Posted on 06/11/2013 12:49:03 PM PDT by cotton1706
Sen. Lindsey Graham would propose censoring Americans' "snail" mail if he thought it would help protect national security, the South Carolina Republican said Tuesday. But for now, he says he doesn't think it's necessary.
Faced with questions about the disclosure that the National Security Agency has been collecting phone and email records of citizens, Graham pointed to a World War II-era program in which the federal government censored mail. He said it was appropriate at the time and that he would support reinstating the program if it aided security efforts.
"In World War II, the mentality of the public was that our whole way of life was at risk, we're all in. We censored the mail. When you wrote a letter overseas, it got censored. When a letter was written back from the battlefield to home, they looked at what was in the letter to make sure they were not tipping off the enemy," Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill. "If I thought censoring the mail was necessary, I would suggest it, but I don't think it is."
The Guardian newspaper revealed last week details of a government surveillance program enacted in response to terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, that secretly collects digital communication data from U.S. citizens. The source who provided the information to The Guardian, a Hawaii-based former government contractor named Edward Snowden, fled to Hong Kong and his whereabouts are currently unknown.
The new details about the program have sparked a debate over civil liberties and the extent of lawful government surveillance. On Tuesday, Graham suggested that Americans should be more willing to give up certain civil liberties to prevent future terrorist attacks.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
If they cared about national security they would secure the border and stop willfully importing terrorists.
The country would be a lot safer if people needed permission to leave there homes, and need to file an itinerary of where they were going each time they left their house.
Lindthey’s emailth and webthiteth have already got him in trouble with the N Eth A.
Graham pointed to a World War II-era program in which the federal government censored mail.
Yeah, well they rounded up Japanese Americans and aliens alike, and put them in detention camps too. Is Graham going to propose rounding up muslims and putting them in camps too? Or will that just be reserved for conservatives/Christians?
Mark
Trey Goudy is the answer were are looking for.
Word on the street here in SC is Trey might run against Linda Graham.
Hey, it's worked wonders for the dems, especially Barky. Just go out and knowingly lie your @$$ off, parroting what focus groups have told you that specific audience wants to hear, and promise them everything they want and more.
Like Roger Waters wrote in "Dogs," "You have to be trusted, by the people that you lie to. So that when they turn their backs on your, you'll get the chance to put the knife in." (Cue amazing David Gilmour guitar solo. Yes, Waters is a commie pos, but the lyrics really fit here.)
Mark
C’mon SC, don’t fail the rest of us.
As long as we put up with islam, we are not “all in” you pathetic excuse for a representative.
Lindsay Graham is John McStain’s sock puppet. They both want endless wars and jackboot surveillance. Nevermind rounding up and detaining american citizens without warrants.
I wonder if he would consider reinstating other programs from American history? Would he support evicting one ethnic group of people from their homes and marching them across the nation to some reservation out west? Would he support the buying and selling of one race of Americans so that they could pick crops? Would Sen. Graham support reinstating segregated public facilities?
Just because it was done in the past doesn't mean its a good idea, or consistent with liberty and freedom.
The two former NSA guys on Hannity said 911 could have been prevented.
I’m becoming a “truther”. Not that the government did it. But they knew about it. The knew about Ft. Hood. They knew about Boston. They probably knew about Sandy Hook and Santa Monica.
I agree. I’ll never support anyone who has an “r” after their name. If they run as a republican they’re going to act like republicans once they’re elected.
It’s so obvious congress is in on this. They DID know about the snooping. I’m afraid we’ll all live to see ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT.
The NSA spooks have been handed an impossible charge-protect America but don't look for Muslims.
The result is the rise of general warrants and non-particularized searches and seizures, both of which are grossly, facially unconstitutional.
I attribute 9/11 to utter incompetence.
We would know more about it but Sandy Berger stole the classified papers and destroyed them. Funny, he got probation and the same idiots are rabid for Snowden’s blood.
“Lindsey” See folks what you get with naming a boy with a girl name.
Worst those who voted for him.
Graham is out of the ballpark on this one as well as many of his elitist ideas as to non politician citizens. His own words show how shallow he is in his comparison in one aspect but how dangerous he is as to a free citizen in another aspect. In his own words he noted in WWII the censorship was limited to overseas/military correspondence as possible war ‘fodder’ for the enemy. As I recall, there was no censorship on USA mail unless there was a court established a need for such. My memory also, before and during my service time, tells me that ordinary citizens had no routine fear of the Government opening their intra-USA mail just to see what folks were thinking about the war. I suggest that the people in South Carolina do some serious examining of this guy if they need assurance of their own civil, Constitutional rights. At least keep his attitude only to their state.
Your screen name is how I feel.
STFU Linda!
It’s a new screen name. I’ve been here way more than 10 years but changed my screen name a few months back for personal reasons. And my new name is a perfect description. I am a very sad American and getting sadder every day.
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