This Time, It Really Is Orwellian

[Fridays Child]

This Time, It Really Is Orwellian

Given George W. Bush’s history of outright lying, especially on national security matters, it may seem silly to dissect his words about the new disclosure that his administration has collected phone records of some 200 million Americans.

But Bush made two parse-able points in reacting to USA Today’s story about the National Security Agency building a vast database of domestic phone calls. “We’re not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans,” Bush said, adding “the privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities.”

In his brief remarks, however, Bush didn’t define what he meant by “ordinary Americans” nor whether the data-mining might cover, say, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people, just not “millions.”

For instance, would a journalist covering national security be regarded as an “ordinary American”? What about a political opponent or an anti-war activist who has criticized administration policies in the Middle East? Such “unordinary” people might number in the tens of thousands, but perhaps not into the millions.

Also, isn’t it reasonable to suspect that the Bush administration would be tempted to tap into its huge database to, say, check on who might have been calling reporters at the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker – or now USA Today – where significant national security stories have been published?

Consortium News

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. Let's hope the whistleblowers know to use a pay phone

Otherwise, they should avoid airports, train and bus stations and tall buildings.



Educate A Freeper - Flaunt Your Opinions!
http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[Fridays Child]

2. Good point. nt

[Atman]

4. Pay phones? What's a pay phone?

You must live deep in the 'burbs, man! Pay phones have gone the way of curb-service diners in most locales. The reason given is that "too many drug dealers use them." It's pretty tough to find a pay phone these days, although they do still exist.

[Cronus Protagonist]

5. I live in a big city - 12 payphones per block

It is you who must live in the burbs :)



Educate A Freeper - Flaunt Your Opinions!
http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[Atman]

3. "Soccer Moms" with W stickers on their minivans are "ordinary Americans."

(And Soccer Dads.) The rest of us are fucking toast.

[tanyev]

6. Here's the deal. We read Orwell and we see a cautionary tale,

something to be avoided at all costs. Someone like Karl Rove reads Orwell, he thinks, "This is exactly what I want! I can use this as my playbook!"

[Fridays Child]

7. For all intents and purposes...

...what you say might as well be the truth.