Tuesday
May282013
WATCH: Obama Gets Heckled Over Guantanamo
WHY USE GITMO WHEN YOU HAVE DRONES
For anyone who hasn't seen this yet, start watching at 18 seconds. The Droner-in-Chief is heckled by Code Pink protestor Medea Benjamin about shutting down GITMO during his speech at the National Defense University last Thursday.
May 28, 2013 at 4:47 PM
Reader Comments (129)
From the handful of snippets I saw, the Monsanto protests looked like they were wide (global) but thin (a few hundred per city). I think the reason there wasn't any coverage, though, is that the protests were a one-off, and that doesn't work for a media that's not only concentrated in a few hands but also centrally scripted (as Jon Stewart has shown).
Think back to the Occupy protests. There was no coverage for the first 2 weeks. Then the movement was portrayed as a collection of ignorant liberal (or communist) kids who were angry about not getting what they wanted. That script was seemingly supported by footage from encampments around the U.S.
That script was untrue because it was wholly unrepresentative of what was actually happening. I say that having been to Occupy sites in 7 different cities (NYC, Boston, Charlotte, Louisville, Chicago, St. Louis, and Denver). For one thing, the median age was probably 30-35 and likely higher on the east coast. For another, the biggest complaint among protesters was a governement run by and for corporations. But how many news reports were about ordinary Americans overcoming their differences and uniting against fascism?
The point is that the 2-week radio silence in October 2011 gave the media time to brand the movement. The image the media chose was of stupid-sounding lefty youths whose appearances are objectionable in McMansionland. It could just as easily have been of highly articulate people protesting the Federal Reserve, but that would make the TV watchers feel insipid and dumb.
But ultimately you're right, Sage. The shorthand version of the Monsanto protests could have been: People Against Eating Poison. Any idiot would get that, but it might upset the advertisers.
Fine so you don't think that "Ignorant liberal (communist) kids" can be in their thirties.
And your basic premise is that corporations are "Facist".
You are full of it, and this coming from a Detroit born Jazz performer, ( And Mensa member) who has witnessed his one time world-class Metropolis home town be destroyed by "Ignorant liberal Comunists", types such as your own "Ignorant liberal communist self.
I think saying that people in their 30s are not kids is reasonable.
"And your basic premise is that corporations are 'Facist' [sic]."
That was not my premise. Is reading comprehension [and spelling] not included in your Detroit curriculum? It's the merger of corporations AND GOVERNMENT that's fascist. Please pay attention.
As for Detroit's demise, I have bad news for you, rube. It was never world class. To the extent it failed to achieve any pretense as such, you can thank your corporate heroes who changed GM from a car company into a subprime credit card company, as well as the captains of industry who spearheaded Nafta.
Did you join Mensa before or after TV turned your brains into tuna fish?
Back at the Boston marathon, the Chechnyan's back pack left behind is shown in numerous stills and video recordings INTACT, long after the crowd and confusion had gone. No one seems concerned about it still leaning there against the mailbox a few scant feet from where the bomb went off. Meanwhile, a black back pack is seen in shreds, and Wall Street and the banking system continue to be looted for The City of London,which is the main objective of these coordinated sacrifices and deceptions..
Here is one from left field. Was the funding of Yale Skull and Bones Society member Mao tse T'ung by the Rothschild bank to create a vast labor force under a strong loyal central authority just as an effort to sustain City of London Economic superiority, or has China thrown off the influence of the central bank? Was the destruction of the American economy and nation the goal by the disenfranchisement of America's conscientious professional labor force? Are Chechnyans lesser mortals, suitable for framing and thievery of their oil resource? Why send all the hard earned American capital to European drones in exchange for derivative based remunerations? Why the fuck do people tolerate this crap? Remember mom's four lies. You are perfect, safe, handsome(or pretty), and smart. The CFRtv is not your friend.
New poster and instead of commenting and presenting a lucid arguement, we hurl invective at this person and run him the fuck outta here. Just classic.
I've waited a couple of days to watch this only because I knew his condescending folksy bullshit would piss me off.
