Posted on 05/31/2015 5:26:15 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Security Agency will lose its authority at midnight to collect Americans' phone records in bulk, after an extraordinary Sunday Senate session failed to produce an 11th-hour deal to extend the fiercely contested program.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
I can live with this one.
Not a horrible weekend.
We got Open Carry and Campus Carry passed in TX before tonight’s deadline.
And very glad to see this NSA program expire.
It advanced the police state while doing nothing to make us safer.
Who knows? But my 4th Amendment has 13 and half years worth of jackboot prints all over it.
I just saw this in another article:
“McConnell’s announcement came after several tense exchanges on the floor with Paul, including a testy back-and-forth with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who repeatedly accused Paul of not knowing Senate rules for when he is allowed to speak. At one point, McCain even objected to letting Paul talk for five minutes, before relenting.
“He would be the worst candidate we could put forward,” the GOP’s 2008 nominee later told reporters about Paul’s presidential aspirations”
Now THAT is the sort of endorsement that makes you stand up and take notice!
Well done, junior.
I don’t think they care. Recall when Assoc Press found out they were being tracked. All hell broke loose for a few days, then they quietly reached some kind of understanding. Then no other news outlet followed up on the story and it was business as usual.
The kneepad media, including FOX, believes they will have a seat at the NWO table if they continue the propaganda and run interference for the tyrants. Maybe their right and maybe their wrong, but that’s what they think.
McCain...needs to retire...asap
They are pissing our hard earned dollars away. Besides our freedom from this Soviet era type civilian surveillance program, we need to address this monumental fiscal mismanagement by this government. They are killing our country, our retirements or kids futures.
I watch all this Hillary/Bill Clinton illegality and it is the epitome of all that's wrong in D.C.. Too much power, too much money, waste, fraud, special interest, corruption at all levels. D.C. is truly out of control.
And before I end, the executive branch using the IRS to attack American citizens and alter the outcome of an American election is frightening...down right tyrannical. That smug @$$ IRS director acting as if the IRS is untouchable really irks me. Abolish the IRS as Ted Cruz suggest and we Americans will be one step closer to taking this country back.
down right tyrannical. That smug @$$ IRS director acting as if the IRS is untouchable really irks me. Abolish the IRS as Ted Cruz suggest and we Americans will be one step closer to taking this country back.
AMEN and AMEN!!
Its all about the preservation and expansion of power. I do so wish they would read Orwell as literature and not as an instruction manual.
The American Revolution was precipated in part by general warrants which were despised and hated by the colonists. The Fourth Amendment forbade those general warrants which have become standard operating procedure by the government after the Patriot Act was signed in fall 2001 by Rove’s brain, er, Bush Jr. The FBI recently admitted to the DOJ Inspector General that the Patriot Act has not been responsible for thwarting terror plots or capturing any terrorists.
However, there’s this from the Wash Post:
“The FBI tripled its use of bulk collection under Section
215 of the Patriot Act, which allows government agents to compel businesses to turn over records and documents, and increasingly scooped up records of Americans who had no ties to official terrorism investigations.”
No harm done? Naive.
Meanwhile, certified members of the DC rodent class—Obama, McCain and McConnell—love the Patriot Act as is. Since 2009, Obama has signed two extensions of it without any changes. That alone should be enough to condemn the PA as a rotten law, an incendiary insult to the Constitution, that should never have passed in the first place.
The Orwellian named Patriot Act was so repugnant that sunset provisions had to be attached. Americans don’t like being spied on by their government. All citizens basically became suspects under the law after that Act was passed. That was the intended upshot of the Patriot Act which, according to FBI, hasn’t resulted in even one terrorist captured. Fourteen years of the Act and not one. Americans are citizens not suspects! They don’t like all their private correspondences, internet activity, financial transactions, and every private thing monitored, scooped up and saved by Big Brother to use one way or the other.
At least one elected senator had the guts to stand up to the Neo-Stasis. The other 17 that deserve applause are:
Senators voting to filibuster proceeding to the USA Freedom Act were all Republicans: Susan Collins of Maine, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Michael D. Crapo of Idaho, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Dan Coats of Indiana, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Paul, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Jodi Ernst of Iowa, Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Marco Rubio of Florida, Jim Risch of Idaho and John Thune of South Dakota.
“In the last 13 years, have any law abiding USA citizens or non-terrorists actually been harmed by this law?”
