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| What a Crazy Idea |
The bill was cosponsored by former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and liberal Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers. The House ruled the amendment in order on Monday, and it is expected to get a vote sometime this week.
NSA head Gen. Keith Alexander scheduled the last-minute, members-only briefing in response to the amendment, according to an invitation distributed to members of Congress this morning and forwarded to HuffPost. "In advance of anticipated action on amendments to the DoD Appropriations bill, Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of the House Intelligence Committee invites your Member to attend a question and answer session with General Keith B. Alexander of the National Security Agency," reads the invitation.
The invitation warned members that they could not share what they learned with their constituents or others. "The briefing will be held at the Top Secret/SCI level and will be strictly Members-Only," reads the invite.
The section of the Patriot Act that Amash is targeting was the subject of the first piece that the British news outlet The Guardian broke from the NSA leaker Edward Snowden's collection. A secret intelligence court has secretly interpreted the law to allow the NSA to secretly collect hundreds of millions of records on every American phone call under the theory that such records might be useful in future terrorism investigations. The President has called this program 'transparent', and the intelligence community has claimed that the law is useful in thwarting potential terrorist incidents.
NSA head Gen. Keith Alexander scheduled the last-minute, members-only briefing in response to the amendment, according to an invitation distributed to members of Congress this morning and forwarded to HuffPost. "In advance of anticipated action on amendments to the DoD Appropriations bill, Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of the House Intelligence Committee invites your Member to attend a question and answer session with General Keith B. Alexander of the National Security Agency," reads the invitation.
The invitation warned members that they could not share what they learned with their constituents or others. "The briefing will be held at the Top Secret/SCI level and will be strictly Members-Only," reads the invite.
The section of the Patriot Act that Amash is targeting was the subject of the first piece that the British news outlet The Guardian broke from the NSA leaker Edward Snowden's collection. A secret intelligence court has secretly interpreted the law to allow the NSA to secretly collect hundreds of millions of records on every American phone call under the theory that such records might be useful in future terrorism investigations. The President has called this program 'transparent', and the intelligence community has claimed that the law is useful in thwarting potential terrorist incidents.
But Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee with access to classified details about the program, said there is no evidence that the data collection had been directly responsible for stopping any single plot. Civil libertarians, meanwhile, are aghast at the NSA's broad interpretation of the law, and even the bill's author said he was surprised at how it is being used.
This is aiming to be an epic showdown. The shouts of the people versus the quite whispers of a government that rules and legislates behind closed doors and under the rubber stamp of 'Top Secret'. The debate is about to take place and now is the time to make your voice heard. Below are sites you can lend your support to and links that say how to contact your congressmen. You will notice the mix of right and left leaning groups that are all crying out in support of this amendment. If ever there was a time to be heard on this issue is now!
Demand Progress Website
Freedom Works Letter - Call to Action
Electronic Frontier Foundation Website
Defund the NSA.com
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