What's the problem, again?
The problem is the way it's being done. The anti-terrorism laws should be used for, well,
terrorism. Street crime--even gang crime--isn't terrorism. (How much of it could be eliminated by ending the War on Some Drugs is best left to another discussion.) When the scope of such laws as USA PATRIOT (hey, did you hear that in the House's renewal, they added medical records to the list of things the Feds can get?) creeps beyond the original intent, those laws become entrenched. In fact, the DoJ is counting on that--they've been encouraging FBI and local investigators to use its provisions wherever possible, even outside of terrorism cases. Things like political corruption cases:
The FBI confirmed Monday that agents used the Patriot Act to get financial records as part of the ongoing political corruption probe involving strip club owner Michael Galardi's influence with local politicians.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2003/nov/05/515822742.html
Of course, scope creep isn't a problem--I mean, we all hate political corruption, and anything's better than nothing, right? It's not like they're using the provisions to harass government watchdogs or anything, right?
Bev Harris--yes,
that Bev Harris--would seem to disagree:
Bev Harris
BlackBoxVoting.org
And by the way, they read every word. Hi, agent Mike. This "investigation" no longer passes the stink test.
He says not to tell folks about the "investigating" they are doing.
I have cooperated ad nauseum to this absurd investigation of the "VoteHere hack" which looks to me like it is something entirely different. I'll tell you what it looks like to me:
A fishing expedition.
It appears that they may be using the Patriot Act to circumvent some of the civil rights protections laid down in the 60s. You see, it is illegal for a government agency to go in and demand the list of all the members of a group. And you can't investigate leaks to journalists by going in and grabbing the reporter's computer.
After the Diebold memos were leaked, and my web site was shut down, around the time of the California recall election, I started getting solicited to accept VoteHere software. I didn't bite, because it was obvious that this was an entrapment attempt.
...
Now, I have been interviewed by the Secret Service on this VoteHere "hack" story about five times. They never spend much time on the hack. Most of the time is spent on the Diebold memos, which they claim they are not investigating.
Here's the deal: The leaking of memos to journalists is not something the government can come in and demand to investigate very easily.
Under the Patriot Act, "hacking" crimes were turned over to a new division, called the CyberCrimes division, and placed under the auspices of the Secret Service. And let me tell you what they want from me now: They want the logs of my web site with all the forum messages, and the IP addresses. That's right. All of them. A giant fishing expedition for every communication of everyone interested in the voting issue. This has nothing to do with a VoteHere "hack" investigation, and I have refused to turn it over.
So, yesterday, they call me up and tell me they are going to subpeona me and put me in front of a grand jury. Well, let 'em. They still aren't getting the list of members of BlackBoxVoting.org unless they seize my computer -- which my attorney tells me might be what they have in mind.
[read the whole article--it's a doozy]
http://www.infowars.com/print/misc/blackbox.htm (Note that I didn't know about this one until I started writing this post.)
I fully support the idea of going after criminals. Those outside our jurisdiction are, well, outside our jurisdiction. As long as they stay there, leave them be. If they try to come in our jurisdiction, take them directly to processing, try them, convict them, and let them rot at the graybar hotel. Those in our jurisdiction, well, that's pretty easy. But whatever you do,
don't start down the path of entrenching bad law and making police dependent upon it for every investigation. You really won't like the consequences.
Edit: Figured I'd add this little gem. The DoJ and FBI admit they've been encouraging scope creep.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/14/national1259EDT0480.DTL
The Justice Department said it has used authority given to it by the USA Patriot Act to crack down on currency smugglers and seize money hidden overseas by alleged bookies, con artists and drug dealers.
Federal prosecutors used the act in June to file a charge of "terrorism using a weapon of mass destruction" against a California man after a pipe bomb exploded in his lap, wounding him as he sat in his car.
A North Carolina county prosecutor charged a man accused of running a methamphetamine lab with breaking a new state law barring the manufacture of chemical weapons. If convicted, Martin Dwayne Miller could get 12 years to life in prison for a crime that usually brings about six months.
Prosecutor Jerry Wilson says he isn't abusing the law, which defines chemical weapons of mass destruction as "any substance that is designed or has the capability to cause death or serious injury" and contains toxic chemicals.
Civil liberties and legal defense groups are bothered by the string of cases, and say the government soon will be routinely using harsh anti-terrorism laws against run-of-the-mill lawbreakers.
"Within six months of passing the Patriot Act, the Justice Department was conducting seminars on how to stretch the new wiretapping provisions to extend them beyond terror cases," said Dan Dodson, a spokesman for the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. "They say they want the Patriot Act to fight terrorism, then, within six months, they are teaching their people how to use it on ordinary citizens."
[again, read the whole article; it's a good read]
