Unlocking the Power of ChatGPT and AI in Testing - A Real-World Look, present...
Who's Listening In On You - The New American Magazine - 3-17-08.pdf
1. 16th Annual Movieguide Awards • Myths of Presidential Power • State-sanctioned Counterfeiting
March 17, 2008
www.thenewamerican.com ThaT Freedom Shall NoT PeriSh
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3. Will history repeat itself ?
The European Union (EU) is superseding the
NEW laws of 27 nations. A North American Union
(NAU) would supersede the laws of the United
RELEASE! States, Canada, and Mexico.
The European Economic Community began as a
free-trade agreement in 1972. Today’s European Union
is well on its way to becoming a federal superstate, with
one currency, one legal system, one military, one police
force — even its own national anthem. The British people
have never given their consent for this to happen.
In this documentary featuring members of the EU
Parliament and other EU analysts, producer Phillip Day
covers the history and goals of the European Union, as
well as the disturbing, irrevocable implications the EU
continental government has for every British citizen.
With a similar process unfolding in America
under the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), Americans are starting
to ask themselves if their elected officials
should be allowed to go down the same
path and create a North American Union.
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4. Featured ProdUctS
In Mortal A Nation of Sheep
Danger Judge Napolitano frankly discusses how the federal
government has circumvented the Constitution and
Congressman Tom Tancredo makes a is systematically dismantling our rights and free-
case that if the United States doesn’t doms. He challenges Americans to recognize that
take immediate actions — especially they are being led down a very dangerous path and
reinstalling proper border security — that the cost of following without challenge is the
we will be next in a long line of super- loss of the basic freedoms that facilitate our pur-
powers to come crashing down. (2006, suit of happiness and that define us as a nation.
310pp, hb, $22.95) BkimD (2007, 256pp, pb, $22.95) BknOS
Exposing the Real
Che Guevara
Meet the Godfather of modern terrorism and the naive fools who lionize
him. As Humberto Fontova reveals in this myth-shattering book, Che was
actually a bloodthirsty executioner, a military bumbler, a coward, and a
hypocrite. Also revealed are the names of the movie stars and socialites
who idolize him. (2007, 224pp, hb, $19.95) BkeRcg
Blowing Up Russia Day of Reckoning
This book by former FSB (KGB) Russian How Hubris, Ideology, and Greed
Lt. Col. Alexander Litvinenko, with Yuri Are Tearing America Apart
Felshtinsky, presents convincing evidence
American elder statesman Pat Buchanan
that the infamous apartment bombings in
warns in his new book that America faces
Moscow and Volgodonsk in 1999 — which
an uncertain future unless we take action
ushered in Vladimir Putin as Russia’s new,
soon to protect the country. (2007, 294pp,
“anti-terrorist” president — were the work
hb, $22.95) BkDOR
of the FSB, not terrorists. (2007, 322pp, hb,
$24.95) BkBUR
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5. 10
Vol. 24, No. 6 March 17, 2008
Cover Story
SURVEILLANCE
10 Who’s Listening In on You?
Design by Joseph W. Kelly
by Wilton D. Alston — Will the Protect America Act provide the
means necessary to surveil and catch terrorists, while safeguarding
Americans’ Fourth Amendment protections? No and no.
FeatureS
18 21
THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
Courtesy of Mary Minifie
17 My Five Minutes
by Thomas R. Eddlem
Movieguide
CULTURE
18 Faith & Inspiration on Center Stage
by William F. Jasper — The 16th Annual Movieguide Awards.
24
21 Lost Art
by Paul Ingbretson — Any “art” that has lost its center in the
beautiful has, in fact, ceased to be art.
CONSTITUTIONAL CORNER
24 Myths of Presidential Power
by Edwin Vieira, Jr. — The presidency has slowly accumulated
unconstitutional power that the Founding Fathers never intended.
AP Images
ECONOMY
28 State-sanctioned Counterfeiting
by Charles Scaliger — The Fed’s latest money-creation gimmick.
28 31
BOOK REVIEW
31 A Reputation Rescued
by John F. McManus — A compelling account of the McCarthy era.
HISTORY — PAST AND PERSPECTIVE
34 Liberty at Home, Not Crusades Abroad
by Michael E. Telzrow — For over 100 years after its founding,
the United States avoided foreign aggression, knowing such actions
would lead to endless problems. Then we veered off course. 34
DepartmentS
Library of Congress
30 The Goodness of America
5 Letters to the Editor 41 Exercising the Right
6 Inside Track 42 Correction, Please!
9 QuickQuotes 44 The Last Word COVER Design by Joseph W. Kelly
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8. Inside Track
Bush’s Africa Tour and Foreign-aid Bonanza
President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush wound up Benin, Ghana, and Rwanda. Benin is the recipient of a $307 mil-
a six-day, five-nation tour of Africa on April 21 in Monrovia, Li- lion Bush Millennium Challenge grant. Ghana has signed a $547
beria, doling out more than $1 billion in additional foreign aid to million Millennium Challenge Compact with the United States
the beleaguered continent. In Libe- and receives millions more in various
ria, the president pledged continued U.S. aid programs. President Bush
support to train Liberia’s army, and announced a $100 million grant to
also to provide one million textbooks the UN-African Union mission in the
and 10,000 school desks and chairs. Darfur region of Sudan. Along the
In Tanzania, President Bush provid- way, Bush also reiterated his call for
ed President Jakaya Kikwete’s gov- Congress to double his President’s
ernment with a $698 million Millen- Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief,
nium Challenge Compact grant. Bush in or PEPFAR, from $15 billion to $30
The tour also included stops in Tanzania billion over the next five years.
