Justin Amash: Mike Rogers Isn't Overseeing The Intelligence Community, He's Conspiring To Cover Up Its Activities

from the does-the-nsa-have-a-talking-bear? dept

Rep. Justin Amash has been highlighting for months how Rep. Mike Rogers, the head of the House Intelligence Committee seems to have gone out of his way to withhold information from Congress. In a recent speech, he teed off on Rogers, noting that while his job as head of the Intelligence Committee is supposed to be "oversight," it's actually been one of collusion with the White House to "cover up" the intelligence community's activities. Amash also responded to completely misleading (and, frankly, insulting) statements from Rogers' office implying that Rogers did make the necessary information "available" by inviting them to "classified briefings." However, Amash explained how those sessions were ridiculous because they weren't explanations about what was going on, but a sick game of 20 questions where Reps who were interested had to poke around in the dark:
But Amash said that intelligence officials are often evasive during classified briefings and reveal little new information unless directly pressed.

"You don't have any idea what kind of things are going on," Amash said. "So you have to start just spitting off random questions. Does the government have a moon base? Does the government have a talking bear? Does the government have a cyborg army? If you don't know what kind of things the government might have, you just have to guess and it becomes a totally ridiculous game of twenty questions."
Of course, now I want to know about the NSA's talking bear. And the moon base.
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Filed Under: briefings, intelligence committee, justin amash, mike rogers, nsa, nsa surveillance


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  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 10 Oct 2013 @ 11:38am

    Of course, now I want to know about the NSA's talking bear. And the moon base.

    At least we know the Government isn't planning to build Death Stars. Sounds like a lot of transparency to me.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Rikuo (profile), 10 Oct 2013 @ 11:51am

      Re:

      Of course, now I want to know about the NSA's talking bear. And the moon base."

      But for some reason you don't want to know about the cyborg army?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Mike Masnick (profile), 10 Oct 2013 @ 11:53am

        Re: Re:

        But for some reason you don't want to know about the cyborg army?


        I already know *all* about that.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Loki, 11 Oct 2013 @ 6:00am

        Re: Re:

        We already know about the cyborg army. Who do you think keeps voting these assclowns into office term after term.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 10 Oct 2013 @ 12:40pm

      Re:

      There is no talking bear as this is a spy agency, talking is against the mission statement. (Don't ask which languages the spying bear understands)

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Oblate (profile), 10 Oct 2013 @ 5:21pm

      Re:

      The talking bear has been put on furlough and is not allowed to comment.

      The crew of the moon base was declared non-essential and ordered to wait outside for the duration of the sequester. They seem to have adjusted to this well, as they have not complained for several days.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Loki, 11 Oct 2013 @ 6:03am

      Re:

      Are you sure? What do you think the moon base is for?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    out_of_the_blue, 10 Oct 2013 @ 11:58am

    Actually, anyone who reads infowars.com or whatreallyhappened KNOWS

    so if Amash doesn't know the general outlines of the surveillance state, it's Beltway blindnesss.

    Throwing in "talking bear" is worse than useless, as every 13-year old seizes on that -- AND STOPS asking the real questions. -- So was that just a quip, or intended for distraction? Discuss.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Gwiz (profile), 10 Oct 2013 @ 12:59pm

      Re: Actually, anyone who reads infowars.com or whatreallyhappened KNOWS

      Actually, anyone who reads infowars.com or whatreallyhappened KNOWS



      Is that where you are getting your information from?? Too funny.

      But, thanks anyways Blue. This actually provides some insight as to why you comment the way you do.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Beech, 10 Oct 2013 @ 1:50pm

      Re: Actually, anyone who reads infowars.com or whatreallyhappened KNOWS

      It's called hyperbole, and is a valid rhetorical advice, much unlike slinging ad homs.

