Republican "Tea Party" Caucus Votes Against the Constitution in Support of Unamerican Patriot Act

From The Examiner:

Fourty four out of the 52 Republican members the official 'Tea Party Caucus' voted to renew expiring provisions of the Patriot Act on February 8th. Seven out of the 26 Republican Congressmen who voted NO on the Patriot Act yeterday are listed on Michelle Bachmann's official 'Tea Party Caucus' list.  

The seven were Roscoe Bartlett [MD],Rob Bishop [UT], Paul Broun [GA], Tom Graves [GA], Kenny Marchant [TX], Tom McClintock [CA], and Denny Rehberg [MT].
Doug Lamborn of Colorado, another Tea Party Caucus member, is one of five Republicans who did not vote on the bill.  

The official published list posted on Bachmann's website includes 52 members. The list has not been updated since July 21, 2010. Some reps may consider themselves aligned with Tea party type values, but for one reason or another, refrain from joining the list.

Only the most naive Americans could possibly believe that the GOP's so-called "Tea Party Caucus" is anything other than a PR stunt, or that these creatures have any respect whatsoever for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  The vote in support of these provisions is a vote for illegal and unconstitutional search, seizure and surveillance of the people of the United States by the federal government.  It is an abomination.  

The Case for a Third Party Tea Party

Mitchell Langbert makes the case that the tea party movement can only be a force for freedom if it recognizes the tyranny of the two-party state for what it is.  Excerpts:

I have been following politics on and off for forty years and I still can't grasp why Americans favor a two-party system.  It has resulted in their being taxed to fifty percent of their incomes to get a garbage government. Garbage at the federal level; garbage at the state level; and garbage at the local level.  Despite the complete failure of the two party system Americans remain much more loyal to it than they do to liberty. . . .

The two-party system has caused America's decline because both parties are responsive to interest groups.  The special interests that are subsidized by the Fed, to include the banking system and Wall Street, the media, government, and much of big business, all contribute heavily to Republicans as well as Democrats. . . . To be committed to a two party system is to favor the status quo. . . .

Compromise between two big government parties is not "moderate." The people in Washington and the state capitals are socialists, fascists and totalitarians. They are not moderates.  The only way that change can occur is through a rethinking of the smug, insipid policies of the past 50 years.  That will require change without compromise. 

Speaking of the threat to freedom and liberty posed by Democratic-Republican party politics, the construction of the militarized police- and surveillance state continues apace.  From the Washington Post:

Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators.

The system, by far the largest and most technologically sophisticated in the nation's history, collects, stores and analyzes information about thousands of U.S. citizens and residents, many of whom have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The government's goal is to have every state and local law enforcement agency in the country feed information to Washington to buttress the work of the FBI, which is in charge of terrorism investigations in the United States. . . .

Technologies and techniques honed for use on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan have migrated into the hands of law enforcement agencies in America . . .

The FBI is building a database with the names and certain personal information, such as employment history, of thousands of U.S. citizens and residents whom a local police officer or a fellow citizen believed to be acting suspiciously. It is accessible to an increasing number of local law enforcement and military criminal investigators, increasing concerns that it could somehow end up in the public domain.

Exclusive: Wikileaks Document Outlines Concerns over German Libertarian Party's Support for Data Privacy and Individual Liberty

The recent Wikileaks diplomatic document dump contains a cable from shortly before Germany's 2009 general election, articulating worries among US diplomats that the German Free Democratic Party's strong support for individual data privacy and protections against unreasonable search and seizure might hinder the efforts of the American national security state.  Ironically, the author of the leaked cable scoffs at claims by FDP officials that the US government lacks effective data protection measures.

Germany's Free Democratic Party, or FDP, is the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition between the CDU/CSU and FDP.  The party's chairman is Guido Westerwelle, who is currently serving as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany in Merkel's cabinet.  In Germany's 2009 general election, the FDP garnered almost 15% of the vote and now holds 93 seats in the German parliament.  The FDP is usually referred to as a classical liberal, or libertarian, party for its strong defenses of economic liberalism and civil liberties.

