August 9, 2006

by Joshua M. Parker

Joshua Parker is research assistant at Liberty Coalition.

Two years. That’s how long Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez is requesting that internet service providers (ISPs) retain data concerning websites that users visit and logs of their online communication -- including both e-mail and instant messaging. Bipartisan legislation on data retention, sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), appears to be imminent. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has organized several contentious meetings with leading ISPs and privacy groups to discuss the merits and perils of a data-retention scheme.

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Is the corporate state waching you and everything you do?

Once upon a time, the motto emblazoned on police cars was “To Protect and Serve.” However, as police forces are transformed into pseudo-SWAT teams, complete with riot gear and a take-no-prisoners attitude, the fear that cops are overstepping their limits is on the rise.

In 1999, Terry Everett, R-Alabama, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations told a congressional panel that “there is without question a good-old-boy network within the VA” that tolerates “favoritism, cronyism, harassment, and reprisal.” He indicated that retaliation against VA whistleblowers was common and goes unpunished.