In Difficult Times Good People gravitate towards Absolute Truth
Remember what we told you about the NDAA?
Publisher's note: This anti-NDAA article first appeared in the Beaufort Observer a few weeks ago, with appropriate updates. Its sequel will be published tomorrow, March 25, 2012.
Read this and tell us we have nothing to fear
We recently published an article about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It stirred up a ruckus, all the way to Sen. Richard Burr's office. Our contention was that several provisions in the NDAA are unconstitutional. We contended that the sections 1021, 1022 and 1031 provided for the indefinite detention of American citizens without benefit of a judicial hearing (Habeas corpus) and other constitutional rights.
Sen. Burr's office responded to a query from us about why he voted for the NDAA by saying that the sections did not apply to American citizens and would be applicable only to terrorists associated with Al Qaeda.
The problem we had with that position was that if it were true then those sections should have been pulled out of the omnibus appropriation authorizations bill and debated on their own merit. Attempts to clarify the wording that would have guaranteed what Sen. Burr's staff said were defeated.
In short we viewed, and still do, the NDAA as an extension of the most objectionable elements of the Patriot Act which was passed shortly after 9-11. We have watched the gradual expansion of the original intent of the Patriot Act and see the NDAA as a continuation of that erosion of our constitutional rights as Americans.
We've taken some flak from some who argue that terrorists do not deserve constitutional protections. We agree with that.
But the problem is defining what a terrorist is, in contrast with American citizens who are not involved in terrorist activities. The problem is the old "camel's nose under the tent" problem. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. To be confident that "fighting terrorism" is not used as a subterfuge to violate American citizen's right requires us to trust that the terrorist fighters will not violate American's rights.
Now we have yet another example of why we don't trust our government to honor our constitution and the rights it guarantees all American citizens.
Myway.com last week published an article by Eileen Sullivan that described how the National Counterterrorism Center announced that it is changing its policy of storing information that it collects on law-abiding American citizens without search warrants.
So what's the big deal you may ask. It is the creeping expansion of government violation of our constitutional rights. Here's how.
The Fourth Amendment provides that the government must obtain a search warrant to eavesdrop on Americans. To get the search warrant the law enforcement official must get a search warrant from a judicial official and to do that they must show probable cause to believe the target has or is committing a crime.
But shortly after 9-11 the law was changed to allow the government to eaves drop on millions of Americans who have never done anything to cause anyone to believe they are engaged in terrorist activity. The compromise that was worked out was that the government would collect the information but if it then failed to find evidence that someone was engaged in a terrorist threat the information would be destroyed, typically within a matter of 90 days or so.
Now they have decided they will keep the information for up to five years.
What kind of information? Virtually all kinds of electronic communications, such as emails, phone conversations, phone records (incoming and outgoing phone call records, and the GPS location of your cell phone) and even what websites we visit as well as what we post on social networking sites such as Facebook.
Then we learned last week that many new TV sets will cameras in them, much like webcams on PC, that will have the capability of transmitting what the camera sees back to some computer somewhere, with the video being capable of being intercepted in the network. And as we have previously published, the "smart meters" some electric companies are installing will create networks capable of being monitored by the government. And no doubt, more sophisticated, and thus more intrusive, gadgets are already in the pipeline that will allow us to be spied upon.
Trust the spies that they will never abuse these powers? Nope. Not going to happen with us. We would rather take our chances with the terrorists.
Go Back
Read this and tell us we have nothing to fear
We recently published an article about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It stirred up a ruckus, all the way to Sen. Richard Burr's office. Our contention was that several provisions in the NDAA are unconstitutional. We contended that the sections 1021, 1022 and 1031 provided for the indefinite detention of American citizens without benefit of a judicial hearing (Habeas corpus) and other constitutional rights.
Sen. Burr's office responded to a query from us about why he voted for the NDAA by saying that the sections did not apply to American citizens and would be applicable only to terrorists associated with Al Qaeda.
The problem we had with that position was that if it were true then those sections should have been pulled out of the omnibus appropriation authorizations bill and debated on their own merit. Attempts to clarify the wording that would have guaranteed what Sen. Burr's staff said were defeated.
In short we viewed, and still do, the NDAA as an extension of the most objectionable elements of the Patriot Act which was passed shortly after 9-11. We have watched the gradual expansion of the original intent of the Patriot Act and see the NDAA as a continuation of that erosion of our constitutional rights as Americans.
We've taken some flak from some who argue that terrorists do not deserve constitutional protections. We agree with that.
But the problem is defining what a terrorist is, in contrast with American citizens who are not involved in terrorist activities. The problem is the old "camel's nose under the tent" problem. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. To be confident that "fighting terrorism" is not used as a subterfuge to violate American citizen's right requires us to trust that the terrorist fighters will not violate American's rights.
Now we have yet another example of why we don't trust our government to honor our constitution and the rights it guarantees all American citizens.
Myway.com last week published an article by Eileen Sullivan that described how the National Counterterrorism Center announced that it is changing its policy of storing information that it collects on law-abiding American citizens without search warrants.
So what's the big deal you may ask. It is the creeping expansion of government violation of our constitutional rights. Here's how.
The Fourth Amendment provides that the government must obtain a search warrant to eavesdrop on Americans. To get the search warrant the law enforcement official must get a search warrant from a judicial official and to do that they must show probable cause to believe the target has or is committing a crime.
But shortly after 9-11 the law was changed to allow the government to eaves drop on millions of Americans who have never done anything to cause anyone to believe they are engaged in terrorist activity. The compromise that was worked out was that the government would collect the information but if it then failed to find evidence that someone was engaged in a terrorist threat the information would be destroyed, typically within a matter of 90 days or so.
Now they have decided they will keep the information for up to five years.
What kind of information? Virtually all kinds of electronic communications, such as emails, phone conversations, phone records (incoming and outgoing phone call records, and the GPS location of your cell phone) and even what websites we visit as well as what we post on social networking sites such as Facebook.
Then we learned last week that many new TV sets will cameras in them, much like webcams on PC, that will have the capability of transmitting what the camera sees back to some computer somewhere, with the video being capable of being intercepted in the network. And as we have previously published, the "smart meters" some electric companies are installing will create networks capable of being monitored by the government. And no doubt, more sophisticated, and thus more intrusive, gadgets are already in the pipeline that will allow us to be spied upon.
Trust the spies that they will never abuse these powers? Nope. Not going to happen with us. We would rather take our chances with the terrorists.
| Beaufort County Commissioners Fail to Supervise - Part I | Editorials, Beaufort Observer, Op-Ed & Politics | Put your money where your mouth is, Mr. President |
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