The SmallGovTimes.com web site is always among the first to address potential privacy breaches at the hands of our increasingly powerful and overshadowing federal government, but the flag@whitehouse.gov discussion seems like much ado about nothing.
To provide a little background, the White House published a blog article that invites those who spot so-called “disinformation” about the health care reform package making its way through Congress to send it to the White House at the flag@whitehouse.gov email address. The article was primarily in response to a video that surfaced recently showing Barack Obama talking about his plans to eventually do away with private health insurance options.
Fox News’ Andrew Napolitano argued that collecting this kind of data might violate the 1974 Privacy Act that prohibits the federal government from investigating individuals based purely on political purposes.
Chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, Jay Sekulow, argued that the establishment of this email address somehow “stifles free speech” of those who have a Constitutional right to express their own opinions and concerns over any issue they please, including health care.
Texas Senator John Cornyn is convinced that the White House is “collecting names”, asking why the administration “needs the forwarded e-mails, names, and ‘casual conversations’ sent to them instead of just the arguments that they want to rebut?”
In truth, the administration is purely at the mercy of whoever forwards emails and links to online resources to the administration’s email address. If they include names, then yes, names will exist in the email’s inbox. If names are omitted, then they do have “just the arguments” that they want to rebut. Added, names are only as reliable as the computer user who types them into their email application. Emailers can just as easily assume the name “Snoopy” as they can “Sam Smith”.
While we are certainly sensitive regarding the privacy and security of the American people, it seems like a stretch to link this particular issue to somehow violating the Constitutional rights of the American people to express themselves. The administration is not preventing anyone from voicing his or her concerns over health care.
If they were, this web site would have been shut down quite some time ago.
And similarly, there are no credible allegations of the administration investigating individuals who happen to disagree with their stance on health care. If these allegations become credible in the future, then the SmallGovTimes.com will be at the forefront in publicizing the issue. But until then, the establishment of this email address is diverting attention away from truly frightening invasions of the privacy of the American people within the National Security Agency and other domestic intelligence groups that need to be further investigated.
While listening in on a conversation between myself and some other rightwing type I think I heard myself refer to Barry O’s medical Insurance scam as a gross takeover of the US economy! Then to make matters even worse, I think I heard myself call Barry a “Commie Rat”.
Geeze, you guys had better check into that.
Hmmm…well, surely you know something about the nature of email, don’t you? It is not entirely difficult to trace an email back to its source via the IP address trail any email message leaves behind it. Yes, you could assume the name “Snoopy,” and if your intent is to send a nasty note to your boss or neighbor, yes, you might be safe. But send it to anyone who knows what he’s doing, and if wants to know who you are badly enough, he’ll find you.
That’s true, Kip – the person forwarding the email has access to full email headers and can obtain that information and use it however they like. That information isn’t hidden, though – it is available for absolutely anyone who wants it, which brings up an interesting question of the “expectation of privacy”.
But the White House may not necessarily have access to the email headers of the mailing being forwarded. Like I said in the article, the White House is completely at the mercy of the person doing the forwarding.
If the White House truly wanted to invade anyone’s privacy or investigate those who do not agree with them, they’d find a better and more reliable way than email.
It’s an intimidation tactic as well.
Haven’t you followed Salinsky, Wright, Ayers, Odinga, Rezko, like all of us have?
Geesh
Get with the program. Strong arm, muscle and intimidation is the way to go these days.
Not only is a violation of the Privacy Act of 1974 it is a violation of the Presidential Records Act of 1978 and your “handle” be it “Snoopy” or Sam Smith” is moot your IP address is unique and often included in the header of a message.
Get a clue.
AWG,
For the record, an IP address is ALWAYS included in the header of an email message. But like I’ve said multiple times, that header information may or may not be available when the message is forwarded to the White House. Sorry, not buying the idea that the administration is somehow using this as a way to spy on Americans – that’s done at the NSA and other intelligence areas of our government. If Obama truly wanted to “collect names”, as it were, they wouldn’t rely on something so inherently unreliable as this.
Not a chance.
I turned myself in.
I suggest that all Obamacre opponents just turn themlves in, perhaps several times, by the millions.
Maybe that will slow things down a bit.
