Phone records are public information; many companies do data mining, plus every time you use a "loyalty" card you are giving away your privacy. Ever read a HIPAA compliance statement? Everyone but the janitor gets your information--same with credit card agreements. Librarians know what books you've checked out (even 25 years ago we knew which professor had what in his office at just a glance). There's a GPS thing in your smart phone. PRISM seems to be the item in question. It is beyond what the Patriot Act allowed--and many Republicans left Bush because they didn't like the Patriot Act. Many in the government have decided it is illegal, but I'm guessing half of Congress haven't read the Act.
A 29 year old high school drop out says NO to PRISM, flees to China, and we have no idea what he might reveal tomorrow that hurts our security. I don't call him a hero, I call him a traitor. I also think a President who calls Ft. Hood "work place violence," but thinks PRISM is our security against terrorists, is really screwed up. PRISM didn't find the Tsarnaev brothers, or even Edward Snowden and even the fact they gave him a job, any job, makes the NSA look pretty ineffective.
The author of the Patriot Act says it was not intended for data mining. PRISM goes far beyond the original intention. That said, Snowden broke the law. And what about our Congress? Do they break the law by not knowing what is in the Act? Is it like Obamacare--they just don't bother to read it? Obama is defending the actions of the NSA which is violating the intent of the law.
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