NSA: Now Spying on Americans
An article in USA Today this morning is reigniting the smoldering debate over the Bush administration's extensive (and outrageous) domestic surveillance programs:
September 11th has, is, and continues to be used as an excuse to launch massive spying programs - not on terrorists or enemies abroad, but on us - American citizens. The Bush administration's abuse of power is unacceptable and intolerable.
In an attempt to respond to the newly ignited uproar, Dubya today declared:
The NSA, as Rep. Ed Markey put it, stands today for Now Spying on Americans. It's an outrage, but it's true.
The public needs to know that while Democrats remain in the minority, there will be no investigations, no hearings, no oversight, and no accountability in the wake of relevations like this. It is imperative that we take back Congress and start putting an end to these assaults on our civil liberties.
If you'd like to demand answers from your phone company about the illegal giveaway of your private records, here are links to do so:
AT&T | Verizon | BellSouth
UPDATE: The Northwest's own mcjoan, who for many months now has been a front page contributor to Daily Kos, is in this morning's P-I article about the blogosphere's reaction to the latest NSA relevation:
The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.(Image courtesy of the Electronic Frontier Foundation)
The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime.
"It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added.
For the customers of these companies, it means that the government has detailed records of calls they made — across town or across the country — to family members, co-workers, business contacts and others.
September 11th has, is, and continues to be used as an excuse to launch massive spying programs - not on terrorists or enemies abroad, but on us - American citizens. The Bush administration's abuse of power is unacceptable and intolerable.
In an attempt to respond to the newly ignited uproar, Dubya today declared:
The government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval. We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans.Uh huh. So we should just shut up and "trust the President" like Dave Reichert does? Hell no. We know where this is going. Hunter of Daily Kos asks:
Am I right in assuming that, if we looked, we could find administration officials and right-wing pundits vowing up and down at each stage that the next stage was a complete impossibility, a mere fabrication of paranoid minds?Wingnuts may defend Dubya, but Congress has increasingly had enough. Congressional Democrats are outraged and demanding answers, while Republicans are skittish and busy attempting to distance themselves from the administration.
And what will be the next revelation that we're told, by the exact same government sources and partisan hacks that assured us none of what we now know to be happening was happening?
The NSA, as Rep. Ed Markey put it, stands today for Now Spying on Americans. It's an outrage, but it's true.
The public needs to know that while Democrats remain in the minority, there will be no investigations, no hearings, no oversight, and no accountability in the wake of relevations like this. It is imperative that we take back Congress and start putting an end to these assaults on our civil liberties.
If you'd like to demand answers from your phone company about the illegal giveaway of your private records, here are links to do so:
AT&T | Verizon | BellSouth
UPDATE: The Northwest's own mcjoan, who for many months now has been a front page contributor to Daily Kos, is in this morning's P-I article about the blogosphere's reaction to the latest NSA relevation:
Wrote mcjoan on the popular liberal blog Daily Kos:That's a nice quote, too.
"Does anybody really believe that they are just tracking all of our phone calls for the hell of it, and not listening to them? Tell me another one."