It’s the last week of Summer A. To those seniors who will be done with classes for good, congratulations! For everyone else, get ready for Summer B and lots of freshmen. This town is going to be overrun with Preview attendees and incoming students in the next few weeks. But fear not. We will be your rock during this time of transfer by faithfully delivering...
Darts & Laurels
Last week, National Security Agency chief Gen. Keith Alexander told Congress that the NSA’s widespread surveillance has disrupted dozens of terrorist attacks. Though he didn’t offer any more details than that, this week it was revealed that the NSA’s surveillance disrupted two “potential terrorist events.” Now the NSA chief said they have helped thwart plots more than 50 times. So, how many plots were really disrupted?
Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who first reported Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks, asked an even better question via Twitter: “When officials claim that ‘Bulk Surveillance Program X’ stopped Terror plots, must ask: could you have stopped it with narrower program?” Greenwald has been one of Snowden’s most vocal and well-spoken advocates. For his continued defense of liberty and support of an American hero, we give Glenn Greenwald a LAUREL.
Did anyone order a drone? Robert Mueller, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said yesterday that he has. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley asked the esteemed Mr. Mueller if the FBI uses drones for surveillance on U.S. soil. Mueller’s response: “Yes.” Though he did admit that drones are only “seldom” used, in today’s age one can hardly expect government officials to actually be truthful. And now that drones can be made about the size of a soda can, who knows what dangers domestic drones could pose to liberty. We scramble an unmanned aerial DART to Robert Mueller’s position. The NSA gave us his coordinates.
Here’s the big news, though: the Associated Press reports that the infamous NSA program used to collect data called Prism is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the government could be storing all of our electronic communications. The AP reports that while things are stored, they can’t be accessed until relevant for a national security investigation. Here’s the kicker, though: All of the data is stored indefinitely. From the AP: “Two decades from now, the government could have a trove of American emails and phone records it can tap to investigative whatever Congress declares a threat to national security.”
How many darts would it take to respond to this violation?
The president has actually been defending the actions of the NSA. In an interview this week with Charlie Rose, the president said, “So point number one, if you’re a U.S. person, then NSA is not listening to your phone calls and it’s not targeting your emails unless it’s getting an individualized court order. That’s the existing rule.” But Snowden’s data is showing that this isn’t the case. Either the president is mistaken or he’s lying about what he knows — neither of which shows he cares. We give President Barack Obama a please-start-caring-soon DART.
Dick Cheney has also been vocal this week with respect to the NSA surveillance. He appeared on Fox News to smear Snowden and call him a traitor. Imagine that. The former vice president of the United States calling Snowden — a man who stood for what’s right by revealing the dark works of the government — a traitor. Cheney gets a DART.
It’s a sad and frightful day for the people when Cheney and Obama, the right and the left, so many with power, hold hands and agree on something like this. See you in Summer B.
