Long live Big Brother!

If not the start of a “surveillance society”, then what is it?

First, without any permission needed from a court, they can track your name, who you communicated with and for how long. It is only a very small step to then be allowed to look at the content of the communications. Just for for background info, of course. Not to gather evidence for use in court directly, but just to verify this is a fruitful line of investigation. Then “inevitable discovery” will be used to get some of the evidence admitted.

I wouldn’t even put it past some Attorney General to argue that, since it has become widely publicized that the government is spying on its citizens, there is no expectation of privacy in computer-based communications anymore. So nobody can claim their rights are violated anymore than they could do so about a conversation they have in a public place.

The “surveillance society” doesn’t just appear BOOM overnight, Jay. It comes in small steps and stages. And this is the first.

No. George Carlin.

Okay, Jay. You just keep telling yourself that.

Some years ago a target of FBI surveillance always answered his phone with “F@#k J. Edgar Hoover.”
I think that was Kurt Vonnegut, wasn’t it?

People should start appending each email with, “We must assassinate the president.”

You first.