[jtmckinney]

As has already been said, nothing has changed yet. Is it going to? Probably a little just so they can say they are doing something but I suspect it will go on pretty much unabated. There are some very bright people involved and they get to write and inforce the laws.

I was raised when J. Edgar Hoover was Director of the FBI. The parallels to someone (or in this case a government agency) who knows where all the skeleton's are buried is troublesome beyond what I have the wit to put into words.

It is not the people that scare me as much as the computers. Software evolves, just look at the quality of softwares today and compare them to what we had just a few years ago. The quality of computer programmers they have involved in this is probably the best money can buy. What they can do over time is very scary if it is turned against the people.

What Snowden did should have started a snow ball going down hill that should have put a lot of very powerful people in prison or minimum cost them their government positions, but it is not going to.

I do not see how what Snowden did helps gun rights beyond what it does to alert us to the threats to all of our core rights. All we can do is cast our votes during an election. Sure there are recalls but they are too few to matter. I haven't voted for an incumbent since the Patriot Act. At some point I will have to get away from that. Change will only happen when elected officials have to answer for their votes and what they actually do when in office.

Why isn't there a public outcry for the de-funding of these programs. They were not mentioned as being hurt or set back during the government shutdown.

Enough from me. Everyone have a great day and new year.
James