I’m exceptionally angry about the revelation today of the NSA program to buy 4.5 years of records from phone companies of every call — more than 200M American citizens. Just about as angry at our government as I’ve ever been. Over the past 5 or 6 years I’ve felt feelings that range the gamut from embarrassment to sadness to helplessness. Over the lies, dumb actions, venal activities, and just incredibly patronizing things that the executive branch (in particular, but not limited to) has done.
Now I’m just angry.
Today’s news means, to me, that personal privacy of American citizens and foreign residents has been systematically and cynically violated, even while the president says, with a straight face, that he protects our privacy rights. Such crap. Complete, obvious lying to the public in such a cynical way.
I read an awful lot of history, and I’m jaded enough to know that the behavior of the United States has never been perfect (and sometimes downright bad), but I’ve also read enough to know that this is a pretty special place, founded on a set of ideals that have been largely beneficial to the world. I believe in the Declaration, and the Constitution, and democracy, even at the large scale of representative democracy that we have here & now.
And so it’s made me sad & embarrassed to lose, as a nation, whatever stature we had in the world as a force for good.
I’ve been unhappy, but marginally willing to live with the restraints on personal freedoms given the world context today. While the Patriot Act is an abhorrent, knee-jerk reaction that mostly undermines the very liberties it’s trying to protect, it’s not so different in kind than Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus or Adams’ Alien and Sedition Acts. All regrettable, but fairly predictable reactions to threats (both perceived and real) to American security.
Today I feel like there’s a line that’s been crossed that puts us back into the days of J Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy. Wiretaps, phone logs, surveillance on citizens and residents who’ve done nothing wrong, on the chance that maybe you could discover wrongdoing.
That’s not an idea that America was founded on, or one that has ever served us well. It puts Americans on the opposite side from the Government, and that can’t sustain. Not here.
Of the people, by the people, for the people.
I’m not sure you can get there from here.
The EFF has a class action suit against AT&T; for complying with this and similar requests from the NSA:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/
The EFF has a class action suit against AT&T for complying with this and similar requests from the NSA:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/
I may be naive, but it seems obvious to me that given the nature of computer networks, that moving traffic over the largely open Internet was going to lead to something like this, eventually.
This seems worse than the plans under Clinton, although marginally so in my opinion. We’re just further along in understanding how to do this.
Talk Left covers this recently:
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/013486.html
Remember Gore’s infamous position on the requirement for a “third key” for all truly secure digital encryption?
Until there is legislation/amendment(s) to define what is privacy, and where the line is, I think there is absolutely no chance that government will not drastically increase its level of passive surveillance on people.
Look at how easily the UK has adapted to constant, video-monitoring of public areas? Exactly how long before facial recognition & video networks make this a complete map of not just who you talk to, but where you go, and when?
I may be naive, but it seems obvious to me that given the nature of computer networks, that moving traffic over the largely open Internet was going to lead to something like this, eventually.
This seems worse than the plans under Clinton, although marginally so in my opinion. We’re just further along in understanding how to do this.
Talk Left covers this recently:
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/013486.html
Remember Gore’s infamous position on the requirement for a “third key” for all truly secure digital encryption?
Until there is legislation/amendment(s) to define what is privacy, and where the line is, I think there is absolutely no chance that government will not drastically increase its level of passive surveillance on people.
Look at how easily the UK has adapted to constant, video-monitoring of public areas? Exactly how long before facial recognition & video networks make this a complete map of not just who you talk to, but where you go, and when?