Obama Makes Bushism the New Normal

[Jackpine Radical]

By Dan Froomkin, The Intercept
03 September 14


n a lot of ways, we’re worse off today than we were under George W. Bush.

Back then, Bush’s extremist assault on civil liberties, human rights and other core American values in the name of fighting terror felt like an aberration.

The expectation was that those policies would be quickly reversed, discredited — and explicitly outlawed — once he was no longer in power.

Instead, under President Barack Obama, they’ve become institutionalized.

There will be no snapping back to a pre-Bush-era respect for basic human dignity and civil rights. Thanks to Obama, it’s going to be a hard, long fight.

In some cases, Obama has set even darker precedents than his predecessor. Massively invasive bulk surveillance of Americans and others has been expanded, not constrained. This president secretly condemns people to death without any checks or balances, and shrugs as his errant drones massacre innocent civilians. Whistleblowers and journalists who expose national security wrongdoing face unprecedented criminal prosecution.

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/25668-focus-obama-makes-bushism-the-new-normal

[Louisiana1976]

1. And we won't get much of a change, if any, under a Hillary administration because Hillary is to the

right of Obama. What we need is a real progressive Democratic candidate for 2016.

[underthematrix]

8. You might want to tune into Scandal starting 9/25 on ABC

Shonda Rhimes is an amazing writer. I believe in the S2 season, there was an episode called Defiance. It was about election rigging. But that wasn't the big deal. The real big deal was this monologue by character, Cyrus Beene, chief of staff to the President:
1. “You know what our electoral process is! It’s magical! It’s like believing in Santa Claus, or the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny. Magical. As long as they believe. What you’re doing is telling the people that the shiny presents and the bulging stockings on Christmas morning are just mom and dad staying up all night to do the work. You’re telling them we’re Santa! We’re the Easter Bunny! We’re the Tooth Fairy. You’re taking the magic away. You’re ruining Christmas morning. And the whole republic is gonna come crashing down because you’re not tough enough to do what needs to be done.” —Cyrus Beene

As I was listening/watching this monologue, I could not believe it got past the censors. It is the best description of US the political/election process evar. Why do we have all the drama in between elections? To sell shit. America's economy is DEPENDENT on con-sumerism. To keep it afloat, the US needs America to buy shit; especially shit we can't afford.

[shireen]

11. ah, the word police ...

they probably didn't understand what was really being said. All they heard was Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny.

I remember that line. Good stuff!

[underthematrix]

16. LOL! That's what I'm thinking too

[NightWatcher]

2. You think Presidents matter?

Seriously, you think they call the shots, Hell, even give the ok?

I worked in the quasi gov/private sector when Clinton sat in office and worked the transition into shrub. It was seamless, there were no changes. Those who called the shots didn't change. They don't even work in the government.

[rhett o rick]

5. I don't think this line of thinking gets enough air. I agree that those that call the shots don't

change from president to president. I think it was a conscious decision to allow Obama to win in 2008. Granted stealing from the public became slightly harder but the Power That Be are patient.

I believe that when Obama was elected, or before, the NSA/CIA Group, had a talk with him and explained how much to everyone's benefit, and especially his, it was if he, the President, didn't start dicking around with the Security State. The same with the economy.

[NightWatcher]

6. Obama is a beer vendor at the SuperBowl

The owners don't care. He has little outcome on their game.

I'm not saying Obama is powerless, he matters a great deal in a lot of other ways, but in the domestic/military/industrial complex, he's a bit player.

[Enrique]

7. he got promoted recently

http://www.theonion.com/articles/obama-promoted-to-senior-vice-president-of-america,17321/

NEW YORK—A statement from America's National Headquarters revealed Thursday that, after just two years heading the Executive Branch, President Barack Obama has been promoted to Senior Vice President of American Affairs.

Obama, whose work on health care reform reportedly caught the eye of the nation's higher-ups, has eagerly accepted the more prestigious new position and will join the 12 other members of the American Affairs division starting Monday. He replaces outgoing SVPAA Tom Coleman, who was promoted in February to Chief Administrative Officer of America's North Atlantic Branch.

