When I first heard about the white house wanting us to snitch, I knew that was wrong. Now I also know it is probable illegal. Hope and change.

David, I check here everyday, thanks for all the great information.

Didn't anybody tell you that Obama won?

If the 4chan crowd gets ahold of that email address, oh the humanity.

I just wish the person who was reported as writing "fishy" stuff was paid the $5,000 fine. It probably goes right back to the govt.

If the 4chan crowd gets ahold of that email address, oh the humanity.

I want everyone to forward all of your junk email to flag@whitehouse.gov. Also send link of idiot democrats Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid recitng their talking points. Send any criticism of free speech to the site. We should make it useless by overwhelming.

So who is gonna sue to make it stop? Eric Holder?

Better yet, download the whole health care bill and email them the .pdf . That way they can actually read it!

I'm just waiting to hear "no controlling legal authority" again...

They are asking for fishy information, no mention of any desire to know who is saying it is being made. The snitching paranoia is worse than the birther stuff.

Dear Mr. Hardy: I'm puzzled. Suppose the White House had had Ms. Douglass say something like this:

"Got a question about the Prez's healthcare plan? email me at flag etc., and I'll answer it."

In her relies she gets one from a DailyKos email address that says after asking a techinical question, that Gregory Koster is a traitor to the republic because not only does he oppose The One's health plan, but he went to an auto dealer and tried to get $4500 for himself under the "Cash for clunkers" program on the grounds that he is a 1958 model that doesn't get the mileage it used to.

It seems to me that unless such emails are deleted without being read the law is being broken. I realize that the solicitation makes it obvious, but suppose the White House hadn't solicited the emails, but got them anyway. This could make constituent service tricky. Could you clarify how such emails could be used if not solicited?

Incidentally, don't try going to the auto dealer yourself. Wait till Obamacare is passed, then take gramma down there. She won't get healthcare anyway, and why not grab $4500 then? That will prove you are an upstanding citizen in the Age of The One.

Sincerely yours,
Gregory Koster

It would be too good to be true that someone would open a criminal investigation of the White House. Would be great fun if 50 million of us or so filed FOIA requests to see if we are in the illegal database...

Let's play their game and "overwhelm" the system by reporting ourselves by the millions. That should keep them busy for a while and make their game worthless at the same time.

This exactly how Hitler came to power in the 30's - obviously BHo read his books too in addition to Alinsky's!!

The White House "Flag" report on your neighbor is clearly illegal under the 1974 Privacy act and the 2001 Patriot Act, and is taken straight out of Hitler's handbook on how to take total control over a country. Fascism is a liberal method, not a conservative method. All of the fascist leaders where statist, Hitler, Mussolini or Franco were Social democrats.

Well they did say to report anything that struck us as fishy. So I did.:

Subject: fishy input about the proposed health care bill

Being a patriotic American when I read your call for stool pigeons to turn in our neighbors, families and friends who might disagree with the administration's proposed revamping of the health care system in the United States, I felt it my duty to apprise you of the sources of the fishy things I have heard.

I cannot list here all of those who have offended my olfactory nerve with their piscatorial aroma, but I can and will rat out the ringleaders. I hope you appreciate the risk I have exposed myself to, in order to comply with your request.

Now, to the ringleaders of the finned finaglers of fully functional fraud perpetrated on the American people and their health care system. The list below begins at the very top of this cabal of culpable curiosities calling themselves concerned caretakers, (obviously a misnomer designed to mislead).

1. Barack Hussein Obama- president of the United States of America
2. Joe Biden- vice president of the United States of America and president pro tem of the Senate
3. Harry Reid-majority leader of the Senate of the United States of America
4. Nancy Pelosi- Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America

This list is not complete, but these are the leaders of the "fishy" movement currently misinforming the American populace. I do hope, sincerely, that this will be a help to you in bringing the weight of the administration to bear against these ringleaders of the disinformation campaign to ruin the finest health care system in the world.

My very best wishes to you in stopping these miscreants from achieving their nefarious goals.

Sincerely,
Charles H. Sawders.
Doddridge, Arkansas

"I can't see how gathering this information is expressly authorized by statute, nor within the scope of an LE activity. It doesn't get much clearer than that."

What if the Truth Squad of Missouri sheriffs and prosecutors steps in? Does it become a law enforcement activity then?

I just went and forwarded 5 emails (jokes, ads, economics articles) to the website. Do it every day and pass it on to your friends. Please delete the address of whoever sent it to you first.

