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A comment on The U.S. government's long and shameful history of intercepting people's letters.

Re:The U.S. government's long and shameful history of interc... by kook_throwaway on Saturday August 07, 2021 @11:32PM (#28104009)
"Moreover, this gradual (and, of late, rapidly progressive) decay of freedom goes almost without challenge; the American has grown so accustomed to the denial of his constitutional rights and to the minute regulation of his conduct by swarms of spies, letter-openers, informers and agents provocateurs that he no longer makes any serious protest." - H L Mencken The American Credo: A Contribution toward the Interpretation of the National Mind (1920)
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The U.S. government's long and shameful history of interc... by matheusmoreira on Sunday August 08, 2021 @07:35AM (#28105989)
Not only does he not protest, he welcomes the violation and shames those that "have something to hide" as if exercising one's right to privacy was a crime unto itself.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The U.S. government's long and shameful history of interc... by dehrmann on Sunday August 08, 2021 @12:09AM (#28104141)
In recent news, Biden lawyer shopped until he found someone who supported reinstating the CDC's eviction ban, despite the supreme court strongly suggesting the previous ban overstepped CDC's power, but letting it stand for mostly practical reasons.

This isn't about the ban; it's that a president got a strong signal from the supreme court that he can't do X, then did X two weeks later.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The U.S. government's long and shameful history of interc... by robbedpeter on Sunday August 08, 2021 @12:21AM (#28104184)
'Signal" implies something indirect, subtle, or nuanced in some way. The Supreme Court was very clear in the majority opinion (and lower courts had ruled) that the cdc overstepped its authority, that it had absolutely no power to impose these bans. The moratorium would have to be implemented by congress - it is their job when things like a brazen violation of basic property rights is involved.

That the cdc would go right ahead and roll out a new moratorium is a stunning failure of checks and balances.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The U.S. government's long and shameful history of interc... by anonymouse008 on Sunday August 08, 2021 @12:59AM (#28104318)
I’ve often said we need the next constitutional convention to revise the government in light of society’s progress — this reinforces that view with the heat of boiling blood
[ Parent | on HN ]