Surprise surprise. Link

The allegations, reported in the Wall Street Journal late on Thursday, suggest that the US Marshals Service has for seven years flown Cessna aircraft outfitted with "dirtbox" devices that mimic cellular towers, permitting the collection of thousands of unique IDs and location data from users.

According to the Journal the planes operate from at least five metropolitan airports, permitting a "flying range covering most of the US population".

The reportedly indiscriminate collection would permit the marshals and potentially other justice department agencies to avoid having to seek records from the phone companies themselves, especially in criminal investigations where a court order may be required.

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In official testimony US officials have routinely denied that the NSA collects phone location information in bulk, but they frequently add the caveat "under this program", leading to widespread suspicion that other government programs perform that function, and prompting freedom of information requests seeking the truth.

I wonder how many more methods of secret mass surveillance we'll discover over time. These agencies - the NSA, CIA, and FBI - are out of control with no one really governing them. They exist forever, independent of who's in office, loyal to no one but themselves. Their agendas can span decades because they have no term limits. If they have a president or Congress that seems unfavorable to their operations, all they need do is wait it out until the next election. Or wave around the "fear" card.

Michael German, a former FBI agent now with New York University Law School, said: "The government's attitude seems to be if it can, it should, without regard to the violation of Americans' rights, so long as nobody knows. The overriding problem is the excessive secrecy that hides the government's ever-expanding surveillance programs from public accountability."

"This isn't about tipping off criminals. Every criminal or terrorist I ever worked undercover against knew they were criminals and terrorists, and therefore that there was probable cause to believe they were criminals and terrorists, so the government could get warrants to listen to their calls or search their homes."

"So long as nobody knows" - and if someone does find out and makes it public, the spy agencies aren't repentant or embarrassed. They're outraged that you exposed their dirty dealings. How can you think of rights in the face of all this peril? Don't you know that the only way to protect your freedom is to take it away?

There's a vote in the Senate on a bill to curb the NSA. Start contacting your senators plus any senators currently opposed to the bill and especially those jerks on the Intelligence Committee who only got upset about spying when they were the ones being spied on.