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If the government had its way, no one would have any idea that it regularly tracks all of our phone calls and much of our online activity.
But thanks to Edward Snowden's disclosures, we now know quite a bit more about how the NSA's surveillance programs have infiltrated our personal communications. And thanks to the outrage and mobilization of the American people, we're seeing real potential for change, both in the streets and in Congress.
This Saturday, you can join the growing movement calling on the government to get out of our private lives, at the biggest protest yet against NSA spying. Organized by the StopWatching.Us coalition - a group of 100 organizations, companies, and public figures - the rally has received the support of celebrities, politicians, and the whistleblower responsible for the robust public debate that has come out of his disclosures. In a statement Snowden provided the ACLU, he writes:
In the last four months, we've learned a lot about our government.
We've learned that the U.S. intelligence community secretly built a system of pervasive surveillance. Today, no telephone in America makes a call without leaving a record with the NSA. Today, no internet transaction enters or leaves America without passing through the NSA's hands. Our representatives in Congress tell us this is not surveillance. They're wrong.
Now it's time for the government to learn from us. On Saturday, the ACLU, EFF, and the rest of the StopWatching.Us coalition are going to D.C. Join us in sending the message: Stop Watching Us.
The rally, which takes place on the 12th anniversary of the signing of the Patriot Act into law, will bring together diverse groups from across the political spectrum to demand surveillance law reform. Speakers include Laura Murphy, the director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office; former senior NSA executive and whistleblower Thomas Drake; and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), whose bipartisan bill to reform the NSA was defeated in July by only seven votes. You can see a list of other speakers, along with the details of the rally, here. And check out the video below, produced by the EFF - featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal, John Cusack, Oliver Stone, and other familiar faces - discussing the dangers of NSA spying.
Stop Watching Us: The VideoStopWatching.us is a coalition of more than 100 public advocacy organizations and companies from across the political spectrum.
The slew of bills that have been introduced (and are about to be introduced) to reform the NSA signal that the American people are ready to rein in the surveillance state. This Saturday is your opportunity to make your voice heard. Follow @ACLU_Action and #StopWatchingUs for up-to-the-minute info, and even if you can't make it in person, you can join our photo campaign and add your name to the petition calling on the government to respect our privacy. See you there!
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

If the government had its way, no one would have any idea that it regularly tracks all of our phone calls and much of our online activity.
But thanks to Edward Snowden's disclosures, we now know quite a bit more about how the NSA's surveillance programs have infiltrated our personal communications. And thanks to the outrage and mobilization of the American people, we're seeing real potential for change, both in the streets and in Congress.
This Saturday, you can join the growing movement calling on the government to get out of our private lives, at the biggest protest yet against NSA spying. Organized by the StopWatching.Us coalition - a group of 100 organizations, companies, and public figures - the rally has received the support of celebrities, politicians, and the whistleblower responsible for the robust public debate that has come out of his disclosures. In a statement Snowden provided the ACLU, he writes:
In the last four months, we've learned a lot about our government.
We've learned that the U.S. intelligence community secretly built a system of pervasive surveillance. Today, no telephone in America makes a call without leaving a record with the NSA. Today, no internet transaction enters or leaves America without passing through the NSA's hands. Our representatives in Congress tell us this is not surveillance. They're wrong.
Now it's time for the government to learn from us. On Saturday, the ACLU, EFF, and the rest of the StopWatching.Us coalition are going to D.C. Join us in sending the message: Stop Watching Us.
The rally, which takes place on the 12th anniversary of the signing of the Patriot Act into law, will bring together diverse groups from across the political spectrum to demand surveillance law reform. Speakers include Laura Murphy, the director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office; former senior NSA executive and whistleblower Thomas Drake; and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), whose bipartisan bill to reform the NSA was defeated in July by only seven votes. You can see a list of other speakers, along with the details of the rally, here. And check out the video below, produced by the EFF - featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal, John Cusack, Oliver Stone, and other familiar faces - discussing the dangers of NSA spying.
Stop Watching Us: The VideoStopWatching.us is a coalition of more than 100 public advocacy organizations and companies from across the political spectrum.
The slew of bills that have been introduced (and are about to be introduced) to reform the NSA signal that the American people are ready to rein in the surveillance state. This Saturday is your opportunity to make your voice heard. Follow @ACLU_Action and #StopWatchingUs for up-to-the-minute info, and even if you can't make it in person, you can join our photo campaign and add your name to the petition calling on the government to respect our privacy. See you there!

If the government had its way, no one would have any idea that it regularly tracks all of our phone calls and much of our online activity.
But thanks to Edward Snowden's disclosures, we now know quite a bit more about how the NSA's surveillance programs have infiltrated our personal communications. And thanks to the outrage and mobilization of the American people, we're seeing real potential for change, both in the streets and in Congress.
This Saturday, you can join the growing movement calling on the government to get out of our private lives, at the biggest protest yet against NSA spying. Organized by the StopWatching.Us coalition - a group of 100 organizations, companies, and public figures - the rally has received the support of celebrities, politicians, and the whistleblower responsible for the robust public debate that has come out of his disclosures. In a statement Snowden provided the ACLU, he writes:
In the last four months, we've learned a lot about our government.
We've learned that the U.S. intelligence community secretly built a system of pervasive surveillance. Today, no telephone in America makes a call without leaving a record with the NSA. Today, no internet transaction enters or leaves America without passing through the NSA's hands. Our representatives in Congress tell us this is not surveillance. They're wrong.
Now it's time for the government to learn from us. On Saturday, the ACLU, EFF, and the rest of the StopWatching.Us coalition are going to D.C. Join us in sending the message: Stop Watching Us.
The rally, which takes place on the 12th anniversary of the signing of the Patriot Act into law, will bring together diverse groups from across the political spectrum to demand surveillance law reform. Speakers include Laura Murphy, the director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office; former senior NSA executive and whistleblower Thomas Drake; and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), whose bipartisan bill to reform the NSA was defeated in July by only seven votes. You can see a list of other speakers, along with the details of the rally, here. And check out the video below, produced by the EFF - featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal, John Cusack, Oliver Stone, and other familiar faces - discussing the dangers of NSA spying.
Stop Watching Us: The VideoStopWatching.us is a coalition of more than 100 public advocacy organizations and companies from across the political spectrum.
The slew of bills that have been introduced (and are about to be introduced) to reform the NSA signal that the American people are ready to rein in the surveillance state. This Saturday is your opportunity to make your voice heard. Follow @ACLU_Action and #StopWatchingUs for up-to-the-minute info, and even if you can't make it in person, you can join our photo campaign and add your name to the petition calling on the government to respect our privacy. See you there!