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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Mr. Obama, you got some 'splainin' to do
Posted by Jill | 5:04 AM
Dear President Obama:

I think you know (especially given that your NSA is still sweeping up the communications of Americans) that I've really tried to support your agenda and fight the good fight against the perfect confluence of lunatic and stupid represented by yesterday's "teabaggers." Oh, sure, I supported that phony philanderer in the primaries and went to HIS breakout session at Yearly Kos in 2007 instead of yours, but after he dropped out I threw my support behind you. I always had concerns that you weren't as progressive as I'd like, but I figured you as a corporatist DLC Democrat -- not what I really wanted, but at least marginally better than the theocrats and other crazies in the Republican Party.

Yesterday, Former Congressman Joe Scarborough was twisting the NSA report about the growth in the suddenly resurgent militia movement as your administration "targeting veterans." I know that right now the press is looking at the morons calling you a fascist and realizing that they are the representative face of the Republican Party today -- and reconsidering just how much they want to try to drive you out of office when Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal, Newt Gingrich and Mark Sanford are the alternatives. But there are the die-hards; those 24 percenters; guys like Joe Scarborough who desperately want a resurgent Republican Party, who will twist anything you do. I'm sorry, but there's only so far that adorable little Sasha planting herself before the cameras, pointing at your equally adorable little puppy and piping to the press "He doesn't know how to swim!" will take you.

You've allowed Tim Geithner to continue the Bush Treasury policies of pouring billions of dollars into failing banks, and then been shocked...shocked...and appalled.. that they've continued the practice of stuffing their pockets and not extending credit and cooking the books. You've kept guys like Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz and Nouriel Roubini on the outside while allowing Larry Summers to continue to collect hedge fund money. I haven't said all that much about it. Some of it is because I don't have time. You see, I'm one of those lucky Americans who actually has a job, and apparently I'm good at it, because I keep getting more responsibility thrown at me. But some of it is that I really, really want to give you the benefit of the doubt. But there's a place where I have to draw the line, and that line is privacy.

If you look at this blog over the last few years, you'll see that my #1 issue is the right to be left alone and not harassed by governmental authorities for political reasons. Some days I hate myself for being too cowardly to run for council in my town because my town is run by thugs who WILL dispatch police, inspectors, and other cronies, to try to run me out of town if I dare try to interfere with their little patronage mill. But for me, the single worst thing the Bush Administration did was that little room in San Francisco where every American's every communication was being swept up. This is so flagrantly against everything this country stands for, and yet it's a program your NSA is continuing:
Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional.

The legal and operational problems surrounding the N.S.A.’s surveillance activities have come under scrutiny from the Obama administration, Congressional intelligence committees and a secret national security court, said the intelligence officials, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because N.S.A. activities are classified. Classified government briefings have been held in recent weeks in response to a brewing controversy that some officials worry could damage the credibility of legitimate intelligence-gathering efforts.

The Justice Department, in response to inquiries from The New York Times, acknowledged Wednesday night that there had been problems with the N.S.A. surveillance operation, but said they had been resolved.

As part of a periodic review of the agency’s activities, the department “detected issues that raised concerns,” it said. Justice Department officials then “took comprehensive steps to correct the situation and bring the program into compliance” with the law and court orders, the statement said. It added that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. went to the national security court to seek a renewal of the surveillance program only after new safeguards were put in place.

In a statement on Wednesday night, the N.S.A. said that its “intelligence operations, including programs for collection and analysis, are in strict accordance with U.S. laws and regulations.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the intelligence community, did not address specific aspects of the surveillance problems but said in a statement that “when inadvertent mistakes are made, we take it very seriously and work immediately to correct them.”

The questions may not be settled yet. Intelligence officials say they are still examining the scope of the N.S.A. practices, and Congressional investigators say they hope to determine if any violations of Americans’ privacy occurred. It is not clear to what extent the agency may have actively listened in on conversations or read e-mail messages of Americans without proper court authority, rather than simply obtained access to them.

I know that "recent months" also includes the waning months of the Bush Administration, but why is this program still going on? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; you DID sell us out on FISA after all. But while perhaps you figured (rightly so, as it turns out) that you could throw the base under the bus, I'm not sure you figured on the black helicopter crowd suddenly deciding, after eight years of a gutless Congress allowing George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to come far too close to their dream of running a dictatorship, that suddenly having a black Democrat in the White House warranted them coming out from under the rocks they share with maggots. But this is one area where my admittedly small libertarian streak comes out:

Stop the surveillance. If you have a reason to suspect someone, or a group, get a warrant. Because the mere fact that you aren't batshit crazy like Sarah Palin or Bobby Jindal doesn't make a surveillance state any more palatable.

Best regards from your employer,

Jill

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1 Comments:
Blogger Unknown said...
Okay, I officially take it all back.
4/16/09, 8:19 AM  
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