Category: Justice

Pass the Popcorn

No Comments

The Federal Reserve has decided not to appeal the decision of the Federal Courts to turn over information on its sh%$pile for cash loans to Bloomberg News:

The Federal Reserve won’t join a group of the largest commercial banks in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let the government withhold details of emergency loans made to financial firms in 2008.

The central bank’s decision not to appeal makes it less likely the high court will hear the case, said Tom Goldstein, a Washington lawyer who has argued 22 cases before the high court since 1999 and whose Scotusblog website tracks the panel.

The Clearing House Association LLC, a group of the biggest commercial banks, filed the appeal today. Under federal rules for appeals, a lower court’s order requiring disclosure remains on hold until the Supreme Court acts. Kit Wheatley, an attorney for the Fed, confirmed that the central bank won’t join the appeal. David Skidmore, a spokesman for the central bank, did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.

The bank group is appealing a federal judge’s August 2009 ruling requiring the Fed to disclose records of its emergency lending. Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, sued for the release of the documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

Obviously, the Supreme Court could still decide to hear the case, but the Fed pulling out indicates that they no longer see this sort of disclosure as a systemic threat, which in turn makes it less likely that SCOTUS will take up the case.

I think that it is now a question of “when” not “if” the data gets released, and I think that it should prove to be very interesting.

Background here.

Despicable……

1 Comment

So the military commissions have secured another confession, Omar Khadr.

They shoot a 15 year old, torture and threaten confessions out if him, allow his confessions to be admitted anyway, and now they have coerced a confession out of him by throwing bogus charges at him:

This morning I sat in a U.S. military commissions courtroom in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and watched the first child soldier charged by a Western nation since World War II plead guilty to crimes he was never even accused of. If the guilty plea of Omar Khadr this morning was a face-saving effort by the U.S. government, it was a sad day for the rule of law in the United States.

Omar Khadr is the 24-year-old Canadian who’s spent a third of his life in U.S. custody without trial after being accused of helping his father’s al Qaeda associates build improvised explosive devices when he was just 15. He was taken to Afghanistan from Canada by his father at the age of nine. The lone survivor of a 2002 U.S. assault on an Afghan compound, Khadr was accused of throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier.

But as he entered his guilty plea this morning — after the government agreed he’d serve just one more year at Guantanamo Bay, and an as-yet-unspecified number of years in Canada — it was clear that prosecutors had taken the opportunity to throw the kitchen-sink-full of charges at him – including far more crimes than he’d even been charged with. Most importantly, Khadr pled guilty to the murder of two Afghan soldiers who accompanied U.S. forces in the 2002 assault on the compound. The government has never presented any evidence whatsoever that Khadr was responsible for that.

…………

This is more than morally repugnant.

This sort of treatment of a child forced into battle by adults is is a war crime, and everyone involved in the trial, up to and including the commander-in-chief, Barack Obama are guilty.

Of course, there will never be an accounting, for even the worst of them.

After all, the two greatest mass murderers of the 20th century, Stalin and Mao, died of natural causes while remaining in power.

Not What Ginny Thomas Intended

No Comments

That harassing phone call to Anita Hill is not working out as planned:

For nearly two decades, Lillian McEwen has been silent — a part of history, yet absent from it.

When Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his explosive 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Thomas vehemently denied the allegations and his handlers cited his steady relationship with another woman in an effort to deflect Hill’s allegations.

Lillian McEwen was that woman.

……

She has written a memoir, which she is now shopping to publishers. News broke that the justice’s wife, Virginia Thomas, left a voice mail on Hill’s office phone at Brandeis University, seeking an apology — a request that Hill declined in a statement. After that, McEwen changed her mind and decided to talk about her relationship with Thomas.

……

However bizarre they may seem, McEwen’s recollections resemble accounts shared by other women that swirled around the Thomas confirmation.

……

“I have no hostility toward him,” McEwen said. “It is just that he has manufactured a different reality over time. That’s the problem that he has.”

(emphasis mine)

Gee, Ginny, not turning out the way that you wanted it.

I think that I get it: She is raking in big bucks as a teabagger AstroTurfer, and she suddenly thought that she could alter reality with her new successes.

Reality has a way of not cooperating.

The fact that Clarence Thomas perjured himself 19 years ago is moot.

While Congress could impeach over this, they have done so over charges which have resulted in acquittals, they won’t.

It is an important thing to remember though: Republican court nominations lie when questioned, and Democrats should treat them has hostile witnesses in hearings.

