As outlined in the news stories of today, the NSA compilation of the telephone calling patterns of hundreds of thousands of citizens of the United States appears to be so complicated that one is led to feel that it is "no big deal", as the Bush administration would have us believe. However, it is apparent to those of us with long memories that the threat is not in the act itself but in its implications. To the younger generation, the phrase "guilt by association" means little but there was a time when it was deadly serious and the ruin of many a life and career.
One would need to read and study the reign of terror which was presided over by Senator Joseph McCarthy during the beginning of the Cold War where everyone was as afraid of "the Communists" as they are today of Al Qaida and friends. The House Un-American Activities Committee, (HUAC), chaired by Senator McCarthy held hearings in order to "root out" Communists in all levels of American society. To even have one's name mentioned in these hearings was to suffer "black-balling" by movie studios, publishers, corporations, and any other endeavor by which people were able to make a living. The most involved, according to Joe McCarthy and Friends, were jailed or even deported for their "disloyalty" to the American Way. Some of America=s greatest writers and most accomplished thespians had careers and reputations ruined by having merely been associated on a social level by the taint of suspicion by this powerful and powerfully tyrannical committee.
The hearings themselves, which were carried on the radio as well as on the burgeoning television channels in order to serve as an example to discourage any budding "Communists" who were listening, were openly and arrogantly engaged in guilt by association. They were, in reality, a public morality play which inevitably led to an equally public "lynching". The questioning would go something like this:
"Mary Pitt, you have sworn to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. You are aware of that?"
"I have and I am."
"With those facts in mind, do you know a man named Rob Kall? Now, before you answer, you should know that we are aware that you have written articles and other comments which have been displayed on his web site, Op Ed News, to be read by any who care to read them?"
"I cannot profess to have known Mr. Kall, since I have never actually met him. I have, however, submitted written pieces to his site for publication."
"Then you admit to having openly associated with Mr Kall, knowing his attitude of animosity toward the duly-elected government of the United States? You are admitting that your political opinions are compatible with his? How about the rest of the flaming leftists whose writings appear on those pages?"
I will spare you the bloody end to this interrogation, which will surely put an end to my (unborn) writing career, and the collection of suspect telephone calls which may have been charted by the NSA and would prove that I have called, or been called by, all sorts of colorful but suspicious characters over the years, especially all those wrong numbers!
Its purpose is simply to provide a warning in order to stifle any urge to remove the government of the time and to restore democracy to our land, to let us know that they can "make the connections" between communicating citizens, to find out who talks to whom and, in the event that suspicion falls upon any one of us, to tie in the rest in a new orgy of "guilt by association". These violations of our right to privacy and our freedom from "unwarranted search and siezure" of our personal records has absolutely nothing to do with any potential danger from Al Qaida or any other foreign threats. They are merely meant to remind us that "Big Brother is watching" and we must "watch what we say and watch what we do" because if we're not with them, we're against them. They are not afraid of terrorists. They fear only that the American people will wake up and challenge their campaigns of disinformation and expose them for what they really are....liars, cheats, and cowards.
Joe McCarthy rides again!
The author is a very "with-it" old lady who aspires to bring a bit of truth, justice, and commom sense to a nation that has lost touch with its humanity in the search for societal "perfection".
It is amazing that the people who now are screeching about wire tapping and government invasion of privacy were the same people not so long ago who expected the government to confiscate privately own fire arms.
by
John wayne (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments)
on Friday, May 12, 2006 at 2:52:37 PM
Recent polls have shown the American public may not necessarily be in disagreement with the NSA collecting telephone and e-mail databanks. A few people on the Left are suggesting that pollsters are asking leading questions, and may be jumping the gun in conducting overnight polls.
They may be right. But think about it. The American workplace is already -- for all practical purposes -- a police state. One that demands people hand over their body fluids to secure employment. One that subjects employees to summary searches of their personal belongings, and monitoring of their phone calls and e-mails. Their "personal data" records can easily be cross-indexed against lists of supposed "labor agitators" who talk of unionization of their workplace. Mere contact with union organizers can subject people to immediate harrassment and eventual dismissal. Meanwhile, we have no choice when our employer forces us to sit through propaganda videos denigrating organized labor while praising American capitalism as if it came down with Moses from Mt. Sinai.
Any or all suspicious workplace safety activity by an employee can not only get him or her terminated, but blackballed. So can going to State or Federal agencies to report violaton of labor laws and similar wrongdoings. And -- more often than not -- employees are under frequent, if not constant, CCTV surveillance.
We must all like it or we'd have complained by now. Besides, we're the biggest supporters of unfettered capitalism in the world. If you own the workplace, we'll be happy to let you own us while we're on your property.
Americans have also submitted to the practices of consumer credit bureaus for decades. While one may obtain a record of one's "credit worthiness" -- questioning the crediting reporting system itself is out of bounds. One's credit past has become increasingly important as a prerequisite for hiring. We can only hope that employers are looking only for present or potential garnishees. Truth is, they really want to know what kind of person you are.
Health insurance companies can list you as having a "pre-existing condition" with little or no due process of law involved. Again, this is something that can affect one's ability to get hired.
And all this is just if you're a white male! There are databanks and biases built into the system to help employers weed out suspected racial or anti-sexual harrassment agitators. People with a long history of public assistance might have more trouble getting hired, and a longer climb up the ladder when they do.
But no great roar has gone up from the American public about monitoring the workplace in particular and the public as a whole. People continue to show up for work and go along to get along. Meanwhile, fear permeates every fabric in the workplace.
So what's a few more records in the hands of the wrong people? Very few people know that our telephone communication systems are already REQUIRED BY LAW to be wiretappable down to the last rural party line. Strangely, this advantage afforded to law enforcement did not prevent the 9/11 attacks, the OK City bombing, or the 1st WTC attack in 1993.
Having another database to mine and use by the "front line of anti-terrorism" won't even protect us from ourselves. It will, however, help protect the upper 5% of America from the other 95.
by
landisfarne2 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 10:41:40 AM
