Without surveillance how can potential threats be determined? Although I am very uncomfortable with the idea of it. What is the alternative?
Is Prism really as invasive as people would like to believe? Why did people not get upset 12 years ago when we really lost our "privacy"?
Our doors are pretty wide open as a Country. Just about anybody can get in. This is on top of people of foreign descent who are recruited online and "converted". Should a Nation not at least monitor such potential threats?
What would you do?
~ LB
Actually I was quite upset in 2001, both by the patriot act, and the absolutely ridiculous invasion of iraq. Unfortunately most people really couldn't care less, and you can't expect the government to reign itself in, not when people were falling over themselves with flag waving.
Q: Without surveillance how can potential threats be determined?
A: I'm not at all against surveillance. What upsets me is the blatant lack of checks and balances to
intrusive surveillance. Meaning the observation of acts you would normally assume to be private. Anything that's done in public, or in view from publicly accessible location... I think that's fair game.
When a reasonable suspicion exists that something bad is going on, or could be going on, let a warrant be issued that clearly defines the scope of the surveillance, the duration, and the target.
What we have now, is a basic carte blanche system where "national security" is the magic password to anything you do, indefinitely.
Q: Although I am very uncomfortable with the idea of it. What is the alternative?
A: No alternative required. The need for surveillance is a necessitated by law enforcement. Where people should take issue, is with why the information is being gathered, for how long, and for what. Pardon me if I don't feel the government always has the best interests of it's subjects at heart.
Further our constitution specifically the 4th amendment, protects against "unreasonable" search and seizure. I think given that almost all information is digitized now, unlimited access to that information, without a specific cause that can be articulated to a judge, is in fact unreasonable.
Q: Is Prism really as invasive as people would like to believe?
A: Yes. Yes it is. Every single bit of information is absorbed, stored, and analyzed. Given the volume of data, and how much the internet permeates our lives, yes, it's quite unreasonable when an government employee, who is not elected, nor has oversight, can pull up any information about you at will, without a warrant. It's essentially Google for people, and the search results are based on data that you would consider to be private. Note your very movements are also tracked at all times by your cell phone... that "metadata" bit that keeps getting tossed around. Even if your GPS is turned off, the phone tower records, through triangulation show your location to a reasonable degree of accuracy.
Q: Our doors are pretty wide open as a Country. Just about anybody can get in. This is on top of people of foreign descent who are recruited online and "converted". Should a Nation not at least monitor such potential threats?
A: Of course. Get a warrant on who you think is acting suspiciously, gather information about that person as much as you want, for a set amount of time, but if no information to corroborate the suspicion is found, stop monitoring the person. There is nothing to prevent surveillance.
Q: What would you do?
A:
1. Scrap all laws, policies, and procedures that run counter to either the language or the spirit of the constitution.
2. Require mandatory punishments at least 3x as severe for any person in power, as would be issued to a civilian.
3. Require all interactions between police/officials, and civilians to be recorded.
4. Eliminate any relationship between religion and government. No subsidies or tax exemptions for churches, mosques, synagogues, etc,. Actually have separation of church and state.
5. Institute a flat tax of 25%, that would apply equally to all people and companies, regardless of how they gain income.
6. Legalize all drugs. Use proceeds from sales taxes to fund detox programs & education.
I could go on and on, but that would be a nice start.
Some of those are just :wtf:
Buzz Lightyear travels to Uranus...
