russ1945

Follow me and tell me where I am wrong. There is a lot to sort out on the security scandals but it still bothers me that many call it partisan. I am no fan of Obama, like you did not do that, and I am not a Bush defender either, much to some’s surprise. Yet I think some things happened during the Obama administration that cannot be pinned onto Bush.

The system the NSA uses to gain access to the private communications of at least nine popular internet services. Access to do that is governed by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which was enacted in 2008. James Clapper became Director of National Intelligence in 2010. In 2012 Clapper announced an intiative to create a common information technology network for the entire intelligence community which prior to that had not been connected. This was done of his own initiative with Obama at the held. Now I am not sure how the republican party can be blamed for that since that was done while a Democratic POTUS was in office and could not have been enacted without his approval.

I have no idea what the Bush administration did or did not do while administering under the Patriot Act and I am not giving them a pass. My point is simply this, that everything seems to have changed in 2010 when Clapper came on board and not for the better. This is not a partisan matter, it concerns us all but some from the Democratic party want to blame Bush and his administration and they did not operate under the same framework as Clapper set up in 2010 and embellished in 2012.

Clearly creating the common information technology network is where everything began to go south. Now Clapper may have to suffer the consequences for having misled Congress if not actually lying to them. I wish that was just his problem but one thing is for sure and that that way too many things point in Clappers direction. He was appointed by Obama not Bush. Sure these are probably the most political times I have ever seen in my 67 years but sometimes you have to call a spade a spade. I am not a registered republican and I did not vote for Obama but that stands alone. When it comes to national security all politics should be put aside. 9/11 changed everything and the Boston bombings were a recent reminder that security is every bit as important now as ever.
So politics aside what has been done cannot be undone but we can move forward. I don’t remember national security being a big talking point during the recent presidential campaigning. But I would say now that national security is now at the top of the list and individual rights and freedoms is right there with it. Somehow we have to put politics aside and do what is best for this nation and still protect the rights and freedoms of each and every American citizen.

russ1945

I should like to also point out in the name of fairness that Clapper was the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence under Bush and was appointed just prior to 9/11. He was also Under Secretary of Defense under GWB from 2007 to 2010 until he was promoted to be Obama's Director of National Intelligence in that same year. In 2012 Clapper announced an initiative to create a common information technology desktop for the entire Intelligence Community. Until then they operated under unconnected networks. It was at this time that things began to go downhill.

Clapper at the very least was not truthful in his recent appearance on Capitol Hill. Is it Ok to lie and say it is in the best interests of this country to do so. Who is the judge of that. The bigger point is that our national security is beginning to infringe on individual rights. That requires some give and some take, not just take. Something has changed since Obama took office and it is across the board not just the NSA. We need to get back on track. At the top we have veterans like Clapper and at the bottom we have new guys like Snowden. Somethings have changed since Obama took office, you can be the judge of what, but changes are needed and not at the expense of our individual freedoms. I believe in a greater good, not a greater bad. This is bad.

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

Clapper told one of the biggest lies of the season when he told the House that nothing was being done that could be averted. i wonder about him making it much further.

When he held his hand to his head and told his lie it was just too obvious.

russ1945

4723.7k

HOME / War Stories : Military analysis. Fire James Clapper
The Director of National Intelligence lied to Congress about NSA surveillance. What else will he lie about?
By Fred Kaplan|Posted Tuesday, June 11, 2013, at 12:44 PM

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Director of National Intelligence James Clapper
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
If President Obama really does welcome a debate about the scope of the U.S. surveillance program, a good first step would be to fire Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Back at an open congressional hearing on March 12, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked Clapper, “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?” Clapper replied, “No sir … not wittingly.” As we all now know, he was lying.

We also now know that Clapper knew he was lying. In an interview with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that aired this past Sunday, Clapper was asked why he answered Wyden the way he did. He replied:

“I thought, though in retrospect, I was asked [a] ‘when are you going to … stop beating your wife’ kind of question, which is … not answerable necessarily by a simple yes or no. So I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful, manner by saying, ‘No.’ ”

Let’s parse this passage. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Wyden had been briefed on the top-secret-plus programs that we now all know about. That is, he knew that he was putting Clapper in a box; He knew that the true answer to his question was “Yes,” but he also knew that Clapper would have a hard time saying so without making headlines.

