'Operation diminishing freedom'
BY Molly Ivins, Working For Change
Posted on Wednesday, December 12 @ 10:24:43 EST
The highlights of Ashcroft's new methods to spy on you
AUSTIN, Texas -- By George, we need honest, reasoned debate around here and not
fear-mongering, so anyone out there who suspects Attorney General John Ashcroft of being a
nincompoop is clearly aiding terrorists and giving ammunition to America's enemies. Ashcroft
says so, and if that's not reasoned debate, what is?
Under the high standards of reason set forth by Ashcroft, we are allowed to present CORRECT
information (those who present incorrect information, like some people in government, erode
our national unity and diminish our resolve) as to what the attorney general is up to. While
Operation Enduring Freedom continues in Afghanistan, enduring freedom is not looking so
good here at home -- and like the A.G., I would be the last to encourage people of goodwill to
remain silent in the face of evil.
Here is some CORRECT information about enduring freedom:
* Ashcroft's urpily named PATRIOT Act permits government agents to search a suspect's home
without notification. In J. Edgar Hoover's day, this was known as "a black-bag job." As Nat
Hentoff reports in The Progressive: "A warrant would be required, but very few judges would
turn a government investigator down in this time of fear. Ashcroft's 'secret searches' provision
can now extend to all criminal cases and can include taking photographs, the contents of your
hard drive and other property. This is now a permanent part of the law, not subject to any
'sunset review' by Congress."
Many of our tough-minded brethren, to whom it is perfectly clear that less freedom equals
more security, have dismissed complaints by saying, after all, these measures only apply to
non-citizens, and besides, the worst parts of it will sunset in four years. Wrong. This means you,
fellow citizens -- if you happen to know someone whose brother-in-law rented a garage
apartment to a guy who knew someone who might be a terrorist. Benjamin Franklin said, "They
that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or
safety." But I'm pretty sure Franklin didn't mean to aid terrorists, so please don't report him to
he A.G.
* The expansion of wiretapping authority to computers simply puts privacy in cyberspace in
jeopardy without any concomitant gain to law enforcement. According to James X. Dempsey,
deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, neither Congress nor the media
have put all this together to see the breadth of the dragnet.
The government can now delve into personal and private records of individuals even if they
cannot be directly connected to a terrorist or foreign government. Bank records, e-mails,
library records, even the track of discount cards at grocery stories can be obtained on
individuals without establishing any connection to a terrorist before a judge. According to the
Los Angeles Times, Al Qaeda uses sophisticated encryption devices freely available on the
Internet that cannot be cracked. So the terrorists are safe from cyber-snooping, but we're not.
* Ashcroft and Co. essentially say, "Trust us, we won't misuse these new laws." But in fact the FBI
and the CIA have repeatedly violated such trust to spy on everyone from Martin Luther King
Jr. to Jean Seberg. That's why the checks were there to begin with.
* According to an analysis of PATRIOT by the Electronic Freedom Foundation, the government
made no showing that the previous powers of laws enforcement and intelligence agencies to spy
on U.S. citizens were insufficient to allow them to investigate and prosecute acts of terrorism:
"Many provisions that, instead of (being) aimed at terrorism, are aimed at nonviolent, domestic
computer crime. In addition, although many of the provisions appear aimed at terrorism, the
government made no showing that the reasons they failed to detect the planning of the recent
attacks or any other terrorist attacks were the civil liberties compromised by the bill. The
government may now spy on web-surfing of innocent Americans, including terms entered into
search engines, by merely telling a judge anywhere in the U.S. that the spying could lead to
information that is 'relevant' to an ongoing criminal investigation."
The person spied on does not have to be the target of the investigation nor is probable cause
required.
* The military tribunals idea is so bad the administration has been backing up on it steadily,
especially since Spain has already announced it won't turn over its Al Qaeda suspects to a
system so devoid of international standards. The Spaniards, who have been fighting Basque
terrorists for years, are not noticeably "soft on terrorism."
* Lest you think our only attorney general does not care about rights, I point out that when it
comes to the 550 he has "detained" since September, without evidence, without charges,
without identification and without legal counsel, he so fully respects the Second Amendment
rights of these non-citizens that he has reversed the Justice Department's previous stand to
forbid the FBI to check on their gun-purchase records in order to protect their privacy. Also,
Ashcroft fully believes in the rights of the unborn. The born are on their own.
Reprinted from Working For Change:
workingforchange.com
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