Federal Judge rules NSA phone surveillance is lawful

[Supersonic]

Grabs the popcorn while the civil libertarians explode.

[Franzl]

Hilarious that this government expects us to follow the law when it clearly won't.

A federal judge just told the government what they are doing is lawful.  Did you not read the OP?

Either it's a bad ruling, or the law is f**ked up. Either way, not a good development.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

If this had been a Bush appointee, it would've been mentioned by now...

It's a Clinton appointee.

The sins of moderate heroism will always come back to haunt us.

The politics of the judge should be entirely irrelevant here.  A lower court judge follows the Supreme Court and Circuit 4th Amendment precedent.  They don't have the freedom to decide what they think the law should be. 

If that logic is true, district court judges would never be overturned.

[Kevin]

It's not as if this judge had any information you don't, or pretended to.

I don't pretend to have a law degree, years on the Federal bunch and spent hours analyzing cases pertaining to this matter.  Look the other thread was started because people found one person they never heard of that agreed with them and said that is proof the NSA surveillance is unlawful.  Now they find another guy that they have never heard of that says it is lawful and all of a sudden his opinion is wrong and doesn't count.  This is pure hackery.

What do you expect?

Lief and the other hacks on here figure that as long as their boyfriend Obama  pull this stuff with the NSA then this is must be ok!

[Silent Hunter]

Let's be clear, this one is going to the Supremes.

[PJ]

Disappointing to say the least.

[IceSpear]

The funny thing is, if you described what the NSA is doing to a typical voter 20 years ago, they'd scoff and tell you that you were a crazy conspiracy theorist, and if that ever did happen, there would likely be massive voter anger/demonstrations. Now that it's actually happening, most people just rationalize it and the political class has embraced it quicker than they do with lobbyist checks.

It wouldn't surprise me if we have national mandatory microchips in the next few decades. "What, you don't have something to hide, do you?! Or do you love the terrorists?"

[Middle-aged Europe]

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/27/22072205-new-york-federal-judge-rules-nsa-phone-surveillance-is-legal

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So if it's legal because it helps prevent terrorist attacks then anything that is deemed to be helpful in preventing terrorist attacks is by definition legal.

In essence a modification of the old Nixonian axiom: "When the president does it..."

[Associate Justice PiT]

     The part of the ruling referred to is a non sequitor. Whether these actions are useful is not the issue for the judge to answer, but whether they are legally permissible is. If useful and legal are synonymous terms in the operation of the government, then this is no longer the country that we were all told it was. It's a 21st century Rome, driven by nothing other than the certainty that Caesar can do no wrong. And yes, I really wanted to make that reference.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Back to the Bellerophon with you, PiT.

[Middle-aged Europe]

It was a good episode though. However, "Homefront"/"Paradise Lost" really nailed the post-9/11 environment five years before 9/11 even had happened.

[Lief 🗽]

It's not as if this judge had any information you don't, or pretended to.

I don't pretend to have a law degree, years on the Federal bunch and spent hours analyzing cases pertaining to this matter.  Look the other thread was started because people found one person they never heard of that agreed with them and said that is proof the NSA surveillance is unlawful.  Now they find another guy that they have never heard of that says it is lawful and all of a sudden his opinion is wrong and doesn't count.  This is pure hackery.

What do you expect?

Lief and the other hacks on here figure that as long as their boyfriend Obama  pull this stuff with the NSA then this is must be ok!

The homophobia is uncalled for, Kev.