Opinion on NSA data collection

[Indium Flappers]

I was just wondering what everyone thought of the NSA surveillance programs revealed by the guardian and other news sources. (Collecting metadata from phone calls and other information from different internet services.)

I'm guessing that almost everyone has heard of the programs, but if you haven't here are some relevant links.

phone records
prism program
a comparison of the two programs
A Wired article pointing out, among other things, that the NSA was asking companies for information before 9/11 occured.
An allegation by Ryan Singel, writing for Wired, that General Alexander is lying about what the NSA is doing.
Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks claims that the programs have been declared both illegal and unconstitutional by the courts.
A poll done on whether Edward Snowden's leak compromised national security.
Another poll on whether people think the programs are acceptable or not.

I'm basically asking the same question as the second poll I linked. Are these programs acceptable or no? Also, I'd be interested in how many had heard these news stories already and how many have been following the story, vs. how many hadn't heard about it at all until reading this post.

Just curious what everyone's thoughts are. Thanks!

[Indium Flappers]

I mentioned this at the August meeting, but I thought I'd post it here for anyone who was interested in having the information.

There is a website here that has a number of resources for anyone looking to protect themselves somewhat from government/corporate surveillance or identity theft. A number of things I don't expect most people to be able to address. (For instance they recommend using a secure distribution of linux rather than windows, and linux is somewhat unfriendly to non-techies.) But switching to Ixquick or Duckduckgo is quite easy. (And note that Ixquick has been audited by third-parties to make sure they keep their promises in regard to privacy.)