Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck, A/K/A Dolt-45,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset., A/K/A P01135809

Friday, April 17, 2015

Isn't It Just Cute to Watch the Optimists at Work; Soviet America Edition

Civil libertarians are persisting in their goal to stop the government from spying on you.

I wish them well, but, seriously? Good luck with that. The CIA and the NSA really don't give a shit what Congress says, as long as the money keeps coming. And since they largely get funded through secret appropriations (we aren't even told the amounts), the American people are given the full mushroom treatment.

1 comment:

mikey said...

It's unfortunate that the perfectly useful term of art "Deep State" sounds so conspiracy theory-ish. People who are unfamiliar with the actual structure of their actual government dismiss is as a kind of weird trutherism.

But the bureaucracies that run the national institutions are not subject to elections, and exist regardless of electoral outcomes. They have their own goals, their own agenda, and as you mention, access to massive funding. Their system is hardened against democratic change, and each new Presidential administration and congressional oversight committee learns very quickly that they are beyond any 'reform'.

They aren't going to change based on executive order, legislative action or judicial fiat. They are partnered with equivalent organizations in other nations, which allow them to get around any 'domestic spying' limitations they DO need to react to.

You're absolutely right - the internet allows unfettered, unlimited access to individual records and comms. The good news is that anyone willing to put some effort into learning how to correctly implement and use strong encryption can avoid being spied upon. It takes effort and it places some limitations on what you can do, but math is math and they can't break strong encryption...