The cable frames the FDP's support for citizens' privacy rights and individual liberties as a hindrance to US security strategy, and states that, if it were to join a ruling coalition in Germany, the party would scrutinize any proposals that would require sharing or accessing of information concerning private individuals.  The cable faults the party's "limited government viewpoint" for its opposition to data-sharing measures that would infringe on the privacy rights of individuals. 

In a most ironic turn, the leaked cable scoffs at FDP Parliamentarian Gisela Piltz, who cautioned against data-sharing operations with the US government on the grounds that the US government as a whole lacks effective data protection measures even as it accumulates massive amounts of data on innocent citizens.

Update:  See also TPID's follow-up post on a series of cables from 2009-2010 dealing with the FDP and data privacy:  Liberty vs. Security, the FDP and Data Privacy Policy.

Broad Political Opposition to Full Body Scanners: Greens, Libertarians, Constitution Party, Pirate Party United in Opposition

With opposition to the Transportation Security Administration's newest "security" measures growing by the day, it is worth noting that there is broad political opposition to the false choice between strip search and sexual assault.  Full body scanners are notably opposed by Ralph Nader and Matt Drudge, and opposition to the new procedures has received a significant boost from both Prison Planet and Reddit.  Third party and independent activists are also vocal opponents of the new devices as well as "enhanced pat-downs."  For instance:

• Constitution Party activists have long been opposed to full body scanners on the grounds of privacy and health risks, not to mention their constitutional qualms. 

• Libertarians are vocal opponents of "abusive TSA strip-search machines."

• The Pirate Party warned two months ago that local law enforcement and agents of the national security state have plans to roll these machines out from the airports and into our city streets. 

• At On the Wilder Side, Independent Green activist Kimberly Wilder has been leading the call for a passenger revolt against full body scanners since the new machines and measures were unveiled by DHS/TSA late last month. 

Over the last month, numerous citizens' groups have been founded in opposition to the newest outrage from the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Agency.  Among them are Fed Up Flyers, We Won't Fly, and Opt Out Day, which are organizing a national day of resistance against invasive strip searches and state-sponsored sexual molestation on one of the most hectic travel days of the year: November 24th.

OK: Pirate Party Rallies for "Freedom Not Fear"

From the Pirate Party of Oklahoma:

A rally to stand up for privacy, our right to assemble, and a free press. Stand up against the growing surveillance state.

South Plaza of the State Capitol in Oklahoma City.
October 30th, 2pm-5pm

Help us get the word out!

Print out a flyer, or two, ot 25. We have both letter size as well as 11×17 sized flyers available to download and post or hand out. They do look better in color, but should do well in black & white as well.
Letter Size Flyer
11×17 Size Flyer

If you are on Facebook, please RSVP on our event page. We also encourage people to use Facebook to invite their friends to this event.

What is “Freedom, Not Fear”
We are living in a nation of constantly increasing surveillance. Every year that passes results in a government that has more means to monitor the activity of every person within our borders. They monitor electronic communications, telephone records, and online browsing histories of citizens without warrants. They are collecting our biometric data without cause, requiring finger prints and facial recognition pictures in order to issue identification documents. License plate recognition cameras will store the time and location that your car has been spotted, even if no crime has been committed.
Our executive spies on American citizens, and when taken to court it simply dismisses accountability by claiming that answering to the court would hurt our national security. They are now seeking a backdoor into all forms of secure digital communication and encryption, to make sure that no communication will ever be outside the reach of our government.

OK: Pirate Party Slams Google CEO on Transparency, Privacy and Surveillance

From the Oklahoma Pirate Party:

“In a world of asynchronous threats it is too dangerous for there not to be some way to identify you. We need a [verified] name service for people. Governments will demand it.” – Eric Schmidt, Google CEO

There is so much wrong with this statement that we are having a hard time even deciding where to start. The Government will always attempt to increase the monitoring of the governed, and the self appointed leaders of the internet are only too eager to assist. Being able to identify all individual users, as well as being able to track their location and all activities, will benefit the business side of the online world more than anybody.

