The US Postal Service Is Spying On Us

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/33772-the-us-postal-service-is-spying-on-us

The U.S. Postal Service is spying on us. And they’re not doing a very good job at it. I’m not talking about peeking into letters or looking at how many mutual fund statements you receive. I’m talking about the systematic collection of information on every single piece of mail you send or receive, including the names and addresses of the sender and recipient, without a warrant or oversight and without any explanation to the person being targeted.

Indeed, the USPS Inspector General has even issued a report saying that the Postal Service “failed to properly safeguard documents that included the names, addresses, and financial information used by its law enforcement arm to monitor the mail of people suspected of criminal activities or for national security purposes.” The USPS “mail cover surveillance program” is poorly run, poorly managed, and could “reveal personally identifiable information and compromise the security of the mail,” the report said.

What makes this program particularly dangerous is that there is no judicial oversight, no appeals process, and no way of knowing why any one person is under surveillance or when the surveillance began or will end. I know. I’m under Postal Service surveillance.

I served 23 months in prison for blowing the whistle on the CIA’s illegal torture program. After having been locked up for two months, I decided to commission a card from a very artistically-inclined prisoner for my wife’s 40th birthday. I sent it about two weeks before her birthday. She never received it. Finally, about four months later, the card was delivered back to me with a yellow “Return to Sender – Address Not Known” sticker on it. But underneath that sticker was a second yellow sticker. That one read, “Do Not Deliver. Hold For Supervisor. Cover Program.”

Why was I under Postal Service Surveillance? I have no idea. I had had my day in court. The case was over. But remember, the Postal Service doesn’t have to answer to anybody – my attorneys, my judge, even its own Inspector General. It doesn’t need a warrant to spy on me (or my family) and it doesn’t have to answer even to a member of Congress who might inquire as to why the spying was happening in the first place.

[merrily]

1. Boggles the mind how pervasive violations of the Fourth Amendment are.

And few seem to care. Then again, what does one do?

[Scuba]

2. Boy oh boy! Just wait 'til Obama hears about this!

[BeanMusical]

5. Lol!

[LanternWaste]

14. No doubt, the Democratic candidates have been working furiously on this as well...

No doubt, all of the Democratic presidential candidates in positions of leadership and governance have been working furiously on this as well, and if not, well... we'll imagine a creative yet righteous rationalization as to why we hold them to lower standards.

[Jesus Malverde]

3. This has been going on for ages.

The dumbasses at the post office could at least turn this into an electronic notification service for customers. Especially those with PO boxes.

[4dsc]

4. I get mostly junk mail and bills

so have at it.

[Phentex]

9. I feel like it's gotten worse...

I get catalogs from places I've never ordered from and ones I haven't ordered from in years. Glossy picture books, oversized brochures, etc. The money that they are spending on printing and mailing must be huge. Good for the post office I guess. Or has the post office sold my name and address to them?

[pangaia]

13. Ever try to stop junk frm AARP?

HA ! That's a joke !!

[zomgitsjesus]

12. Go ahead and give up your right to privacy...

I think I'll keep mine, thanks. Some people value their rights more than others I suppose.

[littlewolf]

6. /s "if you have nothing to hide, what is the problem?" /S

I want everyone to know that the above statement is sarcasm

[marble falls]

7. Isn't it a shame you have to add the sarcasm boilerplate?

[Pacifist Patriot]

8. No kidding!

[GoneFishin]

10. Another reason RWNJ & corporatists hope to privatize it before they have to answer any questions.

Ethics, moral restraint, and the legal code have proven not to be relevant to the government forkers who gets woodies coming up with new ways to collect every bit of information that is none of their fucking business.

I am sure that they are already electronically reading the inside contents of some, if not all, of our mail. Basically, they are only restrained by the limits of technology. So any type of privacy intrusion that is technologically possible is already be used against us. The idea that morals or legal boundaries are respected or feared by them is a joke.

[LiberalArkie]

11. I would bet that some asshat never sent notice to someone.

Any organization will keep doing something it is told to do until someone tells it to stop.