Nicholas' Blog Entry #2

Nicholas Savasta
Blog 2

Chapter 8- The Government Watch
The relationship of the news media and the government is marked by constant tensions. The case of the missing children illustrates at least two of them.

One is the clash between the need for government secrecy and the obligation to openness in a democracy. No one questions the requirement for government to keep private some of the information that its agencies collect about citizens, particularly abused or abandoned children. Yet, the public must know what its government is doing. When government agencies conduct business in secret, things can go terribly wrong.

Article:
NSA Has Massive Database of Americans’ Phone Calls
USA Today- May 11, 2006

In finding this article I was trying to find something that brought about the government’s role in something that has never really been cleared up, explained with legal jargon, and to a certain extent in support of when government agencies conduct business in secret, things can go terribly long.

“The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.”

How would you feel if you were on the phone right now and “someone somewhere” was listening to you? I know I personally would feel violated, violated, and utterly helpless. Do this happen? And who has made for this action to be acceptable? I really don’t trust huge corporations even more than I did before!

"It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added.”
How is this okay?
This article is a perfect example of secrets that most (or all) Government agencies can keep. They can even be revealed (like in this article) and “explain” themselves and be off the hook.

And this is where the legal jargon goes on and on to offer some explanation to make people like me feel better:
“Don Weber, a senior spokesman for the NSA, declined to discuss the agency's operations. "Given the nature of the work we do, it would be irresponsible to comment on actual or alleged operational issues; therefore, we have no information to provide," he said. "However, it is important to note that NSA takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law."
The White House would not discuss the domestic call-tracking program. "There is no domestic surveillance without court approval," said Dana Perino, deputy press secretary, referring to actual eavesdropping.
She added that all national intelligence activities undertaken by the federal government "are lawful, necessary and required for the pursuit of al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorists." All government-sponsored intelligence activities "are carefully reviewed and monitored," Perino said. She also noted that "all appropriate members of Congress have been briefed on the intelligence efforts of the United States."

All I have to say is this: blah, blah, blah. I still don’t feel really any better. I guess I am lucky because I don’t have a land line. But that reminds me: I have a cell phone with service provided from Verizon. Shit!

This is how something is going to go terribly wrong:
“Sources, however, say that is not the case. With access to records of billions of domestic calls, the NSA has gained a secret window into the communications habits of millions of Americans. Customers' names, street addresses and other personal information are not being handed over as part of NSA's domestic program, the sources said. But the phone numbers the NSA collects can easily be cross-checked with other databases to obtain that information.”

Overall, these programs like the one the NSA initiated after 9/11 in “good intentions” are the exact secrets that must be revealed. Hopefully, with the graces of the press we will get more answers, protection, and an advocate through their processes of questioning and investigation.