it is probably time to discuss this.
For years we have quietly known and accepted the negatives of having an NSA. Things like we need it for our protection, or it makes things safer, tended to overide our fears that they know too much already, and I can’t do anything in private anymore…
We accepted that as progress.
However, when you have an organization so secret, that members of Congress are shocked to find out what it is doing, that no one knows who is authorizing who gets spied upon and what, that when brought before the courts for overstepping the Constitution, it can’t be prosecuted because a) it operates under “secret” laws, b) with “secret operations”, c) authorized by “secret courts” …. it is time to shut the entire operation down.
Why do we have the NSA when we have the CIA and the FBI. The FBI covers domestic spying. The CIA covers international spying. So, unless we find out that there are aliens and the NSA is really running the world while we think otherwise, then it probably ought to go.
I find it interesting that those on the far right, and those on the far left are the most outraged by this disclosure. We’ve been stating that news on this blog after the story was broken back in 2007-8 and not one press person cared. I supposed the AP Story opened their eyes this time. Struggling to put a finger on why, I came up with the theory primarily by looking at Congress, that it is the libertarians on left and right who are against, and the conformist, primarily in the center who are acceptive. So this gives us a split where the bottom third and the top third of the political body are opposed to the middle third… If you look at Congress that is exactly how it splits up. Moderates are pro domestic spying, the libertarians are not.
Probably similar is the theory that those beholden to corporate interests are pro-spying, after all, that is normal in the corporate environment; interoffice spying is not limited by any judicial system because it is deemed to be private. Those aghast, tend to fight corporate intrusion from their original political perspective, either left of right.
What the NSA does, watch everything to discern what is happening to increase its chances of survival, is not new. Intelligence has been the secret success of many an empire. Knowing what someone will do before they do it, is pretty comfortable in a world where in a day, we probably pass within 10 feet of 10,000 people (that includes inside our vehicles).
That is what all governments with the capacity, do. The biggest argument against it, is that it is un-American. Sure we have the “ability” to do it, but do we have the restraint, not to…
America has always been ruled by restraint. When Washington was entreated to be the King, he restrained and said no. When the heads of Europe all bet that Washington would invent a method to stay in power, he restrained, and government turned over peacefully. When the US was left in charge of a broken Europe, it put it back together and went home. The only country to invade another and give it back willingly to its original owners.
We had a scare in Boston a while back. Did the NSA protect us then? It’s a secret, no one knows. In Newtown 26 bodies littered the floor of an elementary school. Did the NSA protect us then? When a gunman burst into Aurora firing into the audience, did the NSA protect us then? When Gabby Gifford took a bullet, where was the NSA? Did the NSA protect us then?
That is the point. We are always in danger. But our personal lives are more at risk if our private information should fall into a competitors hands, than being victim of a terrorist. In Boston just 2 people died. In Newton 26. But each and every one of us, is at risk that selective information from ones past, can be used in secret to smear each and every one of us, should it fall into the wrong hands.
What would happen if we shut the entire agency known as the NSA down? A big nothing. They overstepped. It is not knee-jerking anger to respond “Shut them down right now!” It it calm, cool reasoning tipping the balance, that points out simply that is the right way to go.
kavips 
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
June 15, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Joanne Christian
kavips–you continue to bring me from voyeur to poster. eeewww–it’s like marijuana to…..I won’t go there.
Anyway–good luck getting that genie back in the bottle. I am not a conspiracy or paranoid type of person–but really–everyone demanded all this information, all the time, at a a flip of a touchscreen and voila’–it happened. Shut down the NSA or CIA–too late–62 hostile nations have either helped themselves to “our stuff”, have agents working overtime within or without our agencies or country–or are replicating the exact system in their homeland. That’s progress baby–and the price we pay for it!! The US shares!! This one is done.
More egregious to me–and what I beat my chest over, over, and over, again was the medical record digitalization that was legislated. It is fine for public health issues e.g vaccine records. But the rest? Proponents are nuts. Ever get that piece of junk mail w/ your name spelled wrong, or an initial you don’t even have? Next thing you know, more of your mail is with it than without it. Trying working that out? Well–go to medical records–for the last 10 years I can’t go to a pharmacy anywhere, without them telling me I’m allergic to such and such. And again, I have to say–no that’s an error–I am not. And they say–OK–I’ll correct it in the “system” But someone hit the wrong button a LONG time ago. But, that’s the easy stuff.
