“Do Americans truly believe that the agencies tasked with the huge job of preventing another terrorist attack on this country really spend their time siftng through the average citizen’s emails and phone calls? I’d be glad to give them mine if they need something for insomnia.”
You are a fool. They collect it all. They will use it against you as soon as they want to. Any comment you made, any site you visited any number you called over decades will be available for them to infer charges against you and make a one-sided case against you. It will be used anytime you are deemed an enemy of the state to fabricate a case for your crimes.
“Seriously, I think we are in more danger from hackers than intelligence gathering agencies.”
Intelligence agencies are now the most egregious hackers. Are you reading and paying attention?
Do you have curtains in your home? Why? Do you have something to hide?
Any violation of being secure in our persons and property is a strike against our Constitution.
Do you personally know anyone who has been charged with a crime from information gathered under the Patriot Act? If so, did they commit a crime?
We all know someone who has been the target of hackers stealing credit card info. Most of us have been victims ourselves.
I support the USA Freedom Act as a replacement to the Patriot Act, BTW.
I'm pretty sure phone calls, email, internet action taken in this house isn't studied/targeted since a family member works there looking for terrorists. We're just old family members with one of us having worked at the Pentagon years ago. There is no doubt we are true Americans so they wouldn't waste their time on us.
That said, I'd like to see that searching of emails, listening to phone calls and searching for words you say on the internet, go away. They don't have the right to do any of that. They are supposed to get a judge's order to do that but I've read they have special judges set aside to quickly issue the order. I read somewhere they seldom get turned down by these secret judges.
Obama and his Homeland Security is another matter. I'm sure I'm on their list of possible prepper domestic terrorists since I have written so much about prepping on another website. I say nuts to you, Homeland Security.
I do know, some way, every Republican candidate or those considering running, stuff my email box and I didn't knowingly, give any of them but Cruz access to my email. I would bet many of you are also on their lists, too, and you don't know, either, how they got it.
I think the only way I can be free of all this, is lock my door and stay off the internet including stopping emailing and never make a phone call. That's a crummy option and I'm not doing it.