One Of Congress's Biggest Defenders Of NSA Surveillance Suddenly Aghast That NSA May Have Spied On Him
from the funny-how-that-works dept
Remember how Dianne Feinstein -- a huge supporter of the intelligence community -- absolutely freaked out about surveillance when it happened to her staffers (when the CIA snooped on their network)? It would almost be funny how the defenders of surveillance react when they're being surveilled... if it weren't so tragic.As we noted earlier today, the WSJ just revealed that the NSA had no problem intercepting calls made by Congress as part of spying on foreign leaders, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And, as you might expect, some folks are quite upset about this... including former US Representative Pete Hoekstra, who headed the House Intelligence Committee a decade ago. He sent out a pair of angry tweets about the news:
WSJ report that NSA spied on Congress and Israel communications very disturbing. Actually outrageous. Maybe unprecedented abuse of power.Of course, this very same Pete Hoekstra, who long defended NSA surveillance, didn't seem to have much of an issue when the NSA was spying on anyone other than himself. Just last year, in a debate with Glenn Greenwald, Hoekstra mocked the idea that anyone was upset at the NSA spying on foreign governments and said if there was anything to complain about, it was that the NSA allowed such info to leak:
NSA and Obama officials need to be investigated and prosecuted if any truth to WSJ reports. NSA loses all credibility. Scary.
If the country's intelligence techniques leak, what is to say our enemies won't also review the information, Hoekstra asked. He laughs at foreign governments who are shocked they've been spied on because they, too, gather information.Uh huh. But suddenly when it's his communications, the NSA "loses all credibility" and there needs to be an "investigation"?
"Spying is a matter of fact," Hoekstra said. "The mistake that we made is that we had a NSA that did not put in the protections that it need to protect (it) ... they enabled someone like Edward Snowden to steal our documents and steal our national securities to the world."
And here's the very same Pete Hoekstra talking about how he was personally briefed on the "safeguards" of the NSA program and how he trusts the NSA to never violate civil liberties:
“I was briefed by the vice president and then-head of the NSA, Michael Hayden, and it was from my perspective a very thorough briefing,” recalled Hoekstra in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. “They talked about what the capabilities of the program were, how the programs functioned, and the protections that were put in place to make sure that American civil liberties were protected.”Go on...
The Michigan Republican said he met with some of the people who administered the programs and came away convinced “they clearly understood the responsibilities that they had to No. 1, do their job, but also to protect Americans' civil liberties.”I see...
Also, this is the very same Hoekstra, who back when he was running the House Intelligence Committee blatantly misled the public about the surveillance powers of the NSA. In that case, somewhat ironically, Hoekstra attacked a bill called the RESTORE Act, that would have granted a tiny bit more oversight over situations where (you guessed it) the NSA was collecting information on Americans. Hoekstra falsely argued that this would make it harder to track terrorists overseas (despite the fact that their communications weren't subject to the law). But now that his own communications got sucked up in surveillance efforts targeted at foreigners, it's a giant scandal?
Beginning to think that being a total hypocrite on these issues should be called "being a total Hoekstra."
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Filed Under: congress, dianne feinstein, hypocrites, nsa, pete hoekstra, spying, surveillance
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How dare they spy on me, do they know who I am?
Heads will roll.
Now, about that spying upon you, tough shit you peons.
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You're Obviously Confused
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Re: You're Obviously Confused
You're either with us or against us!
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Re: You're Obviously Confused
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Re: Re: You're Obviously Confused
Was just about to thank you for that when I realized that (bright spot here maybe?) we don't seem to have seen Gene McCarthy's spiritual descendant or successor (Deo gratias).
At least, not yet.
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Re: Re: Re: You're Obviously Confused
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Re: You're Obviously Confused
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Re: You're Obviously Confused
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Re: You're Obviously Confused
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"Riley" == Supremes didn't want THEIR cellphones searched
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In other news...
Reap the whirlwind.
