Spying Times
(Updated: Blog round-up added)
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, the government has instituted a variety of programs aimed at identifying terrorist activities in the US.
For those of you who may have forgotten, the terrorists who carried out the attacks on 9/11 were in this country when they planned and executed the plot. It does seem like the government needed to work on their intelligence gathering. That’s not to say they are going about it the right way. In fact, I am not saying what I think in this post. I just wanted to throw a conversation starter out there.
What do you think about the USA Patriot Act, the NSA wiretapping, and now, the revelation that major telephone companies turned over data, which the government planned to use to build a database of every call made in this country?
What, if anything, should the government do to identify terrorists within the United States?
Update:
NSA blog round-up:
Here is a sampling of blogs tackling the latest allegation that the Feds are violating our privacy.
In “USA Today NSA Story A Rehash Of December 2005 NY Times Story,” RightWinged.com reveals that this “new” attack on the President is not so new.
At The Cool Blue Blog (a VT blog), Cool Blue explains why this is both funny and important, in “Constitutional matters.”
On the blog Say Anything, you can read, “Questions And Answers On The NSA Database” - a simple explanation as to why this is not the big privacy violation the some are claiming.
And finally, Michelle Malkin gives us her two-cents in “The Fear-Mongers Fail.”
Take a gander and then come on back to the discussion.
(Note to my liberal readers: no where am I promising balanced coverage. This is, after all, a conservative blog.)
4 comments:
Some of the 9/11 hijackers were already on the FBI's terrorist watch list. Gore would have caught them. Bush let it happen because he's both retarded and a fascist. 9/11 was the best thing that ever happened to George Bush. Now HE's the biggest threat to this country.
It's too bad that a man like Gore wasn't in a high position before 9/11 so he could have done something about the terrorists that the FBI was "watching".
If he were, you can bet we'd all be a lot safer now.
God I hope Gore runs in '08. I will work so hard for him if he does. He was true winner of the 2000 election. If I were to run into him, I would address him as "Mr. President."
That thing in the White House now will never be a legitimate leader. Never.
Patriot Act: OK
NSA Wiretapping: OK
Examining Phone Company data: Not sure
Considering the millions of calls made each day, it's more of a data mining operation. They are most likely looking for trends (like call activity in the US before and after terrorist attacks around the world) and calls to and from mosques and suspected terrorists within the country. On the surface, it is the most effective way to root out terrorist networks in the US, but I doubt the government would stop there. That's what concerns me.
BTW, why are people so upset that the NSA is listening to phone calls.. That's the reason for their existence!
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