That's not at all what I'm saying. I think politicians have tons to hide, in any administration. A random wiretap of the Whitehouse now and then would probably radically change politics for the better.
I understand the case for civil liberties, but come on. Wiretaps are used when people are suspected of doing something wrong, period. Nobody cares about your sexual deviancy or shopping habits or whatever. You can't be convicted of those things, so why would the government bother? If you're guilty, good, maybe you'll get caught and stop being a bad guy. If you're not guilty, and the government taps you, what's the big deal?
People make mistakes, and as soon as they realize you're not doing anything wrong they'll stop the taps. Why wouldn't they? We talk sometimes about Big Brother like there's actually some guy watching you - really, since it's government, phone taps would be listened to by a group of underpaid burned-out civil servants. Do you think they really care about your non-criminal behavior?
And it's not like wiretaps are free. A lot of technology goes into that, and a lot of people-hours. That's really expensive, especially when billed at government rates. Just the market factors alone prevent innocent people from getting spied on - there really is just no budget for it.
Slashdot Mirror
Bring it on!
People make mistakes, and as soon as they realize you're not doing anything wrong they'll stop the taps. Why wouldn't they? We talk sometimes about Big Brother like there's actually some guy watching you - really, since it's government, phone taps would be listened to by a group of underpaid burned-out civil servants. Do you think they really care about your non-criminal behavior?
And it's not like wiretaps are free. A lot of technology goes into that, and a lot of people-hours. That's really expensive, especially when billed at government rates. Just the market factors alone prevent innocent people from getting spied on - there really is just no budget for it.