Rand Paul launches class action suit against NSA

Like him or not, Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky is suing the National Security Administration in a class-action lawsuit he hopes will attract 10 million supporters.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Sen. Rand Paul asked the question, "Do we no longer have a Fourth Amendment?" It's a serious question because our personal information has been collected en masse and there's good reason to believe that all, not just some, has been aggregated by the agency. Furthermore, there is concern that the NSA is feeding the information to local law enforcement to pursue even petty crimes, according to Paul's website, defendthefourth.com.

The Fourth Amendment reads: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Pray for justice and integrity in our government.

In common and popular understanding, no individual can be searched without permission or cause. This would include the surreptitious "hoovering" of metadata and other information from private American citizens. It would also include the "accidental" collection of data from Americans, which isn't hardly accidental at all.

As Edward Snowden explained, it's not about safety, it's about control.

Paul pointed out that the founding fathers were distrustful of government and they deliberately built a system where government was restrained and minimized. Although the founding fathers lived over 250 years ago, humans being what they are, are naturally tempted by power and given to corruption.

Until nearly a year ago, most Americans had any idea the scale and competency of the government collection efforts that were ongoing and being upgraded while they slept.

Paul explained, "Today is the day we begin to fight back."

Although most Americans assume they have nothing to hide and therefore nothing to fear, it should be remembered that what is acceptable and what is taboo changes in time. At one time, for example, it was taboo in English society to be openly Catholic. Today in America, firearm owners are concerned that the law may reduce their rights to keep and bear arms consistent with the Second Amendment.

Whether these fears are grounded in reason or fable makes little difference. We are entitled to a degree of privacy, liberty, and to our privately held beliefs. Yet, when our privacy and our private beliefs are subject to government aggregation and databasing, we run the risk of future harm to our liberty should government opinion turn against us.

Already, the NSa has proven it can't be trusted with personal data. The NSA has handed over data on American citizens to the IRS, to local law enforcement, the DEA, and FBI. NSA officials and the President have lied to us about that. IRS and DEA officials have also been caught lying about the source of their information as well as doctoring official court documents to shield the NSA. Unscrupulous NSA agents have even been reported for using their powers to spy on love interests.

The people deserve protection from this intrusion. We deserve the freedoms and liberties that our ancestors fought and died for, and earned through their toil. Now we will we deserve the liberties we fight for today and secure for ourselves and our children.

Let us pray for the success of this effort to curtail a government of men drunk on their own power.

Pope Francis calls for your 'prayer and action'...

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