Your pessimism is not supported by history, as was my point. You have to explain how we got from an FBI that blackmails people to an FBI that really and truly does not.

Yeah, the FBI no longer blackmails politicians. Instead, we have NSA, which conducts mass surveillance on the entire population and does who knows what else. If you think history shows some sort of improvement in these trends, you're hopelessly optimistic.

I'm sorry, but is your optimism supported by history?

There's no way to hold above-the-law institutions to the same standards as the public, by definition. Curb the NSA's budget and they turn to the black budget. Restrict them legally, and they find ways around it.

The only way to win is through ubiquitous deployment of anonymizing technologies that take the power away from corrupt, centralized institutions permanently.

Another thing you can do is find out who of your friends is or has ever worked at the NSA, and refuse to communicate with them. Refuse to give them jobs. Refuse to sell them products and services. Shun them, stomp them, and starve them out!

DOX the NSA.

Let them feel America's outrage for real, and in public. Let's embarrass these asshats, and make their lives a living Hell. Treat them like dirt until they wish they were in Russia with Snowden.

We just shunted those responsibilities off to the NSA, it seems.