On May 15th, 2007, a little more than a year ago, PBS Frontline aired it's documentary "Spying on the Homefront", which you can watch at your leisure by following that link. You can also give to PBS by clicking here to support their efforts and to continue a tradition of excellent journalism that is all too rare in the new millennium.
I give you these links because I believe in PBS and in particular the excellent brand of documentary film making that is consistently produced by the people at Frontline. That and the fact that I'm providing you with the complete 60 minutes via somebody's YouTube upload after the fold:
Before you scroll down to watch the program below, I ask you to write an e-mail to your Representative to urge their continued defiance of the FISA legislation that gives George Bush a blank check and forgives ATT and company their past and future sins. My good buddy slinkerwink has a great diary up here that will give you more ammunition to fight this imminent threat to the Constitution.
The Information Awareness Office is a branch of the Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency whose mission is to "imagine, develop, apply, integrate, demonstrate and transition information technologies, components and prototype, closed-loop, information systems that will counter asymmetric threats by achieving total information awareness." The IAO is headed by John Poindexter, former National Security Advisor in the Reagan Administration and chief architect of the Iran-Contra Affair.
The IAO's stated mission is to gather as much information as possible about everyone in a centralized location for easy perusal by the United States government, including Internet activity, credit card purchase histories, airline ticket purchases, car rentals, medical records, educational transcripts, driver's licenses, utility bills, tax returns, and any other available data. In essence, the goal of the IAO is to be able to recreate a life history of thoughts and movements for any individual on the planet on demand, which the Bush administration deems necessary to counter the threat of terrorism. Critics claim the very existence of the IAO completely disregards the concept of individual privacy and liberties and is far too invasive and prone to abuse.
Now get to work with those e-mails, phone calls, and protests!!!
