My first, my very first

Well, before you get excited, I'm talking about my first letter to the editor (just submitted, don't know if it will get published) and to our esteemed (dripping sarcasm there) junior Senator, Jon Kyl.

***Edit on May 17: Actually, this was my 2nd letter to a politician. When I was younger, I wrote a letter to the President when I was 10 or so to suggest that they make a new holiday. Paul Revere's birthday. He was born on January 1st, but I suggested celebrating it on the 2nd. I think it was to try and lengthen Christmas vacation from school by a day. I received a nice form letter from President Ford that essentially said "Great idea! No." (Yeah, I was much younger, lol.) Now back to your regularly scheduled opinion letter....***

Dear Senator Kyl:

It was revealed this week that the U.S. government has been gathering the phone records of millions of Americans. This has been done without probable cause or even rubber-stamp warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

During the resulting and unsurprising uproar over this, you, as an elected representative of the people whose privacy was so baldly violated, opined that “This is nuts. We’re in (a) war. And you’ve got to collect intelligence on the enemy.”

Later, on a Fox News talk show, you added “every cops-and-robbers show that you see in prime time talks about this same kind of thing. They have a telephone number. 'Let's run a trace and see who else he called or who called him.' It's standard criminal investigative practice.”

Perhaps on TV it is, but whether on TV or in reality, it is NOT “standard criminal investigative practice” to gather the records of everyone. The practice that you are referring to involves specific research into a specific person’s records, when a judge has determined that there is probable cause to do so, and has issued a warrant.

Senator Kyl, with all due respect, when did WE become the enemy?

Given your history of contempt for your constituents (remember calling us ‘dupes’ for passing The Drug Medicalization, Prevention and Control Act in 1996?), and now considering us ‘enemies,’ I have to ask you, do you really want to be our elected representative? If we are as foolish and even despicable as you have said, are we truly worthy of your services as our United States Senator?

Just something to think about as your re-election campaign gears up.

Your constituent,

Craig McDermott

Good night everyone!