Bernie Sanders: U.S. Spies on Americans

[limpyhobbler]

Published on Jun 6, 2013
Sen. Bernie Sanders Thursday criticized a secret domestic surveillance program that swept up millions of telephone records on calls by Americans who were not suspected of any wrongdoing.

A court order demanding the records be turned over was obtained under a controversial interpretation of a provision in the so-called Patriot Act, which Sanders voted against when it was first enacted in 2001 and when it was reauthorized in 2006 and 2011.

[limpyhobbler]

1. U.S. intelligence mining data from nine U.S. Internet companies in broad secret program

Source: The Washington Post
By Barton Gellman and Laura Poitras / June 6, 2013

The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio, video, photographs, e-mails, documents and connection logs that enable analysts to track a person’s movements and contacts over time.

The highly classified program, code-named PRISM, has not been disclosed publicly before. Its establishment in 2007 and six years of exponential growth took place beneath the surface of a roiling debate over the boundaries of surveillance and privacy. Even late last year, when critics of the foreign intelligence statute argued for changes, the only members of Congress who know about PRISM were bound by oaths of office to hold their tongues.

An internal presentation on the Silicon Valley operation, intended for senior analysts in the NSA’s Signals Intelligence Directorate, described the new tool as the most prolific contributor to the President’s Daily Brief, which cited PRISM data in 1,477 articles last year. According to thebriefing slides, obtained by The Washington Post, “NSA reporting increasingly relies on PRISM” as its leading source of raw material, accounting for nearly 1 in 7 intelligence reports.

That is a remarkable figure in an agency that measures annual intake in the trillions of communications. It is all the more striking because the NSA, whose lawful mission is foreign intelligence, is reaching deep inside the machinery of American companies that host hundreds of millions of American-held accounts on American soil.
...

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=8777880b-a91e-4b0f-b3a5-b87d12250434

[RKP5637]

3. When a nation spies on citizens to this extent, one can be sure that

nation has some serious issues going on ... and people will loose faith and respect for that nation, eventually leading to turmoil and unpleasant times. There is no magic to this, the handwriting is on the wall.

[90-percent]

11. Thats a good point

I often wonder why the rest of the planet lets the USA behave the way we do? Aren't we doing a crappy and stupid job running the entire free world?

It's like the rest of the planet should banish the USA to oblivion and carry on without us.

The USA is wrecking the future environmentally and economically. There could be enough for everybody to have hope for the future, but the USA and the multi-national THAT HAVE PURCHASED IT OUTRIGHT have stolen that from the bottom 99% for so many yachts they can't even count them. Maybe they need houses with yacht elevators?

How can we possibly exert any moral authority having tortured people as government policy. Just what the hell do we stand for now? Greed is good? I got mine and screw you?

Isn't the rest of the world trying to get away from the dollar? Didn't we go into Iraq because Saddam was pulling that? Aren't a lot of major countries - China? India? Russia? trying to get away from the dollar? If that happens the USA will no longer be the leader of the free world?

-90% Jimmy

[L0oniX]

4. The reason it is not a secret anymore is because they know that we can't do anything about it now.

[limpyhobbler]

12. Well that's spooky. nt

[ForgoTheConsequence]

2. I stand with Bernie.

.....

[midnight]

5. K&R Thanks... Senator Sanders...

[damnedifIknow]

6. And yet this man isn't president

Why?

[MissDeeds]

10. Good question

I hope I live long enough to see a "Bernie Sanders" kind of president. He is the epitome of a principled politician.

[dotymed]

25. I wrote Bernie

another e-mail, yesterday. I keep begging him to run for POTUS. He is one of the few hopes we have left...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. Neither is Kucinich...

You know,...because they're "unelectable"...

[midnight]

21. I often wonder about that myself...

[faithnomore]

23. You have to be a crooked, lying bastard to run for President..........

Bernie Sanders is neither of these things.

[WillyT]

7. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[RILib]

8. the U.S.kind of looks like China now, doesn't it.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. No. China has high speed rail.

[thesquanderer]

15. At least in China and Russia you KNEW you were being monitored (n/t)

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. knr - this should go viral!!

[wiggs]

16. Love Bernie, but don't get the current criticism of the administration on DU. This is not

new information. We always knew how bad the Patriot Act was and that this kind of thing, and worse, was included. There are all kinds of bad things in the Patriot Act...but when national security (or, more accurately, when hay can be made out of a national security event) an administration is simply not going to ignore the tools that the people and congress give it. Obama's administration is not the first and -- as long as the Patriot Act exists -- not the last to data mine via email or telephone.

If the people and congress decide it's a bad idea to do this then they need to pass legislation to ban it (actually might be a good result of the attention it's getting now). And I bet Obama would sign it immediately. He's not a rogue.... he is a consensus builder and he gives the process great weight. That's why he asked congress to set up rules and policies for the use of drones and he would follow them.

As much as we'd like him to throw politics and process to the wind and do by executive order what most of us here would do, he's just implementing policy and law set by congress...as he's required to do. As he's said, I believe he's not 100% for the Patriot Act as written but will not ignore his responsibility to follow laws. And there's no illegal activity here.

Perhaps some democrats in congress should have filibustered longer to get better changes to the Patriot Act. The heavy lifting can't be placed entirely on Obama's shoulders.

[limpyhobbler]

17. It's just wrong to collect the personal communications of all Americans.

Obama should have put an end to it immediately. Instead he expanded the program.

Nobody made him do this.

Obama is the decider. He chose to do it. He chose to collect all our private information.

And he chose to keep the data collection a secret from the American people.

Bad choices.

[Purveyor]

19. As he promised, documented by the many clips of his pre-election campaign of 2008 that

are being played on most every segment on TV discussing this subject.

[840high]

18. Huge k/r

[Purveyor]

20. Bless you Senator Sanders, bless you. eom

[pam4water]

22. Why couldn't we have Bernie for President :(

[Gus Lammas]

24. 'cuz he be a SOSHALLUST!

[limpyhobbler]

26. maybe we can draft him to run?

For real.