The New York Times reports that the FISA court, the top-secret judicial body that was originally just in the business of rubber stamping surveillance warrants for the NSA, has expanded into some exciting new territory! Now it "has taken on a much more expansive role by regularly assessing broad constitutional questions and establishing important judicial precedents, with almost no public scrutiny," and we couldn't be happier knowing that the court's 11 judges are secretly building a body of law about civil liberties with no apparent higher review. If nothing else, it's going to make things difficult for law students trying to summarize the issues in
The right of the Government to enter in persons, their houses, papers, and effects, and conduct searches and seizures, shall not be infringed, and Warrants shall issue upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized, or&mdash;if it&rsquo;s really,<i> really</i> important&mdash;not.
&quot;Assessing broad constitutional questions and establishing important judicial precedents&quot; ... in secret. Great - we live in a nation of laws, where we don&#039;t know what the laws are.
Near-strip-searches and pimple-faced, non-union-by-law, minimum-wage TSA &quot;officers&quot; looking at you naked at the airport? Secret courts blinldly ratifying secret warrants issued by a secret agency? Drones hovering overhead to capture any thoughtcrime? Ridiculously overpaid high-school-dropout government contractors reading your text messages and email and listening to your phone calls? Police-paramilitary SWAT teams checking for barber licenses or breaking up friendly low-stakes poker <a href="http:\/\/www.salon.com\/2013\/07\/07\/&ldquo\;why_did_you_shoot_me_i_was_reading_a_book_the_new_warrior_cop_is_out_of_control\/" target="_blank">games</a>? Photo images of every piece of <a href="http:\/\/www.theatlanticwire.com\/national\/2013\/07\/government-snooping-through-your-snail-mail\/66844\/" target="_blank">snail mail </a>kept by the government for...uh...ever?
Maybe we should just put a big hypertext STRIKE symbol in front of the 4th Amendment. Because you&#039;re not really secure in your person, house, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures anymore.
Shhh. If we needed to know more, they&#039;d tell us. Just focus on Snowden&#039;s pole-dancing girlfriend. That&#039;s the real story here. And evil, nasty Venezuela...sure, not much of an foe ideologically or militarily, but you go to Cold War with the enemies you&#039;ve got.
4th Amendment, as amended:
The right of the Government to enter in persons, their houses, papers, and effects, and conduct searches and seizures, shall not be infringed, and Warrants shall issue upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized, or&mdash;if it&rsquo;s really,<i> really</i> important&mdash;not.
In reality, they are just <strike>checking</strike> fapping to what porn everyone is reading.
//fixed
I drafted up some language and supplied it in a comment below. Merely deleting it would not enshrine these rights of the government.
Thanks, and have an upfist on me.
There was a time...
Just think how bad things might be if the President <i>weren&#039;t</i> a Constitutional law expert.
&quot;Assessing broad constitutional questions and establishing important judicial precedents&quot; ... in secret. Great - we live in a nation of laws, where we don&#039;t know what the laws are.
Near-strip-searches and pimple-faced, non-union-by-law, minimum-wage TSA &quot;officers&quot; looking at you naked at the airport? Secret courts blinldly ratifying secret warrants issued by a secret agency? Drones hovering overhead to capture any thoughtcrime? Ridiculously overpaid high-school-dropout government contractors reading your text messages and email and listening to your phone calls? Police-paramilitary SWAT teams checking for barber licenses or breaking up friendly low-stakes poker <a href="http:\/\/www.salon.com\/2013\/07\/07\/&ldquo\;why_did_you_shoot_me_i_was_reading_a_book_the_new_warrior_cop_is_out_of_control\/" target="_blank">games</a>? Photo images of every piece of <a href="http:\/\/www.theatlanticwire.com\/national\/2013\/07\/government-snooping-through-your-snail-mail\/66844\/" target="_blank">snail mail </a>kept by the government for...uh...ever?
Maybe we should just put a big hypertext STRIKE symbol in front of the 4th Amendment. Because you&#039;re not really secure in your person, house, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures anymore.
They will examine on a case-by-case basis.
Shhh. If we needed to know more, they&#039;d tell us. Just focus on Snowden&#039;s pole-dancing girlfriend. That&#039;s the real story here. And evil, nasty Venezuela...sure, not much of an foe ideologically or militarily, but you go to Cold War with the enemies you&#039;ve got.
Be seeing you!