5 ms·

Ron Wyden is a national treasure. One of a very short list of DC politicians who make any effort whatsoever to understand tech.

mtgx 8y ago
I'm kind of surprised they let him in the Senate Intelligence Committee for so long. It seems like everyone else in that committee is basically an "anti-Wyden" or pro-complete surveillance. I think the only reason they haven't tried to push him out is because they don't want to put him in a position where his ethics will compel him to tell everyone exactly what the intelligence community has been doing. Wyden generally tries to get the intelligence executives to come out with the truth themselves, but 99% of the time they don't or they mislead the public, and there's little he can do about it. As a Senator Wyden has complete immunity to blow the whistle on whatever national security intelligence he wants on the Senate floor, but he's too much of a nice guy to do that - unless they force him out with their shenanigans.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > It seems like everyone else in that committee is basically an "anti-Wyden" or pro-complete surveillance. Along with Wyden, Harris and Heinrich voted against approving the renewal of Section 702, and while Feinstein didn't vote against renewal, she did before that join with Harris and others in supporting an amendment, which was defeated, which would have added a warrant requirement before accessing the contents of American’s communications pulled in in the course of surveillance under 702. So, while Wyden may be the strongest anti-surveillance voice, it is not th case that the rest of the Committee (particularly on the Democratic side) is unilaterally pro-surveillance anti-Wydens.
  - Bartweiss 8y ago
    > Feinstein didn't vote against renewal, she ...[supported] an amendment, which was defeated I'm curious if anyone knows the Washington dirt on this one. Feinstein has a long history of being aggressively pro-surveillance, far more than basically any other Democrat. (Something to do with having her house bombed and shot at early in her career, perhaps...) For Congresspeople with awkward positions, it's pretty standard to take the occasional favorable-looking vote on something you know is doomed to fail. So... would Feinstein have known in advance that the 702 amendment was doomed? And, harder to prove, would she have voted differently if it hadn't been?
  - mtgx 8y ago
    Feinstein has almost single-handedly pushed for two renewals of FISA 702. So I wouldn't give her too much credit on that.
- kevinmchugh 8y ago
  I don't know if it's because he's a nice guy. I think you identified the reason earlier. He's avoided direct whistle-blowing because that could get him removed from the Intelligence Committee. The only reason the committee hasn't tried to force him out is because he'd talk, and he won't talk so he doesn't get forced out. He'd rather be there and be the bulwark, and occasionally get people to perjure themselves. It's an odd game-theoretic stalemate.
- jasonwatkinspdx 8y ago
  Wyden has said that he personally takes his oaths of confidentiality quite seriously and so seeks to accomplish what he can while staying within them.
dgzl 8y ago
I'm proud to have him in my home state of Oregon. That seems like a rare feeling to have about a politician.
- sircastor 8y ago
  Me too. It's sometimes frustrating with Senator Wyden that whenever I get encouraged to "call my representatives" I find out that he already advocates the position I hold, sometimes articulated better than I could've done myself.
  - RosanaAnaDana 8y ago
    Free's up time for calling other peoples representatives.
    - travmatt 8y ago
      The first thing staff screen incoming calls for what district you vote in - if you’re not from their district they usually won’t follow up on a call, unless there was some extenuating circumstance. Most representative’s offices do listen to their constituents, however.
      - mokus 8y ago
        I wonder if people from other constituencies called Sen. Wyden’s offices en masse to thank him, would that news get around to the other offices and maybe get some attention?
  - meej 8y ago
    When this happens, call or write anyway to thank him.
  - mjevans 8y ago
    Please DO call them up and say thank you for representing your views so well without you /having/ to call up.
  - 8y ago
spathi_fwiffo 8y ago
Not to short-change his effort, but actually trying to understand the thing on which you are working, doesn't make you a national treasure. He's a cromulent fellow, everyone else around him is just a national disgrace.
- mehrdadn 8y ago
  > Not to short-change his effort, but actually trying to understand the thing on which you are working, does You're aware he does more than just "trying to understand"?
  - Bartweiss 8y ago
    Wyden and Udall spend a lot of political capital pissing off some very large players over these topics, from telecoms companies to the NSA. And for their trouble, they mostly got squat until Snowden, which at least them them start yelling "See, we said it was awful and you'd be mad if you knew!" Maybe beating this drum is worth donations and support today, I seriously hope so, but they deserve serious praise for standing on conscience all that time.
- Bartweiss 8y ago
  > trying to understand It's better than that, though. He and Udall have spent years talking about mass surveillance and telecoms abuses as major problems, and made very few friends doing so. I agree that "in Congress but acting like a decent human" wouldn't be enough, and it frustrates me endlessly that positions like "was mostly against torture most of the time" are somehow laudable when they come out of Congress. But Wyden's access to confidential briefings means he's actually sounded a lot of alarm bells that other people couldn't, and that deserves some recognition.
deathanatos 8y ago
Frankly, I wish we could get CA to take note, and unelect Senator Feinstein: she has been against strong encryption[1] (and in fact, on the particular bill mentioned in [1] which would require companies to decrypt user data, Ron Wyden tweeted, "I will do everything in my power to block Burr-Feinstein anti-encryption bill. It makes Americans less safe."); she co-sponsored PIPA[2]; and said, "I don't look at [Snowden's acts] as being a whistleblower. I think it's an act of treason" [3] despite being the Chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence when the then-DNI lied about whether the NSA was spying on Americans — revelations we learned about because of Snowden. (And again, we find Ron Wyden! He's the very person who asked the question "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?") Alas, she got 44% of the vote in the primary, so I don't think that'll happen. [1]: https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/13/burr-feinstein-encryption-bill-is-officially-here-in-all-its-scary-glory/ https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/13/burr-feinstein-encryption-... [2]: http://www.ontheissues.org/Economic/Dianne_Feinstein_Technology.htm http://www.ontheissues.org/Economic/Dianne_Feinstein_Technol... [3]: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/304573-sen-feinstein-snowdens-leaks-are-treason http://thehill.com/policy/defense/304573-sen-feinstein-snowd...

