BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O IS SO DULL, BORING AND UNPOPULAR THAT NOW EVEN THE PROCESS OF THE ROLL OUT IS MORE INTERESTING TO THE PRESS THAN BARRY O'S NEVER ENDING SPEECHES.
REACHED FOR COMMENT, BARRY O ASSURED THESE REPORTERS THAT THERE WAS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, "I'LL BE GOING SHIRTLESS NEXT MONTH ON MARTHA'S VINEYARD AND I'LL BE SHOWING BOTH NIPPLES. BOTH OF THEM. THIS WILL CURE EVERYTHING! TRUST ME!"
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
The Press Trust of India notes,
""The US is not asking for 'extradition', but simply the return of Mr
Snowden. We have sent many people back to Russia," ambassador Michael
McFaul wrote on Twitter." Michal McFaul is an idiot who is openly
hostile to Russia and has been for decades so it's another one of
Barack's failed appointments. Extradition is the term. "Return" is not
the term. McFaul is not only an idiot, he's also a liar (a fairly
common trait, many would say, among those who were Hoover Institute
fellows). He knows the difference. Ed Snowden is in another country
and the US government wants him in the US to charge him with crimes.
Russia is being asked to participate in extradition. Just because
McFaul is one of the few ambassadors Barack's appointed who didn't buy his seat doesn't mean that he has integrity.
Snowden is whistle-blower Ed Snowden who remains trapped in a Russian
airport as an elderly man mocks him on TV, as outlets claim the American
public is turning against him and as the US Senate contemplates
measures against Russia. What is going on?
A great deal, but first reality,
Ed Snowden is an American citizen and whistle-blower who had been employed by the CIA and by the NSA before leaving government
employment for the more lucrative world of contracting. At the time he
blew the whistle, he was working for Booz Allen Hamilton doing NSA work. Glenn Greenwald (Guardian) had the first scoop
(and many that followed) on Snowden's revelations that the US
government was spying on American citizens, keeping the data on every
phone call made in the United States (and in Europe as well) while also
spying on internet use via PRISM and Tempora. US Senator Bernie Sanders
decried the fact that a "secret court order" had been used to collect
information on American citizens "whether they are suspected of any
wrongdoing." Sanders went on to say, "That
is not what democracy is about. That is not what freedom is about. [. .
.] While we must aggressively pursue international terrorists and all
of those who would do us harm, we must do it in a way that protects the
Constitution and civil liberties which make us proud to be Americans." The immediate response of the White House, as Dan Roberts and Spencer Ackerman (Guardian) reported, was to insist that there was nothing unusual and to get creaky and compromised Senator Dianne Feinstein
to insist, in her best Third Reich voice, "People want to keep the
homeland safe." The spin included statements from Barack himself. Anita Kumar (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "Obama described the uproar this week over the programs as “hype” and
sought to ensure Americans that Big Brother is not watching their every
move." Josh Richman (San Jose Mercury News) quoted Barack insisting that "we have established a process and a procedure that the American people should feel comfortable about." Apparently not feeling the gratitude, the New York Times editorial board weighed in
on the White House efforts at spin, noting that "the Obama
administration issued the same platitude it has offered every time
President Obama has been caught overreaching in the use of his powers:
Terrorists are a real menace and you should just trust us to deal with
them because we have internal mechanisms (that we are not going to tell
you about) to make sure we do not violate your rights." The more Barack
attempted to defend the spying, the more ridiculous he came off. Mike Masnick (TechDirt) reviewed Barack's appearance on The Charlie Rose Show and observed of the 'explanations' offered, "None of that actually explains why this program is necessary. If
there's a phone number that the NSA or the FBI gets that is of interest,
then they should be able to get a warrant or a court order and
request information on that number from the telcos. None of that means
they should be able to hoover up everything." As US House Rep John Conyers noted, "But
I maintain that the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable
search and seizure to mean that this mega data collected in such a super
aggregated fashion can amount to a Fourth Amendment violation before
you do anything else. You've already violated the law, as far as I am
concerned." Barack couldn't deal with that reality but did insist, in the middle of June, that this was an opportunity for "a national conversation."
