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1. 

   Ted Lind said, over 2 years ago

   I haven’t heard any good suggestions on alternative ways to look for terrorists and why do you think anybody would be interested in your phone calls or life? It is inconceivable that anyone would be able to listen to more than a very minuscule number of phone calls. The NSA came up with a good tool for connecting terrorists by mapping their communications network.
2. 

   Robert Landers said, over 2 years ago

   So just what is your alternative to having the US Government protect its citizens from terrorism? I have yet to hear of anybody that is not involved in such terrorism or other criminal threats to the security of the US being even taken in for questioning, let alone incarcerated. One proof that the NSA and other governmental organizations are not affecting honest citizens is the freedom that you and others have on this site to question that very government. And if you do not think that the NSA and other governmental agencies can get just who you truly are when you post on this site, then you are the most naive poster I have ever seen here!!
3. 

   Zuhlamon said, over 2 years ago

   Those willing to give up freedom for security
   .
   Joad, I don’t know the answer on that one, either. We have to be able to trust that our intelligence branch, empowered to protect us, is not using it’s power for partisan purposes or just plain abuse. But how to do it?
4. 

   Zuhlamon said, over 2 years ago

   The Department of Mirth! I love it. The world is a parade of fools, and I’d be right in there, too, twirling a baton.
5. 

   Robert Landers said, over 2 years ago

   I realize that it is probably a more conservative frame of mind than many conservatives on this site would accuse me of. But have we really reached a level of so little faith that the people that are in authority over us are so very heinous that they would be so evil as most on these boards seem to think they would be? If you really think the way that I see some posters here think, then why on earth would you even stay in such a country at all? I guess that my own generation (the one that placed Americans on the moon and brought them back safely) was just more positive about such American institutions. It is indeed with at least some degree of sadness that I see such unhappiness with our own systems as I see on here, sigh…..
6. 

   Uncle Joe said, over 2 years ago

   I believe the translation is: “Stop! It hurts! I can not stand the pain!”
   
   Rather oddly, my browser switched my left & right arrow keys when I tried to cut & paste Urdu.
7. 

   Uncle Joe said, over 2 years ago

   “What about the bridges going the other way from every other country? Especially Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.How much did Snowden give up to be able to stay in Russia?”
   
   Good question. Putin didn’t have to lure Snowden there, though. Snowden had good reason to believe things would not go well if he remained in the US.
8. 

   Uncle Joe said, over 2 years ago

   @Zuhlamon

   “We have to be able to trust that our intelligence branch, empowered to protect us, is not using it’s power for partisan purposes or just plain abuse. But how to do it?”
   
   We’ve solved this before. Strong external oversight & laws that prohibit the CIA from spying internally. IMO, most people who join intelligence agencies have a compulsion to gather intelligence, whether there is a legitimate need or not. Legal checks will give pause to lower level spooks, but the upper echelon takes their cue from leaders in Washington. Since 2001, they’ve pretty much had a green light to do whatever they want.
   
   
9. 

   Zuhlamon said, over 2 years ago

   Excellent post, Joad, and thank you for your service and sacrifice. I’m optimistic that cooler and saner heads will prevail through this weird period of political polarization. It’s a dangerous, changing world, and will be a challenge for generations to come.
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