Mike McConnell is an old friend to the major telecom companies, having most recently stumped on their behalf to grant them retroactive immunity from prosecution in the NSA’s illegal surveillance program. He’s also a big fan of privatizing national security functions, favoring everything from outsourcing background checks to enlisting credit bureaus to handle the work of verifying identities. I find it not at all unfeasible that even as AT&T is offering its services to Big Content, Big Government is waiting expectantly in the visitors’ room for its turn at the till.
There are no coincidences. LINK
Make no mistake, this is the directive that will give S 1959 its teeth. If they make it retroactive, think about the many emails we have written, sometimes blowing-off steam, all the time critical of those attempting to steal our most basic liberties. How much can you say on the Internet or in private communication with family or friends until you’re branded as a dissident and find yourself guilty of a “thought crime?” Why is the government becoming so aloof from the people that they trample on our most basic rights of privacy, evidently attempting to sneak it through as quietly as possible.
We already live in a society where the FBI or other law enforcement agencies (sic) can break into your home while you’re away, search your home, and then plant surveillance devices as they leave. If their search and subsequent surveillance draw a blank, the “suspect” is never told of the incident. The governments request to have access to all of our computer communications is an intrusion into the very essence of privacy. We believe that our home is our castle, that mail used to be private, and now the privacy of the Internet is being assaulted and the average American is being treated as a suspect, guilty until proven innocent, and no one knows exactly what will be the deciding factor in declaring whether an individual is a “dissident.”
If the government has complete control of the Internet and could access all communications, think of the Congress, attorneys, investigative (sic) reporters, groups that actively protest the government, opposition parties, whether they be Democrat, Republican, or Independent, and the many entities “Big Brother” would like to peek into and search for anything they can claim is anti-government. How will Americans communicate on a mass scale as we do now attempting to fight elements that seek to steal our freedoms, knowing that when we do, everything we write is cataloged and filed to be used against us at a later date? As it stands now, the legality of the current program is in question, therefore, unless it’s terrorism related, is information that has been gathered illegally. We know they are reading and watching now, but this “vast new initiative”, if implemented, would then make that information legally obtained (IMO), thereby circumventing almost all of the criminal law we have on the books in regard illegal search and seizure, the right against self-incrimination would disappear, and Miranda would become meaningless. The very nature of the program is one of surveillance and intimidation, followed by an eventual removal of dissidents who were posing a “credible threat” against the government (sic).
This “vast new initiative to police Internet traffic” is presented in such broad terms that it defies common sense and logic. The imposition of a program this draconian has the potential to turn neighbor against neighbor. We were suspicious and contacted Congress and the media by the thousands or hundreds of thousands demanding an answer as to why HR1955 and S 1959 were needed and written in such broad language, a list of other questions, and why we needed this law when it is obvious we have an abundance of laws currently in force that effectively address violent behavior or any such conspiracy to plan or attempt to destabilize our country . As the Bill is written, it could be interpreted any way they choose, and in circumstances like that, it’s always the people who lose. To the best of my knowledge and belief, There’s A Press Blackout on S 1959, the Thought Crime Prevention Bill; Why? Even though HR1955 and S 1959 are of great concern to the public, all we received for our efforts was a statement issued by the House of Representatives that was double-speak and avoided the primary issues as if they were the Black Plague.
Senate Bill S 1959 is still in committee, and now this “vast new initiative to police Internet traffic” is introduced out of thin air, and to anyone looking closely, this “initiative” is an intricate piece of the heart and soul of the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007.” The “Thought Crime Prevention Bill” is the framework to implement and create the program, and this directive is obviously one of many tools to monitor and sort through the nations email and other communications. None of us are exactly sure “what” it is they will be searching for, however, it’s obvious that Bush and Cheney are violating the last vestiges of privacy we have, effectively treating our entire population as suspects instead of respecting our most fundamental rights of privacy and due process of the law.
This directive, initiative, or whatever it is must not be allowed to go into effect, or remain in effect if it’s currently in operation. This wanton invasion of privacy is hurled at us with absolutely no probable cause, and the number of constitutional amendments and criminals laws, state and federal, which it violates is staggering. With a directive in place that allows the government unfettered access to all of our personal computer transmissions, it would be an incredible stretch to keep labeling the United States as a democracy. Once we are stripped of those rights that afford us privacy and the expectation that our lives will be free from invasive and illegal searches, when Habeas Corpus is suspended for anyone that is designated as an “enemy combatant, the very essence of democracy disappears!
This directive, which could already be in operation, exemplifies our initial fears in regard the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. Whereas S 1959 loosely defines the concept of “Thought Crimes” and potential threats against the government, this is an enabling act that will provide the detailed information which Homeland Security would likely rely upon to determine who it was that were actually guilty of these (sic) crimes. From past experience, we know the FBI has investigated peaceful protest groups and a host of others whose only “crime” was belonging to, or having ties to organizations that vigorously oppose our loss of liberty and the failure of the Bush administration to comply with the rule of law; thousands have been added to “terrorist watch lists” by virtue of their peaceful disagreement with the government:
President Bush called upon every agency of government to provide his administration with the names of every so-called person of concern contained in their millions of files. Those records included not just potential terrorists, but also deadbeat dads, people wanted by the federal Marshal, and Drug Enforcement Administration suspects, among others. But they all found themselves on what has come to be called the “terrorist watch list.” By June 2004, that list had swelled to 158,000 names. In May of this year, it clocked in at 755,000. Today, only five months later, it’s at 860,000 and counting, according to the Government Accountability Office. LINK
The above figures were posted on November 1, 2007. Based on how fast this list has been growing I believe we can safely project the total is well over a million and still growing. How does a “dead-beat Dad” qualify in anyone’s reality of having committed a crime or act so horrendous that it merits inclusion on the “terrorist watch list? ” It also states “Drug Enforcement Administration suspects“. If they are only suspects and included on this list, when the round-up occurs there’s little-doubt that “suspect” will equate to being guilty. We need a better break-down of what type of individuals are on this list. When you note people as innocuous as “dead-beat Dads” being added to this list, we have to question if this “terrorist Watch List” is nothing more than a list of undesirables this administration would like to - or has plans to purge from our society.
For those who have diligently been participating in the fight against HR1955/S 1959, a companion measure has shown its ugly head that provides the real teeth for S 1959; it’s important to note that many parts of this program are being kept secret from members of Congress, and that doesn’t bode well for the American people:
Part of the lawmakers’ ire, they have said, is the paltry information the administration has provided. The cyberspace security initiative was first reported in September by The Baltimore Sun, and some congressional aides say that lawmakers have still learned more from the media than they did from the few Top Secret briefings they have received hours before the administration requested money in November to jump start the program.
Americans are again being saddled by an illegal wiretapping program, however this one is exceptionally bold, violates countless issues of privacy, due process, and essentially makes everyone in America a “suspect.” No information that we process through the Internet will be “private” or exempt from the governments prying eyes. This is an unconscionable attack against the basic privacy that every American is guaranteed under our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Monitoring America’s email and private computer communications is the epitome of a “police state”; the “National ID Card” was just approved, all of which are tools to track, monitor, and catalog us for whatever awaits those who are on the “Terrorist Watch List” or other lists that DHS has or will be compiling in the future. Based on the scant information that has been released, there doesn’t appear to be any “exemptions” and at first glance, it looks like our children’s communications will be monitored as well!
Is this program already operational? In the below press release, it states:
The cyberspace security initiative was first reported in September by The Baltimore Sun, and some congressional aides say that lawmakers have still learned more from the media than they did from the few Top Secret briefings they have received hours before the administration requested money in November to jump start the program.
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