Yes, you can know that about yourself. How do you know that about me, or anyone on this site or others? You don't and neither does the Gov't.
How do we stop more government invasions into our lives if we give in to them just because we know government already invades our lives?
We might consider winning this war. The letter-reading done by FDR stopped when the war ended, did it not? Or we can just appease terrorist and give up some of our rights slowly in PC ways. After all, no one really needs to see cartoons of the prophet (bless his holy blah blah) especially since so many are offended. We must understand their culture. Maybe it should be a hate crime to print his picture. /sarc. - Just another "right" given up. Some will give up rights "not to make them mad". I will give up some rights to defeat them.
But can you imagine where we'd be if the resources spent on compiling records on millions of average Americans actually were devoted to finding bin Laden? He's the ONE person we know who isn't calling the U.S. on his cell. He's the ONE person we know who isn't calling the U.S. on his cell.
Nope it isn't just about one guy...that's the Democrat strategy du jour. It's about a terrorist network that hides in many countries and uses technology to stay in contact with each other. How do you know he's not calling this country? How do you know he's not living in this country? If not him others? And of course the more we make a big deal about this, the more blind we become to their tactics, techniques and procedures.
How do you think those charged with defending the nation can "connect the dots" better? Are you willing to help?
I could think of a lot of ways. And they don't require getting an entire telecom's worth of calling data. In fact, I would suggest the government needs to work with less data, not more - develop a process to figure out what data really matters and filter out the rest.
Here's the thing...the letter-reading did not stop. This is the modern version of it, being supported on the basis of what a democratic president did sixty years ago and what Clinton did just a few years ago. What sort of basis will the next president need to search every home in the US, because government already invaded our lives during this president's term? What happens when Hillary, God Forbid, trumps up some cause far less noble than the War on Terror in order to take away even more rights? What sort of nation are we defending when we give up traditional American freedoms and values?
You're partially right, though. I don't know for certain that Bin Laden isn't living in America. I do, however, have faith in my leaders, however misguided the NSA intrusions are, that they're competent enough not to allow Bin Laden to hide in our own country. If you genuinely suspect otherwise, how can you defend anything the this White House authorizes--ever?
And yes, I'm willing to help. I don't know you, but maybe you're on the front lines, serving our country in Iraq or elsewhere. If so, God Bless you. Or, perhaps, you defend our country by contributing to the patriotic discussion on this board. As do I. And in my case, defense of the country must include defense of its traditional values and freedoms. God help us if we allow their erosion before a power hungry democrat takes power and does away with the rest of them.