Qwest's Spirit of Service--Finally

Anyone who has missed my rant about Denver-based Qwest is lucky. I’m a long-time hater of the company, legendary for their indifferent customer service, culminating in one special day a few years ago when I spent the better part of nine hours on the phone speaking with 11 different people about a problem I didn’t even know was a problem. At 4:00 in the afternoon, “Customer service rep” number 12 said, “Can you tell me what happened?” I took a deep breath, paused, said, “No, actually, I can’t.” I hung up the phone and burst into tears.

But I digress.

This time, Qwest got something right. Something big. They are the only major telephone company to refuse the National Security Agency’s request for customer phone records, citing concerns about customer privacy. When they asked if this request shouldn’t be coming by way of the FISA court, they were told “no”. They requested a letter of authorization from the US Attorney’s office and were told “no”. In turn, they told the NSA “no” and were warned that they could be risking future classified contracts. (source: Jonathan Turley, George Washington School of Law on MSNBC’s Countdown, 5/12/06.)

Verizon, Bell South, and AT&T all complied. So, you are asking, why is this really a problem? It’s a problem on a number of fronts.

First, it’s a violation of your First Amendment right to privacy. Who you call when is your business and not anyone else’s. Secondly, it’s a violation of your Fourth Amendment right—the right against “unreasonable search and seizure.” These records are being taken without your permission. There is little difference between this and the NSA showing up at your front door to start looking through your files.

But I haven’t done anything wrong; I’ve got nothing to hide, you might be thinking. The vast majority of us don’t. The NSA has tens of millions of customer records now. Do they honestly believe that as much as 2/3 of the population of this country is somehow related to or affiliated with Al Qaeda? Seriously? That would be the only potentially justifiable reason for such a sweeping collection of these records. Come on, is anyone being fooled by this?

I was a student of politics and also Soviet history. I don’t feel it is unreasonable at this stage to say that what is going on in this country right now, under the guise of making us “safe from the terrorists” smacks of Soviet-style governing. There are clear threats to, at a minimum, our First and Fourth Amendment rights—rights guaranteed by our Constitution, yet little is being done about it.

Bush, et al, are modern-day Raskalnikovs—they break the law because they think they're above the law. By simply stating that they haven't done anything wrong does not make it true. What they are doing is illegal. As Dana Milbank of the Washington Post stated, "The President is not his own judge and jury." No, he is not. We are. The Congress is. The Supreme Court is.

So, had enough yet? What can you do about it? Several things. First, quit sitting back and taking it. The revolution begins now, motherfuckers. (Thanks, Mags.)

Senators Arlen Spector and Patrick Leahy have promised Congressional hearings on this matter. Make that happen. Write and call your elected representatives—House and Senate, on both sides of the aisle—and demand this happen. Write your local papers. Write to Qwest and thank them. Write to Verizon, Bell South, and AT&T expressing your anger. Change your phone service. Participate in the class action lawsuits that are in the works against these three companies. Read. Educate yourself, take to the streets, vote in November. All of these things matter—they really do.

As Jonathan Turley said on Countdown last night, he knows of “no law that allows this type of operation.” What is being done here is illegal and must be stopped. Those involved (including President Bush) must be held accountable. Please, sit down and write a letter or two this weekend. I will be.

And (this is something I never thought I’d say), thank you Joe Nacchio.