Google fights back.....

 http://business.time.com/2013/06/18/google-challenges-nsa-secrecy-in-fisa-court/

Good for Google to challenge the government on this.

It seems to me in an open government there should be little reason for secrecy at all.  The entire controversy comes from all the senseless secrecy.  Get rid of the secrecy and there is no longer an issue.

The way I see it if the police think I am a cocaine dealer they can go to a court and request a warrant to search my home.  If the judge agrees there is reason to believe I maybe be breaking the law he can grant a warrant. 

With the warrant in hand the police show up at my home and hand me the legal paper work.  There is no secrecy.  I must step aside and allow the police into my home to rummage through my underwear drawer in search of hidden contraband.  It is all very transparent.  If they find the drugs then I go to jail.  If they don’t find anything the police leave and I put my underwear back in the drawer.

So why is the process any different for phone records or internet data?  The feds are still going to a court…. albeit a secret court.  So why am I not allowed to have a copy of this warrant?  What is the national security risk with me finding out the Feds are going through my phone calls.  Not like I can change the data.  Not like I can conceal the records. 

The problem is the Feds are not going after anything specific.  They are just trolling tons of data to see if they can find anything.  That is not how the process is suppose to work. 

This is why there needs to be a secret because in the light of day this process would never stand up to scrutiny.

I say just make everything transparent and that would solve all the issues.  I don’t see any need for secrecy in any of this.