Sen. Al Franken: “I Assure You This Isn’t About Spying on the American People”

“I have a high level of confidence that it is used to protect us”
US News • Views: 35,073

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Noted far right nutjob (do I need a snark tag on that?) Sen. Al Franken says he was not surprised by the Greenwald/Snowden NSA revelations.

“I’m on the Judiciary committee and the Judiciary committee has jurisdiction (over) N.S.A. and on (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) and the Patriot Act,” he said. “I availed myself of these briefings so nothing surprised me and the architecture of these programs I was very well aware of.”

“I think there should be enough transparency that the American people understand what is happening…But I can assure you that this isn’t about spying on the American people.”

Franken, chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, also said there are aspects of security programs that he should be aware of but the public should not.

“There are certain things that are appropriate for me to know that’s not appropriate for the bad guys to know,” he said. “Anything that quote the American people know, the bad guys know so there’s a line here, right? And there’s a balance that has to be struck between the responsibility of the federal government to protect the American people and then people’s right to privacy. We have safeguards in place …The American people can’t know everything because everything they know then, the bad guys will know.”

He said that the data the security agency has collected have kept Americans safe.

“I have a high level of confidence, that it is used…to protect us and I know that it has been successful in preventing terrorism,” he said.

(Via JM Ashby.)

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270 comments
1 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:54:55pm

Of course that authoritarian Fascist Franken would say that.

2 Sol Berdinowitz  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:55:07pm

Patriots…how do they act?

3 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:55:43pm

OBAMA-BUSH-FRANKEN-HITLER!!11ty

4 Eclectic Cyborg  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:55:44pm

Al Franken: About the only person in Washington who has a clue what the hell is going on.

5 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:56:18pm
“The American people can’t know everything because everything they know then, the bad guys will know.”

TYRANNY!

6 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:56:21pm

re: #2 Sol Berdinowitz

Patriots…how do they act?

Youtube Video

7 Lidane  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:57:39pm

re: #4 Eclectic Cyborg

Al Franken: About the only person in Washington who has a clue what the hell is going on.

Because he actually reads the legislation that crosses his desk.

8 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:57:47pm

I’m glad he paid attention to the briefing.

9 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:57:49pm

Time to build a giant puppet of Al Frankenbush!

10 erik_t  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:58:13pm

Information wants to be free, yes, but information needs to act like a big boy or big girl and understand that it needs to balance its wants against other outside factors and come to a reasonable and intelligent and rational compromise.

11 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:58:28pm

You know, if anything I find Franken a bit too extreme for my tastes… the fact that he’s come out and said this actually reassures me more about these programs.

12 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:58:50pm

re: #8 jaunte

I’m glad he paid attention to the briefing.

and at least he actually ATTENDS briefings…

13 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:58:52pm

AL FRANKEN IS A DINO TRAITOR!!!!

//

14 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 1:59:09pm

The burning question on everybody’s mind is what did Justin Bieber know and when did he know it?

15 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:00:05pm

re: #12 Backwoods_Sleuth

and at least he actually ATTENDS briefings…

In his DEPENDS?

I think I just left the building.

16 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:00:05pm

WHO CARES WHAT THAT DUMB LIBRUL STEWART SMALLEY SAYZ!!11!! AND HE POSED FOR A PICHURE WEARIN A DIAPER!!11 I SAW IT ON FREE REPUBLIC!!!111

17 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:00:15pm

re: #13 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

AL FRANKEN IS A DINO TRAITOR!!!!

//

Which I’m almost 100% positive will be posted on DU when they catch wind of this.

18 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:00:38pm
“I’m on the Judiciary committee and the Judiciary committee has jurisdiction (over) N.S.A. and on (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) and the Patriot Act,” he said. “I availed myself of these briefings so nothing surprised me and the architecture of these programs I was very well aware of.”

U.S. Senators were briefed.

Outrage.

Scandal.

Tyranny.

Spying on us.

/

19 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:00:42pm

re: #17 Dr Lizardo

or the GOS with the way they’ve been reacting.

20 erik_t  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:00:47pm

re: #17 Dr Lizardo

Which I’m almost 100% positive will be posted on DU when they catch wind of this.

Proof he’s doing something right.

21 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:01:43pm

As an IT worker, I would like to thank Snowden for abusing his position and security clearance which will lead to the entire industry getting the screws turned on it because he decided to be a traitorous sack of rancid shit.

22 LWNJ  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:01:51pm

I must say, I value Franken’s opinion on this more than any other voice I’ve heard so far.

23 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:02:14pm
24 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:02:16pm

re: #20 erik_t

Proof he’s doing something right.

How has he been voting on Patriot Act renewals?

25 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:03:09pm

re: #23 Gus

Toobin’s “just defending the government”.

Leakers are herows!

/

26 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:03:14pm

re: #19 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

re: #20 erik_t

LOLOLOL.

From what I understand, Sen. Franken is a very hard-working, intelligent and competent senator.

But of course, that won’t stop the moonbats and the wingnuts from going off on him. I’ve noticed that both DU and FR is full of OUTRAGEOUS OUTRAGE!!!

27 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:03:52pm

re: #25 Bulworth

Toobin’s “just defending the government”.

Leakers are herows!

/

Hmm. He deleted that Tweet.

28 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:04:15pm
29 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:04:28pm

OK, fixed with new Tweet.

30 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:04:37pm

re: #24 Decatur Deb

How has he been voting on Patriot Act renewals?

May 23, 2011 S 1038 Patriot Act Extension Cloture Invoked - Senate
(74 - 8) Yea

May 26, 2011 S 990 Patriot Act Extension Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate
(72 - 23) Nay

Couldn’t tell ya what that means though

31 erik_t  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:05:28pm

re: #30 McSpiff

Couldn’t tell ya what that means though

Should come to a vote, shouldn’t be reauthorized. I think.

32 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:06:10pm

re: #30 McSpiff

Voted for cloture (against filibuster), voted against bill.

I think. The different Senate bill numbers confuse things a bit.

33 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:07:04pm

re: #24 Decatur Deb

How has he been voting on Patriot Act renewals?

Answered my own question: He voted against the 28 Dec reauthorization of FISA (HR5949). Strengthens his statement.

34 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:07:21pm
35 erik_t  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:08:07pm

Is there any type of comedy this candidate can’t provide?

Virginia candidate Jackson has history of money problems

The Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in Virginia, Chesapeake pastor E.W. Jackson, has a long history of financial and legal troubles, including his repeated failure to pay taxes in Massachusetts and Virginia, The Washington Examiner has learned.

Jackson’s money problems extend back 30 years to when he was a young lawyer in Massachusetts, but continued into last year, when he was running for the U.S. Senate in Virginia, records show.

36 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:08:31pm

re: #31 erik_t

re: #32 Bulworth


Ah ok, that makes sense.

37 Sol Berdinowitz  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:09:08pm

re: #35 erik_t

Is there any type of comedy this candidate can’t provide?

Karl Rove facepalm…

38 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:09:11pm

re: #35 erik_t

Is there any type of comedy this candidate can’t provide?

Hasn’t been caught making out in a limo. Yet.

39 Political Atheist  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:09:38pm

Senator Franken,
Thank you for the welcome reassurance about our current administration and legislature.

Given everything you now know about how this works and the inclinations of the next Congress or 10, and the next president or 10, how do you feel about the program?

40 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:11:01pm

re: #34 Gus

Some people are really losing it over that Toobin piece.

41 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:11:44pm

re: #39 Political Atheist

Doesn’t look like a fan of it.

votesmart.org

42 wrenchwench  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:11:57pm

re: #39 Political Atheist

Senator Franklin,

Franken.

