To this day, progressives are still freakin’ over the loss of their civil liberties under the Bush Administration.
There’s the NSA warrantless eavesdropping program wherein the president breezily authorized spying on the phone calls of innocent citizens, in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The FBI’s TALON database shows the government has been spying on nonterrorist groups, including Quakers, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and Veterans for Peace. The Patriot Act lives on. And that’s just the stuff we know about.
I’ve been hoping one, just one person would provide proof that the federal government had nothing better to do than listen in on their personal conversation.
Please list, cite, name just one instance from 2002-8 in which you lost your freedom, or you were censored on the library internet, or you were followed around by the FBI, or your letter to the editor earned a wiretap, or even one instance of the loss of any freedom under Bush—and if so, just one example of how the election of Obama has once again restored your lost liberty. Nothing in the abstract, please—something concrete, an example both real and personal.
— Victor Davis Hanson, 1/21/09
I’m still waiting.
hmmm… I may be wrong on this…but…
“There’s the NSA warrantless eavesdropping program wherein the president breezily authorized spying on the phone calls of innocent citizens”
This would be a program called Echelon.
This program was put up by the 42nd President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton…
Yeesh…when libs get their facts wrong, they get em wrong…with STYLE.
Victor makes a fantastic point. I for one can say I wasn’t directly affected by the sweeping anti-terrorism acts, based on those specific standards. Even if the FBI tapped my phone atleast once, they must’ve said something like “no threat. next…”
Besides, no serious criminal has trusted a telephone line since the days of Ness tappin’ Capone’s phone.
Thank you, I’ve asked I don’t know how many leftbots to please explain how they’ve lost any of their freedom or liberties, but I usually get nothing back but seething anger and stuttering (stuttering pricks) or crickets chirping.
VDH is the man! I always enjoy his writing even though some of his historical references are well outside my Appalachian American limited knowledge sphere.
I did hear someone laughing once on one of my cell calls when I told my wife not to come home without at least a 12 pack…… if it was the Feds at least they have a sense of humor….
PETA – Non-terrorist my ass! They on NUMEROUS occasions fund people to firebomb Animal Research Labs, like one at Michigan State University.
The “warrantless wiretaps” and the like always confuse me….and I work at a large telephone company and even handle CALEA (Communications Assistance with Law Enforcement Act) requests from police departments, the FBI, etc. While we can start setting up a tap by a simple request in an urgent situation, by law we can’t turn over any data until we get the warrants, subpoenas, court order, etc. All data needs to be removed immediately as well. I can also be held personally liable for screwing it up, not just the company. So I call bullshit. There’s no “echelon” or black box anywhere in our network secretly gathering people’s email and phone calls.
Forgive me if I am mistaken, but didn’t the Patriot Act also make it a crime to bring forth evidence that you had been taped with a punishment regardless of trial or actual guilt of five years in prison?