Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, June 06, 2013

Jim Sensenbrenner, Patriot Act Author, Slams 'Un-American' NSA Verizon Phone Records Grab

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), one of the authors of the Patriot Act, said in a Thursday letter to Attorney General Eric Holder that he is "extremely troubled" by the National Security Agency's seizure of the phone records of millions of Verizon customers through a secret court ruling.

“I do not believe the released FISA order is consistent with the requirements of the Patriot Act,” Sensenbrenner wrote. “How could the phone records of so many innocent Americans be relevant to an authorized investigation as required by the Act?”

"Seizing phone records of millions of innocent people is excessive and un-American," he added in a press release that accompanied the letter.

Sensenbrenner cited 2011 testimony from a Justice Department official who said the feds obtained data through the business records provision of the act around 40 times a year. That testimony, Sensenbrenner wrote, left the impression that the administration was using the provision "sparingly and for specific materials," rather than the broad interpretation of it officials sought and obtained.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Author:  Ryan J. Reilly 

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