Time for a rant.

Yesterday, as a result of a law suit brought by a group known as EFF as well as the activity of a guy named Edward Snowden, the federal government agreed to release documents regarding the operation of a special federal court called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court which, despite it's name, deals primarily with domestic surveillance.

This is a secret court that was established by Congress during the administration of James "Peanut" Carter to be used as a rubber stamp for warrants when the government wants to stomp all over our Fourth Amendment rights.

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States says:

"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."

What that means is that the government of the United States cannot just go grabbing up your stuff all willy-nilly without due process. And by 'due process', it means the government must make a request that provides facts to the courts that a crime has occurred and evidence of the crime is more than likely located in specific place. The warrant is then written by the court to identify what can be searched and what can be seized.

Mr. Snowden released documents that showed that this court has been issuing warrants that are not specific in either the location or the evidence. Hell, they aren't even specific about a crime or a person. They are issuing warrants that give the government the right to seize generic data from non-specific individuals located in non-specific places without any evidence that a crime occurred.

In other words, they can seize whatever they want from anyone in anyplace.

I realize that most of us could care less if the government is reading our email to grandma thanking her for the fresh baked cookies but it should worry most of you that what is currently legal may very well become illegal one day.

What you consider a perfectly innocent email to your brother-in-law asking if you can have that antique german rifle grandpa brought home from the war could very well result in you being arrested for possession of an illegal firearm. What you consider a legal purchase fertilizer from agricultural-supplies.com could result in you being arrested for possession of bomb-making material.

Pay attention to this stuff folks. These are your constitutional rights that are being messed with.

This is not about "some terrorist who wants to blow us up", this is about you, your mom, your kids and everyone that you know.

It's about what you say on the phone, what you write in emails and what you look at on the internet.

It's about what you spend, what you earn, where you go, who you meet with and what you buy.

It's about our incredibly stupid and short-term belief that the current administration is 'good' and they would never do anything bad while never once giving thought to what the next administration might be like.

Once you give a power to the government, the government never willingly gives it back.

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You can visit these links if you would like but remember, the NSA is paying attention....

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