OT:OT:OT:NO MS:NO Hurt USA:Protecting what
- From: "abdi" <abdi@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 19:43:12 GMT
Published on Monday, May 15, 2006 by the Boulder Daily Camera
(Colorado)
Hello, White House?
by D. Parvaz
Hello, is this the White House? Is the president in? No? May I leave a
message?
This is D. Par oh, you already know who it is? Of course you do. Yes,
my Iranian father is fine. Then again, you probably know I call him every
weekend, right?
OK, so here's my message for President George W. Bush:
Look, I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I am, nonetheless, pretty
disgusted at what I read in Thursday's USA Today - the piece on the National
Security Agency secretly collecting phone records of millions of Americans,
even ones who aren't suspected of having terrorist ties. One source said the
database of call records is "the largest database ever assembled in the
world" and that the National Security Agency is working on creating "a
database of every call ever made" within the country's borders. Did you
happen to read the story?
Yeah, I know you held a news conference on the topic, but perhaps you
didn't read the story all that closely. If you had, you couldn't have held
that press conference with a straight face, defending the practices of the
NSA as perfectly legal, saying, "The privacy of all Americans is fiercely
protected in all our activities."
Dood. Buddy. George. The fact that you're spying on people in their
homes and at their businesses means you've already pretty much blown the
whole bit about protecting people's "privacy."
Get it? That horse has left the barn.
Speaking of horses, telling people that this type of surveillance is
legal (which, by the way, many of us don't buy) is hardly justification for
doing it. Until recently, getting to know a horse in the biblical sense in
Washington state was legal. Does that make it right? I'm fairly certain most
people don't have any confidence that the NSA is keeping its mitts off the
personal information that goes along with the phone numbers. The trust is
long gone. Besides, if the NSA was sure this program was above board, why
did it refuse to go through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court,
as Qwest lawyers requested?
And enough about the spying being "focused on al-Qaida and its known
associates." You're violating the rights of the citizens of this country,
who, by the way, are collectively your boss, while Osama bin Laden is oh,
that's right. You don't really know where he is, do you? You and your lot
use the devastating images of the 9/11 attacks to stir fear in people,
hoping it'll allow your administration to do whatever it wishes to do, with
impunity. I'm reminded of what Nazi leader Hermann Goering said when told
that in the democratic United States, only Congress could declare war, and
that people had a real voice: "Voice or no voice, the people can always be
brought to the bidding of the leaders," Goering said. "All you have to do is
tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of
patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any
country," he said.
That is the game you're playing, isn't it, George?
It's a dangerous game. The people in this country can take a lot from
their leaders, but they also have a history of getting riled up, dumping tea
in harbors, etc.
I wouldn't recommend ignoring the kind of ill will you're banking up
at this point. So lay off the spying, already.
See, George, I've had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach
for a few years now. It tells me that history will look back on your
administration and the country that supported it as symbols of idiocy,
hypocrisy and deceit.
And that feeling of absolute dread is informed by news report after
news report, showing the government's fabrication of "facts," mishandling of
funds, gross violations of civil rights, and on and on and on.
I'm outraged, and while I find that sustaining this level of outrage
is exhausting, it's not as exhausting as just watching this nightmare unfold
and not speaking about it.
You've got my number (in more ways than one, I imagine). So holla
back, if you'd like. I gotta go call AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth and give
them what for. Can't believe they forked over their customer records to the
NSA. Then I'll call Qwest and thank them for having a brass pair and
protecting their customers. Peace out, Georgie.
© 2006 The Daily Camera
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