HERE'S HOW IT WOULD WORK in a fascist country:
The government would secretly go to a telecommunications company, and compel them to turn over personal information about you. They wouldn't be able to tell you that this had happened, so you'd never know.
Besides, the corporation wouldn't want to tell you, because the corporation is under the government's protection, as long as it plays ball.
And the government would have no obligation to tell you, and no controls on how it operated, because there would not be a fourth amendment in the constitution to protect your rights.
Here's how it works in a country that is nearly fascist, but not quite:
The government secretly goes to a telecommunications company, and asks them to "voluntarily" turn over personal information about you. If the company refuses, on the grounds that it would be unethical or illegal, the government agency puts pressure on them, and promises to protect them if they cooperate.
It also asks them not to tell you, so you'll never know,
The company, of course, doesn't want to tell you, because they want the government to protect them, and they don't want you to sue them.
And the government decides it has no obligation to tell you, and no controls on how it operates, because a secret internal memo, created by the same administration, says that the fourth amendment doesn't apply if they just call what they're doing a "domestic military action".
Once the company is caught, and you want to sue, the administration tries to push a bill through to give the company "retroactive immunity" for breaking the law and violating your rights.
The Bush administration continues to behave like a bunch of fascist criminals, running roughshod over traditional American values, and the Constitution of the United States.
They have done this in a precedent setting manner, and merely losing the next presidential race will not undo those precedents—or warn off the next politician who thinks that all he or she has to do is claim executive power, and change the rules, in order to ignore the law of the land.
Congress will have to act decisively if the damage is to be undone.
If you are sick and tired of an administration that consistently ignores both the constitution and the will of the people (when Cheney was told that 2/3 of American citizens were opposed to the war in Iraq, his reply was "So?"), if you are sick and tired of this, there are some things you can do:
- You can join True Majority, a non-partisan group of patriots who want to restore our government to traditional democracy and common sense—started by Ben Cohen, of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. You'll get regular email updates on easy things you can do (like "click here to sign this petition") to bring your country back in line.
- You can vote Democratic in the national election. I say this not because I am currently a Democrat (though I am), but because when a party organizes and wins two elections around the kind of quasi-fascists that the Bush crowd have turned out to be, it needs to be brought up short.
The only language a party won't ever ignore is defeat at the polls—especially if it is a resounding defeat: in both congress and the presidency. We need to send that message.
And only a fully empowered Democratic majority is likely to take the steps necessary to make sure the behavior of the Bush administration does not set a precedent for the future of our nation.
The purpose of the fourth amendment is to protect citizens like you and me from the government.
Corporations have to know that if they violate your rights, even in collaboration with a criminal presidency, you will hold them accountable.
