Morning Read: Spying on local government
Okay, this is sort of a News of the Weird sort of installment, but it was too cool and, well, weird to pass up.
Construction workers in Charlotte, Vermont — on the east shore of Lake Champlain — discovered that someone has been bugging (as in, spying on) officials at town hall.
This from the Burlington Free Press:
Two wireless listening devices hidden in Charlotte Town Hall allowed eavesdropping on town clerk business and private selectboard sessions, town officials said Tuesday.
Neither device was functioning when workers found the bugs in October, nor have authorities determined when, why or by whom they were installed, Town Planner and Selectboard Assistant Dean Bloch said.
Reaction to the discovery ranged from an amused shrug to indignation.
Mary Mead, who has served as town clerk and treasurer for 16 years, said one bug was discovered above her office, and the other in a small meeting room where Selectboard members sometimes convened during executive sessions.
She offered no theories about what town business might have prompted the clandestine tactics.
“Who knows when they were listening in, what they wanted to hear, or what they thought was so darn interesting,” she said.
“It was creepy at first,” Mead added. “Now it’s just goofy.”
Read the full article here.
It was either the State Police or the CIA
But the good news is – because of cut backs at state and federal governments, due to the wonderful economy AP insists we are experiencing, both the State Police and CIA will now need to hold a glass against the wall to continue their spying operations. Funds have been eliminated for bugging devices.
Merry Christmas to all and don’t let the bed bugs bite.
State police or CIA??? Seems to me it’s more likely some political adversaries than those two. Why would you think SP or CIA Pete?
Why not? You’re probably correct but we live in a world where everyone is spying on everyone and the major players are the CIA, FBI, CIA, DEA, ICE, ATF and on and on and on.
It’s all about security, Bret. We have become paranoid.
My feeling? If the government doesn’t trust me, why should I trust it?
Never trust gov’t. The Founders told us that. You can trust the individual, not the group. Works that way with most things.