The Stalker Society
by digby
Another traitor weighs in. One who's seen the inside up close and personal:
While Gore said he favoured surveillance to ensure security, he described the efforts made public by the former Central Intelligence Agency employee as "outrageous" and "completely unacceptable."
"I say that as someone who was a member of the National Security Council working in the White House and getting daily briefings from the CIA," he said...
Gore said the revelations are disturbing to say the least.
"He has revealed evidence of what appears to be crimes against the Constitution of the United States," he said.
Gore said governments throughout history have understandably conducted surveillance to protect their security but added that efforts have gone to "absurd" lengths and are counter-productive.
"When you are looking for a needle in a haystack, it's not always wise to pile more hay on the haystack," he said quoting a scholar on the CIA...
"I think they will have to pull this back," Gore told a brief question period at McGill University where he delivered the Beaverbrook Annual Lecture. "I think you will see a reining in."
He said he was not just concerned about overblown efforts in government surveillance but also by corporations who mine the Internet for information on users' viewing and buying habits so they can target advertising.
"We have a stalker economy," Gore said.
He added that there is already a backlash in foreign countries that is costing U.S. firms business. Gore said the other countries — he did not name them — have complained they fear the U.S. companies will turn over whatever data they acquire on consumers to the NSA.
Many Democratic Villagers have a loathing for Gore which I cannot attribute to ordinary politics. I guess they know him better than I do. But since their judgment is so wrong in virtually every other way I'm not inclined to take their word about this either.
All I know is that Gore has spoken out strongly over the past decade on important issues, from the invasion of Iraq (at a time when it was assumed he'd run again) to this, which practically brands him a traitor, and I'm going to guess that's part of the problem as well. What with all that icky climate change stuff, he's just a little bit too much of a dirty hippie to be trusted.
He calls this a stalker economy and I think that's apt. I certainly feel that way, but I mostly attribute that feeling to be an old person who over values my personal privacy. But I think "stalker society" describes it better. The government surveillance is a whole lot more sinister than consumer surveillance --- after all, I tend to doubt most corporations care about my politics or with whom I associate. And even if they did, they have no power to come to my house and arrest me if they see some "pattern" that makes me look suspicious in their minds. So it's the government stalking that is the real threat. Still, making stalking so ubiquitous that people become inured to the idea is certainly helping the government's cause. I'm glad to see that Gore's done some thinking about it and is speaking out.
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