![\"congressional_watch_sidebar\"](\"https:\/\/missionvalleynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/congressional_watch_sidebar.jpg\")
<\/a>Law-and-order types insist that, in the course of a major investigation, it is imperative they be given access \u2014 provided they have a warrant \u2014 to private encrypted information. There is no guarantee that the information contained on that particular cell phone will prove valuable, but then again, it could provide a treasure trove of information on terrorist operatives and potentially prevent future attacks (the San Bernardino attackers have been linked to ISIS).<\/p>\nCivil liberties and privacy advocates, on the other hand, invoke the slippery slope argument, insisting that giving law enforcement agencies their requested \u201cback door\u201d to access private information will create a dangerous precedent, allowing unfettered access to anyone\u2019s private information at virtually any time, with or without just cause.<\/p>\n
To make matters worse, Apple argued, it would \u201cgreen light\u201d foreign governments, such as China and Russia, to dig into their citizens\u2019 (or American citizens\u2019) private data at any time, also. For if they were to provide this back door to the U.S. government, they would also have to do so for the government of any country where Apple sells their products.<\/p>\n
Darrell Issa (R-49)<\/strong>, who has become the go-to Republican when it comes to technology issues, used his platform at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, to discuss the issue. As founder of Directed Electronics, the car alarm company where he made his fortune, and the former chairman of the Consumer Technology Association prior to being elected to Congress in 2000, Issa is considered among Congress\u2019 leading experts in government and technological issues.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the government is successful in forcing Apple to help decrypt the phone in this case, it would create a dangerous precedent that would allow the government to continue coming back again and again to decrypt all kinds of devices in all kinds of circumstances, far beyond national security,\u201d Issa wrote in an opinion piece for Wired magazine.<\/p>\n Noting that law enforcement was not \u201cill-intentioned in their attempts to gain access to the information in this particular phone,\u201d Issa said that a company \u201cshouldn\u2019t be forced to weaken the integrity of their own products and subject customers to security vulnerabilities in order to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n In his own remarks to a gathering at the same SXSW festival, President Obama insisted that the issue was a complicated one and encouraged the two sides to find common ground for a solution. To those, like Issa, who believe the government should not be allowed access to private smartphones in any case, Obama said, \u201cThat, I think, does not strike the kind of balance we have lived with for 200, 300 years. It\u2019s fetishizing our phones above every other value.\u201d<\/p>\n Obama also pointed out that when they can prove probable cause to a judge, law enforcement has always been able to break physical locks, dig through your drawers and private belongings. Cell phones should be no different.<\/p>\n Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have taken similar stances on the issue, acknowledging the complexity of the issue and refusing to take sides, instead allowing the issue to play out in the courts. (The FBI recently, however, said it believes outside sources may have found another way to access the phone without Apple\u2019s help.)<\/p>\n Issa criticized the president\u2019s remarks as \u201ctone deaf,\u201d and that \u201che did not read the room in that part of the answer,\u201d calling the president\u2019s approach a \u201cdetriment to privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, it\u2019s a complex issue and should be treated as such.<\/p>\n On March 9, Susan Davis (D-53<\/strong>) and John Sarbanes (D-Md) held a roundtable discussion on money in politics at the Copley-Price Family YMCA in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego, where they introduced the Government By the People Act, an effort to combat the current campaign finance system that is dominated by wealthy donors and corporate interests.<\/p>\n The bill proposes a $25 tax credit for anyone who donates to a political candidate\u2019s campaign, and would provide a six-to-one matching donation. This new system would compete with and help offset today\u2019s \u201cbig money\u201d political campaign system.<\/p>\n \u201cA priority of the government should be to ensure people have a voice in elections because our nation is stronger when we\u2019re all involved in the decision making,\u201d Davis said. \u201cWe need to empower people and give them a role in the future of their country.\u201d<\/p>\n The visiting Maryland democrat invoked local concerns in his remarks about the bill.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s creating good jobs, education, health care or the environment, wealthy campaign donors and well-connected Washington insiders are blocking progress on the issues that everyday people in San Diego and across the country care most about,\u201d Sarbanes said. \u201cWe need to break Congress\u2019 reliance on big-money donors so that we can return to a government of, by, and for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n Juan Vargas (D-51)<\/strong> continued his push to secure the $248 million pledged in President Obama\u2019s 2017 budget to complete phase two of the Calexico Land Port of Entry and expansion project. Funds for phase one were included in the 2014 budget. A similar project to expand the San Ysidro border crossing has received full $735 million in funding for all three phases through 2019.<\/p>\n Cazador Duncan (R-50)<\/strong> continued his crusade to oppose the Pentagon\u2019s policies regarding women in combat. According to the Daily Caller, women have no idea what they\u2019re in for because this generation has never seen \u201creal\u201d war. Counterinsurgency efforts don\u2019t count, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBig war will happen again,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cI\u2019m telling you, you have not seen real war unless you\u2019ve seen \u2018Saving Private Ryan.\u2019 And when that day of total war comes, women will not be up to the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n