Pending final approval from the National Board of Directors, Friday will be Obama's last day as President of the United States.

"Barack is clearly a go-getter and one of our brightest up-and-coming talents," Vice Chairman of America Bill Donaldson was quoted in the statement as saying. "His work in the financial and international sectors shows promise and a capacity for handling some of the more difficult issues this country faces. He is young and this will be a lot of responsibility for him, but we're excited to bring him to headquarters and watch him grow."

[underthematrix]

9. that's it

[Doctor_J]

12. Spot on - this was all part of the plan by the real shot-callers

"Fascism not being assimilated quickly enough - let's have a smart, black "Democrat" enact phase II".

Just look around DU for proof.

[grahamhgreen]

42. Yes.

[sabrina 1]

62. I think more and more people are beginning to understand this.

Who are these people we did not elect? And how can this country bring them to justice? I just read eg, that in a case brought against Bush/Cheney and his gang of war criminals by an Iraqi woman, the DOJ stepped in and claimed that they were 'immune' from prosecution since their actions were taken as part of their job description, or some such nonsense. But what it said was that 'war crimes are part of the job description'. I have to say I never realized that when voters elect those they choose as leaders they were giving them the green light to commit war crimes.

Now we know!

[underthematrix]

3. I find it astonishing that you do not realize a lot of the

terror threats are homegrown wingnuts. We need the NSA, the Patriot Act and all of those other privacy invading tools. There is a segment of the American public who has not respect for the law or our duly elected gov't. They and the wingnuts they elected have maintained a consistent intense campaign to discredit and undermine our gov't. Most are GOP members of the Congress, non-demoninational family owned churches and businesses with wingnut CEOs. I'm so sick of these people that side from voting, I'm promoting everywhere I go the need to buy used, recycle or share.

[Sopkoviak]

4. How often is a government program, bureaucracy

Or mandate ever allowed to expire?

They just seem to feed on themselves and grow without review or justification.

I can only think of 2 off hand...

Prohibition and the national 55 mph speed limit, but that's because they were roundly ignored and ridiculed.

I suppose there might be others.

[Thinkingabout]

10. What has been institutionalized under Obama?

[zeemike]

21. Well just off the top of my head.

Torture;
It is still wrong, but not punishable if you do it because you are scared.

Summery execution of US citizens with out trial or due process...if they think they might do something.

The right of the government to collect all information on you...total informational awareness...but don't worry, they will only "look" at it if they need too.

That's a good start.

[Thinkingabout]

22. Where is the incidence of torture?

[zeemike]

23. In the past and unpunished.

And if crime is unpunished then it is a sure bet it will happen again...and may be taking place now out of our view.
The punishment is meant to deter crime and a crime is not a crime if there is no punishment.

[Thinkingabout]

24. Is this your example of torture? This is not the same as water boarding, etc. This would be an

example of torture, I would like to see an example of torture during the Obama administration.

[zeemike]

28. How about the force feeding of prisoners at Gitmo?

And that continues...And I have not heard of any black sites we have all over the world being shut down, nor any of the tortures even losing their job...so I have to assume it is still going on behind the curtain.

[Thinkingabout]

30. Let's get serious, torture under the Geneva convention definition.

These you are mentioning is not torture though painful, like misquotes of facts is painful when it is just not true.

[zeemike]

32. "not torture though painful"

Funny but that is the same rationalization used by bush to describe water boarding.
Yes indeed there is a slippery slope and we have gone down it.

[Thinkingabout]

33. Icould care less what Bush said or did not say about torture but to liken water boarding with

someone losing a job and accusing this president of torture is not reasonable. By your examples of torture it is torture to liken those to waterboarding.

[zeemike]

36. I likened force feeding to torture, and it is.

And I likened someone NOT losing their job for doing it to not punishing a criminal.
I am sorry you are confused, so I hope this clears it up.

And if you have the power to stop torture and don't do it you are an accessory to the crime...but I do not make that accusation at all, because it is apparent to me that the President does not have that power, despite what we may think.

[Thinkingabout]

43. I wish you understand the depth of water boarding but you throw it around like stumping one's toe,

can't help you. I don't agree with your concept.