Joe,
Lots of people are turning themselves in. One they heard of the existence of this email address, thousands have sent in emails that put into words their disgust of the health care proposal, almost daring the administration to do something.
Of course, the administration won’t – it’s silly to think this email address is a means to stifle opinion or monitor its citizens. It was just a bad idea.
I just sent this email to flag.whitehouse.gov
Before someone else has to turn me in, I am going to begin making comparisons to the Indian Healthcare System and really scare people. If you’re going to have your SS troops pick me up, please email me for my address so that I’m prepared.
The perfect example of government run heathcare is the Indian Heathcare System.
Yeah, OK we know it is a BIG JOKE. But dosn’t the mentality just scare you a little? (Chicago Mob Thuggery) Same mentality lied about right wing terrorist threats, insurance company profits, single payer health care. Same mentality that thinks words are so important that we dont say terrorist or jihad or suicide bomber.
Janet Politano is a threat to this country, emercing herself in deciet and trivia, does she have time to do anythink real? Gietner seems to be an emplyee of Gldman Sachs STILL.
Linda Douglas? Need I say more. These people have no shame. That’s why it IS IS IS important.
This is what flag@whitehouse.gov will be used for: http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2009/08/mash-pamela-geller-internet-snitch.html
On August 4, 2009 a post titled “Facts Are Stubborn Things” appeared on the White House blog. It contained the following paragraph:
“There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”
Every Fourth of July, we celebrate the Birth of the Nation. Every Fourth of August, we shall celebrate the Birth of the Internet Snitch Brigade.
How long do you think it took before the Internet Snitch Brigade expanded its reporting from something fishy about health insurance reform to Anti-American Activities? Just five days! Move over McCarthy; here comes Bill Warner. In the post titled “ASSASSINATE BARACK OBAMA PLOTS INCREASE TO 10 RACIST RIGHT WING BLOGGERS FUEL WHITE SUPREMISTS (sic.) SECRET SERVICE SHUT EM DOWN by Bill Warner investigator” Bill Warner writes:
“Articles posted on ultra right wings blogs like “Muslims Against Sharia” by Khamim Massoud such as Obama spies monitoring Jews house-to-house and Freed to Kill More American Soldiers: Taliban Thrives, Thanks to Obama Policy and “Atlas Shrugs Website” by Pamela Geller who posts articles such as “Obama backs Iraqi Terrorists: Iraq investigates alleged US-insurgent talks” are hastening the demise of Preisdent Barack Obama. … The US Secret Service so needs to investigate “Muslims Against Sharia by Khalim Massoud and Pamela Geller for her Anti-American racist activities on her website, which she operates out of her Manhattan NY apartment, and her incitement to hate by others and the possible murder of President Barack Obama.”
Yes, it only took five days to jump from snitching about dissent on health insurance reform to making up wild accusations about “incitement to hate by others and the possible murder of President Barack Obama.” A quote attributed to Joseph Goebbels, a Propaganda Minister in Nazi Germany reads:
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
Bill Warner may not be a good P.I. (as he claims to be) or not a good bar fighter and martial artist (as he claims to be), but he has certainly mastered the art of Nazi propaganda.
Fishy???? I smell a dead fish – and lots of them. How can anyone be naive enough to believe the soul purpose of this ‘flag@whitehouse.gov’ messaging system is only to correct disinformation about the healthcare ‘reform’ package.
First of all, if the information was published clearly and readily available, there would be no need to dispel misinformation because the public would have a clear understanding of what was contained within the proposal – but that does not seem to be the case. I have worked as a nurse in healthcare all my life and have yet to see/understand clearly what is contained within. Typically, when information is not readily forthcoming, there is something to hide.
Second – it USED to be that if there was a question, the you could write to your congressman and get an answer – it was an action on your part to obtain clarification…..NOW, we have someone else reporting on YOU because you may have provided a response not to their liking…..this fish smells like the German Gestapo!
There definitely used to be a time when I would write my congressmen here in Florida and get some type of answer. Now I write, and I’d be lucky if I even get a note saying that ‘your question has been received and answer will be provided to you’. I feel like there is a lot of deceit and “Pick the softball” things that make themselves look better. I miss the days where making a difference actually mattered.