This is no place

ABC Exclusive Inside Account of NSA Spying Disappoints; NBC Delivers

In an unshocking ABC interview, former NSA call monitors revealed that the NSA has been monitoring and recording phone calls between soldiers and their families, journalists overseas, and other Americans calling other Americans who have not been linked to terrorism. Is anyone surprised?

The story includes sophomoric accounts of NSA listeners joking about Americans' personal lifes, sharing phone sex tapes, and listening in on sweet talk and personal moments. The article touches briefly on the revelation that the phone calls of aide organizations were volunatarily monitored, and highlights concerns that "casting the net so wide" makes it harder to actually locate terrorist calls, the proverbial needle-in-the-haystack.

The one point of interest in the story describes a system where the calls are all stored in a system where they can be called up like songs in an mp3 player.

The only real value in this article is that it validates concerns that the government is not only spying on terrorists. But the article seems to focus on the idea that if you aren't a terrorist, you should be worried that someone you don't know and will never meet might listen in on some pillow talk between you and your significant other.

Not one mention is given to what sort of calls were recorded that these immature voyeurs were uninterested in sharing with their coworkers. Discussions of family finances, voting preferences, mailing of absentee ballots, political activism? Have any journalists been recorded disclosing to their editors the next be story they are about to blow wide open? What other actionable intelligence could have been monitored and recorded to abuse the rights of Americans?

But would the government actually misuse information on politicla preferences of activism?

Count on it.

A real news story from MSNBC explains how the military has been tracking Iraq War protest groups, including Quakers. The report discloses information from a "secret Pentagon database" obtained by NBC. The 400 page document details activist groups and planned events and labels many peaceful activists as "threats".

Watch the full report MSNBC report: