June 6, 2013 by David K. Sutton
NSA Spying: Hey Conservatives, I Got Your Tyranny Right Here!
The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald reports that Verizon phone records as well as the data systems of major internet companies are being tapped by the National Security Agency (NSA) to mine data, apparently at will.
tyr•an•ny (ˈtɪr ə ni)
n., pl. -nies.
1. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority.
For over four years now — coinciding with Obama’s presidency — we’ve had to endure countless charges of tyranny by the paranoid delusion types on the Right. The list seems endless, but I’ll name a few of the things right-wing hacks have called tyrannical or worse.
Tyranny by taxation — Basically the no-nothing Tea Party crowd believes Obama has raised their taxes. Well, until 2013, this was entirely false. Of course, the Tea Party started it’s shenanigans in early 2009, right after Obama took office, so their claim that Obama raised their taxes (which dates back to 2009) is pure nonsense. But it’s tyrannical nonsense!
Tyranny by spending — Pay no attention to the fact that the deficit has decreased during Obama’s tenure, according to conservatives, Obama went on a spending spree, and it’s tyranny I tell ya!
Tyranny by affordable health care — Whether it’s non-existent death panels that are going to kill grandma, or the individual mandate which was a Republican idea, conservatives believe affordable health care for all just might be the worst tyranny of all.
Tyranny on the rich — Because Obama wanted the Bush tax cuts to expire for top income earners, that means he’s imposing tyranny on the rich. But it’s really tyranny for all because remember that wealth trickles down!
So as you can see, President Obama has been one busy tyrant!
Hold on a second! Today we learned about secret NSA data mining of big U.S. internet companies like Apple, Google, Facebook and Verizon.
The National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other US internet giants, according to a top secret document obtained by the Guardian.
The NSA access is part of a previously undisclosed program called PRISM, which allows officials to collect material including search history, the content of emails, file transfers and live chats, the document says.
The Guardian has verified the authenticity of the document, a 41-slide PowerPoint presentation – classified as top secret with no distribution to foreign allies – which was apparently used to train intelligence operatives on the capabilities of the program. The document claims “collection directly from the servers” of major US service providers.
Hey conservatives, I got your tyranny right here! — Of course, what am I thinking! Conservatives, you know, the champions of freedom and liberty, are big supporters of this kind of tyranny. It was President George W. Bush and his administration along with congress in 2001 (Patriot Act) that started us down this road in the first place. Conservatives are so wrapped up with their bullshit IRS scandal regarding the tax-exempt status of Tea Party groups (you know, REAL tyranny!), they apparently have no concern for secret surveillance of potentially every American. We are told this is necessary for the sake of protecting us from terrorism, when terrorism ranks low on the list of risks that we all face each day.
When do we wake up and realize we are subverting our democracy? — Welcome to the land of the free.