[BobbyBoring]

46. yes

A "little dunk in the water" is how Rummy described it.

[librechik]

52. Your opinion is noted

and inaccurate--but wthell, it's just an opinion.

I think it is torture.

We cancel each other out.

[G_j]

70. yes it is torture

maybe not to you, but it is to those it is done to.

[Sopkoviak]

27. ThinkProgress: U.N. Official Says Gitmo Force-Feeding Violates International Law

BY HAYES BROWN POSTED ON MAY 1, 2013 AT 10:22 AM UPDATED: MAY 1, 2013 AT 6:34 PM

A United Nations official called the practice of force-feeding hunger strikers at Guantanamo Bay “torture” on Wednesday, adding the world body to a growing list of those concerned over U.S. treatment of detainees there.
For the last several weeks, a hunger strike has been spreading throughout Guantanamo, as detainees refuse to accept food what is now widely understood as a protest of their indefinite detention. In response, the military has begun force-feeding several of the inmates through a nasal tube to keep them alive. According to AFP, the United Nations’ main human rights office has taken notice:
“If it’s perceived as torture or inhuman treatment — and it’s the case, it’s painful — then it is prohibited by international law,” Rupert Coville, spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights, told AFP.

Of course it's only the UN and Think Progress may be a bit dodgy.

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/05/01/1946641/un-gitmo-torture/

[Thinkingabout]

35. I force feeding included in the Geneva Convention?

If forced feeding is torture then many who exists on feeding tubes will have to be banned. Surgeries will have to be banned, childbirths will have to be banned. This is getting silly.

[Sopkoviak]

40. Take it up with the UN and Think Progress then

They're the ones claiming that it's torture.

Apparently they don't have the expertise in international law that you have.

[Thinkingabout]

44. I will continue to agree with the Geneva Convention, I don't need to take this to either,

[hifiguy]

13. Eeyup.

The faces in front change. The ones behind the curtains who wield the real power never do.

[Dont call me Shirley]

14. Uh, remember all the bush implants put in key positions before he left office?

Remember all the GOP obstructionism to anything Obama? The Caucus Room meeting?

It's not ALL Obama's fault, so stop Obama blaming for everything that's wrong in this country!

[FiveGoodMen]

15. Obama hasn't done much to get rid of those guys

And he's put similar people in power himself.

And that IS Obama's fault.

[underthematrix]

17. Actually, President is one man, yes President but one man

He doesn't make people's children stupid or low-performing. Parents do that all on their own. He doesn't make us buy things we don't need or could buy used or not buy at all. We are our enemy. How many of us have credit cards, or investments in the very industries we believe are controlling our lives? And it definitely isn't President Obama's fault that we are the most politically stupid people on the planet. Some people don't know there are three branches of government and that laws must be enacted, funded and implemented under administrative rules. One of the fears of the President's people was the magical thinking of some folks who believed once the first AA President was elected everything would magically change. Really it doesn't work that way. The world is a very complex place and for some reason people just don't seem to get that.

[Dont call me Shirley]

18. He has nominated judges and other positions which the GOP continue to filibuster

[former9thward]

20. Not any more.

There was a rule change in the Senate in November, 2013 which ended the filibuster of judges. Obama has now appointed more judges than Bush during the same time period.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/filibuster-weakened-senate-oking-judges-faster

[librechik]

54. nope, it ended for THAT ONE JUDGE Appointment.

Then back to abnormal. Did you really think they would let Harry change that?

And they sued Obama for trying to sneak in during the break and make recess appointments. He alone is not allowed to have that Presidential power.

[former9thward]

57. Harry did change that.

You are totally wrong. You either did not look at the link or you ignored it because it does not fit your agenda.

[librechik]

60. Not totally--just technically, I suppose. But then all or nothing thinking like your post

reveals an agenda of its own.


http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113839/harry-reids-filibuster-change-proposal-wont-hurt-senate

"In other words, the change Reid is proposing is so modest that you could fairly construe it as a return to the status quo. (Bernstein goes on to remind us, as does Greg Sargent, that the GOP is blatantly obstructing President Barack Obama’s nominees—like Richard Cordray for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—because they object to the government agencies those nominees would run.) It wouldn’t interfere with the minority’s ability to prevent a piece of legislation from coming to a vote, which members can do today without even staying on the Senate floor. And it doesn’t threaten the talking filibuster, of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” fame, which Senator Rand Paul used to such spectacular effect this spring."

