Section 309 of H. R. 4681 just solidified NSA data collection and no one noticed.

[JDPriestly]

7. Don't worry. This fight has just begun.

The data collection will become an embarrassment. Sooner or later there will be a huge scandal. If there isn't then the collection will prove ineffective and harmless.

We all know that we are being snooped upon. So far as we know, thus far, the information has not been used for wrongful purposes -- with the exception of the CIAs snooping on Congress during the preparation of the torture report (if that counts).

But sooner or later, the snoopers will way overstep. It's just the nature of things. This kind of power corrupts.

The practice will be sharply curtailed sooner or later. It's a boondoggle and won't serve the purpose it is intended officially to serve. It will degenerate into a sort of political blackmail device. That is when its true nature will be understood by many people and there will be an outcry for change.

It will happen. It's the way these things go in America.

The government cannot keep that many records on ordinary people secret for very long -- especially if they act on the information within the records. It's not going to work.