"USA Today will continue to report on the contents and scope of the database as part of its ongoing coverage of national security and domestic surveillance,"

"USA Today will continue to report on....it's ongoing publication of leaks and invasion of our National Security..."

There, fixed that for them.

How much do ya wanna bet they're talking to the administration right now about killing this 'issue' for a few 'favors'?

Boy, just one FBI raid and the arrest of all involved int hat publication all the way to the guy that printed it on paper and you'd see an industry wide change in national security violations by the media.

If they continue to provide the international community with classified information regarding our National Security?

Sure. Why not. ;)

The first amendment does not give anyone the right to publicize classified intel. In the old days, we tried 'em for treason for doing such things.

The idiots who leaked the info are the ones really at fault. The media simply made a *very* poor judgement call in choosing to print it.

Like what pctool said, the right to free speech, press, petition, etc etc is NOT absolute.. might wanna read up on some landmark supreme court cases but you'll likely disregard them and in your hatred for the president, continue to support these national security leaks that endanger us all.

WTF? I don't hate the president! I think the reporters should be jailed. Did you reply to the wrong comment?!

He thinks you were being sarcastic. ;)

I hope that USA Today does continue to report on the invasion of the privacy of US citizens. The US federal, state and local governments are required by law to get a court subpoena to gain access to anyone's call records for any reason whatsoever.

[The US federal, state and local governments are required by law

By FISA, you mean? FISA has been denounced by some of the very same judges who wrote it. It very likely will *not* stand up in court.

It's also interesting to note that *prior* to FISA, most judges hearing related cases had ruled that the 4th amendment did not apply to national security. Kind of sets the tone for how cases such as this will be judged post FISA.

Still a bad move on the media's part. (I believe it was USA today, even (or perhaps the NYT) that ran the story on the judges denouncing FISA last summer.

Darn right.

The NYT reporters and editors should be tried for treason. That's what I've been saying ever since the first NYT article.

This is, once again, a case of the "fourth estate" not taking responsibility for it's actions. Edward Murrow is probablly throwing his guts up in his grave at the state of American "news" coverage. Hell, these papers are becoming no better than the the Hollywood gossip rag papers.

Listen, as much as we want to believe that the government does not control the media; it does to an extent. So of course there going to back off, this is making our government look bad.
They will continue coverage for a little while longer, but then this will all slowly fade away and soon be forgotten.

I think you've got that backwards... the media has far too much influence in the governments actions.

Not really you see, because the government has its hands in everthing, the media is more influenced by the government," they do help pay bills to a certain extent" inclined to lean towords a nice light on the government's side.

"inclined to lean towords[sic] a nice light on the government's side."

What country do you live in? Here in the USA, the media does what it can to embarass the government. This is especially true when a republican administration is in office.

Look at other countries media like for example england.
There media is WAY worse than ours has ever been.

Verizon is highly involved.. when they send out an internal memo that claims that they cannot either confirm or deny that they are participating, that means that they are...
Of course Verizon is headed up by Jews.. The CEO is a Jew.. and the head of Homeland Security is a Jew too!! and he's an admitted duel citizen of Israel and America.. the modern day Bosheviks are indeed running the show these days....

Who cares

Apparently not BetaNews. They modded the troll down.

See, there *is* justice in the world.

Do you guys always argue so much here?

no, usually we argue more.

biggest problem is maintaining the balance between security and safety and public freedoms. Up until all the events everyone knows about, maintaining the balance was easy. However, considering that there's a chance, no matter how small, that someone inside the country could be plotting some crap, they had to step up the security. The biggest problem is that with systems like this is that their failures are public, while their successes never see the light. This makes me think of a well-functioning IT department. When they manage to patch all servers, remove all viruses and defend the network from attacks, no one realizes that. But, when someone tries to start using some file sharing app and notices that ports are closed, they instantly start to scream that IT department is interfering with their life.
The same story here. As much as i am against even the concept of this, does any one of you have better suggestions on how to monitor communication channels for possible problems?

This is the problem of the world we live in -- people can move around freely, some good and some bad. What can you do?

they had to step up the security.

Exactly. The NYT should *never* have been given this information. ;)

Encryption, encryption, encryption.

I guess many of us here don't really understand what's really going on and that none of this "reporting" really matters anyway. No amount of "heat" is going to stop entities like the NSA/CSS from gathering and disseminating MASSIVE amounts of information for "whatever" purpose.

No mattter WHAT you say, WHO you vote for. It does not matter when you "hear" that because of the "uproar", they've stopped spying. They still are, and always will be.... and just to be fair, maybe, just maybe even for good reason.

If you DONT like this (as i don't), taking action does not mean contacting your congressman. In fact that may even wind up to be counterproductive. Taking action means EDUCATION. Educate and PROTECT yourselves by using proven encryption. Being AWARE of what's going on in your environment is the key.

