H/T to Ina Steiner once again. As you read, notice that this was snuck into and hidden within, legislation without any of “us” knowing it! Thanks to Adam Brandon at Freedomworks.

Senate Housing Bill Requires eBay, Amazon, Google, and All Credit Card Companies to
Report Transactions to the Government

Washington, DC – Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd’s 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill’s managers without debate this week, would require the nation’s payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.

Call Congress and Tell Them to Oppose The eBay Reporting Provision in the Housing Bill: 1-866-928-3035

FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey commented: “This is a provision with astonishing reach, and it was slipped into the bill just this week. Not only does it affect nearly every credit card transaction in America, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, but the bill specifically targets payment systems like eBay’s PayPal, Amazon, and Google Checkout that are used by many small online businesses. The privacy implications for America’s small businesses are breathtaking.”

“Privacy groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology and small business organizations like the NFIB sharply criticized this idea when it first appeared earlier this year. What is the federal government’s purpose with this kind of detailed data? How will this database be secured, and who will have access? Many small proprietors use their Social Security number as their tax ID. How will their privacy be protected? What compliance costs will this impose on businesses? Why is Sen. Chris Dodd putting this provision in a housing bailout bill? The bill also includes the creation of a new national fingerprint registry for mortgage brokers.

“At a time when concerns about both identity theft and government spying are paramount, Congress wants to create a new honey pot of private data that includes Social Security numbers. This bill reduces privacy across America’s payment processing systems and treats every American small business or eBay power seller like a criminal on parole by requiring an unprecedented level of reporting to the federal government. This outrageous idea is another reason to delay the housing bailout legislation so that Senators and the public at large have time to examine its full implications.”

Outrageous doesn’t quite cut it – Big Brother sounds and feels more appropriate. When the hell are we going to come to our senses??? When it’s too late???

Post from: EveryJoe

Bush Administration Wants To Track All Your Electronic Transactions!

From The Electronic Frontier Foundation;

Report: Deal to Stop Courts From Ruling on Illegal Warrantless Wiretaps Imminent

“Today The Hill and Congressional Quarterly are reporting that a deal has been reached on legislation to amend FISA, which will include retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. Under the guise of a compromise, the legislation is designed to ensure that the only issue the courts will review is whether or not the President told the telecoms that their conduct was legal, but not whether the conduct actually was legal.”

There are many misguided souls in favor of this. That is truly sad.

“Over forty years ago, President Jack Kennedy said “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.” We are such a generation, facing down an executive branch that has seized incredible power to violate the laws set forth by Congress under a dubious interpretation of the Constitution.”

Today we stand ready to allow this administration to demean and belittle the memory of a wonderful President while it foists its lawless will on us.

“To maintain our core values and the separation of powers that is integral to our Constitutional system of government, we must allow the Courts to review and rule upon the legality of the President’s warrantless surveillance program. Such a ruling effects not only the power of the president to order unlawful surveillance, but will speak to any instance in which the executive branch seeks to unilaterally override the will of the people’s house.”

So many of us have been blinded by someone who spreads fear like dictators of old. Thankfully, not all of us have been conned but our Congressmen/women have been. Why do we allow this? Why won’t you do something about this?

“One person familiar with the talks said if there are no major objections, the deal could be announced next week.”

It is every American’s duty to work against this deal. Spread the word on your Blog or web site! Engage your friends. Get snarky about it. Your rights depend on this not coming to fruition.

The Hill article quotes “Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union, [who] said the deal appears unconstitutional.

“Whatever silk purse Hoyer tries to make of Bond’s sow’s ear and no matter how they try to sell it, the end result of all this negotiating will be exactly what the administration has wanted from the beginning – FISA rewritten to delete court oversight of surveillance and immunity for its pals at the telephone companies,” Fredrickson said.

Think about it – deleting court oversight! Immunity for those who care not what they extract from your wallets and lives, just like oil companies.

There’s only a week or so – fight back now!

Post from: EveryJoe

A Lawless Administration Wins – American Rights Doomed

In this case, they’re doing it to target Google once again. All’s fair in love and profit eh?

