Head Dress Tattoo blog

Apparently Bush is rushing to secure his spot as (possibly) the worst president in American history. As reported in a New York Times article (entitled “Senate Votes to Expand Spy Powers” on 2/13/08) about two weeks ago, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would drastically and permanently increase our government’s spying abilities. On its front, the bill is designed to help intercept dangerous foreign conversations that come through the U.S. If it were solely intended to prevent terrorists from operating withing our borders, this would be a positive concept. But that’s not the case here.

Currently, the government needs a warrant from a surveillance court to eavesdrop on private conversations. This is an expected check on the federal government’s power in a land that values civil liberties like FREE SPEECH and PRIVACY. The first major change associated with this bill would be to remove the warrant process. In essence, the government would be able to eavesdrop on whomever they choose. Then, if the surveillance court senses a problem afterwards, they can investigate. Words from 1984 are echoing in my head like a stone bouncing down the walls of a deep, dark well. DOES THIS NOT EQUATE TO BIG BROTHER?

This bill would be open to interpretation as to what “terrorist” means, and which foreign correspondence is “dangerous.” Especially because, over the past seven years, “terrorist” has meant anyone that can be targeted to benefit the Bush agenda. (Forgive me for not speculating on issues relating to 9/11. I highly recommend that you watch the many documentaries being created on the subject. Then you, too, may start to question whether those “Islamic Fundamentalists” were really that, or if they were hired and trained by the Bush Administration…).

The second major change created by the bill would be immunity for telecommunications companies. In other words, the ones supplying the phone service will not be liable for cooperating with the government’s spying program. But here arises another gray area. What if a phone company spies on someone in an instance that is not directly tied to federal investigation? Will they still be invincible to lawsuits?

Even worse, what if this type of legislation eventually extends to all communication? Email? USPS? Sparrow messenger? When does it stop? All this really amounts to is executive control over the population. After all, McCain could potentially be filling Bush’s shoes soon. So it’s convenient then that the Republican Senator from Arizona approved this bill…