Funding for TIA All But Dead (Congress pulls plug on 'Big Brother'?)

Wired News ^ | 07/14/2003 | Ryan Singel

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

The controversial Terrorism Information Awareness program, which would troll Americans' personal records to find terrorists before they strike, may soon face the same fate Congress meted out to John Ashcroft in his attempt to create a corps of volunteer domestic spies: death by legislation.

[dirtboy]

ping

[Support Free Republic]

We're On A Mission From God

Help us make our 3rd quarter fundraising goal in record time!

[CCCV]

"The Senate bill's language is simple but comprehensive: "No funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense ... or to any other department, agency or element of the Federal Government, may be obligated or expended on research and development on the Terrorism Information Awareness program."

(/sarcasm on) What??? Someone in congress actually dusted off their copy of the Constitution and READIT??? NAAAAA - not a chance.
I wonder what happened? (/sarcasm off)

Good for them!

[THEUPMAN]

may be obligated or expended on research and development on the Terrorism Information Awareness program."
so they change the name... problem solved , and the money flows

[Dead Corpse]

Someone in congress actually dusted off their copy of the Constitution and READIT???

That is one thing that will never happen. There are maybe six people in Congress that even know how to SPELL "Constitution", much less adhere to their oath to defend it.

Then again, some rather vocal posters here at FR have a rather dim viewpoint of what they have taken to calling "Constamushunalists" and other such appellations.

[CCCV]

Then again, some rather vocal posters here at FR have a rather dim viewpoint of what they have taken to calling "Constamushunalists" and other such appellations. Maybe so - I sure wish that they could understand that when you quit following the rules; then their are NO rules!

[Servant of the Nine]

Yeah, right.
Congress specifically forbade the ATF and FBI to keep certain types of gun records, and cut off funds keeping them, they have anyway, under Democrat and Republican alike.

So9

[Joe Brower]

Not to worry. All we need is another terror-attack and/or democrat majority in Congress, and TIA will be quickly resurrected.

[freedomcrusader]

I'm not defending the program, but this statement is patently false:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation's analysis, which called the report a "major disappointment," noted that discussions of privacy or civil liberties issues were "conspicuously absent."

From the report: "The Department of Defense, which is responsible for DARPA, has expressed its full commitment to planning, executing, and overseeing the TIA program in a manner that protects privacy and civil liberties. Safeguarding the privacy and the civil liberties of Americans is a bedrock principle. DoD intends to make it a central element in the Department of Defense’s management and oversight of the TIA program. "

[John Beresford Tipton]

These statist bastards will simply relabel it,
say "It's for the children"
and try to sneak it through again.

[jjm2111]

Wow, Congress does something right.

[af_vet_rr]

Very good for them. All these measures that would not have prevented 9/11, and that would impose upon law-abiding citizens need to go away. The government has no reason to be digging through our lives, they do enough of it as it is.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government forbidden from indexing its own files.

'Its own files'? Are you saying that TIA was nothing but the harmless indexing of government records? Pshaw, faugh, and all that.

[dljordan]

That's right! All it takes is a name change, a little gussying up and VOILA! It'll be back don't worry. Those sniviling little bureaucratic snoops in Washington want this badly.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

Thought-provoking response. Thanks.