First, Kevin Drum says the powers that be were likely aware that this wasn’t a slam dunk:

Gee, Pete, you seem awfully sure that this program “fully complies with the law and the Constitution.” So why is it that when Qwest asked for a routine court order to make everything legal and tidy, the NSA decided it would rather leave a gap in its surveillance than get one? According to USA Today, their lawyers told Qwest “they didn’t want to do that because FISA might not agree with them.”

And Pattycakes, via Xrlq, says the following (I’ve added notes to for your convenience):

Next thing you know, the government will require me to tell it: what I do for a living; exactly how much I make^1&2; where I live¹; what stocks I buy and sell^2&3, and for how much²; what I pay in property taxes²; and how much profit I make on my investments^2&3.

1 – The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.

2 – The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

3 – Powers of Congress . . . To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

I was looking looking for that section that said the .gov had the power to compile massive amounts of data on its citizens unrelated to commerce, a census, and a tax but I cannot. So, help me out here.

Posted in uncategorized on May 16th, 2006 by SayUncle | RSS 2.0 |