Wednesday, June 12, 2013

WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT NSA/PRISM



Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!Ha! Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!



And, of course, that's just what he said about the program under George Bush...right? Is he now saying Bush was right about the practice and he was wrong? (For the record, I denounce any president of any ilk who taps phone calls without a justifiable warrant...but that's just me, I guess).

I am absolutely flabbergasted at what I am hearing from conservatives and libertarians concerning Snowden's revelations of the government having access to any and all phone, computer and other personal records at their will.

Regardless of his motives, how can we set ourselves up for such an egregious violation of our privacy in the name of safety? Did we not fight for the right to be free in spite of peril? Are we going to trust the federal government to keep us safe based on their past record? They may have the technical capabilities to do so, but they totally lack the organizational skills to get it done without destroying our personal liberties.

Given that, and the propensity for corruption in the federal government, why would we even think of allowing them to have access to our personal records?

For decades we have railed against the IRS for their intrusiveness. Now we are fine with the entire federal government intruding? I don't get it.

If I were the benevolent dictator of this country, I would shut down NSA, IRS, and any other governmental agency that had the resources and power to invade the privacy of its citizens.

When the federal government needs to find someone suspected of nefarious activity, let them set up a system of rapid access to warrants and do what needs to be done for that particular case. But to monitor my personal data, activities, interests and other private matters...no, thank you very much.

As they say in Italy: Keep-a yu hands off!  

As Hot Air puts it:

If you can’t trust government to follow the Constitution while spying, we’re going to have some problems

11 comments:

sue hanes said...

Joe - Wasn't there some spying going on during W's administration?

Joe said...

sh: Sure. What's that got to do with anything? Spying on citizens is wrong no matter who is doing it.

Darth Bacon said...

News Flash for Sue Zhsnrs!
George Bush hasn't been the president for almost 5 years!
Deal with that!

Dave Miller said...

Joe, you are certainly correct that spying on everyday, innocent Americans is wrong, no matter who is doing it.

Like you, I am not happy that our government is involved in this.

Politically though I find it curious that even liberals [congressmen and the ACLU to name a couple] are up in arms about this, as they were when it was revealed that the Bush Admin was engaging in warrantless wire taps.

That to me shows some consistency on the issue.

Those that stood by silently then have no right to be critical now. And those that were critical then, but are forgiving now, ala President Obama, are just as hypocritical.

sue hanes said...


Joe - How can the government spy on so many people. It doesn't seem possible.

Joe said...

DB: George Bush is responsible for all evil, hadn't you heard? Even now!

DM: For the record Bush's admin was wrong. So is this admin.

sh: Have you heard of technology? We now know they have the ability to monitor this comment. Is that scary?

Dave Miller said...

Joe... yes they were and yes they are...

But who said so then apart from Dem Feingold?

Joe said...

DM: Me.

Dave Miller said...

Then Joe, among conservatives, you stand out...

Xavier Onassis said...

The ACLU has filed suit and they have standing. They are a Verizon customer and they can make a case that they have been harmed. This could actually move forward and change things.

Joe said...

XO:"This could actually move forward and change things."

I hope so. In my mind, it is a poor exchange, liberty for safety. Liberty, by its nature, is not safe. They are mutually exclusive concepts.

As for the ACLU suit...my prediction: It will fail. The higher courts have a vested interest in the government being in control.

For years I have screamed: "The government is too powerful! The government is too powerful! The government is too powerful!"

It has been interpreted to mean: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

Well, a piece of the "fallen sky" has been revealed.

A lot of conservative talk show hosts supported the Patriot Act. It was a part of this slippery slope, and we are so far down it I'm not thinking we can get back up to the top.

They (hosts) are just as stubborn as liberals at this point and will never admit they were wrong.