If the 4chan crowd gets ahold of that email address, oh the humanity.
-Anonymous

Looks like they've already got it. ;>

Dan:

The problem is that the White House site doesn't say what they plan to DO with the information they're given. And when you "forward" an email, do you typically cut and paste the content into a new email, or do you just click "Forward"? Because if you just click "Forward," voila, provenance information goes along too.

This is the administration that came to office via, in part, technological effort involving a massive database of SUPPORTERS. This is also the administration that has (oh, soberly, responsibly) determined not to "waste a good crisis." What do you think they'll do with a good list of those who disagree with their policies?

And lets not forget the Alien And Sedition Act that effectively destroyed the Presidency of John Adams when he tried to do similar strong arming of citizens:

"The Sedition Act – Any conspiracy against the government including riots and interference with officers would result in a high misdemeanor. This went so far as to stop people from speaking in a “false, scandalous and malicious” manner against the government." Link.

I suspect that the White House, if they've even thought about it, is taking the position that the Office of Health Care Reform is NOT a "federal agency" and therefore not subject to this statute.

I'm just wondering by PETA hasn't spoke out against using "fishy" in such a manner as to disparage the dignity of fish.

Just where in the Constitution is the fed allowed to 1) pass the Privacy Act and 2) spy on the people? I'd like direct answers using exact clauses of the Constitution.

Tiocfaidh ar la!

Obama's on his way out. And good riddance.

This Snitch on Americans program is just evidence of the fear he must be feeling, having awoken the People from their American Dreams to this national nightmare he wished to foist on all of us.

I'm remembering how fearful and angry some folks were when they thought someone might check up on what we were reading at the library.

Are those same folks now worried about an actual request from the government to report on citizens, directly? Yeah, sure they are..........

Just wondering - If info on two or more citizens has been gathered without their permission, can a RICO suit be filed against the White House labeling the administration a criminal organization?

You know, there is a fun way we can do this, and I wish I had a coded robot who could do this for me, but:

Let send pictures of fish to the white house. Lots and lots of pictures of fish. Overwhelm the servers, and maybe they will get the point that we are the ones in charge.

Hmm... I read blogs on a similar topic, but i never visited your blog. I added it to favorites and i'll be your constant reader.

http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0208.html or http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0033.html seem somehow appropriate

Barack Hussein Obama I AM Nashua Dan "Live Free or Die"

Flag to WH, report on 'fishy' letter regarding health care reform:

Due to ever-increasing control of our profession by government regulations and lawyers, making proper care of our patients impossible, we are closing our medical practice. When government determines what health care citzens may (or may not) have, physicians cannot keep their oath to "First, do no harm".

We wish you luck under whatever system government decides will be most 'cost effective' for the proletariat."

Sincerely,
J. Gone-Galt, M.D.,
Goin Fishin, M.D.,
et al

Under the Privacy Act, there was a question whether Obama's "disinformation czar" counted as a federal agency. In the code sections you cite, the statutory definition of an a federal agency is explicitly broad, encompassing any government "establishment," thereby including any ad hoc "czar" established by the Obama administration:

“agency” as defined in section 551 (1) of this title includes any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory agency;

One odd note: the opening of §552a says that the definition of "agency" used in §552a is stated in §552(e). That is wrong. It is actually stated at the beginning of §552(f).

If you want to say any thing you can as long you due not slander. But if you due not like what the US Gov't is doing “We The People” have every right to say how we thank and run our Got't. With the “snitch line” it is taking a way from the 1st amendment "freedom of Speech and freedom of press”. Leave the Health care alone. This is out obscured that congress would even listen to Obama about this “Our hard earned money that we work for the, Gov’t can take money out of our bank account (unlimited access) and use it for the health care plane that Obama is pushing for and fight. Obama let’s keep out current helth plne and privet. KEEP THE OLD HELTH CARE

Of course anything posted over at DailyKos, Huffington Post, government union, UAW and the ACORN sites are pretty fishy, and the government should be informed right away....heh

They all need a good "end of life counseling". Send in the Black helicopters now. I for one. would like to give our new overlords a welcoming they will never forget!

If this is such a good idea why, why is congress not joining into the plan? They don't have to pay into it. They don't have to pay into social security either. Congress has it's congressional pension plan. Very generous too, I'm told.

Nacy Pelosi is not going to use a government run clinic. What, and acutally have to be near real people? That's icky, she might catch something.