FBI: We can't tell you if we're spying on you because you'd sue

[yllus]

It's never a good sign when the government response to ultra-serious requests resembles high comedy.

ACLU.org - FBI: If We Told You, You Might Sue

In 2008, a few years after the Bush administration's warrantless-wiretapping program was revealed for the first time by the New York Times, Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act. That act authorizes the government to engage in dragnet surveillance of Americans' international communications without meaningful oversight. As we've explained before (including in our lawsuit challenging the statute), the FISA Amendments Act is unconstitutional.

...

Two weeks ago, as part of our FOIA lawsuit over those documents, the government gave us several declarations attempting to justify the redaction of the documents. We've been combing through the documents and recently came across this unexpectedly honest explanation from the FBI of why the government doesn't want us to know which "electronic communication service providers" participate in its dragnet surveillance program. On page 32:

There you have it. The government doesn't want you to know whether your internet or phone company is cooperating with its dragnet surveillance program because you might get upset and file lawsuits asserting your constitutional rights. Would it be such a bad thing if a court were to consider the constitutionality of the most sweeping surveillance program ever enacted by Congress?

 

[NoStateofMind]

When government no longer cares about the Constitution in which its very being is instituted to protect, it must be removed.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,[72] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

 

[SunnyD]

Point #1 - if you believe you have any modicum of privacy in this world, you're wrong.
Point #2 - if you believe any technological communications medium is secure and private, you're delusional.

I'm not saying what they're doing is right, but it isn't unexpected.

 

[Lemon law]

Point #1 - if you believe you have any modicum of privacy in this world, you're wrong.
Point #2 - if you believe any technological communications medium is secure and private, you're delusional.

I'm not saying what they're doing is right, but it isn't unexpected.

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I am not be say disagreeing with SunnyD, simply because anyone can data mine packets being transmitted from server to server on the internet.

But if an individual tried to do much of the type activity, they would go broke buying all the required equipment.

But when a government collect tax monies to be specifically used to spy on its own citizens, something is rotten in the grand scheme of things.

One would think our government doing this should be clearly clearly unconstitutional, but with our current supreme court, I wonder if at least five of them don't even know how to read the English language.

 

[a777pilot]

No one is forcing any of us to use the internet, phones (cell or otherwise) or any other technical means. So I guess one has a couple of opitions......break the law and risk getting caught or not break the law. If one disagrees with the laws then change them.

 

[Anarchist420]

:thumbsup:

When government no longer cares about the Constitution in which its very being is instituted to protect, it must be removed.

 

[Jaskalas]

...
But when a government collect tax monies to be specifically used to spy on its own citizens, something is rotten in the grand scheme of things.

One would think our government doing this should be clearly clearly unconstitutional, but with our current supreme court, I wonder if at least five of them don't even know how to read the English language.

You highlight the one branch of government that leans Republican. I'm shocked. The other two bare no responsibility in the matter? I'll throw you a bone, if you care about tax dollars going towards abuse of government powers - then vote for someone who opposes that abuse of power. Better yet, someone who opposes those tax dollars.

Oh, and while you're at it remove the President who oversees these abuses. You have a primary election coming up, show us you actually care. Democrats won't, because they don't care. That's my theory.

 

[Lemon law]

The hell with suing the FBI, fire every FBI agent engaged in those activities. And replace them with men and women of good conscience that know its just plain wrong to engage in that kind of behavior.

As for the people at the top who ordered the behavior, just put em jail, and if need be even the President

 

[wuliheron]

Off with their heads!

 

[ch33zw1z]

Off with their heads!

Expect a no-knock warrant soon

On a serious note, I'm not surprised. We all knew/know this shit is what's going on, but aside from full on citizens vs gov't war I don't think we'll change it.

 

[DirkGently1]

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety". - Benjamin Franklin

It's sad to say that we reached that point some time ago.

 

[wuliheron]

Expect a no-knock warrant soon

On a serious note, I'm not surprised. We all knew/know this shit is what's going on, but aside from full on citizens vs gov't war I don't think we'll change it.

People didn't just know this going on; they fully supported this crap in the name of fighting terrorism. Of course, instead of going after serious terrorists the first thing the FBI did was go after every wimpy leftist group in the country like Green Peace and PETA. Gotta watch out for the tree huggers and animal lovers!

Reminds me of when Pee Wee Herman was busted for jacking off in a porn theater. Your tax dollars at work.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

old news:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/

specifically:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/monitoring-america/

Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators.

The system, by far the largest and most technologically sophisticated in the nation's history, collects, stores and analyzes information about thousands of U.S. citizens and residents, many of whom have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The government's goal is to have every state and local law enforcement agency in the country feed information to Washington to buttress the work of the FBI, which is in charge of terrorism investigations in the United States.

 

[Lemon law]

Off with their heads!

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No no no and no, if those Turkey are willing to violate my constitutional rights, maybe we should just overlook the strictures about cruel and unusual punishment. Things like burning bamboo splinters under the fingernails, you the reader of course can also invent many such very painful punishments. And after we are done with the painful punishments, we can release them back into society with Tattoos on their forehead so their past sin is visually evident. But when we kill someone, they never learn anything from the lesson.

 

[Doppel]

No one is forcing any of us to use the internet, phones (cell or otherwise) or any other technical means. So I guess one has a couple of opitions......break the law and risk getting caught or not break the law. If one disagrees with the laws then change them.

Stupid post. I mean really. That's like saying nobody is forcing me to drive on public roads, to use electricity, to use running water. Such arguments can and have been made in blind defense of any number of ridiculous practices.

If you had even read the first post you'd know that this apparently already does break the law.

 

[lupi]

good thing obama is going to stop that shit.

 

[Doppel]

good thing obama is going to stop that shit.

Yessir!

 

[wuliheron]

No no no and no, if those Turkey are willing to violate my constitutional rights, maybe we should just overlook the strictures about cruel and unusual punishment. Things like burning bamboo splinters under the fingernails, you the reader of course can also invent many such very painful punishments. And after we are done with the painful punishments, we can release them back into society with Tattoos on their forehead so their past sin is visually evident. But when we kill someone, they never learn anything from the lesson.

If there's an afterlife you can rest assured they learn something.