The problem with secrecy is that we don't know the problem with secrecy

(image from Farmington Public Library Foundation, NM)

There's very little explicit in the documents on which this country was founded about state secrets, spying, executive privilege, intelligence organizations and redaction. For the current administration that has been an advantage which they have exploited to the maximum extent.

According to the Wall Street Journal today, the NSA, with the help of other intelligence agencies, has created a drift net system of intelligence gathering which guarantees that sooner or later, US intelligence agents will be spying on you, no matter your innocence.

Not worried? You've got nothing to hide? Think again.

Let's talk about librarians. Better yet, let's talk about Connecticut librarians.

A few years ago, a group of Connecticut librarians were issued national security letters which required them to provide information about library patrons to the FBI. These letters ordered them to inform on one - not family, not spouses, not their lawyers - that they had received the letters, but to comply, or be punished. Legal in America? In fact, yes. But not Constitutional. The brave librarians resisted, sued, and won a judgment in court (against Federal prosecutor Kevin O'Connor, currently up for a top Justice Department spot), that said they were not required to comply. By the way, these librarians are true patriots, and unheralded American heroes.

The FBI issued 47,000 of those letters in 2005. How many Americans resisted the threats issued by their government? Fortunately, the ACLU was on the case, but it doesn't seem to have solved the problem.

And while these secret agencies pry into our lives, we're assured that there is Congressional oversight. Congressional oversight? These are the lawmakers who couldn't be bothered to completely read Bush's act of war and agression against Iraq, or parse the Patriot Act. And we're to trust them to keep the FBI, CIA and NSA in check?

Even when Congress criticizes these agencies, or the intelligence programs they've created, the agencies simply rename the programs and move them to another department.

Sadly, most Americans don't care, yet. The House is about to hand the President more power in a revised Protect America Act that is laughably called a compromise.

And what do our Presidential candidates have to say about the erosion of our liberty? Sadly, very little.

Rest easy America. As Peggy Seeger wrote, deniability is within your reach:

So close your eyes, stop your ears,
Shut your mouth and take it slow
Let others take the lead and you bring up the rear
And later you can say you didn't know