Just like sometime in the future the last human words heard will be "Wonder what happens if you push this button?".

The problem in finding balance with security measures is that no one really knows if any of the current programs, laws, and actions are actually preventing any attacks. I tend to believe that the US foreign intelligence services have their hands full dealing with problems in other countries and have very little time or reason to waste resources on the domestic side of things. Their attempts to automate and electronically compile data to detect security threats has been a failure and that is most likely why no one is really that upset with stopping programs such as the metadata collection effort. The only ones making a big deal over the issue is the feckless politicians looking to score points "fighting for homeland security" or "fighting for privacy rights". The problem the US faces is that the NSA, CIA, FBI, DIA, and all the other law enforcement and security agencies still do not play well with one another. Each agency has their own programs and priorities that sometimes overlap but each agency still guard their turf a little too much. The government attempts to correct this has resulted in jurisdiction issues and possible 4th Amendment violations when one agency collects information under one set of evidentiary rules and then shares that information with another agency who did not meet the evidentiary requirements to legally possess the information and then used it to prosecute a crime.

The President is the Commander and Chief of the US armed services. Under the War Powers Act he can declare war without getting Congressional approval. The President has 90 days after the start of the war to convince Congress to support his decision. If they do not agree they have the power to stop providing the money needed to prosecute the war. The drone strikes are carried out with the permission from the countries where the attacks take place. Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghani governments have given the US permission to conduct drone attacks in their countries. No matter how much those governments try to deny it to their general public they have approved the US drone operations. And it does not matter one bit if the Patriot Act or any similar act exists because the national security agencies will still do pretty much anything they want any way. I doubt seriously whether the NSA really cares about losing the ability to collect metadata. And any similar program that involves collecting large amounts of data will also be no big loss. The NSA and CIA can pretty much do anything they want outside of the US just like every other intelligence service in the world can come to the US and nose around. I personally think the US should eliminate the TSA and let you keep your shoes on when you go through airport security. I think the government should do what the people want and roll back all of the security measures put in place since 9/11. I am willing to take the risk of becoming a victim from a terrorist attack. If there is a terrorist attack that kills a sizable number of people the government should just track down those responsible and kill them with absolutely no large military deployments or prolonged presence in a foreign country. When the public starts complaining that the government should have prevented the attack the government can honestly say they discontinued all of the over reaching domestic related national security measures just like the US public wanted.

Have you ever filed a Federal and State Income tax form? If so the government already knows where you work, your income, how many dependents you have, where you live, your age, your marital status, and details about any property you own.They started collecting this information way before there was any electronic information age in all it's various manifestations. And to top it off the government doesn't need a search warrant to access any of this information they have compiled and stored. The IRS makes the NSA look like beginners when it comes to compiling information on it's citizens and I would rather catch the attention of the NSA instead of the IRS. It's a little late in the game to start worrying about what the government knows about you.

You show me a discussion site with a "common bond" and I will show you a site that is no more than an "echo chamber" and mutual back slapping society comprised of people convinced of their own magnificence. Forums so bereft of meaningful discussions that overtime it's participants think anyone disagreeing with them are trolls at best and idiots at worst.

You forgot to include "Tang" in your list of spin off technologies. In reply to most of the posts here the population will be whittled down to a more manageable level after the next big war kicks off. And WW3 is coming and there is not a damn thing anyone can do except build a bigger and more deadly arsenal. And as the resources become more scarce the chance of war will increase.

When a manufacturer is selecting which OS to pre-install the only thing that matters is which one will allow the average user to run the most applications. Believe it or not people use computers to run applications not just an OS. This applies to both personal and business users. If the FOSS OS evangelists spent more time pushing for more applications and development tools that help streamline application development then Linux in all it's variations might actually be used more outside the data center.

As long as the same divorce rules apply then more power to them. Alimony, child support, and division of marital assets may have some wondering about this whole same sex marriage initiative.

There are already laws that govern police behavior. Just because the police may break those laws does not mean we need more laws. And companies also have a whole list of laws and regulations they must adhere to and just because a company may break those laws doesn't mean more laws are needed. And everyone should have equal opportunities but there are some who willfully fail to take advantage of those opportunities. No matter what reforms are handed down by the national or local governments the ultimate responsibility is on the individual and trying to shift the responsibility on to someone else will not help anything.

Indoor plumbing.

The Senators are a bunch of morons and are the last group that should ever complain about someone lying. They are experts at prevarication and give unambiguous answers that always leave room for them to back track. Only a very select committee of Senators are privy to anything relating to classified US intelligence matters and that committee is responsible for determining what information can be safely released to the entire Senate. Any Senator claiming they did not know about certain intelligence programs or operations should first go after their fellow Senators on the foreign intelligence committee and ask them what they know and then go after the particular intelligence agency. This investigation was not being conducted by this intelligence committee. The vast majority of Senators and staffers do not even have the necessary security clearances needed for access to certain classified information about US intelligence programs. In this particular case the CIA discovered the Senate had possession of an internal CIA report that had not been legally obtained through the proper channels. The CIA could attempt to justify it's actions by claiming there had been a security leak (which there was) and they were investigating how the Senate got a hold of the document in question. The first logical step in the investigation would be obtaining proof the document was actually on the Senate computer system. The Senate constantly wastes time on these types of conflicts while doing nothing that would actually help the country and the people who put them in office. The Senate is more dangerous to the US public than the CIA and NSA combined. And the feckless Senators will do nothing of consequence in this cat fight because they are just barely smart enough not to get into a full blown conflict with agencies capable of destroying their political careers. After all the CIA has had a lot of practice changing governments around the world using subtle and not to subtle means. The Senate and the CIA deserve each other.

You can carry enough explosives on your back or in the trunk of a car and just walk into or just park close to any public building or public transportation system and detonate. Using drones to do the same thing would just take the "suicide" out of the classic "suicide bomber" gambit first popularized by Japan in WW2. And it could be quite fun taken pot shots at drones flying overhead with your trusty ole 12 Gauge. The only drones you should probably let pass unmolested are those racking a couple of Hell Fire missiles. The tag price for bagging one of those could be quite expensive to say the least. Life will never be a safe as people want it to be and if it was it would probably be pretty damn boring.

At no time did I say the US deserves a free pass for it's actions. But that same free pass is constantly being extended to countries such as Russia, NK, and Iran. It's come down to nobody can do any wrong and if they are doing something wrong it was because the US forced their hands.

And if these guys are not subjected to any of the bad consequences you listed would you be willing to reevaluate your arguments?

Secret courts? Are you talking about the FISA court? Those proceedings are indeed kept confidential but it is hardly secret. As a matter of fact it has been around since 1978. Any information collected under the auspices of a FISA warrant cannot be used in any court against any defendant. And Russia uses it's transparent judicial system to efficiently prosecute anyone who dares challenge the state or attempts to organize political protests. The fact is the Russian or Chinese judicial systems are opaque and hardly ever publicly investigated or even debated while the US judicial system is debated and criticized endlessly.