43 EPR-radar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:12:16pm

re: #21 Kragar

As an IT worker, I would like to thank Snowden for abusing his position and security clearance which will lead to the entire industry getting the screws turned on it because he decided to be a traitorous sack of rancid shit.

The system will not work if anyone with a clearance feels entitled to decide what should and should not be classified information.

IMO, if one must leak over a matter of principle, then one ought to be prepared to face the charges right here in the US. If the case for leaking is really compelling, defend it in court and pray for jury nullification.

44 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:13:04pm

re: #40 jaunte

Toobin just hates heroze. /

45 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:13:37pm

re: #39 Political Atheist

Senator Franklin,
Thank you for the welcome reassurance about our current administration and legislature.

Given everything you now know about how this works and the inclinations of the next Congress or 10, and the next president or 10, how do you feel about the program?

Couldn’t the same be said for literally any program? Tax returns, political donations, religious donations, etc. Should we curtail any type of intelligence gathering for fear that a hypothetical tyrant that gets democratically voted in 2100 will abuse it?

46 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:15:24pm

re: #40 jaunte

Some people are really losing it over that Toobin piece.

GEORGE W. TOOBINHITLER MUST GO NOW! JUSTICE FOR SNOWDEN!!11ty

47 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:16:45pm

Really?

48 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:17:31pm

re: #47 jaunte

HUMANITY!!

49 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:17:50pm
50 Political Atheist  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:19:08pm

re: #45 McSpiff

Couldn’t the same be said for literally any program? Tax returns, political donations, religious donations, etc. Should we curtail any type of intelligence gathering for fear that a hypothetical tyrant that gets democratically voted in 2100 will abuse it?

I would not think so. The differences would matter IMO. The NSA has no enforcement authority at all. The answer I would like to hear is that the temporary and extraordinary laws and measures taken after 9/11 would be forced to stop, ending the concerns at that point. But what might his answer really be? I’d love to watch that. Is PRISM a permanent fixture whatever it exactly is at this point? I don’t know. I have never liked FISA either.

51 erik_t  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:19:11pm

This shit is getting weird.

52 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:19:15pm

Today’s whackomagnet.

53 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:19:58pm

re: #46 Gus

GEORGE W. TOOBINHITLER MUST GO NOW! JUSTICE FOR SNOWDEN!!11ty

Reading some of the comments there just makes me shake my head.

I admit to having perhaps a different persepective; as a long-term foreigner here in the Czech Republic, I’m used to the fact that the Foreigners Police know exactly where I am, where I work, and what I do for a living. I have to check in with them once a year. For me, it’s really not a big thing.

Ordinary Czech citizens also have to register with the Federal Police as well, by the way. And yet I can also say I simply do not, nor have I ever, got the feeling that I’m under surveillance.

54 wrenchwench  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:20:02pm

Mr. Toobin is going to get at least three creepy email threats. Franken probably wouldn’t notice any uptick in his threatening email count.

55 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:20:26pm

re: #49 Gus

FFS.

56 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:21:00pm

re: #51 erik_t

This shit is getting weird.

Weird are turning pro.

57 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:21:16pm

What do the outraged people think the NSA has been doing since 2001?

58 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:21:40pm

re: #57 Bulworth

What do the outraged people think the NSA has been doing since 2001?

Watching pr0n.

59 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:21:41pm

re: #54 wrenchwench

Mr. Toobin is going to get at least three creepy email threats. Franken probably wouldn’t notice any uptick in his threatening email count.

Probably still gets hatemail from SNL shtick.

60 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:21:58pm

re: #55 Dr Lizardo

FFS.

The Juice! Teh Juice! Scratch a lot of these folks and it’s easy to find a Jew hater in the bunch.

61 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:22:03pm

re: #57 Bulworth

“They were only supposed to study outer space!”

62 bratwurst  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:22:22pm

My favorite moment in the coverage of this story today was when Rush Limbaugh mocked Snowden for his lack of educational credentials…the noted high school graduate finally found someone whose academic career he can look down his nose at!

63 Lidane  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:22:25pm

re: #57 Bulworth

What do the outraged people think the NSA has been doing since 2001?

Volcano monitoring.

64 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:22:34pm

All the wingnuts who were totally ready to execute the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Vice President of the United States and various members of Congress for “TREASON” all want to kiss the cheeks and hang a medal on a real traitor.

65 Dr. Matt  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:22:36pm

Apparently you can break the law and be a traitor just as long as you don’t put American lives at-risk.

66 Joanne  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:22:50pm

I wonder what this private contractor (BAH) is going to do to this kid in civil court.

If this guy manages to not wind up in prison for more years than he has spent on Earth to date, BAH is going to attach every dime this guy makes for the rest of his life.

67 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:23:09pm

re: #62 bratwurst

Rushbo doesn’t think the guy’s a hero?

68 erik_t  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:23:32pm

re: #58 Dr Lizardo

Watching pr0n.

(RUNS, NAY, SPRINTS TO USAJOBS.GOV)

70 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:24:12pm
71 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:24:20pm

Results for nsa zionist

72 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:25:24pm

re: #21 Kragar

As an IT worker, I would like to thank Snowden for abusing his position and security clearance which will lead to the entire industry getting the screws turned on it because he decided to be a traitorous sack of rancid shit.

Permission to Tweet?

73 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:25:30pm

Mixed Tweets. One guy just calls himself a Zionist.

74 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:25:35pm

re: #64 Vicious Babushka

Yes. It all makes perfect sense. /

I wonder where the various ‘grassroots’ Tea Party groups are on this? Mike Rogers, the House Repub Chair of Intelligence Committee came down pretty hard on the leaking and leaker. Maybe he’s been to the briefings, too.

75 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:25:44pm

re: #50 Political Atheist

I would not think so. The differences would matter IMO. The NSA has no enforcement authority at all. The answer I would like to hear is that the temporary and extraordinary laws and measures taken after 9/11 would be forced to stop, ending the concerns at that point. But what might his answer really be? I’d love to watch that. Is PRISM a permanent fixture whatever it exactly is at this point? I don’t know. I have never liked FISA either.

Right, the NSA has no enforcement authority but it does work extremely closely with other intelligence agencies, enforcement agencies and the military. You’ll notice on the leaked Verizon order that the original application was submitted by the FBI (DOJ), that the head of the NSA is an Army General, while the NSA itself is an Agency of the DOD. So I’m not sure what point you were making.

While there was some temporary and extraordinary measures both in place after 9/11, the bulk were not. Which makes sense, given that most analysis of the 9/11 attacks highlighted that it was largely intelligence failures that left America largely blind to the potential threat facing it. Rescinding things like the expanded FISA and PATRIOT Act as it stands today would return America to that same blindness.

76 Joanne  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:25:58pm

re: #67 Bulworth

Rushbo doesn’t think the guy’s a hero?

Oh god. The end times truly are upon us. Greenwald and Moore and now Rush Limbaugh and me.

Shoot me in the head. Right now please.

77 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:26:00pm

re: #68 erik_t

(RUNS, NAY, SPRINTS TO USAJOBS.GOV)

I’ve heard that if you land a job with the intelligence community, you get the really kinky stuff. I’m talking German kinky.

Hubba hubba.

78 bratwurst  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:26:28pm

re: #67 Bulworth

Rushbo doesn’t think the guy’s a hero?

He showed uncharacteristic restraint in his treatment of the story today, at least during the 20 minutes I heard.

79 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:26:31pm
80 erik_t  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:27:09pm

I didn’t know you needed a massive server farm to drive down the street with a cargo van.

