Posted on 06/02/2015 11:32:09 AM PDT by Kaslin
Do I trust the federal government? Hell no. President Barack Obama's Department of Justice is happy to spend years investigating a foreign soccer organization for corruption and former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert for allegedly paying off a blackmailer -- but not the alleged blackmailer -- yet ignores big concerns. The feds have done next to nothing about the IRS targeting of conservative political groups, other than to defend IRS official Lois Lerner's creative use of the Fifth Amendment when she refused to answer questions from House investigators. And when Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked in 2013 whether the government was collecting data on millions of Americans, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said no. Shortly thereafter, Edward Snowden leaked information that showed Clapper had lied. The very fact that leaker Snowden had been given top security clearance made the intelligence community appear reckless and incompetent.
Still, I am among the majority of Americans who support the National Security Agency's bulk collection of data. I want the government to have the tools it needs to prevent another major terrorist attack. If that means giving the government access to bulk phone records without listening to the calls that's a bargain I can accept.
I also want the government to be able to monitor suspected "lone wolf" terrorists, as well as to listen in on suspicious calls -- even if the suspect changes phones or devices. Those two powers, along with bulk data collection, expired Sunday after the Senate failed to pass a House reform measure to keep parts of the Patriot Act alive.
"Tonight begins the process of ending bulk collection" by the government, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., proclaimed. Republican hawks accused Paul, a presidential candidate, of using the issue for fundraising. I think they're wrong; they fail to appreciate Paul's enthusiasm for the Bill of Rights and the Fourth Amendment. He dug in his heels on the issue even though a recent CNN poll shows that 73 percent of Republicans support government collection of bulk telephone records. He's willing to risk a political loss for primacy of principle.
President Obama did call on the Senate to end this "irresponsible lapse" by passing the House reform measure, but it's hard to shake the suspicion this was a back-burner issue for the administration.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid hit Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for not having "a plan." Actually, McConnell had a plan, but it failed. He wanted to extend the Patriot Act because of his concern that the reform measure, the USA Freedom Act, would not require telecom companies to hold on to data for more than 18 months. Now McConnell needs to get behind the best bill Congress can pass. Pronto.
McConnell, wags like to point out, endorsed Paul for president -- and this is how Paul repaid McConnell. The thing is that Paul is not the only Republican critic of government bulk data collection. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., author of the original Patriot Act, believes that the FBI overreached on surveillance. Now he is an author of the USA Freedom Act. It passed the House with a healthy bipartisan vote -- because a lot of people don't trust the government.
Spend the money on the border, rounding up the visa overstayers and keeping muzzies out.
Baaa!
The statists love to tell us how unpopular Paul's move is. I think they're desperate. They live in an echo chamber.
You said it
The author is wrong. You don’t fight terrorism by infringing on the liberty of your own people. You fight terrorism by killing the terrorists and anyone who aids, abets, comforts, or aligns with them. It is an unmistakable message. “Blow up something dear to the USA and expect death to come knocking at your or your friends’ or acquaintances doors. Indiscriminately.
Amen! Bump.
I agree you!!!
Exactly.
In Hitlers Germany, they wanted the tools to empound and gas the Jews because of “National Security”. They “needed the tool” .
“Need the tools” is absolutely no excuse to violate the Constitution by sweeping up the records of your communication without probable cause AND A WARRANT!!!! The Patriot Act written, by James Sensenbrenner did NOT EVEN ALLOW THAT according to James Sensenbrenner!! The second Highest Court in this land, the Second Circuit, ruled that what Snowden said was dead on and that the Government had NO AUTHORITY EVEN UNDER THE PATRIOT ACT to gather your records because you are not under a search warrant as absolutely required in the Constitution. So what are we doing in the House and Senate? Allowing the NSA to violate the 4th Amendment? STOP!!! GET A NAME ON AN AFFADAVIT AND TAKE IT TO A JUDGE FOR A WARRANT AND LEAVE US ALONE!!
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The House vote to restrict NSA accumulation of citizen’s digital information upholds human freedom. Supposedly, a legal safe haven resided in watching but not listening, and was like viewing an unopened envelope. However, with huge computer capabilities, people have good reason for discomfort.
Intelligence communities subject this metadata to powerful computer algorithms producing modern traffic analysis. For WW II Edwin Layton discussed this critical capability as follows in “And I Was There”.
“Even when the contents of an intercepted communication cannot be read by cryptanalysis, it can be made to yield important intelligence by means of a process called traffic analysis. This involves making deductions from an analysis of messages transmitted – on the basis of from whom each message was sent and to whom it is addressed…..Further radio direction finding can pinpoint the location of the transmission, and other factors such as a transmission’s length, its routing, and the volume of traffic can also yield important clues to the general nature and contents and precedence of the message.”
For one example, traffic analysis revealed Japan’s carriers were two thousand miles away when Nimitz ordered the first carrier raids on the Marshall and Gilbert Islands; raids ordered when the Japanese outnumbered the United States four to one in carriers.
What was achievable through a focused effort in early 1942, now allows limitless options for casual queries. The TV show “Person of Interest” provides a current example of utilizing this capability.
Of course, courts could still grant NSA permission, but requests must be focused.
NSA Surveillance: House Votes to End NSA Phone-Metadata Bulk Collection
http://www.latinpost.com/articles/53457/20150514/house-votes-to-end-nsa-phone-metadata-bulk-collection.htm
The storage capacity of the new NSA center in Utah has enough capacity to hold 100 years of EVERYTHING. All communications on the earth with content.
Why build that capacity?
The patriot act II is just more of the same. Amazing isn’t it how quickly a senate “divided” by “partisan bickering” can pass a bill to make sure we’re still spied on.
interesting. NSA now can’t collect the data. that is a great victory. But the general warrant access to telephone company records is patently unconstitutional and will be soon addressed because we all have standing to this search without probable cause. What amazes me is the republicans that support this constitutional violation. All excpt Lee And ,of course Paul. 80% of those under 40 years old wanted this stopped. I will be watching the polls on Paul. You know the establishment wanted “winner take all” but never anticipated 21 candidates and it could backfire real bad on them as I think 12% will win and get all the state delegates in a “winner take all” state. That could be interesting. Thanks for your post.
Franklin, however, did not live in a post-9/11 world.
Franklin's world was without existence of any concept of terrible weapons of mass destruction including weapons of not just small pox but weaponized small pox, Ebola, diphtheria, and an infinite number of other weaponized and mass-killing biological weapons concocted, and constantly being concocted, in laboratories created by crazed tyrants, fanatics of the worst order, and those who just hate and want to kill—kill all if possible—the inhabitants of America and at least much of the rest of the civilized world.
A big door closed on 9/11.
It was the door to a world we all knew, were safe in, and loved. The door will never open again.
If anyone doesn't think so, let them, for instance, go directly to their aircraft the next time at the airport. Don't show ID—that's an infringement of your liberty and the ID could be used by somebody or something to spy on you. Wave the Security folks a copy of Ben's words as you leap the fence—for the last time.
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