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But the question was straightforward. It could be answered “yes” or “no,” and Clapper had to know this when he sat there in the witness chair. (Notice that, in his response to Mitchell, Clapper said he came up with the wife-beating analogy only “in retrospect.”) There are many ways that he could have finessed the question, as administration witnesses have done in such settings for decades, but Clapper chose simply to lie. “Truthful” and “untruthful” are not relative terms; a statement either is or isn’t; there’s no such thing as speaking in a “most truthful” or “least untruthful” manner.

Nor was this a spontaneous lie or a lie he regretted making. Wyden revealed in a statement today that he’d given Clapper advance notice that he would ask the question and that, after the hearing, he offered Clapper a chance to revise his answer. Clapper didn’t take the offer.

Clapper’s deceptions don’t stop there. Rambling on in his rationalization to Mitchell, he focused on Wyden’s use of the word “collect,” as in “Did the NSA collect any type of data ... on millions of Americans?” Clapper told Mitchell that he envisioned a vast library of books containing vast amounts of data on every American. “To me,” he said, “collection of U.S. persons’ data would mean taking the book off the shelf and opening it up and reading it.”

If this were true, it would suggest that Clapper wasn’t quite lying when he told Wyden that the NSA doesn’t wittingly “collect” data on Americans. But of course, this is nonsense. Neither in everyday speech nor in tech-intelligence jargon does “collect” mean anything other than what it obviously means: to gather, to sweep up, to bring together. No one says, “I’m going to collect The Great Gatsby from my bookshelf and read it.” Nor does anyone say, “I’m going to collect this phone conversation from my archive and listen to it.”

It is irrelevant whether Clapper really believes his definition of “collect” or made it up on the spot. Either way, this is a man who cannot be trusted to hold an honest discussion about these issues. If he lied about what he thinks “collect” means, he will lie about lots of things. If he really thinks the English language is this flexible, it is unwise to assume that any statement he makes means what it appears to mean.

This is crucial. We as a nation are being asked to let the National Security Agency continue doing the intrusive things it’s been doing on the premise that congressional oversight will rein in abuses. But it’s hard to have meaningful oversight when an official in charge of the program lies so blatantly in one of the rare open hearings on the subject. (Wyden, who had been briefed on the program, knew that Clapper was lying, but he couldn’t say so without violating the terms of his own security clearance.)

And so, again, if President Obama really welcomes an open debate on this subject, James Clapper has disqualified himself from participation in it. He has to go.

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

I will tell you up front and honestly I can provide no reference links to the following statement.

It is my belief the attempt to blame Bush is directly related to the Patriot Act. Having said that, there abound many implications that under the Act many improprieties occurred during his administration which were made legal through additional legislation.

To go Biblical, let he who be without sin cast the first stone. Of course, being in a sarcastic mood, maybe stone casting could solve our problems. You may interpret that as you wish.

Later in the day I am going to reread your expansive post and hopefully provide better commentary.

russ1945

The current of director of national intelligence (DNI), James Clapper, who issued a stinging attack on the intelligence leaks this weekend, is a former Booz Allen executive

russ1945

AuntiE: Try Wiki

There is a big difference between casting the first stone and launching the first boulder via catapult.

Do you often go Biblical. lol

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

That I knew.

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

Now you want to move from Biblical to Middle Ages. Do not forget the boiling oil over the side of the turret.

russ1945

I didn't until just now. This is going to be a Haliburton thing all over again.

russ1945

Burning oil sounds good to me. No wait you have to be in or on the building to do that. We couldn't get past security could we. lol

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

I have a plan. I purchase a man's suit and go the L route. You may borrow one of my lovely ( as it is summer) linen calf length skirts, a pair of lovely patient flats, nice little twin set (sweater set), pearls, and dainty purse. You may be the T.

We will meet the requirements of special people and sail past.

PS: I never loan my real pearls. I will obtain a lovely double strand from a retail establishment| :-o :P

russ1945

Will I have to shave?

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

Why oh why is Aunti besieged (pun intended) with individuals she must solve everything for? :?: :shock:

If questioned, you shall inform them you have not yet started hormones and are attempting to determine your future clothing style.

You can bet your bippy (neologism) I am not cutting my waist length hair. I shall wear it in a very tight constricted bun.

russ1945

I am sorry to report I lost my bippy when I was fourteen. Since you go to gun shows can I refer to you as AuntiE Oakley. lol