City wise to decline Target's surveillance money

UPDATE, 10/4: An informed source told me tonight this proposal is coming back.

Councilmembers Leal and Uhlich are said to be set to protect privacy.

Mayor Walkup and Councilmembers West and Ibarra are said to want the surveillance system by Target Corporation.

Councilmembers Trasoff and Scott will be the key votes. I hope they are wise and go against downtown surveillance.

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TUCSON -- My Councilman Steve Leal and some other city leaders deserve praise for trying to protect our privacy by saying no to $100k offered by Target Corp. to install surveillance cameras all over downtown.

I was just in Washington DC for a week. Public surveillance cameras are everywhere there and it's creepy.

There is no evidence public surveillance cameras do anything to deter crime, and people asking for money so they can eat is hardly a real crime problem.

A much bigger problem in Tucson and the USA is people scared of their own shadows and anyone who talks to them, due to government and corporate media crime hype.

If you value true freedom and civil liberties, you may want to stop shopping at mega-corp Target. Instead of invasive big brother cameras, Target could help pay to house Tucson's homeless -- a much better and long-term cheaper solution.

A typical urban surveillance camera

Keep an careful eye on this issue because TPD leadership will likely keep pushing for cameras so they can watch you at all times, instead of getting more cops out of their gas-guzzling cars where they'd be much more helpful.

Stand up for your constitutional privacy rights. Let's keep cameras out of downtown Tucson.