[former9thward]

61. First you quote an article before the rule change.

I showed you what happened after. Second the rule change affects judges which is the point of this sub-thread.

[librechik]

63. oh, right, I remember now. It only affects judges.

That's the limited thing I was talking about. And it's an article analyzing the projected effects of the chafes which eventually happened, not irrelevant or untimely.

And look how those changes have shut down the GOP block-heads so effectively!


"In other words, the change Reid is proposing is so modest that you could fairly construe it as a return to the status quo."

Is Sargent wrong here?

[840high]

19. 'aye

[librechik]

53. I think he did--but Congress is blocking ALL his nominees

one way or the other. What president can get anything done without staff and without access to Congress?

[KoKo]

38. Our Democratic Party Structure is the most at fault.

The issues our Democratic Presidential Candidates and tout in their campaign speeches seem to fade the day after election. Somewhere along the way, in the past decades, the Democratic Party stopped standing behind their elected Presidents allowing them to be attacked from the Right beginning the day after election before they can even begin to try to institute policies they promised the voters who elected them. I saw it with Carter and Clinton. From day one the attacks begin in the media. Scandal (Vince Foster & affairs) with Clinton. With Carter it began with questions of financing and Burt Lance and then onto the Hostages in Iran with ABC's Night Line's Ted Koppel doing its "Daily Countdown." Our Democratic Party didn't even support it's own Dem Candidate when a fraudulent voting system in Florida (a state whose Governor was the Republican Candidate's own brother) failed the people. When a Recount was finally approved it was halted before finish allowing the US Supreme Court to intervene and award the 2000 Election to a Republican.

Our Democratic Party Platform which should hold a President who runs as a Democrat accountable...long ago stopped being put together by the "people" at the bottom--the local elected precinct members working on issues then moving those issues through to the County and State Dem Party Convention to be voted on. We have Top Down Dem Party where the the Delegates are influenced by the policy makers at the top: Think Tanks/Corporations/Wall Street & Banking Interests/Media Conglomerates/Military/Surveillance/War Industry. The State Delegations are mostly for show these days. The platform written by the special interests who donate the big money.

If a strong "accountable to the people" Democratic Party Structure supported our Democratic Presidents from the minute they are Elected then we wouldn't be sabotaged so soon after election. And, that means that a strong Democratic Party Structure would have hold our Dem Senate and House Critters accountable when they go off the reservation by doing a DINO vote. (Think the way the Repub Right and now the Tea Party work to hold their Reps accountable for their votes.)

Since we have none of that...we have Dem Presidents who seem to betray us on the Dem Side....while the Republicans dance on our graves while working with the same people who run our Dem Party from the top.
But, it's been going that way for decades. "Citizens" United Decision by Supremes was the last Nail...

Time to turn it around.

[Capt. Obvious]

25. Oh please, Obama is powerless

He can't do anything because he never had a supermajority in both chambers for more than a couple of days.

[VanillaRhapsody]

26. Please Capt' Obvious...

prove otherwise!

[Marr]

69. But at the same time-- you better vote for whatever corporate stooge they put up next time

because otherwise... REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT!!! And the Presidency is all-powerful, you know!

[geek tragedy]

29. oh look another lazy-ass "Obama=Bush" clickbait article. nt

[Octafish]

31. A 'constitutional scholar,' too.

Where's Edward R. Murrow when you need him?

[Romulox]

34. Most of our "intellectuals" and leaders on the Left are along for the ride, too. Little criticism.

Feels like Bush era "self-censorship" all over again.

[NYC Liberal]

37. So he should be impeached, right?

[SidDithers]

39. ...

Sid

[RussBLib]

41. don't buy it

"condemns people to death without any checks and balances"? don't believe that he just decides, on a whim, who lives and who dies, without consultation with anyone.