The intelligence communities were forbidden those powers from 1976 - 9/11 because of horrible abuses of their powers. The Church committee forbid such actions until the outrage of 9/11. They do not have a good track record.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO
As for recent abuses, the actions were declared unconstitutional in court. They withheld information from the Senate Intelligence committee and congress. Most actions also have gag orders on them due to a national security rubberstamp.
Do you really trust Barack Obama and Eric Holder that much? What about the next guy? Or woman?
They also want that power no matter what it takes because there's an election
coming up and those wiretaps will keep the Dems informed on the opposition. Watergate/Hillarygate.
Remember Reid on the floor spouting that he had information on Romney's taxes?
Yes, they'll stoop to anything. The only thing Reid admitted was he made it up,
but he didn't because he had insider information from the IRS. We know what
the IRS has been up to.
Doesn’t matter to define ‘harmed’; it matters they choose a tactic of the Left: prove a negative.
But, just to give fuel for the fire, I’ll site TWO cases where Citizens were harmed: Hasan (sp?) @ Ft. Hood and Boston Marathon. Both of which the P.A. did NOTHING to stop nor avert. Hell, Russia WARNED the U.S. re: Boston and they did **NOTHING**
It’s a pity that the simple English of the Constitutions is SO harm for some (even here) to comprehend. Next I’ll see is some rooting for more ‘common sense gun control’, because, you know, terrorists *spooky music*; no matter that the Fed. govt has ‘em bussed in and let loose, let alone keeping our Southern border WIDE open.
Note who isn’t on the list...Ted Cruz and Linda Graham.
And now you know why the gop wing of the uniparty wants to extend it as well. It’s all about intimidating your political adversaries.
Welcome to the new boss, same as the old boss.
You will never know what they used to develop evidence that is later used in court.
If it were not for this idiot that some call a traitor who is now living in Russia, you would not have known that the meta data collection program existed. In fact they denied it’s existence.
I had some issues with the Patriot act originally that had to do with a rogue government or official misusing the program as it was originally written, in spite of the FISA court protections, but it appears not that Obama dramatically extended the powers of the Patriot act without consulting Congress, (as per usual) so all the so called protections and congressional oversight was totally worthless!
If you trust Obama and his ilk with your rights and privileges, that is just peachy, but leave mine alone...
Remember that it’s all about the definition of a threat. It’s about who makes that call and why...
If you believe that that a FISA court, as currently set up by the Patriot act is sufficient oversight for this government we have today, then I have some ocean front property in Arkansas that I will give you a great price on.
Agree.
I was baiting the provocateurs but got no response.
-
What we know:
Information on every phone call is (was?) being collected
with a promise (cough cough) that no one will look at it
unless somebody thinks you might be “up to something”:
caller’s #;
recipient’s #;
time call placed;
length of call;
location of caller (via cell tower);
location of recipient (via cell tower).
Many just shrug their shoulders and say,
“Well, if you aren’t doing anything wrong,
then you don’t have anything to worry about.”
-
OK
Let’s put tracking devices in everyone’s vehicles,
and record where you go, how long you are there,
how fast you drive, how hard you brake, etc.,
with a promise (cough cough) that no one will look at it
unless somebody thinks you might be “up to something”.
Not a problem?
“Well, if you aren’t doing anything wrong,
then you don’t have anything to worry about.”
-
How about this?
Let’s put a camera in your home and record everything
that goes on and upload it to the cloud,
with a promise (cough cough) that no one will look at it
unless somebody thinks you might be “up to something”.
Not a problem?
“Well, if you aren’t doing anything wrong,
then you don’t have anything to worry about.”
-
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,
and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by Oath or affirmation,
and particularly describing the place to be searched,
and the persons or things to be seized.
Can I cite one person who was harmed?
Yes I can. I can’t prove it and rarely talk about it, but I was. I had personal issues with a man. Due to his military service he had connections in the intelligence community. Pulled my phone records in realtime, GPS tracked my phone, read my browser history, read my email, full background check uncovering obscure details that nobody knew, caused problems in my personal life...
Sounds outrageous and unbelievable. Like I said, I can’t prove it. But I know. And I’m pretty bitter about it.
If spying on average Americans is curtailed, and then later we have a major terrorist attack on our soil, Owebama wand Democrats will say it’s because they couldn’t spy - instead of the problem being the porous, totally unmonitored U.S. border.
Unfortunately, the Repubs will agree.
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