This situation that is now being debated in the Senate not only confuses me but makes me a bit angry.

There seems to more to the program than we expected. There seems to be less than what I thought in success stories. There seems to be a chance of a lot of information being garnered by the government. Seems to me like the lawmakers all want to do the right thing on this, so we just wait and see.

Many say the House bill is to watered down.

In any case, if anyone is interested I offer a link to debate.org which presents some of the plus and minus of it, and the chance to vote (seem like the internet is just one big polling data place...great isn't it because you know how honest these folks are that fill these out)

Do the benefits of domestic surveillance by the NSA outweigh the harms? | Debate.org

As I watch the debate on CSPAN concerning the NSA, I feel compelled to mention that it is certainly, unique, maybe even fresh to hear Republicans and Democrats agreeing on things.

Not all, mind you, but the individuals who stand and support a person of the other party is something you haven't seen in quite some time.

Sen Wyden (D) of Oregon now defending Sen Paul (R) of Kentucky.

The senate will take no votes tonight, so the Patriot Act will expire at midnight.

Originally Posted by Guest

The senate will take no votes tonight, so the Patriot Act will expire at midnight.

Looks like just for a few days

Looks like America does not want people following them! Surveillance powers to lapse without Senate action Sunday - AOL.com

Originally Posted by Guest

This situation that is now being debated in the Senate not only confuses me but makes me a bit angry.

There seems to more to the program than we expected. There seems to be less than what I thought in success stories. There seems to be a chance of a lot of information being garnered by the government. Seems to me like the lawmakers all want to do the right thing on this, so we just wait and see.

Many say the House bill is to watered down.

In any case, if anyone is interested I offer a link to debate.org which presents some of the plus and minus of it, and the chance to vote (seem like the internet is just one big polling data place...great isn't it because you know how honest these folks are that fill these out)

Do the benefits of domestic surveillance by the NSA outweigh the harms? | Debate.org

Dear Guess: The balance between freedoms and the policies to preserve those freedoms is indeed a delicate balance.

In a perfect world it would be crystal clear but this is not a perfect world.

Ask anyone who has done investigating for a living or tried a lawsuit and you will find that they all ran up against many of the best at artful dodging. Some being investigated that can look you straight in the face and say Yea I did it now prove it.

The problem with the NSA debate is the same problem facing many debates instead of measured thought and intelligent deliberations we end up with with people who decide because their deciders are more interested in getting re-elected then the decision at hand. And so when government chooses they usually choose wrong.

Personal Best Regards:

The NSA will do whatever it has to d garner any info that has potential to be or contain a threat to the USA.

Back to the days prior to 24/7 news.....
Back to the days when our secret organizations did not have to worry about PC or special interests or privacy invasion howls.

Back to the days when something needed to be done, it was done......without being put up for the world to offer opinions of like or not like.

Back to the days when those sworn to protect us did just......without seeking popular support first.

It is so obvious how we are operating does little more than constrain those who would protect us.

We did not grow and protect this country to what it is today by populist rule. However it is the populist formula that is deteriorating and emasculating the country.

NSA and others will do what they have to do.....let us hope they are right more often than not......as in the past.

We are critical of the NSA for data gathering. We don't have a problem with all the personal information on us gathered and sold to the highest bidder. Check out Intelius, Google Maps. Surf the web and that is tracked to fill your search with ads and popups.
If our intelligence community is blinded briefly by misguided ideology the enemy is not.ISIS is gaining ground in the Middle East because it has mastered and leveraged the art of digital communication.

Originally Posted by Guest

Looks like America does not want people following them! Surveillance powers to lapse without Senate action Sunday - AOL.com

I think the American public is being childishly naive. Handcuffing nsa simply raises risk of terror attack. Better to have a few thousand dead Americans so that the idiot rand Paul can fundraise?

Besides it's also obvious snowden was recruited by the Russian Intel service. They deserve an award for Intel op of the decade ... very impressive

I think information from Snowden aided Russian Intelligence and Putin in moving forward in the Ukraine. Amateur historians may recall that the U2 spyplane was shot down in the 60's with information gleaned from none other than Lee Harvey Oswald. As you will find he defected to Russia and contacted the GRU. After he married and became dissatisfied with life in the USSR, he returned to the US. The rest is history.

Originally Posted by Guest

I think information from Snowden aided Russian Intelligence and Putin in moving forward in the Ukraine. Amateur historians may recall that the U2 spyplane was shot down in the 60's with information gleaned from none other than Lee Harvey Oswald. As you will find he defected to Russia and contacted the GRU. After he married and became dissatisfied with life in the USSR, he returned to the US. The rest is history.

Dear Guest: You are spot on and while the liberals laud Snowden our enemies are using the information he provided in numerous ways including cyber hacking. Snowden is a traitor and should be shot alongside Bergdahl

Personal Best Regards:

As a member of a medical squadron in the National Guard in the 70's I had to sign a document which included the potential for the death penalty if I revealed military secrets. The biggest "secret" I had was access to the Base Commanders blood pressure readings.
Times really have changed.