Edward Snowden's legal advisor and director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, Ben Wizner joins Jesse Ventura #OffTheGrid to discuss Snowden's status, and how the world has changed since the leak.
So I bought this lovely little satchel on clearance at Target.com. I buy online several times a month. I have been doing so for quite a few years.
Today, I was expecting this package. When it did not arrive, I went to UPS.com where my Tracking Information page yielded this statement:
Phoenix,
AZ,
United States
12/10/2013
10:43 A.M.
Pkg delay-add'l security check by gov't or other agency- beyond UPS control.
Exsqueezme? Baking powder? WTH is this?
So I did a search online and other people have had similar messages about their packages. I read forums about guns and ammunition. The government likes to stop ammunition sent from vendors to legal gun owners a lot. As well as I saw a guy's complaint on a body building forum.
Yeah, let's stop his protein drinks!
So I called my local chapter of the ACLU. The operator could not give me any legal advice, but she said that the ACLU tracks these types of governmental overreach and to please file a complaint. I think I might just do that.
In all fairness, I did leave a message on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Comment Line with my name, phone number, why I was calling and my UPS tracking number. I asked for a copy of the Search Warrant or any other documentation for my files.
I was very professional and nice on the phone. You never know when there has been a threat made against a UPS route or driver. If I do not hear from DHS (Sieg Heil!) by next Wednesday, I will file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in addition to my ACLU complaint.
All this for a $17 purse.
As I was writing this first hand account about the government allegedly violating my Fifth Amendment rights, the UPS page changed. The EXCEPTION was there but now the remark of government involvement has been erased and my package is now in TRANSIT.
Good thing, I keep copies of everything.
So if this incident has happened to you, please file a complaint with the ACLU. (Each State has its own complaint form.) You might even want to file a complaint with your State's Attorney General's Office as well.
No matter the law or excuse, the US government is accountable to the American people.
