NSA Defenders In The Senate Flip Out Over Amash Amendment To Stop Dragnet
from the well,-look-at-that dept
Not surprisingly, the NSA's emergency lobbying to try to stop Rep. Justin Amash's amendment that will stop the NSA from its bulk data collection program under Section 215 of the Patriot Act (while allowing lots of other surveillance efforts to continue) has drawn support from the Senate's two biggest supporters of stomping out your privacy: Senators Dianne Feinstein and Saxby Chambliss. Together, they've put out a ridiculous statement defending the trampling of your Constitutional rights to support the efforts of the NSA and giant government contractors to spy on everything you do.The FISA business records program has contributed to disrupting numerous terrorist attacks against our nation.Name one. Seriously. To date, every example given falls apart under scrutiny, as it shows that the NSA's mass data collection program was not necessary. Furthermore, just because such a program was used doesn't mean the program makes sense. The bigger question is whether or not other, less intrusive methods, would have been just as effective and (more importantly) whether the country is okay with simply tearing up the 4th and 5th amendments. As stated, we'd probably stop lots of criminal activity if the government was able to put cameras in every room of every house. But we don't do that because there are costs involved -- such as giving up our privacy. Why won't Senators Feinstein and Chambliss even address this part of the equation?
It has been reviewed and authorized by all three branches of government and is subject to strict controls.Except that's not really true. Multiple people in Congress have made it clear that they were not told the full details of the NSA surveillance efforts. And while Congress did "authorize" the program, it was done with a very weak debate and (specifically) public speeches by both Chambliss and Feinstein that were clearly designed to mislead Congress and the American public. As for the "judicial" branch overseeing it, that's just the totally secret FISA court, with all of its judges selected by one man with no oversight or control, and with all of its decisions held in secret. That's not quite the "judicial oversight" that most of the public thinks is legitimate.
Since the public disclosure of the business records program, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has explored how the program can be modified to add extra privacy protections without sacrificing its effectiveness.They've done so in secret. The public hearings have been a complete joke with heavily misleading statements to outright perjury from intelligence officials.
We believe this debate in the Congressional Intelligence and Judiciary committees should continue and that any amendments to defund the program on appropriations bills would be unwise.Yeah, sure. We've heard this before. Feinstein got Senator Ron Wyden to drop his hold on the renewal of the FISA Amendments Act (which has been interpreted to allow part of this crazy excessive surveillance) by promising him that there would be a debate in early 2013. That didn't happen.
Feinstein claiming that there will be continued debate over this issue just isn't credible. It's the same line that she's used to shut down previous attempts to hold these programs back.
Feinstein, Chambliss and the NSA still can't show how these programs are actually constitutional or necessary. So they resort to their usual FUD. Hopefully, Congress realizes that the American public have had enough of this charade.
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Filed Under: dianne feinstein, justin amash, nsa, nsa surveillance, saxby chambliss
Reader Comments
The First Word
“Uh, huh... so? Does that make it moral, ethical, or responsible?
And legal because you say so in secret? If it's so legal, let it be challenged in public court.
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Urrrgh Feinstein
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The highest bidder
Hey, not a bad idea if you flip the positions. Treason for Feinstein? Remember, you heard it here first.....
But then, I really like using treason charges against someone who is selling the country down the river. Our enemies are not just foreign countries, you know. There are some who would purchase our liberties.
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Re: Urrrgh Feinstein
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Her & Saxby need a whole bag of clue biscuits force fed to them. Slingshot style.
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Oh wow, all 3 branches you say?
My concern is not alleviated because the government is OK with what it's doing. This is equivalent to:
Or
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Its legal Its legal! partyline partyline talking points.
*vomit*
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Re: Re: Urrrgh Feinstein
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I have the suspicion that if more were known about other projects not named or identified the American people would be just shy of up in arms over it.
No one has been creditable in presenting evidence of even why this mass data collection is even necessary. Those that have been trying to justify it have been caught in lie after lie, distortion after distortion, and justifications that even the most dullest can figure out is a smoke screen.
Without the honest truth, I would favor shutting the whole damn thing down, including bouncing those congresscritters out of office and firing every one of the public officials over these programs not elected until they realize only the exposure of the truth will save any of it.
Where are these GOP budget hawks when it comes to the blatant wasting of taxpayer funds for this spying? Funny there aren't many of them preening in the spotlight over this.
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Uh, huh... so? Does that make it moral, ethical, or responsible?
And legal because you say so in secret? If it's so legal, let it be challenged in public court.
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I think it's time to stop debating the false merits of their case...
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functional democracy
As long as the current NSA exists, we cannot tell whether our "leadership" is owned.
The way these things go, it's highly probable that they ARE owned.
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Re: Re: Re: Urrrgh Feinstein
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FFS
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What's stopping us...?
I'm not trolling. I just a guy who wonders why we continue to put up with this nonsense.
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Re: What's stopping us...?
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sometimes it just doesn't pay to get up in the morning
Of course, as an American citizen, I'm ashamed to say that I share the same nationality as a mindless piece of ambulatory feces like Saxby Chambliss.
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I'm not sure why California keeps electing this dinosaur - I guess the Democrats just refuse to put another candidate on the ballot, and too many idiots in California vote their party regardless of their track record.
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Even then, if she runs for Senate again, I assume my moronic state will elect her again.
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This situation is entirely different since it is impossible for anyone, not in the know, to give sufficiently specific ideas about how to make it tolerable. It is a world, where you have one side of the lobbying parties being heard and laughing at the other side stabbing in the dark to try and hit their opponents arguments.
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Response to: Anonymous Coward on Jul 23rd, 2013 @ 2:37pm
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Re: FFS
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Re: The highest bidder
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Rep. Justin Amash needs to be careful
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Re: Re: What's stopping us...?
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vote them out!
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/all/1
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