"shrugs as his errant drones massacre innocent civilians"? right, he just doesn't give a shit who is collateral damage or not. BS.

some whistleblowers are facing prosecution; some are receiving rewards.

sorry, but I cannot paint this President as "Bush revisited"; if you really agree with Froomkin, I think you have blinders on.

[Blue_Tires]

45. On a side note, can you all finally admit I was right about

the Intercept being a half-assed joke of a "news" organization when we compare it to the over-hyped game-changer Omdiyar and Greenwald were endlessly promoting it to be a year ago??

https://firstlook.org/2014/07/28/update/

This is the *SECOND* time First Look has "re-branded" itself in half a year, which is pretty unprecedented given their resources and limitless funding...Were Omdiyar and Greenwald really that clueless about what it takes to run a competent news organization? Or did they know from the start there was no way to fulfill all those bullshit pie-in-the-sky promises, and were running a hustle all this time??

[woo me with science]

47. And now a new war of choice.

He's batting 1000.

[Puzzledtraveller]

48. You gone and done it now.

[Zorra]

49. The only solution is nonviolent world revolution. The 1% owns/is our elected leadership. nt

[Jackpine Radical]

50. I concur.

With special emphasis on the word "nonviolent." Violent revolutions mostly don't turn out well.

[woo me with science]

66. +1

[KurtNYC]

51. Now we don't even go to the U.N. to make a case and get a resolution.

we just announce that we will bomb a sovereign nation where 9 million are already displaced by civil war.

2 years ago:

[tridim]

55. You should file a lawsuit against Obummer!!!1 nt

[Octafish]

56. Is This Barack Obama's 2nd Term? Is it Bill Clinton's 3rd? Or Is It Ronald Reagan's 9th?

They say that elections do matter, and that there are real differences between Republican and Democratic presidents. But backing up the view to 30 years, that difference looks a lot more like continuity, both at home and in America's global empire.

By Bruce A. Dixon
Black Agenda Report managing editor

The answer is yes to all three. Ronald Reagan hasn't darkened the White House door in decades. But his policy objectives have been what every president, Democrat and Republican have pursued relentlessly ever since. Barack Obama is only the latest and most successful of Reagan's disciples.

SNIP...

In Barack Obama's case all he had to say was that he wasn't necessarily against wars, just against what he called “stupid wars.” Corporate media and “liberal” shills morphed that lone statement into a false narrative that Barack Obama opposed the war in Iraq, making him an instantly viable presidential candidate at a time when the American people overwhelmingly opposed that war. Once in office, Barack Obama strove mightily to abrogate the Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq which would have allowed US forces to remain there indefinitely. But when the Iraqi puppet government, faced with a near revolt on the part of what remained of Iraqi civil society, dared not do his bidding, insisting that uniformed US troops (but not the American and multinational mercenaries we pay to remain there) stick to the withdrawal timetable agreed upon under Bush, liberal shills and corporate media hailed the withdrawal from Iraq as Obama's “victory.”

Barack Obama doubled down on the invasion and occupation of large areas of Afghanistan, and increased the size of the army and marines, which in fact he pledged to do during his presidential campaign. Presidential candidate Obama promised to end secret imprisonment and torture. The best one can say about President Obama on this score is that he seems to prefer murderous and indiscriminate drone attacks, in many cases, over the Bush policy of international kidnapping secret imprisonment and torture. The Obama administration's reliance on drones combined with US penetration of the African continent, means that a Democratic, ostensibly “antiwar” president has been able to openly deploy US troops to every part of that continent in support of its drive to control the oil, water, and other resources there.

The objectives President Obama's Africa policies fulfill today were put down on paper by the Bush administration, pursued by Bill Clinton before that, and still earlier pursued by Ronald Reagan, when it funded murderous contra armies of UNITA in Angola and RENAMO in Mozambque. It was UNITA and RENAMO's campaigns, assisted by the apartheid regimes of Israel and South Africa that pioneered the genocidal use of child soldiers. Today, cruise missile liberals hail the Obama administration's use of pit bull puppet regimes like Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, all of which shot their way into power with child soldiers, to invade Somalia and Congo, sometimes ostensibly to go after other bad actors on the grounds that they are using child soldiers.

