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Is there any way to vote against the current way the FBI/CIA operates? They are straight up coercing witnesses with fake testimonies to get a man prison, whose
by DevKoala 5y ago
Is there any way to vote against the current way the FBI/CIA operates? They are straight up coercing witnesses with fake testimonies to get a man prison, whose only crime was sharing the truth about the shameful inner workings of our American government.
- fidesomnes 5y ago> Is there any way to vote against the current way the FBI/CIA operates? The SES is more equal than you, citizen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senior_Executive_Service_(United_States) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senior_Executive_Service_(Unit...
- deadite 5y agoThis sounds like a very anti-American sentiment. You don't get to air the dirty laundry of a country trying to keep a lid on chaos because they do something you don't like now and then. I want to know that the intelligence agencies, and the military that safe guard us, are able and willing to go to any length to preserve our way of living, even if it means they overstep. Not just one country, but all Five Eyes and then some. Because if they don't, there are actors all over the world who will take advantage of any "shame" and use it as a weapon until they subjugate you to their rule. Look at Russia and China for great examples of that. If you think the things these agencies do are so bad that they need to be voted against, you have no idea how bad things really are. So no, Assange's "only crime" wasn't "sharing the truth about the shameful inner workings of our American government." There's nothing to be ashamed about. He should be thankful he's still alive, and you should be thankful you can post this kind of a sentiment without having any repercussionary fear. Hope for your sake that it doesn't change.
- cmckn 5y agoThis is insane, “even if they overstep”? No one is above the law. What’s more American than democratic accountability? Telling American citizens to stop asking questions is appalling.
- pope_meat 5y agoReading this comment gave me anxiety. Liberty is unchecked authority. That's a take.
- DevKoala 5y agoI wish I had been able to read it before it got flagged. I do want to understand the perspective.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- neolog 5y agoI have so many questions about your background and upbringing. Edit: honestly I'm curious. Do you have family in the military or something?
- lawnchair_larry 5y agoIt would be of immense value to engage with folks of different backgrounds and upbringing to understand differences like this, but unfortunately the cancel culture HN downvote mob decided that you can’t have that discussion with him.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- sketchyj 5y agoThat's a lot of words but you didn't answer the question. The CIA and FBI are not accountable to Americans. You may be a fan of, or even work for, these institutions. But they are unaccountable and authoritarian and opaque.
- eternalban 5y agoThe interesting question to ask is to whom are they accountable.
- uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 5y agomessy web of blackmail, an mini economy where deception is currency
- DSingularity 5y agoMaybe nobody. Probably nobody. Nobody.
- pseudo0 5y agoAccountability likely peaked with the Church Committee (disclosed MKULTRA, COINTELPRO, etc), some of the results of which are still classified today, almost 50 years later. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Committee https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Committee
- ncmncm 5y agoNone of those programs were canceled, or the leaders prosecuted. All we imagine we know about them is what they published. Most people believe they tried to use ESP for spying, but all we really know is that they wanted people to believe so. Jon Ronson discovered recently that they still want people to believe it. It was a PSY-OP against the American public. The runup to the Iraq invasion was another. There certainly have been others.
- DevKoala 5y agoI always thought MKULTRA was a meme. Thank you.
- slipframe 5y ago> This sounds like a very anti-American sentiment Chilling words...
- Dah00n 5y agoIf that is "very anti-American sentiment" I'll bet a beer (or 10) that 99% of the earth share that "anti-American sentiment".
- sb057 5y agoVote for politicians who will pass laws that dictate how they are to operate. Alternatively, if it is an avenue in your state, start a referendum to pass a state law calling for a Constitutional Convention (requires 34 states) to pass an amendment to deal with it.
- d3ntb3ev1l 5y agoWe can’t even vote for politicians to fix potholes
- lugged 5y agoThis is why multi party systems work better than two party systems. You can have a party dedicated to potholes if you have enough potholes, and you can have a party dedicated to agency oversight. Both partys need to form coalitions to get any control, and need to compromise with each other or find win win situations for both parties. The two party system has similar inside groups that sort of do this but it isnt pronounced, people still fall back to party lines when pushed (instead of their own views), and none are forced to compromise for their constituents. If they toe the party line theyre safe.
- ipaddr 5y agoYou can have multi parties with having single issue parties. Single issue parties are short sighted and can't respond to areas outside of a issue because the party isn't unified. You need some idology.
