Perhaps I Was a Bit Rough on Carl

I know... I know... bad form calling one's best friend a moron.

(*HANGING MY HEAD*)

Sorry, Carl... I got a bit... um... "testy" with you yesterday.

Here's the deal, folks: Carl and I were trying to explain the various factions within the GOP to Carl's bro-in-law Paul - a self-confessed "and proud of it" Left-liberal - at a barbeque the three of us attended yesterday. Suffice it to say... I allowed my frustrations to get the better of me at points.

(*WINK*)

So... publicly... allow me to say "sorry," buddy.

Anyway... to get to the heart of the matter... where we clashed was over the NSA monitoring, recording, and archiving the private communications of American citizens physically on U.S. soil.

Carl has no problem with this.

(Carl... don't let me put words in your mouth which aren't accurate; if I get anything wrong along the way here... speak up... give it to me - to us - directly via comment!)

Carl says (as did a gym buddy of mine earlier this morning when we were both watching TV news in the locker room while changing) "I have nothing to hide."

Wow...

So screw the Constitution! Carl has nothing to hide! Neither does my gym buddy! Tear up the Founding Document! Burn it... along with a flag or two, perhaps!

Wait, wait, wait, though; to "clarify," Carl does have a "Constitutional" fall-back position allowing the government to snoop on us for... er... national security and... um... our own good. According to Carl it all hinges on the word "reasonable."

Fair enough! 

The 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights clearly states: "...against unreasonable searches and seizures..."

Who is to say what's "reasonable?" 

Hmm... but the 4th Amendment also clearly states: "...and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons and things to be seized."

The low-ball number thrown out concerning the number of Americans whose "papers" the government has searched and "seized" (copied and retained) is in the millions... correct? The actual number may well be in the tens of millions... the hundreds of millions... indeed, depending upon which piece of the puzzle one is examining, there's plenty of reason to believe that every single American who has made a phone call or sent an email (or indeed utilized any means and form of electronic data transmission) has had his or her "data" captured by our beloved, always competent, never corrupt, and ultimately completely trustworthy federal authorities.

(Yeah... couldn't help myself...)

Well, folks... who guesses that millions... tens of millions... hundreds of millions of "Warrants" (in keeping with Constitutional regulatory specifications) have been issued? Who believes that even where FISA Courts have ok'ed searches and seizures that these haven't been mostly "blanket "Warrants," rubber stamps in no way faithful to the clear intent of our Founders who gave us the 4th Amendment?

My buddy Carl freely admits that had he been an adult colonist during America's Revolutionary War he would have backed the King... been a Tory... cursed our Founders as traitors.

Now the following may sound a bit harsh... (and actually I hope Carl addresses it)... but I can't help but wonder how a teenaged "German Carl" - a citizen of Germany - would have reacted to the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. Would Carl have been a proud member of the Hitler Youth... would an adult "German Carl" have been a proud "Member of the Party?" (Well, Carl...???)

My point in raising these questions isn't to reinsult my friend. The point I'm raising is that there's "respect for authority" and then there's "standing up against illegitimate authority" when a certain line is crossed.

At what "line" would government snooping be too much for you, Carl? At what point would the government fail to get "the benefit of the doubt" regarding such matters as NSA snooping before you would say enough is enough?

You seem willing to give your Constitutional Rights away - which saddens me; but, worse, you seem willing to give my Constitutional Rights away - which enrages me!

Anyway... throwing the topic out to further discussion.