The very essence of free speech is that somebody will hear it. Otherwise you'd call it free monologue. To my knowledge there is not single shred of evidence th

The very essence of free speech is that somebody will hear it. Otherwise you'd call it free monologue. To my knowledge there is not single shred of evidence that the NSA used their surveillance to suppress free speech... I would go one step further and proclaim that modern information technology has not only magnified our ability to speak freely, it has also enabled us to have a better picture of local, national and international politics than ever before. This means that freedom, even and especially in the democratic western countries, is actually climbing. The NSA surveillance, even with substantial "there's got to be more" factor, does not even begin to threaten that freedom.