There are many layers to this, which I don't have time to elaborate on. Apparently the Congress thinks it voted for something significant on this topic.
But more to the point, the idea of "declaring war" needs to be updated, since the traditional format requires that there be another country to declare war against. How do you declare war, in the formal sense of the term ( which is clearly what you are demanding), against an enemy that is nothing but an informally organized, multi-country conspiracy? That is, nevertheless, able to cause significant fatalities and economic damage? And with nuclear weapons on the loose.....? Come on people, its time to THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!
I am of the same generation, and I don't remember being told we "had to live with the risk of being incinerated in a nuclear attack in order to preserve our constitutional rights." We could have gleefuly surrendered all our rights, and we would still be living with a nuclear threat. The two ideas were never connected.
Again, I am not sure we are being asked to curtail our constitutional rights.
If you carry on a felonious conversation about, say, planning to murder your boss, by shouting about it to your conspirator while shopping at Macy's, you could hardly claim that your constitutional rights were being violated if someone overheard you and told the police. Likewise, talking on a cellphone is now, thanks to technology, like shouting in a mall.
I know this from painful personal experience, since I had my phone tapped by a jealous husband, and had the transcript of my private conversation read to me. Now that was clearly illegal, but also clearly available to anybody willing to fork over about $125.
So this whole theatrical huffed up outrage is sort of besides the point. The train has left the station.
And I am somehow, irrationally, I guess, comforted by the idea that my government is trying to stop terrorists from killing me.
The change of technology makes all the difference. No longer is it a radio transmission or an actual wire cable. Surely you understand that!
And the practicality of your suggestion is absurd. The phone numbers change because they buy a phone, use it once, then throw it away. And the sheer volume of traffic, coupled with the insufficiency of translators, might mean it is months before a flagged conversation will actually get listened to. Now THAT is a problem worthy of concern.
Get used to it. There is no such thing as a private phone conversation anymore, or a private email for that matter. Hasn't been for years. Say hello to reality.
This is absolutely silly.
In a condition known as War, it is okay to attempt to intercept the enemies messages.
I'm trying to picture Patton rolling toward Berlin, trying to get the ACLU to support a court order to tap the German phone lines.
It's a little more confusing now, particularly for the I-want-to-pretend-to-be-stupid types, because there are cell phones instead of phone lines, and the enemy doesn't wear a uniform anymore, and the battlefield is the Whole Wide World, but the idea isn't that hard to grasp.
Jeesh.
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There are many layers to this, which I don't have time to elaborate on. Apparently the Congress thinks it voted for something significant on this topic. But more to the point, the idea of "declaring war" needs to be updated, since the traditional format requires that there be another country to declare war against. How do you declare war, in the formal sense of the term ( which is clearly what you are demanding), against an enemy that is nothing but an informally organized, multi-country conspiracy? That is, nevertheless, able to cause significant fatalities and economic damage? And with nuclear weapons on the loose.....? Come on people, its time to THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!
I am of the same generation, and I don't remember being told we "had to live with the risk of being incinerated in a nuclear attack in order to preserve our constitutional rights." We could have gleefuly surrendered all our rights, and we would still be living with a nuclear threat. The two ideas were never connected. Again, I am not sure we are being asked to curtail our constitutional rights. If you carry on a felonious conversation about, say, planning to murder your boss, by shouting about it to your conspirator while shopping at Macy's, you could hardly claim that your constitutional rights were being violated if someone overheard you and told the police. Likewise, talking on a cellphone is now, thanks to technology, like shouting in a mall. I know this from painful personal experience, since I had my phone tapped by a jealous husband, and had the transcript of my private conversation read to me. Now that was clearly illegal, but also clearly available to anybody willing to fork over about $125. So this whole theatrical huffed up outrage is sort of besides the point. The train has left the station. And I am somehow, irrationally, I guess, comforted by the idea that my government is trying to stop terrorists from killing me.
But you are assuming the law has been broken.
The change of technology makes all the difference. No longer is it a radio transmission or an actual wire cable. Surely you understand that! And the practicality of your suggestion is absurd. The phone numbers change because they buy a phone, use it once, then throw it away. And the sheer volume of traffic, coupled with the insufficiency of translators, might mean it is months before a flagged conversation will actually get listened to. Now THAT is a problem worthy of concern. Get used to it. There is no such thing as a private phone conversation anymore, or a private email for that matter. Hasn't been for years. Say hello to reality.
This is absolutely silly. In a condition known as War, it is okay to attempt to intercept the enemies messages. I'm trying to picture Patton rolling toward Berlin, trying to get the ACLU to support a court order to tap the German phone lines. It's a little more confusing now, particularly for the I-want-to-pretend-to-be-stupid types, because there are cell phones instead of phone lines, and the enemy doesn't wear a uniform anymore, and the battlefield is the Whole Wide World, but the idea isn't that hard to grasp. Jeesh.