AP Images
Misdirected Malaria Program Causes Disease to Spread
Throughout his February Africa tour, President Bush reaffirmed his ease keeps sick workers home, schoolyards quiet, communities in
support for the programs promoted by the United Nations, World mourning. The suffering caused by malaria is needless and every
Health Organization, and World Bank that are responsible for tens death caused by malaria is unacceptable.”
of millions of people being infected by malaria. Early in his first Paul Driessen, senior policy adviser for the Congress of Ra-
term President Bush signed the UN Persistent Organic Pollutants cial Equality and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green Power, Black
(POPs) Convention, effectively banning many important insecti- Death, echoes the outrage of many scientists and medical profes-
cides, including DDT, that are essential for controlling malaria-car- sionals who condemn the U.S. and UN programs that are respon-
rying mosquitoes. The UN’s ineffective programs instead call for sible for the horrendous malaria toll throughout the developing
confronting malaria with insecticide-treated bed nets and drugs. world. Driessen has scorching words for the U.S. and European
“It breaks my heart to know that little children are dying need- “anti-pesticide activists and bureaucrats — safe in their air-condi-
lessly because of a mosquito bite,” Bush said during his visit to tioned, malaria-free offices” who “worry about trivial risks from
Tanzania. At a hospital in Arusha, Tanzania, he said: “For years pesticides — and ignore the devastation and death caused by dis-
malaria has been a health crisis in sub-Sahara Africa. The dis- eases that pesticides could prevent.”
Two illegal immigrants
Sabotaging Border Security From Within arrested by U.S. Border patrol
officers near Sasabe, Arizona
While the Bush administration continues to insist that American agent told T he
citizens must accept increased inconveniences at airports and New AmericAN.
more privacy intrusions under the Real ID Act, it is waiving se- “This is insane,
curity checks for tens of thousands of new immigrants, including and is being done
many who are being hired as Border Patrol officers. under the excuse
“Facing a rapidly growing backlog of immigration cases, the of increasing the
Bush administration will grant permanent residency to tens of number ‘native
thousands of legal U.S. immigrants without first completing re- Mexican speak-
quired background checks against the FBI’s investigative files,” ers’ ” in the Bor-
the Washington Post reported on February 12. The change, it der Patrol.
AP Images
said, applies to about 47,000 permanent residency, or green card, According to
applicants whose FBI checks have been pending for more than the former agent,
six months. the admitted gang members are merely asked to promise that
Even more disturbing is information that the administration is they have broken with their gangs and then are being allowed to
using the same “wave them through” policy when it comes to ap- continue the application process. “Some of our [Border Patrol]
plicants for the Border Patrol, including applicants who are “for- background investigators have brought up serious security con-
mer” members of violent Mexican gangs and Mexican drug cartels. cerns about many of these guys, things that in the past would
“A lot of [Border Patrol] agents are very upset by the big influx have weeded bad guys out. But the investigators get over-ruled
of Mexican gang-bangers” into the service, a recently retired BP by higher-ups in the administration.”
6 THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008
9. United States Recognizes an Independent Kosovo
On February 18, the United States and several western Eu-
ropean nations granted official recognition to the breakaway
Serbian province of Kosovo. The move fanned ethnic ten-
sions between the predominantly Muslim population of Kos-
ovo and the Orthodox Christian Serbs who have traditionally
viewed Kosovo as part of their homeland. It also generated
fierce anti-American sentiment among the Serbs.
According to MSNBC, “Ethnic Serbs rallying in northern
Kosovo angrily denounced the United States and urged Russia
to help Serbia hold on to the territory that Serbs consider the
birthplace of their civilization. Protesters also marched in Ser-
bia’s capital, and that nation recalled its ambassador to the U.S.
to protest American recognition for an independent Kosovo.”
Also following U.S. recognition of Kosovo’s indepen-
dence, a crowd of protesters attacked the U.S. embassy in
AP Images
Belgrade. The building was set on fire and one person died
while hundreds were injured in the violent attack.
kosovo Serbs rally with flags of nations that do not recognize kosovo’s independence.
A Dangerous Game in the Balkans
By recognizing an independent Kosovo, the United States is play- of Northern Cyprus has existed for over 40 years. Why don’t
ing a dangerous game in the Balkans, one that has led to war in you recognize it? Aren’t you Europeans ashamed to address the
the past and could lead to war in the near future. The way World same situations in different parts of the world with such double
War I began demonstrates the tinderbox the Balkans can be. standards?” Putin asked.
That war started when Serbian nationalist hostility led to the The Russians also suggested they might use force if the situ-
assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. That falling dom- ation continues to deteriorate, from their perspective. According
ino brought about a harsh Austrian response that further provoked to BBC News, “Russia’s ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin,
the situation, eventually causing Austria to declare war. The rush has warned that Russia could use military force if the Kosovo
toward hostilities caused similar declarations, on opposite sides, independence dispute escalates.”
from Germany and Russia and then from France and England and Said Rogozin: “If the EU develops a unified position or if Nato
eventually the United States. exceeds its mandate set by the UN, then these organisations will
By recognizing Kosovo, are we starting down that path be in conflict with the UN.” In that case, he said, Russia would
again? Consider: the Russians, longtime allies of the Serbs, “proceed on the basis that in order to be respected we would need
have signaled their displeasure with the present turn of events. to use brute force.”
