President Wants NSA to stop

WASHINGTON (AP) –  The White House wants the National Security Agency to get out of the business of sweeping up and storing vast amounts of data on Americans' phone calls.

The Obama administration this week is expected to propose that Congress overhaul the electronic surveillance program by having phone companies hold onto the call records as they do now, according to a government official briefed on the proposal. The New York Times first reported the details of the proposal Monday night. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the plan.

The White House proposal would end the government's practice of sweeping up the phone records of millions of Americans and holding onto those records for five years so the numbers can be searched for national security purposes. Instead, the White House is expected to propose that the phone records be kept for 18 months, as the phone companies are already required to do by federal regulation, and that it be able to preserve its ability to see certain records in specific circumstances approved by a judge.

According to a senior administration official, the president will present "a sound approach to ensuring the government no longer collects or holds this data, but still ensures that the government has access to the information it needs to meet the national security needs his team has identified." The administration official spoke late Monday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the proposal before it was officially announced.

The president's plan, however, relies on Congress to pass legislation — something that has so far seemed unlikely.

Details of the government's secret phone records collection program were disclosed last year by former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden. Privacy advocates were outraged to learn that the government was holding onto phone records of innocent Americans for up to five years. Obama promised to make changes to the program in an effort to win back public support.

In January, President Barack Obama tasked his administration with coming up with an alternative to the current counterterrorism program and suggested that the phone companies option was the most likely. However, he also said that option posed problems.

"This will not be simple," Obama said. An independent review panel suggested that the practice of the government collecting the phone records be replaced by a third party or the phone companies holding the records, and the government would access them as needed.

"Both of these options pose difficult problems," Obama said in January. "Relying solely on the records of multiple providers, for example, could require companies to alter their procedures in ways that raise new privacy concerns.

And the phone companies have been against this option, as well.

In several meetings with White House staff since December, phone company executives came out strongly opposed to proposals that would shift the custody of the records from the NSA to the telecoms. The executives said they would only accept such changes to the NSA program if they were legally required and if that requirement was spelled out in legislation.

The companies are concerned about the costs of retaining the records and potential liability, such as being sued by individuals whose phone data was provided to intelligence or law enforcement agencies, these people said. The discussions with the White House ceased earlier this year. Industry officials said they had not been in contact with the administration as new options were being considered. The executives have continued to discuss the issue with lawmakers, however.

The administration's proposed changes won't happen right away. The government plans to continue its bulk collection program for at least three months, the Times said.

But it's unlikely that Congress would pass legislation in the next three months, as the NSA surveillance has proved to be a divisive issue, even within political parties.

The chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein, has advocated for the program to continue to operate as it does. The California Democrat said she would be open to other options if they met national security and privacy needs.

It is unclear whether the White House proposal will meet those needs.

Leaders of the House intelligence committee are expected to introduce legislation Tuesday that would call for a similar option to the Obama administration's.

Under the administration's pending legislative proposal, officials would have to obtain phone records by getting individual orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the Times report said. The new court orders would require companies to provide those records swiftly and to make available continuing data related to the order when new calls are placed or received.

Summary- the president wants congress to pass legislature to stop the NSA from collecting data from phone calls

President Wants NSA to stop

WASHINGTON (AP) –  The White House wants the National Security Agency to get out of the business of sweeping up and storing vast amounts of data on Americans' phone calls.

The Obama administration this week is expected to propose that Congress overhaul the electronic surveillance program by having phone companies hold onto the call records as they do now, according to a government official briefed on the proposal. The New York Times first reported the details of the proposal Monday night. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the plan.

The White House proposal would end the government's practice of sweeping up the phone records of millions of Americans and holding onto those records for five years so the numbers can be searched for national security purposes. Instead, the White House is expected to propose that the phone records be kept for 18 months, as the phone companies are already required to do by federal regulation, and that it be able to preserve its ability to see certain records in specific circumstances approved by a judge.

According to a senior administration official, the president will present "a sound approach to ensuring the government no longer collects or holds this data, but still ensures that the government has access to the information it needs to meet the national security needs his team has identified." The administration official spoke late Monday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the proposal before it was officially announced.

The president's plan, however, relies on Congress to pass legislation — something that has so far seemed unlikely.

Details of the government's secret phone records collection program were disclosed last year by former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden. Privacy advocates were outraged to learn that the government was holding onto phone records of innocent Americans for up to five years. Obama promised to make changes to the program in an effort to win back public support.

In January, President Barack Obama tasked his administration with coming up with an alternative to the current counterterrorism program and suggested that the phone companies option was the most likely. However, he also said that option posed problems.

"This will not be simple," Obama said. An independent review panel suggested that the practice of the government collecting the phone records be replaced by a third party or the phone companies holding the records, and the government would access them as needed.

