We've arrived at the intersection of Orwell Street and Kafka Avenue

On the front page of The Oregonian this morning I read that a new Federal policy would make it a standard procedure to gather DNA information from suspects who have been arrested, not just convicted criminals. That's a rather sweeping change of Federal policy, as far as I know. Here's a link to the story from the Washington Post, US to expand collection of crime suspects' DNA. It took me a while searching the LA Times and Washington Post websites to find the story so I could post it here. These days, a lot of important news gets buried.

I couldn't help but wonder that perhaps our paranoia in a post-9/11 world is letting the government get away with ignoring the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, not that they don't do that anyway, but still. Without much effort, I can imagine scenarios in which this new policy could be misused or abused.

I emailed Scott Horton this morning about this issue, and I hope he responds or posts something on Harper's. If he does, I'll be sure to note it here.

Allow me to introduce a borderline personality.