1/21/09

The Illegal Spying Whistle Blower Express...

Has just left the station:
A former NSA analyst is confirming to [Keith Olbermann] what so many "tinfoliers" already believed:

The NSA is listening, watching and reading communications from citizens, people in the United States with no security threat, rhyme or reason, at least none that would allow such an intrusion into the lives of your common citizen. No surprise to many, but it does surprise me the beans are being spilled on prime time right now.

This is without FISA, warrants or with any other Constitutional protections.



Yes... They were spying on journalists, as many people speculated.

More to come tomorrow on Countdown.

Expect this to be the first in a long line of whistle blowers to come forward with information on specific crimes committed by the criminal Bush administrations. They no longer have worry about retribution from the most corrupt administration to ever seize power in the USA.

And getting run over by this freight train of truth will be poor little Oxy-Rush:

Earlier today, President Obama issued his first set of executive orders. One of these orders instructs “federal agencies to handle requests for information from the public and press under the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] with an eye toward disclosure, not refusal.” The order reportedly returns to “pre-Bush administration policies” regarding FOIA.

In response to the “new standard of openness,” conservative talker Rush Limbaugh said that he fears that the more open FOIA rules will make it easier for Bush to be held to account for any misdeeds he committed as president:

LIMBAUGH: What I’m afraid of is that what Obama did with this executive order is actually make it easier for the media to go get Bush documents. Because you know Pelosi and some of the guys over in congress are talking about war crimes trials and charges and so forth. […]

What I’m afraid of is what Obama’s done here is made the gathering of the information for this kind of stuff– This is not American. This is not America. This is not what America does. We don’t– This is Banana Republic kind of stuff.

Oxy-Rush can't handle the truth getting out and I really think he may be smoking bananas.

[update] Via AMERICAblog, just an update on the journalists suspected to be targeted by illegal spying:
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann interviewed a former National Security Agency analyst tonight. The analyst says that, under the ruse of making sure that the NSA did NOT target American media and journalists, they actually collected information on every communication those journalists and media organizations had 24/7.

This is extremely complicated stuff, and appears to be a rather significant story. Ironically, we had reported back in 2005 on this very issue, asking whether the Bush administration was spying on American journalists. At the time, there was a specific question as to whether CNN's Christiane Amanpour was a subject of inquiry.
At the time, CNN's David Ensor dismissed the story, saying that he had a contact in the intelligence agency who "looked into it" and said, nah, it's not happening, don't worry. Yes, because I'm sure the NSA would tell David Ensor if they were spying on him. Anyway, seems Mr. Ensor may get to do a follow-up story.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Connecticutman, this is very, very, bad.

Regards,

Tengrain

Anonymous said...

I forgot to mention that I am blogpimping you at MPS.

Regards,

Tengrain

The Cunning Runt said...

This is an amazing disclosure, and I suspect just the tip of a surfacing iceberg.

I wonder if we'll ever get to know who was in the energy policy sessions with The Dickster...

Connecticut Man1 said...

This, I think, will be the beginning of a flood of info about to hit the airwaves. Everyone that knows what happened on the inside - and that has any sense of decency or integrity - will be spreading what they knew and when they knew it.

Some may do it as a matter of self-preservation... I don't care. As long as we can use it to prosecute.

Commander Zaius said...

The remaining republican dogs will be scrambling to either cover their asses or protect Bush by stonewalling. I guess it will all depend on the outrage that might develop.

Rehctaw said...

Some may do it as a matter of self-preservation... I don't care. As long as we can use it to prosecute.

Arrived via MPS...

Well put.

For to NOT prosecute would perpetuate injustice and further degrade our ability to limit the gross excesses and encroachments of future malevolence.

A fear we must overcome is to face our own sins.

In short, if THAT was legal, what can possibly be considered illegal?

Connecticut Man1 said...

Beach Bum: All it takes is one principled person to let a little info out in each area of criminal action to send the rest scurrying to be "informants" as their last means of CYA. You know there are many that will not take the fall for bush. And bush has no pardons to offer them, now.

Thanks Rechtaw!

"A fear we must overcome is to face our own sins."

Some are afraid to say that bush committed these crimes because, in the back of their minds, that would mean admitting they are complicit in what they supported. Something akin to PTSD or some kind of self-preservation switch in their brain that they have yet to come to grips with, IMHO. They know these things are wrong BUT their brain just won't let them let go of the "frames" their last eight years of justifying this have been built around.

Obviously those people with this problem are becoming fewer and farther between as time goes on.

And, of course, there are some that really don't give a flying fuck about the crimes. They know and they are proud of it. Sick, I know...

libhom said...

As if Bush regime officials didn't have enough to worry about, Obama's executive order instructing the government to follow the law on FOIA requests provides another tool to those who wish to go after these criminals.