Worried About The NSA? Where Were You Last Week? Why No Push To Control Privatization?

[KittyWampus]

While one can object to various issues surrounding the NSA, if you want effective change you have to find an effective angle of attack that resonates with the public and is extremely difficult for the media to twist against you.

Focusing on the privatization of military and intelligence seems to be a more effective angle. And last week it was reported Feinstein was working on legislation to place limits on contractors. And that those very same contractors are now lobbying against any legislation.

Getting rid of contractors is more cost efficient despite the lie that Reagan started. Better quality control. We've enough evidence that privatization doesn't work.

Plame & Wilson's editorial today also points out the weakness of using private contractors rather than government employees.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/23/nsa-intelligence-industrial-complex-abuse

Last week, a positive step to change things happened it gets no traction on DU where so many are now professing to be so upset.

HERE IS A CHANCE TO FIND AN ANGLE OF ATTACK.

Moves to limit U.S. contractor access to secrets meets resistance

June 18 | Tue Jun 18, 2013 4:44pm EDT
(Reuters) - Industry executives and some corners of the U.S. intelligence community are pushing back against possible legislative moves to curb contractors' access to classified information.

snip
Since Feinstein pledged last week to curtail contractors' access to "highly classified technical data", both industry executives and security agencies have cautioned against such a move and any other perceived overreaction.

snip
U.S. Representative Rick Larsen, a Democrat from Washington state, said industry executives were urging him to block legislation that would introduce severe restrictions on contractors.

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The issue of spy agencies' use of contractors as systems administrators surfaced on Tuesday at a public hearing on NSA monitoring programs held by the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee.

NSA Director Keith Alexander said there are about 1,000 systems administrators working at NSA complexes and that the majority are contractors.

snip

"As we tried to downsize our government work force, we pushed more of our information technology workforce or system administrators to the contract arena," Alexander said. "That's consistent across the intelligence community."

[Dawson Leery]

1. 500,000 people having open access to such private information can only lead to trouble.

[HiPointDem]

2. i'd say the reason most people weren't 'opposed' is because they didn't even know it was

happening. and i'd say that was by design.

if there's actually going to be some concerted roll-back on privatization i think people would support it if they knew about it.

but we wouldn't even be having this discussion without the snowdon leaks.

[KittyWampus]

5. So if you are so concerned, why not find out more and start agitating for this?

[HiPointDem]

6. um. i have. but fat lot of good my 'agitation' is going to do.

[DURHAM D]

3. Senator McCaskill has been speaking out about this issue.

The problem with the privatization conversation is that it is about policy and not personalities. The majority of people are just not that interested in policy.

[HiPointDem]

7. actually, they are, when it's reported in a clear & fair way. which it mostly isn't, by design.

[liberal_at_heart]

4. Where were we last week? We have been fighting against privatization for years now. No one will

listen. Privatization of Social Security, our education system, prison system, state employee pension plans, government work, everything, everything. We have been fighting against it since the beginning. The politicians don't listen. That is why we are so ticked off.