Marc Ambinder wrote a must-read post at The Week about what NSA could theoretically get away with if all oversight was removed. He ended with some rational, non-histrionic suggestions for reform:
And that’s why, as we talk about the types of oversight we want for NSA, we ought to focus on finding ways to use the law to help NSA conduct its core mission even more efficiently. One concrete focus: NSA should encourage and reward analysts and technologists who figure out how NOT to incidentally overcollect on Americans. If NSA hasn’t figured out a way to segregate U.S. persons metadata from other metadata, Congress should give them the money to do figure it out.
I’m on board with all of it, on top of reforming FISC.