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Ever Wonder Who’s Listening In? TheBlaze TV’s New Series Asks

Mar. 12, 2013 1:11pm Madeleine Morgenstern

What if every email you sent, every phone call you made, was being tracked by the U.S. government?

It’s not science fiction, or George Orwell’s “1984.” It’s a very real possibility, as revealed in “For the Record,” TheBlaze TV’s new investigative series premiering Wednesday.

TheBlaze TV For the Record | NSA Domestic Spying | Thomas Drake Bill Binney NSA Whistleblowers

In its first episode, “For the Record” chronicles the massive expansion of the National Security Agency’s power to tap into the lives of American citizens in the post-9/11 world. The NSA, officially tasked with foreign intelligence gathering, has turned its listening capabilities inward on its own country, several agency whistleblowers say on the show.

“What I discovered shortly after 9/11 is that the NSA had embarked on a program, and they did call it ‘the program,’ in which they turned the United States of America into the equivalent of a foreign nation for the purposes of vast dragnet electronic surveillance,” says Thomas Drake, a former top NSA executive who was prosecuted under the Espionage Act after speaking out against NSA domestic spying.

Drake’s charges of allegedly leaking classified information were dropped in 2011, but Americans are still having more of their data collected and stored by the government than ever before, the show goes on to report.

“This is a story that had been told but not covered well,” TheBlaze TV senior producer Joe Weasel says.

One tangible fact in a world of wireless monitoring is what’s known as the Utah Data Center, slated for completion later this year. Located in Bluffdale, Utah, it’s an enormous facility believed meant for the mass storage of Americans’ electronic records.

“Their entire electronic life can be laid out on a timeline,” Bill Binney, a former NSA senior technical director turned whistleblower tells “For the Record.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who’s made defending constitutional principles a hallmark of his Senate tenure — evidenced most recently by his 13-hour filibuster of John Brennan’s confirmation as CIA director last week — says most of the NSA’s activities remain shrouded in secrecy.

“We’ve made so many things secret, it’s secret how much money we spend on NSA programs…it’s secret how many Americans have been snooped on,” Paul says. “Why would we make that secret and how can we ever restrain or correct abuses if it’s secret how many people are being snooped upon by the NSA?”

“For the Record” debuts Wednesday at 8 p.m. on TheBlaze TV.

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In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (17)

RAGEAGAINSTTHEMACHINE
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 12:31am
Great show! When do We the People do as the high court said we could and sue to change the ’08 Amendment to the FISA law? We are NOT a foreign country, we are not a theatre of war. This is America and the Constitution is being used as TP!!
Repeal the Patriot Act
Repeal the Homeland Security Act

All trampling your Rights!! Call your Reps

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Bikkiboo
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 10:28pm
I watched it. It seemed too long to me. I believe we’re being watched anyway (they must be really bored if they watch ME). To some extent, in today’s world this is necessary, but it’s still an invasion of privacy for most people. I wish the program had been broken into related sections on the various areas discussed. It just seemed too crammed together and wasn’t as organized as I would have liked. Of course, I was doing other stuff while it was on too, so maybe it was just me. 60 MINUTES rarely has program long topics. They’re broken down into several shorter ones that hit the high points. Maybe my attention span is lacking…

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Iammany1
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:47pm
No second rate show. Well done . Shows you just how far gone this gov. is.

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media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 4:53pm
We bank on the fact the NSA listens to all of our conversations, they need a voice of sanity to compare to the elected politicians and those that elect them? Give them an ear full please?

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searcher619
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 3:54pm
I don’t know how they can intercept suspect communications within the US w/o listening to everything. Programs like this have existed for a while now. This is sort of old news. Carnivore and Echelon were two programs that they made public. I’ve always wondered what other programs they have which are still kept secret.

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Guitar Master
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 2:21pm
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
From THE REPORTER
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Use your cell phone only for necessary communications !

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- GuruMeditation
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 5:31pm
  I recommended just the opposite. Use it for mundane, useless communication and as a way to spread dis-info in regard to your private life. Or don’t use them at all.
  
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battles
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 2:15pm
There are some good systems out on the web whereby you can communicate privately and anonymously. These are easy to understand and set up. If the police or a prosecutor ever comes after you (the vicious, corrupted prosecutor Eliot Spitzer use to go after anyone to promote himself), they will look at everything you have ever sent over the web to try to find something they can skew to hang you. Keep you communications private and encrypted.

Private/anonymous email or messaging systems (Windows interface):
AAMhSub Interpreter – email anonymously to anyone
A.A.M Direct – message anonymously to known parties
Both AAMhSub and A.A.M Direct have easy automatic setup routines.
Get here: http://wjlanders.users.sourceforge.net/

Anonymous direct messaging program:
Bitmessage
https://bitmessage.org/wiki/Main_Page

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- searcher619
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 4:01pm
  If someone with the resources of the federal government really wanted to intercept your comms they could do so fairly easily. The technology available today is pretty amazing. I remember it being fairly easy for someone to watch what you were typing w/o installing any software on your computer. this was back on the late 80′s a early 90′s so I wonder how much more can be done today.
  
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SingerGuy
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 1:47pm
I once thought about applying for work in the Bluffdale NSA Data Center, but decided I couldn’t live with myself if I supported that monster.

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- searcher619
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 3:52pm
  Yeah right….
  
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walnutportconservative
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 1:44pm
Calvin Coolidge said , “We cannot continue to enjoy the result if we neglect and abandon the cause.” America is in wreckless abandonement. Our rights infringe on our rights! Only God could orchestrate such a platform of social confusion, in order that we search hard for the truth. Keep searching.

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hi
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 1:26pm
C-4
terrorist
AK 47
white supremacy
revolution
Everyone type these words in posts and emails and confuse the heck out of them.

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- gyro
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 2:07pm
  no bad idea !
  
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gyro
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 1:22pm
smart phones are for idiots
Wait thats not nice
smart phones are for fools
wait thats not nice
smart phones are for the not very smart
Better :)

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- searcher619
  Posted on March 12, 2013 at 4:03pm
  Smartphones are tablet computers NOT phones. You get that right? You are saying computers are for idiots. That’s pretty idiotic. You need to learn to be safe while using them like you r with your desktop.
  
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BaldingEagle1776
Posted on March 12, 2013 at 1:12pm
Ooh, more fan fiction!

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