Posner is freaking me out
Richard Posner (a judge on the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals) is freaking me the fuck out. I've read a lot of opinions penned by Posner, and have always really liked what he's had to say. I even thought he might be a nice name to toss into the Supreme Court nomination hat.
After reading this, I'm not so sure anymore.
The link is a washingtonpost opinion article written by Posner. It talks about the recent spying scandal surrounding Bush and Co. Posner apparently doesn't have any problem with electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens. That worries me. In a world where everything is becoming electronic, any sense of privacy we have is quickly slipping away.
From the article "The collection, mainly through electronic means, of vast amounts of personal data is said to invade privacy. But machine collection and processing of data cannot, as such, invade privacy."
It can't?? I'm pretty sure people have access to those machines, and I'm not really too sure I trust people not to use them for "other" purposes. Time and time again we've seen the government do things it wasn't supposed to do with surveillance tech (Nixon .... or Hoover anyone?)
"The only valid ground for forbidding human inspection of such data is fear that they might be used to blackmail or otherwise intimidate the administration's political enemies. That danger is more remote than at any previous period of U.S. history."
The danger is more remote?? More remote??? How exactly do you figure that Mr. Posner. Ugh ....
"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act makes it difficult to conduct surveillance of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents unless they are suspected of being involved in terrorist or other hostile activities."
YES!!! It should be difficult to spy on U.S. citizens that are not suspected of being involved in terrorist activities. That's the point!! What does Posner think about this? He thinks it "is too restrictive." I think that's bull.
My personal favorite quote from the whole piece: "Innocent people, such as unwitting neighbors of terrorists, may, without knowing it, have valuable counterterrorist information."
So please .... go spy on your neighbors. Tell us what they're doing at all times. The government needs to know. It's for YOUR safety!!
"The terrorist menace, far from receding, grows every day. This is not only because al Qaeda likes to space its attacks, often by many years, but also because weapons of mass destruction are becoming ever more accessible to terrorist groups and individuals."
BE AFRAID!!!! TERRORISTS ARE TEH SCARY AND THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!!
After reading this, I'm not so sure anymore.
The link is a washingtonpost opinion article written by Posner. It talks about the recent spying scandal surrounding Bush and Co. Posner apparently doesn't have any problem with electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens. That worries me. In a world where everything is becoming electronic, any sense of privacy we have is quickly slipping away.
From the article "The collection, mainly through electronic means, of vast amounts of personal data is said to invade privacy. But machine collection and processing of data cannot, as such, invade privacy."
It can't?? I'm pretty sure people have access to those machines, and I'm not really too sure I trust people not to use them for "other" purposes. Time and time again we've seen the government do things it wasn't supposed to do with surveillance tech (Nixon .... or Hoover anyone?)
"The only valid ground for forbidding human inspection of such data is fear that they might be used to blackmail or otherwise intimidate the administration's political enemies. That danger is more remote than at any previous period of U.S. history."
The danger is more remote?? More remote??? How exactly do you figure that Mr. Posner. Ugh ....
"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act makes it difficult to conduct surveillance of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents unless they are suspected of being involved in terrorist or other hostile activities."
YES!!! It should be difficult to spy on U.S. citizens that are not suspected of being involved in terrorist activities. That's the point!! What does Posner think about this? He thinks it "is too restrictive." I think that's bull.
My personal favorite quote from the whole piece: "Innocent people, such as unwitting neighbors of terrorists, may, without knowing it, have valuable counterterrorist information."
So please .... go spy on your neighbors. Tell us what they're doing at all times. The government needs to know. It's for YOUR safety!!
"The terrorist menace, far from receding, grows every day. This is not only because al Qaeda likes to space its attacks, often by many years, but also because weapons of mass destruction are becoming ever more accessible to terrorist groups and individuals."
BE AFRAID!!!! TERRORISTS ARE TEH SCARY AND THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!!