mtgx 8y ago

I'm kind of surprised they let him in the Senate Intelligence Committee for so long. It seems like everyone else in that committee is basically an "anti-Wyden" or pro-complete surveillance. I think the only reason they haven't tried to push him out is because they don't want to put him in a position where his ethics will compel him to tell everyone exactly what the intelligence community has been doing. Wyden generally tries to get the intelligence executives to come out with the truth themselves, but 99% of the time they don't or they mislead the public, and there's little he can do about it. As a Senator Wyden has complete immunity to blow the whistle on whatever national security intelligence he wants on the Senate floor, but he's too much of a nice guy to do that - unless they force him out with their shenanigans.

dragonwriter 8y ago
> It seems like everyone else in that committee is basically an "anti-Wyden" or pro-complete surveillance. Along with Wyden, Harris and Heinrich voted against approving the renewal of Section 702, and while Feinstein didn't vote against renewal, she did before that join with Harris and others in supporting an amendment, which was defeated, which would have added a warrant requirement before accessing the contents of American’s communications pulled in in the course of surveillance under 702. So, while Wyden may be the strongest anti-surveillance voice, it is not th case that the rest of the Committee (particularly on the Democratic side) is unilaterally pro-surveillance anti-Wydens.
- Bartweiss 8y ago
  > Feinstein didn't vote against renewal, she ...[supported] an amendment, which was defeated I'm curious if anyone knows the Washington dirt on this one. Feinstein has a long history of being aggressively pro-surveillance, far more than basically any other Democrat. (Something to do with having her house bombed and shot at early in her career, perhaps...) For Congresspeople with awkward positions, it's pretty standard to take the occasional favorable-looking vote on something you know is doomed to fail. So... would Feinstein have known in advance that the 702 amendment was doomed? And, harder to prove, would she have voted differently if it hadn't been?
- mtgx 8y ago
  Feinstein has almost single-handedly pushed for two renewals of FISA 702. So I wouldn't give her too much credit on that.
kevinmchugh 8y ago
I don't know if it's because he's a nice guy. I think you identified the reason earlier. He's avoided direct whistle-blowing because that could get him removed from the Intelligence Committee. The only reason the committee hasn't tried to force him out is because he'd talk, and he won't talk so he doesn't get forced out. He'd rather be there and be the bulwark, and occasionally get people to perjure themselves. It's an odd game-theoretic stalemate.
jasonwatkinspdx 8y ago
Wyden has said that he personally takes his oaths of confidentiality quite seriously and so seeks to accomplish what he can while staying within them.

