Setting The Record Straight - Government Contractors

[bfishn]

This is true, and is completely logical thought.... as of TODAY.

SOMEDAY though, we may not have a friendly happy go lucky leader who farts rainbows and pisses silly string. SOMEDAY we may by accident end up with a real SOB in charge, with a nasty agenda. Will we at that time want all of these forsaken rights and liberties in memory only, or should we try to hold onto them a while longer, as long as we can, just in case.

Is everyone REALLY scared of terrorists that can't be detected any other way?

The way I see it is; If your life is more effected by the FEAR of terrorists than it is by actual "terrorists attacks" then there's some F'd up Chicken Little mind control going on in your life.

Seriously, we are gradually getting closer to the point where a guy spotting vehicles in remote locations and floating to them in a canoe might seem REALLY SUSPICIOUS!

+1. I can't help but imagine what a hoot J. Edgar would be having right now.

If we let our 'terror' (whether real or exagerated) change the essence of who we are and what we stand for, well... terror won.

[bfishn]

Whether or not one cares who has access to your digital doings doesn't preclude you from at least being aware of how it all works.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has created a very extensive Surveillance Self-Defense guide that explains it in great detail;

https://ssd.eff.org/

And for those that prefer pictures, here's their 2013 analysis of the major players and how they roll*

*In Verizon's case, it's not how they roll, but how they roll over. :-(

[Jerry Rapp]

quack, quack, quack...............by golly it is a duck.....

[Al Agnew]

I think others have answered anything I'd say on Bengazi and on this phone record scandal. But I want to touch upon the IRS scandal a bit more. In my opinion, the IRS was EXACTLY right in investigating the Tea Party groups. Come on. The law reads they can't do politics and still qualify, and the IRS itself has ruled a little differently...that they can't do more than 50% politics and still qualify. Be honest. I don't care how much community work those groups MIGHT (or might not)do behind the scenes, you KNOW they are political groups. They weren't formed as "Tea Party" groups to do charity work.

Now...did that affect the election? I doubt it, but it's possible. Why did the IRS hold up their status and investigate them before the election? Suspicious, huh? But guess what? That's when they were most active and applying for the 501 status.

The IRS was doing its job. Now...did they target conservative groups and not liberal groups? I don't know. I don't know how many liberal groups applied for 501 status. Heck, I don't even know how many liberal Democrat groups there are out there. If there were groups affiliated with Democrats that got a free ride while the conservative groups were hassled, that's wrong. Very wrong. But I don't know that to be the case.

The other question that comes to mind is, how much is the IRS controlled by the administration in power? The IRS should be entirely independent, and if it isn't, that's a problem. None of us want the IRS to be the harassment or punishment arm of whoever is in power at the time.

One other thing...czars. Get real. That IS tinfoil hat stuff. We've had drug "czars" and other "czars" for what, four or five decades now? It's just a name that some news person put on the head bureaucrat of one or another program, probably the "war on drugs" program, way back when, and it stuck. The name means absolutely nothing, and to see some sinister purpose behind the name is ridiculous.

[Feathers and Fins]

Al. I normally can respect your opinion but on Czars its not tinfoil its the law of this country simple as that. It is in the constitution and our founders hates titles of nobility so badly they made it a point to place that in there. I have never liked it and will always despise it. Please if you want to call tinfoil I suggest it be on something not in clear violation of our constitution. It is principle and the wishes of our founders and that is that.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.

call them anything a secretary or a director

And apparently its ok for the IRS to target conservatives but in the same time gives the presidents brother an exemption and back dates for his political errr (©) and not one audit on a liberal group. THEY ADMITTED TO TARGETING CONSERVITIVE GROUPS...

[Al Agnew]

Okay, did the enabling legislation to form any of these government entities say anywhere on it that the head was to be called a czar? Does it say "czar" in the government registry? Does it say "czar" on the letterhead of any of these so-called czars?

I doubt it.

My wife pointed out to me that the term first came into use during the Reagan administration, when Bennett was appointed "drug czar". But I'm pretty sure that wasn't his real title, just something coined by the media. As are the rest of them, I'm sure. Besides, "czar" means something like "supreme leader" or emperor or king. I'm pretty sure nobody is angling for any one of these so-called czars to be the king of America.

Seems to me that it isn't much, if any, different from calling Elvis Pressley "The King" and John Wayne "The Duke". They aren't titles conferred, except by the media. There is a lot of stuff going on that deserve getting your panties in a twist about, but I can't believe this is one of them.

[Feathers and Fins]

Actually it came into being with Woodrow Wilsons appointing of Bernard Baruch. And the first written account of a "titled" Czar was under FDR. But it wasn't really until Nixon did the true "title" of Czar come into its own. Media were the ones who actually came up with the term and that is not in of itself a "title of nobility" It is however a title now from 2005. Though the "politicians" say it is not a title of nobility but to describe the position. Smell test never set well with me or many others nor most constitutional scholars. Title of Nobility is Title no matter what our glorious politicians say. Yes its a word but I side with the Constitution something far to few people understand. Read the federalist and anti-federalist papers and journals and you will learn why that "word" was so hated by our founding fathers. I'm not politically correct but I am an American Citizen who was raised in a time we still learned the documents.

And yes there are many issues, I write my elected officials and vote. I vote for whom I think is closest to honest and will do a good job. I'm not a party voter never have been, I vote my conscience based off what I feel is best for our nation. I have always said that the people need to vote on major issues not leave it to the politicians. Obamacare should have gone to the voters, Wars unless attacked need to go to the voters and so on. Major issues effecting all of us need to be a vote not the whim of who is in office.

[Smalliebigs]

I love you Mike but, show me proof Snowden leaked anything to the Chinese......bottom line is most americans are more pissed about big brother and it stomping all over our rights.....and don't start spouting some bullshit about how we have thwarted 50 terrorist attacks with this spying on our conversations. If you believe that then go talk to the people in Boston who had their legs blown off.

You would think that, but... we used to track Bin Laden by his cell phone. Then one day someone leaked this "not a big secret", and the cell phone went cold. Think about how much blood and money we would have saved if Bin Laden had is phone on after 911.

What a lot of people don't understand is how data is collected is as important as the data. The bad guys who really know what they are doing (think about that) can determine a lot from the how to include how to steal it and use it against us.

Treason... Now he told the Chinese what we may or may not be doing against them. That sounds like treason to me. PS... The Chinese who use this technology to steal corporate information that may or may not cost Americans thier jobs... maybe yours someday.

[Smalliebigs]

you call Barry going to bed and or ignoring the Counselate being fire bombed and letting people die including SS personel incompetent???? I call it criminal but, we all know now that Barry is not going to pay for any of his so called incompetence......it's the new American way spawned by our elected officials....if I do something wrong you deny at first until you can find a minion to take the fall and then you compensate them later.

Mic, F&F was merely responding to Al's challenge. I really don't think he was comparing apples and oranges. As far as the the recent scandals, the IRS scandal is the most sinister. Benghazi was just CYA kind of spin to get things quiet before the election, and I agree with Mic it was just an incompetent screw up. The spying was something I always knew was going on and figured the people who didnt know this were just a little naive. But the IRS scandal really really pisses me off! Valerie Jarret said she would punish the opposition and it would be pay back time.....I think she was right. But what do I know I'm just a lemming that clings to God and Guns

[Feathers and Fins]

Smallie... there is no proof he was in bed.. he wont confirm where he was. Ya and I DONT BUY THE 50 either and from a few polls I viewed today neither do most Americans.