12 Comments

In 2020 I retired from NSA, where I worked with FISA data. I can state categorically that we were forbidden to monitor US citizens anywhere in the world. Every search we made was audited and one of the things auditors were to look for was reverse targeting of Americans by targeting those with whom they communicated. I would love to know the name of even one American who has been targeted without a warrant.

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I think this might have been why the author mentioned all the other agencies too - not to put out any one agency because chances are it’s happening in every one of them. How about naming one agency that doesn’t employ christian nationalists or christo-fascists? These people are the type of employees that would easily betray civilians - Jan6 as proof. I’ve personally experienced being on the receiving end of government invasion of privacy so if you need to know of one. Here I am sir.

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Presidential powers blew wide open after 9/11 with the creation of Homeland Security. It would be nice if Biden could or would dial back some of these “powers” but once ensconced, damn difficult to either give up or root out. This is exactly why Felon 34/45 is such a threat. Project 2025 is geared to use such powers. And should they fail to gain power this election, they will redouble their efforts for 2029. Count on it.

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These brokers should be outlawed altogether. Why are you only concerned about the government? The billionaires are every bit as dangerous. And we can’t vote them out of power.

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The billionaires want to sell me stuff. The government wants to silence me or put me in jail.

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The billionaires know your every move, and they buy and sell access to your mind -- and they make sure we have the best government money can buy. A pox on both houses!

(BtW, why does that government want to put you [in particular] in jail?)

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Welk , if u do something illegal

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Ah, the old "nothing to hide" argument:

https://moxie.org/2013/06/12/we-should-all-have-something-to-hide.html

I may have understated the threat billionaires pose, though:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerpielke/2020/01/02/how-billionaires-tom-steyer-and-michael-bloomberg-corrupted-climate-science/

I'm still more afraid of the government. They're far more likely to shoot me or imprison me.

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Those billionaires are selling your (ostensibly) private info to the government. Big Pharma gets to decide (in effect) whether you live or die. If you're concerned about having "something to hide," you don't want ANYBODY spying on you (or having life-or-death power over you) -- especially those who stand to make a buck by being in a position to do so.

Those with such concentrations of wealth have the power to corrupt governments (i.e., "the best government money can buy"), so the power of government (acting on their behalf) is secondary -- and they're always a step ahead of you or me (carefully putting decoys in place).

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In re Emergency powers : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Schmitt

It's no wonder Joint State Action cases and Bivens actions are being torn apart or barred by all sorts of exceptions machination - if I understand what you're suggesting is that government officials are buying "private sector" corporate snitch info to use against citizens instead of obtaining a warrant. It seems as tho even that would conform to the Rehnquistian exceptions to the Wilmington Parking Authority precedent - i.e., a symbiotic relationship between government actors and the private sector viz., you collect the info and we'll buy it from you.

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"Pregnant" in that one hand washes the other - ignorantia juris - O gee whiz we didn't know it was illegal !! it's become possibly the most popular plea in US Legal history.

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