I Always Feel Like, Somebody's Watching Me

Big Brother’s eye in the sky. Coming soon to a neighborhood near you:

“Drones are mainly associated with the Predator airships that patrol the Afghanistan sky. But thanks to a bipartisan vote last week, the public can expect 30,000 domestic drones flying over the United States in the next eight years.

[...]

Yesterday, we reported how the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVS), a drone trade group, actually doubled its recent lobbying expenses. Today, we report on a PowerPoint presentation put together by top AUVS lobbyists...The lobby group — which maintains an official partnership in Congress with Reps. Buck McKeon (R-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and dozens of other lawmakers — was the driving force behind the domestic drone decision passed last week.”

Here is just one of the concerns:

– Pages 10-12: The drone industry eagerly anticipates that civil drone use, including use of drones for “suspect tracking” by law enforcement, will soon eclipse military use of drones. Under a section called “Challenges facing UAS,” the lobbyists listed “Civil Liberties.”

Civil liberties are a challenge? Since when?

TSA Peep Show at DFW Airport

The Transportation Security Administration: Keeping us safe from terrorists with “cute figures”:

"The Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) is coming under fire for allegedly doing “peep show” naked body scans of women who agents think are attractive.

Ellen Terrell told CBS 11 in Dallas that agents at DFW International Airport asked her to go through the invasive scanner three times because “[t]hey wanted a nice good look.”

A female agent at the checkpoint surprised Terrell by asking, “Do you play tennis?”

“And I said, ‘Why?’ She said, ‘You just have such a cute figure,’” the Texan recalled.

Speaking to agents viewing the scans in another room, the female agent claimed the images had been “blurry” and asked Terrell to go through a second and third time. But after the third scan, the female agent appeared to get frustrated as she radioed her co-workers.

“She’s talking into her microphone and she says, ‘Guys, it is not blurry, I’m letting her go. Come on out,’” Terrell said.While only female agents are allowed to pat down female travelers, the agency does allow male agents to view body scans of females."

National security in the hands of minimum wage rent-a-cops with the maturity level of a junior high school boy. I feel safer now.

Democrats Owe President Bush an Apology

The  Washington Post has some poll numbers that sadly confirm what I've suspected for some time was the case. Suspected based on the silence of the majority of my fellow Democrats, both those who hold office as well as the rank and file of the party, as President Obama has continued–and in some cases expanded upon–the previous administration’s national security policies.  All the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth from Democrats when Bush and Cheney were running the Constitution and the Bill of Rights through the paper shredder had nothing to do with those rights and liberties being taken away, it was all about the party affiliation of the president who was doing the taking:

 "The survey shows that 70 percent of respondents approve of Obama's decision to keep open the prison at Guantanamo Bay... Even the party base appears willing to forgive that failure. The poll shows that 53 percent of self-identified liberal Democrats -- and 67 percent of moderate or conservative Democrats -- support keeping Guantanamo Bay open, even though it emerged as a symbol of the post-Sept. 11 national security policies of President George W. Bush, which many liberals bitterly opposed.
                                                                                                                                        ...The Post-ABC News poll found that 83 percent of Americans approve of Obama's drone policy, which administration officials refuse to discuss, citing security concerns...But fully 77 percent of liberal Democrats endorse the use of drones, meaning that Obama is unlikely to suffer any political consequences as a result of his policy in this election year."

Greg Sargent has more:

"The Post has just released some new polling that demonstrates very strong support for Obama's counterterrorism policies, including 83 percent of Americans approving of his use of drone strikes against terror suspects overseas.

 This finding, however, is particularly startling:

 What if those suspected terrorists are American citizens living in other countries? In that case do you approve or disapprove of the use of drones?

        Approve: 65

        Disapprove: 26

 And get this: Depressingly, Democrats approve of the drone strikes on American citizens by 58-33, and even liberals approve of them, 55-35. Those numbers were provided to me by the Post polling team."

I'm glad there wasn't a question about waterboarding in this poll, although I suspect the results would have been similar. The typical excuse you'll hear from the above mentioned 58 or 55% goes something like this one from Oliver Willis:

"They [drones] are not perfect by a long stretch, but after over a decade of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is the least bloody option that kills terrorists."

Yeah, least bloody for us and the guys with joysticks playing computer war games in Las Vegas. Not so much the innocents (including American servicemen) who happen to be in the vicinity when a drone kills those suspected terrorists. Screw 'em. Collateral damage dontcha know.

But this is number one on the Hit Parade, the old 'I trust Obama excuse':

                                                                                                                                               "I totally understand the dangers in giving the president the sole power to designate terrorist targets. I'm not comfortable with that much power residing in the executive office. I would trust Barack Obama with that power, but not George Bush, so I don't trust any president with it."

Hello? McFly? Do you think that power walks out the door with President Obama? Look into your crystal ball and tell me who the next five presidents will be. Hell, tell me who will win in November. I don't know about Mr. Willis or any of the other apologists, but I sure as hell wouldn't want President Santorum or President Gingrich to have the power to assassinate or ship off to Gitmo any American who they, for whatever reason--real or imagined--suspected of being a terrorist, or somehow affiliated with some organization which might be construed as a threat to national security. Let's see, with Santorum that might be expanded to include any doctor who performs abortions or provides contraceptives. For Newt Gingrich it could take in any member of the "liberal media" who writes something critical of his foreign policy or a federal judge who happens to hand down a decision with which Gingrich disagrees. Think that's a stretch? Willing to bet it wouldn't happen?

Glenn Greenwald cuts to the inconvenient truth:                                       

                                                                                                                                               "The Democratic Party owes a sincere apology to George Bush, Dick Cheney and company for enthusiastically embracing many of the very Terrorism policies which caused them to hurl such vehement invective at the GOP for all those years. And progressives who support the views of the majority as expressed by this poll should never be listened to again the next time they want to pretend to oppose civilian slaughter and civil liberties assaults when perpetrated by the next Republican President."

The truth will set you free, Democrats. But first it’ll piss you off.