> Another problem, of course, is that they would have a very hard time proving they stopped, even if they did. If they just said, "yeah, we're sorry, won't happ

> Another problem, of course, is that they would have a very hard time proving they stopped, even if they did. If they just said, "yeah, we're sorry, won't happen again", who would believe them? This is a good argument for abolishing the NSA. As an institution it has completely lost credibility with any reasonable member of the electorate - it is hopelessly naive to believe what they say. Perhaps it can be redeemed with a sustained program of vigorous oversight (over-vigorous, really), but failing that it needs to be abolished and replaced by a new organization with a different charter and most of the influential members of the NSA absent from the levers of power. Of course, neither of these things are likely to happen with the electorate in the state it's currently in.