Well by and large things turned out for the NSA and The United Surveillance States of America much as anticipated by the overall speculations of the articles as posted last week. Senator Paul of Kentucky came through on running the clock out for the straight up renewal of the Patriot Act at midnight on Sunday and after 36 or so hours of (faux?) contentiousness the Senate passed the House bill, The USA Freedom Act, as is without amendments.
According to who you listen to this was either an appalling defeat for the safty and security of the US, a great victory for Constitutional liberty and civil rights, or a piece of empty window dressing that leaves the noxious content of the entirety of The Patriot Act relatively in place.
Dismissing the "Henny Penny" position as the boiler plate bombast of the maniacal control freaks of "The War Party," there DOES seem to be some encouragement to be taken away from recent events while maintaining an analytic realism that doesn't turn a blind eye to what remains to be done. Apparently both Snowden and The EFFare embracing the case for guarded celebration. Representing the spirit of a "nobodies-fool" radicalismstand the folks at AntiWar.Com and at the Ron Paul Institute .
(Oh and there is of course the squishy Democrat/Obama/Feinstein narrative of how great it is that the FREEDOM Act BOTH fulfills an urgent need for reform AND keeps our country safe from terrorist infiltration. Ho hum.)
P.S. Despite my poke at Obama, if he continues to keep us from being dragged into a war with Iran, that's "legacy" enough for me. Recall that the neocons and the War Party have been beating that drum since the final days of the Bush II presidency.
According to who you listen to this was either an appalling defeat for the safty and security of the US, a great victory for Constitutional liberty and civil rights, or a piece of empty window dressing that leaves the noxious content of the entirety of The Patriot Act relatively in place.
Dismissing the "Henny Penny" position as the boiler plate bombast of the maniacal control freaks of "The War Party," there DOES seem to be some encouragement to be taken away from recent events while maintaining an analytic realism that doesn't turn a blind eye to what remains to be done. Apparently both Snowden and The EFFare embracing the case for guarded celebration. Representing the spirit of a "nobodies-fool" radicalismstand the folks at AntiWar.Com and at the Ron Paul Institute .
(Oh and there is of course the squishy Democrat/Obama/Feinstein narrative of how great it is that the FREEDOM Act BOTH fulfills an urgent need for reform AND keeps our country safe from terrorist infiltration. Ho hum.)
P.S. Despite my poke at Obama, if he continues to keep us from being dragged into a war with Iran, that's "legacy" enough for me. Recall that the neocons and the War Party have been beating that drum since the final days of the Bush II presidency.