Officially, the NSA's "authorization" to to collect so-called "metadata" by a massive domestic surveillance program ended yesterday at midnight. And they say they stopped moments before the deadline. Do you believe them? They never actually had the authority to spy on American citizens and the "new program" that started at midnight... who knows how much less spying that will be doing anyway.
Just under a year ago, the House had a rare victory over a U.S. spying and surveillance establishment that has no effective oversight and that has long ago run completely amok.
I guess it would be terribly naive to assume the U.S. hasn't embedded the technology to spy on everyone everywhere when the opportunity is available. Buying American computing systems-- not to mention weapons systems-- has always had that obvious downside.
This evening, Blue America sent all members a letter about the continued, unconstitutional bulk surveillance of American citizens by an out of control Security-Industrial Complex. This isn't going to go away by itself and it doesn't seem to matter much if Democrats or Republicans are in power. This is something ordinary citizens have to put a stop to; politicians aren't going to-- not unless they're forced to. (Although...
You may have learned this month, as I did, that Surveillance State shill "Dutch" Ruppersberger of Maryland has an energetic young primary opponent, Paul Rundquist. MD-02, most of which is part of Baltimore County (with pieces of Anne Arundel, Howard and Hartford), is solidly blue, with a PVI of D+10.
Chris Hedges, in making the case that Edward Snowden is a hero: "With moral courage comes persecution. It is always defined by the state as treason." His presentation, which I beg you to watch above, is only 8 minutes, 8 minutes of brilliance.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee seems content to waste their resources on reactionary Blue Dog Travis Childers' hopeless attempt to win a Senate seat in deep red Mississippi (where Obama lost with 44%) while ignoring the best Democrat running for Senate in years, Maine's Shenna Bellows-- and in a state Obama won with 56%.
Congenital liar, Mike Rogers (R-MI)Until recently, Michigan congressman Mike Rogers has operated mostly in the shadows. Some might find that fitting for the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee; we don't. Rogers is charged with over site of the sprawling, out-of-control surveillance state. Instead he has run his committee as a cheering squad for it.
Yesterday's Politico featured a post by Manu Raju explaining how both Democratic and Republican candidates are running against the NSA's Cheney-conceived domestic spying agenda-- the NSA's Cheney-conceived domestic spying agenda that Obama has largely kept intact.
