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.
The never ending expansion of the Surveillance State under Bush is one of his most unfortunate legacies. I never have understood the belief that as long as government isn't helping someone then it's not big government. The same conservatives who carp about the "Nanny State" are the ones pushing for the "Enforcer State" where big government will spare no right, commit any atrocity, do pretty much anything to keep us safe from any threat. There's a reason our founding generation, surrounded by enemies and riven with sedition, insisted on a bill of rights and why in hindsight we have always looked with regret on those moments in our history when we chose to abridge those rights.
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