More evidence keeps surfacing showing Intelligence Committee members are simply jerking around their fellow Senate and Congress members when it comes to providing the documents needed to provide oversight for the NSA. Tony Romm’s engrossing article for Politico refers to this deliberate obfuscation (tactfully) as “some limits,” but adding what’s been newly discovered to what we already know shows that the heads of the Intelligence Committees aren’t really interested in collaborating with their colleagues to provide credible oversight.
The White House is its own problem, continually insisting (along with national intelligence officials) that everyone, both in the Congress and Senate, has had access to all pertinent briefings, rulings and other needed info — even when it knows for a fact this information has not been disseminated. This helps the administration maintain its narrative of a well-oiled intelligence machine operating with the explicit permission of its oversight and allows the blame to be shifted elsewhere. If the American public is angry about the NSA’s programs, the White House wants to aim that at legislators, rather than the NSA and administration.
For Congress to interfere with the actions of the executive branch is treason. For you to call for treasonous actions makes you a traitor. Obama is entitled to do whatever it takes to act against such treason.
But there’s that pesky Patriot Act which Congress passed. And that Constitutional requirement for Congressional oversight. And the requirement of the Intelligence Committee to report back to Congress. Other than that, you’re absolutely right.
If Congress doesn’t properly support the President, it is committing treason.
I highly doubt Congress is as ignorant as they’re claiming to be.
They know what’s going on. Sensenbrenner and Leahy are both pushing bills to gut the FISA provisions of the Patriot Act. Of course Feinstein will dig in against it.
The whole 15 SSCI member committee is a dog and pony farce!
The truth is, all SSCI members have to remain disloyal to the American public and loyal to CIA/NSA/DoD to maintain their security clearances and information access! Because they are skilled politicians, they lie and tell the American public what they want to hear and Americans believe, as a whole with no evidence required! That also means lying to fellow congress members!
Why do you think the rest of the world is starting to see America for what it is, and not what it wished it was!
Americans willfully believe there is meaningful oversight of these Master Puppeteers; talking about having the public by the nutsack and the fox guarding the hen-house!
How can any organization be held accountable when that organization has to self-report to be held accountable? Without “illegal” leaks and independent investigations, Americans would not know of any abuses and missuses of funds by our fearless “police state” government continues to engage in, in “keeping our republic/democracy safe”!
“”Here’s the latest collage by Stephen McQuillen (aka “The Piss”). It’s a video called The Bottom Line, with a soundtrack by Negativland. Before you view it, be warned: it contains many disturbing images of torture from Abu Ghraib prison, including the images and videos recently aired on Australian television and barely mentioned in the US press. It’s not for the squeamish: (download video, 16meg Quicktime file). Thanks Stephen!
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/02/the_bottom_line.html
You won’t find that one on YouRube, folks. It’s an .mov file so if you can view it then there is something seriously wrong with your machine; But, just in case we have some really sick bastards here, then you may try to view it from the link above — here is the audio;
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BWWzh_BL7Lc
enjoy
When Clapper lied to Congress on tape and no action has been taken against him by the Pres or by Congress, the case was closed on who is doing whom. Why is somewhat of a mystery still, but not the what.
Just look.
Then vote: ALL ENCUMBENTS OUT OF OFFICE.
Ha, ha. This is such a slap in the face, I can’t even read it past the headline: “President Obama orders intelligence chief accused of lying to Congress to lead NSA review..”
Oliver North having a successful career pops into mind as well. I don’t mind he was involved in drugs for arms for insurrection against popular governments in South America. I do mind he lied to Congress. Same complaint regarding Clinton.
http://theverge.com/2013/8/12/4614968/president-obama-james-clapper-dni-surveillance-review-group
My religion’s central tenet is: Don’t Lie. Sometimes its ok to lie to others, but not under oath, and NEVER to yourself. Taa Daa!!!!!!!!!
We should take confidence in Mr. James Clapper’s testimony. He has a long history as an advocate for transparency and the truth.
I fully support Mr Clapper. As director of the NSA, I wouldn’t tell those pinheads in Congress a thing and would be as coy as possible.
I would be more outraged by that if I didn’t know that you responsibly rotate your hamster —
http://youtube.com/watch?v=q6_lCUTQH08
Cute. You’re about as funny and clever as Pedro.
