"The Snowden Inevitability" by Gary Hart (former Senator)

[deurbano]

http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-snowden-inevitability-8827?page=1

August 3, 2013

Interesting commentary (Hart seems to have a particular interest in US/Russia relations and is urging that the Snowden situation not be allowed to further undermine the relationship)… but this part stood out at the conclusion:

<<And here at home, while others are getting our diplomacy back on track, we would do well to have a serious national discussion beyond the halls of Congress about the future of the intelligence-industrial complex and what it represents to a twenty-first-century mass democracy based on constitutional principles and guarantees.

It is not excessive to believe this growing, gargantuan, secret complex now represents the greatest threat to our freedom in the new twenty-first century.>>

[Douglas Carpenter]

1. knr

[Th1onein]

5. Why do you have half of a video on your post?

[Fumesucker]

6. If I were doing that it would be to get people to ask about it

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. It's in their signature

DU restricts the height of the signature, so you just see a little of it.

[Egalitarian Thug]

2. My first Senator

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, deurbano.

[DonCoquixote]

4. Gary Hart

The first of many Democrats that would have been good for the country if they did not have this need to go screw some floozy.

[Fumesucker]

7. I think they virtually all have major skeletons in their closets

The ones that play ball with the real power don't get exposed.

Remember, dead girl or live boy, Edwin Edwards said it but that's pretty close to the Republican standard.

That being said, Hart's affair certainly had a certain regrettable lack of discretion.

[NoMoreWarNow]

9. oh come on-- everyone has a weakness. The PTB just expose those of the people they are worried about

[Zorra]

8. K&R nt

[kentuck]

10. Hart has always been an original thinker.

He could have been a great President.

[Waiting For Everyman]

11. I don't like his tone, he sounds very slippery to me.

I'm old enough to know who Gary Hart is, and I sstill have that impression. While he said some good things, he's talking out of both sides of his mouth. And what the heck is so all-fired important about whatever it is that we are cooking up with the Russians, anyway? Yes, it could be for instance disarmament or something, but it could also be something we wouldn't be happy about too.

He did say one noteworthy thing: there are 1.5 million people with top secret security clearances, and the clearance process alone cost 1 billion dollars (not clear if that's per year or in total). Even if in total, that's roughly $1000 each? And that's to keep too many unsecret documents secret from the public. So once again, we are paying double to harm our own interests. What utter bullshit this whole thing is!

And with 1.5 million top secret security-cleared employees, how DARE the NSA even talk about leaks. Of course that's one of the points of the piece, I get that -- that it's inevitable. Well, duh, yeah. And why go on and on about what Snowden may have leaked to China or Russia when it's entirely probable that some more of those 1.5 million are doing that and worse this very minute. Security is a damn fiction. And this whole brouhaha is a sick and stupid joke. On us.