WHY DOES IT MATTER?

A friend of mine who reads most of my blog posts ask me why I was so concerned about the government reading my emails and storing my phone calls if I have nothing to hide. 
 
Well, it’s true that I don’t have anything to hide, but, I’m a little old fashion when it comes to the constitution.
I STILL BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT.

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects the individual citizen from unreasonable searches and seizures.  It requires a warrant be judicially sanctioned and supported by statements of probable cause.  Search and seizure (including arrest) should be limited in scope according to specific information supplied to the issuing court, by law enforcement officers swearing to its accuracy. 

 

Liberals in the governmental process (of both parties) have distanced themselves from the strict understanding of the constitution as written (and understanding the thoughts and motivations of the original signatories of the document) to interpretations favoring political ideologies.  

Apparently we have now reached a point where the Constitution is optional, not just in the eyes of the government, but also the average American?

 

The snooping programs are rapidly becoming the sole jurisdiction of the Executive.

There has been a lot of speculation about Snowden (the whistle-blower) lately.  Some think he’s a hero, some think he’s a traitor.  Personally, I think on the leaking of the NSA spying on American citizens, he is a hero.  However, he has leaked some other sensitive information since, and on that, I think he is a traitor. 
 
But, it really doesn’t matter who or what Snowden is or is not.   What really matters is that we have an out-of-control government.  The agencies are too large and, by this administration’s own admission [David Axelrod], this administration is not capable of controlling them.

The IRS officials, for example, are not only targeting people they don’t like, but they are getting away with it.  Rep. Cummings said that it’s over and we should move on.

IRS agents leaked information against targeted right-wing people to left-wing Pro Publica to use against the victims.

Then there is the James Rosen spy case.  James Rosen did nothing different than The New York Times did when they released the Pentagon Papers only his story was inconsequential and hurt no one.  He was labeled a spy by the administration so they could spy on him without a warrant.

The AP records grab was a huge overreach and not targeted.  The AP is left-leaning and it is sympathetic to this administration but they were displeased with this invasion and the chilling effect it had on their sources.

President Obama said that everyone in Congress knew about the government spying programs.  Unnamed Administration sources told the Washington Post that Congress was briefed 22 times.  Congress was briefed but without any details whatsoever.  Some didn’t even know PRISM existed.

Republican Senator Susan Collins was the top-ranking Republican on last year’s Homeland Security Committee and she said on Monday that she was never briefed on the extent of the government spying.

After a briefing on Tuesday, one Democratic congressman said it was the first time he has been to a briefing where he actually learned something.  Democrat Hank Johnson said if he had known the details, it would have been something that he would not have voted for.  Democrat Brad Sherman said, “I did not know a billion records a day were coming under control of the executive branch.”

We need to hear how this program keeps us safe and then let the citizens decide if it’s right or wrong. Maybe Snowden did us all a huge favor.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m sick and tired of hearing about how this guy was a "high school drop-out" from the snobs in government and the media.

He may well have been a drop-out BUT, he told the American people that their PRIVACY RIGHTS, that are supposed to be protected by the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, are being systematically VIOLATED by the criminals in Washington who have the HIGH ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS.

Everyone seems to just accept the fact that the violation of 4th Amendment rights is okay because Congress says it is and the Judiciary oversees it.

Hey, wake up people! It may be the "law" but that "law" is a violation of the Constitution!
There is a very thin line between national security and tyranny and that line has been crossed.

One might ask the question, what should a citizen do when that citizen has discovered that laws have been broken and trust has been breached?  Does that citizen no longer have the right to point out such actions within his government?  Is such a citizen to be charged as a traitor, tried and convicted, before he has a chance to provide a defense? Does he even have any legal rights anymore, in this country?

National security is indeed extremely important, when it is used to protect the citizens of this nation, but not when it is used to target and destroy those who do not agree with the principles set fourth by ruling ideologues.