Many civil libertarians refused to vote for President Barack Obama given his dismal record in the expansion of the security state, surveillance law, and assertions of unchecked executive power. The Administration went into radio silence on such issues during the campaign in an effort to win back liberals (as they did on medical marijuana) only to announce after the election that they would resume the same policies. The Democratic leadership has shown the same duplicity on civil liberties for years — including hiding knowledge of the Bush torture program and surveillance programs as well as blocking any meaningful investigations into those alleged crimes. Now, some Democrats have reportedly put that hypocrisy on public display again. Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the bill which, as originally written, required warrants for the reading of emails and was heralded by Democrats during the campaign as their showing of fealty to privacy and civil liberties. The Justice Department then took the bill and flipped it to serve as a sweeping denial of privacy rights . . . and some Senators are pushing on passage now that the election is over. The bill includes warrantless access to university email systems.
The re-written bill now authorizes warrantless access to Americans’ e-mail for over 22 federal agencies with only a subpoena and no probable cause. State and local agencies will have access to email system, including university emails. Internet providers will have to give notice if they are thinking of informing customers of access given to such agencies. Such notification can be postponed by up to 360 days. While not speaking for his Democratic colleagues, Leahy says that he does not support some of the exceptions. Leahy was once an ally for civil libertarians but is now viewed with great suspicion given his authorship of the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act as well as the Protect IP Act. An article in The New Republic concluded Leahy’s work on the Patriot Act “appears to have made the bill less protective of civil liberties.” He also inserted controversial portions of the Patriot Act. Leahy however insists that he will oppose rollbacks. Yet, the Justice Department has objected to protections in the bill according to reports and some Senators are pushing for the restrictive version of the bill. Leahy’s staff says that he will push a draft closer to the original in committee. [Update: CNET is standing by its story
and says that Leahy only backdown after criticism following its story and that Leahy is abandoning amendments of his own making].
There is no denial of the opposition to the privacy protections by the Administration.
However, the Obama Administration is quoted as objecting that privacy protections would have an “adverse impact” on national security investigations. Democratic members doing the bidding of the Administration will find likely allies in the GOP, including Senator Chuck Grassley who has warned about the dangers of too much privacy.
The control of the security establishment over both White House and Congress appears now completely unchecked and unabashed. After securing reelection, President Obama wasted no time in returning to his prior record of disregarding privacy and civil liberties concerns. Once again, both the media and liberals are muted in any response when the same re-writing of the bill would have produced outcries under the Bush Administration. Of course, Obama can certainly point out that liberals should have had no illusions. On torture, military tribunals, surveillance, undeclared wars, and other issues, Obama made himself painfully clear. His campaign was one of personality over principle and only the personality remains.
[UPDATE: after the CNET story gained national attention, Leahy’s people went into full action in denying that Leahy supports warrantless access to email communications. However, there is still no denial of the quoted Administration officials opposing the privacy protections. Moreover, there is confirmation that a number of versions — including some with these exceptions to the warrant requirement — are being circulated. The bill can be changed in Committee or on the floor. Likewise, if the civil liberties community rallies to oppose warrantless searches, the Administration could seek to kill the bill or gut the provision to leave the status quo.]
Source: CNET
Romney insulted 47% of the electorate and continues to do so…..
This is an interesting and sad story. However, we have a duty to push Obama to the left and to the side of civil liberties. We would not have any chance to be successful in this area in a Romney administration. We also need the Judiciary to step up and denounce this legislation as unconstitutional, if it is allowed to pass as is.
Democrats reading our emails and evangelical republicans wanting to get in our pants. WTF?
We are doomed to be a police state and broke to boot.
Some civil libertarians that voted for Jill Stein might not know that she is for increasing gun control laws and more hate crime legislation and prosecution.
I know we’re safe…. Obamas in charge…..
Follow
contact page https://www.leahy.senate.gov/contact/ – everyone write him over http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57552225-38/senate-bill-rewrite-lets-feds-read-your-e-mail-without-warrants/ … on twitter
Sure Romney was worse than Obama exactly how…… I didn’t like either one of them….. But yes he is the lesser of two evils….. Evil is still evil….
Good catch Gene on Woe-fully…… Woe is me….. But he…. He says he’ll back women’s right….. You can bank on it…..
Heard this morning the FBI raided the Detroit Public Library this morning…
Hmmmmm…….
It’s crazy…..
Disgusting. This is the stuff that the true journalists in this country should be raising hell about and bringing to the forefront. This should be on the front page of every major newspaper. Most citizens of this country don’t and won’t even know about it.
“The re-written bill now authorizes warrantless access to Americans’ e-mail for over 22 federal agencies with only a subpoena and no probable cause. State and local agencies will have access to email system, including university emails. ”
I am no constitutional scholar, but it sounds like it is clearly violative of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution to me.
If more good Americans knew what’s really going on in the U.S., perhaps we’d see some push-back but, for now, most are content with their illusion of safety and security.
But make no mistake — it’s ugly out there.
“In 1935 Germany… many citizens felt uneasy and sensed that doom was on the way. More laughed such talk off and continued to find reasons to smile and enjoy the day. We all know the end of that story.” -refer to the following link
If all of this is lost on you? Well, when you, personally, feel the pinch of the state, you’ll get it.
“Everybody’s a Target in the American Surveillance State”
By John W. Whitehead
March 26, 2012
“Everybody’s a target; everybody with communication is a target.”—A senior intelligence official previously involved with the Utah Data Center
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/everybodys_a_target_in_the_american_surveillance_state
“At five times the size of the U.S. Capitol, the UDC will be a clearinghouse and a depository for every imaginable kind of information—whether innocent or not, private or public—including communications, transactions and the like. Anything and everything you’ve ever said or done, from the trivial to the damning—phone calls, Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, Google searches, emails, bookstore and grocery purchases, bank statements, commuter toll records, etc.—will be tracked, collected, catalogued and analyzed by the UDC’s supercomputers and teams of government agents. In this way, by sifting through the detritus of your once-private life, the government will come to its own conclusions about who you are, where you fit in, and how best to deal with you should the need arise.”
America already has its own Stasi-like apparatus but, for those who aren’t yet aware of it? Well, it’s just crazy-talk.
“It can’t happen here.” Right?
And Rubio says the age of the earth is one of the great mysteries. So after all the election kerfuffle, nothing has changed. The crazy religious wing of GOP is still nuts and the democrats are determined to further dismantle civil liberties. Why did we spend billions to end up in the same place where we were before?? Somin’ ain’t right!
What the hell is wrong with Leahy? I remember him aggressively pushing back against some of the measures that the Bush admin tried to put forward. Am I misremembering?
Hopefully, we can mobilize against this travesty.
People knew what they were voting for. Until it’s their emails being made fodder for public consumption most people won’t have any issues with lack of privacy.
oops! voters are
Political scientists tell us that accountability is an essential pillar for any government that fancies itself as democratic. That means we don’t have one now doesn’t it?
No,…… Romney was far worse than Bush and his vp was a theocratic disciple of Ayn Rand. I probably line-up more with Jill Stein, but she only got .35% of the vote. The voters that place civil liberties high on their list of priorities is miniscule… not a good thing but the way it us. Women’s rights rank much much higher.
Less remorse, but remorse nonetheless.
Anyone having buyer’s remorse now?
1984 Whores, We charge you, We kiss you, then We tell on you.
Freedom of expression is getting anally probed by Orwellian Pols.
The first thing they discovered up there was the 1st amendment, and a whole lot of Dem heads.
I read this story this morning and hoped you would catch it too, but I must say “woe back liberals” is one of the funniest/saddest/Freudian typos ever.