“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.”

A good friend of mine penned an excellent argument regarding the loss of our freedoms and the erosion of privacy in America.  For the Friday Blog, I share those thoughts with you. As Michael said to me, “It is time we all start speaking up.”

An essay by Michael Evans

The NSA communication collection programs are not only a violation of every American's right to privacy, they are also putting Americans and the country at risk.

People like (Edward) Snowdon are not the problem. Snowdon's motivation was to inform Americans that the NSA was acting illegally (which is certainly true as the NSA programs have not withstood the light of day). The real risk is from the people in the NSA, who may have been placed there, that will use their access to collect information to use against America, to promote their own agendas or their self-interests. They will stay silent collecting information for themselves or their masters and using it for illegal gains or to threaten and control. They are therefore the real danger America faces due to these NSA programs.

Think of the trove of secrets (J. Edgar) Hoover held and used to threaten American Presidents. Hoover's information was nothing compared to what is available in the NSA data banks and the potential for sabotage, gain or blackmail is only greater. I do not want to live in a police state to be "safe". Like atomic weapons, the genie is likely out of the box, but stop government sanctioned spying on USA citizens and make it explicitly illegal, so when we send an email or make any type of phone call Americans know that their government is not spying on them.

How can any program be so secret that it is illegal to inform ‘We the People’ of the illegal activities? This is certainly a Bush and now Obama Catch 22 program. Snowdon is a whistle blower not a traitor. A traitor betrays the people of the nation, a whistle blower exposes the excesses or over reach of government. There is a difference and it should not be up to the people exposed to pass judgment on him.


Regards,
Michael Evans

Dallas, Texas

Here is the body of the 4^th amendment:  Read it and understand your rights.  They are yours. Not the NSA’s. Not the governments. Yours.

Article [IV]

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

So the next time you think this is just a lot media hot air, remember, the NSA is listening, collecting and storing your data.  And it is against the law of the United States of America for them to do so.