Bait and Switch: Law Goes From Protecting Your Email to Allowing Gov’t Into Your Email
November 20, 2012 | Filed Under 1st Amendment, Anti-Americanism, Blogging, Computers, Congress, Constitution, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, DOJ, Email, Ethics, Free Speech, Freedom, Google, Government, Government, Corruption, Inernet, Liberals, Liberty, Nanny State, Net Neutrality, Patriot Act, Progressives, Regulation, Security/Safety, Technology, The Law, Twitter, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment
-By Warner Todd Huston
A new law that was originally meant to strengthen the privacy of your email was recently re-written to allow government more access to your private emails and other digital files.
When H.R. 2471 went to the Senate, Democrat Senator Pat Leahy quickly rewrote the whole thing to allow federal policing agencies to have the power to search your digital files without a warrant.
As CNET reports it,
Leahy’s rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — to access Americans’ e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge.
This is, of course, an example of the government going too far for security. And you know the old saying so often attributed to Ben Franklin, “Those who would trade in their freedom for their protection deserve neither.”
Also, I can’t stress more, here, that is the Democrats doing this. This is not a GOP effort.
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ACLU: Obama Has Quadrupled Warrantless Wiretaps
October 1, 2012 | Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACLU, Barack Obama, Bill of Rights, Censorship, Congress, Constitution, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Patriot Act, Policy, President, Progressives, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off
-By Warner Todd Huston
The ACLU released a report this week that shows that under Obama and his Attorney General Eric Holder, warrantless wiretapping and monitoring of American’s electronic communications is “sharply on the rise.”
After months of litigation and Freedom of Information Act requests, the ACLU obtained documents from the federal government proving that real-time monitoring of electronic communications inside the U.S. has climbed 60 percent since 2009 and far surpasses that under President Bush.
The ACLU reports that the Dept. of Justice used “pen register” and “trap and trace” techniques 23,535 times in 2009 and 37,616 times in 2011.
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Leftist Commemoration Undermines Resolve Against Terror
March 27, 2012 | Filed Under Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Foreign Policy, Frederick Meekins, Government, Government, Corruption, Islamofascism, Journalism, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, Patriot Act, President, Security/Safety, Taliban, Terrorism, War on Terror | Comments Off
-By Frederick Meekins
Yes. Perhaps this is being posted a bit late. However, the points are still valid. If you are going to be that condescending, perhaps you should be reminded that you seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time online obsessively reading columns and articles of those you snidely dismiss as less accomplished than yourself.
It is said that the only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn anything from history. Following the attack on 9/11, the nation’s leaders as epitomized by the members of Congress joining on the steps of the Capitol in patriotic chorus vowed that they would be vigilant against the laxity of policy and perspective that left the door wide open allowing such a tragedy to transpire in the first place. However, in the decade since then, little has changed in the hearts of many that would prevent an occurrence of similar or greater magnitude from happening again in the future.
Under the auspices of the National Cathedral, an interfaith memorial was to be held in Washington, DC. Since the President and a number of representatives from a variety of religious perspectives were scheduled to speak at the service, the event was billed as and assumed to be one promoting an inclusive brand of diversity and spirituality.
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We Need Rules for Cyberwarfare Before a President Steals That Power, Too
October 19, 2011 | Filed Under Computers, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Foreign Policy, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Inernet, Liberals, Military, Patriot Act, President, Republicans, Rights, Security/Safety, Senate, State Department, Technology, Terrorism, Transparency, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off
-By Warner Todd Huston
A recent New York Times article revealed that the Pentagon briefly considered engaging in cyberwarfare at the outset of the actions in Libya, but decided against it for a variety of reasons. This reminds us all that as a nation we really need to discuss the use of cyberwarfare. The first question asked must be: should a president be able to simply order such an attack on his own hook?
The Times noted that one of the concerns about the use of cyberwarfare is how it would be justified under the War Powers Resolution of 1973?
