The Surveillance State

From Digby at Hullabaloo. Link to the article here.

Senator Ron Wyden is not an Obama hating emo-prog. He is a US Senator with Top Secret clearance and he knows all the details of these NSA surveillance programs and understands the implications of them in a free society. It would be advisable for those who think that this story can be discounted because you think Edward Snowden is a traitor or Glenn Greenwald is a twitter asshole to read Wyden's entire speech today to Center for American Progress.

It's actually frightening to read. Senators Wyden, Udall, and Merkley have been trying for years to bring first Bush's, then Obama's policies on secret surveillance to the attention of the American public. They are severely limited by law as to what they can say about what they know -- if they say too much, they'll end up in a cell next to Bradley Manning (and Edward Snowden, if the government can get their hands on him).