Tuesday, July 9, 2013

One Citizen Speaking...



IS THE CIA ESTABLISHING A PRECEDENT ON BIN LADEN RECORDS SO THEY CAN GRAB THE BENGHAZI FILES FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT?

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 07:43 PM PDT

It is one thing to protect sensitive bin Laden raid documents from inadvertent disclosure, something that the military should be well qualified to do, but to assert that these documents need to be transferred to the CIA for safekeeping appears to smack of a government cover-up. In addition, there should no justification for the SEALS being “effectively assigned to work temporarily for the CIA, which has the ability to conduct covert operations.” Sounds like ass-covering bullshit to me because it has always been know that the special operators in the military have always had the ability to conduct covert operations.

There is something fishy about this records transfer. Personally, I believe this action may be a precedent-setting event that justifies the State Department’s transfer of Benghazi documents to the CIA to put them beyond the reach of a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request.

Something stinks …

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's top special operations commander ordered military files about the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout to be purged from Defense Department computers and sent to the CIA, where they could be more easily shielded from ever being made public.

The secret move, described briefly in a draft report by the Pentagon's inspector general, set off no alarms within the Obama administration even though it appears to have sidestepped federal rules and perhaps also the Freedom of Information Act.

An acknowledgement by Adm. William McRaven of his actions wasquietly removed from the final version of an inspector general's report published weeks ago. A spokesman for the admiral declined to comment. The CIA, noting that the bin Laden mission was overseen by then-CIA Director Leon Panetta before he became defense secretary, said that the SEALs were effectively assigned to work temporarily for the CIA, which has presidential authority to conduct covert operations.

"Documents related to the raid were handled in a manner consistent with the fact that the operation was conducted under the direction of the CIA director," agency spokesman Preston Golson said in an emailed statement. "Records of a CIA operation such as the (bin Laden) raid, which were created during the conduct of the operation by persons acting under the authority of the CIA Director, are CIA records."

Golson said it is "absolutely false" that records were moved to the CIA to avoid the legal requirements of the Freedom of Information Act. The records transfer was part of an effort by McRaven to protect the names of the personnel involved in the raid, according to the inspector general's draft report.

But secretly moving the records allowed the Pentagon to tell The Associated Press that it couldn't find any documents inside the Defense Department that AP had requested more than two years ago, and could represent a new strategy for the U.S. government to shield even its most sensitive activities from public scrutiny.

"Welcome to the shell game in place of open government," said Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, a private research institute at George Washington University. "Guess which shell the records are under. If you guess the right shell, we might show them to you. It's ridiculous." Read the rest of the story at: My Way News - Secret move keeps bin Laden records in the shadows

Bottom line …

Is this the preliminary step before transferring all Benghazi records from the State Department and elsewhere to the CIA? Welcome to the Obama rope-a-dope. Not exactly the accountable and transparent government he promised during his campaign. Then, of course, the mainstream media has excused Obama’s outright bald-faced lies as “Obama is in campaign mode,” As if it were normal and customary for politicians to lie to the American people during campaigns; in essence saying or doing anything to gain or maintain political power.

It is time that we find out how crooked and incompetent Obama and his fellow travelers may be Especially before the 2014 congressional election, the last chance to throw democrats out of office to provide additional checks-and-balances to Obama’s toxic foreign and domestic policies.

-- steve

Gun Control: Is POS Jim Carrey trying to apologize for making fun of Charlton Heston and gun owners? Boycott Kick-Ass 2 in August, 2013!

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 01:21 AM PDT

Apology or random noise?

I can decide whether or not POS Jim Carrey is trying to revive his failing career by attempting to mitigate the damage that was done when his ignorant and uninformed comments accompanied a parody video making fun of the former National Rifle Association (NRA) President Charlton Heston who died of Alzheimer's Disease?

c-1 

The United States Constitution has a Second Amendment to protect your right to be the douchebag you appear to be. To protect against governmental tyranny in which progressive liberals like you seem to unmindfully support and espouse. Oh, I forgot -- you are a Canadian citizen with no such rights.

c-2

What position? You can’t even define the term “assault rifle,” do you mean the fully-automatic weaponry supplied to the armed forces and which are almost never found among civilians unless they have been specifically registered and licensed with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives? Or are you confusing and conflating semi-automatic rifles which have been “tricked out” to look like their scarier cousins? When was the last time you saw a civilian with a rifle with an attached bayonet?

