Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Does the Government Want to Read Your Texts and Emails?

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, April 22, 2011

Does the Government Want to Read Your Texts and Emails?

Click here to access article from ACLU.

The Justice Department was called before Congress to say whether it should be permitted to read people's email, text messages and other electronic communications without a probable cause warrant — that is, without a judicial determination that it has a good reason to believe a search will turn up evidence of a crime. The clear answer to this question should have been "no."

With so many indications of government surveillance, it is becoming clear that the ruling class of the US is feeling so insecure that they have no hesitation about dispensing with the niceties of the rule of law and all the democratic paraphernalia they use to hide their rule. As their Empire begins to disintegrate we will increasingly experience the methods of totalitarian rule. At least, that will be more honest than what we have now.