Obama Was Wrong: NSA Employees Have Deliberately "Abused" Their Power - Slate

[quakerboy]

23. Who cares about the porn?

I find it interesting this assumption that there is a separation. NSA and LE are tied together. That's been made apparent of late, with the whole Parallel Construction deal. If nothing is done about the spying, I would guess the amount of time between now and when your average unscrupulous policeman can access all your information is limited. They aren't going to let a tool like that pass them by, and more than the corporate world will. Legality be damned, if its there, they will find a way to use it.

So then you end up in an even uglier situation. The police abuse your rights. You call in to let your wife know you are headed to the lawyer to try and get a hint of justice. But they know they did wrong, and are listening to your calls. Because they can, and they dont want to get a demerit, even if the lawyers can get them out of any serious trouble. They stop you a few blocks from your house and let you know they are able to hear anything you say and they will be listening. Like that time you called your boss a dickhead after work, wonder how he would react to getting a copy of that audio. Plus, here's this handy recording of your son talking on the phone about buying some pot a few months ago. Hey, didn't he just turn 18? Wouldn't it be a shame if that got handed to a prosecutor when he was just about to head to college...

I'm with you, part way. Defund police. Or maybe, fund them in a different way. End the whole military hardware deal. Get them some training in how to de escalate situations. Get them some regular counseling, whether they "need it or not". Lets change the way we recruit officers, look for intelligent, moral people who want to make a difference. Not just ones who want to Enforce.

But we dont have to gloss over or minimize the NSA spying program to cut Police funding, or to restructure our departments. These things go together. They are not exclusive.