He's always calling for that because, when it doesn't happen, he can
blame the nation. It's so much easier to call for "a national
conversation" than for he himself to get honest with the American
people. And if Barack really believes this has kicked off "a national
conversation" then demonizing Ed Snowden is a really strange way to say
"thank you."
An elderly man mocks him? David Letterman, the true definition of ass
-- actually the true definition of ass with nose hair. Up close, David
Letterman's nose hair is probably his most distinguished characteristic
and, no, that's not a plus. Last night the angry, bitter and, yes,
highly sexist, talk show host decided the thing to do was a skit mocking
Ed Snowden (again mocking, actually). That's because David is
incredibly stupid. That's why women have long complained about their
treatment on his show and why CBS is eager to move Letterman to the
door. Long after he's forgotten -- and he's no Johnny Carson -- Ed
Snowden's revelations will have still made a difference and maybe that's
what pisses Dave off the most these days? No, what pisses him off the
most is that his staid and dull CBS program is a lousy way to end the
career especially when compared to NBC's Late Night with David Letterman -- a program that actually found him offering some cultural significance. But that's when Merrill Markoe
was in charge of the smiling creation known as "Dave" and not the hack
writers Letterman pays on the cheap these days. Today, tired, old
Letterman has all the significance and cachet of Shecky Greene.
Attacking Ed Snowden in skits only ensures that he fades all the
quicker.
The US Senate isn't fading away anytime soon ("sadly," some may add). But Press TV reports
they're "considering possible trade sanctions against Russia" should it
grant asylum to Ed Snowden. Having failed at his efforts to kill the
Winter Olympics, Senator Lindsey Graham is now pushing this because,
clearly, nothing matters more to the citizens of South Carolina than
this issue. See, things are perfect in South Carolina and -- Oh, wait, unemployment has gone up. Well, at least your seat is safe and -- Oh, wait. David Sherfinski (Washington Times) reports
that a significant conservative challenge is mounting against you for
the 2014 GOP primary. Well, at least you'll be known as the senator
obsessed with Russia. Certainly, the unemployed and those fearful of
becoming unemployed will be thrilled with your focus on that. Reuters reports, "A US Senate panel voted unanimously Thursday to seek trade or other
sanctions against Russia or any other country that offers asylum to
Edward Snowden. The 30-member Senate Appropriations Committee adopted by
consensus an amendment to a spending bill that would direct Secretary
of State John Kerry to meet with congressional committees to come up
with sanctions against any country that takes Snowden in."
Which brings us to the poll. After weeks and weeks of attacks from
MSNBC (and Letterman), ABC and the Washington Post want to do a new poll
and how it was shopped around, the results. Or, if you know a damn
thing about polling, the 'results.' I really hoped someone else would
do the work this time but we can only wait so long.
Question 13 is the one that everyone's zoomed in on. Well, no, they
haven't. That would require work. They've zoomed in on what has been
billed as the results of the poll but it's question 13. The false claim
is presented by Jon Cohen and Dan Balz (Washington Post) when they insist,
"In the new poll, 53 percent say Snowden should be charged with a
crime, up 10 percentage points in a month." They at least fail to lead
with that -- probably because they realize it's trumped up and not
reality. Gary Langer (ABC News) opens with, "Public attitudes have shifted against Edward Snowden, with more than
half of Americans now supporting criminal charges against the former
security contractor who’s disclosed details of surveillance by the U.S.
National Security Agency." Out of the mouths of idiots.
So what's the reality?
As always, go to the raw data.
There you'll find the question: "A former government contractors named
Edward Snowden has released information to the media about
intelligence-gathering efforts by the U.S. National Security Agency. Do
you support or oppose Snowden being charged with a crime for disclosing
the NSA's intelligence-gathering efforts? Do you fell that way
strongly, or somewhat?"
