The Christian Science Monitor reports on a huge, planned data mining program that will troll news and blogs.

The US government is developing a massive computer system that can collect huge amounts of data and, by linking far-flung information from blogs and e-mail to government records and intelligence reports, search for patterns of terrorist activity.

The system - parts of which are operational, parts of which are still under development - is already credited with helping to foil some plots. It is the federal government's latest attempt to use broad data-collection and powerful analysis in the fight against terrorism. But by delving deeply into the digital minutiae of American life, the program is also raising concerns that the government is intruding too deeply into citizens' privacy.

The "core" of the system is called Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight, and Semantic Enhancement (ADVISE). Check the Monitor article for lots more details.

Time Magazine has the details of a third person seized at SOTU -- an Indian guest of Sen. Alcee Hastings. Read this and see if it doesn't make you sick.

But on the same evening that President Bush was lauding democracy and freedom, there was one other person in attendance whose rights were infringed upon. The man, who did not want his identity revealed after the disturbing incident, was a personal guest of Florida Democrat Alcee Hastings. He is a prominent businessman from Broward County, Florida who works with the Department of Defense-and has a security clearance. After sitting in the gallery for the entire speech, he was surrounded by about ten law enforcement officers as he exited the chamber and whisked away to a room in the Capitol.

by Last Night in Little Rock

The 2006 proposal of the so-called "Defense of Marriage" Amendment in red state Florida failed to garner enough signatures by the February 1 deadline according to the Secretary of State's Division of Elections website to make it to the 2006 election. DOMAWatch.org does not even mention it, yet.

The proponents in a statement said, however, they are still working because Florida law provides that the signatures submitted remain valid for the next election cycle in 2008.

And I still do not understand how a gay partnership, marriage or otherwise, has the slightest potential for the demise of a straight marriage. Constitutional amendments by initiative, however, do not have to make sense. Neither does legislation, for that matter.

by TChris

This NYTimes article reminds us that internet use isn't as private as it might feel.

[Even though] companies that provide Internet service and run Web sites ... promise to protect the privacy of their users, they routinely hand over the most intimate information in response to legal demands from criminal investigators and lawyers fighting civil cases. ...

When it comes to e-mail and Internet service records, "the average citizen would be shocked to find out how adept your average law enforcement officer is at finding information," said Paul Ohm, who recently left the Justice Department's computer crime and intellectual property section.

Read the article to learn what information you leave behind when you surf the net, and how easy it is for others to find it.

by Last Night in Little Rock

In the Civil Rights / Vietnam War protest era, spanning over a decade, the FBI routinely engaged in surveillance of anyone associated with either. It was in the J. Edgar Hoover FBI playbook, and Richard Nixon required his FBI to keep files on war protestors. (Ok, you got me; there's probably a report or two on me.)

Today's NY Times has an article about the NYPD videotaping demonstrators in NYC. The strange part about it is that they are videotaping NYPD officers demonstrating for lack of a contract with the police union. The union sued the NYPD claiming First Amendment intimidation, and the allegations read like the Hoover horror stories of the 60's-70's.

by TChris

The president gives the impression that the NSA only eavesdrops on Americans who dial Osama bin Laden's cell phone number, but are we to believe him? The American Friends Service Committee fears that the government is spying on peace activists, protestors, and others who exercise their right to disagree with the Bush administration. To find out if those fears are justified, the ACLU yesterday filed a Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of the AFSC and other groups that might be targeted by a domestic surveillance campaign.

The ACLU is seeking the disclosure of all documents maintained by the Department of Defense on the individual groups. Many of the groups involved in today's action, such as the Rhode Island-based Community Coalition for Peace, have already learned that they are listed in the Pentagon's Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) database.

An AFSC director explains the importance of the request:

by TChris

Gay-hating evangelicals usually makes themselves look silly. Occasionally, they make themselves look dangerous.

The silliness comes from critics of "End of the Spear," a film that tells the story of American missionaries in Ecuador. Some Christian fundamentalists are appalled that the film's lead actor is gay. (Mel Gibson was apparently unavailable.)

More than 100 pastors of churches across the country signed a letter drafted by [Rev. Jason] Janz and addressed to Every Tribe [Entertainment] expressing their disappointment in the casting of Mr. Allen. ... "Does anyone really believe that Chad Allen was the best possible actor for Nate Saint?" Mr. Janz asked in his Jan. 12 Web log entry, referring to one of the characters in the movie. "That would be like Madonna playing the Virgin Mary."