One unresolved concern was whether ordering a cyberattack on Libya might create domestic legal restrictions on war-making by the executive branch without Congressional permission. One question was whether the War Powers Resolution — which requires the executive to formally report to lawmakers when it has introduced forces into “hostilities” and sets a 60-day limit on such deployments if Congress does not authorize them to continue — would be required for an attack purely in cyberspace.
One would think that the answer to this would be somewhat obvious — though nothing seems obvious in Constitution-based discussions, sadly.
We know that the Founders vested in Congress the power to declare war not in the president. They wanted to avoid a repeat of the historical outrage of a King’s untrammeled powers to declare wars without the consent of the people and their duly elected representatives.
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The Strategic Debate We Need To Have
June 23, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Constitution, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Foreign Policy, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jeff Lukens, Liberals, Patriot Act, President, Republicans, Security/Safety, Senate, State Department, Taxes | 1 Comment
- By Jeff Lukens
The U.S. federal debt is our nation’s greatest strategic weakness. As the debt continues to grow, our military posture around the globe is threatened. Defense cuts are coming, and with that reduction must come a reduced mission. In this environment, what our nation’s strategic mission should be, and what the corresponding defense funding should be to meet that need, are open questions. They are questions that need to be openly explored by politicians and the American people alike.
In a recent speech to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, “A smaller military, no matter how superb, will be able to go fewer places and do fewer things.” Ever the public servant, Gates seeks to kindle a debate the country seems reluctant, but needs, to have. It would be an invitation to disaster if we kept the same mission with reduced funding, or a reduced force. By bringing the issue to the public forum, Gates apparently seeks to avoid that calamity.
The core Pentagon budget is now about $530 billion, and accounts for roughly 20 percent of federal spending, and roughly half of discretionary spending. Defense cuts are coming, that much we know for sure, and the easiest of them have already been made. Gates acknowledged that over the past two years, “more than 30 programs (weapon systems, etc.) were canceled, capped, or ended that, if pursued to completion, would have cost more than $300 billion.”
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Kinzinger Statement on Reauthorization of Expiring Provisions in the PATRIOT Act
May 31, 2011 | Filed Under Adam Kinzinger, Foreign Policy, GOP, Government, Illinois, Patriot Act, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off
From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, ILL)…
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) issued the following statement in support of the reauthorization of the three national security provisions in the PATRIOT Act which are set to expire on Thursday, May 26th. These provisions will be extended for an additional four years.
“As a military officer, I have seen the PATRIOT Act provide invaluable legal tools to detect, disrupt, and prevent potential terrorist plots. These legal tools have been available to investigators of organized crime and drug traffickers for years; surely they should be available for use against terrorists. We must have the authority to defend our nation from future attacks, while ensuring American’s fundamental rights are protected under the Fourth Amendment.
“The PATRIOT Act has played an important role in disrupting potential attacks and keeping our country safe since 9/11. Three essential national security provisions of the PATRIOT Act are set to expire tonight; therefore Congress must act to ensure these constitutional and commonsense safeguards remain intact against potential terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.
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GOP reveals hypocrisy with Patriot Act vote
February 26, 2011 | Filed Under Chris Slavens, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Nanny State, Patriot Act, President, Republicans | Comments Off
-By Chris Slavens
Both parties in the House failed to muster enough votes to extend controversial provisions of the Patriot Act on February 8, which required a two-thirds majority. Some commentators have chosen to focus on the lack of discipline within the parties; both the Obama administration and GOP leadership favor the extension, but neither was able to whip enough congressmen onto the bandwagon. However, the bigger story is how many Republicans—including a number of “tea party” freshmen who campaigned last year as defenders of the Constitution—voted against the Fourth Amendment, as though it is somehow less important than the others.
Specifically, the provisions permit the federal government to spy on U.S. citizens (perhaps “subjects” would be more appropriate in this case) by using roving wiretaps in the name of combatting terrorism, allow monitoring of noncitizens, and give broad authority over records and private property.
After two years of frantic shrieking about the Obama administration’s shredding of the Constitution and unprecedented expansion of the federal government, one would think that Republican lawmakers, entrusted with control of the House of Representatives by the American people, would view such a vote as a golden opportunity to restrict government’s ability to intrude into innocent citizens’ private lives.
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