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Taking pictures on the T
By adamg on Tue, 06/13/2006 - 10:05pm
The ACLU threatens to sue the T over its photography policy - which basically says you can't - unless you've gotten a permit.
About time somebody stood up to the T bullies, who are more concerned about potentially embarassing photos exemplifying bad service than stopping potential terrorists, BadTransit writes:
... The T, or anyone else, has no right to confiscate your photographic equipment, film, memory card, etc., without a legal process. It's amazing that people aren't certain about this. ...
Bah, retorts Hub Politics, wondering when people will recognize the ACLU for the traitors they are:
... This threat by the ACLU is absolutely ridiculous, and is yet another example of how twisted the ACLU is. They want wiretapping of terrorists to stop, arguing it is a violation of privacy rights, and now, they are taking a position that arguably puts privacy (and security) at risk. Seems to me that the only constant objective they have is to undermine our security. ...
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Comments
Free speech isn't even the main issue here
The problem is that the MBTA is threatening to arrest people for violating an unwritten policy. That's about as fundamental of a due process violation as you'll ever see - prosecuting people for breaking unwritten laws. If the legislature passed a law prohibiting or regulating photography on the T due to security concerns, this would be a closer question (although it would probably still be unconstitutional). But if there's no actual law that says photography on the T is illegal, well, come on, that's just crazy.
T Pictures
Good point, Josh. To me, it's just silly because it's a losing battle, and the effort it would take to actually enforce it is not something they can even begin to afford. What a weird battle to pick. There are so many potential tags for these pictures, but just as a start, check these out:
http://flickr.com/search/?z=t&w=all&q=mbta+&m=text
There is a photographer's bill of rights I used to carry around, just in case anyone tried to take my camera or arrest me or something. Because I know that there really ISN'T a law saying I can't do it.
Abby
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http://proactivebusybody.com
Back in the day ...
Before the DNC, it was actually pretty painless to get a photo permit - you'd go down to the Transportation Building, go up to the MBTA marketing department, hand over your driver's license and five or ten minutes later a nice lady would come out with a pass good for three months.
Now, you still have to go down there, but then you have to go home and wait for a couple of weeks as they interview your neighbors, or something. So this photo will be our little secret, m'kay?
Speaking of Hub Politics
Couldn't help but notice that Hub Politics has 4 comments on this topic--more than they often get--all of which reject their attack on the ACLU. I suspect that many came from people who saw it here or through other blogrolls (and one was from me), but does this mean that none of their regular conservative readership agreed with them strongly enough to say so?
They're Distracted
Hub Politics readers are probably too busy having their parties celebrating the death of al-Zaqarwi to bother with issues here in Boston that might actually affect their lives. After all, saving civil liberties from incremental erosion just isn't as much fun as blowing stuff up and killing people. How does letting people take photographs of the T reflect glory upon dear leader Bush? Much better we let people take photographs of dead terrorists.
part of the noise machine...
politicsnj.com, politicspa.com, and politicsnh.com are all part of a so-called "Right-wing noise machine network of blogs associated with the publius group. I wonder if hubpolitics.com is related, as well.