The NSA, Email and FMCSA
Well, I need to get something up on the blog to let everyone know I am still in business. I have literally written 3 or 4 posts regarding current news and events, but discarded all of them. The news is moving so fast these days, that something new comes out almost every day, that dwarfs the day before.
Plus, I have had to tone down my posts, as I don’t want to get listed on any government enemies list. I am still trying to make a living, and there is probably very little money in “freedom fighter”. Nevertheless, here is my opinion of this NSA story which has broken in the past few days. I have no first hand knowledge of anything the government is doing. This is merely my opinion. Hopefully, I don’t end up in a gulag.
The latest revelation, is that the government has been storing all your emails, texts, and phone calls. Forever. I suppose that may shock some of you, or like me, simply confirm what I have suspected all along. What’s even more fascinating, is the man who leaked this information has gone public. Edward Snowden, 29, was an NSA contractor who worked at NSA’s facility in Hawaii. He admits he leaked the information about NSA’s “PRISM” program, which is apparently their acronym for gathering all available electronic communications from Verizon, AT & T, Google, Yahoo, Sprint, Facebook, etc. I suspect he has gone public to afford him some type of protection to prevent him from quietly “disappearing” in the middle of the night.
Snowden’s leak has forced the government to admit that it is, in fact, gathering data from all Americans, but it insists that 1) it only uses this information against foreigners who it suspects of potential terrorist acts, 2) judges approve the review of the information, and 3) it is not saving the contents of your phone calls. Only who you called, and who called you.
Of course, the government has lied repeatedly and continually to the press, the public, and members of Congress regarding the very existence of this type of program for years, so it is reasonable to assume they are lying now. This includes the President, who assures us no one is listening to our phone calls. If there is any justice, that statement will go down in history next to Nixon’s, “I am not a crook”.
Of course they are listening to your phone calls. All of them. You don’t have to be a tech-freak to know there is technology which transcribes spoken word to digital format, like a Word file or an email. You see examples of this in closed captioning on TV, and commercially available voice mails, which text you a transcription of the voice mails people leave. The NSA has huge facilities to store gazillions of bytes of data. More than enough to keep my email, your phone calls, and everyone else’s texts too.
Their computers comb through the data looking for key words which alert them a terrorist plot may be unfolding. If they get tipped off that some individual has uttered any of these key phrases, they then pull his box of data, which is every phone call he has ever made, probably dating back to around 2007, every email, every text. Then based on whatever they learn from that, they decide what action to take next.
This program has probably allowed them to thwart a number of potential Islamic terrorist plots. But at what price? Obviously, we are no longer living in a Constitutional republic when the government is free to search our lives at will. At whatever point in time when you become annoying, inconvenient, or a threat to them, they simply open your box of data. “Hey, let’s go trolling through John Doe’s box, let’s see what we can get on him!” Have you ever cheated on your wife? They know about it. Forgot to declare some income? They know about it. Cheated on your logs? They know about it. Like to use your cellphone in the truck without your bluetooth? They know about it. Play in a home poker game where money changes hands? They know about it. This information will then be used to control you via blackmail, or prosecution.
I highly suspect there is no judicial oversight of this program. After all, what judge is going to stand up to this type of intelligence operation, considering they have the goods on everything that judge has ever done or said? Any judge who opposes them will be blackmailed, or worse. Besides, there is no shortage of statist judges who will happily sign off on whatever power the State wants to take for itself. Any judicial oversight is merely a rubber stamp.
So what does this have to do with trucking, the FMCSA, and the safety regulations? Not much. I just find it more interesting writing about this sort of thing, plus I think it’s critical people know what their government is doing.
If your next question is, will FMCSA pull open my box of phone calls, emails, and texts and use that against me in my next audit? Not right now. Presently, this information is probably limited to the intelligence and law enforcement agencies, possibly the IRS, and private parties wealthy enough to purchase the information. FMCSA is not at that level. Actually, the NSA has files on FMCSA personnel too. They have files on everyone. It is simply a question of who controls that information.
As the surveillance society becomes more powerful and prevalent, I suppose it may be possible this information will become available to FMCSA agents, as well as all government agents. Certainly it will become available to IRS agents, if it’s not already. Govern your actions accordingly. Big Brother most certainly is listening.