On another level, though, this was pretty fun to watch.
To summarize: But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism...
Now where have I heard that? No matter. We have a new addition to your fine list, namely, Obama's appointment of James Comey to head the FBI.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/29/politics/fbi-director-nominee/index.html
Key quote: "Currently, Comey is a board member of HSBC Holdings..." HSBC, of course, is the criminal UK bank that the DOJ says is above criminal prosecution. Now, this criminal UK bank has been rewarded for its crimes with one of the loftiest positions in the DOJ. I wonder if the rubes among us might want to reconsider their opinions on American fascism.
Son of a b***!
"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism..."
Hey, that sounds good! Is there more where that came from? Sounds like the author of that piece was leading up to making some kind of point. Something along the lines of, When such and such happens, these are the consequences. Wonder what he was getting on about?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/30/james-comey-fbi-bush-nsa
So now we know what Obama's remedy is for the DOJ's secret subpoenas of press phone records: bypassing courts and warrants altogether with direct taps on private communications.
Now THAT's a change you can believe in.
Obama Declares Excessive Campaigning Causes Logjam Politics While At Campaign Fundraiser In Chicago
Obama - olitics doesn't work because people are doing EXACTLY what he is doing, campaigning too much. This is just UNBELIEVABLE!
http://www.isthatbaloney.com/obama-declares-excessive-campaigning-causes-logjam-politics-while-at-campaign-fundraiser-in-chicago/
www.isthatbaloney.com
Obama Declares Excessive Campaigning Causes Logjam Politics While At Campaign Fundraiser In Chicago
Obama - Politics doesn't work because people are doing EXACTLY what he is doing, campaigning too much. This is just UNBELIEVABLE!
http://www.isthatbaloney.com/obama-declares-excessive-campaigning-causes-logjam-politics-while-at-campaign-fundraiser-in-chicago/
www.isthatbaloney.com
Interrupt his speeches, THROW SHOES at him. Let the world see that we REJECT BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES.
He keeps promises to his special interest employers and almost anyone willing to pour money on the D.C. politicians. It's the american way! Lie like hell to get elected then screw the voters anyway the special interests want them screwed. All the while amending the Constitution and Bill Of Rights to keep them powerless to do anything about it.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35159137/ns/politics/t/hw-bush-visits-obama-white-house/#.Uafuo5WfYQI
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/AGSEBMPTCMAHDFS
I mean really. From $5+ trillion down to EXACTLY $1.00 trillion in the space of like a week or two? I know the Fed screws around a lot, but I'd like to think I'd have at least a vague recollection of a $4 trillion Copperfield job. Wtf???
I feel certain that the collateral rehyopethecation game, coupled with the superpriority that collateralized derivatives counterparties enjoy over unsecured creditors (like bank depositors) will end the same way. All we need is some "event" to cause a blip in the markets to set off the collateral grab to end all collateral grabs (which the media will blame on people opposing bailouts, btw)...
Sage--if memory serves, DB did this last year. There was a long hiatus, followed by a return, followed by a mini-hiatus. At least I hope the last few days are a temporary thing.
Instead of shorter leashes for the Constitution hating NY cops they're going to open season on people who stand up for their rightsf, and to protect you the government needs to hear everything you say on the phone.
http://rt.com/usa/us-police-harrassment-crime-308/
http://rt.com/usa/nasa-collecting-millions-verizon-records-291/
Kennedy makes me long for a President who screws women rather than the Citizens.
"I lied when I said I was not a conduit between President Kennedy and the Mafia," says Judith Campbell Exner, the same woman who first shocked the nation 12 years ago with the revelation that she had had an affair with the President while he was in the White House. "I lied," Exner continues, "when I said that President Kennedy was unaware of my friendships with mobsters. He knew everything about my dealings with Sam Giancana and Johnny Roselli because I was seeing them for him. I wouldn't have been seeing them otherwise. And I would never have known mobsters if it hadn't been for Frank Sinatra.
