Standalone post and a commentary in my classmate's blog

                                              http://bernadettesamerica.blogspot.com/
      In response to http://tylerahogan.blogspot.com/ titled "Are we really losing our 4th amendment?,
first of all, I must commend my colleague for starting the write-up with an inquiring mind when he asked “Are we really losing our 4th Amendment?”

      My colleague went on to cite an article written by one, Darlene storm (this article) as a basis to justify the belief or appearance that we are actually losing our 4th Amendment. I looked at Darlene Storm biography and it only describes her as a freelance writer with a background in Information technology and information security. This, in my opinion does not say much about or becomes a basis for one to conclude that we are indeed losing our 4th Amendment right/privileges. There is no educational or professional background of Ms. Darlene Storm, no professional article, nor educational or research paper attributed to her, and of course not accountable to anyone but herself. For  my colleague  or anyone for that matter to cite her article or believe in her article as a basis  or authority on issues bordering on the national security, and or a constitutional issue posted in  a “Computer world magazine “is not serious.

      It appears that Ms. Storm got her information from the (ACLU said) and (ChristianPost wrote) just as my colleague got his quote from Ms. Storm’s write up without doing any independent study to ascertain the veracity of such bogus claim. There is indeed no argument or even doubt that some of  our constitutional rights have been restricted to some extent by several acts of both the congress and the Department of Homeland security(DHS) since after September 11, 2001 attack on the world trade center in New work by some Middle east terrorist elements.

      To throw out a bogus or misleading story such as the one that my colleague cited according the article by Darlene Storm in a Computer World Magazine is ridiculous and self-serving at worst. We all know that there are checks and balances built in into our system of representative government. If one believes in the claim of warrant less searches of electronic devices on citizens by the Department of Homeland Security, there are several ways one can seek recourse to challenge these laws. Some courts in this country have in the past shown their independent resolve to deal with these kinds of breach of citizens’ rights and are willing to do same in the future. In our effort to balance security against our freedom in today’s world, we may have to sometimes be subjected to some temporary inconveniences such as the searches at the airports, and at the border entry points.  Finally on this article, both my colleague and his source failed to cite even one verifiable case or incident of their claim. I hope I do not come across as if I am on the side of the government but for the sake of argument, the write up is very flawed.

      On the second source cited from yahoo search on article written by one Scott Bombay called “CISPA, the Fourth Amendment and you” this article talks about a new legislation currently making rounds in congress in which the federal government works with private companies to fight hackers and cyber criminals in and outside of the United States. There are no more surprise according to  recent news I heard on NPR( National Public Radio) citing recent senate intelligence committee report in which it concluded that the greatest future attack on the United States may not be a conventional warfare but a computer cyber-attack or cyber espionage from countries such as China and North Korea. In fact it went on to cite several incidents of such computer security breach by North Korea and Chinese military industrial complex

      So the question becomes, can we as nation work to find a common ground where both the government and private sector can work together in the best interest of the American people. Our democracy works better when both the government and the private sectors work together for common good of the people. By the way, the government and private sectors have been working together for a very long time in this country; for example, background check which companies conduct on almost anyone looking for job is a joint effort between the government and the private sector, and none seem to have any problems about it.

      The mistake my colleague made in his write up is that he failed to give his readers detailed information regarding the contents of the legislations nor the side he takes on the issues/concerns that he raised. There is a mention in the article that President Obama has promised to veto the CISPA. It would have been interesting for the readers to know why the President has threatened to veto this piece of legislation. The United States needs to upgrade her laws in regards to cyber security because of the great potential for abuse and misuse by both citizens and corporations, and the government herself. The United States needs to be proactive in the area of cyber security so that what transpired on 9/11/2001 may never occur again. It is a fair game of “balancing act”; protecting citizens’ right while at the same time finding ways to checkmate cyber criminals and cyber security of this great nation

      In conclusion, the issues/concerns my colleague raised are important regarding the 4th Amendment protection and the cyber security laws that may intrude on citizens’ rights.

My colleague presented his write up in a manner that keeps one wondering what was the purpose of his write up; is he just creating awareness of recent legislative laws, arguing against it or  in support or what?. What is the core information about these legislative laws? What are the specifics of these laws? What reliable source rather than some one’s commentary could be cited to get full details of these laws.