Congress Defunds Controversial 'Total Information' Program

[hippywife]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0926-02.htm

WASHINGTON - Privacy and civil-rights groups have hailed Congress' decision to effectively kill a controversial Pentagon program to construct a powerful computerized surveillance system that critics feared would lead to unprecedented spying into the private lives of U.S. citizens.

The program, whose name was changed from "Total Information Awareness" to "Terrorist Information Awareness after an initial outcry late last year, was the brainchild of ret. Admiral John Poindexter, former President Ronald Reagan's national security adviser who was convicted of five felony counts of lying to Congress about the Iran-Contra affair in the mid-1980s

<snip>

The House of Representatives voted 407-15 to approve the conference committee's bill on Wednesday, while the House approved it Thursday by a vote of 95-0. (I think the author meant the Senate here)

"Congress has reaffirmed the fundamental privacy rights of all Americans," said Timothy Edgar, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which had lobbied against the TIA since its existence was first exposed by the New York Times one year ago. "This is a resounding victory for individual liberty."

"I've always said I believe that you can fight terrorism vigorously without cannibalizing civil liberties, and TIA did not meet that test," said Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, who led the fight against TIA and related projects in the Senate. "Time and time again, the Defense Department sought to cross the line on privacy and civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism. The appropriators have wisely chosen to end this program."

[Tempest]

1. I've got some bad news for you

A back door to Poindexter's Orwellian dream

By Thomas C Greene in Washington

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33006.html

The perverse dream of integrating law enforcement, military intelligence and vast databases of virtually everything done by virtually every citizen is coming to fruition, only under state, not federal, auspices.

DARPA's dreaded Total Information Awareness (TIA) program, formerly administered by convicted felon and Republican hero John Poindexter of Iran-Contra fame, may have been de-clawed by Congress, but it lives on at the state level in an incarnation called, ominously, the MATRIX (Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange).

There's a lot to dislike in this new end-run around Congressional oversight. For one thing there are federal dollars behind it -- four million from the Department of Justice -- which makes it clear that the Feds will be expecting a payoff.

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[leetrisck]

5. I had read about this earlier

and this is such a damned fiasco. The same thing is in place, we're still paying for it and it's at the fingertips of Jeb Bush - you can't tell me the people in the House and Senate don't know about this - for pete's sake it's been in the papers - it just seems to be sliding under the radar screen or nobody gives a damn.

[Chovexani]

7. Holy fuck!

They're actually calling this thing the MATRIX for crying out loud?! Does it get any creepier than that? :scared:

Maybe we ought to start calling Poindexter Agent Smith.

[hippiegranny]

2. wow! great news!

and does the support this received indicate some distancing between the policy makers and the sinking ship bush admin? one can hope.

[Alpharetta]

3. Oh, as if Congress can stop them?

Remember when Congress couldn't stop Poindexter and Ollie North from funding the contras? or trading guns for hostages in Iran?

Same same. All in the name of patriotism.

[newyawker99]

11. Hi Alpharetta!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[madfloridian]

4. News I heard earlier said any technology already developed can be used.

I think I heard it on Tech TV news.

[SeiowMao]

6. Send a thank you to your Senators and Representatives....

AND ask them to defund MATRIX.

We gotta keep pushing and telling them our concerns. The internet has done a lot to make this pReident and administration way less popular with regular people who don't read sites like this and Truthout, Buzzflash, etc.

The stuff we talk about eventually ends up on the evening news -- usually.

[hippywife]

8. I sent an email with both links

to the Kucinich campaign, as he is a 4th term Congressman in the U.S. House.

[newyawker99]

12. Hi SeiowMao!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[w4rma]

9. They need to outright pass a law that bans this program, IMHO.

I think that ShrubCo will attempt to fund TIA via other means if they don't.

[Cocoa]

10. wow, I didn't even know this vote was coming up

The numbers are amazing! No one wants to be associated with the extremists anymore.

I wonder who the 15 "nay" votes were...