The Rude Pundit - The Secrets and the Damage Done, Part 1: Regarding the Need to Care

[meegbear]

So here we are. Remember all that gut-wrenching, headache-inducing, knee-weakening vertigo we felt when John Poindexter wanted to keep a record of every midget bondage website we jacked it to? God, the outrage, as if the mass usage of a data streaming technology invented by the Pentagon for military use wouldn't, at the end of the day, be used by the military and by government intelligence operations. We sacrificed privacy for convenience, that the ability to iPad over to IMDB in order to settle an argument over who died second in Hostel was more important than spies being able to find us with a couple of swipes on a touchpad. Yes, we are here, now, all of use merely pre-criminals, waiting to give off the secret telltale signs that make it appear as if we have breached some invisible border between good and evil. For we have cut off our dumbass noses to spite our stupid fucking faces.

Even if we said we "knew" about government data gathering, we didn't know. Now we do. Now we have had revealed the surveillance state apparatus, the unholy mating of government and big business giving birth to a tentacled chimera that slithers into all the moldy corners of our dark lives. And then the IT guy gets to decide which of us needs to be targeted for greater scrutiny.

Whenever you argue with someone about whether or not there's something wrong with the government spying on everyone through phone records and online footprints, you either get someone condemning supernerd Edward Snowden for narcing out the NSA and his employer, Booz Allen, and perhaps writer Glenn Greenwald for breaking the story, or you get some variation on "I don't care. Just keep me safe."

Of course, of course, ignorance being bliss and all, it's par for the course for blissful Americans. The wars of the post-9/11 era, on terror, Afghanistan, and Iraq, have been fought on the down low, with the majority of the nation not having to confront their existence beyond pedantic Memorial Day speeches and shoes removed at the airport. We have been told to submit and then submit again and not to ask "Why?" because such questions will naturally lead to the terrorists winning. And so we don't ask. And because we don't ask, it's assumed that we don't care. And if we don't care, then why should we be informed of what's occurring? It's the tautology of manufactured apathy.

The other thing the Rude Pundit has heard is "I don't do anything wrong. Why should I worry?" He wonders how those who say such things know. Because, see, one of the upsetting aspects of this whole series of revelations is that we don't know the rules of the game. We're told that the rules have to remain secret so that we don't tip off the enemies. But in that case, everyone is merely a potential enemy. How is that a rational way for a population to exist? How does that comport with the putative "exceptionalism" of our democracy?

Tell us some shit, for fuck's sake. The secrecy is ultimately destructive to our quaint notions of liberty. You say that this program has stopped a terrorist attack? Prove it. Tell us how. Put the fuck up or shut the fuck up. And tell us how stopping that attack would not have been possible if it hadn't been for Booz Allen geeks wondering if one's online visits to Burqa Babe Bukkake is for blowing up buildings or blowing loads.

One last note for now: Obama owns this, from the National Security Agency's collection of phone records to the data mining being done online by the FBI and NSA. Sure, you can get pissed off at George W. Bush for the Patriot Act, but Obama reauthorized it in 2011 (with a majority of House Democrats voting against it). We on the left are right to blame Bush for many of the ills brought about that this president has had to deal with. Not this, though.

The Rude Pundit doesn't buy the whole "Obama is as bad as Bush" bullshit floating around. When Obama starts an illegal war, authorizes torture, and crashes the economy, we can talk. But the institutionalizing of mass data gathering in order to spy on Americans? Yeah, that's part of Obama's legacy.

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/

[reusrename]

1. "It's the tautology of manufactured apathy."

Perfect!

[zeemike]

6. That stuck with me too.

The Rude One sure has a way with words and understands how they are used against us.

[reusrename]

8. That's one of those that cuts me the deepest.

I have tremendous faith in the will of the people. To hear folks (especially here) criticize the citizens because their will is being violently thwarted, to accuse these folks of apathy, well, it just frosts my balls, as Rude might say.

[RainDog]

2. k&r n/t

[timdog44]

3. I think when the chaff

is separated from the grain, I think we will see the chaff as Greenwald and Snowden and the grain as Obama. He does own some things, but it makes you wonder how much even he knows, or as commander in chief, really gets to have input. He may be covering for his employees who step over the line.

[pmorlan1]

4. OMG

You didn't get much out of this piece, did you?

[timdog44]

10. That really does not help me.

What did you get from this?

I got that Obama owns this surveillance thing now. I got that the Rude Pundit wants to know all the secrets. Then they are not secrets anymore and surveillance is not worth the effort. If that is what you want, then so be it. He wants to know how the intelligence gathering has stopped a terrorist act. If it did and it was made known, then the methods are defunct. Secrecy has to remain secret.

