What do you think about the fact that America has, basically, a 'secret police' ever since the Dept. of Homeland Security was established in Nov. of 2002?

Yes.

The line between personal freedom and enhanced security is one that has always been and will continue to be thin and highly debatable. While I am in complete sympathy with those who worry about losing the former. personally, as I think about 9–11, I prefer to lean toward the latter.

And people thought Saddam was bad….....guess who perfected his play book.

How “secret” are they if you and aparently most of us know about them?

That is why I was opposed to many of the provisions of the so-called Patriot Act.

First, the war powers act, then Homeland Security, then the Patriot Act to make all of this lawful. It sound like they took a page out of Stalin’s playbook. Next will be president for life, picked by what is left of the republican or tea party. Don’ be surprised if in a few years dissenting congressmen start experiencing trumped up scandals and start disappearing. Oh, wait, that’s already happening. I suspect the reason that Palin was foisted on McCain was to keep him from being president. The needed a cooling off period because people were catching on to them. Obama stepped in to volunteer as an unwitting scapegoat. It is hard for an honorable man to believe the depths to which the current neocon factions will dive.

It’s not secret.

well…........ the DHS is ‘secret’ in that it is not required to explain why it has arrested people, & it does not have to explain where they are being held, & it does not have to explain what will happen to the people who they arrest. somehow I cannot see Obama being willing to be a temporary stand-in as President. the machinations of both parties may have had a hand in him being elected, but I think he ran because he truly thought that he might be able to help the American people. of course, he has not been able to do so – largely due to the fact that the people who make up his party & the people who make up the republicans, are only interested in furthering their up-coming re-election bids, they are not interested in actually fixing anything that America needs to be fixed. it is reasonably certain that Obama will not get re-elected, our next president will most likely be another republican, & when this happens – all of us on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum will be SOL.

I landed in a homeland security zone in a hot air balloon last year, Hah! So much for the ‘secret’ police. Everyone was so stunned when we landed after losing our wind currant they all just gathered round in awe.

hell, we could have had a balloon full of explosives instead of champagne. lolol

Peaceful, articulate revolutionaries are more threatening to the establishment than terrorists because they carry much more potential influence, and would have a public voice in any trial. Who’s to say they aren’t disappearing? Not that they couldn’t be carried off before it was legal but now it can be done in mass with much less friction. Quite depressing if you hold your purpose and the purpose of your people to be greater than what the establishment holds for you.

It’s not the conspiracy theory itself that truly disturbs me. It’s the fact that people accept the possibility of its existence so easily. I don’t understand why there isn’t feverish public demand for heavy measures against those in power operating behind the scenes or otherwise where they can not be deftly manipulated by the people. Secrecy and strength seems like it is usually held more suspect everywhere but where it counts the most. Is an extremist group more dangerous than a governing power that strives for omnipotence? This is actually more depressing than the presence of the over-powerful establishment, and I think this realization is where many once-passionate people give up and give in in a very deep way. You realize we don’t really have a collective people, and we’re all just churning in a mess of social neglect that we call hierarchy.

Yes, it does seem that way. Innocent people can find out they are on the “No fly list” only when they try to fly, and then they can not find out why they are on the list or how to get off. This has even happened to congress people.

There are many other secret operations that the DHS is carrying out that even congress or the President do not know about, and there are funds that are being spent entirely without any oversight what so ever.These operations are hinted at from time to time, and occasionally a public comment is made, but for the most part, only the people who are actually doing it know about it.