"For the past 25 years I have been terrified to tell the truth about my relationship with Jack Kennedy," says Exner, speaking from a hotel room in Newport Beach, Calif. "In fact, I've gone to great lengths to keep the truth from ever coming out, which is probably the only reason I'm alive today. With the exception of Sinatra, all the key figures involved in my story have been murdered."
The Dark Side of Camelot - Affairs, Scandals & Feuds, John F ...
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,2009837...
Feb 29, 1988 ... Former Lover of John Kennedy, Judith Campbell Exner, Tells at Last of Being a Courier to the Mob for the President.
If you're surprised, you're wildly uninformed of this administration's horrible practices. Tripwire is possibly even scarier, revealed via Wikileaks. Do some research about your wonderful government's practices and the now institutionalized forms of McCarthyism that exist.
William Binney
The Government is Profiling You: William Binney (former NSA) | ...
www.civic.mit.edu/blog/schock/the-government-is-profiling-you-william-binney-fo...
Nov 26, 2012 ... On Monday, November 19th, former NSA official William Binney gave a talk hosted by MIT's CIS Group, entitled The government is profiling you ...
NSA Whistleblower: Everyone in US under virtual surveillance, all ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuET0kpHoyM
NSA Whistleblower William Binney Explains NSA Surveillance ...
www.businessinsider.com/nsa-whistleblower-william-binney-explains-nsa-surve...
Here's the link to a very good article on Bluffdale Data Center
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/
http://investmentwatchblog.com/obama-presidency-is-in-meltdown-nyt-the-obama-administration-has-now-lost-all-credibility-the-huffington-posts-brutal-front-page-george-w-obama/
On that note, we (Barb and I) have been dogging a pretty significant development in our latest project. Over the last 2 weeks, My (Yahoo) e-mail correspondence has repeatedly been send back with an error message saying it took too long for the server to send it. I now have no doubt about what is going on and feel that the headline is too kind to this administration.
There are connections to a major broadband/media/renewable/petro-chemical/ aviation/concrete/banking and electronics company to a lot of this. This concern is definitely in partnership with gov dot com.
Just a reminder:
Obama calls Bush Unpatriotic,& Irresponsible
http://youtu.be/3CMy2M32g4k
It took Bush 8 years to rack up 4 trillion in debt where Obama has added 7 trillion
2008: Obama vows to reverse Bush laws. Please watch the ease that Obama shows while outright lying!
http://youtu.be/AzgNf9iZ2Bo
Obama reminds us that he taught Constitutional Law.
65 Outrageous Lies by President Obama
http://youtu.be/kg9m1F8B2_c
NSA SPYING PART !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elb80xou8Zg
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DS4nFy1NXA
Echelon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON
Long Running, Long-Known NSA Illegalities & Long-Ignored NSA Whistleblowers
http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2013/06/07/the-united-states-of-america-a-four-branch-police-state/
[in toto]
Yesterday a long-known but long-covered up report on the extent of NSA’s illegal spying on millions of Americans was made public. Interestingly this outrageous American scandal was revealed and reported not by an American media outlet but by one outside the United States. That alone should tell you a lot.
The National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of America’s largest telecoms providers, under a top secret court order issued in April.
The order, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, requires Verizon on an “ongoing, daily basis” to give the NSA information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the US and between the US and other countries. The document shows for the first time that under the Obama administration the communication records of millions of US citizens are being collected indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing.
…
I characterize the report as long-known and long-covered up because over eight years ago this scandal was exposed and related to the US Congress and media by long-ignored whistleblowers.
Interestingly, shamelessly, half-accurately, and indirectly the elected traitors known as the members of the US Congress have already admitted that much:
The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday said senators were informed of the administration’s sweeping surveillance practices, which they said have been going on since 2007.
…
“Everyone’s been aware of it for years, every member of the Senate,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
…
I say half-accurately because they have intentionally provided a wrong date. They have known about this particular illegal operation, in addition to several other equally explosive illegalities, since 2005; thanks to long-ignored truth-telling NSA whistleblowers.
