'There's Something About Your Phone and Internet Records That Intrigues Me'

'There's Something About Your Life
That Intrigues Me!'

All we can say is this:

'It is a good thing President George W. Bush is not President nowadays!'

Why?

Can you imagine the holy hell that would be breaking loose today from the NY Times to the Washington Post to the Democratic Caucus in both the House and the Senate on Capitol Hill if just even 1 of these 'revelations' about our government surveillance all of our cell phone and internet records in the name of 'national security'?

We can't. The roar would be as deafening as a GE jet engine.

Speaking of which, we think Agent Smith from 'The Matrix' who does those creepy GE commercials nowadays might be a fitting symbol for the Obama Administration for posterity's sake:



The Obama Administration and AG Eric Holder have apparently gone stark raving mad in their abuse of the Patriot Act and decided that everyone is 'fair game' when it comes to protecting us from the real lunatics, the radical Islamist terrorists who have sworn to wipe the Great Satan of America (and Israel while they are at it) off the map of the world.

We thought it might be a good idea to tick off the Amendments in the Bill of Rights to see which ones the Obama Administration has chosen NOT to attack in some way, fashion or form over the past 4 years.

(Granted, the Patriot Act was passed with bipartisan majorities led by President Bush and the GOP leadership in both Houses of Congress post-9/11. But that was to protect us from 'foreign' forces, not to open up a whole can of worms regarding domestic surveillance)

Amendment #1- Where do we begin? The NSA, AP and IRS scandals abridge the freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly and the freedom of the press. The one not abridged recently is freedom of religion and the Obama mandate of birth control in Catholic hospitals took care of that one a couple of years ago.

Amendment #2- It is pretty evident that the Obama Administration wants to have more control over guns in America today. That is why it is called 'gun control' in the first place.

Amendment #3- Well, so far, the Obama Administration hasn't called for the quartering of troops in our own homes to 'protect' us from domestic or foreign terrorism. Yet. But if and when you do see that, will you finally believe that maybe they are over-reaching just a tad too much?

Amendment #4- 'Protection from unreasonable search and seizure'. You can make the believable case that this NSA surveillance of your Verizon cell phone and Facebook, Twitter, Apple and email accounts is 'unreasonable search and seizure' of anything relating to your 'privacy'.

The US Supreme Court found the right to an abortion under the 'penumbra' of privacy they said permeated the US Constitution in 1973.

Well, if that right could be found in a 'penumbra' of privacy, what about the protection of our private phone, email and on-line communications?  Can't they find one smidgen of 'right to privacy' under this Amendment for us all?

Amendment #5- IRS employee Lois Lerner has already abused the 5th Amendment when testifying before Congress when she said: 'I did nothing wrong' Now I am invoking my right to not incriminate myself any further'.

She can't testify to her innocence in all of this IRS turmoil and then recuse herself from hearing where other people think she was not so crystal clean and pure. She has a history of going after conservative groups. Make her testify under oath.

Amendments #6 and #7- Speedy trial and trial by jury has not been abridged. Yet.

Amendment #8-The only 'cruel and unusual punishment' we will see may be that we will be forced to see and hear repeated attempts by White House Spokesperson Jay Carney try to 'tell the truth.... as we now know it.'

When the 'truth' keeps changing daily in the Obama White House, State Department, Attorney General's office and the NSA, that can be truly 'cruel and unusual punishment' for all of us on the nightly news.

Amendment #9-'The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.' Well, give the Obama Administration some time. They'll find some way to 'construe' the denial of rights retained by some people they don't like.

Amendment #10- 'The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people'.

You gotta admit it: The Tea Party folks smoked this one out in 2010 even before Obamacare passed Congress and was signed into law by President Obama. We don't see where there is much respect for the 'powers reserved to the states...or to the people' by this White House.

So, quibble with these if you want to. We always love a good-spirited give-and-take on the issues as long as the arguments are coherent, reasoned and collegial.

Just don't complain about George W. Bush or the GOP anymore when you are talking about Presidents who don't care about your individual rights or the Constitution.

The Obama Administration has taken home the Grand Prize in that category.

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