Could we ask the NSA for copies of all the those emails Cheney's been deleting? posted by null terminated at 2:30 AM on January 25, 2008
Why should we need to take pictures and post/send them? Surely we can just hold up our "Stop Watching Us!" signs and rely on the government's handy spycams to spot them for us?
This is why I've set up my firewall and router to embed in every packet things like "KNOCK IT OFF!", "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, MR. SNOOPYPANTS?", "UNLESS YOUR IP MATCHES THE EXPECTED DESTINATION IP IN THE HEADER GO AWAY!" and "DANGER: THIS PACKET REPORTS UNAUTHORIZED INTERCEPTION AND TRANSLATIONS TO OWNER!"
And I applaud the effort to stand up and represent opposition to fascist surveillance in such a human and presentable way. Kudos. posted by loquacious at 4:40 AM on January 25, 2008
I applaud citizen initiative and I think pretty highly of the power of the Internet, but....seriously. Posting a picture of yourself with a protest sign to flickr is going to accomplish precisely squat.
Call the Congressional (Senate: 202-224-3121, House: 202-225-3121) switchboard, ask for the representative from your state/district and register a complaint. Tell them you don't want criminal corporations OR presidents getting immunity for violating your civil rights. posted by DU at 4:57 AM on January 25, 2008
Well, if this doesn't work, we're going to have to bring out the big guns - you know, marching in the street, shouting some kind of slogan that starts with "HEY! HEY! HO! HO!", wearing papier-mâché heads, doing a satirical mime about the Administration with the local interpretive dance troupe. War is hell. posted by kcds at 5:03 AM on January 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]
Hey guys, this weekend we're all gonna come to my house and every time the president is on TV, we're gonna frown REAL HARD! Yeah! That'll show em! If we get enough people to do this, we'll REALLY make a difference! Alright I'm amped! I can't wait for all the great changes this will bring! posted by Uther Bentrazor at 5:06 AM on January 25, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]
Ridiculous. For the senate to pass such legislation is a betrayal of their Oaths of office and the Constitution. Sending photos and videos merely denigrates the seriousness of the issue--Unless you have a photo/video of a large crowd with assorted garden implements and torches, then you're on the right track. Oh, I suppose I'd allow for something quietly dramatic, like, oh, I dunno, a rope with a noose, swaying slowly in the wind. Things that convey the message that voting for this crap is in fact treason, you know?
What I don't understand, is why so many people seem to take this sort of thing so lightly. Maybe the fact I'm not there prevents me from outrage overload. Or maybe I just adjusted my outlook in December, 2000, and put in heavier fuses. posted by Goofyy at 5:11 AM on January 25, 2008
...this weekend we're all gonna come to my house and every time the president is on TV, we're gonna frown REAL HARD!
Actually, this is a good point. A flickr pool tagged with "congressional disapproval" is really just as effective as Congress itself has been. "Stop spying or we'll send you a VERY STERN LETTER....AGAIN." posted by DU at 5:21 AM on January 25, 2008
Year before last I got half a story written about this subject. It was about an internet-spawned meme that proposed to overload the computers used to monitor cell phone conversations by having citizens everywhere include the phrase "I want to kill the president" in all cell phone communications. The protagonist in this tale thinks this is a grand idea, and begins doing it all the time, to the eventual annoyance of his friends, family and coworkers. Then he realizes that through the constant repetition of his phrase he has developed a true desire to assassinate the president.
I decided not to complete or publish this story because, y'know, prison. The time I was tossed in the drunk tank for fourteen hours convinced me that prison probably wouldn't agree with me.
Secret service agents please note that I have nothing but the greatest respect for our dear leader and would never ever contemplate such a thing. If you need to reach me for further clarification, my last name is "Quonsar." posted by waraw at 6:07 AM on January 25, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]
If The Wire has taught me anything (and it has), it's that you should all be throwing your cellphones in the harbour canceling your phone lines. Hit 'em where it hurts, straight in their pocketbooks. posted by furtive at 6:14 AM on January 25, 2008
This is what happens when the anti-establishment has boring jobs and import cars. The Howl of a revolution becomes little more than a Yawn.
I do think the thing to do would be to take candid pictures of the congresspeople, and post the ones that are embarrassing. Like Nancy Pelosi picking her nose, or Tom Tancredo adjusting his package. Or just pictures of them looking stupid with their mouth open. Or asleep in session. posted by Eekacat at 7:55 AM on January 25, 2008
Oh snap! I'm gonna make some "Stop Spyin'" t-shirts to look just like the "Stop Snitchi'" ones and sell it to these people. I'm gonna be rich!!! posted by kkokkodalk at 9:24 AM on January 25, 2008
"Stop Snitchin'" I mean -_-;. posted by kkokkodalk at 9:25 AM on January 25, 2008
Being willing to escalate the issue to the next supervisor-level, and being able to vouch for who you say you are can be useful in dealing with by-the-book types. posted by acro at 10:11 AM on January 25, 2008
waraw: there was a small movement to include noise-keywords on otherwise benign emails. It's also an argument to sign/encrypt email even if you have nothing to hide; it makes mass-email snooping less viable as a strategy. posted by a robot made out of meat at 10:27 AM on January 25, 2008
For the senate to pass such legislation is a betrayal of their Oaths of office and the Constitution.
posted by Goofyy at 7:11 AM on January 25
I was going to ask you "Really? Which parts?" But it occurred to me that you likely didn't mean that and were just trying to be rhetorically hyperbolic.
Good Policy? That's one question, and probably one that you were intending to answer. "Violative of Oaths of Office and the Constitution"? That's another question, and one I suspect you tossed out there only rhetorically. posted by dios at 10:56 AM on January 25, 2008
I appreciate the efforts of anyone trying to kill this sort of ridiculous legislation. Immunity is completely inappropriate, and if it turns out that the corporations acted illegally, they need to pay a very serious price. If for no other reason, than to make the bar stay high enough that no one will similarly act against the publics best interests in the future.
That said, I think the only way you are going to pull this off with a photo campaign is if the pictures in question are of the legislators in really politically compromising positions. posted by quin at 11:31 AM on January 25, 2008
I was going to ask you "Really? Which parts?" But it occurred to me that you likely didn't mean that and were just trying to be rhetorically hyperbolic.
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posted by zardoz at 1:15 AM on January 25, 2008