A little reminder for today from 14 years ago for those who see no problem with the NSA--

[Jackpine Radical]

In his landmark book, Privacy and Freedom, Alan Westin emphasizes the relationship between access and privacy in democratic governments. Indeed, he defines democracy and authoritarianism in terms of information policy. Authoritarian governments are identified by ready government access to information about the activities of citizens and by extensive limitations on the ability of citizens to obtain information about the government. In contrast, democratic governments are marked by significant restrictions on the ability of government to acquire information about its citizens and by ready access by citizens to information about the activities of government. Rather than being inexorably in conflict, access and privacy are both intertwined with democratic accountability.

-Robert Vaughn

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/vietnam/8621/translations/ej082000.pdf

[rhett o rick]

1. Sadly there are a lot of Democrats that subscribe to the authoritarian way. And there are

a lot that are living in denial. Liberal Democrats should know better.

[reddread]

2. cant we just call them wolves in wolfskins? n/t

[rhett o rick]

3. Call em what you will. I cant print what I call them. nm

[reddread]

9. maybe you should try cursive n/t

[rhett o rick]

10. Naw, my English is bad enough. nm

[genwah]

19. I think cursing was the point.

[reddread]

20. as well as the pun

[cantbeserious]

4. Truly They Should - Sadly They Are Misguided

eom

[WillyT]

5. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[grahamhgreen]

6. America has become a militized police state. Those that go along with it live

in a small world where fear rules there daily lives. They a caught in a perpetual fight or flight response and can not rationally jugs the world around them. Others, of course, are the oppressers of liberty and the enemies of or constitution.

[lastlib]

7. With the exception of the Citizens United ruling, I see no greater threat to democracy and freedom

than the NSA's unassailed collection of data on American citizens. We.Have.Got.To.Stop.it.

[H2O Man]

8. Outstanding.

Thank you for this.

Recommended.

[rhett o rick]

11. k&r thanks for posting. nm

[Vattel]

12. I gotta kick this mothafucka

[Octafish]

13. Secret goverment is un-democratic.

And it's been the law of the land since Hiroshima.

[pablo_marmol]

14. Thank you, JR -- looks like a *great* read.

I just finished Glenn Greenwald's "No Place to Hide".

Highly recommended.

[woo me with science]

15. K&R Shame on every shill. nt

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Jackpine Radical.

[riderinthestorm]

17. Oh yes. Must kick this one. Way too important to drop nt

[Mnemosyne]

18. K&R nt

[awoke_in_2003]

21. Far too many people here...

started supporting it once a dem made it into the Oval Office. K&R