The Mortgage Fraud Goes Max Bialystock*

No Comments

It turns out that some of the banksters have simultaneously sold mortgages to multiple people (see also here for the court fiuling):

In a complaint filed this month in Washington, D.C. federal court, Bank of America said the FDIC has wrongly denied claims by Ocala noteholders to recover from Colonial Bank and an Illinois lender also in receivership, Platinum Community Bank.

Bank of America accused executives at Taylor Bean, Colonial and Platinum of having fraudulently schemed to “double- and triple-pledge mortgages and steal assets” to hide their faltering conditions as the housing market declined.

So these banks, and a number of others, probably repeatedly sold the same mortgage to different trusts.

This is Max Bialystock level fraud. There is no gray area here, but predictably, the Obama administration is maintaining that somehow or other the problems are not systemic at the same time that they have convened a task force to see if laws were broken.

We have a system where banks simply ignored the law over what amounts to about a $30 dollar cost per loan transfer, MERS, we have banks destroying the chain of custody of the loans, and the solution of the Obama administration is to wave a wand and grant absolution.

That’s the message of these conflicting messages: There is a task force, but that is just politics, and all will be forgiven on November 3rd.

Un-dirtyword-believable.

*Just F%$#ing Google it.

Damn!

No Comments

A 3 judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just stayed the injunction against the enforcement of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

Thankfully, this is only a short term stay, basically it’s a stay until the panel has a hearing on the stay next week:

A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily stalled the landmark court decision allowing openly gay recruits to be accepted into the military.

In response to an emergency request from the government, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, issued a one-page order late in the day allowing the Pentagon to continue enforcing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, which bars openly gay, lesbian and bisexual service members.

The decision, which returns the law to the status quo before a Federal District Court judge in California declared it unconstitutional, will be in effect while the appeals court considers whether to issue a longer stay, until February, when the Ninth Circuit will hear the full appeal. A decision about the longer stay could occur as early as next week; the parties have been told to prepare briefs on the issues by Monday.

So the witch hunts continue.

This stance is both morally wrong, it’s bigotry, creates security problems, because people forced into in the closet are subject to blackmail, and politically stupid, because it demoralizes a large portion of the base less than 2 weeks before the election.

As I have said before, when you are doing something that is so transparently wrong and stupid on so many levels, it isn’t because you are interested in process, it’s because you really do oppose gay rights.

This is not the actions of someone who wants to, “repeal the law that denies gay and lesbian Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It’s the right thing to do.” This is the actions of someone who does not believes that gays should serve openly in the military.

We Are Going to See More of This

No Comments

The Cook County Sheriff has issued a statement that he and his deputies will not enforce foreclosures until he receives documentation from the banks that they have their sh%$ together:

Two of the largest U.S. mortgage servicers have said they will resume home foreclosures, but a big-city sheriff has news for them: he won’t enforce their foreclosure evictions.

The sheriff for Cook County, Illinois, which includes the city of Chicago, said on Tuesday he will not enforce foreclosure evictions for Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase and Co. and GMAC Mortgage/Ally Financial until they prove those foreclosures were handled “properly and legally.”

While the Cook County Sheriff has been here before, he instituted a moratorium over lack of notifications to renters 2 years ago, but I think that this time, there is a distinct possibility that this will go viral, and that other county sheriffs will follow his lead.

Basically, this is a political winner for almost any incumbent charged with foreclosure service.

The standard disclaimer, that my powers of prediction suck wet farts from dead pigeons, apply.

More of This, Please…

No Comments

The state of Michigan and the Department of Justice have filed an anti-trust suit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan:

The Justice Department filed an antitrust suit Monday against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, accusing the giant health insurer of using its market clout to stifle competition and cause consumers covered by other health plans to pay more for hospital care.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit and joined by the state of Michigan, said Blue Cross contracts with at least 70 of the acute care hospitals in the state force them to raise prices and prevent other insurers from competing with them.

Antitrust officials say the provisions likely resulted in Michigan consumers paying higher prices.

Here is hoping that they get nailed to the wall.

OK, This Might Get Interesting

No Comments

The ACLU has initiated discovery on the Florida foreclosure “Rocket Docket,” because they believe that the abbreviated court proceedings might be a violation of homeowners due process rights, because, “Florida may be taking shortcuts and, in the process, forsaking constitutionally-required due process protections.”

