NSA collecting phone records of millions of Americans daily

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Didn't they used to be called No Such Agency?

I don't know, let's ask someone who works there.

[laklak]

I love Dear Leader! He's just the bestest, most smartest, most understanding, most sympathetic man EVAR! Randy Newman knew all about him YEARS ago, and even wrote a song about it!

In America you get food to eat
Won't have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet
You just sing about Jesus, drink wine all day
It's great to be an American

I'm SO GLAD he's changing America from the horrible place it was under those awful Republican Haters to a Bright and Happy Country of Love and Equality! I'm HAPPY to pay 120% more for private health coverage with three time the deductible! I'm HAPPY my taxes have gone up by $2000 a year! I'm HAPPY the social security I paid for will go to somebody else! I LOVE cabbage soup and Victory Gin! I don't mind the NSA reading my emails and tracking my porn searches, after all, I have nothing to hide! I'm HAPPY he wants to take away all those horrible guns the Republicans forced me to buy!

I can't wait to join hands with every American and float down the Great River of Genderneutralpersonhood singing Kumbaya and loving Dear Leader!

[Azathoth]

It is just what they do. You can whine about it as much as you like and they arent going to stop. The best you can do is control things as much as possible from your end

Obama supporters didn't mind whining about stuff that are "just what they do" under Bush. Why is it wrong to whine now? Different guy in the White House?

Makes no difference who is is power. They will spy on their populace. always have, always will. It is just that the populace are making it extremely easy to spy on them these days. Shit, they wander around with tracking devices in their pockets . It is a spook's wet dream.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You and C.E.S. should get a room .

[Rum]

Apologies ids this is a duplicate (long thread), but it appears that GCHQ - the UK security HQ has also been using Prism in the UK too - in collaboration with the US. I sense a stink about to explode.

[Coito ergo sum]

I love Dear Leader! He's just the bestest, most smartest, most understanding, most sympathetic man EVAR! Randy Newman knew all about him YEARS ago, and even wrote a song about it!

In America you get food to eat
Won't have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet
You just sing about Jesus, drink wine all day
It's great to be an American

I'm SO GLAD he's changing America from the horrible place it was under those awful Republican Haters to a Bright and Happy Country of Love and Equality! I'm HAPPY to pay 120% more for private health coverage with three time the deductible! I'm HAPPY my taxes have gone up by $2000 a year! I'm HAPPY the social security I paid for will go to somebody else! I LOVE cabbage soup and Victory Gin! I don't mind the NSA reading my emails and tracking my porn searches, after all, I have nothing to hide! I'm HAPPY he wants to take away all those horrible guns the Republicans forced me to buy!

I can't wait to join hands with every American and float down the Great River of Genderneutralpersonhood singing Kumbaya and loving Dear Leader!

...generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth

The Dear Leader.

Never before had we cared for the sick. Never before had there been jobs. Before, we were injuring the planet, but now it is healing. We "ended a war" (yep - war on terrorism is now over and we are victorious). Our image around the world -- restored. Although we didn't care for the sick or have jobs for people before, we were still the last best hope on Earth, and now we will be again.

Thank you, B.Obama for everything you've done for us.

[Coito ergo sum]

It is just what they do. You can whine about it as much as you like and they arent going to stop. The best you can do is control things as much as possible from your end

Obama supporters didn't mind whining about stuff that are "just what they do" under Bush. Why is it wrong to whine now? Different guy in the White House?

Makes no difference who is is power. They will spy on their populace. always have, always will. It is just that the populace are making it extremely easy to spy on them these days. Shit, they wander around with tracking devices in their pockets . It is a spook's wet dream.

So, it's wrong then? They do it anyway, but it's wrong?

[Sean Hayden]

Didn't they used to be called No Such Agency?

I don't know, let's ask someone who works there.

[camoguard]

Go Obama! Matter of fact, I'd Roosevelt him and vote him in a few more times. At least until the Right side of Congress realized their job depended on working with him.

Why? Seems he is no less intrusive than the right side of congress, eh? Is this just about whose ox is being gored?

