copyright paul kane 2007 all rights reserved
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It's something to ponder: both the President and the Vice President insist that who consults with them as they make the decisions that affect all of us, is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS!
http://www.azstarnet.com/...
Now THAT alone is pretty startling, isn't it? But here's the kicker:
everything you or I say or do, IS potentially the President's and Vice President's business!!
Jason Leopold (yes, I know, grain of salt) says this was already the case via the NSA before 911.
http://www.zmag.org/...
Since 911, warrantless NSA domestic surviellance has been openly acknowledged by the White House, and described as "limited", which - as William Blum suggests - can probably be taken to mean something closer to "unlimited".
http://www.zmag.org/...
This is the NYT article initially exposing some of the administration's warrantless domestic spying:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
That very article was delayed by the NYT until AFTER the 2004 election, as if the public didn't have a right to know about it, EVEN AS THEY WERE FORMALLY EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE of the President!! I mean, if there's a time to know what the President is up to, it's when you are deciding whether or not to keep him or her as President, right? Well, not according to the NYT. According to the NYT and the Administration, that is the time we citizens are most especially not allowed to know what the hell is going on in our names.
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The amount of domestic spying going on, by different organizations in the federal government, and the various initiatives that have gone forward or are going forward to expand that spying, are dizzying. I can't pretend for a moment to comprehend it all. Here's one article that takes a stab at it:
http://www.wsws.org/...
(Yeah, I know, it's a socialist website. Take what it says with salt. Like you would anything else.)
But, anyway, when WE try to find out what Big Brother is up to, it always seems to be a secret. The above WSWS article gives an example of this:
On the same day that the intelligence bill passed the House, the government filed a motion in a federal court in San Francisco to dismiss a lawsuit brought against AT&T by the Electronic Frontier Foundation...charging it with collaborating with the NSA in violating the privacy of its customers by giving the government access to emails and other communications.
...The government, which is not named in the suit, has appealed for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that it could reveal state secrets. William Weaver, a law professor and senior advisor to the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, told Wired News that the government’s intervention will almost certainly end the EFF case and ensure that any documents in the case remain sealed. “There has never been an unsuccessful invocation of the state secrets privilege when national security is involved,” he said. “The suit is over.”
The irony of that is precious, isn't it? On the very day that the House of Representatives votes to give the White House greatly expanded authority to spy domestically, the White House moves in court to deny the People information about its spying. "We have our secrets," the White House seems to be telling us, "YOU DO NOT!"
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Of course, we all know what the answer is to anyone concerned over domestic surveillance:
"I'm not worried about Big Brother!"
copyright paul kane 2007 all rights reserved
"I have nothing to hide."
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