It certainly appears that these courts are constructed with the specific goal of not doing either due diligence or due process.

Their press release after break

ACLU Seeks Public Records To Determine Constitutionality Of Foreclosure Proceedings In Florida
October 19, 2010

Lack Of Due Process Protections Would Disproportionately Impact Homeowners Of Color

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida today filed public records requests with judicial officials in Florida to determine whether homeowners are having their constitutional rights violated during foreclosure proceedings and being unlawfully removed from their homes.

In Florida, where almost half a million foreclosure cases are pending, the state legislature recently spent over $9 million to create special foreclosure courts, staffed by retired judges, with the intent of speeding through the state’s backlog of such cases. But recent media reports in Florida and around the country, which reveal rampant error and fraud in the foreclosure process, have shown that courts should take particular care with foreclosure cases. Instead, in the rush to push foreclosure cases through the courts, Florida may be taking shortcuts and, in the process, forsaking constitutionally-required due process protections.

“It is disturbing that Florida may be implementing less exacting due process protections at a time when widespread flaws in the foreclosure system illustrate the need for increased vigilance and strict procedural safeguards,” said Larry Schwartztol, staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program. “These records requests aim to shed light on whether recent changes to Florida’s handling of foreclosure proceedings are violating the due process rights of homeowners.”

Filed with the Office of the State Court Administrator and the chief judges of all 20 of Florida’s circuit courts, the requests seek access to, among other things, all documents related to special court systems created to dispose of foreclosure cases and the rules and procedures in place that govern those systems.

Government data show that the foreclosure crisis across the country has disproportionately impacted communities of color. According to a recent report by the Center for Responsible Lending, nearly 8 percent of both African Americans and Latinos have lost their homes to foreclosures, as compared to 4.5 percent of whites. Additionally, the indirect losses in wealth that result from foreclosures as a result of depreciation to nearby properties will also disproportionately impact communities of color. The Center for Responsible Lending report estimates that between 2009 and 2012, the African American and Latino communities will be drained of $194 and $177 billion, respectively, in these indirect “spillover” losses alone.

“Communities of color in Florida and across the country are hit hardest if courts disregard the kinds of protections that are meant to uphold people’s basic constitutional rights,” said Muslima Lewis, Senior Staff Attorney and Director of the Racial Justice Project of the ACLU of Florida. “Getting the documents we are requesting will be an important first step toward exposing and addressing any systemic injustices that may exist in the Florida foreclosure court systems.”

Copies of the ACLU’s public records requests are available online at: www.aclu.org/racial-justice/aclu-seeks-information-about-constitutionality-florida-foreclosure-courts

DADT Injunction Stands (for now)

No Comments

In response to the government’s request that she stay her injunction against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Federal Judge Virginia Phillips has refused a stay:

A federal judge formally refused on Tuesday to let the Pentagon reinstate its ban on openly gay men and women in the U.S. military while it appeals her decision declaring its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy unconstitutional.

A day after tentatively siding against the Obama administration, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips issued a written decision denying a government request to lift her own injunction barring further Pentagon enforcement of the ban.

Needless to say the Obama Administration will attempt to have the injunction stayed on appeal, taking it first to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and then to the Supreme Court, and they will do so on an expedited basis.

Because the Obama administration is desparate for the witch hunts in the military to proceed without pause.

Even if they feel that they have a constitutional duty to fight the case, this injunction will not, according to Barack Obama’s own words, he does not believe will do any damage to the military.

The only reasons to pursue this are cowardice and bigotry, and at this point, I am inclined to favor the latter as an explanation, because at this point, with two weeks to go in the election, the all the gay baiting that is going to be done has been done.

Realistically, when you look at administrations inaction on these matters, combined with Obamas public statements opposing gay marriage, I think that we have to believe that this is motivated by bigotry.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?!?!?

No Comments

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Administrative Law Judge George Painter is retiring, and he has filed a formal complaint of bias against his fellow judge, Bruce Levine:

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Administrative Law Judge George H. Painter made serious allegations regarding fellow CFTC judge Bruce Levine in announcing his retirement.

In a notice sent to complainants and their attorneys, Judge Painter claims that Levine told him that he had promised former CFTC Chair Wendy Gramm “that he would never rule in a complainants favor”. Painter’s notice goes on to say, “A review of his rulings will confirm that he has fulfilled his vow.”

He is invoking 5CFR§930.208, Administrative Law Judge Loan Program–detail to other agencies to request that his remaining cases be assigned to someone, anyone, else, because Levine is the only other administrative law judge at the CFTC.

