Siri's World Presents The Dissenting Opinion: twitter

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Friday, September 25, 2015

The Rules Do Not Apply To Jerry Moran

As we are all aware, Pope Francis is in the United States, and visited Washington, DC yesterday. As only a few of us are aware, taking pictures is against the rules in the Senate Chamber on the house floor is prohibited. According to Rule IV of the Senate, it is unbecoming decorum for a representative to snap photographs there. In 1963, the rule was suspended in order to obtain the very first official picture of the United States Senate in session. Later, that same year, National Geographic requested permission to take a picture there. But guess who began snapping photos while the Pope Francis addressed the Senate, without bothering to request permission? If you guessed Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, you guessed correctly. Mr. Moran, like many other Kansas Republicans, is possessed of an idea that rules and laws that apply to others do not apply to him. Others followed the unprofessional example he set, but Moran was first to determine that senate rules are not really meant to be followed.

When this rule was first made, the internet and social media did not exist. It was merely considered rude and distracting to take pictures while members of the house were speaking, listening, or taking notes. Now that we have digital photography, mobile phones, and social media, it is not only rude to snap pictures in certain places, particularly using flash; there are other considerations. In 1981, Pope John Paul II was almost assassinated. Suppose someone with a motive to harm any person in that building had been lurking near all of the hoopla yesterday? Jerry Moran's pictures of the Pope, where he was standing, and the entire building; and his immediate uploads of the same to Twitter could have given the wrong person a perfect opportunity to "case" the perimeter and determine the exact position of every person on the floor. In essence, Jerry Moran could easily have contributed to an assassination attempt or a murder by not following the rules. But then, Moran does not appear to think that rules are important. Did he actually have an ulterior motive, or was he just setting a bad example for fun?

Thursday, April 24, 2014

What Did You Expect, NYPD?

In a vain effort to improve it's public image, the New York Police Department invited the general public to share any pictures of civilians with New York police officers on Twitter to showcase pictures of law enforcement and civilians acting friendly toward each other. It was assumed that there were people, among the population of New York, who had snapshots of police officers acting friendly, and being normal, regular people. It was assumed incorrectly. All of the pictures that were shared featured police officers abusing their privileges, and police officers abusing people or animals.

We can only wonder what the NYPD expected. Law enforcement answers to the call of privatized prisons, these days. Privatized prisons create a demand for prisoners, just as privatized foster care systems create a demand for foster children. Abuse is an almost assured way to escalate a situation from benign to horrific and squeeze at least a few charges out if it. NYPD, and most other police departments, are guilty of this type of abuse.

On April 25, which is tomorrow, there will be a Facebook and Twitter event, linked here, inviting everyone to flood both mediums with pictures abuse in progress by law enforcement. This is not only to commemorate the abuses of the New York Police Department, but all police departments. If you have a picture of police abuse, or police abusing a person or an animal, or in the act of destroying property, won't you share it with everyone? You community and the world need to see it.

Monday, September 30, 2013

BooHooHoo! We Don't Have Time To Spy Anymore!

It seems the NSA is a bit anal retentive these days because they do not have as much time to devote to unrestrained spying, thanks to Edward Snowden and the information he released to the general public. The NSA would much rather operate in secret, allegedly gathering as much intelligence as possible about foreign targets and "protecting" the United States. That's a very nice thought, but Snowden's leaks did not actually deal very much with surveillance of foreign nationals operating in a hostile fashion; the leaks dealt with metadata collected and stored about the everyday lives and activities of average American citizens. That said, it seems plausible that those who spy for the NSA may actually be prevaricating when they express concerns that foreign targets upon whom they spy will now be forewarned and change their communication styles and mediums in an ongoing effort to frustrate information harvests.

How often has the NSA successfully averted unfortunate goings-on in the dominions and lives of everyday citizens? A look at any news network will show that if the NSA truly has any intentions of making the world a safer place for Americans and others, they've been slacking lately. What, exactly then, have they been doing with all of the data they collect? The ability to intercept Facebook and Twitter communications could stop a lot of everyday criminal activity. While the NSA can argue that those everyday criminal activities are petty crimes, and not worthy of their attention, the direction of prosecutors nationwide has been to criminalize, over-criminalize, and charge each and every defendant or police detainee with a felony whenever possible. It seems, kinda, sorta, like informing local sheriff departments about premeditated felony crime should be a priority of sorts, or at least a side interest, if the intelligence to intercept is available, which it clearly is. How many missing persons cases are still open? How many times has the NSA offered it's help in locating missing children? Probably never. Your children are not important, everyday Americans. Now that the middle classes are not important, your children do not matter, and your tax dollars that support law enforcement do not pay anyone to protect you or your children. Don't expect anyone's intelligence gathering activities to help you in any way.

In the "Post Edward Snowden Era", the NSA is very, very unhappy about it's perceived obligation to control damage, rather than to come clean and amend it's practices. There is much ado about all of the time agents must spend tracking down that which has been revealed, and any defensive postures that must be taken. Finding out who knows what, and who is changing gears in order to compensate for lack of privacy, is much more important than treating the general population with respect. In fact, the NSA is not concerned, in the slightest way, about any murders or any missing persons cases whih could have been prevented, but for some useful information, denied, rather than shared with lower level law enforcement; and the NSA is not concerned in the slightest about the lack of respect it has shown for American citizens.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Donald Trump Has Something Big?

Donald Trump has "something very big" concerning the president. And that's fine, except, it sounds like a personal problem to me. Could it be bigger than big bird? Donald Trump likes to howl and cry with the birthers about Obama's birth certificate. He might be racist, or he might simply be unwilling, along with other very wealthy people, to invest in the middle class. Or, he may have other issues. "The Donald" says he's going to announce "the big thing" via "the Twitter" on Wednesday. Perhaps he should take a cold shower instead.