; 
Matthew D. Bradford, Secretary; 
H. Scott Conklin, Subcommittee Chairman on Information Technology; 
Bryan R. Lentz, Subcommittee Chairman on Federal State Relations; Chris Ross, Chairman; Tim 
Krieger, Secretary; 
 Keith Gillespie, Subcommittee Chairman on Information Technology; Duane 
Milne, Subcommittee Chairman on Federal State Relations; Mark B. Cohen; Peter J. Daley; Daniel J. Deasy;
 David R. Kessler; 
Thaddeus 
 Kirkland; Kathy 

Manderino; Tony J. Payton, Jr.; 
James R. Roebuck, Jr.; John P. 
Sabatina, Jr.; 
Rosita C. Youngblood; Jim Christiana; 
Frank A. Farry; Matt
 
Gabler; Seth M. Grove; 
Carl Walker Metzgar; 
Donna Oberlander; Will 
Tallman.

Calls, emails, and letters will help increase the number of Senators and House members who co-sponsor these bills. I’ve got work to do too. My Representative is a “freshman” and I’ll do my best to bring her up to date. She did co-sponsor House Resolution 95 on the Tenth Amendment, but has not yet co-sponsored HB 1443.

Keep up the great work and keep your chin high.

Yours in Liberty,

Jim

 

Real ID of 2005

More Info on Real ID

In the Real ID Act of 2005, there are minimum standards states must meet, however, Secretary of Homeland Security may change those standards as provided in Section 205

Minimum Standards are addressed in Section 202 (b):

(b) Minimum Document Requirements. --To meet the requirements of this section, a State shall include, at a minimum, the following information and features on each driver's license and identification card issued to a person by the State:

(1) The person's full legal name.

(2) The person's date of birth.

(3) The person's gender.

(4) The person's driver's license or identification card number.

(5) A digital photograph of the person.

(6) The person's address of principle residence.

(7) The person's signature.

(8) Physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes.

(9) A common machine-readable technology, with defined minimum data elements.

Under Sec. 205 states:

AUTHORITY.

(a) Participation of Secretary of Transportation and States. —All authority to issue regulations, set standards, and issue grants under this title shall be carried out by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and the States.

L-1’s cover sheet on Real ID includes race and political party. That’s more than the “minimum standard,” which the Secretary can change.

On the second page, is Pennsylvania the subject of their Case Study?

Did Pennsylvania have a problem with its driver licensing centers?

Has PennDOT adopted Viisage’s face recognition matching technology?

Let’s stop Real ID and PennDOT’s use of FaceEXPLORER software this year!

Class-Action Lawsuit Against PennDot

For all Pennsylvanians who care about their privacy rights:

There is a class-action lawsuit underway against PennDot for stealing your identity. We are currently in the beginning stages, trying to get as many plaintiffs on our list as possible before filing this lawsuit. We currently stand at 317 and will be represented by the Law Office of Clymer & Musser in Lancaster, PA.

In the words of Rep. Sam Rohrer, from his press conference:

"Exactly two years ago, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania entered into a $45 million contract with Viisage Technology, self-described as 'the industry leader in instant issue digital driver's licenses.' Viisage, later renamed L-1 Identity Solutions, became responsible for issuing Pennsylvania driver's licenses.

Under the authority of Governor Rendell, Viisage and PennDOT launched a new program in June 2006 known as FaceEXPLORER to be used in conjunction with the issuing of driver's licenses. This program uses an upgraded, high-definition photograph taken at a driver's license center to create a facial recognition template, or 'faceprint,' similar in purpose and uniqueness to a fingerprint. This faceprint is a form of biometrics based on the measurements of a person's unique, personal facial geometry. The faceprint goes beyond such easily recognizable physical features as haircut, glasses or facial hair and into an analysis of one's unique facial structure. Once this personally unique faceprint has been created, it is stored in a database to be used to compare against the faceprint of others. By these means, PennDOT and Viisage hoped to reduce identity fraud and theft. In reality, FaceEXPLORER has been a 'back-door' means to implement the REAL ID Act of 2005 without the consent or knowledge of either the legislature or the people."

Rep. Rohrer goes on to say that " . . . Neither PennDOT nor Viisage has inherent authority nor have they been granted any exception to take biometric information from the citizens of the Commonwealth. . .The actions allowed by Governor Rendell further violates statutory law. . .Significantly, this issue constitutes a major Constitutional violation. . . "

Your biometric faceprint can be picked up by surveillance cameras to track your every move. This has to be stopped. Our biometric data must be destroyed/deleted!

We need to join together. This is a critical moment that we cannot let slip away.

If you want to be part of this lawsuit, contact Renee' Baumgartner by email at real.idlawsuitpa@gmail.com, or call her cell (sparingly) at 717-587-9054.

She is the state co-coordinator of Pennsylvania for Restore the Republic and a member of the Campaign for Liberty in Lancaster County.

Email your: Name, Physical Address, phone number & email address


(This information will be kept strictly with her and with the firm Clymer & Musser who have been retained for the lawsuit. Updates will be available as we move forward.)

Visit: www.myspace.com/no_pa_real_id (This site is still in its beginning stages.)