You can find the PDF of his complaint, along with a copy of an old WSJ article which details a long history of Mr. Levine’s wrong-doing, like ex-parte contact with litigants, here.

It would have been nice if someone had ratted out this rat years ago.

H/t Streetwise Professor

They Write Letters

2 Comments

Alan Grayson has written to the FBI requesting a criminal investigation of fraud by the bankers in their foreclosure proceedings.

He is correct when he says that, ” It is time for handcuffs. Fraud does not become legal just because a big bank does it. … This is absurd. This is deliberate, systemic fraud, and it is a crime.”

Full letter after the break:


October 14, 2010

Robert S. Mueller III
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20535

Robert O’Neill
U.S. Attorney
Middle District of Florida
400 North Tampa Street, Suite 3200
Tampa, FL 33602
Dear U.S. Attorney O’Neill and Director Mueller,

When it comes to foreclosures, there is mounting evidence of a state of rampant lawlessness in Central Florida. There are increasing signs that big banks routinely evade laws meant to protect homeowners, in many well-documented cases of ‘foreclosure fraud.’ Despite the demonstrated existence, for instance, of ‘robosigners’ signing affidavits attesting to documents that they have never seen, the parties engaging in such misconduct are not being brought to justice. Big banks are mischaracterizing this as mere ‘technical problems,’ and apologizing only where there is clear and very public evidence of harm.

It is not enough for big banks only to apologize for fraud, perjury, and even breaking and entering – when they are caught. It is time for handcuffs. Fraud does not become legal just because a big bank does it.

On September 20, 2010, after my office found evidence of systemic foreclosure fraud perpetrated by big banks and foreclosure mills, I called for a halt to illegal foreclosures.

Since then, big banks such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, GMAC, PNC and others have suspended foreclosures or foreclosure sales. These banks are still claiming that the massive fraud they have perpetrated amounts to nothing more than a series of technical mistakes. This is absurd. This is deliberate, systemic fraud, and it is a crime.

To give but two of the many available examples, attached is a deposition from an ex-employee of one of the largest ‘foreclosure mills’ in the state, the Law Offices of David Stern. In it, this employee testifies under oath that it was routine for that office to falsify documents regarding military records, in order to move foreclosure cases along more quickly.

The local media has reported on the case of Nancy Jacobini; a contractor for JP Morgan Chase broke into her home after the bank mistakenly foreclosed on it. JP Morgan Chase ‘apologized’ for terrifying her. But , US ; we have a system of laws. I am writing to ask you to enforce them.

The organized and systematic manufacturing of falsified documents to deprive people of their homes is not only a threat to the integrity of the legal system. It also aggravates and extends the weakness in the housing market. Who is going to feel comfortable buying a home if a big bank can simply take it, whether or not that bank has a right to it? Given the securitization of mortgage-backed securities, this misconduct is a threat to our securities markets as well. But fundamentally, this is a question of protecting basic property rights – if you don’t own it, then you shouldn’t try to take it. Without clear property rights, and a legal system that insists on clear proof of those rights before transferring ownership by force, the economy will fall apart.

If perpetrators of perjured affidavits and other systematic criminal activity can get off simply with civil liability – or even less, an insincere bureaucratic apology – the freedom that Americans enjoy will erode quickly in the face of lawless seizures of property. I appreciate your work on the joint Middle District of Florida’s Mortgage Fraud Initiative, and respectfully request that the efforts of your offices turn towards reining in this rampant criminality.

Regards,

Alan Grayson

Member of Congress

Obama Administration Requests Stay on DADT Injunction

No Comments

There’s a shocker. They want to continue the witch hunts and persecutions while they are appealing:

The Obama administration on Thursday asked a judge to allow the Pentagon to keep its ban against openly gay men and women in the military while it appeals her decision that ruled the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was unconstitutional.

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and military leaders have backed ending the policy, but have urged that it be done by the U.S. Congress and military so that there is no disruption to military operations, morale or recruiting.

At a town hall meeting with young voters, a woman pressed Obama on why he wasn’t ending the policy immediately.

“This is not a situation where with a stroke of a pen I can end the policy,” he said and noted that he cannot ignore laws on the books. “This policy will end and it will end on my watch.”

This is a lie. Obama, with a stroke of a pen, could end the separations, and if Congress passes something (ha!) then it is his pen that will sign the bill.

