Immunity for telecommunications companies who illegally assisted the Bush Administration in collecting data on US citizens has passed the US Senate.

Senator Obama voted to uphold the law and deny immunity for unscrupulous corporations.

Senator Clinton did not believe that our civil rights, or the standing law of the land was worth the trouble of voting.

In a previous post I described my attempt to share my concerns with a fellow Maine Democratic Party member about Hillary Clinton's stance - or lack thereof - on the issue of warrantless wiretaps.

We know telecommunications companies have been illegally forwarding records of our phone calls, emails, and web traffic to government agencies without judicial oversight. We do not know where this information is stored, how long it will be stored for, or who has access to it. Unfortunately, our government has a very poor record of safeguarding our personal data. Ask a veteran. Won't someone please get me off the AARP mailing list?

So, I'd like to say I told you so to the little old lady in the red hat. We have Senator Clinton to thank - at least in part - for what may happen should our identities and personal information be stolen, sold, leaked, or lost from this corporate-government information sharing database. I wish you the best of luck reclaiming your identity, repairing your credit, getting off a no-fly list, or re-entering the country after a holiday abroad unmolested by over-zealous border security agents.

Cheers!

Labels: 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, tia, warrantless wiretaps

Senators Biden and Feingold will join Chris Dodd in opposing legislation which grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications corporations for their role in illegally collecting data on American citizens. Meanwhile President Bush, devoted his Saturday morning radio address to the important topic of fishing(mp3). I shit you not.

Now I'm not going to knock federal protections for stripped bass and red drum populations. I mean, I for one can think of no better sphere in which to exert the power and authority of the Oval Office in a time of war. It's not as if your Administration illegally conspired with telecommunications companies to acquire telephone, email, and web traffic data pertaining to every American citizen to include members of Congress, the judiciary, and officials of state and local governments. And hell, even if you did authorize such activity, I'm sure that that information isn't being abused, lost, or sold to the highest bidder or anything. That'd just be silly.

Please, sir. Please tell me you're not really going fishing.

Labels: fisa, George W. Bush, patriot act, tia, warrantless wiretaps

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001 the US intelligence community acted with broad support from the Bush Administration to collect data on virtually every email, phone call, and web visit originating or terminating within the borders of the United States of America.

To this end, clandestine intelligence gathering operations are conducted against the citizens of the United States. Facilities and equipment were permanently placed to collect this data without warrants from a secret intelligence court as mandated by the 1978 Foreign Service Intelligence Act. However, in most cases, telecom companies voluntarily aided data collection on their own clients without proof or accusation of wrong-doing. Qwest Communications was the only company to deny these requests. (The CEO of Qwest is currently on trial for insider trading, and maintains that his dealings were influenced by intelligence community meddling.)

As news of these operations were leaked to the media by telecom whistle blowers, calls to revise FISA grew. The argument was that the 1978 law was out of date, and incapable of providing the intelligence community with the tools necessary to protect national security in the Internet age.

A bill sponsored by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) seeks to reform FISA, but has an added provision supported by the Bush Administration which would grant retroactive immunity to telecom companies that helped the government illegally spy on Americans. President Bush has stated that he will veto any national surveillance bill that does not contain such provisions.

However, “because bills are supposed to have unanimous consent in the Senate before going forward...One Senator can make it very difficult to bring a bill to the floor by objecting...” That one Senator is Chris Dodd (D-Conn, Presidential Candidate 2008).

Please support Senator Dodd with a kind word, a message of support, or even a campaign donation to help show the Democratic Party in this country that Americans will not stand for indiscriminate attacks on our Bill of Rights.

One final word on the bill currently before the Senate, the one sponsored by Jay Rockefeller...Here's a glimpse of Senator Rockefeller's campaign contributors.Maybe it's time for the gentleman from West Virgina to go home.

Labels: 9/11, Chris Dodd, fisa, George W. Bush, Jay Rockefeller, technology, tia, warrantless wiretaps

Last week ten (TEN!) candidates for the Republican 2008 presidential nomination gathered to introduce themselves to the American people. It was damn ugly.

