INTELLIGENCE VICE-CZAR STATES AMERICANS MUST CHANGE THEIR DEFINITION OF PRIVACY
Is he referring to that concept for which
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas said
“The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedoms.“
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“We deal with a right of privacy older than the Bill of Rights-
older than our political parties, older than our school system.”
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As is the case with everything in this administration, the timing is impeccable. What better way to observe Veterans’ Day than to stomp on the liberties for which many of them shed their blood and lives?
In the realm of definitions, what’s the new one for
United States of America?
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Donald Kerr testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on his nomination to become Deputy Director of National Intelligence in this Aug. 1, 2007 file photo. As Congress debates new rules for government eavesdropping, Kerr says it is time that people in the United States changed their definition of privacy. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Definition changing for people’s privacy
By PAMELA HESS, Associated Press Writer
November 11, 2007
A top intelligence official says it is time people in the United States changed their definition of privacy.
Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, a deputy director of national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguards people’s private communications and financial information.
Kerr’s comments come as Congress is taking a second look at the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act.
Lawmakers hastily changed the 1978 law last summer to allow the government to eavesdrop inside the United States without court permission, so long as one end of the conversation was reasonably believed to be located outside the U.S.
The original law required a court order for any surveillance conducted on U.S. soil, to protect Americans’ privacy. The White House argued that the law was obstructing intelligence gathering.
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Image: 1-am-pregnant.com; The above two Douglas quotes and many others at brainyquote.com
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