I don't like Booz Allen involved in our surveillance. I think it much more dangerous for a private corporation to know the things they know than the government. Because if I have to trust one or the other I trust the United States of America.

I think Snowden borders on being treasonous. I think Greenwald an asshat money grubber looking for a pot to stir. Can't think of a lot of things for Greenwald to be proud of, unless it is his bank acoount.

I also got that the Rude Pundit seems to think that everyone is being spied on. I don't believe that.

When the chaff is separated from the grain, the chaff will be Snowden/Greenwald and the grain will be Pres Obama.

So yes, I did get a lot out this.

[pmorlan1]

11. LOL

I repeat: You didn't get anything out of it because those were your views before you read the piece. LOL

[timdog44]

12. And just because

I read the Rude Pundit I am suppose to change my views. Get real. You are just rude and no pundit about you. And I say you are rude because you seem to think it funny with your LOL crap on the end. I am not sure why you can not respect my views and if you don't, put up some dialogue and tell why I should change my view. Perhaps I did not understand what was said, but maybe I did. You tell me why I should change.

[pmorlan1]

14. One set of facts

You are certainly entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own set of facts. The facts are the facts and distorting them to support a viewpoint is wrong whether its done by you, Rude Pundit, Bob Cesca or Rush Limbaugh.

[timdog44]

15. And just

what are facts, that are so real?

[timdog44]

17. I hope you are looking

for some facts to give me. I been waiting. I am willing to be educated, but I need what you say are facts and what are not.

[OnyxCollie]

5. Obama's administration found nothing illegal about the war,

squashed investigations of torture here and abroad, and gave banksters a "Get Out of Jail Free (And Take Some More Money, Too&quot card.

Why is finding out he is continuing the illegal spying he voted to make legal a surprise?

[polynomial]

7. You know the expression

When you get so mad you see red...

That's how more, and more Americans are.

Yes, many Republicans will begin to realize that the label of Conservative or liberal will not be driving the forces of politics. It will be just the middle class and the poor. Yes the Limbaugh days of hate radio or what Limbaugh calls “drive by media” are diminishing.

The whole of the middle class and the poor are now privy to how this political jabberwocky of nonsense political talking and cable news are trying to direct society but have failed.

These Republican current right wing extremist failed America in the worst way. By deception to profiteer in war, and take advantage by torture, from my view committed a high crime.

Ladies and Gentleman of America please think hard in that squeezing data to ferret out terrorist is a lot more moral than squeezing someone’s body part in torture to get war information.

That simple design in how to make war is difficult in this new technological based society, however, can be considered brilliant in some respects by avoiding and changing histories historical approach to torturing using the human body to make deals.

Besides the industry that moves the data processing can carefully monitored with safe guards in the best transparency way. Especially with the use of whistleblower laws anyone can actually help find a cover up. The really interesting point is the industry, that part of the telecommunications or educational system which is already loaded with tax grants itself can be very taxable to finance the war.

From my view a marvelous combination which would likely make the Bush/Cheney/ Bin Laden oil baron era reveled as obvious treason. The very reason current Republicans shout scandal for anything, as they are the swindler.

This guy Edward Snowden may very well turn out to be hero.

[Puzzledtraveller]

9. k&r

[timdog44]

13. Now, just so you understand where I am at

and not being attacked as some stooge like pmorlan seems to think I am. I never said I agreed with all the mercenary spy agencies. I never said I agreed with the multiple surveillance agencies that the government has. I do think Snowden overstepped his bounds with the urging of the hack Greenwald. Snowden never thought it through what he was doing and Greenwald was going for a few $$$.

The other thing is that just because these two have said the things they have said does not mean I have to believe what they said. It has been taken as gospel that everyone in America is being spied on because of these two ________ and I sure don't mean heroes.

"Tell us some shit for fuck's sake" What do you want them to tell you? The way they gathered info so everyone knows how our government operates. We did this and this and this and then we caught these terrorists before they blew up the Sears Tower. Not likely. And your knowing is going to do you what good? There are lots of reasons to be doing surveillance other than to catch terrorists. China is hacking the shit out of America, as well as a goodly number of other countries. What is being monitored is not my phone calls from home to my friend next door. They are monitoring calls from here to over "there". The same with emails.

The number phone calls and emails runs into the billions every day and trillions a year. They are not going to waste time on small time phone calls and emails. And yes, Obama owns this because he is president now, but Bill Clinton said something to the effect that when you reach the level of president, there is not much you get to decide anymore. Think about it.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. But..but..they need to spy on us so they can telll us who the Bogeyman is!!