A lot of attention has been paid to the who does not believe in evolution question, and rightfully so (it's not a litmus test of faith, it's a litmus test of the capacity for rational thought), but the questions I most wanted answered were never asked.

As a former New England Republican myself I view GOP debates through a lens of fiscal conservatism mixed with a tinge of libertarian sensibility. I would have liked to have heard the candidates views on the difficult questions which threaten the very fabric of our nation today. Specifically their stances on habeas corpus, posse comitatus, and the Cheneyite School of the Unitary Executive. While the candidates did comment on abortion, tax policy, stem cell research, and the possibility of a national identity card - for immigrants and guest workers - they were not asked for their thoughts on signing statements, warrantless wiretaps, extraordinary rendition, or the use of private contractors to perform military duties.

The answers to these questions are vitally important for candidates from both parties to answer, but particularly so for Republicans. Since 2000 the Bush Administration has consistently reinterpreted the Constitution of the United States in such a way that diminishes individual liberties and circumvents traditional checks on tyranny while maximizing its own authority. These are not soundbite issues. These are fundamental questions that will define American character for generations to come.

Labels: 2008 Election, Extraordinary Rendition, GOP, Unitary Executive, warrantless wiretaps

Labels: fisa, nsa, patriot act, technology, warrantless wiretaps

"I'm not doing anything wrong, so let them monitor whatever they want," is a commonly heard mantra of Americans willing to forfeit their right to privacy for the perception of security. I heard it myself just yesterday when a politically minded grandmother called into a show on a major network regarding the crimes committed by the FBI.

If you encounter such an argument around the water cooler or at the dinner table, here are a few gems you can bust out to force some critical thinking on the part of your mark (Warning: Cognitive dissonance resulting from these tactics can produce unpredictable responses in some citizens who are already scared, manipulated, and entranced).

Set the stage by discussing the nature data-mining. Avoid the term "data-mining" because the word data scares people. It's techno-babbly jargon. Use terms like dragnet, it's folksy. Ask your mark if they're a criminal; this will get their attention immediately. Naturally they'll say "No." Then ask if anyone they communicate with via phone or email has ever committed a crime. Typically the truth will be yes, but your mark will say no as the scenarios start playing through their mind (you've just planted a seed...watch it grow). Now ask if any of the friends or family of people they communicate with have ever committed a crime. Hopefully the mark will start to see the problems with wide spectrum data collection. Use props if necessary - salt and pepper shakers work.

Here's a helpful tidbit if you're by a computer:

It's an analysis of the sexual relationships of a high school. Nearly everyone is connected. If this were an investigation of criminal or terrorist activity, everyone in the network would be put to the question. It's neither fair, nor just, but that's what we're buying into if we support unchecked powers of surveillance and data collection. In such an environment everyone is guilty.

Another important point to make clear is the aspect of time. Once data is collected, it doesn't go away...ever. If you haven't spoken to someone in ten years, and suddenly they re-enter your life, can you be sure they haven't engaged in some questionable activities that would draw the attention of investigators?

Finally, what does being investigated by the feds mean anyway? Why should anyone be concerned if they haven't done anything wrong? Guilt by association. Does your mark work with children? Do they work at a company with state or federal contracts? Do they themselves work with other people's sensitive information: financial, medical, educational records? When the FBI or another agency pulls you in for an "interview" consider yourself flagged. That promotion you were counting on? A choice transfer? A move to a more desirable shift? You might not get thrown into a gulag, but your life will be impacted just the same.

Write to your Senators and Representatives and respectfully request that Congress ask for the resignation of Robert S. Mueller and Alberto Gonzales (They've offered their resignations before, why not now?). The law has been broken under their watch. They have abused their authority and squandered public trust...again. It's time for them to step down.