First up, the question has changed since June. When you alter the
wording -- which they admittedly did (follow the note by the asterisk),
you can't claim you're measuring the same thing. So let's lose the
notion that the respondents in both polls are responding to the same
question. And since the new phrase is a charged one that benefits the
administration, let's really stop comparing the June and July results --
whores can continue to compare them because whores busy their bodies so
much that their minds never have time for actual thought.
The reality is 36% favor prosecution, 19% oppose it (in the case
outlined in the question). Somewhat? The case is known. If you have
an opinion on either side, you have a strong opinion, you have a firm
one. This story didn't just emerge yesterday. When you add the
somewhats you get 36%. That's the figure of people who feel they have
to give an answer but don't really have an opinion and they need to be
lumped in with the 11%. That gives you 47% of Americans have no
opinion.
If you think Ed's action warrant criminal prosecution, you have a strong
feeling. If you think (as I do) that Ed doesn't deserve to be
criminally prosecuted, you have a strong feeling. Those of us in the
two camps know where we stand. The 47% of Americans do not.
There are numerous reasons why Americans now feel more 'fogged' about
the issues involved than they did a month ago. This can include the
attacks from MSNBC as well as the near daily attacks by the State Dept
(I believe there have been only two State Dept press briefings that did
not demonize Ed) and by the White House. It can also include, and this
is probably the largest effect, the reports on Ed that divorced his
presence in Russia from the actual story (of revelations by him and the
government's demonization of him). I would also include a chunk in
there (small but significant) for China and Russia in terms of fears of
Americans that he's going to reveal state secrets to those two
governments. That's not going to happen and probably within six to
eight weeks that small chunk of people responding based upon that will
be an even smaller chunk and no longer significant.
We've taken on polls here since 2004. You can check our online record,
there are no mistaken interpretations here thus far. We've taken on
polls with results we agreed with as well as with results we opposed.
It has nothing to do with either (though I'm more inclined to explore a
poll whose 'reported' 'results' raise my eyebrows). The analysis above
is what the data says. People may like it or they may hate it but
that's the reality of the data. It's a real shame that common sense is
in such short supply at ABC where they try to run with a finding that's
both extreme and false. At least the Washington Post, running with the same finding, didn't lead with it.
I would further add that when taking responses in the United States, you
do so in the native tongue. If you're speaking -- as they were in
administering the poll (again, look at the raw data) -- in Spanish, I
think you're poll is clouded. Why? Because you're presenting this as a
national security issue, that's what your poll is doing. If a
respondents isn't comfortable responding in English, that usually means
they hail from another country. Asking a person who has immigrated
questions about national security in a host country can alarm the
respondent. This is a polling no-no. You do not know where the person
hails from, you do not know if they left their country of origin due to
safety concerns, you do not know how safe they feel their answers are,
you do not know if they are a resident who can be deported. Any of
these factors can result in a respondent giving a false response to a
poll on US national security issues and government spying. The entire
poll is flawed and those administrating it wasted everyone's money.
The spying took place and it will now continue. The Voice of Russia (link is audio) noted this development.
Crystal Park: Despite the major public uproar caused by Edward
Snowden's revelation the NSA is spying on Americans' phone records, the
Office of the Director of National Intelligence has announced the
controversial program has been renewed for another three months. Since
Snowden's bombshell, President Obama and other government
officials have defended the NSA program as a necessary tool to fight
terrorism. They have not, however, released the legal reasoning to
justify the surveillance, and energy is clearly building in Congress to
narrow its scope and challenge its legality.
Crystal Park discussed the issues with the ACLU's Patrick Toomey. Excerpt.
Patrick Toomey: The fact that the NSA disclosed the extension of the
order, we think, was a self-serving strategy to show that the court has
not been shaken in its confidence and its reasoning in support of the
program and that it reauthorized the phone record collection of all
Americans' phone calls despite the public uproar that's followed Mr.
Snowden's disclosures. But I would note for the public that the NSA has
not yet revealed the legal reasoning that stands behind the program,
the court order is still secret that the FISA court has not released
that order to the public and, therefore, the public has no way of really
scrutinizing the legal interpretations that went into it.