When we look at Obama, one has to wonder whether he, or those people closest to him, like Valerie “gay is a lifestyle choice” Jarrett say about gays when they are having their private moments.

I’m beginning to think that the policy here is to find a path to do the least possible without fatally alienating the party.

If Obama were a Republican, we would be talking about his homophobia right now.

610 Grand, Not Enough

No Comments

The lawsuit against the Lower Merion school district for spying on children with webcams has been settled for $610,000:

The Lower Merion School District will pay $610,000 to settle lawsuits over its tracking of student laptop computers, ending an eight-month saga that thrust the elite district into a global spotlight and stirred questions about technology and privacy in schools.

School board members voted unanimously Monday night to pay $185,000 to the two students who claimed the district spied on them by secretly activating the webcams on their laptops.

Someone should have gone to jail over all of this.

The fact that there was not a serious criminal investigation of this, with dozens of school officials under scrutiny is a disgrace.

Holy Crap

No Comments
LoL Cat approves of the investigation

State Attorney Generals have opened investigations into foreclosures.

No, really, I don’t mean that some of them, I mean all of them. All 50 state Attorneys Generals have opened investigation:

Top legal officers of all 50 states opened a joint investigation into home foreclosures, saying they will seek an immediate halt to any improper practices at banks and mortgage companies.

The states will conduct a coordinated inquiry into whether banks and loan servicers used false documents and signatures to justify hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. The group intends to establish independent monitoring, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is leading the probe, said today in a statement.

Great googly moogly!

Every single one of them.

Still, I expect that the net result of all this will be that there will be changes in the law to wallpaper this all over, and leading the charge for banker amnesty will be the White House.

Seriously, when you have Virginia State AG Ken “Misuse my office to abuse climate academics” Cuccinelli joining in on this, the political and legal landscape is pretty unambiguous.

While it is clear that the United States needs a functioning credit system, it does not need these banks, who f%$#ed our whole country (with out lube), but little Timmy Geithner* is determined to shield the people who broke the law and defrauded the their customers, because he* is completely unable to see behind the needs of the megabanks.

*But remember, the Cossacks work for the Czar.

Judge Says Torture Evidence Inadmissible

No Comments

Actually, he did not say torture, he said “harsh interrogation”, but he also said that any information arising from the CIA’s torture of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was inadmissible.

I believe that the term is “fruit of the poisoned tree,” and by harsh, he does not mean what Jon Steward did to Jim Cramer, he means torture:

In the months since Mr. Ghailani was brought to New York from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of United States District Court in Manhattan has rejected defense requests to dismiss the case because of violations of Mr. Ghailani’s right to a speedy trial and because of accusations he was tortured.

But just as the trial was to begin on Wednesday, Judge Kaplan ruled that he would not allow the witness to testify. He noted that the government had acknowledged that it had identified and located the witness through interrogation of Mr. Ghailani when he was earlier held in a secret overseas jail run by the Central Intelligence Agency. His lawyers have said he was tortured there.

Judge Kaplan said he was “acutely aware of the perilous nature of the world in which we live.”

“But the Constitution is the rock upon which our nation rests,” he went on. “We must follow it not only when it is convenient, but when fear and danger beckon in a different direction. To do less would diminish us and undermine the foundation upon which we stand.”

It really is remarkable how the torture fetish of Bush and His Evil Minions™ continues to f%$# up everything that it touches to this day.

This is why we need prosecutions of both the torturers and those who authorized torture, because when this sh%$ goes down, it hurts all of us, and without consequences for the criminals, more people will be encouraged to break the law.

So Far in the Closet He’s Found Narnia*

No Comments

Let’s Roll Tape

An Assistant Attorney General for the state of Michigan, one Andrew Shirvell, has engaged in what can only be described as a relentless campaign of stalking, both Cyber and Real, against the Chris Armstrong, the gay president of the student assembly. (See the embedded vid)

Shirvell has now been placed on leave and is facing a disciplinary hearing, despite the fact that Michigan AG, and Christofascist right-winger, Mike Cox, has defended the right to stalk someone for being gay, no doubt because this is how Cox defines his base.

The crux of the batsh%$ insane jihad seems to be Armstrong’s push for LGBT friendly housing on campus, which has led the Assistant AG to make blog posts with swastikas, and to allegedly hang around and photograph Armstrong’s house in the early hours of the meeting, which has led him to file for a restraining order against Shirvell.

