GPS Tracking: The demise of a free Nation

In times of confusion and strife tryants will arise among the people and attempt to steer the conversation into the arena of the absurd and the ridiculous.  I will be the first person to stand up and point out that Islamic extremists pose a grave threat to America's national security and that we must be vigilant about the threat that this terrorists pose to our safety and well-being.  However, I do not believe that in times of war the government is justified in sacrificing our basic civil liberties on the altar of expediency and knee-jerk reactions.  In case you did not know various law enforcement officers in America have begun conducting unwarranted gps placement and subsequent tracking of the movement of free citizens in America.  In particular it is my understand that SUPRISE! the American-Islamic community is being targeted with little to no evidence or provocation for the simple offense of belief in Islam.  What is scary about this process is that it invests law enforcement with the power to decide at will when and where to monitor the movements of American citizens who have never done anything wrong.  Imagine the wide open areas of abuse for such a carte blanche endorsement to run rampant over political enemies, underprivileged people and unpopular groups of people.  If law enforcement or the federal government feels that they have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to monitor the movements of someone within the continental U.S. there is a process for obtaining a legal search warrant.  People will no doubt scoff at this and say well this is merely a tool in fighting the global war on terrorism and crime.  Is it really?  Let's suppose that is does assist the federal government and local law enforcement in apprehending and preventing various types of crime including but not limited to terrorism that is not in and of itself a justification.  The problem with warrantless survilleance by GPS is that it invades the privacy of the person being watched without a legal justification or reason.

The case about unwarranted GPS monitoring recently re-ignited because while having an oil change performed it was discovered that a strange wire was coming from the gas tank of a Muslim-American of Arab descent.  The device was removed by the oil change service station and the FBI contacted the Service Station and demanded back their equipment.  No explanation was given for why this man never convicted of any crime and only working and living in America paying taxes and obeying the law was being monitored without a warrant.  No wait a reason was given this man was guilty of the heinous crime of having extensive contacts in the Middle East!  Definitely suspicious considering the man is from gasp! Egypt an American ally located in you guessed it the Middle East.  The real problem is that when the precedent is set that the government can do whatever it wants under the pathetic and overused guise of NATIONAL security the only thing that becomes more secure is the draconian grip of the government around the throat of free citizens.