Casting Madonna to play the Virgin Mary would actually be an inspired choice, but let's not digress. Here's where the danger surfaces:

by TChris

If we call it a terrorist surveillance program, the White House thinks, the public will embrace our illegal spying. As this editorial makes clear, the president's critics don't oppose surveillance of terrorists. They oppose the president's decision to ignore the laws that give him a lawful way to intercept the communications of persons who are reasonably suspected of promoting terrorism.

"Let me put it to you in Texan," Mr. Bush drawled at the Grand Ole Opry House yesterday. "If Al Qaeda is calling into the United States, we want to know."

Yes, and so does every American. But that has nothing to do with Mr. Bush's decision to toss out the Constitution and judicial process by authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop without a warrant. Let's be clear: the president and his team had the ability to monitor calls by Qaeda operatives into and out of the United States before 9/11 and got even more authority to do it after the attacks. They never needed to resort to extralegal and probably unconstitutional methods.

The editorialist is unimpressed with the NSA's opinion that the domestic spying program is legal.

by TChris

The Electronic Frontier Foundation believes AT&T was too willing to help the NSA eavesdrop on its customers' conversations. It filed suit against AT&T on behalf of three AT&T customers, asserting that the telecommunications company "violated wiretapping and electronic privacy laws, since intercepting communications is prohibited except where authorized by law."

"As best we can tell, the NSA program is apparently the biggest fishing expedition ever devised, scanning millions of ordinary Americans' calls and e-mails for suspicious patterns," said Kevin Bankston, a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which filed the suit.

"Based on the published reports and after a reasonable investigation, we think that discovery is going to show that AT&T has opened up its network to direct access by the NSA," Bankston said.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, is based in part on "a Los Angeles Times report that the National Security Agency had access to an AT&T database tracking calling records."

by TChris

UPDATE: The arrest of Cindy Sheehan served its purpose. Cindy was spirited away from cameras to purify the background for the president's speech. Now that she's not a threat to the president's image, Capitol Police have released her and plan to apologize. No charges will be pressed, as the Capitol Police belatedly discovered that no rule prohibits expressive attire. One might have expected the police to have inquired about the law before arresting Cindy for an imaginary crime.

Perhaps to prove that they are bipartisan transgressors of the right to free speech, the Capitol Police also removed Beverly Young, the wife of Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young, from the audience, having spotted her sporting a "Support the Troops" shirt. Rep. Young took to the House floor to admonish the Capitol Police -- "Shame, shame" -- for treating a patriot so poorly. Beverly Young said it best:

"They said I was protesting," she told the St. Petersburg Times. "I said, 'Read my shirt, it is not a protest.' They said, 'We consider that a protest.' I said, 'Then you are an idiot.'"

But Young was only ejected while Cindy was arrested, albeit briefly. Why?

Capitol Police did not explain why Sheehan was arrested and Young was not.

ORIGINAL POST:

President Bush spoke to anti-abortion activists who were protesting the Roe v. Wade decision today, telling them "We Will Prevail."

President George W. Bush on Monday told opponents of abortion their views would eventually prevail and urged them to work to convince more Americans of "the rightness of our cause." On the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that established federal abortion rights, Bush addressed activists by telephone from Manhattan, Kansas, and called their goals noble.

"We, of course, seek common ground where possible," he said. "We're working to persuade more of our fellow Americans of the rightness of our cause, and this is a cause that appeals to the conscience of our citizens and is rooted in America's deepest principles -- history tells us that with such a cause, we will prevail."

Democrats, take heed. The writing is on the wall. Do not confirm Judge Sam Alito.

NBC reported in December that the Pentagon had a program for domestic surveillance of dissidents, after reviewing a secret 400 page Defense Department document.

....the Pentagon now collects domestic intelligence that goes beyond legitimate concerns about terrorism or protecting U.S. military installations, say critics.....The DOD database obtained by NBC News includes nearly four dozen anti-war meetings or protests, including some that have taken place far from any military installation, post or recruitment center.

Newsweek's Michael Isikoff has more on the program today, and says the Pentagon's spying on Americans is more widespread than previously believed.