This is one issue on which these two ends of the political spectrum can find common ground. Since we started our online petition, we have seen a mix of people from both camps sign on. And why not? One way or another, we are all concerned with the power of big institutions. In the best of times, strong institutions can do great good. But in the wrong hands, and with the wrong tools, they can become a threat to everything this country claims to stand for. You don't need to be told that--it is at the heart of what this board is about.
Where our petition differs from most of the debate in the mainstream media, is that we explicitly recognize the toxic symbiosis between government and the private sector in spying on us. NSA and other government agencies would have nothing to look at if the private sector companies like Verizon and Facebook were not vacuuming up our data in the first place. We also recognize that stopping them altogether from collecting any data is neither necessary nor feasible. The cat is out of the bag. And some data collection can serve constructive purposes. But, and here is the big caveat, only with our permission!
Please go to our petition, sign up and spread the word if this is something you care about. Give our fellow citizens a Holiday/Christmas present, and stand up for their, and our, right to say what is done with our data.
Thank you all!
http://petitions.moveon.org/...