Zitat

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Those crazy American conspiracy theorists who live up trees with guns and drink their own pee don't seem quite so crazy any more. It turns out a "secret court order" has empowered the United States Government to collect the phone records of millions of users of Verizon, one of the most popular telephone providers - a huge domestic surveillance programme and a shocking intrusion into the lives of others....

A few observations. First, America is so conscious and proud of its history as a beacon of liberty that it often overlooks the tyranny that occurs on its own shores in the name of safeguarding democracy. The national security state has expanded to the point where it now functions outside of democratic control and with clear disregard for the constitution.

What's especially creepy about this case is that the state felt no legal obligation to tell citizens it was spying on them - or at least considering it. The result is a disturbing paradox: it's legal to collect information from companies but illegal for the companies to try to tell their customers about it. It seems the law prefers to take the side of the state.

Second, you get what you vote for - and both Republicans and Democrats keep on voting for authoritarians. There's a frustrating hypocrisy that many conservatives applauded the accrual of state power under Bush for the sake of fighting the War on Terror only to scream blue murder about it now it's happening under Obama....

This is exactly what the Tea Party was founded to expose and oppose. All the laughter once directed at the "paranoid" right now rings hollow.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/art...jectid=10889158

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And, weighing in from New Zealand.

Thanks for posting.

Zitat

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A few observations. First, America is so conscious and proud of its history as a beacon of liberty that it often overlooks the tyranny that occurs on its own shores in the name of safeguarding democracy. The national security state has expanded to the point where it now functions outside of democratic control and with clear disregard for the constitution.

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Quote: Cedric wrote in post #3

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"conservatives applauded the accrual of state power under Bush for the sake of fighting the War on Terror only to scream blue murder about it now it's
happening under Obama...."

False equivalency.

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Quote: Cedric wrote in post #3

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"conservatives applauded the accrual of state power under Bush for the sake of fighting the War on Terror only to scream blue murder about it now it's
happening under Obama...."

False equivalency.

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Quote: Frank Cannon wrote in post #5

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Quote: Cedric wrote in post #3

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"conservatives applauded the accrual of state power under Bush for the sake of fighting the War on Terror only to scream blue murder about it now it's
happening under Obama...."

False equivalency.

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I sure wasn't one of the Conservatives applauding it. I distrusted the GOP with it as much as the Rats today. It is a policy ripe for abuse as we see today.

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