we the people...

quick scenario...

you are white collar, perhaps even a ceo, of a major company that operates an email service...a large, black limousine, with windows tinted so dark you can't see inside, pulls up to the front of your corporate headquarters...for a corporation this large, that is not an unusual sight...nor is the sight of two men, dressed in plain black suits, with an appointment to speak with you...

once your office door is shut, however, the two gentlemen very calmly explain that they had to give you a false reason for their visit..they show you some very official-looking identification and hand you some very official-looking documents, all emblazoned with federal government logos...

they very calmly tell you, in no uncertain terms, that they are there to obtain the contents of every email sent to or from a particular account from within your database...and you are told, as you comply, that if you even discuss this episode with your spouse, neighbor, or parent, let alone a news agency or even in a courtroom, you will be facing up to five years in prison...

what just happened...?

the natural assumption would be that you have just personally witnessed an fbi issuance of a "national security letter"...

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nationalsecurityletters/index.html

all in the name of "national security"...

you see, the only problem is, since you can't tell anyone about it, you have no way of knowing if it was legitimate...

if you were a banker, turning over financial transaction information of a federal reserve board governor to these two men in black, under threat of imprisonment if you violate the demanded 'gag', you would have no way of knowing if that individual had just become the victim of an elaborate identity theft...until it was too late...

in the scenario i described, had the requested emails contained highly sensitive information sent from and/or to current/former member/members of the white house, you might have just handed that (intended to remain) secret info over to a terrorist, or a spy from a hostile nation...and you would be bound, by threat of lengthy incarceration, to never say a word, so that the enemy would never be caught...

i remain dumbfounded at the guardians of this nation and how little thought was given to this power-play and it's gaping "national security" hole in the offensive line, leaving the quarterback at the mercy of any linebacker smart enough and fast enough...

i am thankful, however, that thieves, terrorists, and hostile nations are even dumber than the architects of this play...or are they...?

since no one can talk about it, we'll never know for sure whether or not that hole has already been exploited, will we...?

not unless something horrible happens (in which case it would be too late to do anything about it), that is...

not one of the intelligence agencies, nor any of the national security advisors, gave any thought to protection while looking for ways to restrict our individual liberties and override the constitution, leaving our nation horribly vulnerable for all sorts of massive problems...

this is our "national security"...?

these words were written in 2007, by a graduate of princeton and the notre dame law school, who taught constitutional law at seton hall, and is the "youngest life-tenured Superior Court judge in the history of the State of New Jersey"...

"Since no one in Congress really seems to care about this megalomaniacal power grab, we'll just have to wait until the next scary animal-related flu, riot, or tropical storm to see how audacious the executive branch really is. And if (when?) that day comes, let's just hope that the American people will not be so distracted by fear that they unquestioningly believe the government is trying to help them. Let's hope Americans across the country won't stand out on their porches, sheepishly waving tiny American flags and watching the tanks roll down their suburban streets, rounding up and arresting the protesting wolves, while the last burning embers of democracy are being smothered before their eyes." (italics mine)

--"a nation of sheep", p. 77, by judge andrew p. napolitano

so, just in case of a fumble or an interception...

http://morphinedreams.com/blog5.php/2008/10/19/survival-guide-1