After outraging many civil libertarians for his attacks on Edward Snowden and support of the Obama surveillance programs, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has finally called for answer on the tracking of citizens . . . by Ford Motor Company.
In a move reminiscent of Dianne Feinstein’s public outcry over drone surveillance, Franken appears to have found a surveillance issue that is sufficently removed from President Obama. He has demanded answers from Ford on the use of GPS information to track customers’ activities.
The controversy began after Ford Vice President Jim Farley said (in a statement later retracted), “We know everyone who breaks the law; we know when you’re doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what you’re doing. By the way, we don’t supply that data to anyone.” Strangely, that sounds familiar. If you recall, President Obama insisted that the NSA is gathering hundreds of millions of communications on citizens but that data is not shared with anyone until it is formally approved for disclosure.
Franken is chairman of the Senate subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. However, that did not motivate him in denouncing the warrantless program of the Obama Administration. We discussed earlier how Franken defended the program by saying “There are certain things that are appropriate for me to know that is not appropriate for the bad guys to know.”
Now, however, he is shocked, shocked by Ford. Franken insists that “I believe this is too little transparency. American drivers deserve better.” Hmmm.
Of course, if this is true, Justice Brandeis warned us years ago about where such things are first learned by companies and citizens alike:
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.
Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 485 (1928)
Source: CBS
@pete “like the other 99 are doing so good?”
Actually, some of them are really funny.
jude
like the other 99 are doing so good?
bfm
not necessary to legislate GPS operability. just make accurate GPS readings required for anti-theft starting. remember that little chip in your ignition key?
no GPS reading vehicle won’t start. should make solar flares interesting.
This is what happens when you vote for a comedian for Senate.
That’s one of the reasons that when I purchase a vehicle that it has a spot for an exterior antenna…. You can disconnect the. GPS that is built in and connect the radio to the direct airwaves…..
Any vehicle that has an internal or roof antenna most likely has gps built
in….. A friend of mine that’s an engineer for Ford told me how to disable the things….
It could be a Ford truck but you said “car.”
Darren if your car has 400k it’s not an American car. I guess, Toyota, Mercedes or Honda in that order.
I’ve read 2 books on SNL, having been a big fan since its inception. Putting aside politics, the UNANIMOUS view on Franken is he is an egotistical, pompous a$$hole. Franken and Davis was the most unfunny skit ever. However, I am objective, his Stuart Smalley skits and his movie, were funny. Although I’m a distinct minority regarding the movie since it was a flop.
And of course, let’s attack Ford, the only company we taxpayers didn’t have to bailout. The bailouts of GM and Chrysler were because of corporate mismanagement and union intransigence. Ford had solid management and a working positive relationship w/ their union. The bailout was more a cookie for the 2 failing unions, as much as the companies.
This is Franken trying to cover his pompous, smug, ass w/ the libertarian Dems.
@nick spinelli ” UNANIMOUS view on Franken is he is an egotistical, pompous a$$hole.”
Agreed. But still, he was much funnier then on SNL. I hardly ever get a laugh from him now.
Besides Phil Hartman played a much more believable, not to say funnier, high level government official than Frankin does – even after years of practice.
I wish there were some way we could just cancel his appearance – due to lack of interest.
Actually that may be too harsh. Frankin might have a place in entertainment. I could imagine Frankin doing well in advertising – some of the Ben Stein roles come to mind, and it does appear he is capable of saying anything for money – with a straight face.
“60 Words And A War Without End: The Untold Story Of The Most Dangerous Sentence In U.S. History”
“Written in the frenzied, emotional days after 9/11, the Authorization for the Use of Military Force was intended to give President Bush the ability to retaliate against whoever orchestrated the attacks. But more than 12 years later, this sentence remains the primary legal justification for nearly every covert operation around the world. Here’s how it came to be, and what it’s since come to mean.”
January 16, 2014 at 11:52pm EST
Gregory D. Johnsen Michael Hastings Fellow
http://www.buzzfeed.com/gregorydjohnsen/60-words-and-a-war-without-end-the-untold-story-of-the-most
Excerpt:
“One person, of course, did envision exactly this sort of open-ended, ill-defined war. But even now, more than a decade after her lonely vote, Barbara Lee still just wants the debate Congress never had in 2001.
“Let the congressional debate begin,” she told me recently. If the U.S. wants to use force in places like Yemen or Somalia and “if people think its worth it, for whatever reason, then let their member of Congress vote for it. That’s the point.”
A lot has changed in the 12 years since Stephen Rademaker and his son Andrew took their midnight drive to a smoldering Pentagon. The war that was authorized that night has now moved into its second generation, jumping from father to son. Stephen is out of government and Andrew, now a 27-year-old House staffer, is in. Osama bin Laden is dead and al-Qaeda, at least as it was configured on 9/11, is no more.
Analysts disagree over whether the new incarnation of al-Qaeda — smaller and more fragmented — is weaker or stronger than it once was. But one thing is certain. It is different. The only thing that has remained the same is that one sentence: 60 words and a war without end.”
And it’s being fought on the streets of America, in ways that haven’t yet come to light. The “tracking of citizens . . . by Ford Motor Company” is just the tip of the iceberg.
Never trust Al Franken. When you get paid to say things on tv it carries over to your political life. Maybe he is just a weenie and not a stooge. Moe, Larry Cheese is all I can say. Or how about: Hot sie tot sie, I smell a Nazi.
Well said JT.
I wonder what Senator Franken drives.
Cars as spyware. Terrible, now the NSA has a way to get past the courts banning GPS tracking without a warrant.
This week one of my cars just passed 400,000 miles. It’s a 1993. Now, I can see another motivation for getting another 100,000 or more. This spyware alone is enough to keep me from buying a new car.
I am just waiting to see legislation to the effect that GPS reporting equipment is safety equipment that must be maintained in good working order at all times.
ford also knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.
my guess is that ford is selling the data to advertisers. they know where you live, your income group, your age group, where you shop, and where you eat.
well if you understand the program of po lie tricks then you know that no one makes it anywhere in polietricking unless they can be bought, sold and blackmailed.. those who cant be any of the above 3 are killed, ex suicided, heart attacked or car accidents sound familiar to some? im sure it does…. again check out the franklink coverup and boys town scandal along with the clinton chronicles and you’ll begin to put the pieces together like triple digit others are
Setting up a system of SECRET checks and SECRET balances…
… Maybe the Constitutional Scholar can explain the Founders vision of checks and balances and how it relates to today’s American Democracy.
Obama’s Path From Critic to Overseer of Spying
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/us/obamas-path-from-critic-to-defender-of-spying.html
His Oath is to the People… NOT the “program”.
He ought to explain why his Oath is NOT to the People.
On a side note, anyone interested should Google ‘Fordlandia’ and check how Mr. Ford destroyed the part of Amazon and his grand plan there. It is worth the read.
Frankin’s material was much funnier when he appeared on SNL.
Say what you want, but I prefer the old Frankin.