Washington, DC. (June 6th, 2013)- After recent reports that the government has been seizing millions of telephone records of US citizens from service providers, Rep. Welch made the following remarks:
“I cannot fathom a reason for the federal government to cast such a wide and indiscriminate net in the name of national security. This confirms the worst fears of those of us who oppose the Patriot Act. While all the facts have yet to emerge, it appears that the very institutions that were set up to check government surveillance activities are acting as a rubber stamp. It is possible to protect Americans from harm without trampling their civil liberties. Unchecked and intrusive searches like this fail that test.”
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Ryan Nickel
Communications Director, Rep. Peter Welch
(202) 225 4115
An Appropriate Protest?
This seems to be the revelation Senator Wyden and others have been screaming about for years now. He’s maintained that the government has been interpreting their powers in a very odd way that most Americans would not approve of if they knew about it, but that the information was classified.
If they want to know everything about us, it might be time for us to all cc the White House and NSA on every communication we have.
For a day…
– include them in the address of all emails sent
– tag them in all social media
– forward them every spam received
– include them in all calls as a three way caller
– invite them into every text, audio, or video chat
and so on.
This is excellent protest for both those who feel they have nothing to hide as well as those rightfully concerned that the government is overreaching. A day of openness to make a statement about privacy.
I never contact anyone without understanding I am tapped
I never say or do anything without understanding I am under surveillance…
In the early nineties I was a noted activist in the drug reform movement and there was a fellow who claimed people could tell if their phone was taped by calling a certain number. I did call the number and accordingly it indicted that I was being tapped. Now, I’m not really a believer, but this is something I had to take on good faith or not.
I decided that it didn’t matter whether I was or wasn’t tapped. From that day on, I assumed I was under surveillance no matter what the “phone call” indicated. And, I understood then and now that surveillance was culled from any and all electronic data transmissions.
Your voice over the telephone sounds like a human voice of course. But to the surveillance people, your voice is also a series of electronic data patterns which are easily collected. The same is true for emails, faxes, in fact, as I said all electronic data transmissions.
Even your private conversations without electronics are easily gathered by sophisticated sound gathering listening devices.
So from 1991 to present, I never say or do anything without understanding I am (or potentially) always under surveillance. Oddly enough, this has given me a position that’s kind of ahead of the pack.
In this sense, an appropriate protest would be lost on me.
But…
Count me in!
I am, however, very attracted to Chris’ idea because it also fits my profile of, not “A day of openness” but, in fact, a daily assumption of openness.
My way is passive.
Chris’ way is aggressive, more in their face. It also has a “throwing a monkey wrench in the works” kind of feel. It relates nicely to the concept of sabotage – “Any attempt at interrupting a normal activity of someone you dislike is an act of sabotage.”
The difference I’d recommend is a longer protest than a day. Maybe a month or longer. If they are trolling us at a rate of 3 billion calls a day (as claimed in some reports) a unified protest (cc:) copying the NSA on “everything” is indeed a delightful thought of “swamping their switchboards” you might say, to the tune of tens of billions per day!
Can we do it? I don’t know. It’s Chris’ idea but if a cogent unified way is presented to achieve this – count me in!
Thank you, Congressman Welch
This story is old news to me too but to actually see the scope of it admitted and defended by the Obama administration is surreal and alarming. This story implicates just about every big telecommunications company there is carrying email, social networking, or chat. And it looks like they’re just sucking in all of it.
What’s even weirder is that the companies involved say they didn’t even know it was happening. I can’t imagine how that could be — Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft had no idea?
I guess the old adage about putting nothing in email that you wouldn’t want to hear shouted in the town square is more true than ever. I also hope that this practice is investigated and ended as one would expect to happen in a free society.
Fromt Tech Dirt - weasel words
“In other words, most people think that “target” would mean one of the people on the phone. But, the NSA means “this overall investigation is about targeting foreign threats, so we can take whatever data we want because the goal is to stop foreign threats with it — and therefore our mandate not to spy on Americans doesn’t apply.” ” see Weasel Words
I am pleased that Congressman
I am pleased that Congressman Milquetoast objects. What does he plan to do to change this situation? My recommendation is that he loan one of his aides to Senator Sanders. If the aide is capable Sander’s office might be able to guide him/her towards concrete action.
What do you suggest?
What’s he supposed to do, when the Republicans have shut down Congress?
Dianne Feinstein's reaction
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wants Snowden prosecuted.
Snowden leaked that the surveillance exists, and this is what we get from Democratic party leaders.
On the topic of constitutional rights, Democratic party is increasingly non-distinct from the Republican party.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/09/rand-paul-nsa_n_3411587.html?ref=topbar
I would never vote for Paul, but once again, the vast middle of both parties have proven they are not to be trusted with preserving the constitution. It is only the extreme libertarians and some liberals who are going to strive to protect the rights that were enshrined in the constitution.
Credibility is gone
A scandal a day keeps Obama circling the drain faster by the minute! But seriously, think back, if you can, about all those lofty campaign speech’s, adds, slogans on bumpers stickers kicking the butt out of what he himself is overseeing with little exception. Never promise anything you can’t keep.. But excuse away.. if you can, as your credibility is at stake too. Opps.. the buck hasn’t found a place to stop.
Nothing new
Obama’s credibility was questionable before he ever took office. Here’s a piece I did on him talking big about standing up for Ohio voters, then doing nothing for them. In 2008.
His denials of American’s being listened to are fanciful according to those who know what’s going on. He claims nothing useful is collected, yet these collkection programs are essential to our security. Which is it?
(No subject)