Please wake up over these NSL Letters

[MissWaverly]

People, Please wake up over these NSL letters, as we all know FBI Director Mueller and
Attorney General Gonzales have admitted wrongdoing over these letters, so far the
IG's report indicates 153,000 letters were issued, we know that is an understatement
becuz just this 1 incident involved a million people. Now this was not individuals that
turned up in Osama's rolodex, it was obiviously a trolling for information on a large scale.
Who ordered this and why. The focus needs to be on what was the purpose of this widespread
surveillance of innocent American citizens. My best guess is that orders came from outside
the FBI to do this and the purpose was to accumulate information on people for political purposes or to use for intimidation.

Everybody on here should be writing their Senators and Representatives in the House to
ask about this, becuz if you post here or go on here, somebody has probably been pawing
through your records, this is about you, folks.


Probably You!

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman loves to remind visitors of Sin City's oh-so-discreet tagline: "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." But since the New Year's celebrations ringing in 2004, he has had to modify the motto. Fearing a terrorist attack, the FBI descended on casinos, car rental agencies, storage warehouses, and other Las Vegas businesses with sheaves of "national security letters" demanding financial records covering about 1 million revelers. Startled business owners who questioned the action were told they had one choice: cough up their documents or wind up in court.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2005/nf20051110_9709_db016.htm

[MADem]

1. Probably me, indeed.

I'm on that damned "You can only fly if we toss you, harass you, and annoy the shit out of you" list. It's disgusting.

[MissWaverly]

2. yes, I believe the "No Fly List" is also politically motivated

What is the logic for 75% of that as well.

[On the Road]

3. Good, Good, Good...

support of the business community is often the difference between futility and success.

[MissWaverly]

4. hey, they do not want to do this

only some political sleight of hand by Bushco has kept the lid on the challenges to
verizon and the big telephone companies about wiretapping and invasion of privacy.

[On the Road]

7. Right, and I'm Counting on the Administration to Overstep Themselves

Former Bell companies (including Verizon, my employer) have a long history of denying government requests for information without proper court authorization.

While I'm upset that the company seems to have reversed that recently, I don't think it would have happened without a lawless and aggressive administration. And as the terra scare fades, businesses are starting to wake up and say "why are we doing this"?

[MissWaverly]

8. No business or library or hospital or credit co. wanted to do this

The question we need to be asking is WHY are they doing this, you are quite correct.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

5. I'm proud to be on their list.

Been there since 1965, hard to be in the peace and justice movement without the watchers and lurkers checking you out, big threat to the country you know.

[MissWaverly]

6. all the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be

on the list if they were still alive, I know we are all willing to take some risk but they should not have unlimited snoop powers into the lives of innocent people not in a democracy.

[SteppingRazor]

9. I've already filed a FOIA request from the DoJ requesting all documents on my own name...

nothing came up.

I suggest everyone else do the same, just to be on the safe side.


So, suffice to say, I'm already woken up, have had my eggs and coffee, and am on my way to work. No need to tell me to wake up :)

[MissWaverly]

10. well, I don't think things will come up yet

I just read that 1 out every 5 requests for FOIA gets routinely ignored, and who knows if
all this data mining stuff is slapped with the label "classified" I do applaud your
initiative but I think the only way to get at this is to get a new AG and keep the
hearings going.

:-)

[SteppingRazor]

11. Mine wasn't ignored...

I got a letter back from the DoJ specifically stating that my identity didn't come up in records with the FBI. So, I'm in the clear — unless they're lying to me, but they'd have zero reason to do that. My previous experiences with FOIA have all been really positive. Hell, it's worth submitting a request, if you're willing to pay for the stuff (or better yet, work for a company that is). It's amazing what the gov't will turn over sometimes.

[MissWaverly]

12. I am not saying that you can't get a reply back

I am saying that the sneak and peak has probably been labeled "top secret" under the
Patriot Act and is not in a file you can access through FOIA, remember that the
fbi collected the information, I can't imagine that they would have possible terror
related information available to the public. I know someone that I trust says that
they go through all business accounts at this person's bank every month under the
guise of "National Security." This is an eyewitness account, do you think that there
is a formal record of that anywhere. Every bank account that is a business account at
that bank, and they look at EACH transaction in detail and QUESTION the slightest
thing that differs from routine transactions.