Where to Begin?
Sometimes, when something annoys/disturbs me enough, I find I have a tough time writing about it right away. I need to give it some time to simmer before I unleash any vitriol. That’s been the case with the recent “revelations” about the Bush administration, the NSA and the ridiculous amount of data collection that has been going on recently.
So we’re already aware that the Big Chimp in Charge has authorized warrantless wiretaps of American citizens without probable cause. By “warrantless”, we know that these wiretaps never go through the courts in any of the ways designed to both authorize wiretaps and provide at least a very minimal amount of protection against abuse (read: FISA). Bush has said that he can do this because he’s the big boy in the big chair (I’m paraphrasing here) and because we are in a state of war with terrorists. He’s using the latter excuse for any number of power grabs recently, which I’ve already mentioned in a previous post.
The warrantless wiretaps are illegal and disturbing, because they bring to mind images of a police state where anyone can be monitored at will for any reason with no checks and balances. Furthermore, government representatives won’t discuss these programs in any kind of detail (mind you, they’re listening to our phone calls and reading out emails without our knowledge or consent) because it might compromise national security. A quote from in December, 2005 from Allen Abney, White House Spokesman: “We’re not going to comment on news stories that may or may not focus on classified intelligence operations as part of the war on terror.”
Read: they’re just not going to comment on anything about anything because it may or may not have to do with something that might or might not have to do with the war on terror. I believe it you add a “neener neener neener” to the end of the previous quote, one can get a handle on the mindset of our current President.
So effectively, no one’s talking or they’re saying the least they can get away with during the hearings they’ve attended (I’m looking at you, Gonzales). That trend continued when USA Today broke the story that the NSA has been collecting the records of every American’s phone calling habits from major phone companies.
The NSA program that has been on the news for the past couple of days is not, as most people initially assume, a bunch of guys listening to hundreds of thousands of recorded phone calls from random Americans. What they’ve been doing is gathering the call records and routing information from apparently willing phone companies (AT&T, Verizon and Bell South). You’ll be hearing a lot of representatives of both government and the phone companies claiming that there are no names or addresses associated with these call records, but given the fact that anyone with access to any major search engine can reverse-lookup a phone number, I find that claim less than assuring. I’m certain the government will be able to cross-reference their data to associate call records with individuals with no problems, especially when the companies to whom we pay fees for services are willing to just hand over all their information, despite the prevailing telecommunications laws in this country, without a peep (notable exception would be Qwest).
So the fact is that the government is gathering all our calling data so that they can mine said data and look for suspicious patterns. They’re doing this without the approval of the courts, but don’t worry because the Justice Department has been informing the “appropriate members of Congress” about their actions of the last 5 years. However, once they have the data no one is talking about how it’s being used.
I’ve heard a lot of folks defending this practice because it doesn’t involve eavesdropping and doesn’t necessarily violate the Fourth Amendment. Apparently these people are content with living under a surveillance umbrella big enough to cover the entire country. Big Brother is watching every phone call that every citizen makes, just waiting for someone to fit some kind of pattern so that they can begin listening in on their conversations. Welcome to the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Don’t people understand that giving up your privacy and your freedom for a sense of security is effectively asking for a police state to rule your life? Everytime we sacrifice our freedoms, we destroy another part of what makes this country so unique and special. The freedom I’m talking about here is the freedom perform our usual, daily tasks without assuming that every action we make is being monitored by our government. What do people need to see happen in order to get angry about this kind of thing? Do we need NSA thugs disappearing people in the middle of the night because they’re outspoken about the latest war-for-approval-ratings debacle? Do we have to install cameras in and around our home to confirm that we’re not participating in any “un-American” behaviors? Do we need to slowly dismantle the protections of the Constitution and hand them over to a single entity who will promise to lead us down the path of righteousness? Sure, these sound far-fetched but we need to remember that what this one president does during his terms of office sets precedence for other presidents down the line. By overreaching the power of his office now, he makes it easier for the next guy, and the next, until those far-fetched worries of mine don’t seem so far fetched anymore.
We have a government that is acting without any of the checks and balances we should demand, nor is it following the rules and laws of the country. They are simply claiming “state secrets” and “state of war” anytime someone questions their actions and their motives. This is not acceptable. Bush’s approval ratings have continued their plunge, so he ought to be especially careful about the moves he makes now (of course, he’ll probably look to start another war to increase his ratings). Sure, he’s a lame duck but he’s about to be the single biggest reason the Republicans lose their control of the House and Senate.
Actually, now that I think about, keep being an asshole because having the House, Senate and White House all controlled by the same party has sucked. Of course, I’d prefer to see some third party candidates take some control, but I assume it will be the Democrats who take over newly vacated seats. Just more of the cyclical nature of Washington politics.
July 20th, 2006 12:41
You mention having people “disappeared” and the “dismantling” of our constitutional freedoms. I know you know that this is already happening. Granted people aren’t being taken for speaking out so much as how they look or the unfortunate association they had with some radical in college.
I wish I had paid closer attention to the story, but there was a man who on a transfer in NY from Canada to England was pulled asside for “additional security screening” disappeard. His wife and two children were told nothing. For nine months he was detained in 3 or 4 different places in three different countries. All because of someone he knew in college.
As far as the dismantling of our constitutional freedoms…note my lower case c. Let’s never forget that the constitution was NEVER intended to protect the public-at-large. We’re just witnessing a return to roots, so to speak. You’re welcome to do anything you want as long as you’re rich. Including taking advantage of the shrinking middle class.
[begin tangent]
Everybody’s upset that rich people raided retirement funds of the working class to give themselves obscene salaries and fat bonuses. Just what the #$%@ do you think happened to Social Security?!? They got the idea from the government. They’ve been doing it and getting away with it for years.
[end tangent]
What was I talking about? I forget.
Oh! constitutional freedoms. It’s a great piece of paper that was part of our final exam, which I believe you missed, (no joke I think you were out with a migrane) beyond that not much else.
As far as disappearing for what we talk about, who knows? I’m no conspiracy nut…just your garden variety nut, but the kind of person to be disappered isn’t the kind of person to attract much attention if [read: when] it happens. Who knows, maybe they’re getting the right people…for now. As much as we might mock them, they’re actually quite good at what they do, it’s just that when they screw up, they screw up BIG.
Rant over…coffee now!