Those procedures are in place to detect terrorists. Are you a terrorist? If no, then you shouldn't have any thing to worry about! Right?
No. Wrong!
Anybody who believes in its governments word on faith alone, without the slightest question or verification is a fool. And anybody who still trusts the Bush Administration word, with its long history of lies and deceptions: doubly so.
The problem is the White House refuses to let anybody (the courts, congress) supervise who exactly is being watched and for what purpose. Both the FBI and CIA (both run by Bush Cronies) report to the executive branch. So nobody but the presidents inner circle knows whats going on. That's a very dangerous precedent.
The WH only response is we should "trust them" on faith alone. This from a Administration with a very long history of lying to cover illegal or immoral activities.
Had the populations of Nazi Germany, or the Soviet Union been fully aware of what exactly their governments were doing History might have taken a very different course. When a Government refuses to let anybody supervise its activities at all it usually means its doing something it knows its not suppose to be doing.
As an American citizen, who was born, raised, and lived there for 28 years. I can tell you for fact that TED has a greater understanding of American society than you do. Your radical views DO NOT represent America as a whole, but are those of a small fringe group who are fading quickly into obscurity, -and not fast enough.