Better late than never, I guess. (Hell, this is the third one, can you believe it?)
Is the government spying on us to make us safe or for more sinister reasons?
I get the news on my homepage. I’ve been bypassing it lately, because I have other things to worry about, like getting that ultra-sweet Webalizer. That requires that I learn a little something about command lines and where the hell to put the graphics libraries. HUH? I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a class on this, but I’d like to learn it now. Which is making me cry. But that is not the point.
Today I see CNN announcing: “U.S. expands domestic spying program at borders“. “Domestic spying” is a red flag for me, because the King has garner unprecedented power to spy on average citizens (“But she calls herself “Ali”! We have to read her emails!”). The worst part of that being that the Big Bad Democrats of Congress licked the King’s feet while stripping away judicial oversight of FISA. Reprehensible. So, I read this with interest.
Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, gave the Department of Homeland Security expanded authority to use spy satellites to monitor images on borders within the United States, officials tell CNN.
There are certain details these satellites cannot pick up, such as close-up images of someone’s face. Verbal communication will not be picked up, officials said.
Charles Allen, chief intelligence officer with the Department of Homeland Security, said the move will also help with security during natural disasters. Spy satellites were used for Hurricane Katrina efforts and have monitored the World Series, presidential inaugurals and the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. They mapped out damage at the World Trade Center, too.
There used to be a time when our spy satellites were pointing at our enemies. I’m pretty positive that all of you remember that time. I’m sure some were looking out for our interests here too, but I doubt that they were employed against average American interest. If they were, we certainly didn’t know about it.
“Now we’re going to use it to help us protect the homeland and also help the homeland respond and recover in case of hurricanes, earthquakes, natural disasters or man-made attacks upon the United States.”
But civil rights advocates and others are concerned there is little unbiased oversight to a system they say is tantamount to domestic spying. The Pentagon and CIA are not allowed to spy on U.S. residents.
This whole “homeland” thing has always given me the creeps. It’s too reminiscent of a time about which the world should be ashamed. Of course, most of the policies this administration has enacted creep me out- especially the Orwellian terms. “The Patriot Act” for slowly stripping Americans freedoms, for instance. Ha! “Iraqi liberation”- from whom? Not from their escalating civil war, that’s for sure. We’ve always been at war with….
The Pentagon and CIA aren’t technically allowed to spy on U.S. residents, but they are under the directive of the King and his master. Both of whom have absolutely zero regard for the laws of the country they supposedly govern and want to keep safe. If there comes a time that someone has the audacity to challenge the administration, the courts will wait patiently as Congress changes laws allowing the previously verboten actions. It’s laughable to think that anyone in that administration would give one thought to breaking any laws. They do what they want. [Note from Miss Conspiracy-Theorist: How else could they get that kind of power over Congress?]
McConnell and the Senate Intelligence Committee, which oversees all of the Department of Homeland Security’s operations, will monitor the satellite program.
In a May letter, McConnell gave Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff the authority to determine some of the priorities for the satellites, officials said.
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The first phase, starting October 1, will involve such missions as trying to detect illegal movement.
And with Michael Chertoff at the helm we should all feel much safer. No danger to our beloved Constitution there. Now I wonder what constitutes illegal movement. Of course, there’s the nefarious desert crossers, creek jumpers, and fence cutters, but what else? What if Joe Schmoe get a little reefer and puffs a little by the fire in the middle of his backyard? The satellites can see that, but they can’t tell if Joe Schmoe is an illegal alien or a terrorist (they can’t see his face). Would he be subject to raid, arrest, and a serious let-down? Could he be carted off as an enemy combatant?
What about Pagans dancing naked in the moonlight? This is not technically illegal if done on their own property, but the King has made it clear that he doesn’t believe such Pagan religions as Wicca to be real religions (and, in fact, wanted the practice of Wicca banned from Army bases in Texas). Would he send out the boys in black to take care of these evil-doers, and protect the American public from crazed, naked dancers?
Because there are complicated issues regarding laws and civil liberties, the satellites will not be used for law enforcement purposes until next year, an official said.
Doesn’t the thought just make you feel all snug and secure? I mean, shit, who needs liberties? Bah!
[Note: Please spare me that "If you've done nothing wrong then you've got nothing to worry about." That only works when the law is clear and just. It doesn't work like that when the bastards making the law keep moving the goal posts, for crying out loud.]
Question of the Week- 8/16
Better late than never, I guess. (Hell, this is the third one, can you believe it?)
Is the government spying on us to make us safe or for more sinister reasons?
I get the news on my homepage. I’ve been bypassing it lately, because I have other things to worry about, like getting that ultra-sweet Webalizer. That requires that I learn a little something about command lines and where the hell to put the graphics libraries. HUH? I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a class on this, but I’d like to learn it now. Which is making me cry. But that is not the point.
Today I see CNN announcing: “U.S. expands domestic spying program at borders“. “Domestic spying” is a red flag for me, because the King has garner unprecedented power to spy on average citizens (“But she calls herself “Ali”! We have to read her emails!”). The worst part of that being that the Big Bad Democrats of Congress licked the King’s feet while stripping away judicial oversight of FISA. Reprehensible. So, I read this with interest.
There used to be a time when our spy satellites were pointing at our enemies. I’m pretty positive that all of you remember that time. I’m sure some were looking out for our interests here too, but I doubt that they were employed against average American interest. If they were, we certainly didn’t know about it.
This whole “homeland” thing has always given me the creeps. It’s too reminiscent of a time about which the world should be ashamed. Of course, most of the policies this administration has enacted creep me out- especially the Orwellian terms. “The Patriot Act” for slowly stripping Americans freedoms, for instance. Ha! “Iraqi liberation”- from whom? Not from their escalating civil war, that’s for sure. We’ve always been at war with….
The Pentagon and CIA aren’t technically allowed to spy on U.S. residents, but they are under the directive of the King and his master. Both of whom have absolutely zero regard for the laws of the country they supposedly govern and want to keep safe. If there comes a time that someone has the audacity to challenge the administration, the courts will wait patiently as Congress changes laws allowing the previously verboten actions. It’s laughable to think that anyone in that administration would give one thought to breaking any laws. They do what they want. [Note from Miss Conspiracy-Theorist: How else could they get that kind of power over Congress?]
And with Michael Chertoff at the helm we should all feel much safer. No danger to our beloved Constitution there. Now I wonder what constitutes illegal movement. Of course, there’s the nefarious desert crossers, creek jumpers, and fence cutters, but what else? What if Joe Schmoe get a little reefer and puffs a little by the fire in the middle of his backyard? The satellites can see that, but they can’t tell if Joe Schmoe is an illegal alien or a terrorist (they can’t see his face). Would he be subject to raid, arrest, and a serious let-down? Could he be carted off as an enemy combatant?
What about Pagans dancing naked in the moonlight? This is not technically illegal if done on their own property, but the King has made it clear that he doesn’t believe such Pagan religions as Wicca to be real religions (and, in fact, wanted the practice of Wicca banned from Army bases in Texas). Would he send out the boys in black to take care of these evil-doers, and protect the American public from crazed, naked dancers?
Doesn’t the thought just make you feel all snug and secure? I mean, shit, who needs liberties? Bah!
[Note: Please spare me that "If you've done nothing wrong then you've got nothing to worry about." That only works when the law is clear and just. It doesn't work like that when the bastards making the law keep moving the goal posts, for crying out loud.]
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