NSA's Keith Alexander Calls Emergency Private Briefing To Lobby Against Justin Amash Amendment Curta

[frontier00]

Source: Huffingtonpost

WASHINGTON -- The National Security Agency kicked its lobbying into high gear after an amendment from Rep. Justin Amash, a libertarian Republican from Michigan, was ruled in order and will get a vote sometime this week.

NSA head Gen. Keith Alexander scheduled a last-minute, members-only briefing in response to the amendment, according to an invitation distributed to members of Congress this morning and forwarded to HuffPost. "In advance of anticipated action on amendments to the DoD Appropriations bill, Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of the House Intelligence Committee invites your Member to attend a question and answer session with General Keith B. Alexander of the National Security Agency," reads the invitation.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/23/keith-alexander-justin-amash_n_3639329.html

[bemildred]

1. Awesome. Get them out of hiding where we can take a good look at them.

We know they've already taken a good look at us.

[1monster]

3. Turn abouts are fair play?

Yeah, I think so. But they have so much more info on all of us than we will ever have on them. The playing field is anything but level.

[bemildred]

4. Yep, same rules for everybody, that's how you run a real democracy. nt

[matthews]

5. I think that the biggest and most relevant piece of information we need

is one that we already have.

THIS IS NOT IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Someone should take a recording device in

and say "of course, you don't mind us recording this, do you? What could you have to say to a congressman that you wouldn't say to the country you serve? You don't have anything to hide, so why worry?"

[dickthegrouch]

10. +10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 /nt

[rwsanders]

15. Yeah, but I don't think it would take much counter-surveillance to make them squeal like a piglet...

I've been thinking about this, and I wish I was computer savvy enough to do it, but maybe someone from anonymous or assange could set this up...
A website to make it easy for people to upload a photo from cell phone or other camera to a website that would include date, time, and location of all law enforcement personnel.
Then an app to let people know if there are law enforcement personnel in their area.
There is a danger that criminals could use it, but at this point I think out of control government surveillance is the bigger threat.

[matthews]

2. No wonder he's having an attack of the vapors:

From the article:

"The Amash amendment would put the House on record when it comes to NSA snooping. The language of the measure, which would be attached to the Pentagon's spending bill "Ends authority for the blanket collection of records under the Patriot Act. Bars the NSA and other agencies from using Section 215 of the Patriot Act to collect records, including telephone call records, that pertain to persons who are not subject to an investigation under Section 215."

[AlbertCat]

13. Bars the NSA and other agencies from using Section 215 of the Patriot Act...

OMG! Don't they realize how much money someone will lose?????

[Turbineguy]

7. So suddenly, libertarians have great ideas?

As in the first time ever? We're now going to base national security (flawed as it may be) on fiction?

[villager]

8. National security has been based on fiction for a long time.

That, unfortunately, is our reality.

[Turbineguy]

22. Consider the problems that our intelligence services have.

They come under congressional oversight. And so they should. But some of those doing the overseeing are morons who would reveal security operations because it suits them politically. Are we to trust Snowden and Greenwald to reveal things that do not harm the U.S.?

[villager]

23. There's not really much "oversight" in Congress, nor has there ever been

... in the postwar era, with the brief blip of the Church Committee era, now relegated to history.

Are we to trust the CIA, NSA, et al, not to harm the U.S.? Or rather, the founding principles of the U.S.?

I think not.

[bemildred]

29. All the more reason for them to behave responsibly. nt

[A Simple Game]

31. Personally I think the biggest problem our intelligence services have is that

for the most part what they are doing is unconstitutional.

So some of those doing he overseeing are morons. And some of the people doing the spying are morons, or incompetent, or lazy, or authoritarian, or corrupt, or either traitors for whistleblowing or for not whistleblowing depending upon whether you support the constitution or not.

So what is your point?

[bemildred]

9. Nobody is wrong about everything, Sir.

The Libertarians are right about personal liberties, but when your boss wants to fire you, or the government wants to tax your boss, or otherwise regulate public affairs, then the Libertarians tend to be wrong.

[Maedhros]

12. It is unwise to assess an idea based solely on the label attached to the person presenting it.

Judge the idea on its merits.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. CIVIL Libertarians and Libertarians the way you are thinking about it

are on the same boat.

Or you are telling me Wiyden is not a Democrat?

(And yes, I read who authored this... on this I stand with Representative Amash. Alas I put the Constitution ahead of the party)

[Fantastic Anarchist]

11. This is great news!

Let's see how this pans out.

[AllINeedIsCoffee]

14. Justin Amash?

[Android3.14]

16. Whatever

In this case, it matters little. They say Hitler kept the trains running on time. Doesn't mean commuters loved fascism.

[AtheistCrusader]

20. Mussolini, actually.

A German would be miffed at you for suggesting German trains ever failed to run on time in the first place.

[matthews]

17. So? Did you see a Democrat stepping up to the plate and

filing this action? Hell no.

Sometimes help comes from the strangest places.

[questionseverything]

24. to be fair....

Amash's amendment, cosponsored by former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and liberal Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers, could capitalize on a new awareness of the scope of the intelligence community's activities.

conyers co sponsored,so dems are stepping up and wyden has been very verbal against the nsa abuse

[matthews]

27. So then what's with all the grief dispensing when you say you are supportive

of this amendment?

[questionseverything]

28. coffee is stuck in the r versues d thingy

i just wanted to point out the dems are not all silent on this issue,,,and as much as i disagree with most of what this teabagger believes we NEED a repub to get a vote in the house

[Faygo Kid]

18. Don't throw in with this guy over this one issue; he's a dangerous nut

Almost makes Ted Cruz look like a moderate. Almost. Amash is a libertarian totalitarian who picks and chooses from a 180 degree swing on the issues. Scary dude.

[matthews]

25. I'm not throwing anything 'in' with anybody

and I don't care how this gets to the floor as long as it gets there. And this bill is the only topic under discussion. Abortion and whatever else this guy supports is irrelevant to the fact that at least SOMEONE got this issue this far, and it wasn't anyone on our side.

What are you saying, we should just ignore it and hope it goes away because someone from the other side proposed it?

And none of it would be possible, hell we wouldn't even known about what these clowns have been up. to if it wasn't for Snowden. And people piss and moan about him all the time. Voted for one of the Pauls, had boxes and a girlfriend that they didn't approve of, used to think whistleblowers should be shot (until he got a gander at what the NSA was up to).

Sometimes shit happens.

[bemildred]

30. Agreeing with anyone about some particular issue is not "throwing in with them".

You don't have to like people you agree with any more than you have to marry every girl you like, or buy every car you like? It's just an idea.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. I am shocked it made it to the floor, to be honest.

Good luck.

As to Keith Alexander... we used to say FUCK HOOVER, now it is FUCK NSA

[toby jo]

26. Fuck DARPA

[Fearless]

32. Time to pull out the meta data gathered on Congress

And threaten them with it.

[KoKo]

33. I wonder if he will show up with a DOSSIER..of Private Info

on Intel Committee Members..."private information."

That will be all the "convincing" he will need to do as to why this Amendment should be quashed.

We shall see how it plays out.