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Thom's blog
"Legal" is not the same as "constitutional"
Yesterday, we learned that our government has been spying on cell phone records. And, last night we found out that the National Security Agency and the FBI are mining data on the servers of at least nine major technology companies. Under a top-secret program, known as PRISM, our government has been collecting audio, video, e-mail, and more from companies like Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Skype, and Apple.
Data analysts at Fort Meade claim that they designed search criteria that produce “at least 51 percent confidence in a target's 'foreignness.'” According to The Think Progress Blog, analysts have access to Facebook's “surveillance capabilities,” and they can monitor any combination of “audio, video, chat, and file transfer” conducted via Skype. Allegedly, Google also allows the monitoring of “Gmail, voice and video chat, photo libraries, and live surveillance of search terms.” The intelligence officer who leaked the information to The Washington Post said, “they quite literally can watch your ideas form as you type.”
Both Apple and Facebook have denied participation in the program, and Google has insisted they do not have a so-called “back door” that would give the government access to such information. James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, has called the disclosure of the internet surveillance program “reprehensible.” He also said that the document leak revealing the cell-phone monitoring program is a threat to our national security. Mr. Clapper claimed that neither of these programs may be “used to intentionally target any U.S. Citizen,” and insisted the programs are “entirely legal.”
Just because a secret FISA court declared these programs legal, does not mean they're constitutional. Americans are angry, and they are demanding our government put an end to the invasive process of spying on citizens.
-Thom
(What do you think? Tell us here.) |
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Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 9pm... Ms. Gloria Steinem (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT, and catch past shows on Youtube)
Need to Know: It's Time To Do Away With Homeland Security
Conversations with Great Minds - Ms. Gloria Steinem, feminist, journalist, and social & political activist / author (co-founder Ms Magazine / co-founder Women's Media Center w/Jane Fonda & Robin Morgan) 
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Thursday's Daily Stack 
In for Thom today, please welcome Dr. Mike Newcomb, The Mike Newcomb Show, 1480 AM KPHX, Phoenix, AZ
Hour One: Dying child denied lung transplant due to red tape...
Hour Two: Student loans...not really loans at all- David Dayen, Freelance Journalist/Editor, Contributor-Salon.com
Student loan interest rate set to double July 1- Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ, 9th District)
Hour Three: Pot busts by the numbers...in black & white- Ezekial Edwards, Director-Criminal Law Reform Project, ACLU
Franken Apple about to hit shelves- Dr. Jayson Calton, PhD, Nutritionist & co-author "Rich Food, Poor Food"
Poem: " Miss T" by Walter de la Mare.
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Friday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
Hour One: It's Friday and that means it's "Brunch With Bernie"... America's Senator...Senator Bernie Sanders will be here talking about all the important issues of the week and he'll be taking your calls too...
Hour Two: Live from the UN:- Ambassador Guillermo Rischynski, Canada's Ambassador & permanent representative to the U.N.
Live from the UN:- Boaz Paldi, UN Development Program
Hour Three: Norway among the first to sign UN arms trade treaty- Ambassador Geir Pedersen, Norwegian Ambassador & Permanent Representative to the United Nations
A new study on violence against indigenous girls, adolescents and young women brings widespread human rights violations into focus- Sarah Crowe, UNICEF
And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program...your media support group for "we the people"...
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Monday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
We'll have the latest news & information from the weekend along with any breaking news on the NSA spying scandal...
Plus, Creationism in the classroom...one school district in the heartland is considering teaching it side by side with evolution...I'll challenge Creationist Dr. Joseph Mastropaolo who says there is no scientific evidence for evolution...
And, an update on the opening day of the Zimmerman trial from our legal expert Debbie Hines of Legal Speaks as well as the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...
And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program...your media support group for "we the people"...
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Thom's Poll
Is it time to repeal the Patriot Act?
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Watch & Listen to Thom
Your Take/My Take - Caller wants to smoke pot w/Thom
Obama Administration Phone Spying...Beyond Orwellian
Crazy Alert - Here's a Drone for the Munchies....
Why California will be the face of Obamacare
Has Obama stopped playing nice with the GOP?
Why are "we the people" subsidizing the Tea Party?
Or watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...
Full Show 6/6/13: Bush Spy Program on Steroids?
Thom talks with Attorney and Radio Host Mike Papantonio about the new details on the NSA spy program. Thom stops by the "Talkers New York 2013" conference and speaks with Radio Host and MSNBC Analyst Michael Smerconish, with Radio Host and Fox News Analyst Alan Colmes and with Radio Host Steve Malzberg.
Thom Hartmann on the News: June 6, 2013
Eisenhower: The Last Legitimate Republican President
What if Carter's Second Term Hadn't Been Stolen? p1
What if Carter's Second Term Hadn't Been Stolen? p2
Is it Hate Speech?
FDR's 2nd Bill of Rights p1
FDR's 2nd Bill of Rights p2
Caller: What About People who Don't Want to Work?
Thom Vs. Tom Pauken: Time for a New New Deal?
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 Would you like to help give a child with a very troubled background this feeling of peace? Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook. |
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Show Info
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