Carrier Immunity Another Step Closer
by Matthew
It would be convenient to blame Mr. Bush or even Congress for this story; the truth, however, is we, the American people, are just as much to blame. The American public is known for their political apathy, myself included, which explains why laws, as the Patriot Act and Patriot Act II, have been allowed to exist. If these laws weren't bad enough, the unwarranted wiretapping in the weeks and months proceeding 9/11 authorized by President Bush exacerbated the decline of personal privacy and civil liberties in the Unites States.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
All of this, as bad as it might, is further compounded by the fact that the House has passed an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, sending it to the Senate to grant immunity to wireless carriers for these violations of privacy. By granting this immunity, the U.S. Government is absolving the wireless carriers' complicity in what has been called by civil right advocates, at best, unconstitutional, and at worst, illegal even criminal.
According to this same article by RCR Wireless it wouldn't exempt the U.S. Government from lawsuits, only the wireless carriers. I would like to encourage everyone to call, write or email your Senator to express your objection to a law that compounds such blatant abuse of power. Now is the time to act, before it is too late.
- Posted from Nokia N810 -
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