Crystal Park: Sure, the Americans are not going to know the nitty
gritty and the legality of the program but do you think that this is a
precedent that Edward Snowden has set just by revealing the fact that
the program exists and the NSA realizes that they have an angry public
to answer to? Do you think that, in one way, this is something good
that has come out of the revelation from Edward Snowden?
Patrick Toomey: We certainly think it's good that the public is
learning more. You know, it is unfortunate that the NSA's hand was
forced in this way and we don't believe that their commitment to
transparency goes anywhere beyond really what they view as mere
necessity in their management of public relations. They clearly do not
want to be having this discussion. They think that the debate over the
legality of this program should be off the table. We are glad that Mr.
Snowden has spurred this debate but we really hope that it will produce
much more transparency than just the NSA's disclosure that the program
itself has been extended. We really want the public to have an open
debate about the balance between national security and their liberties.
And that debate is still developing and still really needs to happen in
a public way.
Crystal Park: So, Patrick I assume that you believe the only reason
why the NSA has come out to announce the program has extended is simply
because of what happened with Edward Snowden, otherwise they wouldn't
have done such a thing.
Patrick Toomey: That's exactly right. I think that apart from that, it would not have come out.
Last night, the US House of Representatives had a chance to end the spying. They failed to do so. BBC News reports:
In a 205-217 vote, lawmakers rejected an effort to restrict
the National Security Agency's (NSA) ability to collect electronic
information.
The NSA's chief had lobbied strongly against the proposed measure.
The vote saw an unusual coalition of conservatives and liberal Democrats join forces against the programme.
A fact sheet on the amendment noted:
The Amash-Conyers amendment ends NSA’s blanket collection of
Americans’ telephone records. It does this by requiring the FISA court
under Sec. 215 to order the production of records that pertain only to a
person under investigation.
The amendment has three important practical effects. First,
it ends the mass surveillance of Americans. The government no longer is
authorized under Sec. 215 to hold a pool of metadata on every phone
call of every American. Second, the amendment permits the government to continue to acquire business records and other “tangible things” that are actually
related to an authorized counterterrorism investigation. The
government still has access to this tool under the amendment, but it’s
forced to comply with the intent of Congress when it passed Sec. 215. Third,
the amendment imposes more robust judicial oversight of NSA’s
surveillance. The FISA court will be involved every time NSA searches
Americans’ records, and the court will have a substantive, statutory
standard to apply to make sure the NSA does not violate Americans’ civil
liberties.
What steps would the government take to collect records if the
Amash-Conyers amendment were enacted? The government would have to
provide facts to the FISA court to show that there are reasonable
grounds to believe that the records sought (1) are relevant to an
appropriately authorized national security investigation and (2) pertain
to the person (including any group or corporation) under
investigation.
We know that the government can use that process effectively in its
investigations because it already does. Based on the government’s
public statements, it appears that the government routinely goes to the
FISA court for Sec. 215 orders for tangible things pertaining to persons
under investigation. If the government uses non-bulk collection for
other Sec. 215 orders, there is no good reason why the government needs
bulk collection of Americans’ telephone metadata.
Shaun Waterman (Washington Times) also notes the vote:
Top intelligence officials from the Obama and Bush
administrations, along with senior House lawmakers from both parties,
succeeded Wednesday in heading off the first legislative challenge to
the domestic snooping program exposed by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
Arrayed against them was an equally odd cross-section of the political spectrum. Tea party
libertarian Republicans and Democratic civil rights advocates —
generally at odds — were united behind an amendment to a must-pass
defense spending bill that would defund the National Security Agency’s mass collection of Americans’ phone records.
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"THIS JUST IN! HE REJECTS THE PROFILE!"
House Judiciary Dems
John Garamendi
Steve Cohen
Rep. Kurt Schrader
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan
Rep. Eric Swalwell
Congressman Sam Farr
Mark Udall
Jason Chaffetz
Rep. Barbara Lee
