WOW! A Clearer Picture As To What Exactly Senate Dems Are About To Approve (Americablog)

[kpete]

"Quick, has anyone you know emailed anyone who's called Pakistan lately?"

by John Aravosis (DC) · 10/16/2007

.......................

The question reflects the Bush administration's new standard for permitting the federal government to illegally spy on your phone records. If you have been in contact with Party X, and Party X has been in contact with Party Y, and Party Y has contacted anyone in Pakistan, then any conversations, email or phone or otherwise, that you've had with Party X can be turned over to the government by our friendly phone companies in violation of federal law.

Let me put this in simpler terms. Anyone of you who have ever emailed me, or chatted with me by phone, may very well have had your name included in the government's domestic spying sweep.

Why? Because a good friend of mine is Pakistani-American, and she regularly chats with folks in Pakistan. And under our government's new standard, if you chat with me, and I chat with someone who chats with someone in Pakistan, then the government has the right to look at the details of your communication with me.

WOW!!!!

Let's see, whose specific phone and email records that would cover in just the past couple of days? My emails and phone calls with folks at...

- CNN, ABC, NBC (including the folks at Hardball), TIME, Newsweek, National Journal, Salon, Newsmax
- Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post
- Harry Reid's office
- Nancy Pelosi's office
- The House Committee on Homeland Security
- John Edwards', Hillary's, and Obama's campaigns
- The DCCC and DSCC
- Folks at both HRC and NGLTF, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, Media Matters
- A number of big PR firms in town, including Fleishman-Hillard and Edelman
- The good folks at MTV, MySpace, Amazon.com, YouTube, Google, Macworld
- My friends and family around the country and abroad
- Our friends at DailyKos, ThinkProgress, TPM and lots of other blogs
- Every single one of you who has ever emailed me

ALL OF THE ABOVE-PLUS???!!!

Are you starting to get the picture as to what exactly the Senate Democrats are about to approve by law?

http://www.americablog.com/2007/10/if-youve-ever-emailed-me-government-has.html

[sailor65]

1. I still firmly believe

that the Dems have not fought this like they should because they know they have a great shot at all three branches, and THEY ALSO want the power.

[soothsayer]

5. Or because the spying has given the WH all kinds of dirt on 'em

which is why impeachment is off the table

[sailor65]

7. Sure, that's possible

but that scenario doesn't say much for them either! So many people are having a hard time resolving the disappointments lately, who knows what to think?

[eShirl]

2. it's like the Bacon game gone bad. n/t

[redqueen]

3. The Senate was always intended to be a check on the people's power.

It's still working.

[gateley]

4. I've e-mailed an Iraqi and a Turk. Wonder if I'm included on that august list.

They have lost sight of their goal and instead are wasting time, energy and money in their NEW goal of crushing civil rights.

[Atman]

6. I wonder if Thailand's on that list

My sister lives there, and I know they've had their terra struggles, too. I talk to/e-mail/skype with her regularly, but we always joke in the communications about being watched by Big Brother. Basically, I've always assumed that I was being monitored to some degree because I run what About.com calls a "seditionist" web site (jokingly, referring to my cartoons).

.

[Cerridwen]

8. Wonder if that applies if I recommend your threads...let's try it and see.

Oh yeah, snark, sarcasm, anger, the whole kit 'n kaboodle are in my subject line.

Thanks, kpete for connecting the connections.