bill of rights

What It Means to Be An NSA “Target”: We Need Immediate FISA Amendments Act Reform

"In plain English: the NSA believes it not only can (1) intercept the communications of the target, but also (2) intercept communications about a target, even if the target isn’t a party to the communication. The most likely way to assess if a communication is “about” a target is to conduct a content analysis of communications, probably based on specific search terms or selectors. And that, folks, is what we call a content dragnet. Because the target remains a non-US person, the most robust protection for Americans’ communications under the FISA Amendments Act flies out the window." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat It Means to Be An NSA “Target”: We Need Immediate FISA Amendments Act Reform

IRS agent: Tax agency is still targeting Tea Party groups

"Testimony released Thursday by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp reveals that an agent involved in reviewing tax exempt applications from conservative groups told a committee investigator that the agency is still targeting Tea Party groups, three months after the IRS scandal erupted. In closed door testimony before the House Ways & Means Committee, the unidentified IRS agent said requests for special tax status from Tea Party groups is being forced into a special 'secondary screening' because the agency has yet to come up with new guidance on how to judge the tax status of the groups." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS agent: Tax agency is still targeting Tea Party groups

Phoenix Police Helicopter responds to a photographer asserting rights

"The PPD officer who initiated the contact tried to disarm me right off the bat. (I was open carrying my 1911 in a holster on my right hip). He was unsuccessful as I stood my ground and stated that I do not consent in seizures. Now I know I could have just kept my mouth shut and not played along with their game and not answered any of their questions, but I guess I have to admit it was kind of fun, as you can tell from some of my answers to the PPD questions. Nothing dramatic ever really happened but I must say they sure did have one hell of a show of force with 15+ officers and an Air unit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPhoenix Police Helicopter responds to a photographer asserting rights

N.S.A. Said to Search Content of Messages to and From U.S.

"The N.S.A. is not just intercepting the communications of Americans who are in direct contact with foreigners targeted overseas. It is also casting a far wider net for people who cite information linked to those foreigners, like a little used e-mail address, according to a senior intelligence official. While it has long been known that the agency conducts extensive computer searches of data it vacuums up overseas, that it is systematically searching — without warrants — through the contents of Americans’ communications that cross the border reveals more about the scale of its secret operations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingN.S.A. Said to Search Content of Messages to and From U.S.

A Radical Constitutional Amendment to Protect Whistleblowers

"The Constitution’s failure to protect free speech at a seemingly basic level points to a major defect in its design. While it may be praiseworthy in forcefully demanding that the government it authorizes respect the rights of its citizens, it has not provided the real structural support to ensure that those demands are met. Anyone seriously interested in protecting free speech must push for a very radical 'constitutional amendment.' We should work not just to change the words of the document we call 'the Constitution,' but instead amend our legal system by completely changing the way it’s constituted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Radical Constitutional Amendment to Protect Whistleblowers

Facing pressure from U.S., encrypted email service Lavabit shuts down

"An encrypted email service believed to have been used by US leaker Edward Snowden shut down on Thursday apparently as a result of pressure from US authorities. Lavabit owner Ladar Levison posted a message at the website telling users that the he was pulling the plug on the secure email service launched in Texas nearly a decade ago. Levison lamented that he was barred from sharing details of what prompted Lavabit’s demise. US law allows national security officials to make requests to companies that come with the caveat they must be kept secret." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFacing pressure from U.S., encrypted email service Lavabit shuts down

Van Jones rips Obama’s ‘ridiculous’ denial of domestic spying operations

"Van Jones, a former White House special advisor, blasted President Barack Obama on Wednesday for cracking down on whistleblowers. 'First of all, we do have a domestic spying program, and what we need to be able to do is figure out how to balance these things, not pretend like there’s no balancing to be done.' 'He said that if somebody like Snowden wanted to be a whistle-blower, they could have gone ahead. Well, hold on a second, sir. That is — you are right now prosecuting more whistleblowers – not only than any American president, that every American president combined!'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVan Jones rips Obama’s ‘ridiculous’ denial of domestic spying operations

Snowden’s Email Provider Shuts Down

"I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit. After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations. I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot. [..] This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States. Sincerely, Ladar Levison Owner and Operator, Lavabit LLC" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden’s Email Provider Shuts Down

Andrew Napolitano: Domestic Spying Is Dangerous to Freedom

"How is it that the government can charge Edward Snowden with espionage for telling a journalist that the feds have been spying on all Americans and many of our allies, but the NSA itself can reveal secrets and do so with impunity? All of this happened in the dark, with the permission of President Obama, with the knowledge and consent of fewer than 20 members of Congress who were forbidden from doing anything about it by the laws they themselves had written, and based on secret legal arguments accepted by a secret court that keeps its records secret even from the judges who sit on the court." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAndrew Napolitano: Domestic Spying Is Dangerous to Freedom

Wisconsin lawmaker & state official threatened with arrest for observing protest

"A Wisconsin lawmaker and a state official were both threatened with arrest for observing a progressive 'Solidarity Sing Along' protest at the state Capitol. State Rep. Sondy Pope and executive secretary Tia Nelson of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands told Isthmus they were threatened with arrest by a Capitol Police officer. The officer told the two women that anyone who stood to watch the protest rather than moving along was subject to arrest. In July, a judge ruled that groups of more than 20 people could not gather in the Wisconsin Capitol without a permit. Police have issued more than 100 citations to protesters so far." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWisconsin lawmaker & state official threatened with arrest for observing protest