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, reportedly said the Ko- This does not mean that the world is on the cusp of war at
sovo declaration of independence is illegal and immoral. “A the moment over the Balkans. It does demonstrate, however, that
country’s territorial integrity is based on the founding principles mishandling of the Balkans on the diplomatic front can have enor-
of international law,” Putin argued, saying that Europe prac- mous consequences, in this case further straining already conten-
tices a double standard on the issue. “The independent republic tious relations between the United States and the Kremlin.
Utah State Legislature Opposes the NAU and Illegal Immigration
On February 4 the Utah House passed H.R. 1, a “Resolution United States Congress to ‘support and defend the Constitution of
Encouraging United States Withdrawal from the Security and the United States’ by passing the necessary and appropriate legisla-
Prosperity Partnership of North America” and “any other activ- tion to resolve the illegal immigration crisis; urges that the legisla-
ity which seeks to create a North American Union,” by a vote of tion should address U.S. border security, stop illegal immigration,
57 to 15. Then, on February 22 the Utah Senate passed by a vote and end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants;
of 26 to 2 a slightly revised version of the model anti-illegal- and urges that the legislation reject amnesty for illegal immigrants
immigration resolution discussed in “How to Fix Illegal Immigra- and cease any government program or agreement that would lead
tion” in the March 3 issue of this magazine. to the creation of an open borders North American Union.” The
The Utah Senate’s anti-illegal-immigration resolution “urges the Idaho state legislature is also considering a similar bill.
THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008 7
10. Inside Track
McCain Denies Allegations of Ethical Improprieties
A February 21 report in the New York Times headlined “For Mc- which the Senate Ethics Com- John
mccain
Cain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk” raised mittee launched an investiga-
questions about Senator John McCain’s ethical practices. The tion of the five senators, includ-
article prompted the candidate to conduct an impromptu news ing McCain, who were accused
conference that same morning denying the article’s allegations. of improperly interceding with
The most controversial aspect of the report was that it resur- federal officials to help Charles
rected eight-year-old “concerns about Mr. McCain’s relationship Keating, the head of the failing
AP Images
with Ms. [Vicki ] Iseman,” a lobbyist whose connections with the Lincoln Savings and Loan.
Arizona senator had raised questions of a conflict of interest. A McCain’s senior campaign
hint of undocumented sexual impropriety added intrigue to the aide Charlie Black told Good
report, stating: “A female lobbyist had been turning up with him Morning America’s Robin Roberts on the day the story ran: “Un-
at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a fortunately, the New York Times, the largest liberal newspaper in
client’s corporate jet.” America, is running a false smear campaign against the integrity
A more substantive ethical issue raised in the article focused of the new conservative Republican nominee for president, John
on McCain’s involvement in the 1990 “Keating Five” scandal, in McCain, printing false news with no sources.”
The Counterfeiters … and the Fed Stefan
Ruzowitzky
The Counterfeiters won the foreign-language Oscar on February
24, creating buzz for the Austrian film that had opened in this
country in limited release just two days earlier.
Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, the movie is about a wartime
Nazi plot to destroy the economies of Great Britain and the Unit-
ed States by using concentration-camp prisoners to print massive
amounts of counterfeit currencies that would then be interjected
into the target economies. The movie is based on the memoir The
AP Images
Devil’s Workshop by concentration-camp survivor/counterfeiter
Adolph Burger, though in the movie the name of the real-life
Burger is changed to Salomon “Sally” Sorowitsch.
Notwithstanding the evil nature of the Nazi regime, the plot or any other hostile foreign regime, our own Federal Reserve Sys-
brought to the silver screen by The Counterfeiters does illustrate tem has for many years been inflating our currency, effectively ac-
the fact that the Nazis fully understood that inflation (increasing the complishing what the Nazis had hoped to accomplish, albeit more
money supply) can be used to destroy a currency. The Nazi regime gradually. Thanks to the Fed, almost $12 would be needed today
fell before this plot got very far, but without the help of the Nazis to equal the purchasing power of $1 in 1945.
William F. Buckley, Jr. Found Dead in His Home at 82
After suffering from diabetes and emphysema according to his still is) an adherent of traditional conservatism based on consti-
son Christopher, William F. Buckley, Jr. was found dead at his tutional principles and limited government, the neoconservatism
desk on February 27 at age 82. The author of 45 books, he wrote championed by Buckley entailed support of extra-constitutional
about sailing, penned a series of spy novels, and tweaked liberals government and an internationalist foreign policy.
with a string of politically oriented works beginning with God One of the ironies of recent history is that John F. McManus,
and Man at Yale. That book, written while Buckley was still a the current and longtime president of the JBS, before knowing
student at the liberal Ivy League university, made him a folk hero much about the JBS, once wrote a letter to Buckley’s National Re-
of sorts in the eyes of many conservatives. view thanking the publication for an attack on JBS founder Robert
In 1955, he launched National Review magazine with a staff Welch. The letter was published. A JBS member who read the letter
that was top-heavy with Trotskyite socialists who would be prop- contacted McManus and provided him with JBS materials, which
erly labeled neoconservatives today. He used the magazine to soon led to McManus’ break with Buckley/National Review. In
redefine conservatism along neoconservative lines and also to try 2002, McManus wrote William F. Buckley, Jr.: Pied Piper for the
to purge the John Birch Society (this magazine’s parent organiza- Establishment, a 240-page critical biography about the celebrated
tion) from the conservative movement. While the JBS was (and publisher, author, columnist, and television personality. n
8 THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008
11. QuickQuotes
She Wishes She Had Said It Differently
“For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud
of my country.”
