Re: Brin: The Digital Surveillance State: Vast, Secret, and Dangerous

On Aug 23, 2010, at 2:24 AM, KZK wrote:

>> On Aug 21, 2010, at 21:51, David Brin<[email protected]>  wrote:
>>
>>> Whine, moan bitch complain without any sensible suggestions...  
>>> yep, that's the Cato way.
>>>
>>> Above all, aim all suspicion-of-authority at some vague  
>>> "government" and ignore all other forces.
>>>
>>> From: KZK<[email protected]>
>>> To: brin-l-r0TUnz/JSrZWk0Htik3J/[email protected]
>>> Sent: Sat, August 21, 2010 6:42:35 PM
>>> Subject: Brin: The Digital Surveillance State: Vast, Secret, and  
>>> Dangerous
>>>
>>> http://www.cato-unbound.org/2010/08/09/glenn-greenwald/the-digital-surveillance-state-vast-secret-and-dangerous/
>>
> On 8/21/2010 10:14 PM, Chris Frandsen wrote:
>> This is the same anti government pitch being pushed right now to  
>> hamstring this administration.
>
> So, we should just ignore it when Obama is worse, in this case on  
> spying on Americans, than Bush was, just because he has a (D) after  
> his name?
>
> We should just ignore it when Obama does the opposite of what he  
> campaigned on, just because he has a (D) after his name?
>
> We should Shut our mouths over things that when Bush did them, were  
> completely outrageous, just because he has a (D) after his name?
>
> So we should just turn of four brains and accept everything he does  
> as good, and just and right, and beyond criticism, just because he  
> has a (D) after his name?

I have to admit, one reason I voted for Obama (and I did vote for him,  
both in the primaries and in the general election) was my belief that  
at the very least, he would partially if not completely dismantle the  
invasive "security" apparatus that Bush/Cheney were so eager to put  
into place the day after 9/11/01, and if nothing else, call for the  
repeal of at least portions of the USA PATRIOT Act and the illegal (by  
the actual FISA statute, if I remember correctly) "warrantless  
wiretapping" practices used by the domestic security/intel agencies  
and restore some accountability to government surveillance of citizens.

The fact that he did nothing of the sort, and in fact took steps to  
further entrench that policy of surveillance and extrajudicial "anti- 
terrorism" measures that ultimately completely bypass due process, by  
itself makes me regret ever supporting him.  It's a largely  
inexplicable discrepancy between the policy promises he campaigned on  
and the actual policies he put in place once in office.

As far as I know, Cheney's shadow Situation Room, PEOC, and secure  
communications facilities are still in place at One Observatory  
Circle, as I've heard no mention anywhere of those being  
decommissioned or removed.  Granted, Joe Biden doesn't seem to be the  
type of VP who would take advantage of having those facilities there,  
but that hinges on a gut-level read of the man that may be wildly if  
not totally inaccurate.

We still only have simple good-faith assertions by the various three  
letter agencies involved that they will not use the largely  
unaccountable surveillance powers they have for reprisals against  
citizens' criticism of the apparatus itself or of Congress' or  
presidential administrations' use or misuse of it.  So far I haven't  
seen any evidence of its misuse, but a great deal of such misuse could  
be going out without any news of it ever surfacing, the way it's  
structured from what's been disclosed.  And given that we're talking  
about a system that can data-mine the entire US telecommunications  
infrastructure in real time, under software control, on fairly  
abstract semantic levels, the potential for virtually untraceable  
abuse is significant indeed.  Which is what disappoints and concerns  
me about what *hasn't* happened to correct this during this  
administration.

(And the irony is that the same neoconservatives who couldn't be  
enthusiastic enough about the expansion of government power after  
9/11, while Bush II was in office, are suddenly completely against it  
now that Obama is in office.  Seems they forgot the rule that you  
should never give a government powers you wouldn't want your worst  
nightmare of a government to have..)

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual  
ignorance." -- H. L. Mencken