Wiretapping: Now they want to read my email?

Today was an article on wiretapping email and other internet provided services (Blackberry, Facebook, …etc.) Essentially the government (drafted allegedly by the Obama Administration, I don’t know who it was, that is why I use allegedly) wants to be able to require all the internet traffic to be available to be accessed and wiretapped for interception.

I don’t have a problem with legal wiretaps for three reasons: one I really don’t have anything to hide, two I don’t think the government really cares what little old me is doing, and three a warrant is needed to wiretap. I support the legal authorities being able to get a lawful wiretap that has been approved by judge that usually has to be provided with just cause. I don’t have issue with the legal system using all the tools needed to solve crimes and protect us from terrorists.

Why am I writing this if I don’t have a problem with wiretaps? Well, the main reason is that we know that there are radical Islamic figures like Anwar al-Awlaki who while in the United States and actively in contact with people who later turn up as 9/11 hijackers, and the government wants to look at my Facebook page.

It isn’t like the people who are planning this stuff and spouting out the hate across the world are hiding. They are standing at the podium at the UN building.

Once again I see how inefficient the big government is at finding the source of the problem. It isn’t the encrypted MySpace photos or the grandmother who has to take her shoes off in the airport. Who thinks it is a good idea to let the same people who couldn’t figure out the Fort Hood shooter who had links to Anwar al-Awlaki might have had an Islamic connection. What is the government going to ask for next? A set of keys to everyone’s home in case they want to look around?

The government doesn’t do a very good job of looking for criminals, why should all of our communications be less secure because of a habitually incompetent government?

Next they will want the combination on my luggage*

*Which happens to be 1,2,3,4,5