Posted on 08/04/2013 11:04:28 AM PDT by yoe
Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) said on Sunday that he believes National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is a whistleblower, not a traitor.
"He may be doing things overseas that we would find problematic, that we would find dangerous," Amash said on Fox News Sunday. "But as far as Congress is concerned, sure he is a whistleblower. He told us what we need to know."
Amash explained that although members of the intelligence committees were informed of the details of the NSA's surveillance, most lawmakers were in the dark about the programs.
"Without his doing what he did, members of Congress would not really have known about it," the Republican lawmaker said.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
“I Guarantee they are not listing to you talk to Aunt Mabel about your Christmas plans.”
But yet. . .
“For all we know, they are not happening, and due to secrecy we will never know the truth.”
Anyway, they have the capacity to do so and are vacumming such data. . .to what end, for how long, and who decides who is a “threat” to national security?
Obama and his minions when they decide Tea Party members are a threat (IRS scandal), or veterans (like Nappy-Pants did a while back), at what point to we tell the government they have no unrestricted ‘right’ to Aunt Mabel’s Christmas plans or my plans to attend a Tea Party rally?
I could have respected Snowdens actions if he stayed and faced the consequences of his actions. If he truly were engaged in civil disobedience.
The core of civil disobedience is the willingness to pay the price. To run reflects no moral high ground to his action.
They are not ‘listening’ to everything, they are recording everything. And they can call up anything recorded or live on anyone that they wish, including political opponents or those who have business operations in areas they want control of.
Suppose someone had access to all of your information, I mean every bit of it, including all of your family, friends and associates. And suppose that you were told to do something or else. Later you receive a photo of one of your children, grandchildren or dear ones with a red laser pointed to their heads, what are you going to do especially knowing that the people that do this are known to make people disappear without a trace?
This is called tyranny by the way and to guard us against this form of tyranny we were protected by courts of law that were made responsible to determine if probable and sufficient cause existed to allow search and confiscation. But no more.
“Why do you believe if they missed Tsraneav, they are watching you?”
Non-sequiter.
Because one exercises and defends their rights does not mean one has something to “hide” or it is simply wrong to defend their rights.
Police: “I want to search your car/home? I want to make a record of who is sending you mail”
Citizen: “Do you have probable cause? Do you have a warrant?”
Police: “Why? What are you hiding? You MUST be guilty of something if you are not willing to give up your right to privacy, your Fifth Amendment right, your Fourth Amendment right, your (insert) right, etc. . .”
“When they start dragging us away in dead of night for differences of opinion, then we have a problem.”
The problem starts WAY before then, like when they snoop without bounds to make lists of WHO to drag away in the middle of the night.
You are taking Snowdens word for that.
Here are the people you need to hammer.
The intelligence committees are just one of members’ committee assignments. Unlike other committees, positions on the intelligence committees are select assignments made by the leadership on each side in the House and Senate. The 9/11 Commission recommended changes to the intelligence committee structure in the Senate, whereby four of the members would be ‘dual-hatted’ on the Appropriations, Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Judiciary committees. Commissioners thought this was important to ensure that the SSCI members included lawmakers familiar with the issues and interests that each of those four committees covers.[2]
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI): 22 members sit on the Committee, although this number has fluctuated in the past. This includes at least one member each from the House Appropriations, Armed Services, Judiciary, and Foreign Affairs Committees. [2]
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI): 15 Senators sit on this committee, although this number also has fluctuated in the past. By rule, the majority party has eight members on the committee, regardless of the number of seats held by the majority in overall Senate. One seat from both the majority and minority party are reserved for standing committee members from Appropriations, Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Judiciary. The Chairman and ranking member of the Armed Services Committees serve as ex officio members of the intelligence committees.[2]
And many others. . .too include your own.
According to Snowden.
I realize there are huge advances in storage, but this sort of thing is tremendously wasteful.
Court orders would still be needed to sift through it.
True enough.
Thank you. . .after working inside the Beltway for over 10-yrs. . .
Sincerely, refreshing.
I have successfully avoided the beltway cesspool my entire life.
All I am saying is that Snowden has us shooting at ghosts IMHO.
We are a threat: to their traitorous plans for our country.
Someone within the US Senate edited Edward Snowden’s Wikipedia page to change his description from ‘dissident’ to ‘traitor’
The editor’s IP address was tracked back to the US Senate
The edit was made one day after Edward Snowden was granted political asylum in Russia
I do not see that happening yet..
This thing is getting deep.
It’s been happening for years; here’s just one example:
http://www.news10.net/news/article/141108/2/Questions-surround-feds-raid-of-Stockton-home
BTW, Who the devil trusts Wiki?
Aren’t they at the very core of this leaking?
Do they not decide what may be said and not said?.
Of that I envy you.
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