 2kmaroThinkPremium,ExMod 1 BC
join:2000-07-11
ColossalCave | Denial the same as Admission: said by Kevin Martin :
"the classified nature of the NSA's activities makes us unable to investigate the alleged violations."
It would seem to me that that very statement says "yeah, they're doing it an we know they're doing it and since they are doing it, under the current set of (dumbass) laws, we can't investigate it". In other words, to me it is an admission that it is happening right under his nose and he's not blind to it.
I agree with Ed Markey's reply that to refuse to even try to investigate what would be a gross violation of privacy and unlawful search (and siezure) is tantamount to a gutless cave-in by Martin/FCC. If there's something going on that needs investigating - investigate it. If the White House or NSA says "you can't peek into anything we do - we'll do whatever we want and hide behind the curtain of 'matter of national security'" then it's time to re-evaluate the meaning of "matter of national security".
I for one don't think the wholesale gathering of information about a population as large and diversified as the AT&T customer list could possibly have valid definition as a matter of national security. Not unless all AT&T customers, or a majority of them, are suspected of terrorist activities, plotting to overthrow the government or commit an act of violence against the President. And while Bush's approval rating has come close to hitting rock bottom, I don't think it's come to that yet.
You know, even when fighting a widespread 'threat' such as organized crime, these kinds of measures are not permitted. I recall a case where the FBI obtained a warrant to place a 'bug' in an office to gather incriminating evidence during meetings of suspected organized crime members. When they found out that the meetings weren't being held in the particular room/office that they thought, they HAD TO GO BACK AND GET ANOTHER WARRANT to bug the correct room in the office complex! So how the hell does the NSA get away with bugging everyone without so much as a single warrant signed by a judge attesting to the existence of reasonable cause for such an invasion?
Maybe I'm nuts or totally misguided, but somehow I thought that I spent 20 years in the military to help protect this country from exactly this kind of thing. Must have been wrong. Can I have those 20 years back?
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...then THINK! again!! |