It should be a testament to the sanity and self-control of the people you denigrate that they did not cowboy Carrey ... as one might expect from Carrey's bullshit video.

What really pisses me off …

As a life member (endowment level) of the National Rifle Association, I found mocking of Charleton Heston with the line “The angels wouldn’t take him up to heaven like he planned, because they couldn’t pry the gun from his cold dead hand.” to be childish and insulting. Heston did more as an actor, and more importantly a stand-up man, than you could do in several lifetimes.

Bottom line …

“I did Kickass [sic] a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence," he tweeted on Sunday, referring to the shootings that killed 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school last December. "My apologies… to others involve[d] with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart.”  Read more:http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/06/24/jim-carrey-condemns-his-own-movie-kick-ass-2-for-on-screen-violence/

You are a hypocrite, claiming you could not promote your movie, “Kick-Ass 2,“ because it was too violent. The movie is due to be released on August 16, 2013 and I sincerely hope all NRA members and their families as well as the greater movie-going population ignores this movie in a show of support for the Constitution of the United States.

-- steve

WHERE ARE ALL THE MEN? SEARCHING FOR THEIR BALLS IN TIME OF DISASTER?

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 04:24 PM PDT

Today’s blog post is bound to be a provocative one. Mostly because the progressives and radical feminists are trying to sell emasculation of men as “gender equality.” As if erasing the historical roles of women and men can make the world a safer, better place to live in. As if you believe that women should be given first-responder and combat positions based on affirmative action because of some artificial computation involving percentages of unqualified people in the general population. Ignoring the greater truth that men and women are not interchangeable in certain close-encounter situations.

Progressive Washington State …

Now comes the liberals in Washington State spending a significant amount of time, effort, and money to erase even the perception of gender bias, by removing all language that references “man” or “men.” When there are real, and significant, issues at hand with the environment, the economy, and the rising level of corruption being found in state governments, here is the State of Washington pumping out legislation to insure bills are written using “gender neutral language.” Fine for newer legislation, but retroactively affecting older laws, rules, regulations, and other administrivia on the books.

As would be expected, the effort is headed by a progressive democrat with a hyphenated-name, Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles. The 475-page Senate Bill 5077, “Making technical corrections to certain gender-based terms,” becomes effective on July 28, 2013 (Section 43 becomes effective December 1, 2013).  In addition to inserting “or her” after the word “his,” patrolmen become patrollers,  an ombudsman becomes an ombud, a fisherman becomes a fisher, the traditional term freshman becomes a first-year student, a unionized journeyman becomes a journey-level person, and signalmen are simply signalers. Perhaps the most trivial of the language modifications is that you now longer exhibit good penmanship, you exhibit good handwriting; something becoming increasingly rare in a digital age.

You sort of wonder about the intent, when “his or her” language is made superfluous by the possessive word “their” – something that makes total sense, but does not lead to political talking points or the promotion of a particular political agenda.

Washington State Senate Bill 5077 - Making technical corrections to certain gender-based terms.

Background: Since 1983 state law has required that all statutes be written in gender-neutral terms, unless a specification of gender is intended. In 2007 the Legislature passed ESB 5063, an act relating to removing gender references. The act changed gender-specific terms to gender-neutral terms in several chapters of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), including those chapters dealing with firefighters, police officers, bondspersons, and material suppliers. The Legislature directed the Code Reviser, in consultation with the Statute Law Committee, to develop and implement a plan to correct gender-specific references in the entire RCW. The Code Reviser must make annual legislative recommendations to make the RCW completely gender-neutral by June 30, 2015.