What will we learn next?

81 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:27:10pm

re: #73 Gus

Mixed Tweets. One guy just calls himself a Zionist.

Comments seem to blame the Jews for both supporting and attacking Snowden. The old litmus test.

82 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:27:33pm

Pretty sure that guy, FloridaJayhawk, was a supporter of all things Patriot Act and GWOT back in the 00’s.

83 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:28:05pm

re: #79 Gus

Without server farms, how would we know where to find the Americans?

84 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:28:21pm

re: #75 McSpiff

FBI, not FBA..

85 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:28:26pm


Instinct!

86 Charles Johnson  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:28:36pm

Right wingers have a real problem in the Snowden case - they have to hate on Snowden without appearing to support Obama.

87 Lidane  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:28:50pm

Focused on the important First Amendment issues:

88 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:29:04pm

re: #82 Gus

Pretty sure that guy, FloridaJayhawk, was a supporter of all things Patriot Act and GWOT back in the 00’s.

Yeah, but that was when a God-fearing Christian white man Republican was President.

///

89 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:29:37pm

re: #87 Lidane

Focused on the important First Amendment issues:

Freedom of speech means agreeing with everything one religion teaches.
/

90 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:29:38pm

re: #83 jaunte

Without server farms, how would we know where to find the Americans?

I think they call them “server FEMA camps”.

91 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:30:13pm
92 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:30:36pm

re: #90 Decatur Deb

I think they call them “server FEMA camps”.

Almost tempted to fire up photoshop and make a nice Dell blade server all decked out on his way to summer camp…

93 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:30:41pm

re: #82 Gus

That was when there was still terrorism. No terrorism now because Dubya killed OBL and got rid of AQ. //

94 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:30:43pm

re: #91 NJDhockeyfan

95 makeitstop  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:30:52pm

re: #86 Charles Johnson

Right wingers have a real problem in the Snowden case - they have to hate on Snowden without appearing to support Obama.

Quite a few of them seem to be going the ‘Snowden=hero’ route. I guess that’ll be easier for them than trying to not hate on Obama.

96 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:32:26pm
97 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:32:28pm

re: #49 Gus

Fukken brilliant.

98 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:33:08pm

re: #95 makeitstop

Quite a few of them seem to be going the ‘Snowden=hero’ route. I guess that’ll be easier for them than trying to not hate on Obama.

I’ve noticed that on FR. If Mr. Snowden turns out to be a straight-up traitor, I wonder how they’re going to intellectually justify their advocacy of his “cause”.

99 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:33:26pm

re: #95 makeitstop

Quite a few of them seem to be going the ‘Snowden=hero’ route. I guess that’ll be easier for them than trying to not hate on Obama.

Aside from their racist-reflexive hate on Obama, these people are driven by the conviction that anything the government does is bad by definition. The second Clinton presidency won’t help that.

100 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:33:57pm

re: #98 Dr Lizardo

I’ve noticed that on FR. If Mr. Snowden turns out to be a straight-up traitor, I wonder how they’re going to intellectually justify their advocacy of his “cause”.

“This isn’t really America anymore”

101 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:34:39pm

re: #94 jaunte



102 palomino  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:34:46pm

re: #70 NJDhockeyfan

OK, it will embarrass Obama with people on the far left (Greenwald, et al.) and the far libertarian right (Rand Paul, et al.). But does the middle even care? When you’ve got the support of Al Franken on the left and Lindsay Graham/John McCain on the right, as well as a majority of the American public, this is probably a non-starter in the ongoing GOP game of “let’s see if this is a scandal and we can use it to impeach, or at least sidetrack, Obama.”

103 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:35:02pm

re: #100 McSpiff

“Snowden has shown the way: we don’t have to do anything the Government says we have to do.”

104 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:35:10pm

re: #99 Decatur Deb

Aside from their racist-reflexive hate on Obama, these people are driven by the conviction that anything the government does is bad by definition. The second Clinton presidency won’t help that.

If Hillary Clinton were elected come 2016, the wingnuts are going to lose it in a fashion that will make what we’re seeing now seem like tepid and mild criticism of the current administration.

105 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:35:26pm

re: #86 Charles Johnson

Obummer not keeping us SAFE and using NSA too much!

106 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:36:06pm

re: #104 Dr Lizardo

If Hillary Clinton were elected come 2016, the wingnuts are going to lose it in a fashion that will make what we’re seeing now seem like tepid and mild criticism of the current administration.

Reason enough to volunteer for her campaign.

107 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:36:07pm

re: #100 McSpiff

“This isn’t really America anymore”

Oh, OK.

It’s Muslimstan, right?

*headdesk*

108 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:36:37pm

re: #106 Decatur Deb

LOL.

109 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:36:55pm

I’m just waiting for someone to try and tie Charles to the NSA, you know, with LGF having its Spy Mode…

110 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:36:58pm

re: #103 jaunte

The Rule Of Law. Defined. /

111 wrenchwench  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:38:03pm

re: #109 McSpiff

I’m just waiting for someone to try and tie Charles to the NSA, you know, with LGF having its Spy Mode…

Master Spy Rules All!

112 wrenchwench  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:40:22pm

Brain freshener:

My 7 week old niece.

113 A Mom Anon  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:46:14pm

re: #112 wrenchwench

Baybeeeee! Squeee!

114 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:51:11pm

James Risen. State of War, 2006.

amazon.com

Chapter 2.

115 efuseakay  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:52:11pm

re: #78 bratwurst

He showed uncharacteristic restraint in his treatment of the story today, at least during the 20 minutes I heard.

He’s afraid of what the NSA knows about him.

*snark*

116 Bulworth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:53:26pm

re: #114 Bulworth

Just a refresher that the NSA’s surveillance, data mining, phone records, etc, isn’t new.

117 Charles Johnson  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:57:26pm

Community College Says NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Took No ‘Cyber-Related Classes’ | Mother Jones

In its story unveiling National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Guardian reported that the 29-year-old attended “a community college in Maryland, studying computing, but never completed the coursework.” The Guardian did not name the community college. But a spokesman for Anne Arundel Community College (AACC), located in southeastern Maryland, tells Mother Jones a student with Snowden’s name and birthdate attended the college from 1999 to 2001 and then again from 2004 to 2005. He did not receive a certificate or degree, the spokesman, Daniel Baum, says.

But here’s an interesting wrinkle: Baum says Snowden took no “cyber-related courses” at this college. Nor did he take any classes in the college’s NSA-certified “Information Systems Security” program, which focuses on safeguarding computer data and networks, though he went on to work in a related field for the government and in the private sector. It’s unclear whether Snowden studied computing elsewhere.

118 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:59:25pm

NJGOP decides to go full Retard

The deadline for candidates to file for the special election to fill the Senate seat formerly occupied by the late Frank Lautenberg passed at 4 p.m. Monday. As the deadline approached, Steve Lonegan remained the only well-known Republican who has declared his intention to enter the race. Lonegan is a former mayor with a colorful history who, most recently, has been leading a local activist group funded by the Koch Brothers.
…
After finishing his three terms in Bogota, Lonegan became the New Jersey state director of Americans For Prosperity, an activist group dedicated to promoting “limited government and free markets on the local, state, and federal levels” that was founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. In 2007, he made headlines when police discovered he hired two illegal immigrants to assemble Americans For Prosperity lawn signs in his garage. He defended himself by insisting the men told him they had proper documentation. In 2008, Lonegan and another activist were arrested for trespassing while protesting a toll hike outside of a courthouse in Cape May County. The charges were later dropped and the town apologized to Lonegan.

