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The National Security Agency has greatly expanded since September 11, 2001. People have come forward and recently exposed the corruption of the system, and the spying the agency has conducted on millions of Americans, through phone calls and other mass forms of media we consume everyday.

I understand the reason for the surveillance, but I feel that if they find nothing wrong, they should move on. I also feel that it is a violation of peoples' rights to privacy. If I was a suspected terrorist or caught peeping on sites that I shouldn't, please track me so that I don't hurt anyone or do irreparable damage. However, if you spy on me and all I do is talk to family and do homework, pay bills and occasionally visit Facebook, then just leave me alone. Spend the time watching someone that you should be.

Whether the NSA is listening to you or not, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about, they are not sharing your information with others, nor are they even listening closely to your conversation. The NSA was weakened through the repealing of the patriot act last year, and since there have been 3 major terror attacks on the homeland, a clear rise in terror in the homeland through the gained power of terrorist due to paranoia from American citizens, who value privacy over safety.

This article explains the pros and cons of oil pipelines in the united states.It details costs for maintaining the 2.5 million miles of pipe and cleanup when these pipes fail. The environmental concerns of proponents, and the casualties caused by their inevitable demise through corrosion due to weather and age. This article sites information and data gathered from federal and private environmental agency's and groups outlining the risks of Americas aging and extensive energy pipelines. The scary part is how little oversight on the safety and maintenance these company's who advocate for the safety of these pipes are given. While a slew of federal and state agencies oversee some aspect of America's pipelines, the bulk of government monitoring and enforcement falls to a small agency within the Department of Transportation called the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The agency is understaffed and lacks the resources to adequately monitor the millions of miles of pipelines over which it does have authority.

Pres. Donald Trump is now restricting scientist's from sharing their research. Officials at the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) have both let their staff know that they can not discuss research done by the agency or any departmental restrictions with anyone outside of the agency. This includes talking to the news, releasing photos, posting on social media, and more.

it is frightening to me that our new administration and President are trying to silence science based departments. The taxpayer funds the research that goes on, and therefore has a right to know the outcomes of what they are funding. Gagging scientists because you do not like or agree with what they are saying is childish and has no place in our government.

As the end date approaches in the coming year for the "Internet Tax Freedom Act" that was signed in 1998, two republic senators have proposed a new bill. Not only does the new bill protect Internet users from taxation of Internet access, usage, and email by government agencies, this bill would be permanent. 

A government advisory panel said Thursday that the bulk data collection program run by the National Security Agency is illegal and should be halted. That is illegal and should be stopped.

The freedom of information act enables by any person to obtain information from the federal agency records exept if its listed under the exemptions. There are nine exemptions contained in the law.

An online article explaining the impact on trust in social commentary that 24 hour news agencies and social media has on society. The recent explosion of social media and online presence has skewed public relations to current events, and made it easier to disseminate false narratives as fact in order to sway opinion. Concluded by the idea of the 'echo chamber' being used by current media outlets to segregate in order to polarize communities and create barriers.

The article explains the disproporationate amount of deaths in African American individuals in the United States in comparison to their counterpart. As well as the psychological effects on their communities. It explains that most agencies don't even have a policy to enforce against police brutality.

The website offers links to various sources of information on the collection and distribution of surveilled data from government agencies in an attempt to inform its readers and covers the paranoia tinted tone of those who find government surveillance in todays society to be too close to "Big Brother" methods and presents an argument for their point of view through the methods of MIT professor Gary Marx. The argument is presented in a series of questions on the ethical stance of what the government surveils, what the surveillance consists of as well as the consequences of any action taken as a result of surveillance and the reality that American citizens never consented to the constant surveillance of their personal lives. The position of inclination towards complacency is concisely summed with a strong amount of surveillance being presented by the double edged statement of "If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.".

The documents were leaked into the hands of reporters and, after a fight in court, were published and released to the American public. The once highly classified information revealed how American presidents did a lot of things against popular advisory of the intelligence agencies, and basically dragged this country through a lot of problems we didn't really need to face

In the past year, Germany has taken the majority of migrants fleeing to Europe and is estimated to be approximately 226,000 people. In June, the Balkan route had been closed off but the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees still claimed that 20,000 people still made the journey. In addition, the agency reported that there could be 150,000 migrants that traveled over last year alone because they are still behind in their census.

"Essentially, we're playing chicken with the lives of the American people - our schools, communities, small businesses, farms, public safety, infrastructure and national security," Secretary Duncan told members of the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee.

This article discusses the controversy between freedom of speech and preventing terrorism. A high school students Facebook comments put him in court.

It's nice to see how serious our law enforcement agencies are taking this. I'm all for making an example out of this kid. However, I'm not sure if 20 years is the answer either. If anything the kid needs some help, not a third of his life behind bars. Of course I can't share a definite observation, and opinion on the matter because I haven't listen to the video. Again, either way the security of our nation and its people is and should be highest priority.

Should single people to allowed to adopt? This website fights for the equality of unmarried people and it discusses whether or not unmarried people should deserve more equal opportunity of being able to adopt a child. it explains first that there are so many children waiting to be adopted. Then the website also talks about how unmarried people actually want to adopt. 

Being married should not have any precedence over those who are not. Love is a universal concept that everyone has to offer. Women no longer need a man to provide for them, so why should one have to be married to love and care for a child? Especially if the willing parent has no issue providing the means to support the child. It is better than just leaving the child in a system that gives them no actual emotional support, which only contributes to abandonment and self-worth issues.

Personally I think anyone who is willing to tell themselves that they want to take in a child that is not born from their blood line and care for that child as if they are then all power to them, there are too many children out there that don't have homes and are put in the system until they age out and I think equality for single people is the right thing to do.

With over 19,000 children in the foster care system and an overwhelmed agency, this article talks about ways you can help with the foster care crisis that is ongoing in Arizona.

This article summarizes the 10 most censored countries in the world. It's surprising to see the rankings. At the same time, it makes me wonder if the U.S. isn't headed toward stricter censorship. With the Trump Administration placing a gag order on Federal Agencies, how far behind are we from these countries.

Illegal Immigration Policy recently mandated. Described that illegal immigrants caught at the border should be dealt with at the border, rather than allowing them to enter the country with a court ordered summons.

I feel like this topic is extremely sensitive, however after reading the new mandated policy and furthering my understanding of what the President intends to do. Thanks for the article.

The Enviornmental Protection Agency website. Discusses what climate change is, how it is changing in the present and what to expect in the future, as well as what we can do about it.

An explanation of what PRISM is, written by an About.com Guide.

This article talks about how many times the National Security Agency violated American's rights with the unauthorized surveillance of many Americans. Some of these cases were unintentional and some were intentional. The number reported was said to only have covered a few of the NSA locations but not all.