I don't think he's more intrusive. But I think it comes down to whose ox regardless. I'll vote party line Democrat -- except for one nutjob we have in Tennessee who is just a weird radical Right wing nut. I don't understand how he got into the party. -- until religion loses privilege. Specifically, I want to see more tolerance of no religion stances. I want to see zero tolerance for homophobia. I want arguments for gender roles to be subject to the most intense scrutiny so that we err on the side of viewing people of different genders as similarly as possible. I want support for transgendered recognition. I want a dedicated effort to analyze and improve our upward mobility so that children of the poor can become adults of an economic standing more befitting their efforts than their origins. I want universal healthcare. And I want people to have an easier time becoming American. I'd like to improve the ease at which we can leave America too but that's not something entirely in American control.

After that happens, I'm willing to look at parties for their other values.

[Coito ergo sum]

Go Obama! Matter of fact, I'd Roosevelt him and vote him in a few more times. At least until the Right side of Congress realized their job depended on working with him.

Why? Seems he is no less intrusive than the right side of congress, eh? Is this just about whose ox is being gored?

I don't think he's more intrusive.

Not sure how you can say that. His Admnistration had an IRS use its power to target conservative groups, and seized phone records of the Associate Press reporters in scattershot fashion on a fishing expedition to find out who in the Admnistration "leaked" information to the public. They issued a warrant against a news reporter who had not actually committed or even arguably committed an offense and grabbed his and his parents' phone records, dubbing him an "unindicted coconspirator." They seize all phone records nationwide from Verizon and other carriers, and demand the power to read anyone's emails anytime they want. How is that not "more intrusive"?

But I think it comes down to whose ox regardless. I'll vote party line Democrat -- except for one nutjob we have in Tennessee who is just a weird radical Right wing nut. I don't understand how he got into the party. -- until religion loses privilege. Specifically, I want to see more tolerance of no religion stances. I want to see zero tolerance for homophobia. I want arguments for gender roles to be subject to the most intense scrutiny so that we err on the side of viewing people of different genders as similarly as possible. I want support for transgendered recognition. I want a dedicated effort to analyze and improve our upward mobility so that children of the poor can become adults of an economic standing more befitting their efforts than their origins. I want universal healthcare. And I want people to have an easier time becoming American. I'd like to improve the ease at which we can leave America too but that's not something entirely in American control.

After that happens, I'm willing to look at parties for their other values.

Fine if you vote for them -- gotta vote for somebody. But, can you consistently oppose policies that are objectionable? Or, do policies become not objectionable because the guy you voted for does them?

[Tero]

Congress oversees the snooping. Tell your congressman that if the must snoop, they can only use the info to prevent (planned) criminal activity. They can't use it in court to show that you had (now, or earlier) marijuana in your trunk. They should not even get a warrant for your trunk unless there is cause to believe there is a body in there.

"I dumped the body in the East River" in your e mail could not be used in court.

[Coito ergo sum]

Congress oversees the snooping. Tell your congressman that if the must snoop, they can only use the info to prevent (planned) criminal activity. They can't use it in court to show that you had (now, or earlier) marijuana in your trunk. They should not even get a warrant for your trunk unless there is cause to believe there is a body in there.

Congress does not oversee the snooping, at all. They're not even informed of what snooping is going on.

Why wouldn't they be able to use it to show that you had marijuana in your trunk? If they are lawfully reading your emails and you say "I have marijuana in my trunk. Go to the house, get my keys and get the pot." Why wouldn't they go to your car and find the marijuana and then arrest you?

[Tero]

They do not have the manpower to look for milions of pot stashes! LOL

They have specific violent suspects to track. If one of them orders pizza from you, they will investigate you.

Field agent: it was just the pizza guy. No registered weapons, one pot possession on record. Drop him from the investigation.
(Pizza not related to national security, nor is personal pot)

Obama: Congress and Federal judges oversee NSA

[Coito ergo sum]

Obama: Congress and Federal judges oversee NSA

So.... good on them, then, eh? All is proper and appropriate in the surveillance being done. Whew! Since they're far more intrusive now than 6+ years ago, we can agree that Bush was either far more concerned about civil liberties or far less aggressive at stopping the so called "violent offenders" that NSA is busily tracking. B.Obama -- aggressively waging the war on terrorism like nobody's business! He'll leave no email box unscanned to keep us all safe.

[Warren Dew]

They do not have the manpower to look for milions of pot stashes! LOL

The NSA might not have time, but when they share the information with local law enforcement, it'll be open season.