So much for the 4th Amendment

Good day all. As you know, I tend to be a bit of an absolutist when it comes to the constitution. Pity our so-called representatives consider that fine document an impediment to their race towards a more totalitarian United States.

****UPDATE BELOW****

In this case, Senator Patrick “Leaky” Leahy, (D-VT) put forth a bill a while ago that was actually rather good. (For a change) The bill, called the Leahy introduced legislation called the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2011, would, in many cases, require police to obtain a search warrant to access private communications and the locations of mobile devices.

I don’t see anything wrong with that idea. It may have needed a bit more strengthening, but it was a good start. At least it was. Instead, Leahy has rewritten the legislation to actually all but do away with the 4^th amendment as it pertains to your electronic files. Here are the details from CNET:

A Senate proposal touted as protecting Americans’ e-mail privacy has been quietly rewritten, giving government agencies more surveillance power than they possess under current law.

CNET has learned that Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation in response to law enforcement concerns. A vote on his bill, which now authorizes warrantless access to Americans’ e-mail, is scheduled for next week.

Leahy’s rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — to access Americans’ e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge. (CNET obtained the revised draft from a source involved in the negotiations with Leahy.)

This is about par for the course for Leahy. He’s always been a statist totalitarian. I’m sure this will blow through the Senate with little or no opposition. I suspect that most of the morons up there don’t even know that much about it, and couldn’t care less. So why did Leaky Leahy complete rewrite this bill?

One person participating in Capitol Hill meetings on this topic told CNET that Justice Department officials have expressed their displeasure about Leahy’s original bill. The department is on record as opposing any such requirement: James Baker, the associate deputy attorney general, has publicly warned that requiring a warrant to obtain stored e-mail could have an “adverse impact” on criminal investigations.

Dear Mr. Baker. In regards to having to do your job and get a warrant? Tough cookies. There is a reason the 4^th amendment exists. It’s to protect people from scumbags like you going on fishing expeditions. Perhaps you should look up the reasoning behind the 4^th amendment and why the founders thought it was necessary to put it in the Bill of Rights. To put it simply, the British Crown and it’s colonial representatives could issue General Warrants with little or no recourse ((Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution)).

The actual amendment reads as follows:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

This is very simple and straight forward. It’s easy to understand and means exactly what it says it does. However, over the years, and especially with the rise of computers and smartphones, law enforcement officials have ignored the requirements for a warrant with the excuse that “It’s easy to see and read, like a postcard sent through the mails.”

BOVINE DROPPINGS!

Over the last few years, police and federal agents have been rifling through people’s email, computer systems and cellphones at will, and without bothering with a search warrant. Judges have been letting them get away with it too. Leahy’s bill would just make it all official. The 4^th Amendment means nothing.

The United States has slowly been slipping into a totalitarian form of government for decades, almost for a century. Both parties are guilty of this, however, the Democrats have been far worse. Now they are trying to sneak this police state wish list through the legislative process when no one is looking. We can’t count on the courts to actually do what they are supposed to and defend the rights of the people. They have shown they will always defer to the power of the State.

Call you senators and representatives and tell them to vote NO on this thing. For you in Vermont, Thanks a lot of putting this fascist pig back into office over and over again.

Thatisall

~The Angry Webmaster~

***UPDATE***

Leaky Leahy has pulled his warrantless email Surveillance bill

Sen. Patrick Leahy has abandoned his controversial proposal that would grant government agencies more surveillance power — including warrantless access to Americans’ e-mail accounts — than they possess under current law.

The Vermont Democrat said today on Twitter that he would “not support such an exception” for warrantless access. The remarks came a few hours after a CNET article was published this morning that disclosed the existence of the measure.

Man that was fast. Not to surprising of course. This low life is always trying to sneak one in under the radar if he can. As they say, sunshine is the best disinfectant. In this case, that leftist cockroach got caught in the light of day and is quickly scurrying back into his closet.

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