Why are people angry about the revelations of NSA domestic spying? History shows that when agencies of our government are given special powers and access to information in “extraordinary” circumstances the temptation is great to use this power and information in areas not originally intended.
It isn’t necessarily just cases of well meaning overzealousness that make these abuses happen, there are some whose philosophy of government demands unlimited power.
The thing I never liked about the “slippery slope” metaphor is that it implies that things get done with the best of intentions, but then slide out of control. While that may be the case for some people involved in poor decision making at the government level, I believe there are some who look for every opportunity to move the chains of government power ever closer to a police state.
This is why I’m unmoved when the NSA and the President talk about “safeguarding”
private info, they should not have it in the first place. The temptation is too great to use it for other purposes, whether it’s spying on antiwar activists or ramping up the drug war.
You know there's elections every four years, right? Even if you trust this President, it's foolish to grant him power you wouldn't want want Ted Cruz to have.
“We are that far from a turnkey totalitarian state.” William Binney
Who do you want holding that key?
It's time to move the chains back in the direction of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.
Update:
Report: NSA Accidentally Collected Data From Innocent Americans
I "Accidentally" stole your private info. Yeah, that's it.
The thought of powerful government agencies doing things to citizens "accidentally" makes me nervous.