It's The U.S. Constitution, Stupid!

Investor's Business Daily ^ | June 10, 2013 | IBD EDITORIALS

[raptor22]

Scandal: An administration that has attacked our freedoms of speech and the press, and to peacefully assemble and petition for redress of grievances is drawing a bead on our protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

Since the beginning of the war on terror, we have heard various iterations of a famous statement by Ben Franklin from 1755: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

The Bush administration kept us safe after 9/11 through targeted use of the Patriot Act and its surveillance offshoots. If a phone number turned up on a terrorist laptop overseas, it made sense to look at who in the U.S. might have that number and what numbers called it or were called by it.

The Obama administration has thrown out all the rules, insisting that when you are looking for a needle in a haystack, it's OK to seize the haystack, keep it permanently on record and to look for whatever needle they want at any time they want.

They say they're looking for terrorists but can't find or stop those they have in plain sight. Such sweeping surveillance did not catch the "underwear" bomber who, thanks to sheer luck and alert passengers, failed to bring down an airliner over Detroit.

It did not catch the Tsarnaev brothers as they freely traveled to the terrorist haven they called home before bombing the Boston Marathon. It did not stop Maj. Nidal Hasan before he slaughtered U.S. soldiers and civilians at Ft. Hood. It has not found those responsible for the attack in Benghazi.

[Fitzy_888]

Good/short libertarian video:

NSA Surveillance: Don’t Care. I’ve Got Nothing to Hide.
http://youtu.be/N5VAgSdGnSQ

[cripplecreek]

I’m sick of oppression under the guise of security. In this case they aren’t even bothering with the security part.

Hell they’re busy figuring out how to erase our borders as they’re importing terrorists from the muslim world on a daily basis.

[grundle]

Here are 185 examples of Barack Obama’s lying, lawbreaking, corruption, cronyism, etc.

[raptor22]

IBD EDITORIAL PING

[Carry_Okie]

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

I wish to sharpen Mr. Franklin's maxim: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve will receive neither Liberty nor Safety in return for their betrayal of G_d and their fellow men."

[Gene Eric]

IBD is very good.

[Gene Eric]

>> Dont Care. Ive Got Nothing to Hide

Can’t stand that boot-licking phrase.

[Hotlanta Mike]

I’m sick of oppression under the guise of security. In this case they aren’t even bothering with the security part.

Hell they’re busy figuring out how to erase our borders as they’re importing terrorists from the muslim world on a daily basis.

---

If it was just about security, the would have “secured” the border by now. Instead they are using the TSA method of screening Americans in America. You should listen to Hannity’s radio interview of Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner today, who authored the Patriot Act.

[Iron Munro]

When Tamerlan Tsarnaev travelled to Russia for terrorist training, and while he and his brother, Dzhokhar, were
collecting bomb components and planning the mass murder of innocent Americans, Barack Obama and Janet
Napolitano had Homeland Security watching guys like this and monitoring the communications of honest Americans

[RFEngineer]

Apparently, and it’s early yet, Mr. Snowden was the ONLY person in the ENTIRE intelligence apparatus that was willing to call out violations to the Constitution and refuse to follow unlawful orders that violate the Constitution.

Now, if that bears out, the question then remains, how far down in the rank-and-file should the prosecutions go in the NSA? I think that anyone, no matter how deep in the bureaucracy, that participated in this gross violation of the American People should be prosecuted.

Will the “Nuremburg Defense” - Just following orders - be allowed?

These are sick people who trade money, lavish salaries and benefits for a willingness to spy on the American People, and then pretend it’s for our own good. They need to be prosecuted.

Secondly, the NSA must open it’s files to those whose privacy has been violated. They must make the unlawfully collected data on every American available for review upon request.

Then, and only then can we reconstitute the NSA with law-abiding people who take their job, and the Constitution seriously.

Just thinking out loud here.....

[raptor22]

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[faithhopecharity]

This deserves wider dissemenation by all..

[Diogenesis]

[Georgia Girl 2]

Oh boy Tokyo Rove is just beside himself trying to defend this carpola. Ditto for Bill Krystal and all the other usual RINO GOP elites. They love the big brother more than Obama does.

[Svartalfiar]

The Bush administration kept us safe after 9/11 through targeted use of the Patriot Act and its surveillance offshoots. If a phone number turned up on a terrorist laptop overseas, it made sense to look at who in the U.S. might have that number and what numbers called it or were called by it.

Sorry, but there were already mechanisms in place for this type of situation, and it involves a judge and a warrant. No reason the Patriot Act was ever needed.

Otherwise, yes, this article makes some good points.

[raptor22]

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[Texas resident]

Obama and his regime’s enemies are not America’s enemies.
His enemies are anyone who gets in his way domestically.

Punish your enemies and reward your friends.
Stand with Islam.
Never let a crisis go to waste.

And all the while, our country’s foreign enemies are watching and waiting.

[Graewoulf]

Impeachment File on Benghazi Coward “B. Hussein Obama,” formerly known as Barry Soetoro, a legal citizen of the sovereign Nation of Indonesia.

[New Jersey Realist]

If an alien or even an American on U.S. soil is plotting an act of terror in this country, I want the authorities to know about it so they can stop it. To achieve that we have various surveillance programs that can accomplish that. The fact that the acts mentioned in the article were not stopped only prove that either the actions weren’t discussed in emails or phones or the program is not strong enough.

Innocent people should have nothing to fear from their government. I could care less if a machine listens to everything I say in a speech, in my emails or on the phone, etc. Now if I was having an extramarital affair or something not affecting national interests then that is not the government’s business and it is the government’s job not to EVER mention that to anyone. Any abuse of this is rightfully rejected by the court system anyway. I personally believe the system is working and improvements should be made to make it stronger and more reliable. I haven’t heard of ONE SINGLE VIOLATION yet, have you?

Until there is a violation I look at it like this. I don’t mind God knowing my every though and action so if my actions are not terroristic, why should I care if government machines hear me?