Keith Alexander's Lobbying Calls To Congress Kicked Off With A Joke About How He Already Had Their Number
from the not-so-funny dept
Last week we had a story about how Nancy Pelosi helped kill the Amash Amendment to defund the controversial practice of having the NSA collect tons of info on every phone call made, in part by dragging along a bunch of Democratic representatives. Now, the National Review has some of the story from the other side of the aisle, about how the GOP leadership tried very very hard to keep the amendment from even coming to the floor, trying all sorts of procedural tricks. Eventually, it appears that John Boehner allowed the amendment to be voted on after a brief chat with Amash -- though no one seems exactly sure why. Boehner supports the surveillance program and voted against the amendment (which they note is rare, since he normally abstains from such votes).However, there is one tidbit in the article that struck me as interesting. We'd already mentioned how Keith Alexander of the NSA went on an emergency lobbying campaign with Congressional reps after learning that the amendment would actually come to a vote, but there's this little tidbit to add some color:
Alexander, the NSA chief, was forced to personally lobby members, calling their cell phones and opening with a joke that, yes, he already had their number.I'm all for people in government having a sense of humor. In fact, I think the world might be a better place if more people had a sense of humor, but somehow it seems insanely out of line and not particularly funny that the guy in charge of this massive spy program that we now know is collecting data on every single phone call would then call someone and kick off with a joke about his access to their phone numbers. This is not exactly a joking matter.
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Filed Under: congress, jokes, keith alexander, nsa, nsa surveillance
Reader Comments
The First Word
“Male lover: No, you hang up, I can't stop listening to your voice!
Keith: Aw, you two hang up!
*awkward silence before all hang up*
Now imagine if the NSA wiretaps Sexy Lines all over the country. They could share the lulz with us eh?
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Blackmail
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No Joke
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Male lover: No, you hang up, I can't stop listening to your voice!
Keith: Aw, you two hang up!
*awkward silence before all hang up*
Now imagine if the NSA wiretaps Sexy Lines all over the country. They could share the lulz with us eh?
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Re:
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Who's there?
We know where your children are right now and hope that you make the right decision in the Amash vote.
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Re: the NSA already did this
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Not only is it in poor taste, but it seems an odd way to convince someone to vote against an amendment. Along the lines of an accused murderer starting his interrogation by the police with, "Who do I have to kill to get a drink around here?"
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Re:
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Re: Re: the NSA already did this
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It continues:
"The NSA chief, however, conceded that his accuracy wasn't too great. One time, Alexander admits, after calling a supposed congressman and opening with his ice-breaking joke, the other side of the line answered with 'Do you want fries with that?'. Tuns out that he was calling Joe's Pizza shop. According to our sources (Joe), this actually happened several times.
When asked if this was the kind of accuracy we should expect from the NSA's anti-terrorism efforts, the NSA boss pointed at the sky and said 'Hey! What's that over there?' and scurried away.".
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@12
:P
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I have just one question for these chuckleheads...
"Whom do you serve?"
Because it would appear that you have collectively divorced yourselves completely from both the U.S. Constitution and "We the People", the self-same for whom the government is for, by and of.
- Winston
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Opinion
As much as I loath the NSA right now, I have to disagree with you and think that this actually is "funny".
Growing up on the Internet has taught me how to enjoy must humor, short of "hate" based humor. I can appreciate racial/religious stereo-type jokes and other "taboo" stuff, but leave out racial slurs and other hate based stuff.
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Politics is no longer really a two party system in this country anymore. Sure there are the rare exceptions (I'd say Ron Paul for the conservatives, Ron Wyden for the liberals, Bernie Sanders for the Independents, and maybe another handful here or there) but by and large most of them simply pander to, and throw out talking points (mostly about "hot button" concerns like abortion or gay rights) for whatever base they are pretending to cater to. Then after getting elected they simply follow the whims of the large corporate entities that supplied the funding and media access that got them elected.
Those corporate interest sometimes face enough pushback that they have to let some initiatives, like a SOPA or ACTA, die or become delayed for a while, but generally speaking once they have a wedge into the freedom of the general population it is rare they will give that wedge up.
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NSA is Ethically Bankrupt
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Re: No Joke
Nothing scares a politician like knowing there's someone with more power than them who can link them to all their illicit, illegal, and immoral activities.
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Re:
+funny
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Re: Opinion
It wouldn't surprise me at all if it were a threat though.
Here you have an NSA chief phoning your personal cell phone. His opening line is a "Joke" about already having your number. It's not hard to imagine all sorts of people and resources he might have access to in his position, and given that it's a very very grey area on whether or not any of this is legal already...
It's one thing to say you'd knowingly put your life on the line for someone else, it's an entirely different matter to actually do it.
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Tired old lines
Guess what? I find it offensive because he's running the biggest and most invasive spying program in the world, and all he can do is lobby for it to continue on the same lines.
Something about this story is very bad..I can't pinpoint it because it just is too pathetic.
I bet he has more than just their 'number'.
J. Edgar Hoover would be envious of it.
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Doesn't this also make him a liar?
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Re: Re:
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Re: No Joke
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Small government?
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