Government Watch List

Ohnoes!!! Look what just flew over my House! They must know about this Thread!

Oh wait, they're doing "Humanitarian Stuff".
Or are they????

Matt,

Having finally met you in person, I suspect your grade school teachers submitted your name to the government some time ago.

PropellantHead said:

I've been told by government officials that I'm on one very specific list: The list of super-uber-awesome-nice-happy-fantastic people.

But I'm not completely sure this list actually exists. But if it does, I can see how I'd be on it. :grin:

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Glenn,

Your grasp of reality is somewhat fragile.

TopRamen said:

Point being, as long as you're doing nothing wrong, go ahead and be on as many Lists as you can be.

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People doing nothing wrong are being shot by police just about everyday.

shrox said:

People doing nothing wrong are being shot by police just about everyday.

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Only if your carrying a sandwich....................



........... that looks like a gun.

Your membership in such nefarious organizations such as NAR or Tripoli has already put you on the FBI’s “10 Most Nerd” list.

This is the list wherein any FBI agent caught spending even a single minute of his/her time investigating any individual on said list will result in suspension or even dismissal from service.

When it comes time for my wife to reup here security status I get investigated. They go to my neighbors home and ask them if we have party's or a lot of trafic. I came home one time and the guy was next door and came over to talk to me. Had a nice chat with him. I thought about opening my garage door and let him see my collection of rockets but I didnt think he need see that I have about 30 rockets just sitting there.

blackbrandt said:

Will the hobby of rocketry (and the interesting browser history I create) put me on a government watch list? Just wondering.

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Just to make sure, I just did a YouTube search for TATP and HMTD. Amazing they allow synthesis videos for those on YouTube.

Here we are synthesizing meth to a great song MP3 I bought. I play it on perfectly clear launch days:

[video=youtube;yT4hfNL4SKY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT4hfNL4SKY[/video]

o1d_dude said:

Everyone please remember that when the foreign terrorists attack here on US soil, the NSA was watching me.

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https://cryptome.org/2014/09/hagel-04-0621.pdf

Exceprt:

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

Event: Meeting with Senator Chuck Hagel
Date: 06/21/04
Time:
Special access issues: none
Prepared. by: Chris Kojm
Team Number: Front Office
Location:
Participants: Vice Chair Hamilton

[Senator Chuck] Hagel said that [Congressional] oversight of the Intelligence Community is a joke. There is no staff for members of the Committee. Intelligence should be a permanent committee; and it should be at least an "A" committee within the Senate.

----------

In 2007, reporter Charles Davis asked then-Chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee Jay Rockefeller about clandestine U.S. operations against a foreign government. Here’s the exchange:

DAVIS: Is there anything you could do in your position as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee to find answers about this, if it is in fact going on?

ROCKEFELLER: Don’t you understand the way Intelligence works? Do you think that because I’m Chairman of the Intelligence Committee that I just say I want it, and they give it to me? They control it. All of it. ALL of it. ALL THE TIME. I only get - and my committee only gets - what they WANT to give me.

Audio:

https://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/mt-static/images/Rockefeller.mp3

PropellantHead said:

I've been told by government officials that I'm on one very specific list: The list of super-uber-awesome-nice-happy-fantastic people.

But I'm not completely sure this list actually exists. But if it does, I can see how I'd be on it. :grin:

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You can get your lawyers to sue the government to get you off of this list, and I'm pretty sure it would work.

J. Edgar sent the FBI guys to search my grandparents house during WW2 just because they were German immigrants (I would think that spies would have better things to do than work 12 hour days for Westinghouse). So yeah, my family has been "on the radar" for a long time...

It doesn't take much.

This is good humor, but be careful not to go truly political.

Short answer: NO. The Constitution protects you from search and seizure without a warrant. So unless you have run afoul of the FBI and they have a warrant to search your computer and or e-mails, then no, you are not on any watch list.

You visited me. You are on the german list now. You may get visit from men in black leather pants with strong accent. They will ask and control your dad drinks proper beer now )

Great...

Bat-mite said:

Short answer: NO. The Constitution protects you from search and seizure without a warrant. So unless you have run afoul of the FBI and they have a warrant to search your computer and or e-mails, then no, you are not on any watch list.

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They use a technique called parallel reconstruction. Law enforcement gets the info illegally and then find an excuse to establish probable cause and obtain a warrant to legally search for what they previously obtained.

I would think it might be possible that our hobby would put you on a watch list for flights... particulary if you work with black powder, or handle explosives or fuel at the launch site, and then go straight to the airport without a couple of thorough wash-ups, showers, or scrubbing your hands to rid all traces. (Somebody shared a horror tale about being detained not too long ago.)

cwbullet said:

if we aren’t on a list, I question our governments thoroughness.