The wife of the Democrat who hopes to be his party’s
AP Images
nominee, Michelle Obama later claimed that she has al-
ways been proud of her country. michelle Obama
China Is Not a Good Place for Journalists
“There are more journalists detained in China now than there were when China was chosen in 2001 to
host the games. We have the feeling that nothing will really change before the Olympic Games.”
Speaking for the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, head researcher Jean-Francois Julliard re-
ported that China is the worst censorship offender and the largest jailer of activists for free expression.
It currently imprisons at least 31 journalists.
He Has a Dim View of Newspaper People
“A lot of newspaper people would rather be wrong than be scooped.”
Responding to the New York Times article suggesting several improprieties in John McCain’s past,
McCain lawyer Bob Bennett issued a broad indictment of most journalists when commenting about
the curious timing of the article’s release.
Rising Wheat Price Is Surprising
“Anyone who tells you they’ve seen something like this is a liar.”
With the price of wheat 50 percent higher than it was last August, South Dakota commodities trader
Vince Boddicker shook his head in amazement and wondered how much higher the price would go.
Some Iranians Are No Longer Spouting Anti-Americanism
“I used to be one who chanted ‘Death to America.’ It was a slogan that came up during the revolution.
People don’t mean it now. I like American goods, and I prefer American people. It’s just the govern-
ment I don’t like.”
Referring to his attitude during the 1979 revolution when the Shah of Iran was deposed, Tehran ice
cream shop owner Abolfazl Emami now expresses a view shared by many of his countrymen.
House Committee Chairman Wishes Baseball Hearing Was Never Held
“I regret we had the hearing. The only reason we had the hearing was be-
cause Roger Clemens and his lawyers insisted on it.”
Lawyers for baseball star Roger Clemens sharply disputed the claim of
Committee on Oversight Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and accused
him of creating “the circus” that ensued.
henry
Waxman Che Guevara’s Portrait Seen in an Obama Campaign Office
AP Images
“That this sadistic thug’s face also adorns the office of a U.S. presidential
candidate’s supporters is appalling and disgraceful. That the candidate
couldn’t bring himself to say so is even worse.”
Asked how a portrait of Fidel Castro’s long-deceased comrade could be found in an Obama-for-presi-
dent office, top campaign officials stated merely that it was “inappropriate” and did not “reflect Senator
Obama’s views.” Their statement did not satisfy columnist Jeff Jacoby.
Candidates for the Democratic
Party Nomination Joust Over Mere Words
“If your candidacy is going to be about words, then they should be your
own words. Lifting whole passages from someone else’s speeches is
not about change you can believe in; it’s change you can Xerox.”
Candidate Hillary Clinton couldn’t find very much to separate herself
from fellow candidate Barack Obama. Nor could he find much of sub-
stance to distance himself from her. So their debate degenerated into
AP Images
arguing about a few words. n
hillary clinton
— comPiled By JohN F. mcmANus
THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008 9
12. SURVEILLANCE
U? ing
Yo en
on ist
in L
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Will the Protect America Act provide the means necessary to surveil and catch terrorists,
while safeguarding Americans’ Fourth Amendment protections? No and no.
by Wilton D. Alston and to block lawsuits against U.S. tele- cific procedures for gathering both physi-
communications companies that aided in cal and electronic foreign intelligence in-
O
n February 12, the U.S. Senate past spying efforts. The legislation would side the United States.
approved, by a 68-29 vote, espio- permanently expand the Foreign Intelli-
nage legislation that would ex- gence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA). Wilton D. Alston, a libertarian activist and writer, is
pand the government’s authority to inter- FISA, which has been amended several a principal research scientist working in the field of
cept international phone calls and e-mails times, established a special court and spe- transportation safety.
10 THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008
13. persons reasonably believed to be
located outside the United States;
• The surveillance does not in-
volve solely domestic communi-
cations;
• The surveillance involves
obtaining the communications
data from or with the assis-
tance of a communications ser-
vice provider who has access to
communications;
• A significant purpose of the
acquisition is to obtain foreign in-
telligence information; and
• The dissemination of infor-
mation gathered on Americans is
“minimized.”
This determination by the At-
torney General and DNI must be
certified in writing, under oath,
and supported by appropriate affi-
davits. If immediate action by the
government is required and time
does not permit the preparation of a
certification, the Attorney General
or DNI can direct the acquisition
AP Images
orally, with a certification to follow
within 72 hours. The certification is
He signs with glee: President Bush signs a 15-day extension of the so-called Protect America Act, which then filed with the FISA Court.
had reached the date on its sunset provision. The act, which revises the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Essentially, based upon an oath
Act that was created to safeguard Americans’ Fourth Amendment protections, allows the government to (a promise) that what they wish to
intercept communications of Americans without a warrant if they are communicating with someone in a do is necessary, the DNI or Attor-
foreign country.
