Treeper Admin Stella has really done a remarkable job sharing articles about this entire NSA leaker issue.    Here are some links she shares which are some of the most engaging considerations and help to frame the various aspects for thought.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m just not up to speed on the various nuance surrounding this intelligence story.   I’m not at all OK with the NSA, or anyone else, collecting or storing information on private communication for *possible* use at another, albeit later, time.   It just strikes my gut as Big Brother with an agenda, not to mention a violation of the 4th amendment.

So back to the information articles that Stella is researching/sharing:

From Legal Insurrection: Edward Snowden, the now-former NSA contractor who leaked secret documents to The Washington Post and the Guardian, said he didn’t want to become the story.  “I don’t want public attention because I don’t want the story to be about me. I want it to be about what the US government is doing,” he told The Guardian.

But Edward Snowden dumped a bunch of documents, made a lot of claims, and then fled.  He’s the only one who can clarify or confirm the statements he’s made, or demonstrate his comprehension for what’s in the documents he leaked, and he’s made himself unavailable to do so. The public is trying to collect and digest all the facts, and some still have questions. (more…)

I’ve begun using the term usurpation to describe this administration, and the co-dependents/ willfully blind who support it.  

The NSA intelligence data mining is clearly unconstitutional under the 4th amendment.  The IRS targeting based on political ideology is also illegal and unconstitutional.   The Dept of Justice manipulating warrants (lying to judges) to gather phone records on AP reporters and Fox’s James Rosen is a clear usurpation of the 1st amendment.

Now the latest usurpation can be seen in the Obama administration using an Executive Order to create de-facto amnesty (XO-Dream Act);  And then to make matters worse – they stop the criminal background checks and ID requirements under such a program.  So anyone can enter the U.S. claim to be whoever they want, and no criminal background check will be done.

And the Congresscritters are worried about Terrorists benefitting from the NSA leaker?  How about they apply the same consideration (ie worry) about open borders without checks for those who cross them and then apply for Dream Act protections? (more…)

DNI – James Clapper, told congress (March) that no-one in the NSA was “collecting” information on U.S. Citizen’s communication.   After the NSA whistleblower, Snowden, gave the media specific evidence that such collection is actually taking place, Clapper attempts to clarify his prior testimony.   The White House also supports him.

WASHINGTON DC – Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is really struggling to explain why he told Congress in March (see video above) that the National Security Agency does not intentionally collect any kind of data on millions of Americans. His latest take: It’s an unfair question, he said, like “When are you going to stop beating your wife?” And it seems to depend on the meaning of “collect.”

“I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful, manner by saying ‘no,’” Clapper told NBC News on Sunday.

(more…)

“Dubya would never have done this to us“…  Support/Approval for George W Bush now exceeds President Obama.

WASHINGTON DC – The FBI has dramatically increased its use of a controversial provision of the Patriot Act to secretly obtain a vast store of business records of U.S. citizens under President Barack Obama, according to recent Justice Department reports to Congress. The bureau filed 212 requests for such data to a national security court last year – a 1,000-percent increase from the number of such requests four years earlier, the reports show.

The FBI’s increased use of the Patriot Act’s “business records” provision — and the wide ranging scope of its requests — is getting new scrutiny in light of last week’s disclosure that that the provision was used to obtain a top-secret national security order requiring telecommunications companies to turn over records of millions of telephone calls.  (continue reading)

(more…)

I believe the NSA data collection is unconstitutional based on usurpation of the 4th Amendment.   So given that I’m torn on this guy’s action:  How do you lawfully report on the government engaging in unconstitutional secret conduct – without yourself violating the law, when revealing the government’s unlawful conduct is, itself, illegal?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.  

–Fourth Amendment To U.S. Constitution

The NSA defenders are essentially saying the “collection” of this data is only used to identify issues “after” an engagement is identified.   Meaning if they find a terrorist’s email address, or cell phone, they can access this NSA database of global phone calls, and global information collected to reference and trail the information historically. (more…)

Last week in response to the exploding controversy about the NSA leaks, and the revelations the NSA is tracking, monitoring, collecting and housing the personal communication of American citizens, President Obama said on Friday that “every member of congress is aware of the NSA intelligence gathering, and has been briefed”.

On its face that was an absurd statement. Patently false in construct. Which led to dozens of members of congress, both Democrats and Republicans, disputing such a claim by the administration. It was simply a blatantly false claim.

Today, when questioned about that specific false claim by President Obama, Jay Carney said this:

The Guardian UK –  The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.

The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. “I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong,” he said. (more…)

The long run. The lifelong commitment.  The big picture. The foundational truths. These are the elements that feed the reactors that are burning deep within the hearts and minds of those who make a difference, whether or not they are flamboyant as they do it.  Such  people are deliberately self-aware but not self-conscious, because their focus is on what desperately needs to be done in response to what others are doing.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy is the title by Eric Metaxas that documents the short life and astounding work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who lived all four of those identities to the full.

It is a mistake to think of Hitler having a meteorically sudden rise to power, and it is a great misreading of events to think that those who actively resisted him did so out of the anxiety of a moment, implementing plans only drawn up under the pressure of we must do something right now.  Bonhoeffer and and others who actively resisted both inside and outside of government and military service, were far more thoughtful than such a perception would suggest.

What follows is a two page excerpt from Metaxas’ 2010 biography and may provide some food for thought as we find our places in our own national mess, perhaps feeling as he did, that we have so little ground under our feet because of the entrenched betrayals and deceptions that are dissolving the world as we knew it. (more…)

The Hill, a decidedly “Decepticon”, yet hailed as conservative, news outlet -showcases the exact reason(s) why patriots are sick and tired of big government Democrats and big government Republicans.

Even the headline screams ‘find my brandy snifter, and make sure the crusts are removed from my aperitif’…. “Rand Paul Walks Fine Line On NSA”

Whiskey – Tango – Foxtrot. Fine line? How about you take some of that subscriber money, buy a vowel and get a clue.

If the Karl Rove Decepticon GOP can’t join patriots in outrage – then SCREW EM’; They too should be dispatched even further toward the land of perpetual irrelevance. It’s issues like this which SCREAM for a third party – a conservative party.

THE HILL – Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has seized on the controversy surrounding National Security Agency surveillance programs, quickly emerging as perhaps their most high-profile opponent.

Government surveillance is an issue that’s near and dear to his libertarian base, and one he’s advocated against for some time now. Following the revelations that the NSA has collected domestic phone records, Paul introduced a bill that would require a warrant before the government could seize such records, and has called the program “an astounding assault on the Constitution.” (more…)

What: Audit the IRS Rally
When: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 from Noon – 2pm
Where: West Lawn of the US Capitol

WHY?