Hell, I might as well say it, I used to work for the NSA

[BellaKos]

1. I know exactly what you mean.

If people still don't have a clue, watch the movie with Gene Hackman and Will Smith, called "Enemy of the State." A movie made in the 1990s that was out-of-date even then. So, watch carefully and use your imagination. After which, one may then have merely the faintest idea of what the intelligence agencies are capable of.
Fast forward to 2001, when the Patriot Act was made law. At that point in time and for the first time ever, the vast capability of US intelligence was allowed by law to be used domestically. Not only was it against the law until then, but also people in the "world" felt it was dishonorable to spy on US citizens on US soil. (That was, after all, the jurisdiction of the FBI which was bound by legal restrictions.)

Anyway ... now, NOW, people are upset? It's too late. But at least Snowden and Manning have ignited a healthy curiosity about the fact that the Fourth Amendment was abolished in October, 2001, and, consequently, everything a person does can be spied on relentlessly.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if "they" can smell a fart from space. As I said, watch the movie and use your imagination.