Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 2149 Editor's Choice: 7
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Whenever the subject of eavesdropping arises....
[Read the article: PBS's "Frontline: Spying on the Home Front"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I always like to post this link:
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/1097/ijge/gj-7.htm
The protections of the Fourth Amendment are clear. The right to protection from unlawful searches is an indivisible American value. Two hundred years of court decisions have stood in defense of this fundamental right. The state's interest in effective crime-fighting should never vitiate the citizens' Bill of Rights
On-line communications technology is akin to the Wild West of the 19th century. To best settle this new frontier, we should unleash American know-how and ingenuity. The government's police-state policy on encryption is creating hindrances and hurdles that will eventually injure our ability to compete internationally. Government's role should be to break down barriers, to allow everyone to excel to their highest and best.
Who is this terrorist enabling turncoat?
Senator Ashcroft is a member of the Senate Commerce, Judiciary, and Foreign Relations Committees. His Web homepage is: http://www.senate.gov/~ashcroft/ and his e-mail address is: john_ashcroft@ashcroft.senate.gov
Just a reminder that this remains a non-partisan issue.
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benefit of the doubt.....
[Read the article: PBS's "Frontline: Spying on the Home Front"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think it's a safe assumption that the Bush administration's illegal domestic spying program was conceived and executed not to spy on terrorists, but to be used to gather dirt for political blackmail against political opponents and the press
I don't believe that. I think that shortly after 911, they felt it was necessary to pull out all the stops in order to not get caught with their pants down again. It was only after they put the programs in place, that their uselessness against terrorism but utility against critics became apparent.
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their party's shot at the presidency
[Read the article: PBS's "Frontline: Spying on the Home Front"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]so as not to appear overtly complicit - are rubbing their hands together for their party's shot at the presidency
While this helps explain why the Democrats are rolling over and playing dead, it DOESN'T explain why the Republicans seem so unconcerned with the power being wielded by Hillary.
The Ashcroft quote and Tipper Gore's involvement with the PMRC reminds us that the enemies of Freedom and Privacy occupy both sides of the aisle. And as someone pointed out upthread, the private exploitation of our personal data is also a huge problem that is continuing to operate under the radar.
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The scare quotes are inadequate...
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As my post documented, many "Christian conservative" leaders have made expressly clear that Middle Eastern militarism is of the highest concern, not as a mere foreign policy matter but as a matter of what they consider to be "moral issues."
to do justice to the degree that these people are anything BUT Christian.
Without delving into detail, it's pretty clear that the whole message of the Gospel is to confront evil with forgiveness and to tend to one's self rather than judging your neighbors.
That we fail to live up to those ideals is understandable. That we advocate the opposite behavior and then claim the approval of the Creator in doing so is unforgivable.
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The Romans quote.....
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Pretty much sums up all the poison that Authoritarianism unleashes. Of course if all authority flows from God, in the manner described, then the American Revolution was a sacrilege.
Of course the troll would agree.
And of course it flys in the face of "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
What can I say. The author was of course, only human.
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@jojo
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Item 3 on Glenn's post is about hypocrisy and evil among religious conservatives. It's not our fault that one came along to help prove his point. His selective reading of the already selective publishing of early Christian texts, pretty much guarantees that he can't be reasoned with so your frustration is quite understandable. But it is technically speaking on-topic.
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Wow...God's last word is gracing our humble discussion thread...
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]especially anything that I don't think God approved or advocated
Of course people who claim to speak for God ARE the problem. When they selectively ignore the teachings of the person they claim to follow, then they're worse.
I personally find religion interesting as an underexplored aspect of human nature. To that end, I recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Spell-Religion-Natural-Phenomenon/dp/067003472X
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can't resist.
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]how the actions taken by Hitler and Columbus qualify as “religious wars.
Christians slaughtering Jews
Christians slaughtering Animists
Mr. Chairman I respectfully yield back my remaining 44 words.
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Holy .........
[Read the article: Comey's testimony raises new and vital questions about the NSA scandal]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As mentioned several times in your post, all we can do is speculate as to what the program enatails and how it has been used. In a functioning democracy, this would be unthinkable, but of course we haven't had a functioning democracy for quite awhile.
My point is that the controversy exists completely independently of how anyone feels about aggressive eavesdropping and data mining. The overuse of the word "enemies" in the debates that have taken place and that will inevetably follow. Point to the actual problem. WHO is the enemy. I've cited GreenPeace and PETA in the past as organizations that certainly have justification to be worried.
In all this...where are the journalists?
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From Tony Snow....
[Read the article: Comey's testimony raises new and vital questions about the NSA scandal]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But the fact is that there were strong protections in there, this program has saved lives and it's vital for national security and furthermore has been reformed in a bipartisan way.
Strong protections: How do we know?
Has saved lives: Then why DON'T we know?
reformed in a bipartisan way: Until they announced several weeks ago that they were going ignore that particular compromise.
Again based on available information one of two things is true.
The program has not saved lives. Therefore only the lame prosecutions we are aware of have come from the program
or
the program has saved lives. Therefore anyone caught up in the program has been dealt with extrajudicially utilizing CIA black-ops, rendition and all of the rest that that entails.
So either Tony Snow is a liar or the American Gestapo is alive and well.