As the founder and director of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition I became aware of at least two NSA truth-tellers who tried to alert Congress and the US media to these illegal government operations. I personally assisted them in their desperate attempts to reach and brief the appropriate congressional offices.
I can only divulge the identity of one of these NSA witnesses who courageously came forward publicly-and dearly paid the price for doing so. As for the others-their internal battles continue to date.
On December 22, 2005, I made public the following press release (the release was sent to all appropriate congressional offices and spineless members of the US mainstream media):
Former NSA Intelligence Analyst & Action Officer Urges to be Heard by Congress Regarding Unlawful Conduct by NSA
Russ Tice, former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence analyst and action officer, has sent the following two letters to the chairs of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees. Mr. Tice intends to report to Congress probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts conducted while he was an intelligence officer with the National Security Agency (NSA) and with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). These acts involved the Director of the National Security Agency, the Deputies Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and were conducted via very highly sensitive intelligence programs and operations known as Special Access Programs (SAP). SAP programs and operations are more commonly referred to as “black world” programs and operations. Mr. Tice was a technical intelligence specialist dealing almost exclusively with SAP programs and operations at both NSA and DIA.
Mr. Tice stated: “As a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) officer it is continually drilled into us that the very first law chiseled in the SIGINT equivalent of the Ten Commandments (USSID-18) is that Thou shall not spy on American persons without a court order from FISA. This law is continually drilled into each NSA intelligence officer throughout his or her career. The very people that lead the National Security Agency have violated this holy edict of SIGINT.” A pivotal question in this case is whether Americans were being spied on via a vacuum cleaner approach wherein vast amounts of information are sucked in. FISA warrants require a name of the target and would not cover such a mass approach. He also added: “In addition to knowing this fundamental commandment of not violating the civil rights of Americans, intelligence officers are required to take an oath to protect the United States Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic. It is with my oath as a US intelligence officer weighing heavy on my mind that I wish to report to congress acts that I believe are unlawful and unconstitutional. The freedom of the American people cannot be protected when our constitutional liberties are ignored and our nation has decayed into a police state.”
“These actions by the current administration are a compulsion to secrecy, an expansive view of presidential authority, and reluctance to answer to the people and Congress. Woodrow Wilson, himself no novice concerning secrecy, claimed that it is a ‘fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety’. That is a presumption that we have been called upon to suspend in the name of national security, but with recent disclosures that suspended judgment appears to have been unwise. We urge the congress to hold hearings and let patriotic witnesses like Russ Tice testify,” stated Sibel Edmonds, the director of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC).
…
To read the entire press release and our letters to the US Congress Click Here
So what does all this tell us?
That the Executive Branch of the United States of America has been illegally and continuously engaged in surveillance of all its citizens.
That the United States Congress has been briefed and reported on this illegal-unconstitutional surveillance, and has readily gone along with it- as collaborators.
That the United States Federal Courts have been sitting on the side-lines, and allowing the continuation of the illegal-unconstitutional surveillance of United States Citizens.
That the media in the United States has firmly positioned itself as government- collaborators in this illegal-unconstitutional practice against the citizens of the United States.
And finally … that the citizens of the United States of America are in a position to decide to act or not to act against this Four-Branch-Police State.
National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC) press release re: Russ Tice.
http://nswbc.org/Press%20Releases/NSA-RussTice.htm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- December 22, 2005
Contact: Sibel Edmonds, National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, sedmonds@nswbc.org , Tel- (703) 519-3640 or Michael D. Ostrolenk, Liberty Coalition, mostrolenk@libertycoalition.net, Tel- (301) 717-0599
Former NSA Intelligence Analyst & Action Officer Urges to be Heard by Congress Regarding Unlawful Conduct by NSA
Russ Tice, former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence analyst and action officer, has sent the following two letters to the chairs of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees. Mr. Tice intends to report to Congress probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts conducted while he was an intelligence officer with the National Security Agency (NSA) and with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). These acts involved the Director of the National Security Agency, the Deputies Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and were conducted via very highly sensitive intelligence programs and operations known as Special Access Programs (SAP). SAP programs and operations are more commonly referred to as “black world” programs and operations. Mr. Tice was a technical intelligence specialist dealing almost exclusively with SAP programs and operations at both NSA and DIA.
