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By Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

I voted against the new CIA Director because I worry that his desire for security will trump his defense of liberty.

More than ever before, oversight of the secretive world of intelligence is critically important.

Programs are authorized, money is spent, and operations are carried out in the name of the American people, yet only a few members of Congress are even allowed to know what is happening in the dark corners of these U.S. intelligence programs.

Most of Congress was surprised to learn that the U.S. government was collecting all of our phone records in bulk. Most of what our intelligence community does is shielded from the rank and file of Congress. Only eight legislators are privy to the full extent of the surveillance state.

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Under oath, the former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lied to Congress about the existence of the bulk collection of Americans phone records. Without the revelations of Edward Snowden, this gross violation of privacy might still remain unknown.

Only begrudgingly are the American people being told about the scope of the massive intelligence apparatus that has steadily grown in secret.

Yet when oversight of the intelligence community is most needed, Congress has demonstrated an insufficient appetite for curbing the worst excesses of our countrys domestic surveillance.

Some in Congress advocate that government collect financial and lifestyle information on Americans, combine it with their metadata, and store it in a government database.

A database that cross-references our every online action would be a devastating assault on liberty.

The new CIA Director described a congressional report on the CIAs past use of torture as a narcissistic self-cleansing. He went on to say that those senators who voted to release the torture oversight report were quintessentially at odds with [their] duty to [their] country.

I couldnt disagree more.

In the years following 9/11, we let fear get the better of our responsibility to liberty.Of the 119 people detained by the CIA, 39 were tortured.In our haste, at least 26 people were wrongfully detained, not even meeting the governments own standard for detention.

If it was your husband or son that was mistakenly tortured, wouldnt you want the world to know so that it never happened again?

Many of our military leaders, including incoming Sec. of Defense James Mattis, have acknowledged that waterboarding is torture, is ineffective, and sends a signal to our enemies that it is justified to torture U.S. soldiers when they are captured.

Despite this evidence, many in Congress have continued to maintain that waterboarding is not torture.

In addition, many in Congress support a comprehensive, searchable database equipped with public data like lifestyle choices, an incredible invasion of privacy in some ways more intrusive than the English soldiers that invaded American households to search for any untaxed papers.

Advocates of such a database argue that it will only be searched after obtaining some type of court order.

These advocates fail to understand that our privacy and the Fourth Amendment are breached merely in the collection of our personal data. Our privacy is invaded first by the collection of private information and only secondarily by searching that databank.

The existence of the database itself is a violation of our right to privacy.

Our intelligence community needs more oversight, not less.

RELATED:Rand Paul and Mike Lee urge Donald Trump to follow the Constitution on foreign policy

There are many supporters of the Surveillance State in Congress. There is, however, a shortage of skeptics. Now that technology and fear have combined to allow the state to watch virtually our every action, someone must pledge to watch the watchers.

I swore an oath to defend the Constitution and the rights of the American people. Shielding the CIA from needed oversight is not consistent with that oath.

Protecting the entire Bill of Rights is one of the main reasons I ran for office, and I will remain vigilant in that cause.

Rand Paul isthe junior senator from Kentucky.

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Rand Paul: Why I voted against the new CIA director - Rare.us

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A collective show of defiant fists were lifted in the air at the conclusion of an anti-Trump rally in downtown Louisville on Tuesday morning. 1/24/17(Photo: Marty Pearl/Special to The C-J)Buy Photo

A group of protesters gathered in downtown Louisville Tuesday to rally against President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks and in support of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who voted against one of the selections on Monday.

Approximately 50 people showed up to the "Stop Trump's #SwampCabinet Rally" outside the Romano Mazzoli Federal Building. For 30 minutes, the group held signs and cheered on fellow rally-goers as they read personal accounts of why they oppose Trump's picks.

Kim Hibbard, co-founder of Indivisible Kentucky, a state-wideprogressive movement, and protest organizer, said she plans to hand-deliver the stories to Paul, who has an office inside the Federal Building.

"The goal of today's rally was to thank Sen. Paul for voting 'No' on the confirmation of CIA director Mike Pompeo," said Hibbard, of Louisville. "We also wanted him to come down and listen to the stories people read with their concerns."

In response to the rally, a spokeswoman for Paul directed the reporter to an op-ed he wrote for Rare.us, in which he explained why he did not vote for Pompeo."I swore an oath to defend the Constitution and the rights of the American people," Paul wrote.

The packet of stories, which was read aloud and provided to the media, featured six personal accounts opposing Cabinet nominees, including potential Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

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Constance Merritt, of Louisville, read a story about her opposition of Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Tom Price, R-Ga., who has previously proposed a bill to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Merritt, who has a disability, said she's been on Medicare for most of her life and is concerned that her health care will be cut under Price. She said she feels that the proposed Cabinet members are all about their self-interests and not the interests of the public.

"I wanted to tell my personal story," she said, adding that her wife has also benefited from the mental and physical healthcare provided by the Affordable Care Act. "I was an activist in 2006 against the Iraq War and I did see how activism turned the tide and got senators to move against the war."

Lori Hurley, of Louisville, attended the rally with her husband, John, to protest against Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick for Secretary of Education. She said she feels that DeVos would not help close the education gap in Kentucky, which was ranked No. 46 in the countryin terms of educationby Wallet Hub on Tuesday.

"We can't afford in this day and age to not educate people properly," she said. "We also need to bring attention to the fact that people are paying attention. None of these nominees are good, but it comes down to education for me."

Hibbard, who co-founded Indivisible Kentucky just three weeks ago, said that the group plans to continue sharing stories with Senators Paul and Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) The Tuesday protest was held in solidarity with more than 100 protests nationwide, which were organized by MoveOn.org.

