Ian S. Thompson – 5/16/06

This page was last updated on May 21, 2006.

Trashing the Constitution; Ian S. Thompson; Beaver County Times; May 16, 2006.

As background, Mr. Thompson began writing letters as a Penn State student. His alleged fields of study were English and international politics and he graduated in 2005 with a B.A. in International Politics. When he “signed” an anti-landmine “treaty” on the web, Mr. Thompson indicated he was a member of Amnesty International. If you’ve read Mr. Thompson’s letters since at least mid-2004, you know he’s a full-blown socialist who tends to resort to name-calling and unsupported talking points. This letter continues that tradition.

I believe this is Mr. Thompson’s first letter since his five-letter tsunami of January and early February. When we last heard from Mr. Thompson, he was lobbying to allow convicted felons to vote.

Before I begin the critique, I’ll describe why the NSA would want the phone records allegedly collected. As we know, the feds maintain a list of foreign phone numbers tied to terrorists. With a list of phone records, the NSA could learn which U.S. phone numbers were calling or called by the foreign numbers. The NSA could then trace the web of phone contacts made within the U.S. After a little investigation to weed out the “innocent” numbers in the web, the NSA could then determine for which domestic phones to request wiretap warrants.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Just when you think you’ve seen it all, the Bush administration’s utter disregard for our Constitution sinks even lower.”

[RWC] As you will read, most of this letter is a regurgitation of two Thompson letters from January and February, “Bush is not above the law” and “No one is above the law.”

“The abuses of power that have become the hallmark of the Bush years reached a new low last week with the disclosure of what is perhaps the largest database ever assembled in the world.”

[RWC] Mr. Thompson should stick to his areas of study. I’m sure he has no clue how large the world’s largest databases really are.

“The National Security Agency in a shameful collaboration with telecommunications giants AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth has amassed a massive database of the phone call records of tens of millions of ordinary Americans - nearly everyone of whom are not suspected of any crime.”

[RWC] Using this logic, police officers should not be allowed to use radar guns to catch speeders because in the processing of catching speeders, police officers check the speed of all/most cars that pass. The same would be true for automated cameras that catch drivers who run red lights. What about sobriety checkpoints? What about the random checks of income tax returns? All of these actions are perfectly legal. Apparently logic is not covered in international politics.

Not that it matters much, but as of May 15^th BellSouth issued a statement asserting it did not provide phone records to the NSA and had not been requested to do so. For its part, USA Today conceded BellSouth didn’t confirm or deny the report when contacted before the original story was published. When BellSouth made its statement, it also mentioned it had received only 26 complaints out of 20 million customers. Yet another data point showing most Americans support the effort. On May 18^th, BellSouth demanded a formal retraction from USA Today.

On May 16^th, Verizon also issued a statement asserting it did not provide phone records to the NSA and had not been asked to do so.

At this rate of phone company denials, Mr. Thompson’s “largest database ever assembled in the world” is getting very small, very fast.

Will the USA Today story ultimately prove to be true? I don’t know, but I hope so.

“This newly disclosed program, much like the illegal and unconstitutional NSA wiretapping program, is being conducted without warrants and without judicial oversight of any kind.”

[RWC] “Newly disclosed program?” The New York Times reported this program back in December 2005. What took Mr. Thompson so long to get wound up about it? Please don’t tell me Mr. Thompson isn’t an avid reader of The New York Times. <g> Even the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette covered the story.

“Bush’s claim that the government is not ‘mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americans’ is simply another addition to the laundry list of lies far too long to go into here.”

[RWC] Don’t you love it when people accuse others of lying but don’t list the lies and provide credible evidence?

“This latest abuse of power is a shocking invasion into the private lives of the American people. Our phone companies have an obligation to ensure that the privacy of their customers is of paramount importance. AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth have all failed in that responsibility.”

[RWC] Is Mr. Thompson aware you can purchase phone records on the Internet? Does Mr. Thompson believe all business records have the same status as client/lawyer and doctor/patient records?

I hate to break it to Mr. Thompson, but most businesses sell select business records. All those unsolicited catalogs, et cetera don’t show up in your mailbox by accident. The same is true for unsolicited phone calls from advertisers.

“This administration must not be allowed to continue breaking the law. Congressional oversight is desperately needed and sorely lacking. Additionally, AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth must be held accountable for their complicity in this illegal program. (It would be interesting to know just how much money the government paid them for the call records).”

[RWC] What law was broken? According to The New York Sun, at least part of the authority to acquire the phone records came from the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) of 1994. This act was passed by a voice vote by a Democrat-majority House and a Democrat-majority Senate and was then signed by Democrat President Bill Clinton.

Further, unless specifically prohibited by law, businesses may distribute their business records as they see fit. Also, government can ask for any records. The government needs a subpoena only when a business or individual refuses to provide requested records.

“The real question is whether any of our elected officials (U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart anyone?) will actually have the courage to defend our civil liberties and Constitution against these countless unchecked and unchallenged abuses of power.”

[RWC] Hmm, according to a Washington Post poll, 63% of Americans support Mr. Thompson’s alleged “countless unchecked and unchallenged abuses of power,” including “44% who strongly endorsed the effort.”¹ Further, the poll found “66% said they would not be bothered if NSA collected records of personal calls they had made.”

FYI, you may see a USA Today poll indicating that 51% of Americans oppose the program. Why does this figure differ from the Post number? As you may have guessed, the difference was in how the question was asked. In the Post poll, the question completely described the records collected. The USA Today poll question intentionally withheld this info, meaning that many of those polled likely believed the records contained names, addresses, and conversation content.

“If history is any guide, I certainly have my doubts.”

[RWC] Did you notice that nowhere in his rant did Mr. Thompson so much as acknowledge we’re at war with terrorists?

As Abraham Lincoln responded when he suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War, “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.”² Of course, Mr. Thompson presented no evidence to support his assertions that the NSA programs as we understand them are either illegal or unconstitutional. He simply makes the claims and wants us to accept them as fact.

1. Poll: Most Americans Support NSA’s Efforts; Richard Morin; The Washington Post; May 12, 2006.

2. There is some debate regarding the origin and exact wording of this statement. Some claim the sentiment was first expressed in a 1949 Supreme Court dissent by Justice Robert Jackson when he wrote, “There is danger that, if the Court does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact.”