- Project SHAMROCK started collecting telephony data for millions of Americans in 1945 around the establishment of the FIVE EYES.

- In the 1950s all snailmail in the US system was routed for selective examination by the NSA and law enforcement

- Expansion of collection operations continued through the Cold War until leaks in the 1970s (containing COINTELPRO, MINARET, PROMIS) the Supreme Court (the Keith Court) established that bulk surveillance need respect the 4th Amendment and the Church Commission (led by a Senator who was ing spied on by the Executive branch) established the FISA Court as a compromise solution. It was revealed that mass telephony programs were still in operation years after the Church Committee was promised they were stopped.

- In the 1980s Reagan declared Executive Order 12333 which massively expanded the executive branch interpretation of what it deemed its capabilities were under the limitations imposed on it, again expanding bulk collection capabilities.

- In the 1990s the Clinton Administration battled to backdoor all cryptography in the United States after strong cryptography was finally deemed to be allowed to US citizens, instead the administration requires compliance by service carriers through CALEA and a constellation of other laws to have to the ability to strip any encryption that they provide on behalf of a customer and in general solidified the Third Party Doctrine (IP laws also made it impossible to add encryption oneself). It was revealed that mass telephony programs were in operation.

- In the late 1990s there continued to be leaks of abuses and overreach by intelligence and law enforcement on profile building and mass surveillance.

- Through the 2000s the Bush Administration and in the 2010s the Obama Administration pushed to expand tap-and-trace laws and the Third Party Doctrine into the digital domain. 'Fusion Centers' are established across the US where they monitor the activities of groups considered to be national security threats (including The Tea Party, a third party trying to use the democratic system we have in place to gain the support of the people) and collect bulk local level information. Fusion Center databases are not at national scales, and as far as I can tell, are not considered national databases (though they will pass records as need be up the chain). Local police departments are also given equipment for mass scanning and data collection including Stingrays and X-Ray scanning vans.

- 2015: The point of this article is that there was no court oversight against the Keith Court decision and federal law.

- Today you are now considered a reasonable, lawful target if you are three hops indirectly connected through any medium from a 'bad guy' - Twitter alone has an average separation of random users of 3.43 [1] - imagine when all forms of communication are combined

Reporting on the Snowden leaks showed us that the NSA and intelligence operations are important sabotage and espionage (decision advantage) capabilities of the United States (we had Merkle's cell phone during the Eurozone crisis for Gods sake, we spied on foreign diplomats before international meetings and we hacked Brazilian PETROBRAS so we could win international offshore oil drilling auctions). That is the use of these programs are not about terrorism but realpolitik/noopolitik in general (terrorism a small corner).

'Terrorism' is a boogyman and a political tool. There is no reasonable definition that doesn't equally label the United States as both performing and sponsoring terroristic activities. Western media reported that the Breivik attack was a terrorist attack by Islamic Extremists until it came out it was an anti-Islamic political assault by a Christian extremist where they dropped the word 'terrorist' for 'insane' (he killed over 70 people, most of them children).

Terrorism today doesn't mean Mexican killings, deaths to locals in areas we don't like, US soldier and military behavior, Israel's asymmetric and total warfare with Palestine - it means Middle Eastern violence against the west.

The CIA hacked the Senatorial Commission to investigate it. That bears repeating: the Executive Branch of our government broke into the communication facilities of the legislative branch that is set up to 'check and balance' it.

The point of the article, and that of the American people is not that it is happened to everyone and all calls. That it is not happening to everyone and all calls isn't a counterpoint.

[1] http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/SOCS/SOCS11/paper/view/403...