[H/T PaidContent]

Cable Firms Join Forces to Attract Focused Ads

“In an effort to slow Google’s siphoning of advertising dollars away from television, the nation’s six largest cable companies are making plans for a jointly owned company that would allow national advertisers to buy customized ads and interactive ads across the companies’ systems.”

Allowing for the level of paranoia our current administration has developed within me, I didn’t miss this;

“Cable companies have the ability to compile better data on users than Internet companies can glean, which could make focused ads on television more effective, according to Craig Moffett, a senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company. It also makes the data that Project Canoe will collect from set-top boxes a valuable asset.”

Which simply serves to remind me of this article from The EFF: “New Telecom Whistleblower Describes Possible Gateway for Massive Surveillance of Wireless Communications”

“Three powerful House Commerce Committee Chairmen strongly urged their colleagues Thursday to defer acting on requests for retroactive immunity and to demand more information from the White House and the telecommunications companies in the wake of disclosures by another whistleblower that the government apparently has been granted an open gateway to wireless communications by a major telecommunications company”

Things that make me go – hmmmmm???

Post from: EveryJoe

Google Targeted Again [Codename: Project Canoe]

FEAR

It’s being used on us by not only the terrorists across the globe, by not only our administration, by the telcos also. Unless you don’t believe that it is terroristic to rape, pillage and plunder our very existence.

See if you see the common thread, it isn’t really hard to find;

Crooks and Liars – “Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment on today’s Countdown was a scathing rebuke of President Bush for continuing to play the fear card, trying to scare the hell out of the American people and vowing to veto any FISA legislation that does not contain telecom amnesty.”

“This Saturday at midnight,” you [Mr. Bush] said today, “legislation authorizing intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively monitor terrorist communications will expire. If Congress does not act by that time, our ability to find out who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they are planning, will be compromised…You said that “the lives of countless Americans depend” on you getting your way.

Then, a voice of reason – Richard Clarke wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

“Let me be clear: Our ability to track and monitor terrorists overseas would not cease should the Protect America Act expire. If this were true, the president would not threaten to terminate any temporary extension with his veto pen. All surveillance currently occurring would continue even after legislative provisions lapsed because authorizations issued under the act are in effect up to a full year.”

Another voice of reason – Senator Kennedy reminded us in December:

“The President has said that American lives will be sacrificed if Congress does not change FISA. But he has also said that he will veto any FISA bill that does not grant retroactive immunity.

No immunity, no FISA bill. So if we take the President at his word, he’s willing to let Americans die to protect the phone companies.”

There are literally another hundred or so examples of this obsession but I won’t reference them all because I’m going to show the “coincidence” regarding Net Neutrality.

Referencing an Andy Kessler piece, Save The Internet quotes Kessler who says: “With Net Neutrality, there will be no new competition and no incentives for build-outs. Bandwidth speeds will stagnate, and new services will wither from bandwidth starvation.”

Sound familiar?

John Dvorak responds to Kessler by saying a few things, most notably;

“It looks as if we’re about to go another round with yet another idiot taking on net neutrality.”

Then;

“Using Kessler’s logic, we should still be using 300-baud modems since there’s no incentive to do anything different. How does he — or anyone else, for that matter — explain the progress from 300-baud modems to fiber to the home during this period of genuine net neutrality?”

And -

“Personally, I’m sick of these deregulation absolutists who throw out specious arguments that do not make any sense. For example, Kessler says, “The Internet will only expand based on competitive principles, not socialist diktat.”

I love the way these guys throw in the ugly term “socialist” when they want to trigger a 1950’s-style knee-jerk reaction from the American public. And in case you didn’t notice, he also throws in a Communist term “diktat” so you dummies will be totally repulsed and imagine Stalin lurking.”

That’s right – Kessler tossed Stalinistic rhetoric into the fray. That’s pretty dam* bad.

Fear! And who benefits? In both cases!

Folks, I’ve said it before and I’d actually like to stop saying it, but we are truly acting like sheep in allowing these people to steal what took centuries and generations of good, honest folks to build. A way of life that is beyond dreams. Its free!

Stand up! Now…

Post from: EveryJoe

Haven’t I Seen You Before?