apparently now the border of the US, and therefore the area wherein random (and otherwise illegal) searches are allowed to be conducted, now extends 100 miles inland all around the perimeter of the US. This means roughly 2/3 of the population of the US is subject to these kinds of searches. WTF. the 4th amendment suddenly doesn’t apply to 2/3 of the people living in the united states?! how are we allowing this to happen? i don’t even have words to express how outraged/disgusted/disappointed i am by this.

i encourage everyone to read cory doctorow’s young adult (but very relevant to all ages) book, little brother, which tells the story of a high school student and his friends in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on san francisco. they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, kids are tortured (waterboarding is torture no matter how the US government tries to sugar-coat it) and the whole city is stripped of privacy rights. frankly the whole book is pretty chilling because it’s so frighteningly plausible, and moreover – probable. you can download the book here.