Comments on The Anonymous Liberal: Who Authorized the NSA to Acquire Your Phone Recor...

Red A:You're confusing policy issues with rule of ...

2006-05-16T21:17:00.000-05:00

Red A:

You're confusing policy issues with rule of law issues. If Congress passed a law amending the various communications acts and giving the NSA permission to compile such a database, that's one thing. We should debate the merits of such a proposal. But as it stands, it looks like the phone companies and perhaps the NSA violated the law. This stuff is important. If we're going to give up our privacy rights for greater security, we should explicitly make that choice through our democratic processes and allow for it to be done with some sort of independent oversight. It should not be done in secret and outside of the law.

"If what the USA Today reported is true, Qwest des...

2006-05-16T20:45:00.000-05:00

"If what the USA Today reported is true, Qwest deserves to be rewarded for acting responsibly and protecting the privacy rights of its customers."

Or on the other hand, if you feel that data mining Al Qaeda cell phone numbers back to the USA to try to find their US cells is more important to you than the privacy of your calls to Grandma and Pizza Hut, you can switch to another company than Qwest.

I want my country back, too, but would prefer it in one piece.

If you don't collect the dots, you can't connect the dots.

You should all switch to Qwest, let them know why ...

2006-05-15T05:31:00.000-05:00

You should all switch to Qwest, let them know why your switching and let the other company know why you left them. It's the surest way (other than a lawsuit) that you can discourage phone companies from allowing you to be bugged illegally.

My memory is pretty long, the legal basis for this...

2006-05-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

My memory is pretty long, the legal basis for this program was established under President Clinton, and I remember it being passed.

http://macsmind.blogspot.com/

It was President Clinton who signed into law the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994, after it was passed in both the House and Senate by a voice vote. That law is an act "to make clear a telecommunications carrier's duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for law enforcement purposes, and for other purposes." The act made clear that a court order isn't the only lawful way of obtaining call information, saying, "A telecommunications carrier shall ensure that any interception of communications or access to call-identifying information effected within its switching premises can be activated only in accordance with a court order or other lawful authorization."

The law that President Clinton signed into law and that was approved by voice votes in 1994 by a Democrat-majority House and a Democrat-majority Senate not only made clear the phone companies' "duty" to cooperate, it authorized $500 million in taxpayer funds to reimburse the phone companies for equipment "enabling the government, pursuant to a court order or other lawful authorization, to access call-identifying information that is reasonably available to the carrier." Again, the law, by referring to "other lawful authorization," states clearly that a court order isn't the only form of lawful authorization possible."

Here's something you can do about domestic spying

2006-05-12T17:35:00.000-05:00

Here's something you can do about domestic spying

Sounds about right, Sven.

2006-05-12T17:33:00.000-05:00

Sounds about right, Sven.

AL, to me it appears that the administration - as ...

2006-05-12T16:58:00.000-05:00

AL, to me it appears that the administration - as it has in other areas like torture - tried to squeeze through what it saw as a narrow loophole.

Basically, it seems like it tried to shift legal liability to the phone companies by having them collect the data. Then it tried to retroactively cover the companies' asses by slipping a pass on the Stored Communications Act into the Patriot Act (which would explain why the Bushies were so hot-to-trot to get that done).

Does that sound right?

I switched from AT&T to Qwest last night because o...

2006-05-12T13:25:00.000-05:00

I switched from AT&T to Qwest last night because of this. The Qwest rep I talked to emphasized their privacy policy, and when I said it was why I was switching, she asked me if I had seen the USA Today article.

I also called up AT&T to make sure they knew why I was dumping them. Their rep there told me that I was the first person to ditch them over the NSA business that he had talked to.

My suggestion: switch, but make sure you call up your original service provider and let them know why they've lost you as a customer.

Amazing how everything can go into the toilet in j...

2006-05-12T09:45:00.000-05:00

Amazing how everything can go into the toilet in just six years. I want my country back.

This Administration continues to thumb their nose at its citizens, rationalizing everything as in our best interests towards winning the war on terror. Autocracy is fun!

Powerline is always good for a laugh, that's for sure.

I agree that, on its face, the government's consen...

2006-05-12T02:44:00.000-05:00

I agree that, on its face, the government's consent argument is weak.

Sad how the Administration may have strong-armed these companies into giving up the information. Sad, but hardly surprising.

It keeps getting worse and more and more blatant, ...

2006-05-12T01:41:00.000-05:00

It keeps getting worse and more and more blatant, the criminal behavior of this administration, yet the Congress remains painfully slow to react and the media and the American public seem to be in a stupor of some sort.

What will it take to cause a massive demonstration by the American public on the streets of Washington?

Interestingly, Qwest stock is falling.I thougth th...

2006-05-12T00:36:00.000-05:00

Interestingly, Qwest stock is falling.

I thougth that was significant until I noticed that the whole stock market fell a little bit in the last few days.