UPDATE: Full DOJ OIG report (pdf, 36MB).
UPDATE: Senator Schumer (D-NY) Calls For Gonzales to Step Down
UPDATE: New York Times editorial blasts Gonzales

Labels: Alberto Gonzales, Charles Schumer, doj, fisa, nsa, patriot act, Robert S. Mueller, technology, tia, warrantless wiretaps

Our nation is replete with monuments to the vision and sacrifice of our forefathers, but we Americans are richly undeserving of their legacy. To paraphrase, never before have so many with so much done so little for so few.

On President's Day 2007, America finds herself mistrusted and reviled by our friends and hated by every wacko in the world with an ax to grind. Our enemies don't hate freedom. Al Qaida and terrorist states don't give a shit about the democratic vision of an egalitarian society of self-governing citizens our founders hoped we'd one day become. They hate us because our government and our corporations have been wrapping themselves in that vision like a cloak for over a century as they've exerted their will on peoples having the misfortune to live in resource-rich environments. Oh yeah, plus we support Israel's right to exist.

We won't stop supporting Israel; that's nonnegotiable, but we might be able to do something about the vision thing. Not to appease the wackos, mind you. They're assholes. But our friends need to be on board with us if we're going to keep this grand experiment of ours going. They need to know that we still respect the vision, and that we will sacrifice whatever it takes to keep that vision alive.

Reckless bravado, brinkmanship, and shear incompetence got us into this situation, and I think they can get us out. We need a leader today like no other. Someone to stand for America, and take one for the team. Who can single handedly repair America's image abroad as a brash, arrogant, bully driven only by avarice and bent on world domination? President George W. Bush.

With a single, radical act the President can finish his second term in office by leading our nation into this new millennium not as a pariah state, but as a shining example for all the world to follow by exhibiting – with spectacular fashion – the single quality the world believes no American can possess: Humility.

I propose a national monument to folly. The monument would at once commemorate those who have served their nation with honor and distinction believing in a duty to something larger than the misguided will of a single Commander-in-Chief, while also serving as a testament to future generations of Americans and their leaders that ours is a nation too great to ever again allow the sin of hubris to enter our halls of power. The American National Monument to Folly should stand in no less august a location as the site of the singular monument to American pride and vision: Mount Rushmore. Shoulder-to-shoulder with the majesty of our greatest leaders, the visage of George W. Bush could be added by 2046, the 100th anniverssary of his birth.




President Bush, declare your willingness to do all that you can for our nation. Volunteer yourself to symbolize, forever more, American Folly. Our nation needs you. Do it for the Gipper. Do it for America.

Labels: George W. Bush, Israel, warrantless wiretaps

Last week the New York Times and others reported that the Bush Administration outsourced a portion of its anti-terror data mining operation to a Belgium-based banking consortium. The target: U.S. citizens and our financial transactions.

The response to this invasion of privacy - which I'm gonna go ahead and say is in violation of our rights to remain "secure in [our] persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures..." - has been fierce. But not from those in opposition to this high crime.

Indeed the most vehement response has come from the Administration and its functionaries. The President himself has called the disclosure of this illegal program to the American people "disgraceful." Vice president Cheney has deflected criticism by stating that this fast and loose interpretation of the Constitution is "absolutely essential" to America's success in the war on terror. Others have gone further.

Peter King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, who called for individuals in the media responsible for implicating White House adviser Karl Rove in the Valarie Plame scandal "be shot," has requested the New York Times be investigated by the Department of Justice for treason under the Espionage Act of 1917.

I get the whole "protect America at any cost" argument, but this Administration is riding rough-shod over the Constitution; the only thing that separates the American democratic experiment from an American despotism.

Phone records, Internet histories, financial data, driving records, tax filings, and other data collected and indexed by our government may never be used against us, but no Administration - least of all this one - can guarantee that.

If we are to continue to maintain that ours is a nation of law, logic, and justice these transgressions must be investigated and, if found to have merit, punished. Any other course of action calls into question the status of the Constitution itself as the inviolable foundation of the American way of life.

It's either time to stop taking our rights as Americans seriously, or its time to start.

Labels: Peter King, tia, warrantless wiretaps

Capabilities of the equipment housed in the NSA's "secret room" in AT&T's San Francisco switching office have been the center of public debate since the disclosure last week of the existence of an NSA program capable of universal network surveillance.

