FLAIT

I wrote this as a Letter to the Editor. It was published but heavily edited. Here it is as originally written.

The justification behind the government's illegal warrentless wiretapping program, and the "vacuuming" of phone calls, its "metadata" and all electronic communications made by every American, is to "keep Americans safe from a terrorist attack." But the chances of a terrorist attack in the United States, and being the victim of a terrorist attack, are extremely slim, post 9/11. However, getting shot or being the victim of a gun crime is more likely. We see and hear about guns, shootings and bloodshed every day all over the country. And yet, the blatantly unconstitutional surveillance of all Americans and the collection of their private communications - which didn't prevent the "underwear bomber" from getting on the plane, the "Times Square bomber" from igniting his car, the Boston Marathon bombing or the ricin tainted letters - has more than enough political support to keep it going, even in secret if it has to. But passing strong, long over-due, national gun control laws, which would "keep Americans safe(r)," will never happen. We can't even get background checks on all gun sales, or at the very least, an assault weapons ban, post Santa Monica, Mohawk Valley, Newtown, Minneapolis, Oak Creek, Aurora, Tucson, Virginia Tech, Columbine, Jonesboro, Paducah...(July 2016 insert)...Washington, DC, Fort Hood, Santa Barbara, Marysville, Charleston, Chattanooga, Roseburg, Colorado Springs (twice), San Bernadino, Kalamazoo, Orlando, Dallas...

This is criminality, stupidity and insanity. On steroids.