You see, I'm still hung on this question of privacy. First, Google, Yahoo, Amazon, et al., have as much if not more information on me than NSA does. Same goes for Verizon, ATT, T-Mobile, et al. Is this not a gross invasion of my privacy? Every online vendor knows what I've bought. My bank knows when I've accessed my records on line. They don't know how often I look at a printout of my statements, but they do know how long, when, and from where, I look on-line. Have I given up my privacy to them, or should I be able to demand they not keep such records?Exactly. I'm puzzled by the surprise and anger. A person who chooses to make use of the wonders of the technological revolution should know full well that private information is rather easily accessed. Then, too, government agencies spying on Americans is hardly new. The ways of obtaining private information are new and different. Now it is possible to mine vast amounts of information, but one wonders if more is not less in the long run. As Rmj says, if you are concerned about privacy, try to find an old typewriter, or, better yet, a fountain pen.
Whistleblowers who commit acts of civil disobedience and break laws, just or unjust, should know that consequences may follow. People involved in the struggle for civil rights for African-Americans back in the 1960s were well aware of consequences, and they were willing to take the risks despite their knowledge of what might follow. Must we all now assume, as a matter of course, that no consequences will follow?
What Atrios at Eschaton says:
Haven't had a chance to dive into it fully, but my basic belief is that aside from civil liberties issues, the security/surveillance state industry is just a giant grift, a big scam there to enrich certain communities in Northern Virginia. That it is a net good is bullshit, that it makes us "safe" is bullshit, and that "making us safe," as opposed to perpetuating its own existence and fattening the wallets of its members and those that play along, has much to with anything that goes on is bullshit.The "aside from civil liberties issues" most certainly concern me.
Besides, tell me the name of one politician who lost a bid for reelection because of a vote in favor of the Patriot Act. Who among us is not complicit in the latest "scandal"?
When it comes to spying, those were the days. Nowadays, it seems an incredibly boring undertaking.
UPDATE: Not to belabor the the matter under discussion, which, by the way, is being belabored over and over by print media and hyperventilating cable news hosts and their guests, whether bemoaning or praising Edward Snowden's actions, I believe David Simon introduces a note of sanity to the entire affair. David's post and the large number of comments which follow, many of which Simon takes the trouble to give a response, are well worth reading.
