Trying to drag it back under the rock - NSA
Not so fast there... From
Ars Technica:
Gov�t moves to keep NSA surveillance lawsuit away from Supreme Court
Not long after widespread NSA phone surveillance was revealed by a series of leaks this summer, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy-oriented nonprofit, tried a bold and novel legal tactic: it appealed straight to the Supreme Court, asking for an immediate shutdown of the program.
The high court was the only place to turn, wrote EPIC, because it can't go to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which actually authorized the orders. EPIC's argument was straightforward: the FISC could only authorize NSA spying on foreigners, not Americans.
Now Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, who represents the Obama Administration at the Supreme Court, has advised the justices not to take the case. It's not a surprising move. Just the publicity of a Supreme Court debate over NSA spying would be a giant headache for the administration; not to mention, the government obviously doesn't want the program shut down.
I say, drag it out into the clean light of day and let We the People sort it out. These are our public servants and if they are expanding the scope of their work, we need to know about it.
Yes, there are things that need to be kept private but this wholesale gathering of personal data is unnecessary and illegal.
Posted by DaveH at October 15, 2013 9:44 AM