Another Poll Shows Public Opposition To NSA Data Mining Program

by Steve

Well, here is what we learned over the weekend on the NSA data mining story.

A USA Today/Gallup poll done Friday and Saturday found that by a 51%-43% margin, respondents were against the data mining program from what they had heard about it so far. This follows the findings from a similar Newsweek poll. Yet Time magazine says the NSA story may give Bush a political boost. More troublesome for the administration is the finding that two-thirds of those in the Gallup poll feel that the data mining operation is just the tip of the iceberg of what this administration is doing to pry into the private lives of innocent Americans, and this is before NSA whistleblower Russell Tice testifies this week to John Warner’s Senate Armed Services Committee. As if on cue, Raw Story is reporting that ABC’s Brian Ross has been told by a senior federal law enforcement official that the Bush Administration has been tracking the phone numbers and calls of the media, specifically ABC News, the Washington Post, and the New York Times as part of its leak investigation.

Shooter was immediately advocating for expanding eavesdropping by the federal government in the days right after 9/11, and it was Michael Hayden who responded to Bush’s question about what more the NSA could do within the law by designing the current program. Unfortunately, the program that Hayden came up with goes beyond what is permissible under FISA, because even if only one end of the call or email originates within the country, a warrant is required.

Arlen Specter said yesterday that there has been no meaningful congressional oversight over intelligence activities.

It was just last Monday that Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte flat out lied when asked if calls inside the country were being monitored.

The Justice Department asked that a lawsuit against AT&T by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for illegally giving the NSA access to customer phone calls be dismissed because the evidence would damage national security. Well, I guess that confirms that the Bush Administration is guilty. Thankfully, this suit was filed in the Ninth District, so it least will get a hearing and possibly make it to the Supremes.

The lawsuit filed last week against Verizon is about to grow much larger.

For comedic relief on this subject, click here.