Financial Responsibility == Terrorism?

An anonymous reader writes "Capital Hill Blue is reporting that recently a retired Texas schoolteacher and his wife had a little run in with the Department of Homeland Security. The crime? Paying down some debt. From the article: 'The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522. And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges' behavior was found questionable. [...] They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified.'"

??? WTF

[raydobbs]

So....it's a sign of impending terrorism to decide to pay down your debt? Smooth move, guys. Wouldn't suicide terrorists get a card, and max it out - knowing that they will never have to pay it off?

way to go!

[Anonymous Coward]

fuck america, bush and his 9/11 hoaxes are the worst thing I have seen in my lifetime.
that and getting 2 posts deleted from slashdot, as they were unfavorable.

lets see how long this one lasts.

Let's run an experiment...

[slashname3]

Everyone on /. send me a dollar. I will apply it to one of my credit cards and then we will see how quickly the FBI shows up. I don't mind taking the hit. So as soon as I collect a dollar from everyone I will make the payment. Not a problem. Glad to do it. It's all for the experiment.

Chilling Effect.

[Anonymous Coward]

I started to post the amount that constitutes a red flag. It isn't much and the fact that the amount is a secret is even more ludicrous. But, then I started to question whether I felt up to challenging the PATRIOT Act by disclosing this information and... I chickened out.

I guess it works! We're all fucked!

Re:??? WTF

[Skreems]

Of course. Living within your means is un-American. Did you not get the memo?

Re:My experience

[MyLongNickName]

Umlauts get you marked on Homeland Secuirity's database for being an unpatriotic kraut head ;)

Re:Let's run an experiment...

[Anonymous Coward]

No problem. Just tell me your bank routing number and your account number.

And, hey, my friend from Nigeria needs help moving some money into the country (his father's cube mate was married to the sister of the wife of a friend of the country's recent dictator). I'll split it with you 60/40.

Re:My experience

[Glonoinha]

I can see this, actually ... because the last thing a suicide bomber wants is a bad credit history.

Re:My experience

[kcbrown]

The government has access to everyones personal records and they will continue to watch to make sure everyone toes the line.

What? They're not doing any such thing. Want proof? Watch me say something anti-government:

This government is the worst on the planet. Thanks to it, I'm surprised anyone wants to live here!

See? Nothing happened to me. There's nothing to worry about. You can say and do anything you##$:(!*NO CARRIER

Obligatory Simpsons Quote

[Anonymous Coward]

"I'd rather let a hundred guilty men go free, than chase after them." --Chief Wiggum

Re:Bah, this isn't about terrorism

[Brandybuck]

Been that way since the '80s.

Bush hasn't been president since the '80s, so that cannot be true!

Re:way to go!

[Anonymous Coward]

I am not sure if Kerry's administration would have orchestrated 9/11. Of course with the diebold voting machines rigged, he never had a chance.

Re:Catcher in The Rye

[soft_guy]

When I travelled through Mexico by air, the declaration asked where I was staying in Mexico.

I don't know - the guy who is going to drive the getaway car knows where the hideout is, not me. I'm only the bag man.

Re:My experience

[WhiteBandit]

I find it quite amusing that people have the time to type "NO CARRIER" as the fuzz come busting through their door.

Personally, I'd rather just type "OH SHIT!" and use the extra time it takes to type those 2 extra characters and try to run away. ;)

Been going on decades before Homeland Security

[AHumbleOpinion]

This has been going on for many decades. The systems was started in order to catch organized crime and drug dealers. In the 1970's my grandfather paid cash for a car, approx. $7,000. He received a letter from the IRS asking where the cash came from. I believe his letter back to the IRS said something like "From my savings account you nosy SOB."

Re:My experience

[stwrtpj]

I find it quite amusing that people have the time to type "NO CARRIER" as the fuzz come busting through their door.

Perhaps he was dictating ...

You forgot to mention

[Anonymous Coward]

You had an onion tied to your belt, which was the style at the time... ...
sorry, coulnd't resist. ;)

Re:You're all being watched like prisoners...

[SydShamino]

Bin Laden has a huge heap of money. Most people with similar sized money-heaps in the US are pretty free too...

... as long as they don't use part of that money to pay down a debt ...

Re:My experience

[slavemowgli]

Maynard: It reads, "Here may be found the last words of Joseph of Arimathea. He who is valiant and pure of spirit may find the Holy Grail in the Castle of uuggggggh".
Arthur: What?
Maynard: "...the Castle of uuggggggh".
Bedevere: What is that?
Maynard: He must have died while carving it.
Lancelot: Oh, come on!
Maynard: Well, that's what it says.
Arthur: Look, if he was dying, he wouldn't bother to carve "uuggggh". He'd just say it!
Maynard: Well, that's what's carved in the rock!

Re:Let's run an experiment...

[kevlar]

W. Gates
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

Debt is good

[Tablizer]

Can't have Bin Laden paying down his bills. Next you know he'll start returning his library books from 1973!

Re:My experience

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

Well. What's wrong with a faraday cage. If gravity doesn't affect you, then you have nothing to fear. The cage will protect you from lightning strikes and will only weigh down the evil, gravity prone, electro-terrorist scum.

Re:My experience

[Anonymous Coward]

I choose tinfoil hat.

Re:Your reply betrays you

[Anonymous Coward]

And here we have it, folks. That fantastic attitude called "If you don't like it, you must be doing something wrong". Every scare and people like you grant the government more power to brighten your fucking night light. It's okay to trample our civil liberties as long as those nasty drug traffickers are brought to justice.


you misspelled
'fanatic".

Paying bills

[Sin(O)+Cos(O)]

Terrorists pay bills?

Re:My experience

[tom's a-cold]

Basically our Government completely failed us and now it wants more power. People should have been asking why they weren't using the power they had effectively in the first place -- instead of why they need more.

Look at the bright side: at least they've proved conclusively that incompetence and corrupt, mendacious brutality are not mutually exclusive.