Spies R US

As James Bramford delves into the dark underbelly of the NSA, he reminds us that in 2002, TIA (Total Information Awareness), the predecessor to the current data mining spy program, was shut down by the Pentagon after it was revealed by the press, inciting considerable public protest, and it's architect, John Poindexter, eventually left the government.

My, my, how times change after 3 more years of BushCo brain-washing....

NSA, the Agency That Could Be Big Brother
By James Bamford
New York Times & t r u t h o u t

After he was briefed on President Bush's secret operation in 2003, Senator Jay Rockefeller, the Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, sent a letter to Vice President Dick Cheney.

"As I reflected on the meeting today and the future we face," he wrote, "John Poindexter's TIA project sprung to mind, exacerbating my concern regarding the direction the administration is moving with regard to security, technology, and surveillance."

Senator Rockefeller sounds a lot like Senator Frank Church.

"I don't want to see this country ever go across the bridge," Senator Church said. "I know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision, so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return."