Three days ago, this blogger posted "To protect, serve, and constantly monitor" about the City of L.A.'s new surveillance cameras in Hollywood and their new system that can scan 1000 license plates an hour. It was also posted here.

Now, three days later, comes Andrea Cavanaugh of the L.A. Daily News with her Drudge-linked article "Who's got an eye on you?"

... Police say surveillance cameras, whether installed by businesses, homeowners or local governments, act as a powerful law-enforcement tool and crime deterrent. Law-abiding people have nothing to worry about, said Lt. Paul Vernon of the Los Angeles Police Department.

"When people start talking about Big Brother, I say, 'I've got nothing to hide.' Those cameras aren't looking into my home, and if they were, it would be pretty boring..."

...In Los Angeles, surveillance devices increasingly are used by government to patrol public places. Several recently installed cameras along Hollywood Boulevard scan stretches popular with tourists and criminals alike.

And, buoyed by the success of a surveillance program at crime-plagued MacArthur Park west of downtown, the LAPD recently unveiled a camera system capable of scanning thousands of license plates per hour and employing controversial facial-recognition software to pinpoint known criminals...