Domestic spying goes nuclear

It doesn’t get any better than this.  Not only is the federal government monitoring your every phone call and all of your e-mail access (as American citizens), but they are building a database from all of that illegal, unconstitutional monitoring.

The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.

The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren’t suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews.

“It’s the largest database ever assembled in the world,” said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA’s activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency’s goal is “to create a database of every call ever made” within the nation’s borders, this person added.

For the customers of these companies, it means that the government has detailed records of calls they made — across town or across the country — to family members, co-workers, business contacts and others.

How does Bush feel about this?  Check out this photo and story (magically, that story disappeared; check out this post for the photo and mention of the story) showing Bush himself making the presentation about the internet’s “choke points” (the interception locations necessary for wholesale surveillance of all e-mail, web, and other ‘net traffic).  I doubt he’s questioning the practice.

The only company to refuse the government’s request for unlawful access to its network was Qwest.  Now is the time to switch all of your phone and internet requirements to that company (cell phone, land line, DSL, local and long distance service, etc.; whatever you can move).  I’ve already started looking at Qwest for all of my connectivity needs.

Call me a baby, but I cried when I read these details today.  Only one company was willing to refuse the NSA unless it provided FISA warrants for the monitoring.  Everyone else caved and granted federal spies full access to everything you do on the phone and on the internet.

How can anyone be comfortable with this?  Americans are granted constitutional protections from this kind of wholesale eavesdropping, yet there it is.  We are now subject to the whims of the Bush KGB.

And it gets better:

The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers security clearance.

Don’t you feel as though your rights have been protected?  Especially when all you need do to kill an investigation is refuse clearance to those who could expose you?

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