What we haven't known, at least until The Guardian broke the story a few days ago, is that the government has been collecting the records of its own citizens, aided by major technology companies, since at least 2006:
The National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other US internet giants, according to a top secret document obtained by the Guardian.
The NSA access is part of a previously undisclosed program called Prism, which allows officials to collect material including search history, the content of emails, file transfers and live chats, the document says.
The Guardian has verified the authenticity of the document, a 41-slide PowerPoint presentation – classified as top secret with no distribution to foreign allies – which was apparently used to train intelligence operatives on the capabilities of the program. The document claims "collection directly from the servers" of major US service providers.
Source: The Guardian
It's one thing to collect information about those who are suspected to have links to terrorists, but it's frankly appalling to hear the the government has been collecting records of its own citizens - in complete defiance of Constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and guarantees of privacy.
Perhaps even more appalling, however, is the fact that many Democrats, who claimed to be so outraged when Dubya was doing this during his presidency, have tried to tell us that these new revelations are "no big deal":
“It is lawful. It has been briefed to Congress,” Senate Intelligence Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told reporters at an impromptu news conference in the Capitol. “This is just meta data. There is no content involved. In other words, no content of a communication. … The records can only be accessed under heightened standards.”
“I read intelligence carefully. And I know that people are trying to get to us,” Feinstein said. “This is the reason we keep TSA doing what it’s doing. This the reason the FBI now has 10,000 people doing intelligence on counter-terrorism. This is the reason for the national counter-terrorism center that’s been set up in the time we’ve been active.”
“And it’s to ferret this out before it happens,” she said. “It’s called protecting America.”
Source: TPM
No, Feinstein - it's called turning America into a police state in the name of national security".
I expect this kind of behavior from Republicans, who claim to care about the Constitution but have often been the first to violate it in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. I expect better from Democrats.
When I voted in 2008, I didn't just vote for Obama, but against the egregious power grabs and abuses that had happened on Dubya's watch in the name of 9/11: the
Now I find that Obama is not necessarily any better on these issues than Dubya. He puts on a good front for Democrats, claiming to be "transparent" and above the aggressive national security tactics while continuing many of the Bus-era programs.
It is, to say the least, disappointing.
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