      The real point is this: An actual representative went to an actual briefing wanting to get information about legitimate problems, but was instead given a full snow job and forced to draw his own conclusions.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    TheKids, 10 Oct 2013 @ 12:11pm

    Question 21 for the NSA: what filters are in place to not collect data on children? Are US children being spied upon? Is their data preserved and stored?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    You're a Gazelle! (profile), 10 Oct 2013 @ 12:23pm

    He Forgot the Most Important Question

    Is it bigger than a breadbox?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    JH, 10 Oct 2013 @ 12:31pm

    What's the mechanism for firing the chair of a committee?

    For the non-Americans of us here, who has the power to fire the chair of a Congressional committee?

    If enough members of the House or the Senate respectively wish to, can they force a vote of no confidence in the chair? Or one in the committee as a whole, and have its members reselected?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 10 Oct 2013 @ 12:42pm

      Re: What's the mechanism for firing the chair of a committee?

      but as we see over and over when the referees are picked by the coaches and the coaches are picked by the players you hardly ever see yellow card.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Ben (profile), 10 Oct 2013 @ 1:08pm

      Re: What's the mechanism for firing the chair of a committee?

      This is where most of the power of Speaker of the House resides - the Speaker controls the assignment of members of his/her party to committees. Senior (majority party) member of the committee is "usually" the chair. In the Senate it is the Majority Leader. The minority leaders assign the "other" openings on the committees.

      Of course the day-to-day power comes from controlling how legislation is brought before the respective houses, but you really can't underestimate the power (and payoff) of being able to assign chairmanships.

      The Speaker/Majority Leader can take away committee membership pretty much at will, so that is one way a chairman could be removed.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 11 Oct 2013 @ 2:51am

      Re: What's the mechanism for firing the chair of a committee?

      If enough members of the House or the Senate respectively wish to…


      Article I, Section 5:
      Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings…

      Almost anytime you hear about some bit of procedural bother the House or Senate has gotten itself into, just remember that either house can change their own rules. Anytime they have the political will to do so.

      By simple majority.

       

      Everything else is just smoke and mirrors. Political theater—mixed in with a bit of good ol' tradition and hoary precedent.

      They determine their own rules.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 Oct 2013 @ 12:54pm

    So, just how smart is this talking bear? About average, or...?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Machin Shin (profile), 10 Oct 2013 @ 1:12pm

    So when are we going to get the leaked documents about the talking bear that lives in the moon base guarded by a cyborg army?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 10 Oct 2013 @ 1:24pm

    Cyborg army eh?
    I already know *all* about that.

    Oh do tell. Anything juice our less favorite troll can take back to Infowars? Now that we have a source of info from him all begins to become a little clearer. Hey ootb, did you know Infowars and Google are conspiring against you? (surely we can get him to cock his tin foil hat on that one).

    Does Alexander and Clapper have any idea they have really pissed off the public with the Snowden leaks of what is going on?

    All this business with trust us has went about as far as it's going to go. All of Alexander's personal magnetism doesn't transfer over the net. I trust him less than I do the government and at this point that means not at all.

    It's time for some serious shake up of Washington.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Brazilian Guy, 10 Oct 2013 @ 5:50pm

      Response to: Anonymous Coward on Oct 10th, 2013 @ 1:24pm

      "It's time for some serious shake up of Washington."

      If you are thinking about twerking in front of the monument, i applaud your intentions, but that usually ends in jail.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Beech, 10 Oct 2013 @ 1:53pm

    Amash

    This is why I love Justin Amash. He is quite clearly one of the "good ones," one of the very few I know of. He actually posts the rationale behind everyone of his votes on his facebook page. It's almost something like transparency!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    The Groove Tiger (profile), 10 Oct 2013 @ 3:38pm

    What about the talking cyborg bear armies on the Moon?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 11 Oct 2013 @ 2:11am

    the real questions surely are

    a)who put him in that position?

    b)how has he managed to stay there?

    c)apart from lie continuously about everything, to everyone, regardless of their positions, what has he actually achieved/done?

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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