See Something Snitch Something Is Back: DHS to Release New Guidelines for Stores to Watch Shoppers

So far, Jeh Johnson has managed to largely stay out of the spotlight and avoid much of the hate showered on his predecessor Big Sis Janet Napolitano. One example is right there, in the fact that no one really refers to Jeh as Big Bro Johnson, which is good, because it sounds like a really bad porno name.

But I digress…

Yesterday, the Washington Times reported that Homeland Security is going to release a brand new, shiny guidance list to retailers this week (just in time for another 9/11!) which will “train” them on how to watch for suspected terrorists in their stores, i.e. — anyone who buys a bunch of stuff from what Mr. Johnson says is a “long list of materials that could be used as explosive precursors.”

Continuing via WT:

“We can’t and we shouldn’t prohibit the sale of a pressure cooker. We can sensitize retail businesses to be on guard for suspicious behavior by those who buy this kind of stuff,” Mr. Johnson said during a question-and-answer session after a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

So Johnson did specifically mention those suspicious people who buy things like a pressure cooker, an item that caused a family to get a knock on the door by the FBI just for Googling in what was considered a “suspicious Internet search” shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing just for example.

No other suspicious terroristy items were specifically mentioned during Johnson’s post-CFR Q & A.

Oh, but don’t worry guys, because as WT was sure to point out, “Mr. Johnson said he is aware of the tenuous balance between security and freedom, and does not want to upset it with his moves.”

Uh-huh…

Because nothing says “freedom” quite like being eye-raped by nervous store owners who are just waiting for you to buy something off of some unseen terrorist shopping list that will give them an excuse to call DHS to swoop in and secure the homeland.

If you’ll recall, back in 2012 a different list was published of 25 flyers — produced jointly by the FBI and Department of Justice as part of the “Communities Against Terrorism” suspicious activity reporting program — detailing what our government considers to be the suspicious activities terrorists might engage in at those specific types of businesses.

The list included everything from tattoo parlors to beauty supply stores to Internet cafes and car rental agencies, and it gave out bulleted points of suspicious people and shopping behaviors that shopkeepers and employees should be on the look out for, including things like:

• people with burn marks on their hands, arms or face, or someone who is missing fingers
• people who significantly alter their appearance from visit to visit (as in, they shave their beards, change hair colors or styles of dress)
• people who are vague about the intended use of products they purchase
• people who always pay with cash
• people who are “overly concerned about privacy”

You know, the kind of purposefully ambiguous guidelines that could be incorrectly applied to millions of people who are absolutely not terrorists on a daily basis across this country.

Then again, I guess it’s pretty suspicious that I’m even questioning the whole big brother police state society they’ve been constructing since September 11, 2001 via this article on what falls under an “alternative media” website, especially considering that “alternative media” was listed on Homeland Security’s 2009 “Domestic Extremism Lexicon” and defined as “A term used to describe various information sources that provide a forum for interpretations of events and issues that differ radically from those presented in mass media products and outlets.”

Interpretations that differ radically from the establishment media’s propaganda? Exercising your First Amendment to raise your hand and say you disagree with a corrupt, tyrannical government?

Oh no… Not that.