“Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficent.
— Justice Brandeis, Olmstead vs. U.S., 1928
“Though the people support the government the government should not support the people.”
— Grover Cleveland
And especially:
“The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.”
— Thomas Jefferson
NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants
cnet | June 15, 2013 4:39 PM PDT | Declan McCullagh
The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed “simply based on an analyst deciding that.”
If the NSA wants “to listen to the phone,” an analyst’s decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. “I was rather startled,” said Nadler, an attorney who serves on the House Judiciary committee.”
The head of the FBI, Robert Mueller, didn’t even know about this (or he was lying). From the article:
“Rep. Nadler’s disclosure that NSA analysts can listen to calls without court orders came during a House Judiciary hearing on Thursday that included FBI director Robert Mueller as a witness.
Mueller initially sought to downplay concerns about NSA surveillance by claiming that, to listen to a phone call, the government would need to seek “a special, a particularized order from the FISA court directed at that particular phone of that particular individual.”
Is information about that procedure “classified in any way?” Nadler asked.
“I don’t think so,” Mueller replied.
“Then I can say the following,” Nadler said. “We heard precisely the opposite at the briefing the other day. We heard precisely that you could get the specific information from that telephone simply based on an analyst deciding that… In other words, what you just said is incorrect. So there’s a conflict.”
As someone wrote:
“So, why are our private health records not as important as our private phone calls?”
The people may feel their “rights” are in danger, which they are, but on an individual level what actual effect do they see? Nothing much. So there is a disconnect between the danger and actually feeling the harm. It’s the same for lots of things, by golly they are agin that! But since they can’t point to something personally happening to them they end up not being motivated to do anything about the problem. Liberals live in this disconnected space, they flourish in it.
many folks don’t feel the excesses because they don’t pay the federal income tax. that is going to change with obamacare when everyone will get to deal with the irs. but it will be too late, because you can’t unscramble an egg.
Ah but you can throw the egg out and start again. I used to think people who said we need to burn it down and start fresh were crazy but now I see that unless we get rid of the dead wood and brush, no amount of tweeking is going to make it better.
The people of these united states have become like a frog in ever boiling water. The frogh does not even realize the water is boiling until it is too late. Well for us it is too late. The water is boiling. We are a dead nation and don’t realize the fact. Now the only thing left for us is to decide is wether we become two, three, or 50 nations. The north American peoples still share a common experience, and will still cooperate in trade. The cultures will diversify just out nature, but the heritage will be shared. The hardest thing will be to determine which country get the dinosaur with rocket launchers on their flag.
and yet obama got a second term. some of these folks came kind of late to the party.
“Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficent.
— Justice Brandeis, Olmstead vs. U.S., 1928
“Though the people support the government the government should not support the people.”
— Grover Cleveland
And especially:
“The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.”
— Thomas Jefferson
NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants
cnet | June 15, 2013 4:39 PM PDT | Declan McCullagh
The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed “simply based on an analyst deciding that.”
If the NSA wants “to listen to the phone,” an analyst’s decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. “I was rather startled,” said Nadler, an attorney who serves on the House Judiciary committee.”
The head of the FBI, Robert Mueller, didn’t even know about this (or he was lying). From the article:
“Rep. Nadler’s disclosure that NSA analysts can listen to calls without court orders came during a House Judiciary hearing on Thursday that included FBI director Robert Mueller as a witness.
Mueller initially sought to downplay concerns about NSA surveillance by claiming that, to listen to a phone call, the government would need to seek “a special, a particularized order from the FISA court directed at that particular phone of that particular individual.”
Is information about that procedure “classified in any way?” Nadler asked.
“I don’t think so,” Mueller replied.
“Then I can say the following,” Nadler said. “We heard precisely the opposite at the briefing the other day. We heard precisely that you could get the specific information from that telephone simply based on an analyst deciding that… In other words, what you just said is incorrect. So there’s a conflict.”
As someone wrote:
“So, why are our private health records not as important as our private phone calls?”
I love our Constitution. I hate our government.
The people may feel their “rights” are in danger, which they are, but on an individual level what actual effect do they see? Nothing much. So there is a disconnect between the danger and actually feeling the harm. It’s the same for lots of things, by golly they are agin that! But since they can’t point to something personally happening to them they end up not being motivated to do anything about the problem. Liberals live in this disconnected space, they flourish in it.
100% Founding Founders? Beats our losing loser of today
@5walruskkkch
many folks don’t feel the excesses because they don’t pay the federal income tax. that is going to change with obamacare when everyone will get to deal with the irs. but it will be too late, because you can’t unscramble an egg.
Ah but you can throw the egg out and start again. I used to think people who said we need to burn it down and start fresh were crazy but now I see that unless we get rid of the dead wood and brush, no amount of tweeking is going to make it better.
The people of these united states have become like a frog in ever boiling water. The frogh does not even realize the water is boiling until it is too late. Well for us it is too late. The water is boiling. We are a dead nation and don’t realize the fact. Now the only thing left for us is to decide is wether we become two, three, or 50 nations. The north American peoples still share a common experience, and will still cooperate in trade. The cultures will diversify just out nature, but the heritage will be shared. The hardest thing will be to determine which country get the dinosaur with rocket launchers on their flag.