Feingold slams Chertoff for distortions on laptop searches.
Feingold slams Chertoff for distortions on laptop searches.
In an interview with Wired this week, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the DHS’s new policy of searching laptops is based on whether there is “some suspicion that the inspector has about the person.” Yesterday, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) said Chertoff’s claim is the exact opposite of DHS’s policy:
But the actual policy that DHS published says the exact opposite. It does not even mention secondary screening, let alone limit laptop searches to those cases, and it expressly states that Americans’ laptops may be searched “absent individualized suspicion.”
Secretary Chertoff’s blatant mischaracterization of the DHS policy contradicts his claim to be engaging in greater “openness and transparency” on this important issue.
Check out the online campaigns of “Hands Off My Laptop” and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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32 Responses to “Feingold slams Chertoff for distortions on laptop searches.”
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Take the gloves off, Senator !!
¶ AIO
August 8th, 2008 at 4:01 pmThis just seems so uncharacteristic for Chertoff & the Bush administration in general.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:01 pmHell, if they won't even follow the Constitution, why should they follow their own guidelines?
August 8th, 2008 at 4:03 pmOutright lies from a BushCo stooge? Do tell.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:07 pmChertoff is a liar. He is also incompetent. In other words, he is the perfect Bush appointee, and a role model for trolls the country over.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:10 pm4 little words; unreasonable search and seizure; AKA the Forth Ameandment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Since when does a Federal department's guidelines trumph the Constitution?
August 8th, 2008 at 4:10 pmImpeach Pelosi, Cheney and Bush and Save the Constitution!
Notice how the troll tries to deflect attention from the moral bankruptcy and criminal intent of Bush administration officials. Way to go, troll, thanks for proving once again that you've got nuthin'.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:12 pmTanqueray Says:
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I can’t wait until John Edwards is appointed AG, he’ll clean up this mess.
Go Barry(fist-tap)and Edwards for Attorney General!!
August 8th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Coming from an imbecile who supports a little turd who cheated on his 1st trophy wife with the bimbo who became his 2nd wife , that's high irony .............
August 8th, 2008 at 4:13 pmJohn Edwards would be great as AG but there is news that he had an affair in 2006. It is all over the news. I am sad for his wife. We need to impeach Cheney & Bush.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:14 pmOT, but for some reason, Tanq made me think of this article from that liberal rag, Time:
Two months ago, Vanderslice founded a Democratic PAC called the Matthew 25 Network and soon noticed that the negative e-mails she received from conservative Christians fell into two general topical categories: abortion, and the assertion that Obama is the Antichrist. The cataloging of similarities Obama shares with the Antichrist began nearly two years ago.
The speculation reached a fever pitch after Obama's European trip and the Berlin speech in which he called for global unity. Conservative Christian author Hal Lindsey declared in an essay on WorldNetDaily, "Obama is correct in saying that the world is ready for someone like him — a messiah-like figure, charismatic and glib ... The Bible calls that leader the Antichrist. And it seems apparent that the world is now ready to make his acquaintance." The conservative website RedState.com now sells mugs and T shirts that sport a large "O" with horns and the words "The Anti-Christ" underneath.
A new TIME poll finds that the most conservative Evangelicals are the least enthusiastic about McCain's candidacy. Convincing them that Obama does have two horns and a tail might be the best way of getting them to vote.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:15 pmDESPERATE MUCH?
I honestly believe that most republicans would support a complete repeal of the 4th amendment. They have done so much to chip away at it over the last 12 years, why don't they just be honest and push for a repeal?
August 8th, 2008 at 4:30 pmPoor Tanq,
Just can't stay on topic, can you? WTF does this thread have to do with Edwards being AG?
Me thinks you can't stand that Russ is sacking up and calling bullsh!t on one of BushCo's NeoCon Scumbags, Chertoff
August 8th, 2008 at 4:31 pmGo Barry(fist-tap)and Edwards for Attorney General!!
I got slapped up real good by all my buddies here when I mentioned that the National Enquirer article had real implications for Edwards, Obama and the party.
Well, I hate to say that I told you so. It is all over the news now that he has admitted to an affair. I feel sorry for him but much more so for Elizabeth who is an amazing woman. Of course, that phony Hannity is self-righteously making a big deal out of it. However, it will also be a topic on the MSM this evening. It will be another needless distraction from what should be the critical issues of attention.
This will take Edwards off the VP and convention speaker lists. And he won't be AG in Obama's administration.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:31 pmAs long as no one tries to take their guns, rifles, automatic weapons, etc. away, the Repubs are just fine with this kind of "unreasonable search and seizure".
Laptops don't kill people...
PEACE
August 8th, 2008 at 4:38 pm.