Summary: Gender-specific terms and references are made gender-neutral in several RCW Titles. For example, references to his are changed to his or her and clergyman is changed to member of the clergy. Titles relating to public service are included and made gender-neutral throughout.

You wonder if Washington State’s National Guard will no longer have airmen and seamen – only air and sea persons? And, what to do about “manholes” – personholes? I guess in Washington, mankind does not refer to humanity or the commonly accepted term for our Earth’s population, but now must be referenced by some generic term like peoplekind.

Susan Sarandon is no longer a feminist …

“It’s a bit of an old-fashioned word,” she said, referring to herself as a “humanist” instead because that word is “less alienating to people who think of feminism as a load of strident bitches and because you want everyone to have equal pay, equal rights, education, and health care.”  <Source>

As for being a strident bitch, I refer you to Susan’s parody piece, “White Man’s Dick” to raise awareness for UniteWomen.org.

White Man's D!#k with Susan Sarandon … from Susan Sarandon, Steve Agee, Casey Wilson, Melissa Stephens, JC Coccoli, Funny Or Die, Drew Droege, Tymberlee Hill, James Pumphrey, Ally Hord, Antonio Scarlata. Join Susan Sarandon, The Unite Women Organization and head to http://unitewomen.org/unite/ to find out more about the nationwide march on April 28 and how to get involved in you.   

Bottom line …

Corrupt and progressive politicians in Washington State deserve a new term of their own, something that describes their participation in the corrupt, sucking black hole of politics. But, since we can’t use the racially-charged word “black,” let’s just call them massholes.

As for the progressive, hyper-partisan  "Don't do as I do, Do as I say" Susan Sarrandon, you be the judge. But do you really want to rely on someone who needs to strap on their balls before responding to an emergency?

-- steve 

Reference Links …

Washington Senate Bill 5077

ARE YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS SUSPENDED AT CHECKPOINTS? WHY MANY AMERICANS HATE THE POLICE.

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 01:23 AM PDT

Here is a Fourth of July (2013) video of a DUI checkpoint stop that has gone viral …

While the driver appears to be a “smartass” in attempting his constitutional rights and law enforcement officers are trained to use a command voice, there are significant issues to be discussed.

  1. The police officer does not know what he might encounter and is proceeding in a manner that will keep himself an the driver safe. Police officers should have the right to go home to their families in one piece. It is often a dangerous and stress-filled job, even though you are surrounded by fellow officers.
  2. The police officer could have defused the situation by the use of an introductory statement. “Hi there, we are conducting a DUI safety checkpoint to keep drivers from encountering alcohol or drug-impaired drivers. Have you been drinking or using any drugs this evening? Do you have any alcohol or drugs in your vehicle. We are going to ask Rex, our drug dog to walk around your car. If the dog alerts, we will need to inspect your vehicle. Do you understand what I have said?”
  3. The officer could have asked for the driver’s identification and proof of insurance card. Again, with a preliminary statement. “Sir, before starting our dog check, I would appreciate it if you could show me your driver’s license and proof of insurance.” If there was any feedback, “We have been requested to perform these additional checks to keep unlicensed drivers and uninsured motorists off our roads to protect citizens such as yourself.”
  4. In response to the driver’s question about being detained, the officer should have replied: “This is a routine DUI-checkpoint operated under the laws of wherever. You are not being arrested unless you appear to have been drinking, using drugs, or have an open alcohol or drugs in the vehicle. Do you understand what I have said?”
  5. The officer should have ignored the window issue, and simply asked the driver to step away from the vehicle while the dog does his walk around.
  6. In response to references to the Constitution, the officer could have said: “Yes sir, I am pleased you understand the Constitution. It is the same constitution that I have taken an oath to uphold, defend, and protect.”
  7. In response to any damage that may have occurred by the search activity. “You may obtain a claim form at our office or city hall and file for reimbursement for your claim.”
  8. At the conclusion of the stop, the officer could have left the citizen with a positive feeling. “Thanks for your cooperation. You are helping to make our roads safer for all drivers.”