CONTINUED...

http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/barack-obamas-2nd-term-it-bill-clintons-3rd-or-it-ronald-reagans-9th

"Cruise Missile Liberals"...ouch!

2013 OP: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022673617

[woo me with science]

65. I vote Ronald Reagan's ninth.

Thank you for more history that the oligarchy would prefer to put down a memory hole.

[Jackpine Radical]

67. GWH Bush's 9th if ya asks me. (nt)

[Avalux]

58. Fuck everyone painting Obama as worse than Bush. Fuck them ALL. n/t

[rock]

59. It is a well-known social phenomenon

that when a person is power presses the limits of morals, ethics, or laws and is not called on them but gets advantages from them he (or his successor) will escalate these tendencies until he meets King Louis XVI's (gulp!) fate. Evil acts with satisfying results will encourage more evil acts.

[woo me with science]

64. Kick. Off to Syria.

Two countries left on the neocon/PNAC list of targets:

Refresher Course in PNAC: This was planned a long time ago.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025518146

Only two countries remain on the PNAC agenda: Syria and Iran ...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023540654

TPP, TISA on the horizon.

Mass spying on Americans? Both parties support it.
Handing the internet to corporations? Both parties support it.
Austerity for the masses? Both parties support it.
Cutting social safety nets? Both parties support it.
Corporatists in the cabinet? Both parties support it.
Tolling our interstate highways? Both parties support it.
Corporate education policy? Both parties support it.
Bank bailouts? Both parties support it.
Ignoring the trillions stashed overseas? Both parties support it.
Trans-Pacific Job/Wage Killing Secret Agreement? Both parties support it.
Drilling and fracking? Both parties support it.
Wars on medical marijuana instead of corrupt banks?
Deregulation of the food industry? Both parties support it.
GMO's? Both parties support it.
Militarized police and assaults on protesters? Both parties support it.
Indefinite detention? Both parties support it.
Drone wars and kill lists? Both parties support it.
Targeting of journalists and whistleblowers? Both parties support it.
Private prisons replacing public prisons? Both parties support it.
Unions? Both parties view them with contempt.

The record shows aggressive, proactive pursuit of a corporate agenda.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3202395

CUT THE CRAP! Your Month in Review from the most "progressive" administration ever.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025006297

NSA spying and inequality are deeply, inextricably linked.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024352872

Poll: Half of Americans dont care which party controls Congress
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024988821

When the DLC connections to the Koch Bros. became well known, they just rebranded the infiltration
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4165556

When you hear "Third Way", think INVESTMENT BANKERS
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024127432

GOP Donors and K Street Fuel Third Way’s Advice for the Democratic Party
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101680116

The Rightwing Koch Brothers fund the DLC
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x498414

Same companies behind the GOP are behind the DLC
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1481121

And we are deluged with propaganda to obscure and distract from what is being done to us:

Obama taps "cognitive infiltrator" Cass Sunstein for Committee to create "trust" in NSA:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023512796

Salon: Obama confidant’s spine-chilling proposal: Cass Sunstein wants the government to "cognitively infiltrate" anti-government groups
http://www.salon.com/2010/01/15/sunstein_2/

The US government's online campaigns of disinformation, manipulation, and smear.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024560097

Snowden: ‘Training Guide’ for GCHQ, NSA Agents Infiltrating and Disrupting Alternative Media Online
http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/02/25/snowden-training-guide-for-gchq-nsa-agents-infiltrating-and-disrupting-alternative-media-online/

The influx of corporate propaganda-spouting posters is blatant and unnatural.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3189367

U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News To Americans
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023262111

The goal of the propaganda assaults across the internet is not to convince anyone of anything.*
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023359801

The government figured out sockpuppet management but not "persona management."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023358242

The Gentleman's Guide To Forum Spies (spooks, feds, etc.)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4159454

Seventeen techniques for truth suppression.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4249741

Just do some Googling on astroturfing - big organizations have some sophisticated tools.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1208351

[woo me with science]

68. Constitution, schmonstitution. "Just a goddamned piece of paper"

because they are under assault by the Obama administration and both parties in Congress.


