What If Richard Nixon Had Had Your E-Mail Password?

[malthaussen]

145. Bad policy whoever sits in the White House.

I could do without the Franklin quote -- something we see everywhere these days. I know the context under which he said it, and I bet ol' Ben would be amused at how it is being applied today.

So it appears your bill will re-state the 4th Amendment and extend it to include surveillance, which is probably a good idea. I think this is one case where the Founders lacked the foresight to imagine the strides technology would take in the future. They wanted the mails to be secure -- and the mails still are secure -- so I imagine they would be pretty outraged at the acts currently taken by law enforcement and security agencies to evade the Constitution.

But why stop at surveillance? What about no-knock warrants? What about the many government agencies who are exempt from the 4th Amendment altogether? Much of the substance of the Bill of Rights was intended to limit the efficiency of law enforcement because the Founders feared it being corrupted for the uses of tyranny. Much of what we have done in my lifetime and yours has been devised to improve the efficiency of law enforcement "to make us safer." Law and Order is always a big vote-getter, nyet?

Oh, and we did abrogate parts of the Constitution during the Civil War. Check your history. Wartime acts to suspend such niceties as habeas corpus are typical in our history. The rap now is that we are in a constant state of war (as Mr Orwell foresaw), and thus wartime exigencies may be applied across-the-board. This is a systemic problem, and we need to attack it at its roots. Our endless "wars" against drugs, terrorists, or whatever, need to be brought to an end. Congress needs to reclaim the duty it cravenly surrendered, and ensure that no war is carried out without a declaration of such by our elected representatives. Not that it would help much, considering the hordes of Congressmen and Senators who jumped at the chance to enact the Patriot Act, and to promote and fund endless conflict and increase the power of the Executive beyond historic bounds. But it would be a step in the right direction.

-- Mal