Quotes About Accountability

Bush violated FISA [...] because he wanted to violate the law in order to establish the general 'principle' that he was not bound by the law, to show that he has the power to break the law, that he is more powerful than the law.

It is hard to imagine having a government more secretive than the United States. Virtually everything that government does, of any significance, is conducted behind an extreme wall of secrecy. The very few leaks that we've had over the last decade are basically the only ways that we've had to learn what our government is doing.

The ability to eavesdrop on people's communications vests immense power in those who do it. And unless such power is held in check by rigorous oversight and accountability, it is almost certain to be abused. Expecting the US government to operate a massive surveillance machine in complete secrecy without falling prey to its temptations runs counter to every historical example and all available evidence about human nature.

contrary to repeated claims from President Obama and the NSA, it is already clear that a substantial number of the agency's activities have nothing to do with antiterrorism efforts or even with national security.

Sono consapevole delle ritorsioni a cui mi espongo […] eppure potrò ritenermi soddisfatto nel momento in cui la commistione di leggi segrete, le grazie iniquamente distribuite e gli incontrastabili poteri esecutivi che dominano il mondo che amo verranno a galla, anche solo per un istante».

The persons to be inspected should always feel themselves as if under inspection, at least as standing a great chance of being so." They would thus act as if they were always being watched, even if they weren't.

La transparencia es para quienes tienen obligaciones públicas y ejercen el poder público. La privacidad es para todos los demás.

The ability to eavesdrop on people's communications vests immense power in those who do it. And unless such power is held in check by rigorous oversight and accountability, it is almost certain to be abused.

I found the sheer vastness of the spying system genuinely shocking, all the more so because it had clearly been implemented with virtually no accountability, no transparency, and no limits. The

Promoting the human capacity to reason and make decisions: that is the purpose of whistle-blowing, of activism, of political journalism.

no man is above the law and that includes the president of the United States

What we say and what we do ultimately comes back to us so let us own our responsibility, place it in our hands, and carry it with dignity and strength.

The intelligence community, for the most part, has no accountability at all to the Congress, to us the American people, and so they feel that they above the law.

we have to behave as if everything we do matters. Because it might.

punished people sometimes pass punishment downward, especially to members of their own devalued group.

Because we tend to treat others as we have been treated, a trustworthy system leads to more trust, corruption leads to more corruption, violence to more violence.

Many are looking for the right person. Too few are trying to be the right person.

No one else can nurture my personal faith in God. Only I can do that. No one else can get my body to the gym or limit my sugar intake. I have the final decision on those responsibilities.

Not every task, volunteer position, responsibility at work, or job around the house is my responsibility.

God has promised forgiveness to your repentance; but he has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination. St. Augustine

No consequence of right action is graver than the consequence of inaction.

To wish that the world were better is the best indicator that you need to be better, not the best indicator that the world isn't the best it can be.

We can be absolved for falling for what we found in place but not for failing to rise up for what we deserve.

How clearly I have seen my condition, yet how childishly I have acted. How clearly I still see it, and yet show no sign of improvement.