Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) of the Senate Intelligence Committee recently discussed the Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments on Countdown with Kieth Olbermann.

Wyden made two notable observations:

  1. On the Patriot Act: “There is growing gap between what Americans believe the laws actually is, and the secret interpretation.”
  2. On the FISA Amendments: “This law was intended to deal with foreigners … and I’m concerned about the possibility … of innocent Americans having their communications swept up under it.”
What people think these laws do, what these laws technically do, and how these laws are being interpreted and enacted behind closed doors, are three entirely different things.

from cyberenviro.org.