Major opinion shifts, in the US and Congress, on NSA surveillance and privacy
Glenn Greenwald
Numerous polls taken since our reporting on previously secret NSA activities first began have strongly suggested major public opinion shifts in how NSA surveillance and privacy are viewed. But a new comprehensive poll released over the weekend weekend by Pew Research provides the most compelling evidence yet of how stark the shift is.
Among other things, Pew finds that "a majority of Americans – 56% – say that federal courts fail to provide adequate limits on the telephone and internet data the government is collecting as part of its anti-terrorism efforts." And "an even larger percentage (70%) believes that the government uses this data for purposes other than investigating terrorism." Moreover, "63% think the government is also gathering information about the content of communications." That demonstrates a decisive rejection of the US government's three primary defenses of its secret programs: there is adequate oversight; we're not listening to the content of communication; and the spying is only used to Keep You Safe™.
Article here
I find it amusing that the Tea Party's views on such matters have transformed when it is done by the Democrats.
Damn hypocrites.
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But this is sort of counter-intuitive since "Milquetoast" and "authoritarian" are antithetical, but at least you hold out the hope that a Milquetoast can metamorphose into something else with changing conditions.
