Firefighters Being Trained to Spy on US Citizens

This post, written by Paddy, originally appeared on Cliff Schecter's Brave New Films Blog

The hits just keep on coming-

AP IMPACT: Firefighter help on terrorism

WASHINGTON - Firefighters in major cities are being trained to take on a new role as lookouts for terrorism, raising concerns of eroding their standing as American icons and infringing on people's privacy.

Unlike police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel don't need warrants to access hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings each year, putting them in a position to spot behavior that could indicate terrorist activity or planning.

But there are fears that they could lose the faith of a skeptical public by becoming the eyes of the government, looking for suspicious items such as building blueprints or bomb-making manuals or materials.

This is just a set up for rampant abuse. Imagine all the ways this could be interpreted-