Why NSA Spying is Indefensible

Mr. Snowden (whether hero or traitor is a subject for another day, but I remind you about Daniel Ellsberg – Google him) has blown the NSA's cover: they are indiscriminately gathering phone records on all Americans. Over the weekend, I heard several defenses and justifications for same, to wit:

1. it is being closely monitored by all 3 branches of government
2. the authorizing law has all sorts of safeguards built in
3. the wiretaps are listened to only when there is reason to be suspicious
4. it is a very effective tool for ferreting out the bad guys

All, perhaps, are true, but they beg the question. The issue is not about a carefully crafted law or its utility, but rather: should it be allowed in the first place? To all those (liberal and conservative, Republican and Democrat) who spouted one or more of the above, I have these snippy retorts:

1. in the same manner that the West Wing is carefully monitoring the IRS to ensure professional and objective behavior by all IRS employees in the Exempt Organizations Unit?
2. So did the Titanic and the Hindenburg
3. It is OK for me to take videos of your wife/husband showering, as long as I do not look at them?
4. Unless of course you are brothers from Chechnya whose last name is Tsarnaev, whose danger was previously communicated to you by the NKVD (or whatever they are calling themselves these days)

I quote from the US Constitution (follow along in your pocket copy of the Constitution; you do have one, don't you?):

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I remember a quote from Henry Kissinger, SecState to Nixon and Ford, who said in 1975:

The illegal we do immediately; the unconstitutional takes a little longer.

Then thou art congruent with Machiavelli that the ends justify the means (to answer your next question: the principle comes fromThe Prince, but he does not use these exact words)? Yes, I am looking at you, Senators Kyle and Feinstein.  

the NSA is Violating the 4th Amendment

From the US Constitution:

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

From a newswire story:

http://news.yahoo.com/constitution-check-aclu-cleared-big-hurdle-challenging-secret-102222967.html

“It is hereby ordered that the custodian of records [of Verizon Business Services] shall produce to the National Security Agency (NSA) upon service of this order, and continue production on an ongoing daily basis thereafter for the duration of this order, unless otherwise ordered by the court, an electronic copy of the following tangible things: all call detail records or ‘telephony metadata’ created by Verizon for communications (i) between the United States and abroad; or (ii) wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls….This authorization expires on the 19th day of July, 2013…”

– Order signed by Roger Vinson, a judge of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, on April 25, in the text leaked to The Guardian newspaper and published by it on June 5.

Ladies and gentleman of the jury, I submit to you: is the latter permitted under the former? I believe the answer to be sufficiently obvious as to not require elaboration.

The NSA's defense is that the content of said calls were not monitored, only its existence. I do not see an exception listed in Amendment IV that seizure is OK, as long as its contents are not read, do you? I also wish to point out that, since the NSA operates under an umbrella of total secrecy for “national security”, other Constitutional violations could easily be occurring, Congressional oversight not withstanding.  

Mixed-Gender Armed Forces Are A Mistake

By now, you have heard the nauseating stories of rape in the US armed forces: female soldiers afraid to report same because they fear retaliation, those who did report and suffered retaliation, and CO's who do not take the subject seriously. There is one obvious, foolproof solution: all military units must be segregated according to gender and never mixed. Further, female forces should never serve on the front lines.

By now, you should be pounding the table and shouting: no, no, that's wrong. How old-fashion, backward, and foolish can you get? Women can do anything a man can, maybe sometimes better. That's not fair: they will be held back, and not able to fulfill their full potential. You are punishing them because of their gender.

Well, perhaps you are correct. In that case, you have a choice: status quo, mixed gender military units, and accept that rapes will always occur no matter what you do or how many soldiers and officers you court martial; or, keep the boys and girls far, far away from each other.

See, this is not such an easy problem to solve. (Insert your smart alecky retort here).

Look, people, there are some things about human nature that you cannot change, no matter how much you wish it to be so. No amount of “sensitivity training” will prevent a male (especially a young one) from occasionally getting an erection when close to a female (especially a young one); at that point, you are counting on his chivalry, not always a good bet.  

Why Republicans Will Lose In 2014

Alas and alack, it is time for that time-honored, biennial Republican tradition: shooting itself in the foot (or the crotch, depending on whether or not the pistol is properly holstered). The party this time celebrates the 2014 mid-term elections. Moderate Republicans have divided voters into blocks:

• women
• under 30
• LGBT
• Mexican
• poor

The GOP lost these blocks last time 'round. According to their analysis, if we pander to them, they will switch to our side. Since these are supposedly one-issue voters, all we have to do is pass their pet legislation and they will be with us. This time, I think they are calling it "reaching out" or some such thing. 

What nonsense. Republicans have tried that several times before, and got their butts royally kicked each and every time.

IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID

There is one issue that all will agree to: jobs. Unemployment is still painfully high and stubbornly persistent. Above all else, the so-called voting blocks above want jobs: full-time, and at a decent wage. All the GOP has to do is come up with a solid, workable plan to fix the economy and create jobs, and not only should they pick up the toss-up states, but a few blue ones as well. This should be especially easy, since “BO” does not have one. This is how Reagan did it (twice), and how “BO” did it the first time around.

LOSERS

Sadly, I see no evidence that Republicans have become a sentient race any more than last time. That is why we will lose.

Let butt kickin' begin.  

Obama Is Paranoid, Secretive, And Dishonest

1. Fast 'N Furious
2. IRS bullying
3. Benghazi Consulate Attack
4. Spying on Fox News, AP
5. NSA Spying On All Citizens

These are but some of the more popular scandals dogging “BO”.

I have seen any number of Presidents in actions, all with rather different personalities. I have noticed that the latter has a tremendous influence on the former. As such, the very behavior of a presidential administration is prone to the personality of the CIC. “BO” is no different.

