BooHooHoo! We Don't Have Time To Spy Anymore!

It seems the NSA is a bit anal retentive these days because they do not have as much time to devote to unrestrained spying, thanks to Edward Snowden and the information he released to the general public. The NSA would much rather operate in secret, allegedly gathering as much intelligence as possible about foreign targets and "protecting" the United States. That's a very nice thought, but Snowden's leaks did not actually deal very much with surveillance of foreign nationals operating in a hostile fashion; the leaks dealt with metadata collected and stored about the everyday lives and activities of average American citizens. That said, it seems plausible that those who spy for the NSA may actually be prevaricating when they express concerns that foreign targets upon whom they spy will now be forewarned and change their communication styles and mediums in an ongoing effort to frustrate information harvests.

How often has the NSA successfully averted unfortunate goings-on in the dominions and lives of everyday citizens? A look at any news network will show that if the NSA truly has any intentions of making the world a safer place for Americans and others, they've been slacking lately. What, exactly then, have they been doing with all of the data they collect? The ability to intercept Facebook and Twitter communications could stop a lot of everyday criminal activity. While the NSA can argue that those everyday criminal activities are petty crimes, and not worthy of their attention, the direction of prosecutors nationwide has been to criminalize, over-criminalize, and charge each and every defendant or police detainee with a felony whenever possible. It seems, kinda, sorta, like informing local sheriff departments about premeditated felony crime should be a priority of sorts, or at least a side interest, if the intelligence to intercept is available, which it clearly is. How many missing persons cases are still open?  How many times has the NSA offered it's help in locating missing children? Probably never. Your children are not important, everyday Americans. Now that the middle classes are not important, your children do not matter, and your tax dollars that support law enforcement do not pay anyone to protect you or your children. Don't expect anyone's intelligence gathering activities to help you in any way.

In the "Post Edward Snowden Era", the NSA is very, very unhappy about it's perceived obligation to control damage, rather than to come clean and amend it's practices. There is much ado about all of the time agents must spend tracking down that which has been revealed, and any defensive postures that must be taken. Finding out who knows what, and who is changing gears in order to compensate for lack of privacy, is much more important than treating the general population with respect. In fact, the NSA is not concerned, in the slightest way, about any murders or any missing persons cases whih could have been prevented, but for some useful information, denied, rather than shared with lower level law enforcement; and the NSA is not concerned in the slightest about the lack of respect it has shown for American citizens.