Mainstream news coverage of this program has been concerned with the legality of monitoring phone statistics. However, the media has largely ignored the fact that in addition to phone calls, the NSA is also tracking the virtual movement of innocent Americans across the network.

Steve Bannerman, marketing vice president of Narus, the company that provides the hardware for the NSA's San Francisco operation had this to say:

"Anything that comes through (an IP network), we can record...We can reconstruct all of their e-mails along with attachments, see what web pages they clicked on, we can reconstruct their VOIP calls."

This is going to get worse before it gets better.

Labels: fisa, Information Security, nsa, tia, warrantless wiretaps

After a few days of coverage most Americans are now aware the NSA is collecting data about their phone calls. All of them. Two polls were conducted to gauge public response to this revelation and found that most Americans, about 53%, do not believe the program invades people's privacy. Of those, 41% "feel it is a necessary tool to combat terrorism."

White House staff and supporters of the Administration crowed at this and an earlier poll which showed that 63% of Americans - who have no understanding of the Fourth Amendment - support the program. The rationale I've encountered on various boards and community sites for this view is: "I've got nothing to hide. I'm not a terrorist, so I don't care."

The media has told Americans the NSA is collecting statistics only. Phone numbers, number of calls to specific numbers, duration of calls and the like. And no doubt this is what was considered during the taking of these polls. But there's another dataset collected by the NSA via the telecom industry that has yet to be reported: IP addresses.

Does Joe-Six-Pack still not mind that the NSA is collecting a record of every website he goes to, how often, and for how long? Does Joe know how long this record will be archived? Does he care who has access to it, or are the employees of one government agency just as trustworthy as the next? Is Joe confident that this record will remain secret for as long as it's held? Does it matter if it gets released or compromised one day? Should this record be considered if Joe's company gets a government contract, or if he applies for a federal job? How about a passport? Does Joe still not care about the NSA surveillance program because he's not a terrorist?

Happy web surfing!

Labels: Information Security, nsa, tia, warrantless wiretaps

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers security clearance.

On top of this, further details were was disclosed today regarding the NSA warrantless surveillance program. The agency has apparently compiled the largest database in the world to monitor the statistics of nearly every telephone in the U.S. Also known as the "we-don't-need-no-stinkin'-Fourth-Amendment" program, this activity is in effect a preemptive fishing expedition to discover probable cause. There is no way this is legal of course as at least one telecommunications company, Qwest, well knew.

In related news, 72 members of Congress filed an amicus brief in support of the ACLU's lawsuit against the program.

All we need now is for Congress to grow enough backbone to start the sweetest two word mantra of them all: "under oath."

Say it with me now. Under oath. Doesn't that feel good? Try it again. Under oath. General Hayden. Under oath. Alberto Gonzales. Under oath. John Ashcroft. Under oath. Ah...it's going to be a wonderful Summer. Under oath.

Labels: aclu, Alberto Gonzales, Congress, General Michael Hayden, John Ashcroft, nsa, tia, warrantless wiretaps

It's Presidents' Day Weekend. A time of reflection and relaxation for most. I know that I'll be doing some of each myself. Today, I'm reminded of Nixon's trip to China. It was a legendary diplomatic achievement, one of our nation's finest. Despite the transgressions of Watergate and the ensuing scandal, no one can take China away from Nixon. So how will scholars and historians view the current administration? I have a theory.

Based on everything we've seen so far, the incompetence, the bold faced lies to congress and to the American people, the political manhandling of our nation's scientists, the blatant violations of international law and treaties to include the Geneva Convention, and the current struggle to consolidate more power in the executive branch than has ever been allowed, I think that they'll view the current administration as the greatest our country has ever known.

George W. Bush, will be celebrated as a visionary leader who laid the foundations for a peaceful, democratic middle east. His administration, though dogged by an overly critical class of digitally enabled navel gazers and fringe elements of the mainstream media, will be universally recognized for its efficiency, competency, and fiscal acumen. By the end of the century, George W. Bush will be immortalized on Mount Rushmore.