- Buttons840 5y agoWhat would be the objective of the convention? "Let's update the Constitution to fix all thing things" sounds nice and all, but are there specific changes we want that "both sides" would be happy with?
- shadilay 5y agoVery funny. In reality politicians have very little impact on the operation of these agencies who exist in the permanent bureaucracy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKDdLWAdcbM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKDdLWAdcbM
- emmelaich 5y agoVote for the party which is most critical on them. Currently Republicans though it used to be the Democrats. Embedding undercover agitators in radical groups goes on all the time I'm sure. It's valuable but very easily abused, too.
- jbuhbjlnjbn 5y ago>Vote for the party which is most critical on them. >Currently Republicans though it used to be the Democrats. This statement shows the absurdity of a two-party political system. Voting for either party will not change anything. You need to vote for particular politicians, and if that's not possible, then there is no way at all for reform or change.
- h0l0cube 5y agoAdd to this that the Trump administration had the chance to pardon Assange, and there was a strong and impassioned campaign from his partner (of which he shares 2 children) putting the case forward, but instead they pardoned actual war criminals. So I'm not sure the Republican administration/voter base really cares that much for JA either. The military have to visibly protect their own so they can assure the next gifted killing-machine asset that they can indulge in what they joined up for.
- roenxi 5y agoIf you always reliably vote for (Party X) then paradoxically you are less likely to get your concerns addressed because they mainly need swing voters to win elections. People who switch parties to vote for their pet issue probably have a disproportionate impact on the outcomes, because both parties gain an incentive to take a position on that issue.
- dragonwriter 5y ago> If you always reliably vote for (Party X) then paradoxically you are less likely to get your concerns addressed because they mainly need swing voters to win elections Nope, they need to mobilize their voters and demobilize the opposition. The media narrative about the importance of swing voters is greatly exaggerated, but it justifies election year media drama like showcasing “undecided voter” panels at debates.
- justnotworthit 5y agoNot even an uncontrollable, unencumbered, outsider (Trump) critical of the FBI/CIA could make dent in 4 years.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- thakoppno 5y agoThe current US Senate majority leader once said: “Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.”
- shadilay 5y agoEven the local police can get back at you.[1] The FBI has a budget 1000x greater. https://citymonitor.ai/government/they-rely-you-being-intimidated-local-elected-officials-us-describe-how-police-unions-bully https://citymonitor.ai/government/they-rely-you-being-intimi...
- newacct583 5y agoI continue to be amazed at the level of competence ascribed to this man. Donald Trump was, at heart, a lazy do-nothing in search of sycophancy and praise. He had zero inclination to actually change anything about how the government operates. All he cared about was that it was "his". And to the extent he was ever "critical" of agencies, it was only because they said something (or leaked something) that embarrased him. All that "drain the swamp" bullshit? The fever swamp made that up. That was never Trump's gig, not once, from the day he showed up until he fled.
- chillwaves 5y agoSaved me a reply. I appreciate that!
- the_optimist 5y agoI understand this is how you feel. However, your reply reeks of not only anger, but of hatred. You haven’t succeeded in identifying biographic or factual characteristics that even merit inspection. Navel gazing.
- syshum 5y agoNo, and it is only going to get worse Since the Inception of the FBI they have declared war on the citizenry, they have zero respect for the constitution, seeing it as a hurtle to their power. They have done this under many names "War on crime", "War on Drugs", "War on Terror", and now "War on Domestic Extremism" They are all covers for the same abuse of power. The only way to end it is a complete reversion of decades and decades of legal frameworks that allows all levels of government to ignore the constitution, pass laws clearly outside the powers of Article 2 Section 8, and removal of all accountability under immunity practices like "Qualified Immunity" and "Sovereign Immunity" In sort it will take something on the order of another Constitutional Convention and a complete restructure of the federal government... So I doubt anything is going to change
- BLKNSLVR 5y agoAnd they only ever pursue the small targets. Their failure to actually prove that justice will catch up with the big fish at the top of the crime, drugs, and terror chains has resulted in the domestic extremism problem. The FBI's continued incompetency laid bare. Possibly by design.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- barry-cotter 5y agoNo.
- Cyberthal 5y agoA politician in conflict with the FBI and CIA? Someone who makes comments such as "Deep State Department," "drain the Swamp," and "witchhunt"? I'm having Trumble thinkinp of one. I Don't know aldbody offhand. He would have to be backed by the US military to have a realistic shot against such powerful factions of the US oligarchy. Who's popular with the military?