Oct. 10, 2002 - 21:35 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Single file

Surveillance is an innocent sounding word for keeping some one or some organization under the eye of whoever. From the days of J E Hoover dissenters have been under surveillance. McCarthy era seemingly had most all of us under sureveillance. During the Vietnam era there were lists after lists of people who other people felt were under suspicion.

Along with the act of surveillance is the record keeping, files. Nazis were good at that sort of thing too. Those sort of things seem to happen when some one or some group gets paranoid and persuades the powers that be to place that crummy bozo under surviellance and of course keep files, some of which might actually be true. And some of which, even if true, portray completely law abiding actions.

Here in Denver it came to light, in a roundabout way I guess, that our police department was surveilling people and keeping files on them. If I remember correctly their existence was denied, then in a fall back effort were defended as truly above board legal actions. Finally it was admitted that people who were being surveilled were so because one group or another or some higher up suspected they might do something. The final upshot is that finally the files were opened to the public, city government admitted the action was not right. Concerned people were allowed access. Case closed, right ?

Here in Denver we have on our Rocky Mountain News a foreign reporter, Vladimir Kovalev who works for the St. Petersburg Times in Russia. He is here through the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowship Program. I have read some of his columns and they are refreshing to say the least. He gives us a different outlook on things here. I think that often he sees things that we are ignorantly unaware of.

His column, "Exiting A Dangerous Road," of October 9th, 2002 is a zinger which brings up the fact that facts outrage us, but we seem not to follow up and find out really, who the guilty are. I will quote only his last paragraph. "Denver authorities made the right decision to attempt to correct the mistake of whatever 'genius' gave the order to collect the spy files. If the authorities were brave enough to take this step, the next one would be to name that person and analyze his or her motives in court. If only to make sure no other files of this sort -- or worse show up in the future."

In my eyes he is absolutely right in his observation. But just like our present scandals of corporations and government didoes . . . . . will be obscured by the mists of time, by foot dragging delay and red herring operations, I have my doubts that the Denver Pooh Bah who started that operation and or the one who ordered him or her to set it up and do it will ever show up in our newspapers nor do I believe he or she will be tried. And the one who ordered it ? Probably will never be known.

As much as I air my opinions, I hope that my presence in Social Security Records are the sole thing on my record, just want to be a guy who is in one Single File . . . . . . . .

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