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| Not to Catch Regular Crooks or Perverts I know I am going to get blasted as a liberal, but everytime the police are given more powers they abuse it and then wrap themselves up in the flag or 911. When the Patriot Act was passed, they spoke of needing the special powers to go after terrorists and poo-pooed (spo?) those who said that they would use the powers for other things. Two years later, then Attorney General John Aschcroft said that drug dealers were terrorists and that they would be negligent if they hadn't used the powers to go after them.
In the 1950s and 1960s, government maintained all these illegal files on law abiding citizens whom the government thought had subversive tendencies. When you know what hit the fan, a number of settlements were signed we were told this wouldn't happen. Who out there seriously thinks it isn't right now? Look at how the Government is trying to through its blanket of immunity over ATT and Verizon who may well have permitted the wholesale warrantless eavsdropping on their clients.
Seperation of government functions as meant for a reason and making too easy for government to snoop on us, means that they will snoop on us for purposes beyond those which they state. If the public library has to maintain a roster of who registers online, what about the student who visits politically unpopular sites. We should have the right to read these viewpoints and our first amendment rights should not be chilled in this fashion.
The late Justice Felix Frankfurter in a case called Screws v United States reminded us that we should not presume the good faith of the police or law enforcement. Evil people get power and misuse it. Think back to the Red Scars of the 1950s and the number of lives that were ruined by the FBI and McCarthy.
If we are going to take extrordinary measures to seek out members of terrorists cells, that is one thing, but when I see this power used to go after garden variety crimes, no way. | |
 calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA | Why the Post ran this story.... While I'm not as liberal as stufried, there are many excellent points in his post.
What's interesting here is that the Washington Post, a "liberal" newspaper, is the one "stirring the pot" over this anonymity. The motive isn't true "liberalism", it's maintaining the power base of the nation's current "liberal elite"--a group that used to be defined by those regular dinner guests of Katherine Graham, Publisher of the Post before she died. (The current publisher is her son.)
This story is typical of the mainline press lashing out against the Internet. Having seen their obscene profits from advertising, particularly classified advertising, disappear because of better and cheaper Internet competition, the press attacks in any way possible.
Stories like this remind me of reading how stable owners tried to scare people into outlawing automobiles, screaming that "they scare horses and kill people!"
What's at the heart of the press's motive is not just the money, but what traditional journalists consider their God-given right to "filter" and "shape" the news--a power base that is shifting from the press to the Internet, and also from the powerful few to the Internet-empowered many. The Post's classified readership has shifted to craigslist and the like, and Telephony's readership has shifted to BBR. At least Telephony has the good grace not to attack the Internet gratuitously.
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! | | |
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