Quote of the Day: “Freedom and liberty always mean freedom from police interference.” – Ludwig von Mises
Should federal agencies search your email without a warrant?
You may have read the CNET article on a bill empowering 22 federal agencies to search your email without a search warrant.
The backlash was so swift and powerful that Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy denied the CNET article.
But the story doesn't end there…
Friends inside DC tell us that Ranking Member Senator Charles Grassley will propose even worse amendments this week.
You may borrow from or copy this sample letter…
I support amendments to the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act requiring search warrants before federal agents can examine my emails and other electronic communication.
Apparently, Sen. Grassley wants the opposite. He'd empower two dozen or more federal agencies to read my email without a warrant.
I do not consent!
Consider, in the Petraeus scandal…
* The FBI may have accessed Paula Broadwell's email accounts without a warrant
* Instead of investigating a crime, the FBI examined private emails HUNTING for a crimeAs a result, they brought down one of the most powerful men in Washington. http://wapo.st/XTAoFw
If this can happen to someone as powerful as the head of the CIA, how much greater is the danger of Grassley's amendments to me?
Do you want J. Edgar Hoover-style monitoring of YOUR activities?
Grassley claims he's complying with the demands of law enforcement. But the Fourth Amendment protects my email just as much as it protects my home. Let me be clear…
If law enforcement agents tell you that the Fourth Amendment keeps them from doing their jobs, they should be fired for their anti-Constitutional attitude!
PREVENT federal agents from violating the Fourth Amendment.
Defeat any privacy-invading amendments.
I'll be watching what you do.
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You may send your letter using DownsizeDC.org's Educate the Powerful System.
James Wilson
Policy Research Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.