In a hearing conducted by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), the NSA came up with perhaps its most ridiculous excuse for illegal, unconstitutional spying program thus far. The agency claims measures increasing spy program transparency would force them to invade our privacy more.

Wait, what?

It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but that was the logic of General Council for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Robert Litt in response to vigorous questioning from Sen. Franken. Litt’s remarks are the latest in a long line of dishonest, obfuscating, intelligence-insulting drivel from the intelligence community.

According to an article in The Verge, Litt said “determining the exact number of Americans whose data is collected would actually be a larger invasion of privacy than any that might already be happening” because “determining this number would require NSA analysts to look further into data — such as an email address — than they normally would.” He also complained about additional resources the NSA would need to comply with Franken’s new legislation that would force them to come clean on how many Americans they’re snooping on.

When you hear bureaucrats talking like this, it is obvious that they do not have a leg to stand on. When they can’t even come up with a plausible ruse to bilk the American public with, that shows that they are falling from grace badly.

Sen. Franken deserves credit for giving this bum the proverbial rope to hang himself with. However, there is no reason to praise him for his legislative efforts. In truth, even if Sen. Franken’s legislative reform was passed, nothing would change. Although the number of Americans being spied upon would undoubtedly prove incredibly high, this legislation would do absolutely nothing to prevent the NSA’s institutionalized constitutional degradation from continuing right along.

Sen. Franken, while perhaps well-intentioned, is embarking on a fool’s errand. Transparency of information will not do anything to stop the NSA. Snowden’s revelations have already taken the mask off. It is now undeniable that the NSA lied to the American people repeatedly, violated the public trust and committed malice upon the Constitution. Has any of that caused the NSA to slow down? Of course not. It’s nothing but full speed ahead for these devils.

After all, we already know that the NSA spies on 124.8 billion phone calls per month. We already know that it is spying on friendly foreign heads of state, further ruining the reputation of America abroad. We already know it tracks “nearly everything a user does on the internet.” So what if Franken and his counter-parts are successful in pushing this legislation? Nothing will be released that is more explosive than what the public already knows.

This, like most so-called reform efforts at the federal level, is nothing more than a red herring.

However, our 4th Amendment Protection Act is NOT a red herring. As a matter of fact, it’s the most effective way to fight back against the NSA’s illegal spying. By cutting off the NSA from the water and other resources it needs, the whole operation literally goes up in smoke.

We have state and local versions of the 4th Amendment Protection Act available for activists to take to their city, county and state government officials. Don’t sit around waiting for the Congressional buffoons to rein Big Brother in. Get involved and start the resistance against the NSA in your community today.

For more information, visit our recently debuted coalition to defeat the NSA at OffNow.org.

The 10th Amendment

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

LEARN MORE

01

Featured Articles

On the Constitution, history, the founders, and analysis of current events.

featured articles

02

Tenther Blog and News

Nullification news, quick takes, history, interviews, podcasts and much more.

tenther blog

03

State of the Nullification Movement

232 pages. History, constitutionality, and application today.

get the report

01

Path to Liberty

Our flagship podcast. Michael Boldin on the constitution, history, and strategy for liberty today

path to liberty

02

Maharrey Minute

The title says it all. Mike Maharrey with a 1 minute take on issues under a 10th Amendment lens. maharrey minute

Tenther Essentials

2-4 minute videos on key Constitutional issues - history, and application today

TENTHER ESSENTIALS

Join TAC, Support Liberty!

Nothing helps us get the job done more than the financial support of our members, from just $2/month!

JOIN TAC

01

The 10th Amendment

History, meaning, and purpose - the "Foundation of the Constitution."

10th Amendment

03

Nullification

Get an overview of the principles, background, and application in history - and today.

nullification