WHAT DOES THE FOURTH AMENDMENT SAY?
by Ron Branson, ©2013, National JAIL4Judges Commander-In-Chief
(Dec. 25, 2013) — One of the more controversial issues of the day is that regarding the National Security Agency (N.S.A.), namely, the seizing of everyone’s telephone and internet communications. Just this last week surprisingly 60 Minutes was granted an interview of the NSA. One of the questions presented to the NSA was regarding how many public interviews the NSA has conducted over the years. The response given was one, only this current one. Obviously, the NSA is concerned over its own privacy, and the only reason they granted this interview with 60 Minutes was because so much public heat has been directed towards the NSA over the recent Snowden exposure of its collection of information on every American citizen in this country.
It was interesting to listen to their excuses and their defenses for their actions. First off, they claim they are gathering such information for the defense and the protection of this nation against terrorist worldwide. While they admit to gathering such information against all Americans, they claim they do not sift through it personally except in connection with foreign intelligence. But even here, they admit to sifting through such personal data of foreign potentates, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She is not even remotely suspected to be connected with foreign terrorism, or the overthrow of America, foreign or domestic. In fact, the nation of Germany is determined to be a friendly nation toward the United States. Nonetheless, we have provided to her just cause to be hopping mad over being personally monitored by NSA snooping into her personal affair and conversations. What is really happening is we are straining our relations with those who have established most favored nation status. It can’t be helped for one to wonder if Barack Obama would be hopping mad to discover that all his personal and confidential communications were being monitored by governments around the world who hold most favored-nation status.
NSA claims they are abiding by their Oath to faithfully observe the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution which says, “The right of the People to be secure in their Persons, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon Probable Cause, supported by Oath or Affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the Persons or things to be seized.” (December 15, 1791).
NSA says there is a FISA judge issuing the warrants for their clandestine activities. Further, they claim that when they have acted in the absence of a court warrant, these were only actions conducted through mistake and by error of their employees. Hence, violations of their Oaths to faithfully observe the Fourth Amendment must be excused based upon human error, as they are handling such massive volumes of information on so many People. In such cases they have been found to gather personal and private information on ex spouses and girlfriends, etc.
But, as John Wolfgram, a personal acquaintance of this author for many years, points out, while most criticism and defenses put forth regarding NSA is based upon the “Search” aspect of the Fourth Amendment, the real violation of their Oaths of Office is based upon the “Seizure” aspect of the Fourth Amendment. NSA claims the information gathered on Americans is not personally sifted through for particulars, but they are only holders of such information just in case they should need it in the future. NSA claims they can go back at least five years on every person in America when the FISA Court is satisfied that there exists Probable Cause regarding any person. But Wolfgram raises the issue of how they came of such information in the first place rather than what might such information prove. Did the FISA judge write out and issue millions of warrants on every American in the “seizing” their such personal information? Thus, the issue is, according to Wolfgram, is not what are they going to do with all this massive amounts of information they have collected on every American,, but rather how did they come to possess such information in the first place. NSA certainly did not ask the permission of all Americans to gather their phone and internet information. Neither was there Probable Cause established to gather it.
Accordingly, such information must constitutionally be deleted and removed from every NSA computer record unless they can prove they first constitutionally sought for and did obtained a lawful warrant for its seizure.
Oh Brother-Big Brother is at it again. Very interesting!
Bloomberg: Trans Pacific Partnership Is “Corporatist Power Grab”, “As Democratic And Transparent As A One-Party State,” Shrouded In “Big Brother-Like Secrecy”
Posted on December 24, 2013 by WashingtonsBlog
Stop the Anti-American Power Grab
The U.S. Trade Representative – the federal agency responsible for negotiating trade treaties – has said that the details of the Trans Pacific Partnership are classified due to “national security”.
A Congressman who has seen the text of the treaty says:
There is no national security purpose in keeping this text secret … this agreement hands the sovereignty of our country over to corporate interests.
It will increase the cost of borrowing, make prescription drugs more expensive, destroy privacy, harm food safety, and – yes – literally act to destroy the sovereignty of the U.S. and the other nations which sign the bill.
To give an idea of what would happen to American law if TPP passes, just look at Equador …
It’s courts awarded billions against Chevron for trashing huge swaths of rainforest. But then a private arbitration panel simply ignored the country’s court system.
If TPP passes, American courts will be sidelined as well. (Conservatives might want to read this and this.)
William Pesek writes at Bloomberg:
The Big Brother-like secrecy enshrouding the treaty on the U.S. side [is stunning.]
***
WikiLeaks did what Barack Obama’s White House refuses to: share portions of the document with the public. The draft of the intellectual-property rights chapter by Julian Assange’s outfit validated the worst fears — that TPP is a corporatist power grab. Rather than heed the outcry, the U.S. doubled down on secrecy, refusing to disclose more details.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/12/bloomberg-trans-pacific-partnership-corporatist-power-grab-democratic-transparent-one-party-state-shrouded-big-brother-like-secrecy.html
Let’s see if I understand this: The CIA’s charter supposedly forbids them to spy within the borders of the USA; the FBI is tasked with interior crimes; the “No Such Agency” can spy on anyone, anywhere and, supposedly because of the Patriot Act, everyone, which they happily and enthusiastically share (there’s a joke here) whatever information they obtained (by any means) with everyone else (DEA, ICE, Homeland Security, DOJ, Secret Service, IRS), is that about right?
Oversight? The Whistler Blowers are ridiculed, censored, fired, maybe killed, and we expect them to follow the ‘rules’ by taking their findings and concerns “up the ladder, up the chain of command?”
No, I don’t think so. Think about this: of all of the THOUSANDS of NSA employees, only Snowden had the courage to expose 4th Amendment abuses. Incredible, because that means all the other NSA employees were fine with the Constitutional abuses on their fellow citizens (and themselves, right?).
Multiple foxes guarding the hen house (that be you and me), yet there’s absolutely NO ONE guarding the foxes, because the mainstream media is nothing but a mouthpiece for the crooks who have taken-over our country.
Solution? Well, there’s a lot of things we must do, starting with identifying the enemy (that be Islam, if anyone’s been paying attention), then move-on to abolishing the Federal Reserve Bank, IRS, and the Department of Homeland Security.
For starters.
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NSA is the Puzzle Palace. Old book, still insightful.