Don't know who is the most ludicrous on the NSA so-called 'scandal' - the media or the Republican Party mouthpieces many of whom voted to renew the FISA act last year:
Summary
On December 30, 2012, President Obama signed H.R. 5949, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012, which extends Title VII of FISA until December 31, 2017.
Reauthorizations of expiring provisions of FISA have been an annual occurrence in Congress
since 2009. Prior to 2012, the legislative debate and reauthorizations largely dealt with three
amendments to FISA that are commonly linked to the Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA
PATRIOT Act). Most recently, in 2011, these three provisions were extended until June 1, 2015.
For a more detailed discussion of these three provisions, see CRS Report R40138, Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Extended Until June 1, 2015, by Edward C. Liu.
In contrast, the reauthorization debated and passed in 2012 deals with Title VII of FISA, as added by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Title VII is only tangentially related to the subjects of the previous years’ debates in that they are amendments to the same statute. Therefore, the legislative activity in prior years should be conceptually separated from the current debate and legislation that would address the expiration of Title VII of FISA at the end of this year.
Title VII of FISA, as added by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, created new separate
procedures for targeting non-U.S. persons and U.S. persons reasonably believed to be outside the United States. While some provisions of Title VII could be characterized as relaxing FISA’s traditional standards for electronic surveillance and access to stored communications, other provisions of Title VII have expanded FISA’s scope to require judicial approval of activities, such as surveillance of U.S. persons on foreign soil, that were previously unregulated by the statute.
Excerpt: Read more of the SummaryWhere was the outrage when this was renewed in December? Did people honestly think that data mining did not exist in the intelligence community? Was told over ten years ago to never post anything I wasn't willing to stand behind knowing someone was checking various sites.
The New York Times has already had to backtrack on their editorial against President Obama when one of the writers emotionally wrote an editorial without the facts slamming President Obama like he created all of this. The media is getting worse not better in rushing to be first and ignoring the basic premise of using facts not narrative.
Republicans pushed for all of these tools for the Intelligence Community including the Patriot Act, FISA and amendments to name a few and now feign anger that it is the National Security Agency's fault knowing full well the real truth. This group of Republicans will do anything they can to make Obama look bad as lying has become a way of life with Congressional Republicans. Any media that took the Republican bait of feigned anger, shouldn't be called media. How many times do they listen to Republicans only to get egg on their face?
The very idea that some groups/people are willing to let terrorists skate in order not to have any intrusion in their lives by the Government makes me wonder what they are doing. I have nothing to hide but they will find my phone records pretty boring as I talk to the same people all the time.
Maybe it is my background as I worked for the Air Force, had a high clearance in order to handle classified information, and took an oath to protect that information I had access to as part of my job. When I left my job to stay home with my young daughter, I signed a non-disclosure saying that I would not reveal anything without permission or it was declassified. I have a huge disdain for anyone leaking very sensitive classified information and don't care who it is. The reason it is classified is 'need to know' and that still stands today. A leaker in the intelligence community goes against everything I believe as people are listening to someone who broke their oath.
Also abhor the sealing of records that should be declassified like those of Senator McCain who now runs around the Country like some hero. His records should not have been sealed. Passport records for Presidential candidates should not be sealed. We have a right to know when voting for someone for President if they lied about what they had done and where they had traveled.
Find myself in a unique position once again defending President Obama against the attacks not only from the right but from the hard left who have the same reading comprehension problem as the hard right. Ask the same question about where was their outrage when this intelligence act was renewed.
Then there is the question of why are the left so quick to go after Obama? Noticed on some sites that it is the Hillary supporters who are so angry at Obama wishing they had never supported him in 2012. Would they have rather had Romney? Short memories. Makes you wonder if they are still mad Obama won? Been watching for sometime as some Clinton loyalist are so quick to jump in with the attacks on Obama.
With what President Obama has had to endure with this obstructionists Congress, the GOP and some dissent even in his own party, I think he has done a very good job of governing for all Americans just not the privileged few. No President is perfect, but he is turning into one of my favorites which I could not have foreseen in 2008 when I swallowed the GOP koolaid knowing full well the background on McCain and my disgust with his choice of Palin as more came out on her being an airhead as the days wore on not to mention prima donna who didn't want to listen to McCain advisors.
After 2010 and the Tea Party/Koch Bros takeover of the Republican Party, I finally had it and last summer started actively supporting President Obama. Now I find myself defending him from the hard right who are spending their days in Congress trying to manufacture scandals against the President. Just maybe it is time for a change to the Constitution making the President's term six years so there is no campaigning while a person is President. If a Senator can serve for six years, why not the President?
Shame on Republicans for attacking the President on an Act you voted to renew and were the ones who put in the language in the House. Also shame on the media for swallowing the GOP koolaid without checking that the bill that authorized all of this was signed into law in December 2013. Once again the so-called mainstream media has not done its job. Imagine that!
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