"The law has been perverted, and the powers of the state have become perverted along with it."
Bastiat - “The Law”
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Friday, December 15, 2023, was National Bill of Rights Day. Congress considered this the perfect time period to push through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and, as a result, extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s (FISA) section 702.
Section 702 is a surveillance tool that requires the government to direct surveillance efforts at people outside the United States. However, it routinely targets Americans because overseas calls are subject to warrantless monitoring. If you call internationally, you can be monitored despite committing no crime. The excuse given is that Section 702 is needed to allow the government to target any foreigner abroad for warrantless surveillance, obtain foreign intelligence information, and “protect America.”
The U.S. Constitution is the contract to which the people require the government to adhere. As the enforcers of the contract, it is up to us to highlight when the government is in breach and be willing to show who was part of its violation. The Constitution contains a Bill of Rights composed of ten amendments that are mandatory rights the government is required to protect. Amendment IV states:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
This is one amendment violation: what about the others?
1. Amendment I – you have the right to freedom of speech and of the press. After all, this news outlet is read in some foreign countries, can government agencies now target The Montana Sentinel? You might also call a friend overseas and tell them you are unhappy with your government. That is your right, but now you are also a target.
2. Amendment VI – you have the right to face any accusers and provide witnesses in your defense.
3. Amendment IX – if there is any question about who retains rights, it is the people.
4. Amendment X – any powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution or prohibited by it to the States are reserved for the states. Amendment IV prohibits the federal government from executing warrantless searches. This includes monitoring your phone calls to your friends in Dublin or Seoul.
When one bill usurps at least half of the Bill of Rights under the false guise of national security, is the entire Constitution only an inconvenience, not a promise? Here are the votes cast supporting or against the NDAA by Montana’s Congressional delegation. A YEA vote is in favor of warrantless searches and seizures.
Their social media reflected their votes and their positions.
