Big Government Advocates Strike Down Bill to Rein in NSA

g1184 · Nov 19, 2014

linky

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Tuesday blocked a bill to end bulk collection of American phone records by the National Security Agency, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama's primary proposal to rein in domestic surveillance.

The 58-42 vote was two short of the 60 needed to proceed with debate. Voting was largely along party lines, with most Democrats supporting the bill and most Republicans voting against it. The Republican-controlled House had previously passed its own NSA bill.

[...]

One of the few Republicans to support the measure was Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who said, "This legislation protects the constitutional right to privacy."

[...]

Current and former intelligence officials disagree about whether the phone record searching is a crucial counterterrorism tool. The U.S. has only been able to point to a single case that came to light exclusively through a search of domestic phone records— an Anaheim, California, cab driver who was sentenced earlier this year to six years in prison for sending money to Somalia's al-Qaida affiliate.
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A few twilight zone things going on:

Republicans vote to increase government, democrats vote the opposite

Ted Cruz is the voice of reason within the republican party

All in all, more domestic spying for everybody! Hooray!

Faust · Nov 19, 2014

this really bothers me. i support the dems on this one and i thought cruz was libretarian. the moslems hurt our country by making america like europe with cameras and big govt everywhere watching us. computers are too fast, hard drives cheap, too many people in this country, open border and walla! govt watching over us like cattle 24/7.

Haymitch · Nov 19, 2014

Faust said: ↑

this really bothers me. i support the dems on this one and i thought cruz was libretarian. the moslems hurt our country by making america like europe with cameras and big govt everywhere watching us. computers are too fast, hard drives cheap, too many people in this country, open border and walla! govt watching over us like cattle 24/7.
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wut
  

Major · Nov 19, 2014

Notably, anti-NSA crusader Rand Paul voted against it. In theory, he voted because it didn't go far enough, but it was also the best chance to rein the NSA in given the changes to Congress coming next year. More likely, he voted against it for political / Presidential campaign reasons.

Faust · Nov 19, 2014

Haymitch said: ↑

wut
  
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current nsa monitoring happened after 9/11. technology and overpopulation and a border which aint fully secure means were being watched all the time to keep us safe.

NewRoxFan · Nov 19, 2014

Seems odd that Cruz sides with Democrats on this one... and against Reagan, who used Executive Orders to establish and strengthen the powers of NSA.

Mathloom · Nov 19, 2014

Just sad. It's not even that significant. The narrowest of changes can't get through the senate.

If you're going to flip off everyone in the world who has lost their privacy to the hegemonic behavior of the people you elect... at least protect yourself. Jeez. How many Americans can possibly still fall for the "ISIS will kill you tonight if we don't record everything!!" schtick?

Come on guys.

Space Ghost · Nov 19, 2014

Are you people really surprised? The Republicans could wake up tomorrow and support abortion while the democrats would fall in line and be against it.

Dubious · Nov 20, 2014

Faust said: ↑

this really bothers me. i support the dems on this one and i thought cruz was libretarian. the moslems hurt our country by making america like europe with cameras and big govt everywhere watching us. computers are too fast, hard drives cheap, too many people in this country, open border and walla! govt watching over us like cattle 24/7.
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hmmm, nutcase?

Space Ghost said: ↑

Are you people really surprised? The Republicans could wake up tomorrow and support abortion while the democrats would fall in line and be against it.
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hmmm, nutcase?

NewRoxFan · Nov 20, 2014

Space Ghost said: ↑

Are you people really surprised? The Republicans could wake up tomorrow and support abortion while the democrats would fall in line and be against it.
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Dairy Ashford · Nov 22, 2014

Space Ghost said: ↑

Are you people really surprised? The Republicans could wake up tomorrow and support abortion while the democrats would fall in line and be against it.
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This bill favors the executive branch and doesn't pertain to social issues or pork, so the voting was likely based on which party was in the White House.

txppratt · Nov 23, 2014

our two party system is a joke, bunch of over-privileged blow-hards

fallenphoenix · Nov 23, 2014

Faust said: ↑

walla!
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voilà*

g1184 · Nov 25, 2014

Kudos to Utah Republicans:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...egislature-considers-shutting-off-nsas-water/

Utah legislature considers shutting off NSA’s water

A Utah state legislative committee will consider a bill that could eventually cut off millions of gallons of water for a major National Security Agency facility south of Salt Lake City as a protest against the mass collection of Americans’ data.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Marc Roberts (R), would prohibit any municipality from providing “material support or assistance in any form to any federal data collection and surveillance agency.”

That’s a barely veiled reference to the Utah Data Center, a massive collection facility operated by the NSA in Bluffdale, a small suburb of Salt Lake City. The facility, completed last year at a cost of about $1.7 billion, houses super computers that require 65 megawatts of power, enough to power about 33,000 homes, according to the Associated Press.

All those computers require a lot of water, which keeps them cool. Bluffdale issued $3.5 million in bonds to pay for water lines that will eventually pump a million gallons a day into the facility. Bluffdale signed an agreement with the NSA that allows the agency to pay less for water than city ordinances would otherwise require.

The bill grandfathers in Bluffdale’s initial agreement with the NSA, but it would prohibit any further cooperation between Bluffdale or any other municipality and the NSA.

Roberts on Wednesday said the NSA came to Utah pledging to act according to the Constitution. “We all know and are aware that has been violated,” he told the committee, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

The legislative committee on Wednesday asked Roberts to clarify parts of the bill, but none of the members expressed opposition.

The NSA’s water usage has come up before. Salt Lake Tribune reporter Nate Carlisle has sought to force Bluffdale to reveal just how much water the facility requires. The NSA contends information about water usage would allow someone to calculate the computing power inside the data center.

The data center isn’t much to look at. “It looks like a very large Dunder-Mifflin,” Carlisle told GovBeat earlier this year.
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I'm not sure exactly what the "initial agreement" that was grandfathered in is, but if this thing plays out as the rest of the article suggests, it would be a hilarious way to topple a $1.7 billion giant.

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