ney General can authorize surveil-
lance upon anyone they wish, if
An Electronic Police State? In a bit of cruel irony, this legislation is that surveillance is supposedly directed at
To keep Americans safe, says Mike Mc- named “The Protect America Act.” (No, someone outside the United States. That
Connell, the Director of National Intel- it’s not you; the Twilight Zone music did surveillance can continue for a year, and
ligence and erstwhile National Security just start playing.) the DNI can compel communication com-
Agency spook who has spent much of A summary of selected provi- panies — the telecoms, for instance — to
his recent time promoting this expansion, sions follows, with some explanatory obey his commands. Perkins Coie’s Inter-
government agents must have the ability to commentary. net Case Digest explains:
intercept electronic information, including The Protect America Act empowers the
that crossing the Internet, throughout the Attorney General or Director of National Once the certification is filed with the
United States. (There are those who believe Intelligence (DNI) to authorize, for up to FISA Court, the Attorney General or
the NSA has been doing that for years, but one year, the acquisition of com-
that is a debate for another day.) The ra- munications concerning “persons
tionale is the fact that much of the world’s reasonably believed to be outside mike mcconnell, the Director of
communication crosses channels in the the United States” — even if the
United States at some point. The govern- foreign persons are communicat-
national intelligence, says the
ment figures the situation presents a great ing with citizens in the United government must have the ability to
opportunity to listen in on communications States — without a warrant, if
to and from supposed terrorists who may the Attorney General and DNI
intercept electronic information. The
actually be outside the United States. determine that each of five crite- problem is that such listening in,
The obvious problem behind such leg- ria has been met:
without the establishment of probable
islation is that allowing such listening in, • There are reasonable proce-
particularly without the establishment of dures in place for determining cause, will likely lead to abuse.
probable cause, will likely lead to abuse. that the communications are from
THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008 11
14. SURVEILLANCE
Basically one can break the Nixon Watergate scandal revealed that
whole bill down into a few compo- Nixon was using presidential authority to
The protect America Act allows the nents, which are: surveil his personal enemies.) That really
Director of national intelligence to • A need to gather intelligence is about all there is to it. For the record,
arises, generally, from the Federal since the existence of the court, only two
make the telecoms accomplices in
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) mak- of the thousands of warrants requested
spying on the U.S. public, no matter ing the request. have been denied.
what the companies may or may not • The target of this intelligence Of course, the definition of “need to
is “a foreign agent” or someone gather intelligence” and who is actually a
think about the request, and severely working for a foreign government, “foreign agent” are somewhat malleable.
punish them if they do not comply. or someone who can reasonably be Under the original FISA, a foreign agent
assumed to be such. could be anyone believed to be working
• A formal request is made to a for a foreign government. Furthermore,
DNI can direct a provider to under- secret court for a warrant to conduct this in- the issue of oversight is somewhat spe-
take or assist in the undertaking of vestigation on this foreign agent, although cious, since, as will be mentioned later,
the acquisition. it is possible, in some circumstances, to the results of the investigation and the
If a provider fails to comply with conduct months of investigation before the conduct of the investigators are not nor-
a directive issued by the Attorney warrant is requested or granted. mally reviewed after the fact. Still, with
General or DNI, the Attorney Gener- • The court grants (or denies) the war- the existing FISA legislation there were
al may seek an order from the FISA rant and the investigation — including wire (supposedly) limits to what and who could
Court compelling compliance with tapping, searches, etc. — is conducted. be subject to surveillance.
the directive. Failure to obey an order FISA was meant to allow needed sur- The original law allowed for a court —
of the FISA Court may be punished veillance while at the same time safe- the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
as a contempt of court. guarding citizens’ Fourth Amendment (FISC) — to decide if the proper informa-
protections against unreasonable searches tion was being sought under the proper
In other words, the Protect America Act and seizures. (FISA was enacted after the circumstances. Still, several rather obvi-
allows the DNI to make the telecoms ac-
complices in spying on the U.S. public, no
matter what the companies may or may
not think about the request, and severely
punish them if they do not comply.
Not only does the act compel the action
of the telecoms, it also protects them from
prosecution should their actions be later
shown to have been improper. It further
protects the telecoms from actions they
took before this act becomes law! Es-
sentially, the act compels an action and
simultaneously removes all responsibility
for that action in one fell swoop.
The White House, operating under the
premise that the original FISA legislation
is now out of date, claims that FISA needs
changes lest the war on terror be lost. This
is patently false. In fact, the original FISA
legislation arguably went too far in provid-
ing opportunity for abuse, as will be de-
tailed. Despite that, the recent legislation
is being offered as yet another means to
protect the U.S. public. Nothing could be
further from the truth.
Returning to the Beginning
All of this should make one wonder what
the original FISA legislation, to which the
Protect America Act is but an amendment,
was supposed to allow and why.
12 THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008
15. National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell
ous challenges make even this speaks to the Senate Judiciary committee on
initial scenario suspect. If the September 25, 2007 to discuss how the Foreign
court meets in secret, exactly intelligence Surveillance Act affects civil liberties.
many people are concerned that the act’s
how can this “properness” be
protections are being undermined and abandoned.
judged? For example, if the
foxes meet weekly to deter-
mine if the hens should be al-
lowed certain rights and privi-
leges, to whom can the hens
complain? If three guys meet
in secret to determine if beat-
ing up a fourth guy meets the
requirements of law, who can
decide if they were wrong? In
other words, the premise of
the original legislation was
flawed. The premise for the
new, expanded legislation is
AP Images
even more so.
