Will Pat Roberts Please Shut Up?

An open letter from Pat Roberts, (R-Ks) Jerry Moran, (R-Ks) and et els, to another country, concerning matters of state, in defiance of the White House......yet another reason Kansas republicans do NOT deserve respect! President Obama does not need the likes of Pat Retard and Jerry Moron to undermine his efforts at diplomatic conversations with Iran about war! It seems that Republicans think that keeping the Middle East in as much military conflict as possible, rather than solutions that involve peace, or at least holding back, on war, is better for the world, and for the United States, than peace. The more bloodshed, the happier Roberts will be. Hopefully, his former Kansas page, who supports him ad nauseam, will pick up arms and join in! Or are Republicans only supportive of military actions and bloodshed that do not involve their own?

This may or may not be a direct and clear example of treason, per se. There are arguments circulating the web, at this moment, suggesting that the United States indict the morons who drafted this letter. While most of the supporters of the Kansas representatives who signed this letter only support the First Amendment in cases involving their own protected speech, setting a precedent for prosecutions of treason is a serious matter. This country is seriously divided over some very petty things, and the supporters of Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran voted according to petty feelings surrounding the race of one of President Obama's parents, rather than any agenda, even of treason. Perhaps the more intellectual, thinking citizens in Kansas, if not outnumbered by insane racists, could lead an effort to recall Roberts and Moran and install more intelligent fair minded types.

The real problem with gestures such as this is that it shows America's potential enemies, worldwide, the weaknesses that can be exploited at home. The fact that Americans are actually stupid enough to be divided for racist reasons has become not only an embarrassment, but an actual defense problem. While citizens are bickering, attempting to dress up ugly, racist opinions about their president in the most politically correct garb they can find for their nonsensical horror and make themselves appear "christian", a`la the new testament, any enemy the nation has can clearly see that the division extends all the way to Congress, the Senate, and challenges the White House. Is this helpful in terms of defense, or does this put those who volunteer to defend our country in unnecessary danger? Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, by signing that stupid letter, have inched, or maybe lurched, our country closer to another war. Do we need this? Think about it, Kansas, and stfu.

Bradley Manning Acquitted of Aiding The Enemy

Bradley Manning has been found not guilty of aiding the enemy, the most serious of the charges leveled against him by military prosecutors. He was also found not guilty of a charge of espionage, but found guilty of most of the other crimes with which he was charged. This is good news for our civil liberties; while betrayal of professional confidence and contract breaches are still torts, high treason continues to have a very specific definition, and the United States government does not have carte blanche to accuse and convict anyone of whom they decide to make an example.

 

Prism, Privacy, And Edward Snowden

Your tax dollars at work, once again. Edward Snowden, who told us all about Prism, which can trace internet and cell phone signals in real time. While Snowden had a high level security clearance and all of the responsibility that goes with it, were his actions of divulging the information truly criminal, and if so, is he really guilty of treason? He did not go to any of our enemies with information about the fourth amendment rights of Americans getting violated, he came to the American people with it. Now that he has done that, he is the subject of an investigation, and his last known whereabouts were a hotel room in Hong Kong. He has since been offered asylum in Iceland.

Something that is rather disturbing is described in the video below, in an interview with Christiana Amanpour and Glenn Greenwood. Greenwood suggests that it is now no longer safe to be an investigative journalist, because if a journalist spends too much time with his source, he could also be considered culpable in some way, should the story covered concern a crime, and be charged as an accomplice! Also, an editor for the Washington Post, covering the story about Snowden, reportedly overheard security officials in a discussion at an airport stating that Snowden should "be disappeared", rather than extradited back to the United States to stand trial! So much for justice and due process. Perhaps it is easier, when possible, to just deny a person his day in court and skip due process!
 

As for Prism, it has always been sound advice to remember that there really are no secrets. The programs in use by NSA to store and interpret meta data stores such a large volume every day that the effort becomes counterproductive through having too much information to sort. The real invasion of privacy comes in the form of tracked computer information and cell phone data.....while one's calls are not necessarily heard, they are tracked. The trail of telephone numbers is logged, and of course, one's location, or approximate location, is also traceable. But then, there have been cameras on traffic lights for quite some time, now. Most stores have surveillance systems, decent schools have cameras, and Walmart sells cheap security cameras for homes. There really isn't much privacy to be had at this point in our history as humans. Anything that cannot be determined by studying the above mentioned methods of spying can often be divulged for free by the local Avon Lady.

 

Edward Snowden. A petition to pardon him for any crimes with which he may be charged is here.