Wired News: Bills: Down With Citizen Database: Bills, not words, define the latest criticism of the U.S. government's controversial Total Information Awareness program.
But bills are words ... oh, never mind.
..... lawmakers have introduced three separate bills banning or suspending the program. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) proposed an amendment on Wednesday to the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that would suspend the program's $112 million budget for 2003. On Thursday, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) introduced the Data Mining Moratorium Act of 2003, which "suspends data-mining programs until Congress finishes a complete and total review," according to Feingold spokesman Ari Geller. But the first lawmaker to take a shot at the program was Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who introduced his bill last week, though few on Capitol Hill noticed. The bill, the Equal Rights and Equal Dignity for Americans Act of 2003, was one of 12 Daschle introduced and currently has 26 co-sponsors. The act prohibits the Pentagon from "research, development, test or evaluation on any technology whose primary purpose is the collection of information on United States citizens ... for intelligence or law enforcement purposes."
High falutin' name aside, at least two of these approaches have significant problems. The problem with Daschle's bill is that all the administration has to do to circumvent it is to transfer TIA/IAO to the Homeland Security department once it's been approved and is up and running. The problem with Wyden's amendment is that all the president has to do to get around it is to submit a letter. That's it, nothing more. Feingold's would be a rather better approach.
Posted by iain at January 17, 2003 05:28 PMComments
We can see a possible future where the present of future President will "write a letter" to circimvent the Dashle Bill to defeat the IAO from data mining on planetary scale.
I am THE software developer that wrote the computer proof demonstrated to Poindexter that showed how categorical abstraction can break the glass-cieling on computer data-mining limits.
What the TIA/IAO needed is exactly the Dashle Data Mining Bill, so that the President can over-ride such, but then the IAO will be able to be the only entity with such observational, Orwellian powers.
I am an unknown, low-profile individual that had no intent of providing such computer proof.
My conscience advises me to offer my services as an Amateur Cognitive Pattern Dynamicist - who's future in data-mining for our collective future welfare is cut-short by the Data-Mining Bill, should it pass.
I am much concerned for the future of democracy and liberty, altogether.
Gravely,
DonEMitchell
Computer Researcher
DonEMitchell@poBox.com
