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12/01/2005 Archived Entry: "Correction on Miami in-your-face policy?"

On November 28, the sharp-eyed Claire Wolfe blogged about the "in-your-face" totalitarianism planned by the Miami police; she excerpted a passage from a Breitbart article: "Miami police announced Monday they will stage random shows of force at hotels, banks and other public places to keep terrorists guessing and remind people to be vigilant. Deputy Police Chief Frank Fernandez said officers might, for example, surround a bank building, check the IDs of everyone going in and out and hand out leaflets about terror threats."

On November 29 Claire wrote: "YESTERDAY I BLOGGED ABOUT MIAMI COPS planning random shows of force in public places, including ID checks of everyone entering certain banks, hotels, and other "public places." Now here's almost the same article, almost the same wording, but with an explicit statement saying there will be NO random ID checks. Guess that one went down the memory hole." The article she refers to in this entry is here.

Interesting difference. I wonder if adverse publicity made the Miami police change their tune. They would never back down outright, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if the "in-your-face" actions never actually occur...for one reason or another. The real reason: the police may have crossed a line they did not quite realize was there. Or am I being an optimist again about how much daily totalitarianism the American people are willing to tolerate?