Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Terrorism and crime are a side effects of living freely.

And I didn't say otherwise. However that there are efforts to combat terrorism always gets compared to the traffic deaths/heart disease/cancer canard. It is a non-starter argument.

non-expanded powers have been surprisingly effective at stopping worst-case scenarios

Expanded relates to expanded avenues of communications and organization. The NSA moves into collecting data in avenues that "the other side" didn't have not too many years ago. The world evolves on all sides.

Further, as the critically important old saying goes: chance favors the prepared. There will come a day that a nuclear weapon gets in the hands of the "wrong" people (e.g. during a breakdown of the government in Pakistan, etc.). That chance event, which thankfully hasn't happened thus far, can have many possible outcomes.




And the NSA will successfully catch the people who have stolen nuclear weapons by collecting worldwide unencrypted internet traffic?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: