Movies

On the recommendation of Jewish Atheist, I rented and watched Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. It's a great documentary that really points out the weaknesses of our corporate culture and a government that encourages it. These disciples of deregulation that worship at the altar of the free-market drank a bit too much of their own Kool-Aid. The scary thing is that there is no reason why this can't happen again. We have lobbyists for industry writing legislation and all-too-willing Congress that looks the other way.

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I was flipping around channels on TV this Saturday and stopped on a movie that I'd seen before and thought was OK (good Hollywood fluff) but hadn't not really given much thought to afterward: Enemy of the State. A re-watching of the movie cast it in a different light. When I first saw it (1998), it seemed like a nice thriller based on a wacko conspiracy theory type premise. After all, some of the details of the movie seemed pretty far-out:

- Corrupt politician with ties to the NSA
- domestic spying by the NSA because justified because of a perceived threat by foreigners living on our soil but instead used for political purposes

Far-out then. Oddly prescient in hindsight. Here's an exchange early in the movie between the Will Smith character and his wife (they are both lawyers and are watching a newscast of a politician being interviewed):

SENATOR TASKEN (TV)
This is no longer a theoretical
problem, it's a reality. Turn on
the news. Bombings, hostages--

DEAN
He's got a point.

STACY
Bobby!

DEAN
Not a very good one, but--

STACY
So you tap everyone's phone? You
use computers to probe financial
records? New Search and Seizure laws?

DEAN
Just for the criminals.

STACY
We won't suspend the civil rights
of the good people.

DEAN
Right.

STACY
You should take this seriously.

Dean's response, while amusing and done in a kidding manner, is an all too common response by people today in response to their current NSA spying news.

An exchange that ends the movie should be the real response that people pose. The movie closes with a fake Larry King interview with the politician where Larry King says: "Congressman Albert, how do we draw the line... between protection of national security, obviously the government's need to obtain intelligence data, and the protection of civil liberties, particularly the sanctity of my home? You've got no right to come into my home."

Trivia: The NSA character played by Jon Voigt coincidentally has a birthdate of 9/11/40 ... ironic considering when the movie was made)

In related news, I applaud the stance that Google has taken to stand up to the Department of Justice's request for a random sampling of search data for normal citizens. Again, the government tries to justify it and say that they are using the data to track down sex offenders. But nothing is stopping them from using the data for whatever purpose they want:

Phone calls, e-mails, and now search data. Where will Bush stop?

A line has to be drawn somewhere. I've used this quote before, but I think it bears repeating:

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin