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Congress Voting On Amendment to Defund NSA Domestic Spying Tomorrow

Posted by Unknown on from the busy-signal dept.

New submitter Jah-Wren Ryel writes "It's been just over a month since the NSA's dragnet surveillance program was leaked to the public. Tomorrow, Congress is voting on an amendment that would block funding for NSA programs that collect the call records of innocent Americans. A win tomorrow may start a chain reaction — but it won't happen unless we speak up. We have one day to convince Congress to act." The EFF is urging U.S. citizens to call their representatives, noting that there is no time for email to be effective (find your representative). You can read the amendment on the EFF site, quoting the EFF: "Reps. Justin Amash, John Conyers, Jr., Thomas Massie, Mick Mulvaney, and Jared Polis are proposing an amendment that would curtail funding for the implementation of orders under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act unless the order is explicitly limited in scope. ... Even as the Amash/Conyers Amendment is gaining momentum, some are rallying around a decoy amendment that would do nothing to rein in domestic surveillance. That amendment, championed by Rep. Nugent, would not alter in any way the government's use of Section 215 to obtain bulk communications records on millions of Americans. EFF is urging Representatives to oppose the Nugent Amendment."

7 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. I would, but... by cphilo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I live in Kansas, so if I called my Congressman, it would be totally ineffective. I have tried before and gotten the form letter which says, basically, "If you have an opinion that disagrees with mine, Suck It." Sincerely Your Congressman

    1. Re:I would, but... by trum4n · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Disapproval will be interpreted as treason.

    2. Re:I would, but... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Now you at least know how non-us-citizens feel when they talk to you guys, basically, "who cares if the NSA taps the whole world, as long as they don't tap us-citizens, suck it"...

      Since the NSA is in the spying business (signals analysis and such, not sneaking around spying), the fact that they spy is of no interest to me at all. It's their job.

      That said, we have this Constitution thing for a reason, and the NSA violating the Constitution IS if interest to me.

      In other words, the NSA spying on foreigners is their job. The NSA spying on ME needs a warrant and/or court order, which they don't have (don't get me started on Secret Courts..).

      If you're a foreigner being spied on by the NSA, take it up with your own government. If YOUR government won't protect you from OUR government, consider getting a new government.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  2. The Greatest Lying Mouth of All Time(tm) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because nothing says reassuring like a vote from congress.

    Domestic spying isn't going to end folks. It's here to stay, you're all being profiled now and you don't care enough to do anything about it. The day a new iPhone or Galaxy Nexus comes out you'll all still buy it, even though you've just helped enable domestic spying through your purchase. The day the PS4 with its microphone-enabled controllers and the XBone with its Kinect 2 you'll all rush out and buy it anyway. Hell, Android phones came with CarrierIQ PREINSTALLED, remember that? A keylogger, preinstalled on your phone. They aren't even trying to hide it any more, your phone is a mouthpiece and eyepiece of the State now whether you like it or not.

    All I've seen on Slashdot and Reddit about this whole debacle is nothing but a bunch of whining and slacktivism, the most amusing of which was a meme post on Reddit whining on about the lack of "complaints" regarding the NSA lately. Complaints. That's all you have after every right and freedom your own ancestors fought to achieve, complaints? How can you honestly still sing "the land of the free" with a straight face when the anthem plays? The United States of America is the shining example of totalitarianism in the world today.

    Let that sink in for a moment and then lament everything that you've lost, because none of you care enough to take it back.

    1. Re:The Greatest Lying Mouth of All Time(tm) by Hatta · · Score: 5, Insightful

      We have a lot of rights, but they've been largely neutered. e.g., what good is the right to free speech, if your speech can never affect public policy? What good is the right to a trial by jury, if you have to risk the rest of your life in order to exercise it? Really now, what are these "large number of rights" that we still have?

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  3. Will it mater? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At this point I'm not sure you can actually yank funds from the NSA. Their budget is secret, and they have as secret court system who's records are secret that they could use to overrule pretty much any funding provision.

    The NSA has positioned itself completely out of congressional and executive oversight. It's pretty clear that they lie to both branches and get away with it, simply because they have the ability censor and withhold any documents that could prove that they're up to no good.

    People get on the Govt's case (specifically the case of presidents and politicians they don't like) for supporting NSA actions.. I don't think it's quite that simple. Congress and the President get advice and information from the NSA and they depend on it for making policy decisions. The problem is the NSA could be feeding congress and the president bullshit, and we've got no way to prove that information right or wrong.

    There's no accountability (God, I hate that overused word but it's appropriate in this context) and there is no oversight. There is simply no way to prove that there is or is no conflict of interest, and thus we cannot trust the NSA. (Even if it turns out all of their actions are completely justified!)

  4. Re:Not an amendment - by icebike · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The other thing that could be clearer is that this has exactly zero chance of having any success.

    Congress defunding something merely results in the administration transferring discretionary funds to the program so that nothing is changed, other than the Forest service doesn't get new ranger trucks this year, or the Coast Guard runs obsolete cutters for another year past their life expectancy (which expired 25 years ago).
    The money thusly transferred will be totally lost in the morass of government accounting and end up being more secret than the secret budget of the NSA.

    Until Congress gets the balls to outlaw this program with criminal penalties, simply taking away funds away is a pointless gesture, like sending a kid to his room with no desert, but sneaking a double helping of cake and cookies into his later.

    --
    Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.