It is all a matter of attitude. Checkpoint supervisors should pay particular attention to officers barking out commands.

As for the driver, anyone with an internal camera is suspect and I am not sure that this was not a pre-arranged set-up. The time to argue your constitutional rights is not at a checkpoint, but in a court of law. If you believe that any officer violated your rights, you should file a formal complaint at the police department, city or county attorney’s office, or engage a lawyer. Should you believe you are being treated poorly, you should tell the officer that you feeling you are being unfairly or inappropriately treated and politely request to speak to their patrol supervisor. If they display rank, such as a sergeant, you could ask to speak to the captain or watch commander.

Bottom line …

There are any number of people on the internet with a vested interest in portraying law enforcement as thugs and bullies, or causing a confrontation specifically to pursue their political agenda. While these people might be technically correct, they are being assholes and making life harder for everyone who follows them through a checkpoint. The watchword is respectful courtesy. Something you give to get in return.

As for viral videos, they resonate for a purpose; they are funny, the teach a life-lesson, or they document bad behavior. It is up to you to decide which is which.

And, by the way, the only place your Constitutional rights may be suspended is at a border-zone checkpoint or a custom’s examination.

-- steve

RETROACTIVE GUILT: THE DANGERS OF UNLIMITED DATA COLLECTION, STORAGE AND MINING

Posted: 04 Jul 2013 10:17 PM PDT

Several friends have asked me whether or not I am worried about the current NSA “spying” scandal; especially since I research so many controversial issues for my blog. The short answer is NO!

As one who grew up with data processing, I am a fan of data collection, storage, and analysis; especially if it is being used to protect us from terrorists who are seeking to kill or enslave us. I am also a fan of the United States Constitution and the rule of law. Here is how I define the threat to individuals and the possible subversion of our Constitutions Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

Constitution of the United States – Fourth Amendment …

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Constitution of the United States – Fifth Amendment …

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himselfnor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of lawnor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

No fishing expeditions, especially those to find information that can be used to coerce testimony or actions. I find this as reprehensible as knowingly charging a spouse or other family member with a technical crime for the purposes of coercing an individual to act against his will. The founding fathers did not have an understanding of electronic data or intellectual property outside of the rights conveyed by contract, copyrights and patents. It will be up to the courts to determine if the collective body of your communications constitutes intellectual property and the government should be restricted for taking it for a public purpose with or without compensation. As to metadata, the data that describes the underlying data (such as an address or phone number), that is another court case waiting to be filed.

The dangerous part of data collection and data mining …

1.      The criminalization of human behavior, if not by design, then by default … 

It appears that we are suffering from too many laws. Laws, rules, and administrative regulations that conflict with each other, overlap each other to provide various interpretations, or that contain loopholes, exceptions, and unintended consequences.

Too many laws for the average man to read, interpret, and understand. Therefore it is most likely that you are guilty of a significant crime without even being aware of the law.

And, with each generation of attention-seeking politician attempting to prove their relevance and worth compounding the problem by proposing even more legislation leading to new laws without ever repealing and replacing the old laws.

2.      Gateway to coercion …

The collection and storage of data in a data warehouse presents a particular threat as it is a gateway to coercion – intimidating a victim to compel the individual to do something against their will by the use of physical or psychological pressure.

Assuming that some politician, political party, member of law enforcement, or a prosecutor wants to nullify your candidacy, impeach your testimony, illegally compel testimony, or simply engage in blackmail.

“Blackmail is when an offender threatens to reveal information about a victim or his family members that is potentially embarrassing, socially damaging, or incriminating unless a demand for money, property, or services is met.”

“Extortion is a form of theft that occurs when an offender obtains money, property, or services from another person through coercion. To constitute coercion, the necessary act can be the threat of violence, destruction of property, or improper government action.”

3.      The lack of checks and balances …

As we can plainly see from the current scandals swirling about the toilet-bowl that is Washington, many in positions of power have already decided that they support a superior political ideology, and since the ends have been predetermined, the means, fair or foul, justify the end result. Be it the election of a candidate or the passage of unpopular legislation.

