Space

Give JPL case a closer look

The Pasadena Star News has an editorial about the JPL being sued over privacy concerns

Creative minds aren’t at their best in an 8-to-5 environment. Throughout their undergraduate and graduate studies, the scientists and engineers have grown used to all-nighters and brainstorming sessions. JPL is a 24-hour campus as well – rovers on Mars and probes
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to the asteroid belt don’t run on mundane Earth time, nor do they take any time off. As the rest of us sleep, there are always teams of mission controllers in front of computer screens sending instructions to machinery millions of miles from home.

…But we’re proud of the chutzpah shown by the 28 JPL scientists, engineers and staffers who have questioned some of the details of the almost absurd intrusions on privacy the new background checks involve. They have filed a lawsuit seeking some relief from aspects of the ongoing investigations into every federal employee.

Pasadena Star News

The editorial basically says that the case merits close examination, but it really doesn’t state an opinion, one way or another.