"We're trying to get the word that we have concerns and want them to hear them," she said.

Reporter Justin Sayers can be reached at 502-582-4252 or jsayers@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at@_JustinSayers.

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Local group rallies against Trump, for Paul - The Courier-Journal

ALLISON BALL Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball announced today that she has promoted her current Communications Director, OJ Oleka, to serve as Chief of Staff and Assistant State Treasurer.

For the past year, OJ has shaped the message coming out of my office, Treasurer Ball said in a statement. He has been a leader in developing policy goals and has developed a strong understanding of all functions within Treasury. Im confident in his ability to do the job.

As Chief of Staff, Oleka will advise Treasurer Ball on policy and legislative issues, while also managing the day-to-day operations in Treasury.

Treasurer Ball is one of best leaders in Kentucky, Oleka said. It is an honor to serve in this capacity. Oleka is a Frankfort native; he has an MBA from Bellarmine University and a bachelors degree in Marketing from the University of Louisville, where he served as Student Body President and Chairman of the Board of Student Body Presidents. Oleka led the Unclaimed Property Division as Director during Treasurer Balls first year. Prior to joining Treasurer Balls staff, Oleka served in numerous private sector and non-profit management roles. Oleka will continue to maintain the communication duties within the office.

Treasurer Ball has also hired Samara Heavrin to serve as the Unclaimed Property Division Director. In addition to that role, Heavrin will assist in promoting Treasurer Balls new STABLE Kentucky initiative and other legislative priorities.

Samara is a tremendous asset to our team, Treasurer Ball said. She is a hard worker and will bring an additional level of organization and a fresh perspective to our team.

Heavrin is also a Kentucky native, with roots in Grayson County. Prior to joining Treasurer Ball, Heavrin worked for Senator Rand Paul in his Washington, D.C. office for two years, serving as Executive Assistant and leading the scheduling and logistics efforts. Prior to Senator Pauls office, Heavrin worked for Congressman Brett Guthrie.

It is great to be home working for such an accomplished public servant in Treasurer Ball, Heavrin said. Im excited for this new opportunity. Heavrin is a Western Kentucky University graduate with a degree in Advertising.

The appointments were made at the beginning of this year.

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Treasurer Ball appoints new Chief of Staff; hires Rand Paul DC staffer - Berea Online

WASHINGTON D.C., (WKYT) - Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., says he doesn't want to waste any time repealing and replacing Obamacare after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Friday.

"In fact I've put together a bill, a replacement bill, that we can vote on the same day and I hope Democrats will work with us because I think we should replace it with something better, " Senator Paul said.

But earlier this week when WKYT asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell if Senator Paul's plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on the same day was possible, he seemed to shoot down the idea.

"Well that's not possible, legislatively but we do intend to replace it very soon," Senator McConnell, R-Ky., said.

"Well I disagree and we've had replacement bills out there for a number of years. We've been complaining for six years. Certainly we have legislation that could fix this," Senator Paul argued.

Paul says mom and pop businesses should not be punished trying to afford health care.

"I'd like that small mom and pop business join together with hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people, in an association in order to get the leverage to lower prices but also to get insurance that can't be cancelled," Paul said.

When asked if he could assure Kentuckians on Obamacare that they would not fall through the cracks when a new health plan was put in place he said many already qualified for other options.

"A lot of these people actually qualified for Medicaid already so the interesting thing is they thought they were getting something new and they already qualified. My main point is we have to take care of those who can't take care of themselves. But it should be paid for," Paul said. "If we need to expand Medicaid every state needs to decide how much they're going to raise taxes to pay for Medicaid," Paul said.

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Sen. Rand Paul talks about future of Health Care

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) took Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to taskWednesday during a hearing for HHS Secretary-designate Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) after the Vermont lawmaker boldly assertedthe U.S. is not a compassionate nation.

Sanders comment came during a discussion with Price before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee about health care in the United States. During Sandersadvocacy for socialized medicine, Price interjected the the U.S. is a compassionate society a remark with which the senator vehemently disagreed.

No, we are not a compassionate society, Sanders charged. In terms of our relationship with poor and working people, our record is worse than virtually any other country on earth.

Moments later, when Paul was given the opportunity to question Price, he used a portion of his timeto lectureSanders and explain why, in his view, is wrong about Americancompassion:

One of the things thats extraordinary about our country is just two years ago, in 2014, we gave away $400 billion privately, not the government, individually to churches and to charities. Were an incredibly compassionate society. This was misplaced in sort of the wonky numbers of this number and that number within health care how much we do help each other.

Not only do we help each other within our own county, Id bet you most half the physicians in my community in Bowling Green have gone on international trips and done international charity work and all that is lost in saying that were this heartless, terrible country, and I would just argue the opposite. I think the greatness of our country and the greatness in the compassion of our country we give away more than the gross domestic product of most of these socialized countries around the world.

Pricewas grilled by Democrats on the Republicans promise to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act. WhenSanders argued for a more socialized system, guaranteeing health coverage as a right, Price reminded him that there are consequences for countries that have chosen to have entirely government-run health care.

If you want to talk about other countries health care systems, Price said, there are consequences to the decisions that theyve made, just as there are consequences to the decisions that weve made.

I believe, and I look forward to working with you, to make certain that every single American has access to the highest quality care and coverage that is possible, he added.

As the Republicans move forward to scrap outgoing President Barack Obamas signature health care legislation, 45 percent of Americans the highest percentage since April 2009 say Obamacare is a good idea while 41 percent say it is a bad idea, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Half of Americans 50 percent say they have little to no confidence that GOP proposals to replace the law will make things better.

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Rand Paul slams Bernie Sanders' assertion that the US is 'not compassionate' - TheBlaze.com