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Considering the very small number of registered members, and then even smaller number of HPR fliers...and then even smaller yet mixing their own.... I'd say it's a safe bet, but that list probably isn't checked too often. Anyone looking to cause trouble isn't going to go through the time and effort to make APCP.... It'd be some jackass with a sugarmotor....

Kirk G said:

I would think it might be possible that our hobby would put you on a watch list for flights... particulary if you work with black powder, or handle explosives or fuel at the launch site, and then go straight to the airport without a couple of thorough wash-ups, showers, or scrubbing your hands to rid all traces. (Somebody shared a horror tale about being detained not too long ago.)

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Once, in 2004, I had come home to Vermont for some Leave time. Fireworks had just been legalized, and my friends and I had spent the night prior to my Departure back to Ft. Riley by partying it up and shooting off tons of Fireworks.
At the Burlington Airport, they selected me at what I assume was "Random" to get those little Paper discs rubbed on me for the "Sniffer" Machine.
It tested positive for Explosives all over my Clothes and Backpack, which had been full of Mortars and Bottle Rockets just the Night before.
I had my Orders to show them, so they determined that I was good to go and sent me on my Flight.

thobin said:

If you have made one nasty post about the government on any social media website you are on the list.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion; what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms." ~ Thomas Jefferson

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Does that mean Thomas Jefferson was on a watch list?

I bought a Fossil once and got put on a watch list.

Wayco said:

Does that mean Thomas Jefferson was on a watch list?

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After that 4th of July thing, he certainly was! In his case, it was the British government's watch list.

DizWolf said:

I bought a Fossil once and got put on a watch list.

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Whaaa-whaa-wha-whaaaaaaa....

TopRamen said:

Once, in 2004, I had come home to Vermont for some Leave time. Fireworks had just been legalized, and my friends and I had spent the night prior to my Departure back to Ft. Riley by partying it up and shooting off tons of Fireworks.
At the Burlington Airport, they selected me at what I assume was "Random" to get those little Paper discs rubbed on me for the "Sniffer" Machine.
It tested positive for Explosives all over my Clothes and Backpack, which had been full of Mortars and Bottle Rockets just the Night before.
I had my Orders to show them, so they determined that I was good to go and sent me on my Flight.

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That's why I always carry my NAR card; if they detect some powder or residue, it's most likely been picked up at a launch. I haven't had to use it yet but it's good to have on me.

I worked with a fellow who had a name that was on the "No Fly" list although it was for some other guy. It still took him extra time every time he had to fly somewhere. He may have been able to fill out some paperwork to ease his travels as 9/11 moves further into history. His father, with a similar but slightly different name, has no trouble. Being a FEMA manager may have some impact on that, though.

KennB said:

That's why I always carry my NAR card; if they detect some powder or residue, it's most likely been picked up at a launch. I haven't had to use it yet but it's good to have on me.

I worked with a fellow who had a name that was on the "No Fly" list although it was for some other guy. It still took him extra time every time he had to fly somewhere. He may have been able to fill out some paperwork to ease his travels as 9/11 moves further into history. His father, with a similar but slightly different name, has no trouble. Being a FEMA manager may have some impact on that, though.

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Yeah, if I had not had my Military Credentials and Identification on me I don't know what would have happened.

TopRamen said:

Once, in 2004, I had come home to Vermont for some Leave time. Fireworks had just been legalized, and my friends and I had spent the night prior to my Departure back to Ft. Riley by partying it up and shooting off tons of Fireworks.
At the Burlington Airport, they selected me at what I assume was "Random" to get those little Paper discs rubbed on me for the "Sniffer" Machine.
It tested positive for Explosives all over my Clothes and Backpack, which had been full of Mortars and Bottle Rockets just the Night before.
I had my Orders to show them, so they determined that I was good to go and sent me on my Flight.

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That could present a real problem on a rocketry trip involving air travel, especially if you were going direct from the launch site to your flight. Also, consider that you might have moved your luggage in the hotel while your hands were still contaminated sometime during the duration of the event. The handle(s) will then be contaminated.

DizWolf said:

It'd be some jackass with a sugarmotor...

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Sugar propellants are still listed as "explosives" on the BATFE list, so that's the primary risk you take by using them without proper permits.

Back in the Day, I used to atleast make the Local Watch List every now and then.



As usual, everything was up to Par, and in Compliance with applicable Sections of Code, as my Muzzleloaders were indeed only capable of Loading from the Muzzle.
I was Guilty of a Noise Violation.

If anything, All Rocketry Enthusiasts should make an Effort to get to know their local Regional BATFE Person, it could only help to have a Point of Contact like that when you want to convince someone that our Hobby is Safe.
My local BATF Agent already knew me personally because I sold Guns as a Salesman for a Licensed Dealer. He would ofcourse show up every now and then to retrieve a Photo Copy of a Form 4473.