Impeach the NSA
The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything. With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. If I wanted to see your emails or your wife's phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your emails, passwords, phone records, credit cards.
Edward Snowden said this just last year in 2013. The unconstitutional atrocity that is the NSA (National Security Agency) has not been ended since then. America and likely the world is being monitored by an agency of the United States government that has the ultimate power, information. Leaders and workers of the NSA should be punished heavily for millions of violations of the Bill of Rights and misappropriation of tax payers money.
A man named Gordon Adams who used to be a White House budget official stated that the budget for the NSA probably exceeds twenty billion dollars a year. While this number is not exact, because it cannot be due to the secretive nature of the NSA, the source is most likely close. In other words, the NSA drains twenty billion dollars from American tax payers to disservice the American tax payers. NSA Deputy Director John C. Inglis admitted that the NSA is permitted a “three-hop analysis” which means that if an American is the friend of someone, who is the friend of someone, who has a potential Egyptian terrorist on their Facebook friends list, the NSA can be investigating the American, in full. Imagine someone had 1 friend. Now imagine that friend has an average amount of friends and so do their friends. The one friend (1st degree of separation) will link them to one hundred and sixty three new people (2nd degree of separation), all of the ...
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...r, Daniel. "Tone-Deaf at the Listening Post." Foreign Policy. N.p., 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
"How the NSA's Domestic Spying Program Works | Electronic Frontier Foundation."Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFF, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .
Team, Guardian US Interactive, Kenton Powell, Greg Chen, and Gabriel Dance. "Three Degrees of Separation: Breaking down the NSA's 'hops' Surveillance Method."Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .
"NSA Program Stopped No Terror Attacks, Says White House Panel Member." NBC News. National Broadcasting Company, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .
The NSA is a U.S. intelligence agency responsible for providing the government with information on inner and foreign affairs, particularly for the prevention of terrorism and crime. The NSA maintains several database networks in which they receive private information on American citizens. The agency has access to phone calls, emails, photos, recordings, and backgrounds of practically all people residing in the United States. Started in 1952 by President Harry Truman, the NSA is tasked with the global monitoring and surveillance of targeted individuals in American territory. As part of the growing practice of mass surveillance in the United States, the agency collects and stores all phone records of all American citizens. People argue that this collected information is very intrusive, and the NSA may find something personal that someone may not have wanted anyone to know. While this intrusion's main purpose is to avoid events of terrorism, recent information leaks by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, show that the agency may actually be infringing upon the rights of the American citizen. Whether people like it or not, it seems that the NSA will continue to spy on the people of the United States in an attempt to avert acts of terrorism. Although there are many pros and cons to this surveillance of American citizens, the agency is ultimately just doing its job to protect the lives of the people. Unless a person is actually planning on committing a major crime, there is no real reason for citizens to worry about the NSA and it's invasion of our privacy. The agency is not out to look for embarrassing information about its citizens, rather, only searches for and analyzes information which may lead to the identification of a targe...
We all have heard the quote “Life, Liberty, Land, and the Pursuit to Happiness” and that is the promise of a life here in America. As Americans we pride ourselves on these freedoms that allow us to live everyday. We are one of the only countries that have this promise and it is what draws people from all of over the world to come here. Our founding fathers of the United States of America wrote these words, having no idea the impact that they would have for the rest of this countries history. Those words were the foundation for government, and it wasn’t perfect at first but slowly it matured into what we have today, strong and powerful. To other nations America is seen as the World Power, and a somewhat perfect nation to live in. Unfortunately corruption, scandals and controversies have tainted our once golden glow, and other nations are weary of watching their steps. One of the most controversial elements to our government is the NSA. Hidden in the shadows from American and global knowledge is what the NSA is actually doing and watching out for. Only very recently has the NSA been ripped from the shadows and brought to light what exactly is going on inside those walls. They are “spying” on not only America’s personal data, but foreign leaders as well. The NSA says it’s for the safety for everyone against terrorism and attacks. However, it has gone way to far and violates a constitutional right, privacy. The NSA has overstepped their boundaries, and spying doesn’t seem to make a difference in safety.
The feeling that someone is always watching, develops the inevitable, uncomfortable feeling that is displeasing to the mind. For years, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been monitoring people for what they call, “the greater good of the people” (Cole, February 2014). A program designed to protect the nation while it protects the walls within as it singles people out, sometimes by accident. Whether you are a normal citizen or a possible terrorist, the NSA can monitor you in a variation of ways. The privacy of technology has sparked debates across the world as to if the NSA is violating personal rights to privacy by collecting personal data such as, phone calls and text messages without reason or authorization (Wicker, 2011). Technology plays a key role in society’s day to day life. In life, humans expect privacy, even with their technology. In recent news, Edward Snowden leaked huge pieces from the NSA to the public, igniting these new controversies. Now, reforms are being pressed against the government’s throat as citizens fight for their rights. However, American citizens are slammed with the counterargument of the innocent forte the NSA tries to pass off in claims of good doing, such as how the NSA prevents terrorism. In fear of privacy violations, limitations should be put on the NSA to better protect the privacy of our honest citizens.
Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.
