&gt; What if they only buffered the data for a few seconds while picking out the &quot;good stuff&quot;?<p>That&#x27;s not what they do.  They keep it.  Indefinitely.  That&#x27;s the whole point-  If they find a terrorist, they can back-search and find everyone he has communicated with.<p>&gt; If you think the NSA has no effective oversight and is lying to the FISA court or the President about what it does and doesn&#x27;t do,<p>This is an outright fact, and if you think it&#x27;s not true, then I don&#x27;t know what I can do for you.  Is there an opposite-of-conspiracy theorist, someone who believes any outlandish theory that supports the status quo?  Just bizarre.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.hasjamesclapperbeenindictedyet.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.hasjamesclapperbeenindictedyet.com&#x2F;</a>