I think part of the reason politicians anger me so greatly is the simple fact that they’re not consistent (well maybe one or two are consistent). Take for example Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont. Leahy has introduced, S. 1011, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2011 which in part would require the government to obtain a search warrant before going to online data service to acquire information on customers. Oh wait I understand why somebody who voted in favor of the PATRIOT Act renewal would introduce this bill, it also expands government power:
The bill isn’t absolutely free of problems: although it clearly would require a warrant for ongoing tracking of your cell phone, it would also and unfortunately preserve the current statutory rule allowing the government to get historical records of your location without probable cause. It also expands the government’s authority to use National Security Letters to obtain rich transactional data about who you communicate with online and when, without probable cause or court oversight. You can count on EFF to press for these problems to be fixed, and for all of the DDP principles to be addressed, as the bill proceeds through Congress.
I was wrong as there are no mixed messages only one consistent message about authoritarianism.