More NSA leaks to come, Guardian says

According to The Guardian a U.K. newspaper the "majority of the most important documents detailing how the U.S. National Security Agency collects personal data have not been published yet" but will be soon this is for numerous reasons.  The first being before they release any information they make sure it won't compromise national security by giving up the "names of covert agents" and "sensitive operational details".  Another reason is that The Guardian also refuses to publish any information that could help other countries better spy on their own citizens.  And the last reason is that Edward Snowden the NSA contractor who gave up the documents wants the details released piece by piece so that the public can fully understand what is going on.

The release of these documents is intended to raise a serious conversation about the alleged "illegal" actions of the NSA and the US government.  Although I can see how many have a problem with the NSA monitoring US citizens' technology such as phone calls, text messages, and emails these same people should also look at it from the point of view of the government.  The NSA is just doing their job, which is to do everything in their power to protect their citizens from another September 11th, 2001 and any other terrorist attack.  Although the fourth amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, section 215 of the USA PATRIOT act gave the government the power to look at an individual's activity records being held by third parties while section 214 gave them the power to access all business records.  Both of these powers are given under the PATRIOT act as unchecked powers meaning that NSA didn't and still doesn't need permission from anyone to monitor an individual's records.  They don't even need to prove that the person is an "agent of a foreign power" which used to be required to protect Americans against these searches.  The NSA also doesn't have to prove that the records are related to criminal activity or have the "probable cause" guaranteed by the fourth amendment.  According to the PATRIOT act, all they have to do is allege that the request for the information is related to "an ongoing terrorism or foreign intelligence investigation".  So in conclusion, the conversation we are having shouldn't be whether the NSA' actions are legal because under the PATRIOT act they are but what take precedence over the other, a document ensuring national security, the USA PATRIOT act, or the document that is supposed to be the supreme law of the land, The Constitution.