Political Hippo Circle Jerk - America, farg YEAH!

[rjs246]

This is a stain on the entirety of the executive branch, not just Obama. What started with Bush has been continued and expanded under Obama and as much as I agree with most of Barry's policy stances, this kind of institutionalized infringement of privacy will end up being a much bigger deal than Fed Stimulus or Obamacare or Gay Marriage. In fact, depending on how it's handled, it may be the deciding issue of the next Presidential election. Do we want to continue granting this right to spy on our population or not? Of course, what terrifies me about that is that Rand Paul seems to be the only politician with Presidential ambitions weighing in on this from the civil liberties vantage point.

What do you do if the next election comes down to a 'stay the course democratic candidate who you agree with from a social/ecomonic policy perspective' versus 'whacko Rand Paul who only ever makes sense about one issue, but that issue happens to be a pretty big deal'?

[Munson]

I'd vote Democrat because things like education, health care, etc are vitally important issues to me. I'd also have some hope that he/she would be a liberal and listen to the base and do something about the Patriot Act...where as with Rand Paul, I'd get the Patriot Act business done, but then have no hope of him increasing our education budget or doing anything about health care, or not trying to dismantle SS, etc.

[rjs246]

Sure, that's what most liberals would do. But you're left trying to pick the lesser of two evils. Some people argue that that's always the case, but the issue of our government spying on us is important enough to me to give me serious pause. Where does it end? How far from a true big brother government can we really be if our President acknowledges and defends this kind of thing?

[Munson]

Yeah it's pretty depressing to think about the choices we're probably going to have in 2016.

[hbionic]

It's essentially come to this. It is time to mobilize to the size of 'Occupy Wall Street x10!'

[ice grillin you]

It's essentially come to this. It is time to mobilize to the size of 'Occupy Wall Street x10!'

we already did all the revolutionary shtein...the picketing...the protesting....marching...but then they blew kennedys head off...went to vietnam....mlk and bobby were next...blue collar jobs went over seas...drugs went into cities

point is america used to care...we tried it stand up thing...and lost out to the mighty corporation...america INC.

not saying everyone sold out...we all just bought in

point is those days are over

[Rome]

^  1000% agree with this.   ^

[General_Failure]

Greece Shuts Broadcaster in Bid to Show Resolve

ATHENS — Under pressure from its creditors to cut public employment, the Greek government said Tuesday that it was closing down its state-run television and radio broadcaster, idling 2,900 people — less than 1 percent of the public work force — and outraging the country's powerful labor unions.

[hbionic]

It's essentially come to this. It is time to mobilize to the size of 'Occupy Wall Street x10!'

we already did all the revolutionary shtein...the picketing...the protesting....marching...but then they blew kennedys head off...went to vietnam....mlk and bobby were next...blue collar jobs went over seas...drugs went into cities

point is america used to care...we tried it stand up thing...and lost out to the mighty corporation...america INC.

not saying everyone sold out...we all just bought in

point is those days are over

If you think about it, this is the fork in the road. We're up against this NSA thing (god only knows what else)...yet people are not outraged. I think the programming has been successful and the diversions have been enough to have everyone's attention focused elsewhere.

Is this not a sad state of affairs? Trust me, I really hate to reference this, but it's blue-pill/red-pill time for ours and future generations. We truly now own nothing. I'm starting to become convinced that our thoughts are not our own. It's 1984 in 2013. farg.

[Rome]

You guys realize we've all been under constant state-coordinated surveillance of one sort or another since the invention of the telegraph, right?

I mean, this isn't news, and somehow we've all managed to grow up, graduate from college, have families and still manage to watch the Eagles crash every Fall.   

Take a gander at any traffic intersection or a bank or a restaurant or a public library... and the first thing you notice is a camera.   In this electronic age, there's simply no such thing as privacy, so calm your asses down and just accept it as a fact of life in the 21st century.

[Diomedes]

No.  I don't have time to argue with you, but I think you can understand that there's a big difference between Sameer hanging a camera on the corner of his 7-11, and the government using secret laws, secret courts, and secret agents to collect and organize all of the telephone and internet data they can possibly find...just in case they secretly decide that you are an evil-doer, in which case they can have you rendered into a secret jail, or secretly shot with a missile from outer farging space.

[MDS]

if there was a god that would have happened to your hipster doofus ass years ago

[Rome]

No.  I don't have time to argue with you, but I think you can understand that there's a big difference between Sameer hanging a camera on the corner of his 7-11, and the government using secret laws, secret courts, and secret agents to collect and organize all of the telephone and internet data they can possibly find...just in case they secretly decide that you are an evil-doer, in which case they can have you rendered into a secret jail, or secretly shot with a missile from outer farging space.

Strangely enough this hasn't happened to you, which is curious considering how many times you've openly called for revolution, overthrowing the government, etc.

[Sgt PSN]

They've been after Dio for years now but he never posts his errand schedule online. They know he's out and about, but just haven't found him yet.  Sooner or later they'll pick him up in an oxygen bar or something.

[ice grillin you]

No.  I don't have time to argue with you, but I think you can understand that there's a big difference between Sameer hanging a camera on the corner of his 7-11, and the government using secret laws, secret courts, and secret agents to collect and organize all of the telephone and internet data they can possibly find...just in case they secretly decide that you are an evil-doer, in which case they can have you rendered into a secret jail, or secretly shot with a missile from outer farging space.

lol