[PaleoBob]

Hayden pulled it out of his arse too. Says there has to be a specific reason to access the database that is terrorist-related. Hayden says you have to identify who the bad guys are. He neglects that the current Admin considers conservatives to be the bad guys. Hence the door opens for abuse. Duh.

---

This argument is available to anyone who wants to defend data mining—that only when relevant info is extracted from the big DB does the 4th amendment clock start ticking.

By the same argument, you could search every house in America looking for one suspected criminal and remain within the framework of the 4th.

And (full disclosure) I ain’t no libertarian. A rule of “hot pursuit” should be preserved but expanding it to include every phone call and every email is Ceaucescu-like.

Real scary.

[bray]

Little Billie Chrystal is being so objective and saying there is nothing wrong with data mining our phone records. He sees nothing wrong with the gummit having our records. What a naive fool.

I will take my chances of being blown up rather than losing my freedom.

[sgtyork]

Yes. I get that the data might archived so when a terrorist is identified his connections could be be screened, but why does the government have to be the repository? Why couldn’t they contract with Verizon, ATT, etc. to have archives and then go to them with a search warrant?

[Girlene]

This argument is available to anyone who wants to defend data mining—that only when relevant info is extracted from the big DB does the 4th amendment clock start ticking.

By the same argument, you could search every house in America looking for one suspected criminal and remain within the framework of the 4th.

Good analogy.