dgzl 8y ago

I'm proud to have him in my home state of Oregon. That seems like a rare feeling to have about a politician.

sircastor 8y ago
Me too. It's sometimes frustrating with Senator Wyden that whenever I get encouraged to "call my representatives" I find out that he already advocates the position I hold, sometimes articulated better than I could've done myself.
- RosanaAnaDana 8y ago
  Free's up time for calling other peoples representatives.
  - travmatt 8y ago
    The first thing staff screen incoming calls for what district you vote in - if you’re not from their district they usually won’t follow up on a call, unless there was some extenuating circumstance. Most representative’s offices do listen to their constituents, however.
    - mokus 8y ago
      I wonder if people from other constituencies called Sen. Wyden’s offices en masse to thank him, would that news get around to the other offices and maybe get some attention?
- meej 8y ago
  When this happens, call or write anyway to thank him.
- mjevans 8y ago
  Please DO call them up and say thank you for representing your views so well without you /having/ to call up.
- 8y ago

spathi_fwiffo 8y ago

Not to short-change his effort, but actually trying to understand the thing on which you are working, doesn't make you a national treasure. He's a cromulent fellow, everyone else around him is just a national disgrace.

mehrdadn 8y ago
> Not to short-change his effort, but actually trying to understand the thing on which you are working, does You're aware he does more than just "trying to understand"?
- Bartweiss 8y ago
  Wyden and Udall spend a lot of political capital pissing off some very large players over these topics, from telecoms companies to the NSA. And for their trouble, they mostly got squat until Snowden, which at least them them start yelling "See, we said it was awful and you'd be mad if you knew!" Maybe beating this drum is worth donations and support today, I seriously hope so, but they deserve serious praise for standing on conscience all that time.
Bartweiss 8y ago
> trying to understand It's better than that, though. He and Udall have spent years talking about mass surveillance and telecoms abuses as major problems, and made very few friends doing so. I agree that "in Congress but acting like a decent human" wouldn't be enough, and it frustrates me endlessly that positions like "was mostly against torture most of the time" are somehow laudable when they come out of Congress. But Wyden's access to confidential briefings means he's actually sounded a lot of alarm bells that other people couldn't, and that deserves some recognition.

deathanatos 8y ago

Frankly, I wish we could get CA to take note, and unelect Senator Feinstein: she has been against strong encryption[1] (and in fact, on the particular bill mentioned in [1] which would require companies to decrypt user data, Ron Wyden tweeted, "I will do everything in my power to block Burr-Feinstein anti-encryption bill. It makes Americans less safe."); she co-sponsored PIPA[2]; and said, "I don't look at [Snowden's acts] as being a whistleblower. I think it's an act of treason" [3] despite being the Chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence when the then-DNI lied about whether the NSA was spying on Americans — revelations we learned about because of Snowden. (And again, we find Ron Wyden! He's the very person who asked the question "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?") Alas, she got 44% of the vote in the primary, so I don't think that'll happen. [1]: https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/13/burr-feinstein-encryption-bill-is-officially-here-in-all-its-scary-glory/ https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/13/burr-feinstein-encryption-... [2]: http://www.ontheissues.org/Economic/Dianne_Feinstein_Technology.htm http://www.ontheissues.org/Economic/Dianne_Feinstein_Technol... [3]: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/304573-sen-feinstein-snowdens-leaks-are-treason http://thehill.com/policy/defense/304573-sen-feinstein-snowd...