[ExI] experiments on privacy

[spike at rainier66.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of Stuart LaForge

>
>>... Americans have the right to free speech, a right I feel is under 
> fierce attack now more than ever.  It has never been clear to me we 
> have the right to privacy outside our homes.  I completely recognize 
> there are those who object to that notion...  spike

>...I am no SCOTUS judge but I think that "papers" is the 18th century equivalent of "data". That is to say that if electronic media were available to the Founders, they would have included it in this amendment...Stuart LaForge


All this worries me Stuart.  

Around the time of the 9/11 attacks, the US put into effect a bunch of laws that can under some circumstances, go around the 4th amendment.  It really made us nervous at the time, for it represents an expansion of government power.  Power corrupts.

More recently, a dossier was created which was used as evidence to justify a warrant to spy on American citizens, particularly those connected to a particular candidate.  The candidate won anyway, but now we are finding out the dossier itself may have been unverified, and if unverified information was used to obtain a FISA warrant, then that warrant was illegal as all hell.  Regardless of who it was helping or hurting politically, it represents a gross abuse of the FISA process, for which there have been no legal consequences.

If there are no legal consequences for hiring a third party to create evidence against one's political adversaries, it will be done again.  And again.  Power corrupts.

This would effectively repeal the 4th amendment.  If any part of the Bill of Rights is repealed or by any means defeated, Americans have no rights.

spike