for all of you who consider yourself patriots...?

Question

this is basically what i think of you if you support wire tapping, airport security etc...

"Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin

notice i said etc. meaning many other things as well, such as seat belt laws (i use them because i don't feel like flying through the air if i have a accident but they should be a personal choice not a law). having a terrorist call you is one thing but a call from you to a mistress which happend to be tapped at that time which could later someday surface during a divorce hearing is quite another. and you want names of people? the people of peace fresno shortly after the iraq invasion are some.

Answer 1

So you think airport security somehow diminishes our rights?

Answer 2

Actually, in a time of war, those national security initiatives and programs are essential, and a duty of the government. There is no willy-nilly tapping of phones, nor has unrestricting communication with our enemies ever been considered a liberty, let alone an essential liberty.

I would argue, instead, that letting government dictate the terms of a private employment contract is giving up essential liberty for a false sense of safety.

That letting government dictate whether smoking is allowed in your privately owned place of business is giving up essential liberty for a false sense of safety.

That letting government tax 14% of your paycheck in return for the promise of future retirement checks, is giving up essential liberty for a false sense of safety.

But dismissing out of hand essential and necessary intelligence programs to detect and thwart our enemies is not rational. It's bumper-sticker political philosophy.

Answer 3

You're missing a large issue int he wiretapping program. You have to be suspected of TERRORIST ACTIVITIES for it to happen to you. Peoples names don't just magically appear on terrorism watch lists, they are there for a reason. Usually we find names and information on terrorists sympathizers and enablers in raids or from other terrorists we have interogated. If THEY have your name and information you have a lot more to worry about then wiretapping.

Additionally, once you assist a terrorists in the killing of innocents in anyway, you have given up your rights to liberty. At that point you are free game.

To call these people "citizens" or "innocent" is just delusional. They gave up their rights to privacy the minute they got into bed with Islamic Extremists.

Answer 4

What are you afraid of?

I would rather spend extra time in line at a airport, than get right on only to have my plane explode into mid air, or crashed into a building.

As for Ben Franklin, he was a very wise man, and you cannot even begin to think what he would have to say about to days society and how to deal with it.

Answer 5

The government doesn't NEED to know what I am doing as long as I am not committing any crime. Only AFTER I have committed a crime should they be allowed to eavesdrop on me as part of a legitimate investigation.

The government does not need to know what books I check out from the library or which ones I buy online.

The government does not need to know with whom I freely associate, as long as I am not associating with convicted felons.

Airport security...I can accept this--too many innocent people in a confined space. However, until Grandma Jones is trying to sneak some C-4 in her knitted handbag, there is no real reason to give elderly women more than a cursory examination with the scanners/detectors.

Answer 6

Benjamin Franklin said a lot of things, but I think this quote works perfectly for you and most of your liberal buddies:

"The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart." -Benjamin Franklin

Think it over, hm?

By the way... Note that he said ESSENTIAL liberties. I hardly think the freedom to have terrorists call you from overseas is an essential freedom. Do you?

Answer 7

....and this is what I think of you. "if a little wire tapping can save us from another 9/1 I am for it. I have nothing to hide..do you?
... however, I am against wire tapping if it is used in the wrong way.. the way Bush was and is using it. It should be voted on and closely monitored. by both sides of the political spectrum..we cannot let a corrupt administration get it in their hands.

So basically, I guess we are saying the same thing.. in different ways. I would do anything to keep this country and our people safe... but not if my government cannot be trusted.

Ben was right.. but he was living in another time...

Answer 8

Then why did the Americans use Spies during the American Revolution? How do you think Benedict Arnold was caught?
In a time of crisis, they did everything possible to foil the enemy.
Ben Franklin himself acted as one......

Answer 9

Let me know when you find us a citizen that actually has been illegally wire tapped. If you are not plotting against America you won't be wire tapped. Go back to sleep!

Answer 10

The big problem is that the people need to wise up and stop voting in the same people that have been in there for 30 or 40 years. They feel they can do whatever they want and have no fear of ever getting voted out of office

Answer 11

A computer grabbing signals out of the air isn't "wiretapping," Timmy.

It's International Signals Interception.
Signal interception is a well-known, well-established and accepted wartime tactic.

Since when is having a private overseas phonecall an "essential liberty?"

NEXT!