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kentuck

(115,544 posts)
Wed Jun 19, 2013, 07:25 AM Jun 2013

After reading the article by Glenn Greenwald... [View all]

After reading the link by Greenwald, it is pretty obvious that he is in possession of a lot of information. And I would assume he got the information from Edward Snowden.
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<snip>
Obama told Charlie Rose last night:

"What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a US person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls … by law and by rule, and unless they … go to a court, and obtain a warrant, and seek probable cause, the same way it's always been, the same way when we were growing up and we were watching movies, you want to go set up a wiretap, you got to go to a judge, show probable cause."

The GOP chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, told CNN that the NSA "is not listening to Americans' phone calls. If it did, it is illegal. It is breaking the law." Talking points issued by the House GOP in defense of the NSA claimed that surveillance law only "allows the Government to acquire foreign intelligence information concerning non-U.S.-persons (foreign, non-Americans) located outside the United States."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/19/fisa-court-oversight-process-secrecy
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And if the NSA has not been following the guidelines set by law, then they should be held accountable. It appears that the laws may have been broken and they need to be fixed from the damage done by the Congress, rushing through legislation at the end of the year before it expires. To do something like that, with something as important as rights guaranteed by our Constitution, is unforgivable.

It seems to me that our entire government, from the top to the bottom have been delinquent in their duties? Even the President has been lax in seeing that the laws are being executed in a lawful way.

The Attorney-General gave his approval to the NSA to do more or less whatever they wanted. And they followed few guidelines. They did whatever they wanted. Make no mistake. This is lawlessness on a grand scale. This is the scandal some folks have been looking for.

But Congress cannot be forgiven for their incompetence. The Attorney-General should resign. The NSA Director, Keith Alexander, needs to step down also. Obama needs to clean house with these people. The American people cannot and will not accept such lawlessness from any government officials. The DNI position should be done away with and go back to the way it was when it worked. The intelligence is too diluted.

Finally, the Senate Intelligence Committee needs to be changed. We need some fresh thinkers with intelligence watching out for us. Those presently on that committee have lost the faith of the American people. They can keep their Senate seats if the voters want them, but they should no longer be sitting on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

It is a mess from the top to the bottom and only one person can fix it. That would be Barack Obama. He is the only President we have at this time. This would be his true legacy if he could fix it. But he's going to have to fire some people and replace them with qualified people that see reality in the scope of history. Fortunately, the FBI Director is leaving. That would be a good place to start. This is just my humble opinion.

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Did anyone not read the article by Greenwald? kentuck Jun 2013 #1
ermmigawd! Glenn Greenwald! argleblarglebarg! KG Jun 2013 #2
Well-reasoned, cogent analysis. TransitJohn Jun 2013 #3
If you believe that, what can I say. I'm not exactly Einstein, but closeupready Jun 2013 #4
I think it is rather obvious... kentuck Jun 2013 #5
Oh, ok, good - I misread your take on this. closeupready Jun 2013 #6
its not like the surveillance state is putting people on edge? Monkie Jun 2013 #7
Well reasoned. The Senate Intelligence Committee and Holder need to go asap Catherina Jun 2013 #8
I think the people are truly bothered by this issue. kentuck Jun 2013 #11
I don't believe this POTUS, or a future one, nadinbrzezinski Jun 2013 #12
I have read.. kentuck Jun 2013 #13
Seneca went into it, yes nadinbrzezinski Jun 2013 #14
He does indeed and Snowden challenged him to take this opportunity Catherina Jun 2013 #20
Someday we will regret it if he does not... kentuck Jun 2013 #21
Determined expansion is what I'm seeing too. Catherina Jun 2013 #25
I hate to say it nadinbrzezinski Jun 2013 #30
''If you are a US person...'' Octafish Jun 2013 #9
That's a state secret, like everything else in this transparency n/t Catherina Jun 2013 #10
The warrantless wiretapping is on international calls. FarCenter Jun 2013 #15
But didn't the "whistleblower" dispute those facts? kentuck Jun 2013 #16
No, read Greenwald's blog carefully -- he is trying to conflate domestic and international calling. FarCenter Jun 2013 #17
How did you interpret this? kentuck Jun 2013 #24
The preceding paragraph explained it FarCenter Jun 2013 #29
And that is the problem. kentuck Jun 2013 #31
I believe that they follow the law, since they have set up a whole procedure to monitor compliance FarCenter Jun 2013 #32
Who's policing compliance? HooptieWagon Jun 2013 #33
Anarchy? RobertEarl Jun 2013 #18
The elites in Congress and on both sides of the aisle are comfy, closeupready Jun 2013 #19
Did anyone notice? kentuck Jun 2013 #22
Astute observation. closeupready Jun 2013 #23
That would be interesting if correct. But it's not. Both parties are split on the issue. nt stevenleser Jun 2013 #27
actually, I noticed the anti-Obama people in the media, same as other smears & the BushPaulfamilyinc graham4anything Jun 2013 #28
Yes, the people supporting Obama's spying are in agreement with Bush, Cheney, Ari Fleischer... HooptieWagon Jun 2013 #34
That's quite a floodgate Snowden opened. Or rather so many floodgates. Catherina Jun 2013 #26
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