Warrantless tapping of Americans’ telephone calls is unacceptable

WARRANTLESS TAPPING OF AMERICANS' TELEPHONE CALLS IS UNACCEPTABLE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss)]
[Commentary] Sept. 11, 2001, was the most tragic and horrific event to take place in modern American history. However, it should not serve as the administration’s free pass to trample upon the rights and liberties of American citizens, under the guise of “national security.” When we implement polices and procedures that are not in line with our constitutional values, we must then ask the question if we are truly winning the war on terrorism. We say that we are a country that believes privacy is important and that we won't trample on the rights of our citizens unless we have legal authorization to do so; yet policies like the NSA surveillance program undermine these beliefs. If we allow the threat of terrorism and the presence of those who wish to do us harm to cause us to place the constitutional privacy of our own citizens at risk, they win and we lose.
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