theski wrote:Hector, Next, Lets try this again: I am a Libertarian by heart. The less gov involvement in my life the better. That being said WTF do I care if the NSA decides that I am a national secruity risk and needs to tap my phone.
The FBI has show great willingness to abuse these powers in the past, and I don't think they've gotten that much more responsible. If they have a larger file on Einstein (1,427 pages) than on Ted Bundy (257 pages), Vito Genovese (102 pages), and Baby Face Nelson (224 pages)
combined, how likely are they to be careful in who they suspect?
theski wrote:If you think the gov has nothing better to do than care about community watch programs and listen to phone conversations than you need a little Black Helicopter Therapy.
Well, they've had the time to
watch baseball,
listen to music,
go to art galleries, and
read science journals. If they had time to do all that, then I'd wonder about what else they might do. Having seen serious abuses of power by the FBI in the past, I don't trust them to not abuse it in the future.
theski wrote:Ideology is what this comes down to. Some of us are willing to put up with some BS wating lines at airports or a file on us somewhere in Maryland for the security that may or may not come with it. We just need to decide which side of the fence you sit on.
I've got no problem with airport lines. They've had them in Europe for years, and should have had them here. The issue at hand is that 9/11 is being used to institute policies that allow an unprecedented level of privacy invasion. Remember the paranoid fear that the 'Net was being watched? Well, my father (an exec at
Yotta Yotta*) has seen a system in use that has been monitoring global internet patterns, and has apparantly detected probes on US urban control computers (sewage, water, etc.). I don't have proof to link to.
theski wrote:Do you trust the gov to do the right thing or not??
No. I don't.
theski wrote:Hector.. My point on the visit to NY was not to diminish your feelings but to maybe make it a little more real. I was living in Boston at time. I went down to Ny a week later 9/18 I will never forget the sight the sounds and the smells. I will give up some personal freedoms, to advert the next one..
As I said earlier, I almost lost my father to 9/11, and thought I had for three days. I lost two friends to 9/11 itself, and I've also lost friends to other terrorist attacks before 9/11. Both of them were bystanders who moved to help wounded, and who were subsequently shot.
Based on this understanding, I'm not willing to give up personal privacy without a very good reason. My attiude didn't change after Oklahoma City, and it didn't after any of my friends died, and it wouldn't have if my father had died.
*Mentioned to explain his ability to access, not to increase my credibility.