January 13, 2008
This is called Operation ARGUS and was started by the crazy and disgraced Admiral Poindexter. It is a project controlled by both the Pentagon and the Department of Transportation and is a growing plan to conduct a permanent surveillance of all motor vehicles using the Federal Highway system (small county roads and farm tracks are not included in this…currently)
Operation ARGUS consists of having unmanned video cameras installed over all Federal highways and toll roads. These cameras work 24/7 to video all passing vehicles, trucks, private cars and busses. The information is passed to a central data bank and entered into it for governmental use. This material may be shown, upon request, of any authorized law enforcement agency to include private investigative and credit agencies licensed to work with Federal law enforcement information on any user of the road systems under surveillance.
Provisions are made, according to the operating plans, to notify local law enforcement immediately if any driver attempts to obscure their license plate number and instructs them to at once to “apprehend and identify” the vehicle or vehicles involved. This program, once put on ice, was eagerly revived by the Bush administration, with the specific approval of the President and to date, has cost the American taxpayers over eight billion dollars. In addition to the states now under permanent surveillance, additional states to be added within the next three years will include: North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado.
Legislation, expected to pass in Congress without comment, makes it a Federal crime to attempt to damage or in any way interfere with these surveillance devices.
It should be noted that many of these spy cameras are hidden on billboards, leased by the government, or other common highway features.
This is not just a project, dear hearts, but an actuality. Also, another project now in full swing, is to have Federal surveillance over all ATM security cameras that record visits to cash machines. Pictures of the users as well as their cash withdrawals are all forwarded to Federal law enforcement agencies. This program has been in operation since 2005 and the highway spying program has been in operation since July of 2006.
Happy trails, friends!”