The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been assigning "risk scores" of each airline passenger who crosses a US border. They wish to expand this rating system to cruise ships, and those who drive over the borders. DHS neglected to inform the public that they have been using the rating system for the last five years, possibly in violation of Congressional rules. Risk assessments of each passenger will be held by DHS for 40 years, and the passenger would have no access to information that determines the risk score. Public comment closed on this issue a couple of weeks ago.

There was such an outrcy over this from members of Congress, civil liberties groups, and others, that the public comment period has been reopened.

If you'd like to know more about this issue, or if you'd like to send in comments of your own, here's a link: www.privacyactivism.org/ It's the first item on the page. We've created sample comments for you to use either as at template, or to use verbatim. Click on the "see full story" link at the end of the news blurb.

We've stopped bad rules like this before using the public comment method -- so please, send in your comments!