Ends Not Justifying Means
More troubling than even the
details of such legislation is the lengths to the usefulness of increasing surveillance, their customers’ privacy — a new law that
which those who wish to justify the need under oath, and we’re supposed to believe lowers the bar for infringements to an old
for newer and more expansive power will “he was overwhelmed with information law! Nice racket.
go to do so. From a Newsweek article enti- and merely mixed up his facts” or some When the people who break the law
tled “Spy Master Admits Error,” we find: such? If he is overwhelmed by the facts represent the government that ostensibly
just trying to justify the legislation, one made the law, or were acting in collusion
Also on September 10, [2007] DNI has to wonder what will happen after he with the government to break the law, one
Mike McConnell testified before the obtains even more sweeping power with has to be even less inclined to be forgiv-
Senate Committee on Homeland Se- the legislation. Surely this is an outtake ing. Make no mistake, however; this is not
curity and Governmental Affairs that from Saturday Night Live, and not the con- about forgiveness. This is about hiding the
the Protect America Act had helped text of serious discussion. But wait, there’s bodies. We get a solid clue from another
foil a major terror plot in Germany. more. From C-Net News Blog, we find: Newsweek story entitled “We Hear What
U.S. intelligence-community of- You’re Saying” with:
ficials questioned the accuracy of Bush also called for retroactive im-
McConnell’s testimony and urged munity for telecommunications com- The telecommunications immunity
his office to correct it, which he did panies who had cooperated with gov- provision [of the Protect America
in a statement issued September 12, ernment surveillance efforts, saying, Act] has proved especially contro-
2007. Critics cited the incident as an “It’s particularly important for Con- versial because it would effectively
example of the Bush administration’s gress to provide meaningful liability shut down more than 40 private
exaggerated claims and contradic- protection to those companies now lawsuits alleging that firms includ-
tory statements about surveillance facing multibillion-dollar lawsuits ing AT&T and Verizon violated the
activities. Counterterrorism offi- only because they are believed to privacy of American customers by
cials familiar with the background have assisted in efforts to defend our secretly turning information about
of McConnell’s testimony said they nation, following the 9/11 attacks.” their phone calls and e-mails over
did not believe he made inaccurate to U.S. intelligence agencies with-
statements intentionally as part of Even if one is generally open to letting by- out the authorization of the special
any strategy by the administration to gones be bygones, it smacks as disingenu- Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
persuade Congress to make the new ous to suggest that the telecom providers Court. If the lawsuits were allowed
eavesdropping law permanent. Those can be forgiven for previously breaking the to go forward, they could become
officials said they believed McCon- law even before this more expansive, more vehicles for a full public examina-
nell gave the wrong answer because “forgiving” set of amendments to FISA tion of still secret orders and legal
he was overwhelmed with informa- was dreamed up. What is being suggested rulings that the president and Justice
tion and merely mixed up his facts. here is something of a universal mulligan Department used to justify warrant-
for those who ignored not only the Con- less eavesdropping on American citi-
So, the spy in charge drastically overstates stitution but also their responsibilities to zens after September 11.
THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008 13
16. SURVEILLANCE
a lot more terrorists in the rules or the expanded rules is less effec-
United States than even the tive than just randomly stopping cars and
The unaccountable surveillance is unlikely most pessimistic estimates flipping a coin. Given that level of dis-
to thwart terrorist activity because there is would suggest, increased crimination, it would seem all the more
monitoring will result in important to have a feedback mechanism
simply too great a volume of information. little else but loss of privacy in place to correct for errors. Certainly
catching terrorists by examining the and increased expense. (It if searches and/or warrants are obtained
would also result in a veri- improperly or lead to abuse, those in-
routine communications of the U.S. public table cornucopia of business fringed upon and those who might later
would be a matter of dumb luck. for security firms and tech- be infringed upon deserve to know about
nology providers, all paid it. The original structure of the FISA, and
for with taxpayer money.) the recurring theme in every attempt to
Evidently “full public examination” is ex- Not to mention that, assuming the ter- widen its reach, is in direct contradiction
actly what is needed here. Certainly there rorists aren’t complete morons, they can to any such feedback mechanism. The
are those who would suggest that one has simply and easily bypass the electronic Electronic Privacy Information Center
to break a few eggs — eggs being a euphe- surveillance altogether by resorting to clarifies the existing law:
mism for privacy rights — to assure the old-fashioned spy gadgets like packages
safety of the U.S. public, but this justifica- containing microdots. The records and files of the cases are
tion, aside from presenting a false choice, Finding a terrorist with either the old sealed and may not be revealed even
only takes into account a small part of
why such surveillance is bad.
You Can’t Get There From Here
The fact of the matter is this: the unac-
countable surveillance is unlikely to
thwart terrorist activity because there is
simply too great a volume of information.
Breaking eggs when one still won’t get an
omelet is just not that smart. There is no
scenario under which one is very likely to
catch terrorists by examining the routine
communications of the U.S. public, or the
communications that could be to or from
someone in the United States, unless it oc-
curs via dumb luck. The reason: too little
signal and too much noise.
It is like finding a tan piece of hay in a
gigantic stack of yellow hay — a stack of
hay that gets renewed each day. Norwegian
professor Floyd Rudmin, using a mathe-
matical construct to determine probability
called Bayes’ Theorem, concluded:
The probability that people are ter-
rorists given that NSA’s system of
surveillance identifies them as ter-
rorists is only p=0.2308, which is far
from one and well below flipping a
coin. NSA’s domestic monitoring of
everyone’s email and phone calls is
useless for finding terrorists.