With little or no government oversight, the hyper-politicization of the governments regulatory and law enforcement agencies, there are few who are immune from political pressure or brave enough to resist the desires of their superiors to call a halt to illegal activities using data gathered under pretenses such as the “war on terror.”

4.      Retroactive guilt …

By storing all of the collected data in data warehouses, the government can attest that the data is not being accessed for illegal or improper purposes; or without the necessary court approvals.

Until the day they want to coerce or convict an American citizen.

By putting forth a specious claim to a court – similar to the sworn affidavit of an FBI agent who, under oath, affirmed that Fox News reporter James Rosen was a co-conspirator in a case involving the theft or unauthorized use of classified information – the court issued a secret search warrant that allowed law enforcement authorities to obtain the telephone records of a journalist that were normally protected or subject to additional administrative or judicial procedures.

 r-1

With search warrant in hand, the authorities can now examine the data held in the data warehouse; perhaps not finding anything relevant, but something that could be used to coerce an individual into taking action against their will.    

Bottom line …

Morality and decency cannot be legislated. The Founding Fathers anticipated that our government would become our biggest problem as time went on, so the built three co-equal branches of government to act as buffers, dampers, and checks-and-balances against the usurpation of power and tyranny. This foresight has stood the test of time to produce a nation unlike any other of the modern era. Let us not forget that our nation is relatively young when compared to other European, Asian, and African societies. We have made mistakes as a nation, the predominant ones being the institutionalized mistreatment of Native Americans and slavery. But the damage will be mitigated over time. Not by fiat, but by the gradual growth of those individuals affected by disadvantage.

Politicians and those controlling our predominant institutions have been corrupted by easy money, power, and sex – a triad where any one element can be transmuted into another element. Tradition and duty has become of lesser importance than feathering your own nest.

We are living in a celebrity-driven culture where many individuals confuse and conflate celebrities with their public roles. Believing a celebrity who acts out a role written and staged by others with feigned sincerity actually is that character or embodies the behavior of that character. It is too bad that most people never have the opportunity to meet celebrities as they are: narcissists who are often self-doubting and self-loathing; engaging in alcohol, drugs, and dangerous behaviors because they know that they are not the person that the public appears to love. In fact, many don’t know exactly what makes their productions successful; knowing they can go from a hero to a zero in a single production or slip of the tongue. 

If you are wondering why I brought up the issue of celebrity, it is because most politicians and public officials mistake the power of their position and public acclaim for approval and are, in essence, celebrities. With all of the same faults and foibles encountered in the rest of the world. Or as an anonymous wag put it: “Politics is show business for ugly people.” In any event, they are and consider themselves to be privileged people.

So when you have “privileged people” they are likely to do or say anything to gain or maintain power.

Along with “privileged people,” you have political corrupt ideologies that confuse the situation. When the ends are predetermined, you will find that there are those who believe that any means, fair or foul, are justified to achieve the predetermined ends. Even to the point of corrupting the system and prosecuting individuals for their thoughts and actions should they run counter to the prevailing political ideology.

It is not so much that I do not trust the process, I just do not trust the gatekeepers – the people with the keys to the kingdom – in this age of corrupt politics and severely damaged political parties. Welcome to the age of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George Bush (41), George Bush (43), and of course, the notorious Barack Hussein Obama who appears to have scrubbed or hidden all of his personal data from the American public. We should, collectively, be so lucky as to criminalize the access to our data.

As for Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and other internet service vendors, perhaps they are telling the truth when they claim that the government does not have direct access to their servers. The operative word is "direct" as it is likely that the internet data stream is being tapped before it even arrives at their servers. In a delicious bit or irony, the NSA code name "PRISM" is likely to refer to a prism being able to split a single beam of light into two components, one for the intended recipient and one for the government.

I recommend that you join the Electronic Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org) to help in the task of aligning analog laws in a digital age.

-- steve

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