On June 7, 2013, THE DENVER POST STAFF writer Andy Vuong, wrote an article entitled: Experts:Data Seizure OK, Verizon scandal shows the government can take electronic info at any time. 

 

Vuong states that it’s understood by many that experts with special hardware can recover much deleted data on the computer and “stitch it back together.” That’s true with text messages, face book posts, communications sent over a telephone and Internet network, even if such messages have been deleted. What that means is that our national security agency (NSA) has reportedly tapped into such information for years. All done in secret, and as part of a “sweeping surveillance program.”

           

Vuong reports, “Experts say there is not much consumers can do to protect their communications data from government snooping, other than to lobby for tighter privacy laws.”

 

“Your kind of naïve to think that anything you say over a phone, anything you text, any message in a chat box in Words With Friends or a Facebook post, is transient and is going to go away after some time,” said John Black, a computer science professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “It’s all going to be there forever, and that’s the way you should operate.”

 

Vuong reports that Black, who is an expert on cryptology and computer security, said “that’s the trade-off for better protections against potential terrorist attacks.”

 

“It’s scary in some ways, there is a chilling effect, but at the same we haven’t seen a lot of planes flying into buildings in the last 10 years,” he said.

 

The following bold italicized dialogue represents my thoughts and feelings concerning the title of this blog: Critical Thinking is Required at a Time Like This.

 

Privacy advocates say the government is going too far.

 

Very specifically, state in what way has our government gone too far? What would you do that would replace our current modus operandi to deal with terrorism that would be more effective than what we have in place now?

 

 

“It’s very worrisome that we are constantly being asked in the name of security to leave our civil liberties at the door. We’ve got pushed back on that,” said Denise Mace, public policy director for the ACLU of Colorado. “The answer is with our congressional representatives.”

 

Again, very specifically state in what way have we left our civil liberties “at the door,” in the name of security? 

 

The White House confirmed Thursday that it has been secretly collecting phone records of millions of Verizon wireless subscribers for years. Rick Stevens, a privacy and technology expert, said it’s safe to assume that all major carriers are providing similar data to the government.

 

We must remember that the collecting of phone records of millions of Verizon wireless subscribers has occurred as a result of our government instituting this practice since its surveillance activity was declared  legal under the Patriot Act, passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and later extended. Since it is a legally sanctioned activity enacted to help keep America safe from terrorist attacks, in what way are we violating our Constitutional rights?   

 

You may say, “One of the problems we have is our government’s anti-terrorism program needs to be more transparent.” By virtue of the fact the government’s anti-terrorist operation is done in secret precludes transparency from occurring. By being more specific how our anti-terrorism task force operates, though more transparency may be achieved, secrets re: how the force operates may also be revealed, which may put our fellow American lives in danger that wouldn’t be so if limited transparency was maintained. Why should that information be made to people other than the anti-terrorism task-force? This is precisely why we have a problem regarding transparency. If the government anti-terrorist program is done in secret, by definition, doesn’t that impede “transparency” of the program from occurring? 

 

If we’re going to criticize our government’s anti-terrorism activities, it is our responsibility to very specifically state in what way we take issue with what our government is doing. What rights are being infringed upon? And also, more importantly, explain what we need to do to fix the system? Instead of implying some nefarious reason for their behavior, let’s begin to show a little empathy and compassion toward our government and by doing that, demonstrate to ourselves and each other that we know this is a difficult problem to deal with, that it’s not a Republican or Democratic problem, it’s an American problem and the only way we’re going to solve it is to provide a bipartisan solution to the dilemma!