Today I would liike to focus on the NSA ‘scandal’ and other types of domestic intel gathering…..I cannot believe how naive the press pretends to be, that is both Left and Right, they go on and on about the domestic spying thing but it is all so much crap!

Now I have given a couple of situations that could be made into a good scandal if the use of the propaganda techniques were employed….sadly NO one bit at the chance…..so sad…I guess I will move on……

We all have our opinion on the NSA and the domestic spying thingy, right?  Well there seems to be a push of “reform” the agency……okay had to smile….there is nothing more worthless than a “reform”…..the prez outlined just what those little tweaks will be to secure the safety of the privacy of American citizens…..

(Newser) – With a presidential speech on NSA reforms coming as soon as next week, the Wall Street Journal has the inside track on President Obama’s thinking. Changes could come as a combination of executive and legislative action. Among possible major changes to the way the agency works:

• A review panel has recommended that, for the first time, non-US citizens gain privacy protections under the Privacy Act of 1974. President Obama appears to favor the idea, a top administration official tells the paper.
• The panel is also calling for an overhaul of NSA phone record-gathering, suggesting that phone companies or a separate body collect the records instead of the agency itself. That idea is “absolutely being seriously considered,” says the official. The panel would like to see court approval required for a search of those records.

• The panel has urged a change to the FBI’s secret “national security letters,” which call for data without needing court approval; the panel wants that approval. Obama may alter the procedure, though FBI director James Comey has raised concerns.
• As previously reported, a public advocate may be appointed for surveillance court arguments against government requests.

In recent days, Obama has met with a range of privacy advocates, intelligence officials, and lawmakers to discuss the reforms. Following a meeting with White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, one government secrecy expert noted: “There was an implicit assurance that change is coming, even though its exact contours could not be disclosed.”

And there you have the “fix” that is proposed……read the 4 closely….now do you feel safer?

For more than a month Americans have been debating, griping and yelling about the most recent voyage by the government into the private lives of its citizens….I am talking about the latest NSA “scandal”…..you know that program where every aspect of an American citizen’s life is scrutinized by those in the government….

But as an aged hippie, pinko I am well aware to this type of treatment by the government…ever hear of COINTELPRO?  Let wiki help with the jogging of the citizens collective memory…..

COINTELPRO (an acronym for Counter Intelligence Program) was a series of covert, and at times illegal, projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveying, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations.
The FBI has used covert operations against domestic political groups since its inception; however, covert operations under the official COINTELPRO label took place between 1956 and 1971. COINTELPRO tactics have been alleged to include discrediting targets through psychological warfare; smearing individuals and groups using forged documents and by planting false reports in the media; harassment; wrongful imprisonment; and illegal violence, including assassination. The FBI’s stated motivation was “protecting national security, preventing violence, and maintaining the existing social and political order.”

Does that sound at all familiar?

As a “subversive”, as I was labelled in the 70’s every word I wrote was scrutinized and I was followed around almost daily….and you know when my civil rights were being stomped on not many mainstream Americans had the balls to stand up and demand accountability….but now all of a sudden, it is so damn important…..amusing ain’t it?

We can piss and moan all we like….but these incidents were not the first time nor the last time crap like this will happen……….as a matter of fact the hero of the Right, Abe Lincoln, was not above these tactics……

Newser) – In its day, it was about as high-tech as surveillance got: Abe Lincoln let war secretary Edwin Stanton reroute the nation’s telegraph lines through his office in 1862 so he could keep tabs on, and control, the flow of information about the war from generals, journalists, and ordinary citizens, writes media studies professor David Mindich in the New York Times. At one point, a House panel grew so worried about the “telegraphic censorship” that it called for restraint. Eventually, however, the war ended, and so did the eavesdropping.

“Part of the reason this calculus was acceptable to me was that the trade-offs were not permanent,” writes Mindich. Similar surveillance, ever more high-tech, happened in subsequent wars, but it always receded when the war ended. Which brings us to Edward Snowden and the war on terror. “If history is any guide, ending the seemingly endless state of war is the first step in returning our civil liberties,” writes Mindich. Because given the state of snooping today, Stanton himself might be aghast at the potential for abuse. Click for the full column.

Yes I am a bit perturbed about this newest violation of American’s civil rights….but am I shocked?  Nothing about the functioning of this government shocks me…Americans need to realize what lengths the government will go to in the name of national security.  And importantly……they need to realize that they are not as secure as they think…..the government as well as business has been invading your space for a long time…….By all means be outraged but please stop being shocked at what your government is capable of doing…..you will live longer!