On the recordJune 12, 2013
``Those who give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.'' Ben Franklin uttered those words several hundred years ago, but his warning is still relevant today. Reports that the National Security Agency has been monitoring the phone records and Internet activities of ordinary citizens should concern every American. The President has said that these surveillance programs don't involve listening to people's phone calls or reading their emails. Americans want to believe their President. Yet his tax agency lied about targeting conservative groups and his Justice Department spied on reporters who were just doing their job. As a Nation, we would be wise to heed Ben Franklin's advice and make sure that there is a bright line between acceptable counterterrorism activities and unacceptable violations of our fundamental rights. ____________________
