This is Why We Don’t Believe Them
Whenever the issue of erosion of civil liberties comes up in conversation, someone will invariably pipe in with some line about how much improved our security as a nation is. “Look at how many terrorist attacks we have prevented!”
I have always had this feeling that most of the attacks that we have prevented are from morons that just want to blow something up, but have no knowledge or skills to do any real damage (see shoe-bomber, Ft Dix Pizza Guys, et al.). Or that they are essentially thought crimes that try to entrap people that might have some ax to grind (see shoulder-fired missile fiasco).
Now, through the power of the FOIA request, comes word that the FBI is willing to risk your safety in order to secure more extra-constitutional powers. An FBI agent had requested medical records through subpoena, but because headquarters wanted to have a strawman, they ordered the agent to return the records and re-request them via an illegal National Security Letter. Medical records are exempt from NSL request, so the University of North Carolina properly rejected the request.
Two weeks later, Mueller, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, portrayed the university as intransigent and said the incident showed the FBI needed the power to force the turnover of all sorts of records without having to involve the court system.
So, to sum up, the FBI was given records legally, returned them, re-requested them illegally, were rejected, re-re-requested the records legally, then portrayed the whole incident as evidence for why they needed broader powers. Disgusting.
Tags: Civil Rights, FOIA, Homeland Insecurity
where was this kind of action on behalf of the Telecoms…what a shame
It’s a dog and pony show, and the really sad thing is that most Americans buy a ticket.
Laws, schmaws, we don’t need no steenkin’ laws.
Pope speaking to Bush:
“What’s up with the torture thing?”
“Holy Dude, c’mon! They aren’t Christians!”
“Uh, I don’t think Jesus is big on torturing anyone.”
“Look who’s talking now. Inquisition slip your mind?”
“Hey! That was a long time ago!”
“Selling Jews to the Nazis during WWII?”
“Ok, Ok. Why don’t we meet today and describe each other as peace-loving, charitable, understanding all-around great guys?”
“Fine. We’ll go on torturing, and you can keep demanding that AIDs infested countries not use condoms, and we won’t say anything about all the evil shit we do.”
“God bless you.”
“Back atcha’.”
They have set up (and we have allowed them to do so) the calculus that in the name of greater security we should always be willing to accept fewer civil rights.
I want my civil rights back.
I am willing to live with the additional risk.
I don’t necessarily think my willingness to do so should drive public policy, but I think there should be public debate, a clear accountable decision being made, and then (oh say it ain’t so) an administration in power that actually respects the laws it doesn’t agree with.