Chilling Legal Memo From Obama DOJ Justifies Assassination of US Citizens
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101654954

Obama seeks longer PATRIOT Act extension than Republicans (December 2013)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x380450

When it comes to civil liberties, apparently Democrats are just as bad as Republicans.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022101960

NSA's Massive New Spy Center to Track Your Emails, Internet Activity, and Phone Calls
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101620852

Obama Quietly Signs Abusive Spy Bill He Once Vowed to Eliminate
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022104861

Obama repeals Magna Carta, asserting powers our forefathers denied to Kings
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101655620

Obama's Memo on Killing Americans Twists 'Imminent Threat' Like Bush
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101654919

Obama no better than Bush when it comes to security vs. civil liberties.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022355307

Obama Admin Seeks Permission TO LIE In Response To FOI Requests - Even To The COURTS
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2185303

NDAA on trial: Obama Administration fights ban on indefinite detention of Americans
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101748688

Obama administration complicit with private prison industry: President Obama's IncarcerNation
http://www.nationofchange.org/president-obama-s-incarcernation-1335274655

Obama, Democrats Push to Make Bush Spying Laws Permanent
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022084702

NDAA, signed by Obama, is a direct attack against legitimate protest and dissent
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022064803

NSA Whistleblower: All Americans under constant surveillance, all info. stored, no matter the post
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002193487; http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021935289

Bipartisan Congress Disgracefully Approves the FISA Warrantless Spying Bill for Five More Years
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022087323

While Public & Media Focused on 2nd Amendment, 5th Amendment Quietly Dismantled
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022390581

How the Obama administration justifies extrajudicial killing of Americans,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022318187

Judge Says Under Law Executive Branch Can Commit Acts That Sure Do Seem Unconstitutional
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022122464

Obama Justice Dept. says wiretap lawsuit should not proceed
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014337039

NDAA Lawsuit- Hedges v. Obama, The Last Thin Line of Defense
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022357078

Federal authorities step up efforts to license surveillance drones for law enforcement
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022383596

Big Banks and FBI worked together vs Occupy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022095056]

FBI Investigated 'Occupy' As Possible 'Domestic Terrorism' Threat, Internal Documents Show
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022061578

FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring (Updated the OP)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022057064

Public Buses Across Country Quietly Adding Microphones to Record Passenger Conversations
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021965291

Street artist behind satirical NYPD 'Drone' posters arrested
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021920967

The Obama DOJ urged the Supreme Court's endorsement of strip searches.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002521527

Obama Administration Fights to Allow Warrantless GPS Tracking
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1074474

Anonymous to FBI: hey, dudes, maybe you could take a break from...investigating activists....
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022145621

Half a billion dollars for drones to spy on Americans
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021876414

From Bradley Manning to Aaron Swartz -- The Government's Inhumane Persecution of Brave Truth Tellers
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022276941

The sight of Army helicopters and the sound of gunfire...on Houston's south side
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022276742

Kiriakou and Stuxnet: the danger of the still-escalating Obama whistleblower war
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022275570

Can the DEA Hide a Surveillance Camera on Your Property?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022237059

Social Media and the Stasi
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021888029

Homeland Security Wants to More Than Double Its Predator Drone Fleet Inside the US, Despite Safety/Privacy Invasions
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014312823

CIA Behind Bizarre Censorship Incident At Alleged 9/11 Plotters’ Gitmo Trial
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022280285

“I Am Wearing My Conviction As A Badge Of Honor.”
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022275128

Meet the Contractors Turning America's Police Into a Paramilitary Force
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12525281

How Secrecy Corrodes Democracy
http://election.democraticunderground.com/101655009

Obama Quietly Issues Ruling Saying It's Legal For The FBI To Break The Law
http://election.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7545687

US Pulls Plug on Iran Cable News (Press TV)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014394770

DHS Watchdog OKs 'Suspicionless' Seizure of Electronic Devices Along Border
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022339091

[Uncle Joe]

71. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Jackpine Radical.