So Much For Dems Being Against Spying

It appears they're hatching a little plan of their own to pry into the affairs of others on the opposite side of the political equation.

The Bush Administration, the Republican Party, and the conservative movement all think it’s perfectly ok for Big Brother Bush to spy on Americans.

Of course, angry Americans are demanding hearings to stop this spying. But will the Republicans who control the White House and Congress stop their own spying? Of course not - just look at how the White House sabotaged John McCain’s effort to stop torture, even after 90 Senators voted for it.

So what can we do that will actually stop Big Brother Bush?

We can turn the tables and start spying on them - thanks to commercially available phone records, as John Aravosis reports.

story here

Comments

[COLUMBO]

not new....I remember a few years back when a retired couple just happened to capture Newt Gingrich's cellphone conversation on their police scanner while driving....and coincidentally they also happened to have a tape recorder in the car at the time

[shonane]

Sounds logical to me.

[beautifulatrocities]

Aravosis is a lunatic & a gay Stalinist. Can u imagine the hissy fit he'd have if Pat Robertson were monitoring his calls?

[*flo*]

Sweetness'blog must be real busy...the letter posted 'Domestic Spying & Incident of Intimidation of Military Families'...makes one question if the letter is a hoax or another way to say the A$$'$ are up to NO good?...also posted here:
http://www.democrats.com/node/7223

[COLUMBO]

Lieutenant Governor Expects Recipients To Face Prosecution

POSTED: 6:45 pm EDT September 21, 2005
UPDATED: 4:07 pm EDT September 22, 2005
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BALTIMORE -- Federal prosecutors have opened an inquiry into allegations that two Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee employees illegally tapped into Lt. Gov. Michael Steele's credit history.

WBAL-TV 11 News reporter David Collins reported the workers obtained the report in July while executing opposition research on the lieutenant governor.

In June, the Republican lieutenant governor announced he had established an exploratory committee to explore a candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

Paul D. Ellington, Steele's chief of staff, issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon in reaction to the allegations.

"Lt. Gov. Steele was extremely disturbed to learn about the alleged criminal identity theft of his personal finance records by (a staff member of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.,) at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

"He was notified by the FBI that a federal criminal investigation is under way and has been asked not to comment on the specifics of the case.

"He intends to honor this request and expects that those responsible for these actions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

According to the FBI, two Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee employees illegally obtained Steele's credit report.

Those familiar with the incident, say Katie Barge and Lauren Weiner were working on opposition research in July. They found Steele's Social Security number in a court document and used it to obtain his credit report.

"It's extremely unethical," said Evan Hendricks, the author of "Credit Scores Credit Reports." "This is a case of a couple very bright researchers, so smart, ending up doing the stupidest thing they could have done."

Hendricks, a privacy expert who has written books on the subject, said that without authorization, those snooping would have had to misrepresent themselves.

"There's lies involved one way or the other. The law is very clear on this," Hendricks said.

Collins reported that the two employees have since resigned and committee officials said they have destroyed the document. The committee said they have immediately reported the incident to the Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney's Office, and have since issued an apology.

"While the DSCC did not authorize the employees to access Mr. Steele's credit report, we regret that this incident occurred and apologize to Mr. Steele," DSCC spokesman Phil Singer told 11 News.

Singer's statement continued, in part, by saying "the DSCC also launched an internal review into this matter, ascertained that it was an isolated incident and has put safeguards in place to ensure that no employee ever does this again."

Matthew Crenson, a professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins University, spoke about opposition research, saying credit reports could provide opponents with some embarrassing material, including "past bankruptcies (which may be questionable), great large debts (and) suspicious expenditures."

Collins said it's no secret that Steele was in financial trouble before being elected lieutenant governor. Steele publicly disclosed in 2002 his personal debts that included an unpaid political loan.

[thealamo]

The wonderful thing about the "information" revolution is that it can be used in more than one way. What I would love to have access to is recordings of the conversations these people have. Bet we would find out a lot more than many would care to know.

[COLUMBO]

SELECTIVE AMNESIA:

http://cryptome.org/echelon-60min.htm