"Both of these options pose difficult problems," Obama said in January. "Relying solely on the records of multiple providers, for example, could require companies to alter their procedures in ways that raise new privacy concerns.

And the phone companies have been against this option, as well.

In several meetings with White House staff since December, phone company executives came out strongly opposed to proposals that would shift the custody of the records from the NSA to the telecoms. The executives said they would only accept such changes to the NSA program if they were legally required and if that requirement was spelled out in legislation.

The companies are concerned about the costs of retaining the records and potential liability, such as being sued by individuals whose phone data was provided to intelligence or law enforcement agencies, these people said. The discussions with the White House ceased earlier this year. Industry officials said they had not been in contact with the administration as new options were being considered. The executives have continued to discuss the issue with lawmakers, however.

The administration's proposed changes won't happen right away. The government plans to continue its bulk collection program for at least three months, the Times said.

But it's unlikely that Congress would pass legislation in the next three months, as the NSA surveillance has proved to be a divisive issue, even within political parties.

The chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein, has advocated for the program to continue to operate as it does. The California Democrat said she would be open to other options if they met national security and privacy needs.

It is unclear whether the White House proposal will meet those needs.

Leaders of the House intelligence committee are expected to introduce legislation Tuesday that would call for a similar option to the Obama administration's.

Under the administration's pending legislative proposal, officials would have to obtain phone records by getting individual orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the Times report said. The new court orders would require companies to provide those records swiftly and to make available continuing data related to the order when new calls are placed or received.

Summary- the president wants congress to pass legislature to stop the NSA from collecting data from phone calls

Gerrymandering

March 3, 2014

Elections that will shape the future of North Carolina took place last Friday, and no one voted.

They weren’t official elections, but they will have the same effect. Friday was the filing deadline for candidates. In nearly one-third of the General Assembly’s races, only one candidate filed and in effect became the winner. After primaries, 78 seats – or 46 percent of the legislature – will have only one major party candidate in the general election. In 2012, there were 67 uncontested races.

What makes the number of uncontested races remarkable is that it has occurred during a period of intense debate over state government policies and laws passed by the Republican-led General Assembly.

More than 900 people were willing to be arrested to express their opposition during Moral Monday protests at the legislature. Many Republican and independent voters pushed back, saying Republican lawmakers and Republican Gov. Pat McCrory were taking North Carolina in the right direction. But when the time came to direct those strong feelings into standing for election, many chose not to bother.

The reason isn’t a lack of will. It’s an acceptance of reality. The redistricting process that follows the census every 10 years has become so partisan that many districts are heavily stacked toward one party. Because Republicans took over the General Assembly in the 2010 election, they got to redraw the legislative and congressional district lines in a way that favors Republican candidates.

Democrats did the same when they were in power. This time, though, the Republicans were especially brazen about making the lines partisan. Improvements in mapping technology have made the work even more precise and effective.

When they were out of power, Republicans called for changing the redistricting process to a nonpartisan one. But now that their handiwork has helped create veto-proof majorities in the state House and Senate and helped to flip the state’s congressional delegation from 7-6 Democratic to 9-4 Republican, redistricting reform has slipped off the Republicans’ wish list. Indeed, some Republicans sound content with the practice of politicians choosing their voters.

Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, one of the authors of the lopsided Republican map, told WRAL that the withering of the democratic process in filling nearly half of the state’s legislative seats reflects the contentment of voters. “Many of the constituents in our state are pleased with the representation they have and don’t feel the need to file to replace their current member of the House or Senate,” he said.

But Lewis knows well that the rise in uncontested races is hardly an expression of contentment. He’s a defendant in a lawsuit brought by voters and civil and voting rights groups seeking to have the maps thrown out. The maps were upheld by a three-judge panel, but the case has been appealed to the state Supreme Court.

It’s important for democracy that the plaintiffs prevail in the redistricting suit. But it’s even more important that the General Assembly move to end redistricting as a political process. Iowa, for one, has nonpartisan legislative staff members draw its lines. The results are more districts where members of both major parties have a reasonable chance to win and that makes for a better reflection of the voters’ will.

Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, is leading his group’s push for nonpartisan redistricting. The current system, he said, disenfranchises voters and reduces lawmakers’ need to be responsive to a more diverse electorate.

Taking politics out of the redistricting process is essential to bringing true politics – the art of compromise – back to the legislative process. Otherwise, voters are locked out, lawmakers are locked in and polarization rules.

Summary- Primary elections were held in North Carolina and it shows just how much of an effect gerrymandering has on the democratic process. Only a handful out of the 78 seats available were contested. Incumbents are becoming and issue and some people are beginning to make efforts to change this and help save the democratic process in the state. I see this as a good thing becuase gerrymandering is something that I believe needs to be stopped because it presents the true voice of the people from being heard. Parties are too interested in they're own affairs and not enough on the people's.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/03/03/3671179/gerrymandering-drains-democracy.html#storylink=cpy