The following comes to us from [http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060428/D8H99DSG1.html|an April 28, 2006 article] from AP.org and MyWay.Com:
The FBI secretly sought information last year on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents from their banks and credit card, telephone and Internet companies without a court's approval, the Justice Department said Friday.
It was the first time the Bush administration has publicly disclosed how often it uses the administrative subpoena known as a national security letter, which allows the executive branch of government to obtain records about people in terrorism and espionage investigations without court approval.
Friday's disclosure was mandated as part of the renewal of the Patriot Act, the administration's sweeping anti-terror law.
The FBI delivered a total of 9,254 NSLs relating to 3,501 people in 2005, according to a report submitted late Friday to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate. In some cases, the bureau demanded information about one person from several companies.
This is so awesome because during the ten years I was aware of the Cold War, I never once was aware of this kind of abuse of government power. Now that we're "under attack" from a terrorist force that numbers in the whopping thousands (as opposed to the Soviet threat which was a liiittle bit bigger) I totally have no problem with the idea that because I might have donated money to a group that turned out to be funnelling funds to Palestine, I could be investigated for terror ties and spied on without my knowledge in violation of my rights--weeeeee!
Yes that was a run on sentence and no, I have never donated any money to a Palestinian cause or any other cause. Though I did give $20 to John Edwards' presidential campaign, though I don't think he counts as a terrorist.
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