Big day tomorrow for all of us – at 10:30 a.m. in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan, the American Civil Liberties Union will present oral arguments challenging the constitutionality of the NSA’s mass call-tracking program. This is one of several cases filed around the country by various organizations against NSA, National Security Agency, or as it is also known No Such Agency.
In another case filed in LA in July of this year by Electronic Frontier Foundation on behalf of 22 organizations FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH OF LOS ANGELES against NSA three of Congress’s most staunch defenders of Americans’ privacy rights — Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) — filed an amicus curiae brief in support of plaintiffs stating that they "have seen no evidence that the bulk collection of americans’ phone records has provided useful intelligence unobtainable through less intrusive means". It is hard not to believe them because as members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senators Wyden and Udall have for years participated in the oversight of government surveillance conducted under the Patriot Act which "they knew would astonish most Americans". They tried to warn the public about NSA activities without disclosing classified information. The Senators refer to numerous statements they made at the Senate hearings like this one "“Congress is granting powers to the executive branch that lead to abuse, and, frankly, shield the executive branch from accountability” made by Senator Udall in May of 2011 (157 Cong. Rec. S3258, daily ed. May 24, 2011). Senators appealed to the court "Because the government’s call-records program needlessly intrudes upon the privacy rights of hundreds of millions of Americans, Amici believe the bulk collection of these phone records should be ended.".
This is the third case since 2006 filed by Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) against NSA yet so far the Government was able to defend itself and allow NSA to continue their broad reaching spying on millions of Americans and citizens of other countries around the world. EFF provided numerous evidence of swipping and unathorized spying by NSA on Americans supported by three NSA whistleblowers, AT&T employees who blew the whistle on AT&T "cooperating" with the agency treating it more like its best customer at the expanse of other customers and happily violating their Constitutional right to privacy.
EFF assembled incredible collection of the supporting documents like, for example, FY 2013 Congressional Budget Summary February 2012 National Intelligence Program Summary ("black budget") one page of which is presented below.
If you are still not decided that whether current NSA programs present threat to the your and other Americans Freedom look through more of this documents to realize the trues scope of these activities and think about whether you said ever something to your friends that could be used against you or construed as you broke a law or whether you have to think twice every time you are on the phone what are you saying and how it can be interpreted.
We all ought to come together and say to the Congress and to the Government - enough is enough! We want to live in Democracy and not in totalitarian state! We demand from you to respect and uphold American Constitution as you swore to do! We cherish and treasure our rights and freedoms that are guaranteed by the Constitution and which you cannot take away from us! So, please, join your fellow citizens and
sign the petition demanding from the Congress and President to review NSA programs and bring it back under the law!