OP - none of this news or newsworthy.
Everyone on any of the Military, Law Enforcement, or Intelligence committees in Congress has received regular briefings on this surveillance for decades. They have not only been fully and regularly briefed, but they have authorized it and enthusiastically authorized the funding for it over and over and over again. It is not a Democrat or a Republican thing - it is a National Security thing.
Even the bad guys know about our surveillance capabilities. Why do you think Osama and crew use messengers and hand written messages to communicate? When they do use computers and phones, they are smart enough to use encryption and various other methods to hide their nefarious evil activities.
But somehow, genius that you are, WingNut, you had no clue and are outraged, even while the cave dwelling terrorists figured it out long ago.
WingNut - do you live in the fucking ignorant bubble on Narnia?
Digital metadata is collected en masse, processed using software programs on computers that perform sophisticated pattern recognition algorithms so we can zero in on people plotting mass murder and other forms of mayhem. What's the fucking problem?
What do you think Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Microsoft, and a gazillion other commercial companies are doing in order to figure out how to suck your wallet dry? Answer - the exact same thing but without any regulatory or legislative oversight and they do it on Americans. That's why they and the telcos information was subpoenaed - because for the Government to do what the commercial companies are doing actually requires authorization and a court order.
FYI - There isn't some huge room full of pale, drone-like, Big Brother people listening to phone calls or reading your emails and texts you fucking moron.
They don't need to listen to or read anything until they get a statistically relevant, double and triple checked hit, pull a warrant, and get a court authorization to dig deeper. Perfectly legal and absolutely necessary.
BTW: Your hero Snowden is a fucking traitor. Why are you supporting his actions with your bullshit posts?
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