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Congress Holds Sensory-Deprived SessionPosted on Mar 14, 2008
At the request of House Republicans, Congress on Thursday held a closed-door session to debate the FISA warrantless eavesdropping bill. The last time a closed-door session occurred was in 1983, when lawmakers convened in secret to discuss U.S. clandestine support of Contra paramilitaries in Nicaragua.
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By DennisD, March 15 at 7:30 am # Out of sight, out of mindWhat’s new, all the real deal making and gutting of the constitution is done in the back rooms by our “elected” corporate officials like cockroaches afraid of the light.
By Jim Yell, March 15 at 5:19 am # if they can use for blackmail they willThe problem with the government collecting untargeted information is a huge amount of personal converstation is collected and with computers they can search for targeted words and use the information found to control people for personal and political reasons. It doesn’t matter how much they protest they are only trying to find information for specific purpose of security, this kind of collected information, untargeted will allow those with access to do any kind of search they want for any reason. To gain advantage over opposition, to manipulate people for their own personal reasons, to protect power grabs that is not in interest of the country as a whole. There is a reason that spying is only supposed to be allowed for targeted reasons. History shows a breakdown in law and order when the powerful spy for no real need except their wish to control. Bush/Cheney should have been removed from office a long time ago, along with all their appointees that have worked against the wishes of the people and the letter of the law.
By Ashley, March 14 at 1:42 pm # I honestly believe that this bill and the controversy surrounding it is ridiculous. Every American has a right to privacy, regardless of what you’re talking about on the phone. Period. Not every single person’s conversations are a threat to national security, and at the end of the day what kind of country do we live in now where we suspect anyone and everyone of conspiracy, thus we shouldn’t treat the entire population like they pose a threat. If we want to be simple about it, this entire issue could be treated similarly to the rights protected under the 4th Amendment with searches and seizures. There should have to be probable cause for communication to be intercepted and reviewed, and then none of this mess would matter. Sure, for most of the innocent public this will never be an issue because they typically aren’t discussing anything worth hearing, and the innocent thus have nothing to fear. However, the key should lie in the procedure taken to obtain these types of information and reviewing what should be private communication. People do have an expectation of privacy, and I guess now they are foolish to believe it actually might exist. A bill like this could just clarify once and for all the standards to ensure fair proceedings, and I don’t think that would be a bad thing at all...but obviously we can’t say that it will happen… Add Your Comment |
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