NSA Underbelly <= Corporate Overlords In The Saddle on Steroids
One of the most disturbing facts that has recently come to light, is how
much of the US Surveillance & Security State apparatus is PRIVATELY
OWNED, i.e. done by private corporations contracting with the NSA
and/or CIA/FBI/Etc. Of the 1.4 million who have the higher "top secret"
access, 483,000, or 34 percent, work for contractors.
Back in June, Democracy Now has just done a great segment on this, here:
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/11/digital_blackwater_how_the_nsa_gives
If this were "just" the government (with no private corporations involved)
doing all this illegal spying, it would be bad enough. That's basically what
happened with the Church Committee hearings in Congress regarding operation
COINTELPRO; and it was out of those hearings that we got FISA in the first place.
But back then, it was only the government spying agencies involved, not
shadowy private corporations, like Booz Allan & Blackwater.
Well now, flash forward to the present situation with massive amounts of
this spying work being done BY PRIVATE CORPORATIONS ON THE GOVERNMENT's
DIME. That means that our government is now basically PAYING PRIVATE
CORPORATIONS PUBLIC MONEY (OUR TAX DOLLARS) TO ILLEGALLY SPY ON
US CITIZENS. <--(that's us).
This is a deplorable & unprecedented travesty against all that is good, and true,
and honorable about being a citizen of the US of A. We literally cannot say anymore
to one another "Hey, it's a free country!" to remind ourselves that dissent and
unpopular views are never-the-less tolerated out of respect for the US Constitution.
Not anymore.
This needs to change, and change big-time. The entire surveillance & security
state apparatus needs to be almost completely dismantled, and rebuilt to the
specifications of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
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