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Congress: We Didn't Know the FBI Was Creating a Small Surveillance 'Air Force'
Errorcod3 sends a followup to last week's news that the FBI is operating a fleet of planes across the U.S. for surveillance purposes. A new article in The Atlantic points out that Congress is claiming to have had little or no awareness the fleet was being built, and is asking for answers. Quoting:
Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, demanded to be briefed (PDF) no later than this week on "the scope, nature, and purpose of these operations and what legal authorities, if any, are being relied upon in carrying out these operations." Sixteen House members wrote to the FBI (PDF), pointing out that the president had just signed a reform ending the bulk collection of phone records. "It is highly disturbing," they wrote, "to learn that your agency may be doing just that and more with a secret fleet of aircraft engaged in surveillance missions." They asked for the FBI to identify the legal theory used to justify the flights, the circumstances surrounding them, the technologies on the aircraft, the privacy policy used for data collected, and the civil liberties safeguards that had been put in place. Senator Al Franken has posed ten questions of his own (PDF) to the FBI.
Has there ever been a time when the FBI's activities didn't involve being deeply dodgy? From their glorious beginnings as J. Edgar Hoover's personal commie-huntin' team to the present it always seems to be something with these guys.
Seems like congress likes to act all indignant (certain congresscritters) and demand that executive branch agencies answer their questions and defend civil liberties, but in the end nothing ever is done. Even Nancy Pelosi, after being temporarily upset that she was the target of some surveillance (if I recall correctly) fully supports the NSA and their illegal information gathering. I am left to conclude that congress just puts on a good show for the masses while the media is focused, and then when things move on they go back to doing what they were doing before. Both parties.
Congress gave up their rights and obligations to corporate lawyers and ALEC a long time ago. Now the defense, surveillance, energy and banking industries pretty much write the laws and run the show. So one more out of control agency among so many seems pretty par for the course in "1984 as an instruction manual" America.
A brain is a terrible thing to waste... Mind? That's debatable.
Seems like congress likes to act all indignant (certain congresscritters) and demand that executive branch agencies answer their questions and defend civil liberties, but in the end nothing ever is done. Even Nancy Pelosi, after being temporarily upset that she was the target of some surveillance (if I recall correctly) fully supports the NSA and their illegal information gathering. I am left to conclude that congress just puts on a good show for the masses while the media is focused, and then when things move on they go back to doing what they were doing before. Both parties.
Not much will be done, certainly.
Legal authority is pretty obvious--at least it's obvious that it's not constitutionally restricted. No warrant required under existing precedent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Doesn't mean they had a funding grant authorized by Congress for it, though.
It has always been like that.
"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
- Mark Twain, a Biography
The government in 1984 seemed pretty competent at what they did. I think reality is more like Brazil.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Awww, how cute. You still think that's true.
These particular dogs of war are slipping their leashes all over the world these days.
If you think your parliament knows everything your agencies are up to, you are sadly delusional.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
"We don't have any idea how the FBI spends its money, but we vote on budgets to fund them."
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
These agencies are not sifting through everyone's personal stuff for jollies. It's fear and intimidation, and used repeatedly as a way to silence opposition and critics. Cut their budget and see all of your personal affairs made public. Defend the person exposed, and your stuff is made public. Make the wrong deals or don't make the right promises, and media will find out who you were fooling around with, or have dick-picks exposed (not claiming that what happened to a certain politician, just an easy example). Are you foolish enough to believe that the IRS targeting certain groups of people is purely coincidence?
Congress does not know where the FBI is spending tax money? What the fuck are they doing on the tax payer dime, because their goddamn job is to know these things. Fire them all and start getting people you trust on ballots, because the career politicians funded by a select few people in the country are not doing the job.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
God bless Edward Snowden. I hope there are hundreds more just like him.
You are welcome on my lawn.
To put this less passionately, digging up dirt on people results in power. The dirt is a commodity. The most valuable kind, worth leverage, clout, influence, control. From this perspective, setting aside thoughts of morality and malice, it's quite the reasonable thing to do.
Which is another way of saying, a very credible thing to expect. Whatever is "just good business." can be considered increasingly certain at higher scales.
The FBI was set up specifically so that Congress can plausibly deny the things it does. They gave it a charter with a broad scope, lots of funding, then stuck their heads in the sand so that they don't have to admit to what the FBI does on a regular basis. Now, Homeland Security can say anything/everything is a state secret and not even admit to Congress itself what it's been doing on a regular basis. It's appalling how many people have lied before congress about the things Snowden revealed only to backtrack later and admit they were indeed lies. I'm surprised no one went to jail for lying to congress.
As for the clowns in congress, most work for their corporate and union sponsors, not American citizens. They should have patches on their suits to identify their sponsors - like race car drivers. Good luck voting them out. Their parties gerrymandered their districts to make sure they get voted back in. They also wrote the campaign finance laws. Our "vote for one candidate = a vote against all other candidates" system is at the heart of why we're stuck with a 2 party system. Both parties are bought, so when you go to vote, you basically pick between Kang and Kodos.
http://memecrunch.com/meme/7AQ...
We don't live in a democracy or even a democratic republic -- we're a Plutocracy. Corporations are people, money is both speech and power, and the rich generally control not only 99% of the wealth, but also 99% of the government.
Well, they are all bad except my congressman. He's the only one fighting for us.
For those with faulty sarcasm detection, this is an incredibly common notion that I do not share but helps explain why we're in this mess.
"If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." - Every fascist, ever