Spy Files: Illegal Domestic Spying

June 29, 2010 6:02 PM

ACLU launches "Spyfiles" to track domestic surveillance. "The American Civil Liberties Union launched a new website Tuesday to track incidents of domestic political surveillance by the government along with a report (PDF) claiming such incidents have increased steadily since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. According to the report there have been 111 incidents of illegal domestic political surveillance since 9/11 in 33 states and the District of Columbia. The website, Spyfiles, will serve as the ACLU's online home for all news and reports of domestic spying."
posted by homunculus (12 comments total)

Given that the government proclaims the right to murder me, it's hard for me to get worked up about it spying on my phone calls.
posted by Joe Beese at 6:37 PM on June 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

I was just reading this tale of failed domestic surveillance.
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:48 PM on June 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

Given that the government proclaims the right to murder me, it's hard for me to get worked up about it spying on my phone calls.

By the well-known "one wrong makes all else right" rule.
posted by DU at 6:50 PM on June 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

I love how the ultra-vocal Tea Party types scream until they pee their wee-little pants about their civil liberties being taken away and, in the same breath, attack the ACLU. Get your infantile talking points together already, people!
posted by joe lisboa at 7:03 PM on June 29, 2010 [6 favorites]

To have any chance of getting Tea Party conservatives to support free speech (you know, the practice amendment that comes just before the important one), it will be necessary to do it the form of Morse-coded gunshots.
posted by jamjam at 7:57 PM on June 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Homunculus, as a fellow card-carrying member of the ACLU I salute you and thank you for posting this. You are a mensch.
posted by bukvich at 8:14 PM on June 29, 2010

Joe: how are they going to know if they need to kill your or not unless they listen in to your every word?

ProTip: don't piss off the assassins with your seditious objections to ubiquitous surveillance and occasional assassinations.
posted by el io at 8:42 PM on June 29, 2010

Illegal? Let's see what Justice Kagen has to say about that.
posted by munchingzombie at 9:32 PM on June 29, 2010

Those numbers look low by an order of magnitude or two.
posted by telstar at 3:06 AM on June 30, 2010

I was fantastically underwhelmed by this site. I was expecting links to actual articles written by acknowledged experts on these matters, but instead all I found were rather sensationalist blurbs lacking proper attribution and several broken links. I agree with the ACLU's intent, and most of their actions, but I really think they would serve their causes much better if they followed proper journalistic standards.
In summary: very interesting information, but difficult for me to take seriously.
posted by ryaninoakland at 6:09 AM on June 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Given that the government proclaims the right to murder me, it's hard for me to get worked up about it spying on my phone calls.

The administration defends its assassination program
posted by homunculus at 6:52 PM on July 1, 2010

Perfect Citizen: secret NSA surveillance program revealed by WSJ
posted by homunculus at 9:09 AM on July 8, 2010