Last year, Lonegan spent the presidential election participating in Americans For Prosperity’s “Obama’s Failing Agenda” bus tour. At a Manhattan rally for the tour, he compared President Barack Obama to Fidel Castro.

“We’ve seen an agenda similar to this in the world. … It started in Cuba in 1953 under a man named Fidel Castro,” Lonegan said of Obama. “Now, Fidel Castro didn’t believe the wealthy paid their fair share. He wanted them to pay more. Fidel Castro said, you know, you guys didn’t do that yourselves, you need to share that with the rest of us. … And now the people in Cuba live under a pall of darkness, under a dumbed down economy and only wish they could live like Americans.”

119 Charles Johnson  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 2:59:50pm
120 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:00:18pm

re: #119 Charles Johnson

After Glenwald said he needed proof…

121 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:00:35pm

re: #117 Charles Johnson

Community College Says NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Took No ‘Cyber-Related Classes’ | Mother Jones

HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET THAT SWEET, SWEET JOB WITH NO CREDS? He must give great blow jobs. (That’s how a female applicant with no skills or creds would get the job). Either that or his daddy knows the right, white people.

I am so totally pissed.

122 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:01:55pm

re: #121 Vicious Babushka

HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET THAT SWEET, SWEET JOB WITH NO CREDS? He must give great blow jobs. (That’s how a female applicant with no skills or creds would get the job). Either that or his daddy knows the right, white people.

I am so totally pissed.

To be honest, the NSA, like many intelligence-oriented government communities, will hire a known hacker regardless of legit creds. That doesn’t mean they’re terribly intelligent, or even that facile with a computer (many big “hacks” could be done by you or me, simply put).

Evening Lizardim.

123 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:03:34pm

re: #122 thedopefishlives

To be honest, the NSA, like many intelligence-oriented government communities, will hire a known hacker regardless of legit creds. That doesn’t mean they’re terribly intelligent, or even that facile with a computer (many big “hacks” could be done by you or me, simply put).

Evening Lizardim.

Was he a known hacker?

124 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:04:31pm

re: #123 Vicious Babushka

Was he a known hacker?

I have no idea. Government agencies are also well known for hiring nincompoops. And sometimes it is just a matter of knowing the right people, as you suggested (knowing in either the Biblical or the normal sense).

125 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:05:51pm

The fact a schmuck like Snowden can pull down $200k says a lot about how bad our security infrastructure really is.

126 A Mom Anon  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:05:52pm

And just to add more WTF to this mess, why is it that we’re farming out sensitive intel stuff to private multinational corporations? Whatever happened to keeping all this stuff “in house”? Isn’t that asking for trouble? These companies have no loyalties anywhere except to shareholders and profit margins. And there’s no way in hell anyone can tell me it’s cheaper to do it like this. Anytime you throw a contractor into the government mix it almost always saves the taxpayers nothing.

I blame K Street and the whole revolving door from congress and the Pentagon to the defense industry and back again.

127 AntonSirius  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:06:25pm

re: #98 Dr Lizardo

I’ve noticed that on FR. If Mr. Snowden turns out to be a straight-up traitor, I wonder how they’re going to intellectually justify their advocacy of his “cause”.

They’ll just claim Obama framed him. Duh.

128 abolitionist  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:07:59pm

re: #45 McSpiff

Couldn’t the same be said for literally any program? Tax returns, political donations, religious donations, etc. Should we curtail any type of intelligence gathering for fear that a hypothetical tyrant that gets democratically voted in 2100 will abuse it?

I’ve noticed that my social security number is no longer routinely printed on my personal checks, and merchants no longer insist on that. (Of course, most don’t accept checks at all anymore.)

We’re living in an era of very rapid technological advancements. Consider the capabilities of this website in 2001 vs now.

A variety of freedom vs security tradeoffs have been made, and continue to be made, since 9-11, based on perceived considerations of risks vs benefits. But due to rapid progress of technologies, the risks and benefits will most assuredly not remain static.

129 A Mom Anon  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:09:00pm

re: #125 Kragar

If what I’ve been reading is correct, Snowden didn’t take home the whole 200K, that’s just what BAH got paid for that job as a contractor. I’m sure he was compensated well, but the company got to keep some of that money. I think, unless I’m totally not understanding the giant blur of info in my head now. I’m right at info overload on this madness.

130 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:09:29pm

re: #128 abolitionist

I’ve noticed that my social security number is no longer routinely printed on my personal checks, and merchants no longer insist on that. (Of course, most don’t accept checks at all anymore.)

We’re living in an era of very rapid technological advancements. Consider the capabilities of this website in 2001 vs now.

A variety of freedom vs security tradeoffs have been made, and continue to be made, since 9-11, based on perceived considerations of risks vs benefits. But due to rapid progress of technologies, the risks and benefits will most assuredly not remain static.

The Canadian government has actually stopped printing cards with our SIN (your SSN) on them. Mostly because for a lot of people (myself included), losing your wallet meant losing your SIN and license… 90% of the way to identity theft.

131 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:09:48pm
132 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:10:03pm

History Channel.

133 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:10:11pm

re: #129 A Mom Anon

If what I’ve been reading is correct, Snowden didn’t take home the whole 200K, that’s just what BAH got paid for that job as a contractor. I’m sure he was compensated well, but the company got to keep some of that money. I think, unless I’m totally not understanding the giant blur of info in my head now. I’m right at info overload on this madness.

If that’s true, I make about $500k a year…

134 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:10:21pm

re: #4 Eclectic Cyborg

Al Franken: About the only person in Washington who has a clue what the hell is going on.

Especially since Wisconsin replaced Feingold with that teabagging loser Johnson.

135 Lidane  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:10:22pm
136 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:10:37pm

re: #132 Gus

History Channel.

They were already trending in a derpy direction. This just kinda formalizes the deal.

137 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:10:43pm
138 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:10:44pm

re: #126 A Mom Anon

And just to add more WTF to this mess, why is it that we’re farming out sensitive intel stuff to private multinational corporations? Whatever happened to keeping all this stuff “in house”? Isn’t that asking for trouble? These companies have no loyalties anywhere except to shareholders and profit margins. And there’s no way in hell anyone can tell me it’s cheaper to do it like this. Anytime you throw a contractor into the government mix it almost always saves the taxpayers nothing.

I blame K Street and the whole revolving door from congress and the Pentagon to the defense industry and back again.

NSA part of DoD. Pre-Obama this was Rumsfeldland. See comments in earlier threads about KSB. If it’s good for business, it’s good for America.
//

139 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:11:52pm

re: #135 Lidane

It’s where the money is. Do you think any of these people are interested in the hard work it takes to grind out decent legislation?

140 wrenchwench  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:12:11pm
141 Charles Johnson  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:12:44pm

Here’s the video interview with Franken:

Video

142 goddamnedfrank  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:15:01pm

re: #120 McSpiff

After Glenwald said he needed proof…

If true this is one of the only ways Glenn could open himself up to real criminal charges of collusion / conspiracy. I wouldn’t put it past Greenwald either, since he’s that much of an ideologue. Few things could endanger press freedoms more than this kind of idiocy, especially since it seems Snowden was so eager to spill that he went to the Post too.

I was hoping for an outcome that focused solely on fixing the actual leaks by increasing the standards for classified data handling, and didn’t involve prosecuting journalists. Thanks to Greenwald that’s looking more and more like a pipe dream.

143 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:15:26pm

re: #136 thedopefishlives

They were already trending in a derpy direction. This just kinda formalizes the deal.

