Comments on: Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

By: Michale

Michale — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 23:45:31 +0000

I, too, don't have a problem with making the Administration (ANY Administration) go back and "touch second". And I fully agree with you that an administration must comply with the law, either before the fact or, if necessity requires it, after the fact.

There MUST be accountability, I agree with you 1000% on that...

Michale.....

By: Chris Weigant

Chris Weigant — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 23:26:50 +0000

To answer your question, I am concerned that the watching is being done, period. But I'm more concerned because it's the Bush team doing the watching, I must admit.

But I am MOSTLY concerned with the way it's being done, not that it IS being done.

I don't have a problem with surveillance and counterterrorism per se, what I have a problem with is all the programs which circumvent the Judiciary.

I want a warrant, and I want a judge to approve it, in other words.

The law as it stands even allows for emergency warrants or tapping phones or other surveillance, as long as the FBI (or whoever) goes back and touches second base (i.e., gets a warrant from the FISA court) later on, after the fact.

As you can probably tell, I am as absolutist on the Fourth Amendment as the NRA is on the Second. Getting a judge to approve this stuff is one of the fundamentals in the Bill of Rights, and I don't want to give that right away to anybody -- be it Bush with his NSLs or Clinton with his "clipper chips" in everyone's computer.

-CW

By: Michale

Michale — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:06:01 +0000

"Who watches the watchers" is a valid concern...

But what of the OTHER concerns should so-called "privacy" advocaters get their way??

Let me ask a question..

Is the concern that it is the BUSH Administration who is doing all the watching??

Or is it concern that watching is being done, period?

A very nice poster, formerly of another blog asked me a question regarding TIA and related projects. Unfortuantly, we were not allowed to continue our debate, but he brought up some interesting issues.

After watching a couple of PBS segments, I was left with a feeling of sadness. Specifically with a couple from Las Vegas who were indignant that the FBI would obtain hotel records in an effort to combat a possible impending terrorist attack.. I walked away from that segment with the idea that this couple obviously felt that their personal privacy was more important than safeguarding hundreds of thousands of lives.

This illustrates the fallacy of the Far Left's position.

It is also extremely ironic... The Left wants to know anything, everything and ALL things about what the government is doing and not doing. However, they don't want the government to know about ANYTHING they are doing....

A country such as that, would last exactly 5 mins in the real world before it would be destroyed from within and without.

Michale.....