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Seething
Some insults are rude, but being called even a partial Hoekstra is out of bounds. Take it back!
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(And I should know, Hoekstra was the Congressman from my district.)
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so now we just need to unencrypt all congress devices...
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I doubt we will see anything concrete happen.
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That's the least you can do.
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Ah, he's a Republican
* "We need to have better family values in this country, but ignore the fact that I'm texting underage boys."
* "Unwed teenage girls are bad and they're a drain on our society. Oh, look, Bristol Palin had her second child from a second father and she's not married. How brave."
* "Drug users are bad and should go to jail for life. Except me. I don't abuse Oxycontin- I can stop anytime I want."
* "Obama wasn't born in this country [though he was] so he can't be president. Cruz was born in Canada but he can be president."
* "Obama is a Muslim even though he attended church with a controversial Christian pastor."
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Re: Ah, he's a Republican
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Re: Ah, he's a Republican
Regarding Obama being a muslim.
there is a saying that reminds us to judge people by the fruits of their labors... so yes Obama is undeniably a Muslim by his own works! He had discontinued some Christian celebrations in the Whitehouse and has invited some Muslims celebrations.
If attending Church is all that is required to be a Christian then there are a lot more of them around than anyone knows. And if attendance is enough for proof then why do you give Obama a pass on some of the more "questionable" churches he has attended.
Looks to me like you are just a tool for the left.
The birthright bullshit is a show created for and maintained by the tards running those games. Both Obama and Cruz had American Citizens for at least 1 parent during their birth. Both are legitimate US Citizens regardless of their location of birth!
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Re: Re: Ah, he's a Republican
Just because someone doesn't live up to YOUR standards of what a "good Christian" should be does not make them a Muslim. People like you make me sick.
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Re: Ah, he's a Republican
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The Merkel effect
My guess is that it must be some kind of virus that people get when they are elected.
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Isn't it obvious? Seems obvious to me.
And government is about power, and power brokers. So it's a little unsettling for any of them to learn they didn't have as much power as they thought.
That's what all this noise is about. Hoekstra just found out he didn't have as much power as he thought.
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we are rapidly approaching active dictatorship, where neither congress nor courts that don't follow orders matter even a little.
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Hoekstra was always a duplicitous coward
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What do you think the NSA is for??
The Citizens have been kept in the dark for years...WHO knows more about whats going on then Those in the government?? Those in the the military..?
Why would they wish to monitor it?? Blackmail? Military funding? NSA funding? any other ideas here??
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Re: What do you think the NSA is for??
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three words
you can put them in correct order right?
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Just imagine...
How many members of the three branches of government are susceptible to blackmail?
The old adage about the Golden Rule used to be "he who has the gold, rules" but now it's "he who has the information, rules."
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Re: Just imagine...
Information is golden. Same basic rule.
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Not surprising
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Re: Not surprising
Which is one of the main reasons they were so happy to push the population into stock market gambling for financial retirement. The best way to profit from insider trading is to have a bunch of people throwing their life's savings into your con game. Whoopee! Good for you, bad for them. Fuck 'em.
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He still supports anti freedom laws just when they are exempted for him.
He is a traitor and should be hung as one.
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I see good in this
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Re: I see good in this
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Turn-about...
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Schadenfreude
It's like this, if a spy agency (NSA) is going to spy on foreign politicians, when are they most likely to want to? When that target is talking to someone else in power (Hoekstra) or when he is talking to a nobody (e.g. birthday wish to a neice). It seems obvious to me that Hoekstra was an ideal secondsry target.
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Dont you fucking dare complain
Here let me enforce your conditioning
TERRORISTS
There, there......better?
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Harry Hogge: All right. While we're still under a caution, I want you to go back out on that track and hit the pace car.
Cole Trickle: Hit the pace car?
Harry Hogge: Hit the pace car.
Cole Trickle: What for?
Harry Hogge: Because you've hit every other goddamned thing out there, I want you to be perfect.
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