July 18th / 20th, 2008
"Obama , Jesse, and Eavesdropping"
Last week, The Rev. Jesse Jackson whispered into what he thought was a dead
microphone, and said he’d like to cut off Barack Obama’s nuts. But an
astute, eavesdropping audio technician lifted the gaffe, and had it broadcast
around the globe. Appropriately, last week the Senate voted on a bill to allow
wiretaps without warrants. This was cosmic symmetry at its best. Or perhaps
it was comic symmetry.
Anyway, I felt badly for Jackson, much the same way I used to feel sorry for
those movie mobsters whose phones were always being tapped by the FBI.
After all, everyone deserves some modicum of privacy. Of course, if such
eavesdropping could help fight the war on drugs or prevent jury tampering, then I‘m
all for a little bit of covert snooping. In like manner, I have no problem
when the Federal government listens in on phone conversations between two
known terrorists plotting to blow up a skyscraper or hijack a plane.
The problem, however, comes when such surveillance is given blanket
approval, absent of any judicial input or authority, and that’s where we stand as
of last week. Several days ago the Senate voted to allow the government to
wiretap anyone they choose without first obtaining a warrant. The Senators also
shielded from litigation and liability any phone company who cooperates with
the Feds in this slimy endeavor.
Proponents of the bill say we need such wiretap capability in order to
prevent acts of terrorism. Opponents, including the ACLU, see the warrantless
wiretaps as an invasion of privacy, and a violation of individual rights to free
speech.
Of course, the Senate action was just a big charade, and pretty much moot.
That’s because the Bush administration has been breaking an existing law ever
since 9/11, and has done so without shame, apology, or threat of
impeachment.
The law Bush has been flaunting was established in post Watergate America to
prevent the very kinds of abuses our President is guilty of. It is the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and it established a secret court
that could issue warrants for wiretapping bad guys and foreign enemies.
The question is, why didn’t the Bush brigade just play by the rules and
obtain secret FISA warrants as needed? The answer is because this administration
is arrogant and has a track record of abusing its authority.
What Bush has been doing in that regard is appalling and what the Senate did
is frightening.
We already live in a country where a neighbor who hates you can report you
to Social Services for child abuse, and have you investigated for something
you didn’t do. A spiteful ex-spouse can call in a false tip to the IRS about
how you’ve been hiding income. And a political foe can alert the FBI that
you have been spending time with suspicious looking Arab people after work each
day.
Now, with our warrant system dismantled, the Feds can listen in on anything
and everything we say, and do so without cause, or without fear of
retribution. And now, the phone companies can assist the government with this
illegal eavesdropping without fear of being sued by innocent customers whose privacy
has been trampled upon.
Interestingly enough, John McCain was absent for last week’s vote, but
Barack Obama might as well have been McCain’s proxy. That’s because the Democrat
Presidential hopeful voted with 65 other Senators to allow this egregious
abuse of power. It was yet another example of how corrupt the two party
system is, and why we need to turn to independent thinkers like Ralph Nader to
protect our liberties while protecting our borders.
Just remember, 9/11 didn’t happen because we failed to eavesdrop on
terrorists. It happened because we failed to enact a moratorium on all immigration.
So next time you pick up the phone, don’t say anything you’d be ashamed to
have repeated in Court. And don’t joke about terrorists. And if you have an
Arab sounding name, stay away from the phone altogether. After all, racial
profiling doesn’t just happen in airports. Now, it can work against you in
your own home. It’s ironic that Obama voted for a bill that could allow the
Feds to mistakenly target him for surveillance.
The good news is, if we can listen in on Obama’s private conversations, we
might actually find out what he stands for. We might also find out what he
really thought of Rev. Jackson’s whispered threat of castration.
In any event, we learned a valuable lesson last week.
Our private speech should be protected. So should our private parts.
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