With everybody’s eyeballs and earlobes focused on the economy and the election, the Justice Department pushed through rule changes that allow the FBI to go back to the bad old days of spying more aggressively on Americans. Civil libertarians and even some lawmakers are in an uproar. The Center for Investigative Reporting has a must-read report that explains why.
Center for Investigative Reporting:
Among the powers agents now have for an assessment:
• Conduct surveillance without an otherwise required court order.
• Obtain grand jury subpoenas for personal telephone and e-mail accounts.
• Recruit informants for feeding information about a group or person to the bureau.
• Examine records maintained by federal, state and local government agencies, which are typically not accessible to the public, like police databases profiling past criminal suspects.
In particular, the powers allow agents to “collect information relating to demonstration activities,” according to the guidelines, for the purpose of protecting “public health and safety” before a major event, like the party conventions that occurred in St. Paul and Denver. The bureau can gather intelligence to determine where political demonstrators are lodging during the event, how they’re traveling there, where demonstration activities are planned and how many people will attend, all without advanced proof that a national-security threat exists.
Read more
By nrobi, October 8, 2008 at 10:14 am Link to this comment
Is the fact that the FBI (Fat Boys Institute) is now spying on Americans the way it did in the 1960’s surprising? If it is to you, then you have truly been living in a cave.
Report thisThe FBI along with the NSA and “Dept. of Defense,” more
commonly called the Pentagon, or if true to form, the Dept. of War, has been spying on Americans since the beginning of the Bush Administration. Supplied with Memo’s of Understanding written by among others, John Yoo, the intelligence community has been spying on Americans for a very long time and if that does not floor you, they have been using citizens of the U.S. to do some of their spying for them, in the guise of TALON, a program, in which the average citizen can call a certain number on the phone and make a comment about activities that they deem dangerous or treasonous.
How’s that for fun? Do you really think that the HR 1955 passed because their is a threat of “homegrown terrorism?” No. NO. NO! This bill passed the House by a margin of 404-6, because the people in power, the political and social elite wanted to be able to clamp down on the average American, who, could with “force of logic,” change a law or a person’s thinking so that they disagreed with the prevailing way of thinking in the halls of power.
We are now seeing the dismantling of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, at an alarming and exceedingly faster rate than thought possible. The people of America should now beware of the “thought police,” and the “armed forces,” for the Posse Comitatus Act of 1897 has been, signing statemented away by the shrub.
All of these things combined have made for the ripe time of fascist and dictatorial power to be fulfilled by this government.
Do not be surprised if the election in November is canceled and martial law declared with no end in sight for the extraordinary powers act that will follow.
By noscetepsum_, October 8, 2008 at 8:18 am Link to this comment
This country is in a state of affairs much like humanity has faced in times long before any of these crackpots came along. But are they any different or unique, even if only in their flawed natures? It seems that,
“The danger of ancient liberty was that men, exclusively concerned with securing their share of social power, might attach too little value to individual rights and enjoyments. The danger of modern liberty is that, absorbed in the enjoyment of our private independence, and in the pursuit of our particular interests, we should surrender our right to share in political power too easily. The holders of authority are only too anxious to encourage us to do so. They are so ready to spare us all sort of troubles, except those of obeying and paying! They will say to us: what, in the end, is the aim of your efforts, the motive of your labours, the object of all your hopes? Is it not happiness? Well, leave this happiness to us and we shall give it to you. No, Sirs, we must not leave it to them. No matter how touching such a tender commitment may be, let us ask the authorities to keep within their limits. Let them confine themselves to being just. We shall assume the responsibility of being happy for ourselves.”
- Benjamin Constant
Report thisBy AT, October 8, 2008 at 8:12 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The FBI have followed Karl’s examples and done all that (everything mentioned by the Center For Investigating Report) So, what’s new?
Report thisBy Folktruther, October 8, 2008 at 8:04 am Link to this comment
The American people must understand that turning the FBI into a secret police is a BIPARTISAN effort, supported by both the Gops and Dems. By both Obama and McCain. The Dems support it primarily by silence, and refusing to recognize and oppose the imposition of a police state.
This is justified by the War against Terrorists. The American people must understand that WE are the Terrorists now, just as the Palestinians are in the occupied territories. The territory of the Amereican people has been occurpied by our own power system, the American power system being completely out of control of the American people.
This bipartisan police state is a new historical form and is disguised by liberal institutions devoid of actual people power. Nothing can be done effectively to stop it until the American people see through the lies, disguises and delusions and understand that they are being occupied by their own ruling class. Who characterize us as Terrorists.
Report thisBy purplewolf, October 8, 2008 at 7:35 am Link to this comment
Perhaps the FBI(F-cking Big Idiots) should be investigating all of those involved in this election process including the candidates. That is where the real problems lay.
Report thisBy jcbrap, October 8, 2008 at 5:42 am Link to this comment
Does anyone really believe the government hasn’t already been spying on Americans for years, regardless of what the law says they can and can’t do?
Bush and his minions have proved they care nothing for the “rule of law”. They just do whatever they want to, whenever they want to. And why not? They’ve gotten away with it at every step with NO ONE calling them out on it or doing anything about it. It’s no longer a representative Democracy at all, it’s King George’s plaything.
Report thisBy diamond, October 8, 2008 at 1:08 am Link to this comment
Why are you surprised? All this stuff about being able to spy on and arrest AMERICAN CITIZENS was in Patriot Act mark I. Those useless bastards, the Democrats in Congress, who you’re always bitching about, refused to vote for those provisions so they took them out. In between sending off those anthrax letters to Leahy and Daschle, of course. But the neo cons would not be denied and simply got some lackey to re-write their Guantanamo/terrorism laws to include just about everyone under the heading of enemy combatants. The neo cons are fascists and so are their friends in the Republican party. Didn’t you know that? Where have you been? The FBI are just as bad as the neo cons and they’re in all this ‘war on terror’ shit up to their necks. I wouldn’t trust the FBI as far as I could kick them in a stiff breeze.
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