Big Brother... Watching and... Listening... Thank you GWB for the Patriot Act and Homeland Security

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny



We can thank the Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security (ie: GWB) for the current and nefarious acts by the NSA. However, what the hey, after all it's all in the name of giving up a bit of freedom in the name of a bit more security.

I imagine good and wise Benjamin Franklin must be rolling over in his resting place right about now.

POLITICO - Several lawmakers said they had not been briefed on the Obama administration’s classified programs to monitor cellphone and Internet traffic.

That’s in direct contradiction to President Barack Obama’s assertion. The president said on Friday that “every member of Congress” has been briefed on the programs led by the National Security Administration.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a telephone interview late Friday that he learned about the two programs after requesting a briefing under “classified circumstances” following urging by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Durbin said congressional leadership and intelligence committees had access to information about the programs, but that the “average member” of Congress likely wouldn’t have been aware of the breadth of the telephone and Internet surveillance.

“They don’t receive this kind of briefing,” Durbin said of the congressional rank-and-file.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who has railed against government intrusion on the Senate floor, told POLITICO that he “hadn’t been briefed on this particular issue,” referring to the NSA collection of phone records. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) also said he learned of phone monitoring through news reports, although he said it “wasn’t a surprise.”

“Not quite!” tweeted Rep. Billy Long (R-La.) in response to a tweet by ABC’s Rick Klein that said “Obama says ‘every member of Congress’ has been briefed on phone program #NSA; suggests only intel comm. knew of PRISM.”

The House and Senate intelligence committees, which oversee agencies like the NSA and Central Intelligence Agency, are routinely briefed on classified intelligence operations.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also get briefed, along with intelligence committee chairs and ranking members. Rank-and-file members of Congress, however, are only periodically briefed on specific incidents — there have been briefings recently on Syria and the Boston bombings.

Certainly BIG BROTHER IS watching and listening to us ALL. One of the saddest aspects of the situation is that BOTH the rEpublican and dEmocratic party are involved.

Destined no doubt to pick up steam given our national paranoia. That is my take on the situation. What's yours?

Good night. Rest soundly as BIG BROTHER is watching over and looking out for us all. Don't you feel so much better?

Via: Memeorandum

Comments

  1. dmarksFri Jun 07, 08:35:00 PM EDT

    They came about under GWB. But as with the wars (which Obama chose to keep going for a very long time instead of ending right away), Obama quickly adopted the inherited policies and made them his own... it's far to say they have been Obama's policies instead of Bush's since Jan 2009.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Les CarpenterFri Jun 07, 08:49:00 PM EDT

      What should be UNDERSTOOD is that regardless whether HUGE government expansion of federal powers occur under either rEpublican OR dEmocratic administrations they ALWAYS become permanent. In this regard Obama is merely following in predecessor's footsteps. Precisely like presidents of yester year.

      Enter 1984...

      Time to face the realities and what has been going on for a VERY long time.

      Delete
  2. dmarksFri Jun 07, 11:29:00 PM EDT

    "In this regard Obama is merely following in predecessor's footsteps"

    Great points. But it doesn't entirely let a President off the hook (either party) for just going with the flow and not changing matters when they have the ability to do so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Les CarpenterSat Jun 08, 12:08:00 AM EDT

      Not saying it does, or that it should.

      However, it is imperative to understand the foundation of the current issue at hand and acknowlege which partee and president was primarily responsible for the lousy legislation and expansion of federal powers.

      Now, it can be noted that Obama has carried on the policies set in motion by GWB. IE: The policies of the so called consevative GWB. Which
      I must acknowledge argues the point that Obama is more conservative than not.

      Just saying. Think about it.

      Delete
  3. dmarksSat Jun 08, 07:07:00 AM EDT

    "I must acknowledge argues the point that Obama is more conservative than not."

    It either argues that point, or better yet, the point that such a mindset is mainstream/dominant among liberals as it is among conservatives.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSat Jun 08, 03:01:00 PM EDT

    Obama is the most conservative Democratic president ever.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Les CarpenterSat Jun 08, 04:30:00 PM EDT

    Really, Check out JFK. By today's standards he would win HANDS down.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousSat Jun 08, 06:12:00 PM EDT

    Where is your "hands down" evidence

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Les CarpenterSat Jun 08, 06:45:00 PM EDT

      Where's yours? Provide or get lost TROLL.

      Delete
    2. dmarksSat Jun 08, 07:56:00 PM EDT

      RN: If ignorance were a beverage, the Anon troll would be lying drunk in the gutter.

      At least he isn't making his antisemitic rants and blubbering about Hitler babies today!

      Delete
  7. Les CarpenterSun Jun 09, 12:10:00 AM EDT

    Will, my appology but I somehow inadvertently deleting your commemt when I deleted Anon the Troll who continues to vomit bile.

    Again my appology.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will "take no prisoners" HartSun Jun 09, 12:29:00 AM EDT

      No problem. I was just pointing out the hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle; the fact that you have conservative bozos who had zero problems with Bush doing this stuff criticizing Obama, and liberal bozos who had major problems with Bush and who now are suddenly silent....That, and that I'm prouder than ever of having voted for Johnson.

      Delete
    2. Les CarpenterSun Jun 09, 12:48:00 AM EDT

      Indeed you are correct with respect to the rampant hypocrisy that runs through the partisan veins of both major party faithful. Tedious.

      I'm also proud to have cast my support early on for Johnson and will do so again in 2016 if he decides to runs again.

      Delete
  8. Jersey McJonesSun Jun 09, 01:33:00 AM EDT

    It is the Right in this country that pushes the police state on the private lives of Americans. The Left believe the government should only intrude in this way when we engage in public transaction, not in arbitrary private communication. It's a definition of "transaction" argument, I suppose.

    Whatever the case, the President could not employ these powers the Right has invested in his office without them. It's really as simple as that. Vote Right, get more Police State.

    JMJ

    ReplyDelete
  9. dmarksSun Jun 09, 02:34:00 PM EDT

    "The Left believe the government should only intrude in this way when we engage in public transaction, not in arbitrary private communication."

    There is tons of this intrusion from the Left also, Jersey. Also censoring people for speaking in public, which you appear to defend by implication, is also against human rights, against the Constitution.

    "Vote Right, get more Police State."

    America voted "left" in 2008 and 2012, and it got more police state. So much for your rule...

    Sorry, your blind partisanship is below the level of quality of the non-Anonymous discourse in this post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Will "take no prisoners" HartMon Jun 10, 07:56:00 PM EDT

    I would also remind Sir Jersey that it was the liberal justices who voted against the citizens in Kelo versus the city of New London in that disgusting eminent domain case. I mean, come on, displacing a person out of their home is as nasty a breach of privacy as you can think of.

    ReplyDelete
  11. dmarksMon Jun 10, 11:31:00 PM EDT

    Will: And those on the Left seem universal in their side on the "Citizens United" decision siding with the idea of making it a crime to make a movie critical of a US senator. Chilling.

    ReplyDelete

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