“True transparency and no anonymity” – Eric Schmidt, Google CEO

We have to admit that Mr. Schmidt is a master at marketing, and to be able to market effectively you have to be a master at spinning the truth. Transparency, after all, is a noble cause. Who would say no to transparency? It is one of the main issues the Pirate Party is pursuing. Mr. Schmidt picked his words very wisely, but the course he is pursuing will lead to only one outcome: Full surveillance and no privacy. Transparency is a choice where people make the conscious decision to reveal details about themselves and about their activities. We, not Google or the Government, weigh our options and decide to reveal the details. When these details are, as Mr. Schmidt himself states, demanded by the Government; then transparency becomes surveillance.

Mr. Schmidt also was very wise in picking the word anonymity. For many people anonymity implies that you have something to hide, that you must be “up to something” or you would not try to hide your activity. “Privacy” is a word that is received more favorably, and that is the reason it was not used. Anonymity and privacy have the same meaning: That you will reveal information about yourself and your activities selectively. It does not imply malicious intent or bad character, and frequently it is the perceived privacy of the internet that encourages many to turn online for help: A partner in an abusive relationship looking for help to leave their abuser; a couple who just had a miscarriage looking for support; a person with an addiction trying to change their life. Without privacy these people might never take the first step towards help.

Read the whole thing.

Obama Strengthens Democratic-Republican Consensus in Favor of Gutting the 4th Amendment

From the LP blog, via IPR:

Last week it was reported that the Obama Administration wants to give the FBI power to force internet companies to reveal information about their users’ internet activities: things like who they send email to, times and dates of emails, and maybe also information about their web browser activity.

Even worse, they want the FBI to be able to demand this information without a warrant!

President Obama is racking up an atrocious record on civil liberties and the Fourth Amendment. When he campaigned, he talked a lot about civil liberties. But when he got elected, he made an about-face and started expanding the abusive policies of the Bush Administration.

For example, his Justice Department claimed that “state secrets” doctrine started by Bush gave the government even more secrecy powers than Bush had claimed!
And earlier this year, the president signed a bill re-authorizing even the most abusive parts of the PATRIOT Act.

It seems that Obama has lots of respect for government power, and little or no respect for the rights of the people. Just like his predecessor. Democrats and Republicans are cooperating to grow the power of government and trample on our rights. Please support the Libertarian Party and Libertarian candidates this year. We are the only real opposition.

Sincerely,
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

Constitution Party Advocate Makes Case Against Body Image Scanners

At News with Views, former Constitution Party candidate for governor of Oregon, Mary Starrett argues against the use of body image scanners in US airports:

Want to keep America safe? Get naked. Do your patriotic duty; after all, if you’re not hiding anything what’s the big deal?  I recently read that the largest nudist group in the U.S. and Canada, the American Association for Nude Recreation fully endorsed the use of full body scanners at airports. I tried to verify this but my web filter said “don’t go there” and the site was blocked. I got as far as Wikipedia’s entry on AANR which says, “Founded in 1931, the organization advocates nudity and nude recreation in appropriate settings.” Personally, I think it’s fine if people choose to play badminton in the all together at a nudist park. That would be an “appropriate setting” for getting naked in public.On the other hand, airports are not appropriate settings for Americans forced to get virtually naked in front of Gestapo-like TSA agents who’ll do who knows what with the images . . .

Polls showing 74% of Americans think airport body scans will make us more secure are either incorrect or else we have become a thoroughly brainwashed and ideologically lobotomized assemblage of slaves who are happy to chant “Thank you sir, may I please have another?” with each violation against our Bill of Rights and natural law.

The fourth amendment guarantees:

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.