This may have been diaried already but I haven't seen it so here goes...
The WH is trying to say that we should stop calling their 4th Amendment violation a "Domestic Spying Program" because it only involves international calls. They even put out a bulletin describing the difference between "domestic" and "international". Link
Outside of the obvious attempt to get away from a damaging and truthful label of "Domestic Spying" and move towards a fuzzier and deceptive name like "Terrorist Surveillance Program", I felt the need to address the examples they use. Please continue below...
Definitions from the page with my comments:
Domestic Commerce involves business within the United States. International Commerce involves business between the United States and other countries.
If I am a US company doing business with a company in Ireland, but I am using a third-party US distributor, my dealings with that third-party are covered by domestic laws.
Domestic Mail consists of letters and packages sent within the United States. International Mail consists of letters and packages sent to or from the United States.
That package that I send to my friend in Italy gets dropped off at the local post office. It has to make a few stops before it gets on a plane. I propose that this is domestic mail until it leaves the country.
Domestic Flights are flights from one American city to another. International Flights are flights to or from the United States.
If I book an international flight to Germany, I might have to fly from Buffalo to NYC before I go from NYC to Berlin. Buffalo to NYC is the domestic leg of the trip.
Domestic Calls are calls inside the United States. International Calls are calls either to or from the United States.
If I place a call to Russia from my home phone, this call gets routed through a few tellco switches here in the US before it gets beamed across the world. If someone in the US were to listen in on the phone call, that would make them a third-party to the conversation---they may be silent, but they would still be "on the line". I'm in my American house and another American can hear my conversation. DOMESTIC SPYING
Comments???