It's not about you. It's about a system that tracks and monitors everything people do. It creates an environment where some very scary things can happen.

So the police traced the crime to the accused through other means. Can we read this to mean. "The NSA supplied their emails and phone calls to Composite Effects to the FBI/NYPD and told them to not say where the got the info, say that they got that wiretapping info legally."

He's not leaking it. He gave copies of the files to the Guardian months ago.

You had me at least accepting your particular opinion, albeit not quite agreeing (based on my understanding of the amendment in question, its true purpose, and how other laws can/can not legally affect or trump it) up until,

No, I think a Republican government would act just the same, thus why I didn't vote for a Republican President.

You don't seriously believe that a Republican government would act differently, do you? If anything, they would stomp even harder on your rights...

Not sure why the President went all right-wing on us, but it's happened. This is not what I voted for.

Obama did have an opportunity to veto the extensions of FISA and the Patriot Act, albeit, it is true that other parties (legislative branch) were the ones to put these things in motion.

You're naive to think that this has little to do with with the President. Although he, himself isn't doing this, the President did extend and expand the Patriot Act back in 2011, making this situation, and the NSA, possible.

I think you're more ignorant than you realize. Our government loves terrorist, it's what lets them make more and more laws to "protect us".

Right, but Obama made absolutely no moves to fix things after he got elected. He just continued and expanded all the surveillance infrastructure.

And yet, if this had happened 6 years ago, all we would have heard was about how Bush is to blame.

"change we can believe in"

Seems like the government is the terrorist in this case. I guess because of the patriot act they just lost all their rights.

Wow. Hows that "hope and change" thing workin out for us under ol' Barry?

Oh god, yes. They're literally dangerous people, they can't understand why you don't have to be hiding anything to not need someone snooping around in your shit. All of my e-mails are above board and PG, but I don't even want my mom reading them, it's a privacy thing!

To be fair, it is sometimes difficult to look your best when you are traveling on a budget. I always tried to have a change of "nice"clothes, however I generally wore and packed clothes that were easy to wash and didn't need that much care and I probably looked crazy half of the time. When I am traveling for work or…

I'm half-American. I was born and raised here. I lived for two years outside of the United States. I LOATHE THE TERM UGLY AMERICAN! Why you ask?

It's pathetic. But probably most pathetic is that they have been doing this since 2003.

Notice how every breach of our privacy and/or other liberties is always a "critical tool" that is needed to "protect" us? Uh huh. Yep, both parties. Time for some real opposition to this garbage.