I apologise for the quality of the sources of information. I can't find alternatives. It's interesting to note Obama's speech on NSL's from 2005 five minutes in to the first youtube video. As an authority on such issues he should be held in high enough regard for you.

"Then they came for the blah, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a blah."

In responding to the above, you said: "What group is no longer here because the CIA/NSA have decided they shouldn't exist?"

The absence of voices contesting this apparatus is used as a defence for the NSL's and a similar mechanism used under FISA.

200,000 is a huge number. Their dissenting voices don't exist legally, they cannot speak out.

Imagine this: "I didn't speak out for the blah because I got a national security letter."

I see no mention of blackmail, who were you talking to about blackmail?

200,000 people haven't been silenced, as there are ways of challenging an NSL in court.

Also, 192k requests were sent, not 200,000 people silenced.

Sensationalism ruins this debate. Please stop.

Do you accept that the NSL is a gag order in addition to a request? 200k was a low ball. Your figure of 192k is from 2006. [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security_letter

Interestingly, the Wikipedia article works in non-SSL mode.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Merrill works, but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Merrill doesn't.

Edit: more oddly, they now both appear to work?

Edit: far less oddly, it looks like the OP just forgot to include the trailing 'L', and I hadn't noticed.