A Crack in the National Security State?
Remember the guy who urged that Ron Paul be banned from future GOP primary debates for suggesting the U.S. might have been attacked ‘for a reason other than being the awesomest country in the world?’ (As Tom Woods put it.) Well, he just tweeted a link to an article from the often neoconservative National Review that completely eviscerates the NSA apologists.
Is it a sign? Is there finally a crack in the right’s obeisance to the National Security State with all of it’s trappings?
NSA abuse is now a reality. Another reason the average American distrusts our government – first the IRS now NSA??? http://t.co/qMJ9HHivdq
— Saul Anuzis (@sanuzis) August 17, 2013
Go read it. The piece by Mark Steyn gets the NSA story right on so many levels. Philosophically and historically:
A couple of months back, I quoted Tocqueville’s prescient words from almost two centuries ago: Although absolute monarchy theoretically “clothed kings with a power almost without limits,” in practice “the details of social life and of individual existence ordinarily escaped his control.” In other words, the king couldn’t do it even if he wanted to. What would happen, Tocqueville wondered, if administrative capability were to evolve to bring “the details of social life and of individual existence” within His Majesty’s oversight? That world is now upon us. Today, the king concedes he most certainly can do it, but assures us not to worry, he doesn’t really want to…
The sheer scale of the madness and the myth of oversight by apologists:
“actual abuse” — including “listening in on people’s phone calls” and “inappropriately reading people’s e-mails” — occurs daily. In early 2012, “actual abuse” was occurring at the rate of ten “incidents” a day — and “incident” is a term of art that can cover hundreds of violations of thousands or even millions of citizens…
Congressional oversight? Senator Dianne Feinstein said that she had not seen the 2012 NSA audit on its 2,776 legal violations until the Washington Post asked her about it. Which means until Edward Snowden brought it to her attention. So she’s just another rubber stamp, too.
Amazing.
I had a discussion with a very informed individual a month ago (he started NewsMax), and he claimed that the Republican Party was so screwed-up, and nominated such weak candidates, because it was owned by the Democratic Party. What happened this week at the RNC Summer Meeting supports his premise. Rancid railed against CNN & NBC for airing Hillary programs & said the party was going to take its ball & not play with them anymore – right? So, what happens? The Hillary movie gets canceled. Here’s the back story that makes the most sense. The Hillary movie was going to be a hatchet job on her, even going to the point of suggesting that Bill wasn’t the only Clinton chasing skirts. Supposedly (read the current issue of Nat’l Enquirer), Hillary was incensed about all of this & didn’t want the movie to air. Now, what would be the best way to get rid of the movie without Hillary drawing attention to herself? Get the RNC to protest the movie & voila! the movie’s canceled & it makes it look like the GOP is so desperate that it even wants to deny a network its 1st Amendment rights. Movie’s gone, GOP looks like chump change, and the Democratic Party’s love affair with Hillary is intact. Thank you, Rancid & the GOP! Score another one for the democrats!
If he has learned his lesson he will be a welcome addition to the movement. Even public opinion polls show a large majority of people viewing our government as the biggest threat to our security. Hope they change their ways before learning the lessons coming out of Egypt right now, that fed up ordinary citizens will kill tyrants, be they of the elites or of the majority.
The Guy? How about the entire Republicrat leadership?