History Channel needs a new name.

Fringe Network?

144 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:15:46pm

We’re overdue for another fwap across the side of the head like they enjoyed in Russia a few months back.

145 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:16:10pm

re: #134 William Barnett-Lewis

Especially since Wisconsin replaced Feingold with that teabagging loser Johnson.

I never in my life imagined that I would agree with anything Al Franken said. The world turned upside down, indeed.

146 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:16:26pm

re: #143 Dr Lizardo

History Channel needs a new name.

Fringe Network?

Fringe made way more sense than these guys…

147 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:16:42pm
148 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:16:53pm

re: #129 A Mom Anon

If what I’ve been reading is correct, Snowden didn’t take home the whole 200K, that’s just what BAH got paid for that job as a contractor. I’m sure he was compensated well, but the company got to keep some of that money. I think, unless I’m totally not understanding the giant blur of info in my head now. I’m right at info overload on this madness.

If that’s what the Gov’t paid his employer, that’s pretty standard FTE cost, and no, he’d not be getting even half that.

149 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:18:24pm

re: #146 McSpiff

Heh.

The Conspiracy Channel!

Raving Loony Channel!

150 A Mom Anon  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:20:53pm

re: #148 GeneJockey

I don’t get why this happens though. Is it just that the whole contracting system is a clusterfuck and rife with dishonesty? I’ve never heard of this before. You pay a guy, say 75-80 K a year to do a job for you as a contracting firm, but the client(in this case, the NSA) gets charged 200K for that job? Why?

edited to add: why not just hire someone to work directly for the NSA and pay them even 85K? It would still save a ton of money.

151 aagcobb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:21:20pm

re: #146 McSpiff

Fringe made way more sense than these guys…

I have one more episode to go in season one and have liked it so far.

152 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:21:27pm
153 Charles Johnson  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:21:52pm

re: #152 darthstar

Actually I just checked and it’s not deleted.

154 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:21:54pm
155 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:23:00pm

re: #154 NJDhockeyfan

People throw that word around a lot. Where do we draw the line, though? If he was legitimately trying to sell it to a foreign government?

156 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:25:36pm

re: #153 Charles Johnson

Actually I just checked and it’s not deleted.

It’s not in his tweet feed, but it’s available in retweetland as I understand.

157 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:26:14pm

re: #150 A Mom Anon

I don’t get why this happens though. Is it just that the whole contracting system is a clusterfuck and rife with dishonesty? I’ve never heard of this before. You pay a guy, say 75-80 K a year to do a job for you as a contracting firm, but the client(in this case, the NSA) gets charged 200K for that job? Why?

Because of benefits, which cost quite a chunk; and because of all the corporate infrastructure he depends on to do the work. I know when I was working at one company under contract with my employer, my employer was charging nearly twice my not inconsiderable salary.

158 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:27:28pm

re: #150 A Mom Anon

I don’t get why this happens though. Is it just that the whole contracting system is a clusterfuck and rife with dishonesty? I’ve never heard of this before. You pay a guy, say 75-80 K a year to do a job for you as a contracting firm, but the client(in this case, the NSA) gets charged 200K for that job? Why?

Taxes, benefits, overhead, etc. You hire me, not my boss, etc. Its true for contract work in the private world too

159 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:27:43pm
160 abolitionist  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:27:43pm

re: #151 aagcobb

I have one more episode to go in season one and have liked it so far.

Enjoy. I’m a fan.

161 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:27:56pm

re: #157 GeneJockey

Because of benefits, which cost quite a chunk; and because of all the corporate infrastructure he depends on to do the work. I know when I was working at one company under contract with my employer, my employer was charging nearly twice my not inconsiderably salary.

Yes. I got a look at my company’s consulting fee for farming me out to clients. It’s considerably more than I make in a year, but a lot of that goes back into taxes and the overhead of hiring a salaried employee of another company.

162 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:28:06pm

O/T but anyone who loves meteor showers, tonight’s the night:

gamma Delphinids

163 AntonSirius  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:28:41pm

re: #155 thedopefishlives

People throw that word around a lot. Where do we draw the line, though? If he was legitimately trying to sell it to a foreign government?

It’s only whistleblowing if he’s revealing criminal activity or misconduct or abuse of power, something along those lines.

So far, the leaks have revealed nothing of the sort.

164 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:29:07pm

re: #155 thedopefishlives

People throw that word around a lot. Where do we draw the line, though? If he was legitimately trying to sell it to a foreign government?

This.

165 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:29:40pm

re: #163 AntonSirius

It’s only whistleblowing if he’s revealing criminal activity or misconduct or abuse of power, something along those lines.

So far, the leaks have revealed nothing of the sort.

But does that make it treason? That’s a serious charge to level at someone.

166 goddamnedfrank  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:29:57pm

re: #155 thedopefishlives

People throw that word around a lot. Where do we draw the line, though? If he was legitimately trying to sell it to a foreign government?

Once a person just craps all over their oath to their democratically elected government to maintain the secrecy of the classified data entrusted to them then yeah, they’re automatically treading pretty damned close to treason, and certainly qualify as treacherous.

167 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:30:00pm

This one?

168 Killgore Trout  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:30:39pm

re: #154 NJDhockeyfan

Nice to see leadership speaking up.

169 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:31:22pm

re: #165 thedopefishlives

But does that make it treason? That’s a serious charge to level at someone.

How about if we call it “Unauthorized release of classified information with potential national security implications”?
//

170 AntonSirius  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:31:54pm

re: #165 thedopefishlives

But does that make it treason? That’s a serious charge to level at someone.

Oh, I thought you meant the other badly-misused word in that Tweet.

Yeah, he’d in some fashion to be acting on behalf of a foreign power for it to really be treason, at least by the classic definition.

171 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:32:44pm

re: #167 Gus

Yeah…it doesn’t look so deleted, does it? But if you go to his feed, it’s not on his page.

172 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:34:19pm

So I was browsing through the job openings at Booz Allen and I happened to notice there is an opening with my skill set.

And then I realized: it’s the Job From Hell.

173 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:34:50pm

re: #171 darthstar

Yeah…it doesn’t look so deleted, does it? But if you go to his feed, it’s not on his page.

Weird. Not sure how it works but sometimes not all Tweets show up.

174 AntonSirius  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:35:29pm

re: #171 darthstar

Yeah…it doesn’t look so deleted, does it? But if you go to his feed, it’s not on his page.

It’s on Stalwart’s TL… it was a direct response to them.

175 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:35:42pm
176 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:35:49pm

Poitras ain’t happy.

She’s bolded.

Full article here: salon.com

Since he contacted you before he started working at Booz Allen, the implication people were drawing was that he went to Booz Allen with the express intention of leaking this.

That’s completely absurd. I had no dialogue about what the information was — there were claims, that’s all I received.

So the implication that you sent him into Booz Allen to spy was incorrect.

Are you kidding? I didn’t know where he worked, I didn’t know he was NSA, I didn’t know how — nothing. There was no like, ‘Oh do you think you…’, no nudging. It’s like the crazy correlations that the NSA does. There’s no connection here. We were contacted, we didn’t know what he was up to, and at some point he came forward with documents.

177 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:36:33pm

re: #169 GeneJockey

How about if we call it “Unauthorized release of classified information with potential national security implications”?
//

I know you’re sarcastic, but we don’t really have a good term for “being a woefully misguided dumbass with good intentions.” That’s a good bit different from treason, to my mind. Now if it turns out that he was deliberately dumping data to foreign governments, then throw the book at him. I’ll be first to use the word in that case.