Americans are officially ALL suspect who, in order to pass, must prove their innocence.
WARRANTS mean nothing in America any more.
.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:38 pmtom Says:
Go Barry(fist-tap)and Edwards for Attorney General!!
I got slapped up real good by all my buddies here when I mentioned that the National Enquirer article had real implications for Edwards, Obama and the party.
Yes, you did, and I was a slapper. I'm not terribly embarrassed about that, since the original source was the Enquirer, supported by FoxNews, and the Enquirer failed to provide any evidence for their charge. However, it does appear that they were right, and Edwards screwed up. I'm not sure the Democrats will take much of a hit, though, because Edwards isn't a candidate and hasn't been named to a Cabinet position.
Pinheads like Hannity will make hay from this while ignoring the transgressions of people like Rudy and Newt and McCain, but I'm hopeful that most people will understand it has absolutely nothing to do with Obama's candidacy.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:43 pmIm truly disappointed in Edwards. He would have made a great AG.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:48 pmTom: I don't give a flying crap about stupid Repukes who stand in their glass houses and hurl stones at others.
In fact, in that particular Republican glass house - there isn't a single unbroken pane... Larry Craig, David Vitter, Duke Cunningham, Scooter Libby, Tom Delay, Ted Stevens, etc. etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum.
John McCain's own past sins are worse than this, as are those of Rudy Giuliani.
Whether John Edwards had/didn't have an affair is irrelevant.
August 8th, 2008 at 4:54 pmChris L, good idea. Let us know if you ever come across an honest republican.
August 8th, 2008 at 5:04 pmSomebody needs to take a good long look at any computer Chertoff has used. Especially any communication with Isreali officials.
August 8th, 2008 at 5:04 pmI don’t give a flying crap about stupid Repukes who stand in their glass houses and hurl stones at others.
Neither do I. My point was that this will take energy, emotion, focus and time away from the things that should be debated. That's all I was saying and that's why I think it is noteworthy at this point.
Of course, The New Castrati will conveniently ignore the "sinners" in their own tent while somehow contorting this into a "liberal values" issue. That is what is so frustrating about it. And it is all a big waste of time because -- as you say -- it is irrelevant. That won't stop them, however.
August 8th, 2008 at 5:06 pmWhite House can't provide official emails for Congressional oversight, but the DHS has no problem snooping into anybody's computer with the nerve to carry a laptop onto a plane. Chertoff is hiding from the truth.
August 8th, 2008 at 5:15 pmFeingold should be majority leader instead of JelloReid. Maybe then the dems would see what having vertebrae feels like.
August 8th, 2008 at 6:26 pmImpeach!
August 8th, 2008 at 7:49 pmThis laptop search garbage will definitely be a negative hit on tourism. I need my laptop for business, and if there's any chance it could be confiscated & files copied, I will no longer visit the U.S., because I have to take it with me, and I find this policy outrageous, invasive, and offensive.
August 8th, 2008 at 8:05 pmHere's an idea, it's sad to have to do this but...
ship your laptop both ways with overnight express...
if you REAllY want it to be UNINSPECTED put it in a CARGO CONTAINER!
August 8th, 2008 at 8:18 pmI remember reading about this last year. I recall that a court stated the border areas are not considered inside the US, its' a neutral gateway, and therefore the Constitution did not apply.
Definitely sounded like the judge was reading into what the Constitution said in favor of the government rather than the public interest and Constitutional safeguards.
Also, I've heard they can copy the contents off any thumb-drive, CD, IPod or any type of recording/recorded device/media to include cameras and phones.
August 9th, 2008 at 11:56 amIf you really want to cause the border agents grief, try a little passive protesting ... simply remove your hard-drive from your laptop before you travel; you can install a new one at your destination point. It's time consuming and a little costly, but I wonder how they would react if everyone coming thru the gates with a laptop was missing a hard-drive? There'd be no reason for them to search or confiscate them.
August 9th, 2008 at 12:04 pmI am sure that Tanq and the rest of the trolls here feel the same way about these searches as they do about their 2nd Amendment rights. Meaning they can take your guns, fire them, get ballistic tests, serial numbers, etc. and keep them as long as they want.
Right? ........ Right?
August 9th, 2008 at 12:07 pmBrilliant security move!
As if "da tarraests" couldn't find a way to move files across borders . . .
If McSame is looking for "earmarks to cut to balance the budget", he can start by firing and closing the DHS . . . .
August 9th, 2008 at 1:46 pmI picture good looking young women being the targets of this.
Honestly. It's the perfect scam for some creepy customs official to use to target women who cross his path.
August 9th, 2008 at 1:55 pmYou are FREE to be surched! You are FREE to be considered suspicious! Fell free to fear!
August 9th, 2008 at 5:28 pm