Ever worry that Big Brother is making a big file on you, like the one the teachers always threatened you with in school? Well, someone is: the Bush government. USA Today
It’s as easy as saying “national security letter.”
Using this little-noticed but potent tool, the FBI can demand, for example, that an Internet provider, bank or phone company turn over records of who you call and e-mail, which web sites you visit, how much you spend, where you work, fly and vacation, and much more. No judge has to approve the demand, a common check required on more typical subpoenas.
You’d never learn about the secret intrusion, either. It’s all classified.
The public got a rare and troubling glimpse behind this curtain when The Washington Post reported Sunday that the FBI now issues thousands of National Security Letters a year. Each can seek many records on many people.
According to The Post and government documents, the Bush administration has quietly rewritten Justice Department rules so it can keep records indefinitely, even when they prove irrelevant to an investigation. The government can also share the records broadly, enabling the FBI to build what amounts to electronic dossiers on untold numbers of Americans.
Some parts of the USAPatriot Act, which has allowed Bush to protect America by destroying it, will expire at the end of the year. He is asking that they not only be extended, but that they be made permanent, saving him (and any future President Bushes, say Jeb or George P.) the trouble of having to periodically make a case for keeping them.
According to wikipedia, these are the provisions that will expire unless Bush gets his way, which he will, if you don’t tell your elected representatives otherwise:
* §201. Authority To Intercept Wire, Oral, And Electronic Communications Relating To Terrorism.
* §202. Authority To Intercept Wire, Oral, And Electronic Communications Relating To Computer Fraud And Abuse Offenses.
* §203(b), (d). Authority To Share Criminal Investigative Information.
* §206. Roving Surveillance Authority Under The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Of 1978.
* §207. Duration Of FISA Surveillance Of Non-United States Persons Who Are Agents Of A Foreign Power.
* §209. Seizure Of Voice-Mail Messages Pursuant To Warrants.
* §212. Emergency Disclosure Of Electronic Communications To Protect Life And Limb.
* §214. Pen Register And Trap And Trace Authority Under FISA.
* §215. Access To Records And Other Items Under FISA.
* §217. Interception Of Computer Trespasser Communications.
* §218. Foreign Intelligence Information. (Lowers standard of evidence for FISA warrants.)
* §220. Nationwide Service Of Search Warrants For Electronic Evidence.
* §223. Civil Liability For Certain Unauthorized Disclosures.
* §224. Sunset. (self-cancelling)
* §225. Immunity For Compliance With FISA Wiretap.
