Friday, February 13, 2004
Some privacy rights are more equal than others
Attorney General John Ashcroft's Justice Department is seking to subpoena private medical records of patients who may have had dilation-and-extraction procedures, known as partial-birth abortions to the anti-choice crowd, at numerous hospitals around the country.
The Justice Department claims they need to review such records as part of their attempt to enforce the ban on these procedures, a law which has been temporarily put on hold due to court challenges. Ashcroft's lawyers insist privacy information will be blacked out; hospital and doctor representatives claim that enough information will still exist to identify the individuals involved. Given Ashcroft's nearly militant stand against abortion throughout his long political career, pro-choice advocates feel they are justifiably worried about handing over such private records.
Listening to stories of Ashcroft's people go to such lengths to secure this personal information reminded me that the AG himself was personally involved in gutting portions of the Homeland security bills and USA Patriot Act that dealt with gun purchase and possession by known or suspected terrorists. This includes ammunition or other paramilitary weaponry.
So as currently written the statutes allow the government to monitor the phone records, library accounts, video rentals, bank accounts, mail, e-mail, etc. of anyone it deems a terror threat BUT they cannot inquire at all if you had purchased, attempted to purchase, or were thought by reasonable people to be stockpiling pistols, rifles, infrared night-vision scopes, cop-killer hollow point bullets, semi-automatic rifles, assualt rifles or the like, because that would be too grave of an infringement on their privacy right with regard to the second amendment.
All I can say is thank God we still live in a country where loose-moralled sluts and the doctors who service them in their immorality are hunted down at the highest echelons of government while fanatical terrorists like Mohammed Atta can still exercise their Constitutional rights to own as many firearms as they wish free from the intrusive preying eye of government.
Insert irony here.
Attorney General John Ashcroft's Justice Department is seking to subpoena private medical records of patients who may have had dilation-and-extraction procedures, known as partial-birth abortions to the anti-choice crowd, at numerous hospitals around the country.
The Justice Department claims they need to review such records as part of their attempt to enforce the ban on these procedures, a law which has been temporarily put on hold due to court challenges. Ashcroft's lawyers insist privacy information will be blacked out; hospital and doctor representatives claim that enough information will still exist to identify the individuals involved. Given Ashcroft's nearly militant stand against abortion throughout his long political career, pro-choice advocates feel they are justifiably worried about handing over such private records.
Listening to stories of Ashcroft's people go to such lengths to secure this personal information reminded me that the AG himself was personally involved in gutting portions of the Homeland security bills and USA Patriot Act that dealt with gun purchase and possession by known or suspected terrorists. This includes ammunition or other paramilitary weaponry.
So as currently written the statutes allow the government to monitor the phone records, library accounts, video rentals, bank accounts, mail, e-mail, etc. of anyone it deems a terror threat BUT they cannot inquire at all if you had purchased, attempted to purchase, or were thought by reasonable people to be stockpiling pistols, rifles, infrared night-vision scopes, cop-killer hollow point bullets, semi-automatic rifles, assualt rifles or the like, because that would be too grave of an infringement on their privacy right with regard to the second amendment.
All I can say is thank God we still live in a country where loose-moralled sluts and the doctors who service them in their immorality are hunted down at the highest echelons of government while fanatical terrorists like Mohammed Atta can still exercise their Constitutional rights to own as many firearms as they wish free from the intrusive preying eye of government.
Insert irony here.
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