I joined DU 7 years ago because the FBI and NSA had been revealed to be spying on us [View all]

[Recursion]

and this place had good conversations about that. I opposed the spying then, and I oppose it now.

In 2008, Congress passed a law that made the situation somewhat better but not nearly better enough. The Executive now has to renew a warrant every so often with a court. That renewal was what started this whole shitstorm. Many people, including me, thought the law was an insufficient safeguard against improper government use of communications data. Obama's vote for that law in 2008 was then and remains my biggest disappointment with him. The situation is exactly what it was in 2008, which is to say better than it was in 2006, but still not good enough.

Snowden has alleged he has witnessed misuse of this program. If so, I hope he can be specific.