My what a tangled web we weave. It is disheartening but not unexpected that the American people are now again deciding to confront the Obama Administration on warrantless wiretapping, a clear violation of every citizen's 4th Amendment rights. But why are unreasonable searches such a big deal and how does that relate to the First Amendment?
Historically, governments trying to prevent reasonable voices from instigating much-needed change will resort to unreasonable searches, unreasonable seizures, unreasonable arrests, unreasonable torture, and unreasonabe murder in order to stifle the message. Warrantless searching is Step #1 when it comes to abusing a population of people and eventually depriving them of far more important rights.
But this story also deserves a place at Pleading the First because of all the work we did in the past decade to generate public awareness of this horrific government menace. So here's a little of the back story the rest of you may have forgotten, a little recap for those not keyed into the underground.
The Federal government's warrantless wiretapping program began in 2001. Most people, even in the underground, are confused over this, thinking President George W. Bush started the program in response to 9/11. The reality is that the warrantless wiretapping program started in February, within weeks of Bush even taking office.
The method of the program was ingenious, and affected not only carriers and telecommunication corporations, but also product manufacturers and other peripheral industres. Basically, the NSA would commission from each corporation, privately, an insistence on access to all "company data". The private business contracts would also make it clear that the company was expected to record and save every phone call and internet data transmission. In the case of cell phone manufacturers, your everyday producers were legally required to have on-board wireless wiretapping technology or else they wouldn't be allowed to sell product in the USA.
If a corporation was smart enough to figure out that what was going on and decided to protest, NSA pulled the contracts, affacting corporate worth, and then arrested the CEOs for insider trading. Do some research on the cases of Bernie Ebbers and Joe Nacchio, who served jail time for not bowing to Bush. Also, feel free to dig up some former executive-level employees of MCI-WorldCom and Qwest Telecommunications, and you'll hear first-hand what those guys had to say about their arrests.
See, all the energy Americans put into getting Bush out of office was because of stories like this. We were disgusted that a sitting American president could have such contempt for our ways and traditions. We were also disgusted that most Republicans would not join the Democrats in getting rid of Bush, and we were disgusted that such anti-Americanism on Bush's part would nevertheless win him re-election. (Then again, John Kerry was probably the worst choice to head the Democratic ticket, but that's another discussion for another day.)
When America voted for Democrats to control Congress in 2006, we hoped that Bush would be brought to bear for his crimes against us. Instead, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that any legal action against President Bush was "off the table". In 2008, when our agitation got Obama elected, the new President also declared that he would not pursue charges against Bush because it would be looking backward instead of forward. Imagine a prosecutor saying that to a family of a teenager who was raped and murdered: "We don't want to prosecute the murdering criminal because we want to move forward."
And yet Democrats bought the argument hook, line, and sinker. So now the shoe is on the other foot. Now it's Democrats who are abusing an illegal government program that shouldn't be in existence. Now it's the Democratic Party and its President who can squarely bear the blame for not putting a stop to criminal behaviour that threatens our nation and erodes the rights of every citizen.
If Democrats want a Congressional majority before Obama leaves office, they need to reverse course, pack up the program, and throw Bush in jail. Believe me, once Republicans understand the criminal actions that went on in the White House from 2001-2009, they won't be voting Republican for a while. Of course, to prosecute Bush is to prosecute only a small piece of the mess in Washington.
The excuse "this program protects us" is bunk. That's like me saying I need a nuclear bomb to protect my home from intruders. How can a program protect me if it makes it easier for the government to stifle my speech, take my money, and prevent me from my right to protest and rebel? How can I be free if every phone call I make or email I send can be read by my President?
So the Democrats and Republicans are both morally compromised. Let's do away with both parties so we can fix this system. Focus on third parties until Democrats and Republicans are but a footnote in history. Neither of the major parties has what it takes to run America, obviously. Neither knows how to protect us from terrorists and neither is able to protect us in any manner that doesn't fundamentally hurt us. It is high time for change....
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