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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Even The Author Of The Patriot Act Is Trying To Stop The NSA

It’s been about four months since Edward Snowden’s leaks on the NSA’s blanket surveillance programs outraged privacy and Internet activists the world over, spawning real-life protests, online petitions, and high quality parody videos. Some countries got so mad, they even talked of leaving the US-run Internet. Now, the policy may actually change. Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner will introduce an anti-NSA bill tomorrow in the House, and if it makes its winding way to becoming law, it will be a big step towards curtailing the NSA’s bulk metadata collection.

Wisconsin Rep. Sensenbrenner, along with 60 co-sponsors, aims to amend one section of the Patriot Act, Section 215, in a bill known as the United and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet Collection, and Online Monitoring Act—also known by its less-clunky acronym version, the USA Freedom Act.

Section 215 has been used by the Bush and Obama administrations as justification for broad spying activities. Rep. Sensenbrenner—who actually authored the Patriot Act—likened these blanketed spying activities to abuse. “The NSA has gone far beyond the intent of the Patriot Act, particularly in the accumulation and storage of metadata,” said Sensenbrenner in an interview with National Journal about the bill earlier this month. “Had Congress known that the Patriot Act had been used to collect metadata, the bill would have never been passed” as a response to the September 11th attacks

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr Snowden is one of the few "jerks" that slip through the very dedicated group of employees that make up NSA. The rest of us think about protecting our citizens. They don't all slip through and we are not all complacent. These people though do their best to protect you.

Anonymous said...

Horse Sh#T Ed Snowden told the truth about what the government is doing to people's freedom in this country. If you want hope and the change in your pocket you will wake up to the truth on what Obama is all about!! This is just the tip of the iceberg on the freedoms our vets have fought for that we are loosing every day. Just remember This my friend if your computer crashes just call the NSA and they can restore it for you!!!!!

Anonymous said...

You all are liars to the teeth and this is just to save face for the NSA but they will keep on doing what the keep on doing...

they have been spying and collecting data like this since the 60's or 70's and they want you to think its out of hand when, in fact, this is the same exact shit they had been doing for over 30+ years... NO ONE said shit then now did they? NOW all of a sudden you're outraged...

NOTHING WILL OR CAN STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING SO WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THIS GUY EVEN MEANS WHAT HE SAYS?

Remember how the politicians say what you want to hear to get your vote? remember that?

Notice how soon the mid-term elections are coming and how they keep saying all this shit they want to stop but never have or tried?

Remmer this, ONCE THE DEMS WIN THE HOUSE IN THE MID_TERMS you mind as well lay the fuck down in front of a truck and keep it moving... There will be NO WAY TO STOP ANY BILL AT THAT POINT FORWARD...

AND YOU THINK ITS BAD NOW, WAIT UNTIL THEN...

lmclain said...

I won't be as strident as 8:12, but you can believe that it's not going away. They are IMMUNE from prosecution for anything they do. Thats the law Congress passed decades ago. You haven't seen one iota of talk about charging any of them with crimes, and THAT is the reason. The NSA isn't even contrite. They go back to their ratholes and laugh at us. From satellites down to your e-mails, they are watching and listening. You think they are building a 2.3 billion dollar storage facility because they will quit this stuff in a few years? The only thing our "leaders" haven't done is hold an official ceremony in the White House where they burn the Constitution. Even Orwell would be amazed at what we've allowed to happen. And there is only ONE WAY to stop it now. And that's why we see the military practicing civil suppression in American cities. Practice makes perfect.