Clapper was likely the only person in there not putting on a show. He probably thinking “I’ve got a country to protect. These fucktards are campaigning on TV. They don’t know a threat if it bit them in the ass. ”
Love that guy. Exactly who I want running the NSA
Very short sighted there Dallas. You may like some aspect of a government official lying to Congress, even here where the NSA is spying on we the people, but what about the next guy who thinks he is above the law? What program might he be running?
Know what I mean?
Oh Dallas. You’re so full of shit. You actually make Bobbo sound Intelligent!
Bobbo, Clapper didn’t lie. He was asked a confusing question on ‘collecting’ data. “Collecting data” could mean anything.
When you browse the internet, you’re not ‘collecting data’. Now, when you downloaded and inspected that porn, you’re ‘collecting data’. Quite making shit up that didn’t happen
Clapper did lie. Clapper admits he lied after the Snowden leaks showed him to be a liar.
http://techdirt.com/articles/20130701/12494623683/james-clapper-admits-he-lied-to-congress-even-his-excuse-is-misleading.shtml
http://cdn.freedomoutpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/clapper.jpg
The time for apologizing for your loosing teams are over — It’s time to sit around and stew and dream up plausible scenarios that will defeat the adversary as We the People are at war with ‘They’.
Dallas–if the question is confusing or ambiguous you don’t give a definite answer as if the question was clear. You ask for clarification. As I will now:
When I browse the internet I do not come across your love notes to your significant other. I don’t come across what you have downloaded onto to your computer. I can’t find what concepts you are using Google to explore.
Is there an app for that?
I agree he should not have answered to an ambiguous statement and used the standard “I’ll get back to you” or “I don;t remember” or “What the fuck do you mean, Senator?” …. That was his error..he answered.
Kudos to Clapper for protecting M’Erica
So…… it wasn’t sarcasm?
Here’s some though: Should I thank you for protecting the humor establishment of America?
A puss self-licking his boots —
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GBsGDcw6AsQ
“”“I’ll get back to you” or “I don;t remember” or “What the fuck do you mean, Senator?”
The question was presented to him in writing 40 hours before the play went live so that he should have addressed such questions with his fellow actors in the troup instead of putting on such a sorry fuck-poor and insincere improvisation and piss-callouse-bold ad-lib dumb fuck lie.
RTFA, already.
No, it was a deliberate lie in response to a question that shouldn’t have been asked.
Dallas does a reverse 2 1/2 somersault troll in the pike position. And apparently nailed the entry.
I took it as sarcasm the first time through but I don’t see any markers for it. Sadly, people do honestly think that Congress isn’t worth telling the truth to, so how can someone without an intimate knowledge of Dallas’ belief system ever know? We all stray from our more perfect selves from time to time, subject to subject.
“”…You see them sometimes; Walking around blindly with dead eyes, following orders, not knowing what they are doing, not caring.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SkzV5AIK8iM
That is “one of” the funniest movie lines ever because you can substitute any hated group of choice. Those were the Golden Years of Hollywood …. running scared from McCarthy. …. Good times.
How cute. What else ya got?
Dizzy.
NSA motto & mission: Leave no photon unsiphoned.
& the number of photons siphoned will only keep going up. Who’s gonna stop ’em? You? Some politician(s)?
Only thing that’s slowed ’em down so far has been their own breathtaking incompetence with electricity at the nascent Bluffdale facility—a temporary setback.
lamebrain is one word
no hyphen in henhouse
no hyphen in reread
shortcomings is one word
The US Congress only gets involved when its own ass is on the line, or one of its high paying lobbyist’s ass is. And again, only because Congressmen’s own ass is on the line, with one of its lobbyists.
Otherwise, most couldn’t care less. They’ve probably all been assured that none of this privacy violating surveillance, will impact any of them or their families. And that’s a couple thousand more US citizens, that can breathe easy. Because the “rules” don’t apply to them. They and theirs, will never be bothered, troubled, violated, or inconvenienced, the way the rest of us slaves are. So they’re not going to get all bent out of shape about regulating it, or stopping it. But they must put on a show, like they’re actually doing their job, for the voting public.
Interesting documentary about CIA/NSA. Has lots on ‘plausible deniability’, expansion of powers, iran contra, and so forth…
http://thoughtmaybe.com/counter-intelligence/
If the Committee Members aren’t getting the info they need, they should, in the words of Nancy Reagan, “Just say NO !!!” No to reauthorizing the UN-Patriot Act, Funding for NSA, Funding for the CIA, etc, etc …
Ha, yes, this title is very good indeed…vote in new oxymorons is the solution supposedly, ha, even funnier. I pray for a mob boss like jesus/buddha/kind satan with a gun.