Want to know if your member of Congress cares about your privacy and backed the proposal for an end to mass data collection of US Citizens ? Find out ..
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/congressional-scorecard-mass-surveillance-standagainstspyingorg-launches-encourageA coalition of 22 organizations from across the political spectrum today launched StandAgainstSpying.org, an interactive website that grades members of Congress on what they have done, or often not done, to rein in the NSA.
Led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Sunlight Foundation and Greenpeace, the coalition aims to inspire constituents to hold their elected officials accountable on mass surveillance reform, as well as give lawmakers the opportunity to improve their positions. Using a report card-style format, the grading criteria included whether the legislator was a sponsor of the USA FREEDOM Act or, in the case of the House of Representatives, voted for the "Amash Amendment" to defund NSA mass surveillance. Legislators had multiple avenues for receiving high marks.
Of the 100 senators and 433 representatives included, 241 members (45 percent) received "A" grades. However, 188 members (35 percent) flunked the scorecard, while another 77 members (14 percent) received question marks for taking no measurable action.
Website visitors can enter their zip codes to look up their congressional members' scores. They then are encouraged to tweet directly at their members of Congress, thanking them for defending privacy or asking them to do more in the fight against mass spying. Additionally, all visitors can sign an open letter to President Barack Obama urging him to end the mass surveillance programs immediately, without waiting for Congress to act.
"We must hold members of Congress accountable by making clear to the public who in Congress is standing up for surveillance reform, who is acting as a roadblock, and who is failing to take a stand," EFF Activism Director Rainey Reitman said. "More Americans than ever now think the NSA has gone too far. The American people—and frankly people all over the world—can't wait any longer for Congress to rein in the NSA."
This is a sensible step forward, those who hold views that are anti democratic or not representative of their voters can be held accountable and action taken to ensure that the freedoms many hold dear and others have fought for over many hundreds of years are regained and passed on to generations of Americans in the future, fear of fear is self defeating, accepting that there are bad folks in the world and doing your best to counter their activities is the right way to proceed but when that involves giving up the very freedoms that make your society and citizens better than terrorists and oppressors its handing them a victory on a plate.