PARANOIA

nos 4 & 5 are testimony to this. There is no earthly reason for these. The proper execution of national security has nothing to do with these. The only justification for these is that CIC is paranoid about what other people are thinking or saying about him behind his back. How vain and paranoid can you get.

SECRETIVE

Yes, the scope of the number of secret projects undertaken (#1-5) is breathtaking compared to the previous occupants of the Oval Office. You can observe for yourself that “BO” becomes madder than a hornet when one of his secrets is leaked to the press.

LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE

In the case of nos 2 & 4, “BO” feigned ignorance about same. He claimed that the first time he heard of these was from the newspapers and websites. What a big fat lie. That is not how information flows through the Oval Office. Not only was “BO” fully briefed on same, he probably gave the initial orders to create same.  

Obama – Master Spy and King of the Yottabytes

• True: NSA, FISA, and the Patriot Act are all designed to allow the Prez to spy on people, both citizen and foreigners, both domestically and internationally, but only as part of an effort to catch the “bad guys”.
• True: The current occupant of the West Wing is currently conducting a wide, old-fashion dragnet. They are indiscriminately collecting personal information on all citizens, including you and me. Cell phone calls, credit card transactions, textings, what websites you visit, and emails are all considered to be fair game.
• False: the former does not justify the latter. Sadly, the NSA, like the IRS, is under the absolute control of the executive branch. Therefore, we know only what has been voluntarily revealed or internal media leaks. We do know that all Verizon customers have been spied on by NSA, but we do not the full scope of the spying or how many other carriers or webstores or cloud services or whatever, nor are we ever likely to find out.
• True: I am more than 5 decades in age, and this is the most dangerous threat to our freedom and liberty I have ever experienced. I guess the "black helicopter crowd" and the guys with tin foil hats were correct after all. 

King of the Yottabytes

OK, just how much info has the NSA accumulated on us citizens? They have a data center whose storage capacity can be measured in Yottabytes (go ahead, Google it. I dare you. I double dare you).

Syria – Islamic Powder Keg About to Shoot Its Load

When it comes to Syria, “BO” is simply sitting on his hands, blissfully pretending that it is simply a regional dispute of little importance to us here in the US, and hoping that you won't notice that it is about to f*ck up the entire Middle East.

The Syrian civil war threatens world political and military stability. Its neighbors are Turkey (Sunni), Israel (Jewish), Iraq (Shiite), Jordan (Hashemite monarchy, but Sunni population), and Lebanon (Sunni, I think). To this date, the number of deaths have 5 digits, and the number of refugees have 6 digits (perhaps 7). Both refugees and terrorists have spilled beyond Syria's borders, threatening the very existence of neighboring countries.

Anyone who claims to understand this hopeless morass is simply lying. It is rather like a game of 3D Chess (Star Trek reference; Google it), where the pieces and boards randomly move around, and where the colors of the pieces also change randomly. I have even heard John Bolton, the smartest person I know of about this, announce Syria to be a hopelessly confusing hotchpotch. However, Balkanization and ethnic cleansing appear to be ongoing, resulting in the carving up of Syria along sectarian lines.

The problem with Western media reports that I have read were written by “journalists” who do not have the faintest understanding about this subject. I shall, to the best of my ability, attempt to provide a reasonably more cogent explanation.

SHIITE

Assad is President, and is Alawite. This is a rather obscure sect that is nominally Shiite. This explains why native Hezbollah and that coming out of Lebanon is being supported by Iran, which is also Shiite. Thanks to “BO”s inaction, Assad forces regrouped and counterattacked. They are trying to clear a corridor from Damascus through Homs to the Alawite-controlled coast and port of Tartus, which contains a Russian naval base. Joining the fray are Hezbollah pouring into Syria from Lebanon and Iraq, along with native Hezbollah supported by Iran. Iranian Revolutionary Guard are also present fighting alongside the Assad forces.

SUNNI

For the most part, these are the major opponents of Assad. However, it would simplistic and really, really wrong to cast this civil war as simply a Sunni/Shiite conflict. Turkey-backed Sunni fighters have crossed the border to support native Sunni groups. Support might (note carefully this qualification) be coming from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar.

KURDS

OK, these are hated by everyone. Kurds from Iraq and Turkey have crossed the borders into Syria to join forces with native Kurds. The great fear is that they will carve off pieces from Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Armenia to form an independent Kurdish country, so all of these sovereign countries are fighting the Kurds.

RUSSIA

Guh? Why would Russia care? Because Assad has allowed a naval base at Tartus, the only port in the Mediterranean that Russia has. They will do anything to keep it, so support Assad.

CHINA

Guh? Today's word is “oil”. Communist China needs it, and Syria will happily supply it, and will therefore quash any UN effort to interfere in Syria.

IRAN

For the IRGC, Syria is the perfect ammo dump for their effort to stomp Israel into the dirt. Therefore, they support Assad and wish his rule to last forever.

US

Oy...

IN CONCLUSION

It was my original goal to provide a quick 'n dirty, hopefully accurate cheat sheet to a complicated and confusing situation of great importance. Not. However, my main concern is not the eventual fate of Syria per se, but its effect on her neighbors. It threatens to destabilize the border with Turkey, Lebanon, and Golan Heights. Terrorists, paramilitary forces, and refugees have spilled over into neighboring countries. I am most concerned about the danger to Jordan. She has always been an ally to the US, not to mention one of the major suppliers of oil. Along with Saudi Arabia and Israel, Jordan has been an anchor for peace in the Middle East. It would not take much to overthrow the Hashemite monarchy and put Jordan under the control of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, a la Egypt. Not a good thing. I have a headache.