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Big Brother Is Watching You
As it turns out, we are all somehow and in someway members of the Unitarian Jihad.
Don't forget to use your Code Name when emailing and calling your relatives for this holiday season.
Be sure to use lots and lots of tigger words. Maybe even take Mao's Little Red Book out of the local library.
And when the NSA comes a-knockin' on your door to have a chat about what you've been up to, and to determine if the Unitarian Jihad has any connection to those skeery Quakers and other domestic terrorist movements, make sure to offer the boys some milk and cookies.
Because shitting on the Constitution...it be hard work.
And just as a side note: Is anyone else concerned that a U.S. Senator feels that it's necessary to point out that a copy of his letter of protest against domestic spying operations will be kept in a sealed envelope in the secure spaces of the Senate Intelligence Committee to ensure that there is a record of of it?
And don't forget, back in April 2004, the Preznut promised us all that he was getting the warrants and following the law when employing wiretaps. Considering that the FISA Court hands out wiretapping warrants like they were candy, not much of a comfort at all. Still, getting a warrant even 72 hours after wiretapping has been initiated is better than just not bothering to get a warrant at all.
But then again, when you're nailing Greenpeace, Catholics, and Vegans in your wiretaps, chances are the FISA Court is going to, well, laugh you out of court for even going there.
As good ol' girl Molly Ivans points out, what we got children is a good, old-fashioned Constitutional crisis on our hands.
Know what I hate about this U.S. Administration? The fact that every time I think I've layered too much tinfoil in my hat, it turns out that I'm not nearly paranoid enough.
ETA: My paranoia isn't helped when even the professional spooks are spooked.
To paraphrase Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5 fame, Even the Vorlons have gone to ground. When that happens, you know you're in trouble.
Don't forget to use your Code Name when emailing and calling your relatives for this holiday season.
Be sure to use lots and lots of tigger words. Maybe even take Mao's Little Red Book out of the local library.
And when the NSA comes a-knockin' on your door to have a chat about what you've been up to, and to determine if the Unitarian Jihad has any connection to those skeery Quakers and other domestic terrorist movements, make sure to offer the boys some milk and cookies.
Because shitting on the Constitution...it be hard work.
And just as a side note: Is anyone else concerned that a U.S. Senator feels that it's necessary to point out that a copy of his letter of protest against domestic spying operations will be kept in a sealed envelope in the secure spaces of the Senate Intelligence Committee to ensure that there is a record of of it?
And don't forget, back in April 2004, the Preznut promised us all that he was getting the warrants and following the law when employing wiretaps. Considering that the FISA Court hands out wiretapping warrants like they were candy, not much of a comfort at all. Still, getting a warrant even 72 hours after wiretapping has been initiated is better than just not bothering to get a warrant at all.
But then again, when you're nailing Greenpeace, Catholics, and Vegans in your wiretaps, chances are the FISA Court is going to, well, laugh you out of court for even going there.
As good ol' girl Molly Ivans points out, what we got children is a good, old-fashioned Constitutional crisis on our hands.
Know what I hate about this U.S. Administration? The fact that every time I think I've layered too much tinfoil in my hat, it turns out that I'm not nearly paranoid enough.
ETA: My paranoia isn't helped when even the professional spooks are spooked.
To paraphrase Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5 fame, Even the Vorlons have gone to ground. When that happens, you know you're in trouble.
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Now, maybe UMass Dartmouth allows students the opportunity to "opt out" of using the SocSec # for their student I.D. and get a randomly assigned number instead, similar to what the state does for MA driver's licenses. However, you'd be shocked how many people (I'd say a good 75%) just use their SocSec # for their Driver's License #. (I opted for a randomly assigned number myself).
Your best bet might be to follow-up with the reporter at the Standard-Times (community newspapers are usually pretty good about answering questions...at the very least, you'd get contact info for the involved professor).
Reporter Aaron Nicodemus's email address is: anicodemus AT s-t DOT com
His direct line is: 508-979-4465
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To be totally honest, while I trust reporters, I don't trust news agencies anymore as I've been burned several times locally. I don't go to them for infomration anymore, unless I know the individual and know they aren't going to lie because the bosses say so. And about the most ridiculous stuff.
Do you remember the parable of the invisible man?
small ray of light...
The judge not only accused members of the Dover school board of lying, he used the phrase "breathtaking inanity" to refer to the board's decision. I am in love.
Looking for links to the full text now.
Re: small ray of light...