Mr. Tice stated: “As a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) officer it is continually drilled into us that the very first law chiseled in the SIGINT equivalent of the Ten Commandments (USSID-18) is that Thou shall not spy on American persons without a court order from FISA. This law is continually drilled into each NSA intelligence officer throughout his or her career. The very people that lead the National Security Agency have violated this holy edict of SIGINT." A pivotal question in this case is whether Americans were being spied on via a vacuum cleaner approach wherein vast amounts of information are sucked in. FISA warrants require a name of the target and would not cover such a mass approach. He also added: “In addition to knowing this fundamental commandment of not violating the civil rights of Americans, intelligence officers are required to take an oath to protect the United States Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic. It is with my oath as a US intelligence officer weighing heavy on my mind that I wish to report to congress acts that I believe are unlawful and unconstitutional. The freedom of the American people cannot be protected when our constitutional liberties are ignored and our nation has decayed into a police state.”
"These actions by the current administration are a compulsion to secrecy, an expansive view of presidential authority, and reluctance to answer to the people and Congress. Woodrow Wilson, himself no novice concerning secrecy, claimed that it is a 'fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety'. That is a presumption that we have been called upon to suspend in the name of national security, but with recent disclosures that suspended judgment appears to have been unwise. We urge the congress to hold hearings and let patriotic witnesses like Russ Tice testify,” stated Sibel Edmonds, the director of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC).
Michael Ostrolenk, National Director of the Liberty Coalition agrees with Mrs. Edmonds and stated further “I am glad to know that Mr. Tice takes his oath to the Constitution seriously. He obviously knows that his obligation is not to this or any Administration but to our Republican form of government with its proper checks and balances and to protect the rights it was instituted to secure.” He continued “This is less about a particular Administration and more about the natural tendency for government to become destructive to the very ends it was created to fulfill. I hope that Congress takes it oversight responsibilities seriously and investigates Mr. Tice’s allegations in an open and non-partisan manner.”
Here is the letter by Mr. Tice, sent on Dec 18, 2005, to the Senate & House Intelligence Committee:
Dear Chairman Roberts,
Under the provisions of the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act (ICWPA), I intend to report to Congress probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts conducted while I was an intelligence officer with the National Security Agency (NSA) and with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). These acts involve the Director of the National Security Agency, the Deputies Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, and the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
These probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts were conducted via very highly sensitive intelligence programs and operations known as Special Access Programs (SAP)s. I was a technical intelligence specialist dealing almost exclusively with SAP programs and operations at both NSA and DIA.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of these programs and operations, I will require assurances from your committee that the staffers and/or congressional members to participate retain the proper security clearances, and also have the appropriate SAP cleared facilities available for these discussions.
Please inform me when you require my appearance on Capitol Hill to conduct these discussions in relation to this ICWPA report.
Very Respectfully,
Russell D. Tice
Former Intelligence Officer, NSA
Tice, Russ; Former Intelligence Analyst & Action Officer, Air Force, Naval Intelligence, DIA and NSA
Russ Tice worked technical intelligence issues as an all-source analyst, systems instructor, special programs expert, technical missions operations action officer, tasking agent, field intelligence on-site analyst and liaison, and advanced capabilities officer. Known as a stickler for technical detailed analysis and “by the book” on security regs. After returning from a temporary overseas assignment in 2001, he observed that a DIA coworker exhibited the classic signs of involvement in espionage. After quietly reporting this, his suspicion was quickly dismissed by DIA’s counterintelligence (CI) office. He continued to observe activity to suggest there was a problem and reported such. He returned to the National Security Agency and, busy with the Iraqi War, dropped the issue. When noting a report that FBI CI agents availed secrets to a China source for sex, he questioned the FBI’s competence. NSA retaliated by having him declared crazy, revoking his security clearance, and terminating his employment in May 2005.
