The NYTimes has a spot-on editorial on current FISA legislation.

I’m not sure how this one got by me. CNet is reporting that 3 days ago the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals stated “… That border police may conduct random searches of laptops without search warrants or probable cause. These searches can include seizing the laptop and subjecting it to extensive forensic analysis.â€? (Link to PDF of the decision.)

The case involves “imagesâ€? (read: child pornography) which were in the defendant’s browser cache but the idea that your laptop could be subjected to “extensive forensic analysisâ€? any (or every) time you cross the US border is a little disturbing.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a proponent of the abuse of children, photographed or not, but I am a firm believer in the right to privacy and this is one more stone in the wall of the coming US Police State.

Over at aboyandhiscomputer.com Mermaid posted on Dan Savage’s “Savage Loveâ€? column on City Pages. Dan voiced concern about a washington post story by January Payne about new federal guidelines asking females capable of conception to treat themselves as “pre-pregnantâ€? regardless of whether or not they plan to get pregnant.

From the post article:

“…[T]his means all women between first menstrual period and menopause should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes under control…[I]t’s important that women follow this advice throughout their reproductive lives, because about half of pregnancies are unplanned and so much damage can be done to a fetus between conception and the time the pregnancy is confirmed.â€?

I think Dan states his concern very clearly:

Color me paranoid, but ordering American women to regard themselves as “pre-pregnantâ€? because they may harm a fetus they don’t know they’re carrying opens the door to prosecuting women who harm their fetuses by failing to regard themselves as “pre-pregnant.â€? How long until “women should…refrain from smoking [and] maintain a healthy body weightâ€? becomes “women must…â€? Does that sound paranoid? Well, so did a war on contraception once.

Oddly enough, Bush’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t urge straight men to regard themselves as existing in a perpetual state of “pre-fatherhood.â€? Smoking, obesity, asthma, and diabetes could seriously hamper a man’s ability to do the heavy lifting that comes with fatherhood. But Bush’s CDC doesn’t seem that interested in regulating the behavior of all those fat, smoking pre-fathers out there.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for people living a more healthy lifestyle. But why not everyone?

Shane Harris and Murray Waas have an article on the National Journal’s site about an internal Justice Department inquiry into whether investigators were improperly denied security clearances.

You already know my feelings on this issue, so I’ll save the rant for another day.

From the article:

The only classified information that OPR investigators were seeking about the NSA’s eavesdropping program was what had already been given to Ashcroft, Gonzales and other department attorneys in their original approval and advice on the program, the two senior government officials said. And, by nature, OPR’s request was limited to documents such as internal Justice Department communications and legal opinions, and didn’t extend to secrets that are the sole domain of other agencies, the two officials said.

Please check out their story.

[via: Crooks and Liars]

The Fourth amendment to the constitution of the United States of America consists of one sentence and yet grants each citizen of the US with a great deal of freedom.

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.�

I am appalled that President Bush would blatantly violate the trust of Americans by authorizing the NSA to monitor the personal habits of US citizens.

The fact that americans aren’t screaming for impeachment is downright disheartening. It’s as if people don’t care that our personal freedoms are slowly (or not so slowly) being eroded. For now the NSA is only monitoring “call patternsâ€?. How long until that includes “call contentâ€? or worse?

More importantly why isn’t the Department of Justice able to get security clearance to review this “call pattern monitoringâ€? program? Putting the NSA, or any part of government, above accountability in this manner defeats the “Check and Balanceâ€? concept that is at the very heart of our constitution and smacks of authoritarianism.

President Bush’s actions have spoken much louder than his words. He has shown time and time again his willingness to unilaterally re-interpret the laws of this country in order to further his personal agenda and without regard to the constitution or any other branch of government.