See where your life insurance rates go (if you can get it)–when John Q Public shows up; having fainted on the golf course; at the local ER, because Jane Good Samaritan called an ambulance. John gets hooked up to everything as if it’s a cardiac event–as he should prophylactically. 4 hours later (and of course, I’m talking cracker-jack, hit ’em on a slow day ER)–John Q. is picking up his clubs at his buddy’s house. The result–John Q. was so excited ’bout getting that early teetime—that sun was beating hard, by the 11th hole. And he never ate breakfast–which is usually fine–but his water bottle was left in the car……so a turkey sandwich, orange juice, and 32 oz of water later John Q. has never felt better. Meanwhile, his EKG, labs etc., have all been warped sped into the “system” as either a rule-out cardiac, neurologic, or diabetic event. Rule Outs don’t get removed. And insurance companies (life that is)–really don’t like to see those things—and really don’t care what the rest of the story was…….But hey–Americans thought what a great idea to database us from our first cry, to last try!
Funnier, (and of course cynically)–a recent discussion w/ a tapped, armed services recruit heading for that line to special ops, Green Berets, SEALS, Ninja, or Superhero destination–confirmed w/ me my disdain of this “information”. Poor gal/guy is at whatever round-up of final clearance. Hands file to PERSON. PERSON says what are you even doing here (2 days later) ? You are color-blind. Identified recruit says no I’m not. PERSON says “yes you are…it says”. Fortunately, the powers to be were on sight (tee hee)–to OFFICIALLY change whatever documentation, by exam and entry. 3 lines and offices later. I then brought up the point, but how do you know maybe they “tapped” you because you were color-blind in the records they had–even though you are not? See how it can go from the sublime to the ridiculous? And I wonder if this person’s misinformation really is settled. This person than said to me, well I guess that’s nothing. The person next to me was waiting for clearance, having been listed as having rabies in 2004!!!!
I can’t agree with you on America having always been ruled by restraint. We’ve always been “in” and “all in”. Benign neglect is a delicate skill, that we bawdy, besting, Americans just seem to reject when more, mightier, and misanthropic becomes normalized—and then even legalized.
Geez, I cannot blog. I don’t know how your “like or “ilk” :)–do this so voluminously.
But in conclusion—this “stuff” in the name of progress, defense, healthcare, national security, et al–is here to stay. I HATE it. But then I am going to be a good American—fight it philosophically, because I do HATE this—and then work like heck to see maybe great jobs will come out of all this “too much stuff”–in the counter-intelligence/cyber/information/restraint world!!!
And in the end, I tell my children I do not have a Facebook account as a measure of personal discipline in the 21st century, and I’m holding out just knowing the CIA has a job for me–they just can’t find me yet :)!
Thanks for the sound-off kavips.
June 15, 2013 at 1:25 pm
kavips
Well, if not a blogger,looks like you had a pretty good go at it… I can see the problem with wrong data getting entered into the process and once corrected, the update then not being downloaded by everyone with the old information.
But once that becomes a big enough problem hitting Congress , a fix (automatic updates) will be found for sure. I could not help but in every one of your stories, see the other side, for example if if it was a diabetic stroke on the 11th green, or if color blindness really was an issue causing a paratrooper to jump on red, how helpful having such information could be..
As with everything new I realize you can’t go backwards with technology.(Honey, dinner will take two hours, we’re doing without the microwave) The Amish did succeed but doing so drastically dwindled down their numbers. The effective solution to handle pervasive technology, is to force all to police themselves through the establishment of common practices, rules and regulations, and methods of enforcement. As with cars, no one can control and stop all speeding; there’s always that kid. But we can put practices in place to keep it from growing into a very huge problem. Primarily by allowing normal adults the right to police themselves…
Fear of getting sued pulls every business owner out shoveling snow in a timely fashion. There are very few law-suits from slipping, because of their actions. The same will eventually come to pass with our internet passages as well. When something goes wrong, the lawsuit rectifying it will make sure no one else lets something go wrong in the future…
So, sigh, we go forward.