Slashdot Mirror
The NSA Is Viewed Favorably By Most Young People
cstacy writes: A poll by the Pew Research Center suggests that Snowden's revelations have not much changed the public's favorable view of the NSA. Younger people (under 30) tend to view the NSA favorably, compared to those 65 and older. 61% of people aged 18-29 viewed the NSA favorably, while 30% viewed the NSA unfavorably and 9% had no opinion. 55% of people aged 30-49 viewed the NSA favorably. At the 65+ age bracket, only 40% of people viewed the NSA favorably.
I can understand conservative's (Tea Party types) dislike - it was pretty damning the selective enforcement of tax laws against conservative organizations
Wrong. This is one of the most widely debunked myths in modern politics. The IRS was investigating a wide range of new 501(c)(4) organizations that cropped up following the formation of the tea-party movement. 501(c)(4) organizations are tax-exempt nonprofits, and as such they are obligated to avoid being used for political purposes. Political organizations are supposed to be taxed. So of course, like any responsible agency should, the IRS took time to carefully examine the sudden influx of obvious right-wing political organizations seeking tax-exempt status. Even so, not a single one of those organizations was ever denied 501(c)(4) status.
At the same time, the IRS was giving similar scrutiny toward more liberal leaning organizations. They went through the same process as the rightwinger political organizations, but unlike the rightwingers, the IRS decided to go ahead and deny status to a number of seemingly-liberal organizations. Of course, this didn't particularly matter to the rightwing media when the story broke. They proceeded to lie, scream incoherently and flood the airwaves with manufactured outrage. It was part of the ongoing effort by the right to paint themselves as victims, and they still won't shut up about it no matter how often it's been debunked. As we've seen again and again, if the evidence for wrongdoing never surfaces, the right will just turn a non-scandal into a conspiracy theory. See: Benghazi, Obama's birth certificates, etc.
Gamertag: WyleType
And you perpetuate one of the most widely debunked myths in modern politics.
Conservative organizations were not denied approval, they were left in limbo, for years. All liberal organization received final disposition quickly, while conservative organizations waited for years. Some are still waiting, almost 2 years AFTER the IRS publicly apologized for inappropriately targeting conservative organizations. Two years after the IRS IG released a report concluding that the IRS inappropriately targeted conservative organizations.
Just look at the old testament - there is no adversary
Have you actually ever bothered to read the bible?
The Hebrew scriptures ("Old Testament") deals mostly with God's dealings with ancient Israel (See Genesis 17:7, 8 and Exodus 19:3-6) and of the lineage that would lead to the promised seed first mentioned at Genesis 3:15 (See also Genesis 22:15-18; Galatians 3:16 and Matthew 1:1-17), however several times throughout the Hebrew scriptures the entity known as Satanas throughout the Greek scriptures ("New Testament") is certain present in the Hebrew scriptures (The word Satan itself is Hebrew). One particular example that comes to mind is Job 1:6-9 which mentions Satan several times. Given that all scripture is inspired (2nd Timothy 3:16) it is noteworthy that Revelation 12:9; in the Greek scriptures, points back to Genesis 3:1; in the Hebrew scriptures, identifying the original serpent in the Garden of Eden as Satan.
I could go on with more examples but I'm just making the case that God's chief adversary, Satan the Devil, is indeed present in the Hebrew scriptures.