Since we're at the end of 2006, I've been thinking about the past year. I've also been thinking about posting something on here since I still don't have any photographs to post. And then I realized, LJ was the one place I didn't post my diatribe against the FCC for its inaction earlier this year when the President decided breaking the law and violating the privacy of Americans wasn't such a big deal.

So, warning: Rant ensues, and I'm not putting behind a cut. Take whatever evasive maneuvers you have to.

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I don't blog much, but I do write letters from time to time when I'm pissed off. The ACLU has a form letter that one can send to The Federal Communications Commission, and it urges people to personalize the letter. So I did. :P

BTW, if you don't know that the government has illegally been collecting information on the calling trend of every American (and reading their email, too), then wake up and get a newspaper. Then, go write them yourself. The FCC can be contacted at:

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Kevin J. Martin,

I am writing to let you know that I've added my name to the ACLU's letter demanding a full investigation and appropriate penalties for any telephone provider cooperating with the government in illegal spying on Americans.

Your decision to abandon the FCC's important investigative role before it even begins is, to say the least, troubling. What's more troubling is the fact that the FCC is given relatively broad powers over the free speech of Americans yet is comprised of appointed -- not elected -- officials. Even more troubling is the fact that it spends much of its time in activities it was not created to oversee. This current situation and the FCC's willingness to look the other way to violations of the law make many wonder if it's time that the FCC be dismantled or reorganized.

I urge you to reconsider and to join with Commissioner Michael J. Copps in his call for an investigation into allegations that at least three telecommunications companies, AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon, cooperated with the National Security Administration in an effort to collect calling information and call patterns on every American.

Unlike the FCC's recent letter to Congressman Edward J. Markey suggests, there are substantial investigative powers that clearly fall within the power of the FCC. Lying, or being ignorant of, the FCC's abilities when addressing a member of Congress is yet another reason to question the veracity and integrity of the FCC and its officials.

It is a sad day when US government officials try to shield illegal actions committed outside the legal process with claims of "state secrets." And it's a sadder day when the FCC doesn't even attempt to investigate a flagrant misuse of the law.

When corporate officials break the law and the privacy of my personal records is at stake, I depend on the FCC to use every means at its disposal to investigate wrongdoing and protect consumers.

Before the FCC abandons any and all attempts to investigate what appears to be a massive and unprecedented violation of Americans' privacy rights, it should first demand and examine as much public and unclassified information as possible. The fact that it hasn't done so is very disturbing.

But perhaps the public is expecting too much when it expects the FCC to defend their First Amendment Rights because the FCC breaks the First Amendment every time it sets a fine for what it calls "indecency."

I use the phrase "for what it *calls* 'indecency'" because it obviously doesn't know exactly what indecency is (never mind that the FCC was not created to censor broadcasts, in the first place).

A former chairwoman of the FCC admitted just that when Kathleen Abernathy said it would be helpful for the FCC if federal judges would weigh in on the indecency standard. That clearly means the FCC doesn't know, by the very inconsistency of its rulings, what defines indecency and is looking for someone else to set a definition.

But has that stopped it from continuing to ascertain violations of something it can't even define, and in doing so violated free speech? Not to mention the time and money that has to be wasted in litigation against the FCC, tying up the time and resources of courts so that it can be ascertained why PBS was fined by the FCC for airing Martin Scorsese's documentary, which used the same language that was used in broadcasts of "Saving Private Ryan," yet broadcasters airing that movie weren't fined.

Do you understand the absurdity of the fact that court time and thousands of dollars are spent because the FCC goes ballistic when it hears the word "FUCK" yet it doesn't give a fucking damn about the government of the United States violating the privacy rights of Americans?

So maybe the problem really is that the FCC doesn't fully understand the definition of the First Amendment and why, when the White House illegally circumnavigates the law for convenience, the FCC is supposed to protect the public's First Amendment and privacy rights and not become a patsy for an inept and probably corrupt administration. If so, what better reason to fine the FCC for its obscene and indecent ignorance and to limit (or maybe a better word is "censor") its abilities and responsibilities?

I look forward to hearing back from the FCC regarding this matter, specifically addressing why the FCC has so failed in its duties to do its job and protect my privacy and the privacy of all Americans, and how it plans to rectify the situation.