I have decried in this space before the new disrespect for the citizenry displayed by the US government. The need to tap the phones of our own citizens in order to protect them, echoes the arguments of tyrants down the ages. The government knows better how to protect you. Trust the government. If you’re not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. Would you rather be safe, or free? I find the casualness in which we ignore the law (a specific 1978 law that says even the president, wartime or not, needs to show that he’s not spying on innocent people, and that the subjects are in fact foreign agents) disheartening. This extends not just from the administration’s position but the corporations tat aided in the wiretappig as well.
However I was given new hope by our presidential candidates. Both John McCain and Barack Obama stood for liberty. Obama was the more vitriolic in his rhetoric, raging against the illegal wiretaps. McCain simply stated the reasonable fact that the President must obey the law. Now they both have changed their minds
Senator Obama has decided to vote for a Senate bill that expands the somewhat dictatorial power of the monarch we still call President. He explained that it is a compromise. That before this bill the President had no oversight and at least this bill delivers some. However, the President was not following the law before, why should we expect future presidents to follow the law either? We have effectively said the President can do as he sees fit, and we’ll patch up the law afterwards to fit the actions.
Senator McCain has also expressed support for the bill. His campaign has feverishly explained that while McCain said the President must always follow the law, that was not meant to imply the current President had broken it. While not as big of an about-face as Obama this still comes off as back-sliding.
Whether Obama or McCain takes office in January either will be able to spy on any foreign transmission he wants for whatever reason he wants with only a yearly bulk judicial review for oversight. Any spurious wiretapping can be easily hidden int hat kind of system. If the President wants to tap the NRAs or the ACLUs calls overseas, he’ll be able to and nobody can stop him.
I would plead with our Congress to change their minds, and I do. But I feel its useless. The same bull-mindedness that led us into Iraq is now leading us into the foothills of tyranny. So instead I beg the citizens to speak out. If you value your liberty, speak out. If you prefer the safety of a dictator to protect you from your enemies, stay quiet. This is a ral choice that is actually happening right now.
July 6th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
It’s a sad day for liberty. Unfortunately, it probably cannot be stopped at this point. Time to break out the encryption.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Enjoyed your discourse, Tom. It was very profound and truly comes down to your question, ‘would you rather be safe, or free?’ The general will of the American public would likely prefer to be safe believing that being in such a state would evolve to personal freedom. Even with a progressive and influential democratic candidate such as Barack Obama, I don’t think he represents or can strongly stand on the foundations of the U.S. Constitution or Bill of Rights. I believe only a leader whose values, political philosophy, and foresight built upon the tenets of these fundamental documents could truly succeed as U.S. president.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
First let me begin by saying I really enjoyed your post on wiretapping, it was very insightful to both presidential candidates change in policy. Honestly in this new digital era I find it hard to believe that the villains of the world are not using some arterial form of communication for example skype or email. With skype all of the voice data is encrypted and passed around computers using p2p technology. The Government needs to stay up to date with new communication devices. I think if a criminal needed to organize a plan with other colleagues he would be smart enough to not do so over the telephone. I say just let the Government do what they need to do in order to keep everyone safe, sooner or later the Government will pack up their bags and discontinue wiretapping once they see that no terrorist communication is taking place and who knows maybe they might actually find and eliminate a terrorist scheme.
August 15th, 2008 at 9:10 am
“If the President wants to tap the NRAs or the ACLUs calls overseas, he’ll be able to and nobody can stop him.”
I can remember all the rhetoric in 2004 about how Bush was going to restart the draft to support the war in Iraq and how America would be under marshal law after the election. Yet none of it happened. Maybe you need to fear-monger less. Tool.