Just to fill up a little space late at night, I have a question for all of you.
Did you ever, in your life, consider the possibility that the Fourth Amendment
to the Constitution might one day become controversial? In a million years, would
you ever have imagined that embracing the protections that amendment grants every
American, might one day be depicted as somehow nefarious or subversive?
On my own site, I like to post the text of the Fourth Amendment at the end of each night, just to keep the horror of the NSA scandal very present. I’ll
keep that particular repetition to myself,and off of Booman, but one night
can’t hurt, so here goes:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by
Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons or things to be seized.
Good stuff. I wonder if the founders were thinking about the authoritarian
and intrusive tenancies of all governments when they ratified that one?
One other thing. Just in case you ever wondered if baby pandas and Constitutional
amendments mix well, here’s your chance to find out.
Have a lovely evening, and don’t let the data miners bite.
[Update] Izzy points out in comments that the Fourth Amendment has indeed existed in a
state of controversy for years, as a result of the the "War on Drugs." among other things.
This is certainly true, and it has been spoken to in far greater detail than I’m
prepared to get into at 3:00 in the morning (shit, I have to wake up for work soon).
At some time in our history, we’re going to get to the point where we require
our government to abide by the documents that establish our government’s very
existence. This whole business is by consent. Don’t let anybody lie to you,
your elected officials, and those who serve them, are the ones who owe us loyalty.
That’s how the loyalty flows in this system of government. They owe it to us
to obey the law, to both the letter and the spirit. They owe it to us to work on our behalf in whatever branch of government they serve. They swear loyalty to a
people, a nation and to a clearly defined set of principals when they take office. We have every right (obligation)to hold their feet to the fire and demand their
loyalty to the founding principals of this nation and their loyalty to us.
In the drug war, the people who’s rights are shit on regularly, are often not
sympathetic characters. That makes a full out Fourth Amendment defense difficult,
though certainly not impossible. Indeed, it’s what should be happening regularly
where applicable.
What makes NSA scandal special is that it effects everyone. From what I can glean from
the limited information available, the government is tapping directly into the
massive data hubs that exist in New York and a few other cities, with the cooporation
of the companies that maintain those hubs.
Everything, from voice, to email, to encrypted communications is vulnerable.
All we have to go on is thier word (cough) that they’re being responsable about
what they look at. Well, fuck that. Like every other American, I a have a right
to be secure in my person, papers, house and effects against any such nonsense.
For those that had the eyes to see, the abuses of the drug war, were beyond the pale. I
feel like this one ought to be really easy to see, even for those who try to look
away. Only time will tell.