According to John W. Whitehead, “The fact that the government can now, at any time, access entire phone conversations, e-mail exchanges, and other communications from months or years past should frighten every American.” (Whitehead). The NSA
Whether the U.S. government should strongly keep monitoring U.S. citizens or not still is a long and fierce dispute. Recently, the debate became more brutal when technology, an indispensable tool for modern live, has been used by the law enforcement and national security officials to spy into American people’s domestic.
The NSA has been secretly ordered to eavesdrop by the Bush administration after the 9/11 terrorist attack. The base of where the NSA has been operating their wiretapping agenda is in Bluff Dale, Utah the building sprawls 1,500,000 square feet and possess the capacity to hold as much as five zeta bytes of data it has cost almost $2,000,000,000. The act of spying over the USA citizens even though they are suspicious is a threat to the people’s privacy and the privacy of other countries’ members are being infringed on by the NSA by the act of wiretapping. The action of wiretapping violates laws for privacy, like the Bill of Right’s Amendment Four which says “Every subject has a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches, and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions”. The wiretapping controversy has caused the panic and hysteria of the citizens of the USA and USA’s allies. This panic and hysteria has troubled the government by resulting to mistrust and concern against them by both groups. The panic effect of the NSA wiretapping has caused many people such as journalist to have their freedom of speech to be restricted in fear of the NSA to stamp them as terrorist and according to the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights that is an infringement of the people’s right of freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief.
The same surveillance state has become the new normal in America and is disturbingly recognizable today. Over six hundred state, local, and federal agencies conduct intelligence operations through Joint Terrorism Task Forces and Fusion Centers. In 2004, the ACLU discovered an FBI spying on political advocacy groups and found out that the FBI lied to hide these improper activities from Congress and the American public. The Senate report found the intelligence gathering at Fusion Centers was “flawed, irrelevant, unrelated to terrorism, and posed a serious threat to privacy (Rhode, 2017).” The Thought Police watch people in their public and private lives through the use of telescreens, microphones, and cameras and enforce loyalty and
Edward Snowden, the famous “whistleblower”, shocked the world with his revelations about the NSA’s database and the programs which allow the organization to access personal information not only of citizens of other nations, but also of citizens of the U.S. The most shocking revelation of all was not the existence of these programs, but the fact that the Obama administration allowed those programs to exist in direct violation of every U.S. citizen’s right to privacy.
here’s also a calendar on the phone, with all the information about where we have been and where we are planning to go. All this information is private and sensitive and this has to be protected carefully from criminals and hackers.
“Everyone is connected. Everyone is vulnerable.” Despite the 21st century 's myriad of beneficial technological advances, this same technology has been being used against us; most of us have access to the internet whether via smartphones, tablets, and/or computers which the government can use to spy on us. The government has told us that, under the Foreign Surveillance Act they would strictly spy on only those who are likely to be terrorists, but they have admitted that was a lie and admitted that they have been spying on everyone, violating both the First and Fourth Amendments (i.e. our privacy without our consent ). And after telling the “truth”, they have set off a chain of lies each time admitting what they previously said was wrong.
The National Security Agency, known as the NSA, is a government organization that was founded in 1952. They started spying on US citizens after the September 11 attacks, under President Bush, to try to prevent more attacks. Now, the NSA is collecting metadata, the data that is about data, and actual data, so that they can try to stop terrorists and other criminals (“Mass”). Although the NSA is trying to stop the criminals and terrorists, most of the time, they are unsuccessful. The NSA is fundamentally incapable of achieving its goals because of the endless nature of the internet, the incompatibility of the NSA’s actions with its ideals, and the negative stigma that the NSA possesses worldwide.
The government gives each American citizen a set of unalienable rights that protect them from the government’s power. These rights cannot be broken, yet the government violates the Fourth Amendment daily to find ways to spy on the American public under the guise of protecting against terrorism. In 2007 President Obama said the American administration “acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our securities – it is not.” Americans need to understand that their privacy is worth the fight. The people need to tell their neighbors, their congressmen, and their senators that they will not allow their internet privacy to be violated by needless spying. American citizens deserve the rights given to them and need to fight for the right to keep them by changing privacy laws to include Internet privacy.
According to Alternet Jim Hightower article "8 Terrifying Facts About NSA Surveillance.” In his days as an analyst, Snowden could get into any American’s internet – even the President’s (Hightower). The NSA has access to surveillance systems across the United States. People believe they are using them to spy on activities such as who you are calling, the places you are going, and what you do on the internet. This is not done to invade your privacy, but to protect and serve those in America. The government should be allowed to use surveillance to maintain order because cameras reduce crime rates, better our society, and furnish evidence and congregate indicators.
Recently the U.S. government has been criticized for intruding on people’s privacy. Our government has especially been invading our privacy after the USA PATRIOT Act was passed in 2001. It’s interesting that they are allowed to know what we are doing however they don’t have to disclose to us what they are doing. The organization Wikileaks have been releasing classified government information and videos since 2006 when it first started. Recently Devlin Barrett a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal wrote an article “CIA Aided Program To Spy on U.S. Phones” which was published by The Wall Street Journal on March 11th,2015. In it he explains the roles that the Central Intelligence Agency and the Justice department played in creating a