Let's face it. The GOP currently controls both houses of congress, the white house, and the supreme court. They have successfully managed the media portrayal of every political topic from abortion to the environment to the economy to the extent that the average American thinks things are OK right now. This is bad.

How bad is it? Let's put it this way, last weekend, the vice president shot a man in the face, and this was enough to set the news media into enough of a frenzy that that the unwarranted wiretapping of perhaps millions - and at least thousands - of Americans will escape a congressional investigation. Not only that, but Congress is now drafting a bill which will exempt NSA wiretapping from the 1978 FISA laws.

As a former service member specializing in communications intercept and translation I was subject to these laws. I know very well the guidance and restrictions they provide to protect American civil liberties. And to those who consider the current circumstances of the so called War on Terror to be grounds to waive strict adherence to these laws, I say this:

These laws were designed during the Cold War. The United States waged this war against an enemy who threatened not the destruction of one of our cities, but a war of such profound proportion as to promise the swift and sure eradication of human existence as we know it. And yet during this war the FISA laws were proposed, enacted and adhered to by the NSA and every other intelligence gathering agency in the United States of America because that's who we are.

The world DID NOT change on September 11, 2001. We have ALWAYS been under threat, and yet have maintained the faith that every individual in this nation is "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

If we turn a blind eye to FISA now, we might as well start chipping away at Rushmore today.

Labels: 9/11, fisa, George W. Bush, war on terror, warrantless wiretaps

The news cycle has been dragged to a razor's edge. Everyone on Earth is poised on the edge of their seats, and the second shoe has yet to hit the floor.

It's maddening - this waiting. We're powerless stop it, but we know what's coming. Each day I wake-up to find that no bombs were dropped in the dead of night. Should I be thankful that no one has died yet, or should I mourn them for the brutal death that awaits? Is there anymore that I can do than hope their deaths are quick?

As terrible as it is, many people will feel a sense of relief when the killing begins. The wait will be over, and everyone can get back to their "normal" lives; or so the administration would like us all to believe. It's a selfish and arrogant delusion.

September 11th changed the world we live in. Forever. Nothing will return to the way it was before. No matter how many people die, or what laws are passed, things will never be the same. Take a look around - at the news and the protests - this is the world we live in. Conspiracy theorists and religious fanatics are only the beginning; tremors of the unrest to come.

Al-Qa'ida was the first, but others will threaten the United States. They will be crushed. In every case our government will demand more power and more money to protect us: its helpless citizens. Who would deny them? Who could? Eventually law abiding folks will begin to feel the slightest pressure of the walls they have allowed to be built around them. These will be the labor pains of the birth of tyranny.

How many of us could survive the microscope of a bureaucrat? Taxes, rolling stops, travel expenses - one way or another we're all guilty in the eyes of the law. Sooner or later, the proper authorities will have something on everyone. We won't end up in a gulag, but can we say the same for our neighbors? What happens when the police ask for your help to finger someone? Make a statement here, or make it down at the station - the choice is up to you.

I'll still be waiting for that second shoe - even after the bombs start falling - it doesn't have too much further to go.

Labels: 9/11, iraq, patriot act, warrantless wiretaps

The supreme court is presently being petitioned by the ACLU on two very important issues:

First they ask that the court review a decision by a secret appeals court “that broadly expanded the government’s powers to spy on U.S. citizens.” (ACLU)

Secondly – and perhaps even more importantly – the ACLU has requested that they be allowed to appeal the secret court’s decision even though they were not parties in the lower court proceedings.

This RealAudio stream of “This American Life” – which often airs on Public Radio International (PRI) stations – presents a good deal of background on this topic (Warning: The program is 60 minutes long) .

What are the legal implications of the outcome of these two motions? Will a decision made by a secret court against an individual targeted for prosecution – whom may not be allowed legal council – be impervious to appeal? By denying to hear these cases, is the Supreme Court creating a monster?

Labels: aclu, fisa, patriot act, scotus, warrantless wiretaps