It is....simply awesome. ID proponents got ripped a new one. The judges tone can be summed up as, "What do you think I am? Deeply stupid? ID does not promoting religion, my ass. Only way that's true is if we pull a Kansas and change the definition of science."
Really, read between the lines and you've got some quality rage going on. The judge is furious about the fact that everyone's time and money was wasted over this.
Re: small ray of light...
Re: small ray of light...
Re: small ray of light...
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Heh.
I wish more than I can say that any argument made by liberals wasn't immediately discounted and dismissed because we're liberals and apparently don't matter, but to have such a strong rebuke come from a conservative was bracing, and very encouraging indeed.
Re: small ray of light...
Absolutely the best part. The Republican party has some great ideas (like smaller less intrusive government, fiscal responsibility, power to the states, etc.), which, sadly, are being completely ignored by the current chuckleheads in power (who want the government to know and regulate everything I do, say or think, spend money like drunken sailors and seem to want Constitutional amendments to ban everything that they don't like, since some pesky states refuse to toe their line on stuff like stem cells and the ten commandments (which Jesus himself abolished and replaced with his New Covenant with man, which anyone who calls themself Christian should freaking know...) and gay marriage).
It's nice to see Republicans with ethical backbone and moral fiber, and not the soulless anti-American anti-patriot anti-freedom fascists currently running this country (into the ground). I wish McCain had beaten Bush back when they were competing for the Republican nomination, but Bush made sure to point out that McCain had been a prisoner of war and might be psychologically or emotionally unstable... (One of many times he has expressed utter contempt for anyone who actually *has* gone to war, as he did John Kerry, as he did Jack Murtha, as he did Max Cleland.)
Funny how a dozen Iraq vets are running for various offices in the next year, every single one of them as a Democrat. I guess they want more than yellow bumper stickers by way of support, W, and perhaps a 'victory plan' more in-depth and thought-out than 'we'll stay (and poor people's kids, most of them minorities that vote Democrat anyway, will die) 'till we win!'
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Sometimes I think it's only me who is sitting here going, WTF? Are we not all on the list now?
Crap is hitting that fan and we're all getting sprayed with a lovely fine sheen. Only Jibberbush is telling us it's a cleansing rain.
Dummies that we are...
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Rep. Representative John Conyers (D-MI) released a report today entitled "The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution and Coverups in the Iraq War." 273 pages, so you may want to glance at the Executive Summary, which is here.
Conyers has also recently introduced Resolutions regarding both President Bush (H. Res. 636) and Vice-President Cheney (H. Res. 637) advising "that they be censured by Congress based on the uncontroverted evidence already on the record and their failure to respond to Congressional and public inquiries about these matters and have never accounted for their many specific misstatements in the run up to war."
He and Judge Jones are my heroes. Is the tide finally turning? Can we hope?
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We've got similar things happening in Britian; we've had the Terrorism Act used to stop and search protestors at arms fairs, Muslim bookshops raided for anti-war material, and protestors at the Labour Party conference arrested under the terrorism act for possessing "T-shirt and plackard with anti-Blair material". The right to protest is being impinged upon in all sorts of other ways. Peace protestor Maya Evans was recently convicted under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act for reading out the names of dead British soldiers outside Downing Street.
We don't know the degree of spying that goes on against opposition groups, because our FOI Act (which just came in this year) is not as good as yours. But you can bet your ass it happens.
I do think it's important to "not let the terrorists win" - that is, not let the asshats spying on you scare you or worse deter you from protesting. I think a lot of the time they will be gathering vast quantities of utterly useless information. Spooks listening in on peace group meetings probably get very, very bored.
It's also in some ways heartening that they're bothering to spy on some of these groups. That they regard anti-recruitment protestors as a real potential threat to national security (as they conceive it) rather than a bunch of harmless sandal-wearing peaceniks whom no-ones going to listen to.
Still, this could get way, way more sinister and dangerous if allowed to continue, and people need to shout as loudly as possible about it. So good on you for doing so!
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Actually, the shrub may have actually been telling the truth. This morning (before we all got caught up in our new-favorite-judge's romp across the face of all IDiots) the left-political blogosphere was abuzz with speculation that these are not wiretaps at all. The suspicion is that this is about a massive fishing expedition of either all phone communications or all email messages. Here's a few links:
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/013461.html
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_12/007812.php
http://mathewgross.com/community/node/706
My first reaction is that this is good for the good guys. It's hard to get a sound-bite that's going to sway voters over the distinction between getting or not getting warrants from a secret court that you can pretty much have any time anyway. "This government is reading your email" or "...montitoring your phone calls" is much clearer, much closer to home, and much punchier.