McConnell Patriot Act Expansion, “Would Explicitly Permit the FBI to Collect Records of Americans’ Internet Search and Browsing Histories Without a Warrant”
May 13th, 2020I could link to dozens or hundreds of posts.
Talk about beating a dead horse… For decades.
Anyway, here’s one from just a few years ago: NSA Routinely Monitors Americans’ Communications Without Warrants
…if you think that place is only used to store information gleaned from taps on foreigners, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
Via: Common Dreams:
Sen. Ron Wyden was joined by privacy advocates Wednesday in forcefully condemning a new proposed amendment to the PATRIOT Act put forward by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that would greatly expand the U.S. attorney general’s surveillance powers under FISA.
McConnell’s amendment, which the Senate began debating Wednesday as lawmakers took up the reauthorization of the 2001 PATRIOT Act, would explicitly permit the FBI to collect records of Americans’ internet search and browsing histories without a warrant.
Meanwhile, in Australia:
New ASIO law one more step towards a totalitarian state.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/new-asio-law-one-more-step-towards-a-totalitarian-state-20200513-p54smi.html
NZ:
A bill giving police sweeping powers to potentially enter homes without warrants while enforcing Covid-19 alert level rules has passed.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12331547
I feel you Kev. As a lifelong student of history, incl. military aspects, and as such fairly well-informed on the subject of media and intelligence hijinks over the centuries, one of the hardest pills to swallow has always been the unparalleled success the mainstream media mindf**k exerts over the “average” individual. While discussing such subject matter with someone you suspect *may* be able to grok said subject matter, despite presenting clear documentary evidence, all but a rare few hang a nametag on you and dismiss the entire concept of state-sponsored mischief with the wave of an ill-informed hand. Years later when the reality (still not “theory”) you outlined bubbles to the surface, how many actually double back and offer up a “damn, you were right”? In my life, it’s a grand total of exactly ONE.
I used to think that my brave senator Ron Wyden was standing up for the little guy against those who seek to enact a police state. But you’re right, Kevin, that they already been collecting all that data for years (decades?) now, as Snowden revealed. So now I see news like this as Them taking advantage of an opportunity to move the Overton Window in the direction They desire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window
Sometimes I still miss your old slogan “Oh no, it’s not that bad… it’s much, much worse.”