178 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:36:36pm

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this, but I’m a college dropout. Even though I’ve worked in tech and it hasn’t really held me back, it’s kind of bummed me out. I’ve decided I want to go back to college and get a sociology degree, with an eye towards becoming a clinical social worker.

I just got accepted to Hunter College for the upcoming Fall, as a transfer student.

179 jaunte  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:37:19pm

Congress Briefed 22 Times on Section 702 of FISA Since 2011

180 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:37:26pm

re: #178 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this, but I’m a college dropout. Even though I’ve worked in tech and it hasn’t really held me back, it’s kind of bummed me out. I’ve decided I want to go back to college and get a sociology degree, with an eye towards becoming a clinical social worker.

I just got accepted to Hunter College for the upcoming Fall, as a transfer student.

Congratulations and good luck!

181 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:38:08pm

re: #178 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this, but I’m a college dropout. Even though I’ve worked in tech and it hasn’t really held me back, it’s kind of bummed me out. I’ve decided I want to go back to college and get a sociology degree, with an eye towards becoming a clinical social worker.

I just got accepted to Hunter College for the upcoming Fall, as a transfer student.

My daughter graduated last year with Master’s degree in Nursing from Columbia, and she is still looking for a job. :(

182 Opal  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:38:13pm

I’m still trying to figure out where Snowden got the money to be on the run in one of the most expensive places in the world. Somebody’s providing that money. Always…follow the money.

183 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:38:17pm
184 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:38:26pm

re: #178 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this, but I’m a college dropout. Even though I’ve worked in tech and it hasn’t really held me back, it’s kind of bummed me out. I’ve decided I want to go back to college and get a sociology degree, with an eye towards becoming a clinical social worker.

I just got accepted to Hunter College for the upcoming Fall, as a transfer student.

Congrats, and best of luck to you.

185 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:39:29pm

re: #182 Opal

I’m still trying to figure out where Snowden got the money to be on the run in one of the most expensive places in the world. Somebody’s providing that money. Always…follow the money.

That’s a good question. Galavanting around the world isn’t cheap.

186 aagcobb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:39:32pm

re: #181 Vicious Babushka

My daughter graduated last year with Master’s degree in Nursing from Columbia, and she is still looking for a job. :(

How can a nurse not get a job?

187 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:39:58pm

re: #186 aagcobb

How can a nurse not get a job?

I don’t know. She lives in Brooklyn.

188 A Mom Anon  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:40:01pm

re: #178 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

That’s awesome Obdi. Best of luck to you.

189 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:40:09pm

GG retweeted this:

why on earth would GG need to know that?
//

190 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:40:12pm

re: #181 Vicious Babushka

My daughter graduated last year with Master’s degree in Nursing from Columbia, and she is still looking for a job. :(

I guess it’s the no experience holding her back? Nursing jobs are normally pretty easy to find work in.

191 AntonSirius  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:41:05pm

re: #176 darthstar

Poitras ain’t happy.

She’s bolded.

Full article here: salon.com

Are you kidding? I didn’t know where he worked, I didn’t know he was NSA, I didn’t know how — nothing.

Again, contrast with this:

Glenn Greenwald’s explosive Salon article on Sunday details how the U.S. government repeatedly detained, searched, and harassed Laura Poitras, an Oscar-and Emmy-nominated filmmaker - with no probable cause or even suspicion that Poitras had committed a crime. Not only is the detention, search, and interrogation of an innocent American - who the government does not even suspect committed a crime - completely enraging to any civil libertarian, but I am particularly disconcerted as Poitras has filmed three of my National Security Agency (NSA) clients and no doubt countless other courageous whistleblowers.

So she had no clue Snowden was NSA, despite having a lot of NSA experience.

I suppose it’s possible someone pointed Snowden in her direction, and she just lacked the curiosity to ask any of her contacts who he was or where he worked…

EDIT: Although then again, the mere act of asking might have risked tipping someone off.

192 Lidane  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:41:54pm

Son of a BITCH. I might lose a client before even landing them because someone at my company didn’t proofread before putting things online and there are stupid spelling errors on the company website. Oh, and the outdated articles don’t help either.

GAH. Sorry for the OT, but I need to vent.

193 AntonSirius  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:42:31pm

re: #178 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

I just got accepted to Hunter College for the upcoming Fall, as a transfer student.

Nice!

194 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:43:41pm

re: #177 thedopefishlives

I know you’re sarcastic, but we don’t really have a good term for “being a woefully misguided dumbass with good intentions.” That’s a good bit different from treason, to my mind. Now if it turns out that he was deliberately dumping data to foreign governments, then throw the book at him. I’ll be first to use the word in that case.

I agree. It would be treason if he did it with an eye to helping AQ avoid having its plots detected, for example. As it is, he was place in a position of trust and he abused it, knowing that he was breaking the law. Other leakers from history, like Ellsberg, for example, didn’t flee the country, and turned himself in, saying

I felt that as an American citizen, as a responsible citizen, I could no longer cooperate in concealing this information from the American public. I did this clearly at my own jeopardy and I am prepared to answer to all the consequences of this decision.

I MIGHT have had SOME sympathy for this guy, had he followed that example, but to go to CHINA because they have such a free and open society?

WTF?

195 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:44:37pm

re: #192 Lidane

Son of a BITCH. I might lose a client before even landing them because someone at my company website didn’t proofread before putting things online and there are stupid spelling errors on there. Oh, and the outdated articles don’t help either.

GAH. Sorry for the OT, but I need to vent.

Ugh, that really sucks. You want to rely on your company for stuff like this, then they go and blow it and make you look bad. I have a similar problem in that my company has set me up with contractors that turned out to be incompetent, and I wind up having to do the work solo.

196 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:46:23pm

re: #194 GeneJockey

Yeah, the China thing is really setting some, aheh, red flags for me. It’s all well and good to want to be a whistleblower, but to run off to a Chinese territory because they’re “more free and open”? Seriously, something’s wrong with that.

197 AntonSirius  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:46:51pm

re: #194 GeneJockey

I MIGHT have had SOME sympathy for this guy, had he followed that example, but to go to CHINA because they have such a free and open society?

What I’ve been told on teh twitturz is that Snowden fled to avoid possible torture, a la Manning.

I hate that I can’t dismiss that out of hand. Rot in hell, Dick Cheney.

198 Eclectic Cyborg  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:47:59pm

Is there any possibility Greenwald could be arrested over this?

199 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:48:19pm

re: #197 AntonSirius

What I’ve been told on teh twitturz is that Snowden fled to avoid possible torture, a la Manning.

I hate that I can’t dismiss that out of hand. Rot in hell, Dick Cheney.

Because China, if they wanted to find out what else he might know, would never DREAM of making him, shall we say, uncomfortable.
//

200 Minor_L  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:49:16pm

re: #34 Gus

More ad hominem attacks. I guess they can’t address the substance of his arguments.

201 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:50:44pm

re: #196 thedopefishlives

Yeah, the China thing is really setting some, aheh, red flags for me. It’s all well and good to want to be a whistleblower, but to run off to a Chinese territory because they’re “more free and open”? Seriously, something’s wrong with that.

It reminds me of Rick, in Casablanca:

RENAULT: And what in heaven’s name brought
you to Casablanca?

RICK: My health. I came to Casablanca for
the waters.

RENAULT: Waters? What waters? We’re in the
desert.

RICK: I was misinformed.

202 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:51:32pm

re: #198 Eclectic Cyborg

Is there any possibility Greenwald could be arrested over this?

Some have the impression that he wants to.

