'I Have Been to the Darkest Corners of Government, and What They Fear Is Light'

[JDPriestly]

202. Actually, the Bill of Rights does not "give" us our rights.

It prohibits the government from violating our innate rights, especially those listed in the Constitution. Marriage, for example, is also considered to be a fundamental right. Loving v. Virginia is the case in which the Supreme Court ruled on marriage. But if a right is listed specifically in the Constitution as is the right of our "persons, houses, papers, and effects,(to be free from) unreasonable searches and seizures," further defined as searches and seizures without a warrant based "upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

The government is violating our rights -- quite a number of them -- with these NSA programs. The FISA order regarding Verizon for example orders Verizon to produce all of our records, all records without a warrant based upon probable cause. The order does not refer to an application of any kind for a warrant based upon probable cause, etc. No particularity about the place or person to be seized other than that Verizon has them.

Whether you have a right to privacy, whether the Fourth Amendment applies, depends on the expectation of privacy of the person being searched or whose things are to be searched. If I set up a password or my Yahoo account, I expect it to be respected.

You probably know this but the Bill of Rights prohibits only the government from violating our rights. Congress or our state legislatures can pass laws, simple laws, that protect our rights from corporations. It would be best if Congress passed such a law since it is unlikely that every state would pass one.

We could all sue the government about the violations of our constitutional rights, but the executive branch would claim executive privilege and exclude the evidence proving our rights have been violated. That has happened in the past. A few people have sued, and I believe that in at least one case, the judge stated that the NSA programs are quite likely unconstitutional.

Unfortunately, we have a crew of unscrupulous, corrupt judges on the Supreme Court. What good is a Constitution if you get scoundrels and corruption in all levels of government? There is no way to enforce our Constitution unless we win the hearts and minds of the American people and get them to vote for candidates who promise to stop these intrusive, dangerous programs.