E-Z does it
Aug 10, 2007 Americana
The AP has a story about how E-Z Pass records have been used to trip up philanderers and criminals by destroying alibis and creating records of who was where, when. I was wondering how long until the reporter paid the toll and quoted the ACLU, and here it was:
Some worry that using those records for other purposes is a violation of drivers’ privacy.
“When you’re marketed for this new convenience, you may not realize there are these types of costs,” said Nicole Ozer of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.
Surprisingly tame. It sounds like she’s saying the problem is in the disclosure of the rather obvious fact that E-Z Pay tracks your tolls in its “marketing,” but if she’s claiming the violation of some fundamental right, that didn’t make it into the article. Not only that, the story balanced that though with this sensible quote, from none other than our old friend Bob Barr:
Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia turned Libertarian and privacy rights advocate, said people who want to protect their privacy shouldn’t use electronic toll systems.
That’s the difference between a “civil libertarian” and a “libertarian,” I guess. Score one for the latter kind.
August 10th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
IMO, there’s not much civil, nor libertarian, about the ACLU these days.
But there is still something that’s kind of American about them.
So I just roll my eyes and move along.
August 12th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
If one is not clever enough to cover one’s tracks well when doing something illegal, or even just naughty, then one deserves what comes. Putting the EZ-Pass in the glove compartment and popping for the tolls is a lot cheaper than a divorce settlement, I’d wager.
It’s sort of like not using your own car when you rob a bank in broad day light on a busy street. The opposite is feasible, but really dumb.
August 13th, 2007 at 6:51 am
I knew that EZ Pass kept your records way back when they first started using the system.
Duh.
August 13th, 2007 at 6:52 am
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make a phone call on my cell phone, and rent a car with my credit card.
They’ll never catch me.
HAHAHAHAHA!
August 13th, 2007 at 7:46 am
If one is not clever enough to cover one’s tracks well when doing something illegal, or even just naughty, then one deserves what comes.
I know some ACLU members, and I’m sure that this would never occur to them. They live in a whifty alternate, Rousseauian world, where people only do bad things because society forces them do it.
Since society is a fault, society has no right to condemn or track these poor beleaguered souls.