Common sense tells you that monitoring telephone calls - whether recording the content or just gathering data on numbers called - is not about terrorism. It's about using terrorism as an excuse for spying on American citizens.
I'm not an international superspy. I'm not an agent provocateur. I'm not a private detective, a supergeek hacker, a sophisticated electronics whizz, or a telecommunications expert. I'm a middle-aged woman living on a farm in America's heartland.
Just to establish my complete lack of any arcane expertise in the area of how to subvert the system when it comes to tracking or tapping my phone calls, dontcha know.
In 2001, The Patriot Act was passed. For the first time, the government was allowed to assign a wiretap to a person rather than a telephone number. My instant reaction to this was that it was a great way to track the average citizen and a lousy way to track terrorists.
We've had the same land line phone number for 15 years (listed in the phone book), the same cell numbers for 6 years, I work at home and the husband's work phone number is easily obtained from tax, social security, credit agency, and payroll records. So if the NSA or any other arm of the government wants to spy on us, just get that short list of numbers and you're set. (Get some Vivarin, too, because our conversations are going to put you to sleep pretty quickly and you might miss the part where we plot the overthrow of BushCo by campaigning for Democrats)
If I was up to something, would I be using any of those numbers to plot and plan? Hell, no! I'd go to the discount store where I can buy a Tracfone and use that. No ID required to activate and these days, you can pick one up for $20. Use it a couple of times and toss it.
If I know that, don't you think the terrorists know it?
More recently, we learned that several of the major telephone companies have turned over complete calling records to the NSA. No, no, no, it's all good, said the sad excuse for a man who lives in the White House these days, just looking for patterns that indicate an incipient attack. Nothing for you to worrry about, little lady.
"The privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities," Bush said in a statement he read to reporters at the White House. "Our efforts are focused on links to al Qaeda and their known affiliates."Yeah, sure, because
I know about disposable cell phones, but al Qaeda, an organization clever enough to plan and execute the events of 9/11, hasn't figured that one out yet.
Now reporters have been told their cell phones calls are being tracked. National security, you know. Gotta find the leakers(aka whistleblowers). Danger! Danger! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11!
Super secret, ultrageek link for whistleblowers. Call it my gift to democracy:
http://www.tracfone.com/home_page.jsp?b=n&flash=YES&p=W
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