If it makes you feel any better, most indications are that President Obama (very modestly) scaled back these programs. In other words, it's not that it's getting worse, it's just that we didn't know how bad it was before.
It's one thing when there is a clear idiot like Bush but when someone as educated and thoughtful as Obama supports this and lies to the people with word-play (making it legal instead of ending it) it just makes me sick.
Even worse, is watching all the liberals support and defend this and try to paint Snowden as someone selfish. Only commentator I can watch these days is Chris Hayes, he "gets it" because he is a progressive and not just blindly liberal.
Edit: For those who haven't seen his program, here's Chris Hayes at his best. (From today, June 27th, 2013)
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/chris-hayes-absolutely-nails-hypo...
The problem is with the bureaucracy, and that is almost wholly unaffected by who sits in the White House.
Do you have any sources where I can read up on Obama scaling back the programs by comparison? In all seriousness.
Here's from the "NSA reading your email headers" article currently on the front page:
In 2011, the program was terminated by President Obama "as the result of an interagency review," an administration spokesperson told The Guardian.
Did they cancel the project because of fears of it infringing on civil liberties?
Did they cancel the project because it was ineffective for its defined purposes regardless of civil liberties?
Did they cancel the project to move its resources to another, more secret project that could possibly be more damaging to civil liberties?
Lots of programs get canceled for lots of reasons.