Remember, knowledge really IS power. Knowledge is something THEY DONT WANT *YOU* to have. Ever. They will never stop furnishing erroneous information to keep *YOU* and those you know in a fairy-tale world which is no better then a dark closet for your mind. Get educated (and i'm not talking about spelling and grammar here people) and become aware. Protect yourself from these ... "people" by using strong encryption whenever and wherever possible. is it a hassle? yes. Is it foolproof? No. Is it the only REAL option you have? Definately yes.

Summary:

Protect YOURSELF because NO ONE will do it for you, and never EVER sacrifice your freedoms and your right to privacy. Once you do, everything is shot to hell.

i like my tinfoil hat idea better...

Props to USA Today for standing up to Bush and his cronies. It seems in today's America, anyone who's willing to give the public the real truth is considered "un-American" or "supporting terrorism". Sad days we live in, when freedom of speech is taken away in order to protect the "land of the free".

Oh and in respsone to bourgeoisdude; Keep our mouths shut?? Are you kidding? If anything, people should be more vocal about their opinions regarding government spying programs. While you sit back and do nothing, these guys are slowly chipping away your rights and freedoms. I will leave you with the following quote.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke

PS. - In this case the "evil" is referring to the Bush administration and its atrocious handling of domestic as well as foreign policies.

Bush and his cronies, eh? Like the some-odd million cronies who voted for him?

The world is not like everyone in your neighborhood. Come out from under the rocks, people. In my eyes, the NYT has committed treason and the people who published that content need to be thrown in jail--or perhaps tossed out of the country.

We have freedom of speech, yes. Talk badley about the President, fine. Talk bad about America? Reveal US Military secrets? I wouldn't even consider such a thing. They call themselves Americans...

...Yes, I said that and I don't believe we should do that given our current state, just venting. However, you can see that there are a few that completely disagree about this issue. This is one area I applaud Bush on, because I'd lose my #%#in mind in his shoes with all the false accusations.

Again I must ask--why MUST the USA Today be 100% accurate, and the government obviously MUST be lying? Because the President isn't your denomination? That's convenient, right? Quit looking for trouble and you might be able to see things for what they are. How can you people live here if you truley believe what you are saying?

Really? Why the hell do you vote if you believe the whole system is corrupt? YOUR TAXES SUPPORT US, so you curse the system, yet you praise it too? No--in 2 and a half years, most of you will talk about how great America is. Live for the moment, talk for the moment. Forget that every President in history has had a recession during their term since the 1930s--the economy problem is Bush's fault. Forget Economics 101, it doesn't apply when Republicans are in office. Forget every research paper you've had to write, those are for morons. Nobody has to actually research anything anymore, just watch CNN. Listen to USA Today. The omniscient gods are here to save the Americans from the evil clutches of a sinister democratic government...that America voted to put in office! World domination is his! MOOOHAHAHA!!!

Okay, I think I've disturbed the bee hive enough for one day...

"Oh and in respsone to bourgeoisdude; Keep our mouths shut?? Are you kidding? If anything, people should be more vocal about their opinions regarding government spying programs. While you sit back and do nothing, these guys are slowly chipping away your rights and freedoms."

Nope, apparently you cannot grasp context. You should be a news reporter, as you can twist my words to mean whatever the hell you want them to mean.

Keep your mouth shut about US military secrets. They are called that for a reason. Right or wrong, IT IS NOT YOUR JOB to accuse the US of something without clear evidence supporting your cause.

Would it be ethical for me to reveal the manufacturing secrets about Dell, since I worked for them and I "have a hunch" that they are evil demons out to steal your wives and children to sell them to Belial? If I could prove it, and I gave fair warning, MAYBE--but I should NEVER reveal their secrets just because I know. Sure, I heard 5 Dell "cronies" confirm it too, so I must ruin Dell's reputation as a company because I believe they are evil.

WRONG. US has secrets for a reason unknown to us, and that leak may have cost America--and your "rights to privacy"--more than you could ever imagine.

Thanks for making that clear - I'm not sure I could have figured that out for myself!!!!!!

---> PS. - In this case the "evil" is referring to the Bush administration and its atrocious handling of domestic as well as foreign policies.

Justify this claim - what exactly did they tell us that wasn't already known?

--->In my eyes, the NYT has committed treason

Wow. Thank you... you took the words out of my mouth! :)

But they're unknown to responsible people who represent at least half (probably more now) of the population of this country.

I have no problem with government keeping secrets from the public to prevent dangerous information from getting into the hands of the bad guys. But there MUST be proper oversight to make sure that such secrets (whatever they are) will NOT infringe our individual rights and POTENTIALLY used against individuals. Couldn't happen? Just look at Hitler, or look at McCarthy.