AP Images
Simply put, monitoring every phone call,
every e-mail message, and every instant Under the Protect America Act, the attorney general — now Michael Mukasey (shown) — or
message flowing through America will the director of national intelligence may authorize surveillance on foreigners without a warrant,
not result in a reasonable reduction of the even if the person surveilled is communicating with a U.S. citizen. There is no real oversight over
risk of terrorist attacks. Unless there are what takes place during the surveillance or what is done with the information that is gathered.
14 THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008
17. to persons whose pros-
ecutions are based on
evidence obtained under
FISA warrants (except
to a limited degree set by
district judges’ rulings
on motions to suppress).
There is no provision for
the return of executed
warrants to the FISC, for
certification that the sur-
veillance was conducted
according to the warrant
and its “minimization”
requirements, or for in-
ventory of items taken
pursuant to a FISA war-
rant. [Emphasis added.]
AP Images
Having a secret court make
a secret ruling about prob- Who are they serving? VeriSign is one of the world’s predominant companies in the business of protecting
able cause is one thing, but phone calls, e-mails, and instant messages from being intercepted by hackers. The company, which routes
having no mechanism to billions of communications a day, also works with several other companies to create hardware and software to
determine if the ensuing intercept the same communications for law-enforcement agencies like the Department of Homeland Security.
action — action taken by
those who obtained the warrant — was ap- Different Question, Same Answer clear that the people will not punish
propriate makes the whole process rather, Indeed. The original FISA legislation the government for ignoring them.
well, needless. If one asks for authoriza- was passed to prevent abuse, not allow
tion to do one thing, but does another, and for more of it. One can only wonder if It seems clear that any protections sup-
is never asked to verify if what he did was FISA curtailed any substantive abuse. It posedly provided by the FISA (or the
done pursuant to the previous instructions, is doubtful. Examining the justifications FISC) long ago ceased to restrict anyone
he might as well not have asked in the first for allowing even more sweeping power, or protect the U.S. public. And that is as-
place. one can’t help but come to this conclu- suming — rather naively — that they ever
Presidential aspirant Ron Paul has no- sion: the Protect America Act is intended restricted any behavior.
ticed the shaky ground upon which this to reduce the ability of the original FISA Despite that irony, Bush and his minions
legislation is based. He stated on the floor legislation to preclude abuse. Apparently seek to push the abuse envelope even fur-
of Congress: even the minor limits imposed by the ther. DNI McConnell and his compatriots
original FISA still put a cramp in the style seem determined to give the phrase, “Can
We must remember that the original of abusers everywhere! Talk about irony. you hear me now?” a whole new mean-
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance In his little-known (and currently un- ing. If they succeed, no one should feel
Act was passed in 1978 as a result published) masterpiece, “The Theory of any safer, because they won’t be. n
of the U.S. Senate investigations Anarcho-Capitalism and its Libertarian
into the federal government’s ille- Opponents,” the late Per Christian Mal- To send an editable online letter to your U.S. rep-
gal spying on American citizens. Its loch says: resentative opposing the House version of legisla-
purpose was to prevent the abuse of tion expanding FISA, go to http://capwiz.com/jbs
power from occurring in the future Constitutions, bills of rights, state- /issues/?style=D and click on “Help House Defy
by establishing guidelines and pre- ments of principle, party platforms, Bush on Secret Surveillance Law!” under “Legisla-
scribing oversight to the process. It and all other Guarantees can never be tive Alerts and Updates.”
was designed to protect citizens, not more than self-im-
the government. The effect seems posed restrictions
to have been opposite of what was
intended. These recent attempts to
which cease to af-
fect the people who EXTRA COPIES AVAILABLE
“upgrade” FISA do not appear to run a government ➧ Additional copies of this issue of
be designed to enhance protection the instant they The New AmericAN are available at
of our civil liberties, but to make it cease to believe quantity-discount prices. To order, visit
easier for the government to spy on in their rightness, www.thenewamerican.com/marketplace/
us! or as soon as it is or see the card between pages 38-39.
THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008 15
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19. THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
by Thomas R. EddlEm
My Five Minutes
W
hile senators Police officers at the
generally have state and local level have
unlimited time to surmount those hurdles
for debate, members of every day, for a much
the U.S. House of Rep- larger menu of crimes —
resentatives often have and for the most serious
only five minutes to make crimes, such as murder.
their point heard before They don’t wail about
a final vote on important these requirements being
legislation. After the U.S. unreasonable or making
Senate passed the latest the people unsafe.
amendment to the For- But the president said
eign Intelligence Surveil- in his February 16 week-
lance Act on February ly radio address that if
12, I thought about what he isn’t given a pass by
I’d say if I had the chance Congress to ignore the
to speak for five minutes Constitution, we are
before the assembled U.S. all in danger: “Because
House of Representatives Congress failed to act,”
(which was next on the he said, “it will be harder
legislative path for the bill). Here’s what I’d say: for our government to keep you safe from terrorist attack.”
The pending bill, already passed by the Senate in a 68-29 The president has essentially said that he can uphold the Con-
vote, proposes to allow wiretap searches without warrants or stitution, or he can keep America safe from foreign attack. But
probable cause. What that means in practical terms is that the he’s not capable of doing both — and would prefer the latter.
federal government is going to be tapping the phones of people If President Bush says he is not competent enough to adhere
who are — by definition — probably not committing a crime. both to the limits of the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment and
They are going to be tapping the phones of people who are keep America safe from foreign attack — like the presidents
probably law-abiding citizens. That’s not only a colossal waste before him, and police officials in every state and municipal-
of law-enforcement resources and effort, it is also blatantly ity — I’ll take his word for it. But if that is the case, he should
unconstitutional. resign to let someone more competent take charge of the Oval
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: Office.