203 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:52:24pm

re: #198 Eclectic Cyborg

Is there any possibility Greenwald could be arrested over this?

could be he’s had a possible concern about that, enough so that he retweeted Erick Erickson’s link to the Brazil-US extradition treaty…

204 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:53:58pm

re: #199 GeneJockey

Because China, if they wanted to find out what else he might know, would never DREAM of making him, shall we say, uncomfortable.
//

China is so very well known for the posh country club prisons, you know…

205 Killgore Trout  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:54:09pm

re: #198 Eclectic Cyborg

Is there any possibility Greenwald could be arrested over this?

I’m guessing probably not. Even bringing in someone like Assange would be a massive legal undertaking. Unless he made a serious mistake somewhere (like assisting in stealing the documents), I think he’s probably safe.

206 darthstar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:56:56pm

Another reason why Costco is better than Walmart/Sam’s Club.

Image: 971102_478813098873065_830792454_n.png

207 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:57:03pm

re: #167 Gus

This one?

So Glen admits he’s been involved in a criminal conspiracy to illegally obtain US intelligence data since February?

208 Political Atheist  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:58:30pm

re: #178 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this, but I’m a college dropout. Even though I’ve worked in tech and it hasn’t really held me back, it’s kind of bummed me out. I’ve decided I want to go back to college and get a sociology degree, with an eye towards becoming a clinical social worker.

I just got accepted to Hunter College for the upcoming Fall, as a transfer student.

Congratulations. I’m sure you’d be a great addition to the ranks. Coincidentally on a topic you are well aware of, I just Paged a sad situation. Prison mental health. Gah. Dumping ground for the ill.

209 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:58:41pm

re: #207 Kragar

So Glen admits he’s been involved in a criminal conspiracy to illegally obtain US intelligence data since February?

if his Salon piece from April 9, 2012, is any indication…that’s how long he’s been working on this…Snowden is apparently the useful tool.

210 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:59:36pm

Greenwald wants people to think he might get arrested.

211 Lancelot Link  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:59:40pm

re: #196 thedopefishlives

… but to run off to a Chinese territory because they’re “more free and open”? Seriously, something’s wrong with that.

A few years ago it would have been Libya.

212 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 3:59:55pm

re: #209 Backwoods_Sleuth

if his Salon piece from April 9, 2012, is any indication…that’s how long he’s been working on this…Snowden is apparently the useful tool.

At this point, it seems like the only people who have been exposed for committing any wrongdoings are Snowden and Greenwald.

213 Lidane  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:00:47pm

re: #212 Kragar

At this point, it seems like the only people who have been exposed for committing any wrongdoings are Snowden and Greenwald.

UNPOSSIBLE! They’re both heroes exposing teh ebil gubmint to the world.

/////

214 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:00:54pm

re: #210 Gus

Greenwald wants people to think he might get arrested.

Youtube Video

215 Minor_L  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:01:28pm

re: #158 McSpiff

I bring in more than 3x my salary.

216 HoosierHoops  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:01:37pm

Somebody had a bad day today..We received a good sized box today at the office that was misaddressed to us. It was full of high quality pot.
Funny as hell..

217 wrenchwench  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:02:12pm

re: #178 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this, but I’m a college dropout. Even though I’ve worked in tech and it hasn’t really held me back, it’s kind of bummed me out. I’ve decided I want to go back to college and get a sociology degree, with an eye towards becoming a clinical social worker.

I just got accepted to Hunter College for the upcoming Fall, as a transfer student.

As a person with a degree in sociology, I say: Welcome aboard! You’ll make a great bike mechanic. /

You’ll be getting a Master’s degree too, right?

218 Minor_L  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:02:40pm

re: #210 Gus

Then HE will be the hero.

Ugh.

219 ProTARDISLiberal  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:03:08pm

re: #206 darthstar

Well, that is one way to solve the problem.

I call it, the “Nuke it from Orbit” solution.

220 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:03:40pm

re: #217 wrenchwench

As a person with a degree in sociology, I say: Welcome aboard! You’ll make a great bike mechanic. /

You’ll be getting a Master’s degree too, right?

Yep, I’ll be going to Hunter’s excellent MSW graduate program, too.

221 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:04:01pm

re: #218 Minor_L

Then HE will be the hero.

Ugh.

Profit!

222 wrenchwench  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:04:43pm

re: #220 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

Yep, I’ll be going to Hunter’s excellent MSW graduate program, too.

Congratulations. Make those professors think!

223 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:05:57pm

re: #217 wrenchwench

As a person with a degree in sociology, I say: Welcome aboard! You’ll make a great bike mechanic. /

I think Obicut is opinionated enough to make an EXCELLENT bike mechanic. My favorite mechanic is unsparing in his opinions, like the time I asked for Cinelli bar tape:

“Cinelli? Eees sheet. Deda ees moach bettar.”

224 ProTARDISLiberal  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:06:18pm

re: #211 Lancelot Link

These day, Libya would likely send someone like him back with bow.

Like this.

225 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:06:23pm

re: #221 Gus

Profit!

Youtube Video

226 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:09:07pm
227 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:10:04pm

Rick Perry tells Fox News that ‘part time Congress’ would prevent NSA surveillance

Speaking to Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Monday, the Republican governor said recent revelations about the NSA showed that an over-sized and “out of control” government was now “a reality.”

“The reason I truly believe we need a part time Congress is because when they’re not there all the time, they’re not sitting around dreaming up new things to do to us — or for us, in their opinion,” he explained.

“The key is once you fund that government that can be there 24/7, 365 days out of the year you get that type of intrusion into your lives,” Perry continued. “That’s the reason states like Texas — our legislature only meets for 140 days every other year. I’ll suggest to you we keep the legislature out of town, keep government agencies restricted in their size, their efforts, and Texans live with more freedom than nearly any other state.”

Sit down before you hurt yourself Ricky. Grown ups are talking.

228 Killgore Trout  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:10:27pm

re: #210 Gus

Greenwald wants people to think he might get arrested.

He also wants people to think he wasn’t second choice to get the big scoop. It might be true, maybe not.

229 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:11:18pm

re: #228 Killgore Trout

He also wants people to think he wasn’t second choice to get the big scoop. It might be true, maybe not.

Someone from the P.T. Barnum school of promotion.

230 Killgore Trout  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:11:38pm

re: #226 Gus

Is that real?

231 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:11:58pm

Gets worse!

232 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:13:01pm

re: #230 Killgore Trout

Is that real?

No. I edited it from this which a the original PS.

Image: chris-hayes-msnbc.png

From.

theobamadiary.com

233 Eclectic Cyborg  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:13:10pm

re: #231 Gus

Gets worse!

I seem to remember one of the first lessons of my journalism classes….something about not getting involved in the story…

234 Charles Johnson  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:15:37pm

re: #231 Gus

Heh. Yeah, they have to ask his cultists because there are too many other journalists and liberal figures who’ve had dealings with him and know what he’s really like.

235 Killgore Trout  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:16:05pm

re: #232 Gus

No. I edited it from this which a the original PS.

Image: chris-hayes-msnbc.png

From.

theobamadiary.com

Oh, ok. It’s hard to tell sometimes.

236 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:16:56pm

re: #227 Kragar

Rick Perry tells Fox News that ‘part time Congress’ would prevent NSA surveillance

Sit down before you hurt yourself Ricky. Grown ups are talking.

I still think the funniest thing about the 2012 GOP clown car was how Rick Perry kept climbing higher and higher in the polls, right up till the moment he started talking.

237 ProTARDISLiberal  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:19:56pm

re: #227 Kragar

The whole reason he is constantly pushing for a Part-Time Congress is that it promotes corruption.