About National Security Whistleblowers Coalition
National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC), founded in August 2004, is an independent and nonpartisan alliance of whistleblowers who have come forward to address our nation’s security weaknesses; to inform authorities of security vulnerabilities in our intelligence agencies, at nuclear power plants and weapon facilities, in airports, and at our nation’s borders and ports; to uncover government waste, fraud, abuse, and in some cases criminal conduct. The NSWBC is dedicated to aiding national security whistleblowers through a variety of methods, including advocacy of governmental and legal reform, educating the public concerning whistleblowing activity, provision of comfort and fellowship to national security whistleblowers suffering retaliation and other harms, and working with other public interest organizations to affect goals defined in the NSWBC mission statement. For more on NSWBC visit www.nswbc.org
About Liberty Coalition
The Liberty Coalition works to help organize, support, and coordinate transpartisan public policy activities related to civil liberties and basic human rights. We work in conjunction with groups of partner organizations that are interested in preserving the Bill of Rights, personal autonomy and individual privacy.
The Liberty Coalition is concerned about the threat to Americans' fundamental and inalienable rights. The Coalition is dedicated to upholding and protecting our basic rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In order to accomplish our task, we seek to protect those freedoms as articulated in the Bill of Rights. We base our concerns on the fundamental values and principles of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, particularly the separation of powers and federalism, and Bill of Rights. These are also embodied in the 14th amendment, especially the due process and privileges and immunities clauses.
www.libertycoalition.net
http://www.npr.org/2013/06/07/189430565/reports-nsa-mines-servers-of-u-s-internet-companies
http://www.businessinsider.com/israelis-bugged-the-us-for-the-nsa-2013-6
IMO
NSA employees involved in this should be fired and subject to criminal and civil legal penalties. FISA judges should be investigated and possibly impeached. Members of Congress and the Senate who knew about this and said nothing should be removed from office and the President should be impeached.
The 4th Amendment requires probable cause and a warrant describing the specific items to be seized. A program which collects data on all Americans is a blatant violation and must not go unpunished.
Give Snowden a medal. Arrest and prosecute the criminals in government.
Cheyenne and Josie may of heard of them as a lot of customers had orders that looked for things like mis-use of copyrighted trademarks etc..
Right now I know they will get this and I will use the confines ascribed by them to include mere mention. (i:mm)... Here are a few examples:
(Burrelles, Burrelles) or (Burrelles, The company). Those words must be used in the same article or interview, the name mentioned twice or the name mentioned once and 'the company" (implication) . Sometimes they exclude mere mention to save the client money (at the clients request). Others may include photo's with story (PWS), or just a photo.
They will have this comment in a matter of minutes or hours but rest assured, this has been going on for decades. I am certain that they were the first to develop the software for media monitoring (internet in the mid to late 80's) but have been in the business of televison, radio, magazine and newspaper monitoring for decades.
How do I know this, during electricity de-regulation, I had to shut my business down and work for them 2 years.
There were many people who voted for Obama because he was going to STOP this.
We know how that worked out.
This isn't about Obama per se. He's just the latest in a long line of functionaries doing the bidding of the leviathan, especially egregious only in the sense that he came to power specifically promising that he was going to reign in these type of excesses. Sadly, being a liar doesn't make him unique or special amongst our so called political elite- it merely makes him typical.
When a government just rubberstamps every document generated by the military or the spooks or the federal agencies or the executive branch as "classified," then they can operate in secret with impunity.
This guy revealed that government spooks are harvesting the cell phone data generated every day by every American with a cell phone. They are pretending that this is somehow for protection against "terrorism," but in truth it just gives them the ability to know who everyone in the country associates with, what they did at any given moment in the past and where they can be found in case the police want to pick them up.
Snowden learned about this, was sickened by it and found a way to let the American people know the truth. Americans who understand the Constitution in general and the 4th Amendment in particular should consider the guy a hero. The members of the Executive Branch and Congress who allowed the unconstitutional and laughably named Patriot Act go forward, and then FISA, are the real traitors here.
I am not quite ready to give up the 4th Amendment!