Slashdot Mirror
ACLU Joins Fight Against Internet Surveillance
aychamo writes "The American Civil Liberties Union today joined an expanding group of organizations filing lawsuits against a new rule that increases the FBI's power to conduct surveillance on the Internet. The rule being challenged is one the Federal Communications Commission adopted in September, granting an FBI request to expand wiretapping authority to online communications.he ACLU charged in a petition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the ruling goes beyond the authority of CALEA, which specifically exempted information services. "The ACLU seeks review of the CALEA order on the grounds that it exceeds the FCC's statutory authority and is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, unsupported by substantial evidence, or otherwise contrary to law," the organization charged in its petition."
"I have as much authority as the pope, I just
don't have as many people who believe it" - George Carlin
How come the insane anti-American tyrannists who favor guns also favor Bush's trashing the Posse Comitatus Act, which prevents Bush from commandeering National Guards and effectively invading American states, without the required invitation of the state governor?
You try to make a practical argument for private guns, to oppose the Federal military. But the practical reality is that such ragtag opposition would be mowed down - the best we could hope for is an Iraq-style meatgrinder. And I can't compare Americans' will to resist to that of the organized, financed, trained (by Saddam, foreigners and the US) Iraqi insurgents, hardened over generations. In practical terms, such American resistance would just justify more military killing and suppression, and make the government look justified in wiping out "hooligans" as they'd inevitably be represented in the media. Big gangs like the Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings would have superiority - and it's obvious that their keeping and bearing arms is doing a lot more harm than any theoretical good.
The practical role for the people to counterbalance Federal tyranny is long overdue. Questioning the media PR for current tyranny and lies. Resisting the force-backed attacks by unaccountable police and lawyers (like the UnPatriot Act). And organizing to hold politicians accountable for sending our soldiers into corporate wars before sending them back to enforce martial law or other contrived coups on our liberty. All this wasted time, dividing the people on dangerous hobbies, has damaged the unity that is our most important asset in resisting any tyranny. No surprise that the tyranny level has risen so far already. Maybe if we were to regain all that lost ground, we could proceed to crank down our so often abused standing army, and try the militia model. Until then, the actual enemy is proven and obvious.
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make install -not war
What? I'd rather have the FBI monitoring the internet than the American Communist Lawyers Union bringing America a step closer to communism. It's so easy to block/prevent/disallow the FBI from viewing or interfering with your PC - if only people would get some brains.