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For that to be true, that would mean that the existing president would have been campaigning to curb the powers of the NSA before he became president and then a

by junto 12y ago

For that to be true, that would mean that the existing president would have been campaigning to curb the powers of the NSA before he became president and then afterwards flip flopped, changed his mind and backed off to the point of supporting more surveillance. No way! That actually happened! [1] my god, why aren't the American public and press even asking these questions? However, he must have changed his mind for some other reason, because otherwise that would mean the NSA blackmailed the president of the USA. Which of course is completely unrealistic! [1] http://www.propublica.org/article/the-surveillance-reforms-obama-supported-before-he-was-president http://www.propublica.org/article/the-surveillance-reforms-o...

Istof 12y ago
Obama did say everything he needed to be elected.
kmonsen 12y ago
There is also a long history of doing this, just one example: https://www.google.com/search?q=fbi%20mlk https://www.google.com/search?q=fbi%20mlk Another (not so clear) example is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Spitzer_prostitution_scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Spitzer_prostitution_scan... He was called "Wall Streets worst nightmare", and suddenly he has to resign because he spent time with a prostitute.
- maxerickson 12y ago
  Spitzer was also evading financial regulations. Or do you mean to imply that it was a fabricated hit job? Because to me it seems to be a real problem when a law enforcement official is giving himself special treatment.
  - bsder 12y ago
    > Or do you mean to imply that it was a fabricated hit job? Suspected parallel construction. They used illegal collected records in order to find the dirt, and then dug it out using other means that were quasi-legal. That having been said, an anti-prostitution crusader who is using prostitutes deserves exactly what he got. If he hadn't been a crusader, I would have been sympathetic. It just like Republican congressmen. I really don't care how or with whom they're having sex, as long as they aren't crusading against what they, themselves, are doing.
- sneak 12y ago
  Joseph Nacchio is a better example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Nacchio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Nacchio They threw a bunch of insider trading charges at him when he impeded efforts by the NSA to get Qwest (of which he was chairman and CEO at the time) to do warrantless bulk collection.
- Spooky23 12y ago
  Spitzer was out of control. His sin was alienating all of those around him.... Many folks in Albany were cheering his demise. The other two leaders of the legislature have been prosecuted for corruption. His Lieutenant Governor upon succeeding Spitzer disclosed that he was a cocaine user that routinely cheated on his wife. You need to look at Spitzer through the lens of corruption that is NY politics... He was a victim of hubris, not conspiracy.
rl3 12y ago
I don't think it's blackmail. The NSA is probably afraid of the executive branch, not the other way around. More likely, it's simply the continued concentration of executive power combined with fear of political fallout in the event an attack happened in the wake of scaling back these programs.
glitchdout 12y ago
Given that the NSA spied on Obama when he was still a wannabe-senator, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was blackmailed [1]. Also, just watch candidate Obama debate President Obama on government surveillance [2]. I mean, short of someone providing a document detailing how the NSA intents on spying on the next presidents of the United States and manipulating them, I don't see any more clear evidence than this. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6m1XbWOfVk&t=3m11s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6m1XbWOfVk&t=3m11s [2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BmdovYztH8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BmdovYztH8

by junto 12y ago

Istof 12y ago

Obama did say everything he needed to be elected.

kmonsen 12y ago

There is also a long history of doing this, just one example: https://www.google.com/search?q=fbi%20mlk https://www.google.com/search?q=fbi%20mlk Another (not so clear) example is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Spitzer_prostitution_scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Spitzer_prostitution_scan... He was called "Wall Streets worst nightmare", and suddenly he has to resign because he spent time with a prostitute.

maxerickson 12y ago
Spitzer was also evading financial regulations. Or do you mean to imply that it was a fabricated hit job? Because to me it seems to be a real problem when a law enforcement official is giving himself special treatment.
- bsder 12y ago
  > Or do you mean to imply that it was a fabricated hit job? Suspected parallel construction. They used illegal collected records in order to find the dirt, and then dug it out using other means that were quasi-legal. That having been said, an anti-prostitution crusader who is using prostitutes deserves exactly what he got. If he hadn't been a crusader, I would have been sympathetic. It just like Republican congressmen. I really don't care how or with whom they're having sex, as long as they aren't crusading against what they, themselves, are doing.
sneak 12y ago
Joseph Nacchio is a better example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Nacchio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Nacchio They threw a bunch of insider trading charges at him when he impeded efforts by the NSA to get Qwest (of which he was chairman and CEO at the time) to do warrantless bulk collection.
Spooky23 12y ago
Spitzer was out of control. His sin was alienating all of those around him.... Many folks in Albany were cheering his demise. The other two leaders of the legislature have been prosecuted for corruption. His Lieutenant Governor upon succeeding Spitzer disclosed that he was a cocaine user that routinely cheated on his wife. You need to look at Spitzer through the lens of corruption that is NY politics... He was a victim of hubris, not conspiracy.

rl3 12y ago

I don't think it's blackmail. The NSA is probably afraid of the executive branch, not the other way around. More likely, it's simply the continued concentration of executive power combined with fear of political fallout in the event an attack happened in the wake of scaling back these programs.

glitchdout 12y ago

Given that the NSA spied on Obama when he was still a wannabe-senator, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was blackmailed [1]. Also, just watch candidate Obama debate President Obama on government surveillance [2]. I mean, short of someone providing a document detailing how the NSA intents on spying on the next presidents of the United States and manipulating them, I don't see any more clear evidence than this. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6m1XbWOfVk&t=3m11s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6m1XbWOfVk&t=3m11s [2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BmdovYztH8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BmdovYztH8