In the scheme of things, this incident will work itself out in the near term, the restraining order will likely be granted, and I’m pretty sure that Shirvell will eventually be fired, despite his being a long time supporter, and campaign worker, for Cox, because this has simply gotten too politically toxic.

This would all be silly and funny, but I figure than in the next 10-15 years, as Shirvell realizes what he is, and the video makes it clear that he is deeply in the closet, we are likely to hear a story about him in which the lede is, “Killed his wife and children, and then shot himself.”

*The bon mot is not mine, it’s from Bladesmith at the by invitation only Stellar Parthenon BBS.

Well, I Missed a Major Decision……

No Comments

Bilski v. Kappos, a business patent case that made it to the Supreme Court was decided 3 months ago. Basically, Bilski had patented a method of hedging energy based on the weather.

The Supreme Court unanimously invalidated the patent, it was after the unique idea that one should bet on the weather, but by a 5-4 majority, they kept the business method patent, albeit with a tightening of standards:

While all nine justices agreed that the “invention” at issue in the case—a method for hedging weather-related risk in energy trading developed by Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw—was too abstract to merit patent protection, only four signed on to Kennedy’s opinion.

That opinion held that the “machine-or-transformation” test for patentability–created by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in its Bilski decision–was a “useful clue” when gauging a subject’s patentability but shouldn’t be considered the only applicable test.

I think that this was generally a loss for patent sanity, though it does make getting a business patent more restrictive, though, unsurprisingly, SCOTUS didn’t say how much more restrictive the standards should be.

My earlier posts on the matter.

Stem Cell Funding Injunction Rescinded

No Comments

I’m kind of surprised that the court did not tell Judge Lamberth to stop smoking pot.

But they have now permanently lifted the injunction against funding the research:

An appeals court has permanently lifted an injunction imposed by a federal judge, thereby allowing federally funded embryonic stem-cell research to continue while the Obama administration appeals the judge’s original ruling against use of public funds in such research.

Considering the Obama administration’s generally weak support for reproductive rights, I would have figured that they would have slow walked this, but I was wrong.

Background here.

Obama Doubles Down on Bush Policies Again

No Comments

He is proposing mandating a back door in pretty much every form of communication on the internet:

Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone.

Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.

The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally.

This would mean that if you had two people communicating handling their own encryption, which a little program called PGP has been doing for decades, they would have to make it illegal.

Obama, a former lecturer on constitutional law, should know better. He is operating under the assumption that because he’s a good guy,* it’s OK for him to have this power, which is, of course completely antithetical to the most basic foundation of the constitution.

Some pertinent quotes:

But as an example, one official said, an investigation into a drug cartel earlier this year was stymied because smugglers used peer-to-peer software, which is difficult to intercept because it is not routed through a central hub. Agents eventually installed surveillance equipment in a suspect’s office, but that tactic was “risky,” the official said, and the delay “prevented the interception of pertinent communications.”

And, of course, there is nothing to prevent these guys from using similar software, and there is already a work around, as the official have admitted.

Even worse is this argument:

Moreover, according to several other officials, after the failed Times Square bombing in May, investigators discovered that the suspect, Faisal Shahzad, had been communicating with a service that lacked prebuilt interception capacity. If he had aroused suspicion beforehand, there would have been a delay before he could have been wiretapped.

Translation:

  • We had that there was a plan afoot.
  • We had no clue that Shahzad was involved with the Taliban.
  • We had no clue that the Taliban was looking at doing anything in the US, though the fact that we are dropping missiles on men, women, and children in their country might give them some motivation.
  • Having this capability would not have allowed us to determine any of the above.
  • However, if we had somehow discovered that this guy was hooking up with terrorists, it would have been easier to wiretap him.

There is also the fact that if you create a back door, it becomes a point of vulnerability for every hacker, crook, terrorist, or despot out there:

Steven M. Bellovin, a Columbia University computer science professor, pointed to an episode in Greece: In 2005, it was discovered that hackers had taken advantage of a legally mandated wiretap function to spy on top officials’ phones, including the prime minister’s.

“I think it’s a disaster waiting to happen,” he said. “If they start building in all these back doors, they will be exploited.”

Why there is such a determination by the Obama administration to embrace and extend every wrong-headed and un-American policy thought up by Bushand His Evil Minions™ is beyond me.

Doubling down on failed and expensive polices does not help.

* To the degree that someone who feels that he can be king and order the murder of American citizens for secret reasons can be considered a “good guy”.