Spying on Americans

Re “Officials defend spy law,” Aug. 7

“ ‘Any type of program aimed at just sweeping up Americans’ communications’ would be consistent with constitutional protections. . . . Information inadvertently collected from or about U.S. residents would be removed from intelligence reports through minimization procedures.”

What country is this? And when in history -- the McCarthy era?

Jim Gould

Burbank

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I went to elementary school in the ‘50s. We were taught what a horrible place Soviet Russia was. Under communism they had no freedoms, and the worst thing was that the government spied on its own people. How are we now any different?

Peter Davison

Santa Monica

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Re “Too much FISA oversight?” Opinion, Aug. 8

David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey argue that a phone call made into the United States doesn’t require a warrant as long as the recipient is not the “target of surveillance.” Using the same logic, could not the police, looking for a fugitive, search my house without a warrant? From a practical standpoint, what if the recipient of the phone call reveals a crime during the conversation? Because no warrant was obtained, could the admission be used in court? This is terrible precedent and should be stopped.

Greg Daniels

Canyon Country