One Republican's Response to NSA Phone Call Database

I was working with a guy today who I've known for a long time, he's a nice enough guy but a staunch Bush Republican, a read hard-headed Freeper type.

So I just tossed it out there, for fun: "What do you think of this NSA phone spying thing?"

His response, in brief:

1) The media is making too big of a deal out of it.
2) If you're not a terrorist, you don't have anything to worry about.
3) The Patriot Act allows for this, it's the law. Qwest is breaking the law.

I'm seeing him again tomorrow, maybe I'll ask him if he watch Joe Scarborough tonight.

...like a good Amerikan.

"nothing to worry about" once the real investigations begin when the "adults" take back Washington. Will it be ok if a dem president did the same thing?

I hate those types.

Oh. Well. The Patriot Act allows for it. So we should all just shut up and let Bush do whatever the hell he wants to do.

Never mind the Constitution - it's "just a piece of paper", anyway. Dubya is the President, dammit! He makes the laws, and we follow them. Or we're shipped to Guantanamo.

Sorry, but what a fool.
Ringo

Actually the Patriot Act forbids it, but nevermind.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

If someone steals his car, but just parks it and doesn't drive it, but keeps possession of it, is that all right with him?

Watch him go inside out with that one.

Then, tell him about the Fourth Amendment. He might be surprised to find out about it.

They are begging the government to take their beloved guns.

They are allowing precidence to be set on disregarding the Constitution. Dumbasses.

They talk about how liberals supposedly don't follow the Constitution when it comes to Second Amednment rights.

Look how much Dubya has done to undermine the Constitution in five-plus years. Pretty hypocritical.
Ringo

Let's say there's this guy who has never broken a law his entire life! Never even so much as a bounced check........I mean this guy has a spotless record!

And let's say there's someone else who may or may not have spoken to a terrorist. Maybe this other person just talked to someone in a country that is sympathetic to terrorist causes. And because of this, this second person is on some kind of a terrorist watch list.

And let's say the second person accidentally calls the first guy, Mr Clean with the spotless record. So Mr Clean answers the phone but it's a wrong number. Through no fault of his own, he is also put on a terrorist watch list..........just because he picked up his phone!!

Ask him what he thinks about that..............

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?entry=3850

After astutely pointing out the crux of the matter--whether NSA was acting within the law, which is far from being determined, QandO had this little update:

Sometimes I wonder. Listened in to Laura Ingraham for a short while. She spoke specifically about this subject and the segued into the "warrentless wiretapping" subject. She read a piece which pointed out that FDR ignored the law and okayed domestic monitoring of communication in an attempt to prevent spying and sabatoge. Law? Who needs it, right?

Having done that she immediately turned to immigration and wondered why we weren't vigorously enforcing existing immigration laws?

Heh ... the irony bell apparently never went off.

so how did FDR ignore that law when it wasn't even a law during his administration?

cause if those "slant eyes" turn out to be Red China Communist spies... his phone # is in that database, it makes him an accomplice.

"Tell us who your contacts are, Traitor!"

"I just wanted to order some Garlic Chicken!"

"Liar! We have the records. You called them twice in one month, on Tuesdays! Who is your contact, and why do you hate Amerika??!"

if it bothers him that the government is building a database on his children and grandchildren whenever they make a phone call.

Hey, I'm just saying, since he says you have nothing to worry about if you've done nothing wrong.

...and demanded to see his license and registration for no other reason than that they wanted to check him against their database of open warrants. They aren't allowed to do that by law without probable cause, and there's a reason for it!!

Why we are pampering these people who want to do away with our Constitution and Bill of Rights is beyond me.

of our civil rights used to be what made us different than the Soviet Union. Or, do I have that wrong?

:evilgrin:

..when are they going to delete all of this information from their Crays???


Its not theirs.

It is a total waste of your time and energy. Shun them. It makes life so much easier. If one tries to speak with me, telling me their propaganda, just say you are not a Christian ect,ect. By the way , the fundies are sure out and about ringing doorbells these days.

an inherent distrust of government. What changed? Funny thing, I used to appreciate good government....when competent leaders who had our best interests in mind ran it.

.... that's the problem with these morans. Only looking at now....

They're not good enough for decent society.

Asking to see his bank details...
Followed by his credit card numbers....
And his SSN...
His details of his sexual activities...
His last drug prescriptions...

And of course since he has 'nothing to hide' he should happily turn this over to you without question. If not he "obviously has something to hide" - maybe a meth lab, cheating on his wife, or he's receiving payments from Osama, since he is so afraid to turn over this information for examination.

Of course he may refuse and say he will only give such things to 'proper authorities' but I don't recall that the proper authorities were given permission in the first place, therefore you have exactly the same rights to see the information as the 'proper authorities' do..

it goes two ways. they want a nothing to hide on our side as rights are taken. if bush has nothing to hide then he too should allow us to investigate

who speaks their language. No Scabrous hasn't done a flip or had a big epiphany, but he is behind this issue. Seeing as it has negative implications for rightwing pols and corporate criminals as well I'm not surprized. His show last night was highly critical, seems to be saying that they have stepped over even his line in the sand--and we know how far right that line is. A rightwinger might take the very bad news from one of their own.

at the airport, then. After all, if he has nothing to hide...

then you can blackmail them, pressure them, pressure their bosses, end-run their plans (because you know in advance what they are going to do or write), pull dirty tricks on them, etc...

FISA warrants are very lax and easy to obtain. If BushCo can't even follow these laws, then what other laws do these folks feel they can freely break?

I don't necessarily worry about spying for myself, but I worry TREMENDOUSLY about spying on TV and print media reporters, media executives, business owners, election officials, politicians, community leaders, political enemies of BushCo, NGO personnel, UN officials-- people like Scott Ritter.

It is the hallmark of fascism to spy on your citizens and get away with it.