There’s the core of the matter. And beating your head against the wall is not going to help much. Get used to it.
I especially liked Bill Maher’s lead in to his defense of the NSA with this USA TODAY quote. Please watch, it is in the first minute.
We have quite a crew of people Left and Right complaining, though Rand Paul and that gang do it for the politics HATE OBAMA politics. Glenn Greenwald and Senator Wyden on the Left have honest concerns about the 4th Amendment though little if anything can or will be done about it.
As Maher says, reality often trumps the constitution.
Throughout the 80’s and 90’s I was a strong defender of the right to privacy on the net. I fought tooth and nail to keep real names, addresses, phone numbers and names of people’s children out of the debates. I was always on the losing end. For me it was a matter of debate, for as soon as the Right saw a strong Left voice the process of intimidation began with SHUT UP WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. We know your address, here is a picture of your home, this is the school your children (names) attend. Mechanic Wanted $500 Job in Dumbutt. And before caller ID the phones rang 24 hours a day.
I finally gave up when FACEBOOK hit the bigtime. People flocked to it with their real names, their GPS coordinates, maps to their homes, pictures of their children… They did it voluntarily and with gusto! Battle lost. Look what Google knows about you, or iTunes.
In defense of this phone thing… Osama bin Fuku calls his gang in Atlanta to blow up CNN. I want to know the phone numbers of who he is calling. If we want to listen that is a different matter.
The technology beats the righteousness of all this.
If we really want to defend the 4th Amendment just do not allow any searches of homes, persons or vehicles without a specific court order. Jails and prisons would empty by at least half. Most all non violent offenders. I suppose to add the REALITY FACTOR to that we would have to amend it with… “Any object or substance found in a weapon search on the streets can not be used as evidence.”