Privacy? Yeah right! (and before there was Google Earth...)

I'm always somewhat amazed

I'm always somewhat amazed at people like Karamba Kid who jump up and down about "constitutional rights" but don't have a clue about what they really are nor seem to have a clue about the topic under discussion (dissection). A long time ago (28 years ago), seems like forever, I took an oath to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America." I'm still bound by that oath, despite the years since my medical discharge, since I'm subject to recall (please, please!). Every year we had to review the Constitution and discuss it. I wish the sillyvilians out there had to do so. They might have a clue about what is exactly in there and the Bill of Rights.

What the NSA is doing is, despite assertions to the contrary, quite Constitutional if you are familiar with the history of our country. Signals intelligence is the sine qua non when it comes to determining what an enemies intent was and even ole George Washington thought it a fine idea. What the NSA collects, and has been collecting for a very long time (well before Clinton) is conversations with an overseas link (destination/source point) and in the case under discussion here from a known terrorist phone number. If their computers have recorded a conversation from such a source/destination, they have to go to the FISA court to obtain a warrant to even listen to that conversation. This is in total accordance with a law passed during the Clinton administration. Actually, I believe they don't even have to do that, but they still do as the NSA has always been extremely conservative at every step of whatever they do.

Furthermore, the Bush Administration even followed the rules on covert operations. These rules, a special codicil, require that the entire Congressional leadership as well as the chairman (majority party) and co-chairman (minority party) in both houses of Congres's Intelligence Commitees be notified of the exact nature of the operation in progress.

All the 'i's were dotted and all the 't's were crossed in accordance, so why the complaints? Heck, these provisions are far tougher than existed in the past. Methinks far too many protest far too much, especially when the people that I see protesting from Congress were exactly the same people that were "in the know" the whole time about the whole deal. Thankfully I have a strong gag reflex.

What's strange is that while cruising off the coast we'd pick up conversations, sometimes illegal, all the time with our (Navy) gear. Not once did I even consider revealing what I had overheard, nor would anyone from the NSA consider doing so if they had stumbled across such a conversation (they also wear the uniform). We were looking for our enemies (Soviets/Chinese) not stupid Americans. Heck, I know for a fact anything I overheard would be inadmissible in court anyway, so while I still have the memories of the conversations, they will remain exactly that, memories. Never to be discussed. 'Nuff said.

One last observation. The penalty for breaking these rules, NSA/whomever, is fifteen years in Leavenworth Federal Prision. I wish the idiots that revealed the program(s) at the New York Times faced 15 years, at the very minimum. Treason is mentioned a long time before anything brings up freedom of the press. The Second World War generation of journalists understood that. Where did they learn to forget it?

/ In case you are not aware,

/
In case you are not aware, the NSA has a contract with ChoicePoint to gather the background on the numbers the NSA pass on to it. You know that means all the numbers.

If you don't happen to recall "ChoicPoint", it was Admiral Poindexter's baby during the Reagan years. It was surposed to closed down and all records destoried.

The data that ChoicePoint sends back to the NSA is your name, SS#, driver's lic #, address, medical records, bank accounts #, and on and on.....

They don't duplicate the info. First they check to see if the number has been submitted before. If it has it is discarded, if not...There you go.

The Stasi, East German Secret Police, would be very proud of GWB.

Through the centeries, any

Through the centeries, any activity by the citizens performed in any public venue was subject to capture and use by the government entity in charge. Today any government entity feels the right to capture any activity by the citizen on it roads, using it airways, or its hard-wired systems. Becuase data mining has grown more productive, there is a very successfull push to include semi-public activity such as hospitals, education instituitions etc.

Although we get preplexed by governmental data mining, we seem to lock step approve corporate invasion of our privacy by credit scoreing, insurance snooping, employer spying etc.

So get a grip, we have long ago gave away our "right to privacy" just as the frog in water slowing boiling to death.