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posted by
martyb
on Sunday December 04 2016, @03:56AM
from the lets-start-the-monitoring-with-all-those-in-power dept.
from the lets-start-the-monitoring-with-all-those-in-power dept.
The FBI, National Security Agency and CIA are likely to gain expanded surveillance powers under President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress, a prospect that has privacy advocates and some lawmakers trying to mobilize opposition.
Trump's first two choices to head law enforcement and intelligence agencies -- Republican Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general and Republican Representative Mike Pompeo for director of the Central Intelligence Agency -- are leading advocates for domestic government spying at levels not seen since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Police state surveillance is only bad when the other party does it.
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FBI and NSA Poised to Gain New Surveillance Powers
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sillema sillema nika su
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Snotnose on Sunday December 04 2016, @05:20AM
If it were a democratic controlled congress the same bill would sail right through. The Powers That Be want more power, the rights of us low lives really don't matter.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by tisI on Sunday December 04 2016, @01:54PM
It's not just the system, it's the people you voted for.
Vote 'em all out? Replace 'em? Get rid of the corruption? Clean house?
No. You voted more corruption in and now we get the dictatorship the rightwingnuts feared Clinton, then Obama, were to bring upon them.
Wondering though how our new incoming enhanced police state will handle that massive gun sales that has been going on all those years.
We have many terrorists to be eradicated now from our house.
What to do. What to do.
I recall dubya was also pondering more privatized prisons being built for many of Americas nastiest citizens. Wondering when this idea will resurface. First the wall.
This may definitely be worth a bag of popcorn or two watching all those Larry the cable guy types having their doors kicked in and their guns taken from their "cold dead hands", while the cops tread on their "don't tread on me" flags, by the very people they rallied behind SO obnoxiously and belligerently as AC's on all those forums leading up to that holocaust of an election.
"Suppose you were an idiot...and suppose you were a member of Congress...but I repeat myself."
(Score: 2) by Marand on Sunday December 04 2016, @11:27PM
It's not just the system, it's the people you voted for.
How do you figure? The 2016 presidential election did a pretty good job of showing how it doesn't particularly matter what the people really want. The system is already busted in a way that inevitably degrades into only two viable parties and defensive voting, and of those parties, the (D) side had already picked its candidate before she was officially accepted and did everything possible to skew things in her favour regardless of what its people wanted. I didn't follow it as closely, but the (R) side also seemed to be doing the same kind of thing, but in reverse: rather than trying to push its favoured candidate, it seemed hellbent on blocking Trump with an "anyone but him!!!" approach that ultimately failed.
As a result, we ended up with a truly baffling election where Republicans were constantly slagging off their own candidate while the Democrats were force-feeding a narrative about how their intensely unlikeable candidate was mankind's beloved saviour. Beating Trump should have been an easy victory -- their leaks indicated the Democrats considered him such, in fact -- and if they hadn't interfered with their own processes it probably would have been.
Considered all together, it looks like what happened this year is the result of a select few attempting to manipulate a flawed system and the general public going "fuck you" and doing the opposite out of spite, rather than an actual representation of what people genuinely wanted. Granted, that's not a particularly good strategy for getting good changes made, but telling angry people to stop being angry doesn't really work.
It also didn't help that, due to the two-party nature, the voters got stuck having to choose between endorsing the Democrats' manipulative shenanigans or picking the Republicans' potentially self-destructive option. For someone like me that isn't entrenched in the D vs. R tribalism, there was no good choice. When you're offered a choice between a pound of shit in a blue bag or in a red bag, it doesn't matter what you choose, you're still getting shit.
(Score: 2) by tisI on Sunday December 11 2016, @02:31PM
The entire thing, election, was rigged, manipulated.
Took time. Lots of money.
We now got the biggest batch of cowards and crooks gathered in one group, all at one time.
Nothing good will come from this. Warm your KY
"Suppose you were an idiot...and suppose you were a member of Congress...but I repeat myself."