I want the opposite. Full-Time Congress and State Houses.

238 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:21:11pm

“Texans live with more freedom than nearly any other state.”

Except if you have a vagina, or want to live in a neighborhood free of unregulated fertilizer plants.

239 Charles Johnson  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:21:25pm

Man, the temptation to troll that little survey at the Guardian is almost overwhelming. But I am better than that.

240 ProTARDISLiberal  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:22:23pm

re: #238 Kragar

Or you are something other than Lily-White and/or Christian.

241 Cheechako  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:25:48pm

re: #227 Kragar

Rick Perry tells Fox News that ‘part time Congress’ would prevent NSA surveillance

Sit down before you hurt yourself Ricky. Grown ups are talking.

I already thought we had a “part-time” Congress.

242 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:28:03pm

re: #151 aagcobb

I have one more episode to go in season one and have liked it so far.

It goes downhill from there. Walter is revealed to be the son of …

243 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:29:11pm
244 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:29:37pm

re: #239 Charles Johnson

Man, the temptation to troll that little survey at the Guardian is almost overwhelming. But I am better than that.

Not me! :D

245 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:30:01pm

re: #244 Gus

Not me! :D

Things like this are why we keep you around.

246 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:30:31pm

re: #239 Charles Johnson

Man, the temptation to troll that little survey at the Guardian is almost overwhelming. But I am better than that.

I’m not.

247 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:32:19pm

re: #178 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this, but I’m a college dropout. Even though I’ve worked in tech and it hasn’t really held me back, it’s kind of bummed me out. I’ve decided I want to go back to college and get a sociology degree, with an eye towards becoming a clinical social worker.

I just got accepted to Hunter College for the upcoming Fall, as a transfer student.

Cool.

I’ve been at university twice, and it never killed me.

248 Kragar  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:32:36pm

re: #244 Gus

Not me! :D

Some answers:

Pondscum

worthless

contemptible

fallacious

Don’t waste your time.

I think that answers their questions nicely.

249 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:34:05pm

re: #248 Kragar

Some answers:

Pondscum

worthless

contemptible

fallacious

Don’t waste your time.
I think that answers their questions nicely.

You missed one. Douchecanoe.

250 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:36:05pm

re: #197 AntonSirius

What I’ve been told on teh twitturz is that Snowden fled to avoid possible torture, a la Manning.

I hate that I can’t dismiss that out of hand. Rot in hell, Dick Cheney.

Cheney’s still alive.

252 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:38:39pm

re: #216 HoosierHoops

Somebody had a bad day today..We received a good sized box today at the office that was misaddressed to us. It was full of high quality pot.
Funny as hell..

Smoken’

253 Gus  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:39:32pm

Some people are comparing COINTELPRO and MLK to NSA, Prism, etc. To whack Obama over the head with this. Obama. First black president. COINTELPRO and MLK. I think mah head might explode.

254 Mattand  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:39:43pm

re: #247 Walking Spanish Down the Hall

Cool.

I’ve been at university twice, and it never killed me.

That which does not kill, has shitty aim.

255 thedopefishlives  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:40:34pm

re: #254 Mattand

That which does not kill, has shitty aim.

I prefer my version: That which does not kill me, only requires a brief hospitalization.

256 funky chicken  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:42:18pm
How did low-level contractor gain access to NSA programs?
(CBS News) WASHINGTON — Edward Snowden was a foot soldier in an army of contractors doing top-secret work for the National Security Agency. He was assigned to an NSA installation in Hawaii, although his employer was the technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

It is not unusual for contractors to have access to classified information. According to a report by the Director of National Intelligence, 483,000 contractors held top-secret clearances last year, compared to 791,000 government employees. Both go through the same background checks, a process which the report showed can take over a year.

What stunned officials about Snowden was that a low-level contractor could gain access to a number of disparate intelligence programs, each of them walled off behind levels of classification above his top-secret clearance.

cbsnews.com

257 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:43:22pm

re: #250 Walking Spanish Down the Hall

Cheney’s still alive.

that’s what Cheney would LIKE you to believe…

258 funky chicken  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:43:28pm

re: #197 AntonSirius

What I’ve been told on teh twitturz is that Snowden fled to avoid possible torture, a la Manning.

I hate that I can’t dismiss that out of hand. Rot in hell, Dick Cheney.

Bradley Manning wasn’t tortured.

259 McSpiff  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:46:16pm

re: #256 funky chicken

cbsnews.com

You’d be amazed how often I run into situations like “we could NEVER give you administrator rights to this program. But here’s the root user account” with customers

root user = pretty much able to do anything on a server

260 funky chicken  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:51:34pm

re: #190 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

I guess it’s the no experience holding her back? Nursing jobs are normally pretty easy to find work in.

Nope. Nursing is really odd—either a glut or a crisis, and it seems like there’s never a happy medium. A fair number of nurses have struggled to find jobs for the last couple of years. It’s kinda like a lot of other fields now—lots of openings listed, applications sent, and often not even the courtesy of a response.

261 GeneJockey  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:52:07pm

re: #255 thedopefishlives

I prefer my version: That which does not kill me, only requires a brief hospitalization.

That which does not kill us weakens us for the next thing.

262 funky chicken  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:52:37pm

re: #150 A Mom Anon

I don’t get why this happens though. Is it just that the whole contracting system is a clusterfuck and rife with dishonesty? I’ve never heard of this before. You pay a guy, say 75-80 K a year to do a job for you as a contracting firm, but the client(in this case, the NSA) gets charged 200K for that job? Why?

edited to add: why not just hire someone to work directly for the NSA and pay them even 85K? It would still save a ton of money.

Intel profiteering. Isn’t it great?

263 Mike Lamb  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 4:56:30pm

re: #241 Cheechako

I already thought we had a “part-time” Congress.

Seriously…I know he’s dumb, but man.

264 ProTARDISLiberal  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 5:01:57pm

re: #244 Gus

re: #246 Kragar

And neither am I.

^_^

265 Walking Spanish Down the Hall  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 5:08:23pm

re: #259 McSpiff

You’d be amazed how often I run into situations like “we could NEVER give you administrator rights to this program. But here’s the root user account” with customers

root user = pretty much able to do anything on a server

rm -rf /

266 JustMark  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 5:08:50pm

re: #35 erik_t

Is there any type of comedy this candidate can’t provide?

Boy, we can pick ‘em in Virginia, can’t we?

267 CriticalDragon1177  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 8:05:58pm

re: #1 Kragar

Of course that authoritarian Fascist Franken would say that.

Kragar,

If he really was the most authoritarian fascist person in our government, we’d be living in a much better country.

268 cinesimon  Mon, Jun 10, 2013 10:24:14pm

The Firebaggers are going to have to go full tea party rage to get beyond this little hiccup. Looks like the only people who say they weren’t briefed, are the same people determined to prove to the electorate that government doesn’t ever work, and when it doesn’t it’s against the interests of the American people.
I’m shocked - shocked! to discover that republicans don’t go to their briefings and at the same time complain that they aren’t briefed enough. It’s not AT ALL the way they operate. Every fucking day.

269 polisurgist  Wed, Jun 12, 2013 3:53:58pm

re: #45 McSpiff

I’m just glad that our hypothetical tyrant overlord will have just respect for presidential precedent.

“Gee, I’d really like to liquidate the poor for their essential nutrients, but it looks like there hasn’t been a past President who did that. Darn it all.”

270 wrenchwench  Wed, Jun 12, 2013 4:08:28pm

re: #269 polisurgist

Welcome, hatchling.


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