123.4 - Outrage of the Week: James Clapper tapped to establish panel to examine spying program

Outrage of the Week: James Clapper tapped to establish panel to examine spying program

So I haven't talked much about the monstrous policies and practices of the NSA in spying on Americans' phone calls, email, and internet use, nor on how the Obama gang has aided, abetted, advanced, and covered for the spooks.

I haven't largely because there has been so much about it, so much information, more revelations that anyone can keep up with, so many so fast that for the first time since 9/11, Americans are saying in polls that privacy concerns outweigh "fighting terrorism," that I am certain you have heard about it and while you may not know a lot of the details, you surely are aware of the overall thrust.

But this bit I have to tell you about. It’s the Outrage of the Week.

Just over a week ago, President Obama announced that he intended to arrange for the creation of an "independent group" of "outside experts" to assess and review the nation's intelligence gathering and surveillance technologies and programs.

And who has he picked to establish the group, to provide it with a formal existence? Who is the person who will help to, in the words of the Amazing Mr. O, "maintain the trust of the people" that there is "no abuse?"

Why, it's Director of National Intelligence James Clapper - the man who outright lied to Congress, the man who outright denied that the NSA collected any data on Americans, the man who outright lied to Congress about it, and who, when he was caught out, claimed he had "responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful, manner." Which was another lie because the most truthful answer would have been to say "Yes, we do spy on Americans on American soil." Because you did and you do and you do it on a mind-bogglingly massive scale.

But no, really, he later insisted to Andrea Mitchell, no, the agency doesn't collect information about Americans - and he could say that because, he told her, he had his own definition of the word "collection" and no matter how much information they gather, store, collate, and organize, no matter how much they soak up, none of that, according to him, has been "collected" until and unless some agent actually looks at some specific record.

Oh, well, that makes it all better.

The NSA was quick to emphasize that Clapper will not be in charge of this group, he won't even be on it. The members will be picked by the White House, they say, apparently, we're supposed to think, without Clapper's input. He will merely consult with the group and assist it when it needs access to classified information or security clearances.

Which means the man who lied to Congress about the existence of domestic spying is the man who will control the access to classified information which this group would need to actually examine the issue of domestic spying. Which takes on added significance when you consider that Clapper's own statement on the formation of the group refers to "national security," "advancing our foreign policy," and "the risk of unauthorized disclosure" but does not mention the issue of abuses.

The whole spying is itself an enormous outrage itself, but to have James Clapper anywhere near any group that's supposed to review the whole apparatus of spying with any hope of, in Obama's words "maintaining the trust of the people" that there is "no abuse" is an outrage within an outrage - and frankly just flat out offensive to boot.

Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/13/james-clapper_n_3748431.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/11/james-clapper-nsa-surveillance_n_3424620.html