Lost in the plane-chasing, Moscow-airport-limbo-ing dramatic Snowden headlines today is a bombshell revelation: America’s most senior intelligence official lied to a Senate intelligence committee. Not that James Clapper is admitting he committed perjury by intentionally misleading our elected representatives. He claims instead that he gave an ‘erroneous’ answer because he forgot about the Patriot Act.… READ THE REST
Applause to Mr Clapper.
He’s just given me the most elegant response to anything I do wrong ever. “Sorry honey, I was thinking about a different kind of intercourse.” That’d hold up in front of a divorce judge, right?
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If we accept Clapper’s response at face value - laughable, I know - then he’s simply proving that our current oversight regime is fatally flawed, because covert programs of compelling public interest may go unreported to Congress if our National Intelligence Director happens to forget that they exist. Hardly a rousing defense of the status quo.
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See, it’s not that he’s a liar, he’s just grossly incompetant!
EDITED TO ADD: hm. Didn’t mean this to be a reply, still learning the UI.
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It’s almost as if the timing of the leaks is intentional to allow for the government to admit they do x, but deny they do y, only to have the next leak force them to retract their claim that, “alright, we’re doing y, but there’s definitely no way we’re doing z, no siree…” …and so on and so forth.
It seems to be quite effective in enhancing the distrust both from the people and from foreign governments, which seemed to be Snowden’s intent. I can’t decide if he deserves credit for planning that, or if it’s just coincidental.
Oh, you meant sexual intercourse. Of course, I should have gotten that.
What I meant was, no, we aren’t pen-pals.
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Apparently ignorance of the law is a defence, for some.
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So, yeah, we are apparently doing enough covert stuff that our national intelligence chief just golly shucks can’t keep it all straight. No problem, right?
reminds me of the Clinton “depends what your definition of ‘is’ is” defense and the Chapelle defense http://www.hark.com/clips/tpgydkhpbr-i-didnt-know-i-couldnt-do-that
So lemme see if I’ve got this here.
The presence or absence of the Patriot Act can turn a lie off and on?
I had no clue lying was so epistemologically flexible.
I think he actually declared simple “ignorance”
There’s a certain beauty to the system of government that’s spawned this whole thing. At best, most people don’t care, and at worst, most people support it.
By the way did you guys hear the latest on Kim Kardashian?
You or Clapper? : )
“Clap on! Clap off! The Clapper!”
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