If his weekly radio address of February 16 is not an admission
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, hous- of incompetence, I don’t know what such an admission would
es, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and look like.
seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, I’m sure the White House doesn’t like the legislature reading
but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, the Constitution its members swore an oath to uphold, or, for
and particularly describing the place to be searched, and that matter, critically analyzing President Bush’s words against
the persons or things to be seized. the lens of the Constitution. I know that perhaps some of my col-
leagues — and certainly White House legal officials — would
The Fourth Amendment sets forth a preamble of how it intends say that I am “interpreting” the Constitution incorrectly. And
to protect the people from unreasonable searches, and then de- I do confess that I need an interpreter … when I am reading
fines four tests needed for a search by the federal government Latin or Greek. But the Constitution is written in simple, clear,
to be constitutional. One, you need a warrant issued by a court. declarative English sentences. While I don’t speak Greek or
Two, the warrant needs to be based upon probable cause, mean- Latin, I do speak and read the English language. I would ask
ing that there is more than a 50-percent chance a crime has been my colleagues: “Have you been in Washington so long that you
committed. Three, the warrant has to be supported by an oath. now need an interpreter to read the simple English prose of our
And finally, the warrant has to state — specifically — what is Constitution?”
being searched for. I don’t think that the American people need an interpreter
Those aren’t very high hurdles for a search to take place. either, unless it is for the double-talk coming out of this city, and
especially from the White House.
Thomas R. Eddlem, a freelance writer, served as the John Birch Society’s direc- And no, I don’t need to revise or extend my remarks. This
tor of research from 1991-2000. pretty much sums up the legislation. n
THE NEW AMERICAN • MARCH 17, 2008 17
20. h&Inspira
CULTURE
tion on
Fait
CENTER STaGE
The 16th annual movieguide® Faith & Values awards
by William F. Jasper The report cites a new five-year study Shrek and the Pirates of the Caribbean
by Movieguide of the top 250 movies at series; and others.
O
n the evening of February 12, the box office, showing that movies with The 2007 cash register bling-bling win-
most of Hollywood and the Big very strong Christian worldviews earn the ners also featured wholesome and faith-
Media were abuzz with news of most money. Although many of Holly- friendly fare, such as Ratatouille, En-
the just-ended screenwriters strike and the wood’s hedonist elite seem to be perpetu- chanted, Spider-Man 3, I Am Legend, The
upcoming 80th annual Academy Awards. ally obsessed with producing films that Great Debaters, Transformers, Live Free
But at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Bev- glorify the crude, lewd, and nude, their self or Die Hard, Alvin and the Chipmunks,
erly Hills, the buzz was about a very indulgence is being punished at the box of- and Shrek the Third.
different — and increasingly important fice. “Sex, nudity, obscenity, and profanity As past Oscar, Emmy, and Golden Globe
— film awards event: the 16th Annual don’t really sell that well, especially in ex- Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr. told The
Movieguide Faith & Values Awards Gala treme forms,” Dr. Baehr notes, “but mov- New AmericAN at the Movieguide Awards,
sponsored by the Christian Film & Televi- ies with very strong Christian worldviews “Hollywood is getting the picture that it’s
sion Commission. do three to 11 times better than movies profitable to make films that Christians
The stars coming down the red carpet with sex, nudity, and foul language. They want to see. This is a trend that I am very
may not have constituted Tinsel Town’s also perform much better than movies with happy to see.”
A-list of actors and actresses. However, as very strong non-Christian, immoral, false, According to the Movieguide study,
in years past, the Awards Gala featured a or even anti-Christian worldviews.” in the last five years, movies with a very
respectable lineup of movie veterans and “Moviegoers want to see movies with strong Christian worldview earned more
upcoming stars and starlets, as well as ex- very strong Christian content,” says Baehr. than $73 million per movie, but movies
ecutives from the major studios. While still “They want the Savior to overcome the with a very strong atheist, agnostic, non-
a ways off from a full spiritual conversion, darkness, truth to triumph over falsehood, spiritual, or anti-spiritual worldview aver-
Hollywood is getting the bottom-line mes- justice to defeat injustice, and beauty to aged only $19.3 million.
sage that audiences want uplifting, faith- overcome ugliness: they want the Good Movieguide notes that “movies from
friendly, family-friendly movies. Dr. Ted News of Jesus Christ.” The box office bot- 2003 through 2007 with very strong spiri-
Baehr, founder of the Christian Film & tom line bears this out, with audiences in tually uplifting worldviews (earning more
Television Commission and Movieguide, a recent years richly rewarding the makers than $73 million per movie) also earned
family guide to movies, powerfully drove of films such as The Passion of the Christ; three to 11 times more money than movies
that message home with his Annual Report The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The with excessive or explicit sex and nudity
to the Entertainment Industry, in conjunc- Witch and The Wardrobe; The Lord of the and excessive foul language, which only
tion with the Awards Gala. Rings and the Spider-Man trilogies; the
Movieguide
Bella — winner, Faith & Family Award
Movieguide
Ratatouille — winner, Best Family Film
Movieguide
Shrek — more boffo box office
18