--->US has secrets for a reason unknown to us, and that leak may have cost America--and your "rights to privacy"--more than you could ever imagine.

So how would you find the terrorist that think it's a good idea to fly airplanes into buildings. You don't think it's just chance that al queada hasn't hit us in the United States again do you.

The NYT did NOT commit treason. They were informing the public of news that pertains to us all. There is something called freedom of the press. All these threats by the current administration are just that, threats. The more they get caught with their pants down the more they threaten people. This administration is acting like a bunch of school yard bullies. All this trash about being for national security is about half true and half BS. When government is allowed to make up "policies" that circumvent or even fly in the face of the laws and Constitution and the very principles that our country was founded upon it is the right and duty of every citizen to oppose them. This is a part of the checks and balances. We as citizens should not have to fear the government and repriasals for standing up for our rights. Some times it takes a long time to right a wrong done to members of society. Equal rights and Japanese interment camps are two that come to mind. This administration has gone too far with it's lies and deceit. It has twisted the principles that this nation was founded upon beyond belief. Some of the actions were for national security but many have crossed the line. The latest ruling by the Supreme Court states that these policies violate all four Geneva Convention agreements that we signed. This administration is causing great harm to the nation as a whole and our credibility with other nations.

The NYT did not commit treason. They were informing the public of news that pertains to us all. There is something called freedom of the press. All these threats by the current administration are just that, threats. The more they get caught with their pants down the more they threaten people. All this trash about being for national security is about half true and half BS. When government is allowed to make up "policies" that circumvent or even fly in the face of the laws and Constitution and the very principles that our country was founded upon it is the right and duty of every citizen to oppose them. This is a part of the checks and balances. We as citizens should not have to fear the government and reprisals for standing up for our rights. Some times it takes a long time to righta wrong done to members of society. Equal rights and Japanese interment camps are two that come to mind. This administration has gone too far with it's lies and deceit. It has twisted the principles that this nation was founded upon beyond belief. Some of the actions were for national security but many have crossed the line. The latest ruling by the Supreme Court states that these policies violate all four Geneva Convention agreements that we signed. This administration is causing great harm to the nation as a whole and our credibility with other nations.

You don't think it's just chance that al queada hasn't hit us in the United States again do you.

Yes, because we know how there were terrorist attacks occuring everyday in this country before we started to give up our rights...oh, wait, there weren't.

This is the problem: "The government is clearly violating our privacy." That statement CANNOT be set in stone. If we are so quick to say the government lies to us regularly, what makes the USA Today any more credible? It's rumor, hogwash, bulls***. If it's not, let's do something about it. Since we do not KNOW, we should keep our mouths shut about it.

My 2 cents.

bourgeoisdude- you have some vaild thoughts here but i disagree on this statement, "Since we do not KNOW, we should keep our mouths shut about it." Its the fact that we dont know is why we should ask. For us to not question our govt if its a liked govt or not is a bad thing. No matter how you feel about the president you should allways have a watchful eye. I voted for Clinton but when he got caught i was the first in line to question.
As to is Bush allways wrong? on paper yes, honestly no. If a member of his administration screws up it is Bush's fault. He hired him. Can he watch over everyone at all times? Of course not but he will get blamed.
The problem is when people point at him, the Bush people point back. You can't do that and be successful i think.
Bush or one of his people overstepped thier bounds by having the NSA get these records.

but that is my 2 cents also. I am not right and i am not wrong. This is what i beleive and i am in a country that allows me to do that.

Yes, dead right - as the old saying (originally in Latin) goes...."Who will watch the watchers?"

Why is there such a need to always place blame and criticism on things?

Why can't we recognize a problem and spend more time finding a solution than debating the problem.

At work last week, the entire staff of my department spent an hour and a half talking about what to change our Administrator account password to be. An hour and a half!!! Because two people who, like you suggest, challenged the very notion of whether or not we even should change it, and why should we change it, and what if we did this instead, and blah blah. People spend too much time dodging issues only to create more issues. Identify a problem quickly, find a solution quickly, and move on!

I would have left the meeting, changed it and returned with the new password.

Then again, I'm a jerk. ;-)

Your comment isn't worth two cents!

The answer is simple - get the DATA - get access to the facts - what makes a newspaper credible (if it is credible) is supporting documentation.

This particular administration has a strong history of lying to everyone - and the evidence (many examples indeed) is well documented.

--->This is the problem: "The government is clearly violating our privacy." That statement CANNOT be set in stone. If we are so quick to say the government lies to us regularly, what makes the USA Today any more credible? It's rumor, hogwash, bulls***. If it's not, let's do something about it. Since we do not KNOW, we should keep our mouths shut about it.

Then again, I'm a jerk.

...but at least an efficient one. :p

heh

Yeah.......the NSA didn't threaten them or anything.