DiFi....Does it again! "Releases FAKE NSA REFORM Bill" She's just not trustworthy.

[KoKo]

-----------
Feinstein Releases Fake NSA Reform Bill, Actually Tries To Legalize Illegal NSA Bulk Data Collection

Despite Dianne Feinstein's supposed "conversion" earlier this week about the NSA being out of control with its spying, and the associated performance of NSA folks claiming that they were screwed, it's quickly become apparent that this was all pure theater to make people think that real reform might be coming. Feinstein claimed she was shocked about this and called for a full investigation... and yet, just two days later, she held a markup of her planned "reform" bill for the collection of intelligence by the NSA (and held the markup in secret -- because nothing says "let's increase transparency of the NSA" like keeping the debates and votes secret). That bill was moved out of committee today by a vote of 11 to 4, leading Feinstein to release the bill with a bunch of misleading claptrap designed to make people think it's real reform.It even confused some folks who know this stuff into thinking, after a quick first pass, that it "banned" the bulk data collection. And you might think that's the case because her description says:

Prohibits the collection of bulk communication records under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act except under specific procedures and restrictions set forth in the bill;

Establishes criminal penalties of up to 10 years in prison for intentional unauthorized access to data acquired under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by the United States;

Prohibits the bulk collection of the content of communications under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Ac

t;

Reading that, you might think it actually banned the bulk data collection that's been reported on, but it does not. That "except under specific procedures and restrictions set forth in the bill" just takes the highly questionable reasoning of the FISA Court in approving the bulk data collection and makes that the "exception." In other words, it does exactly the opposite of what Feinstein claims. Rather than banning bulk data collection, it legalizes it. That third point on the "content" is just a red herring -- the same red herring that Feinstein and others have been waving about wildly for months, pretending people are upset about the collection of actual recordings, rather than the collection of metadata. She's wrong. People are upset about the collection of metadata, which this legalizes.

Even more ridiculous, the focus (both in the marketing and the bill itself) on collection of content "under Section 215" is another red herring, since it appears that much of that collection actually happens under other programs anyway. So this doesn't change a damn thing.

Other supposed "changes" in the bill -- including limiting who can perform queries on the data, how many "hops" they can analyze and how long they can retain the data, all match with current practice and don't change a thing. Even though James Clapper and Keith Alexander more or less seemed to concede at yesterday's House hearing that they'd be okay with cutting back on the data retention from five to three years, this bill keeps it at five. There are a few other minor changes, but this bill is almost entirely as expected, simply codifying the status quo, even though Feinstein has insisted that it was legal all along. The one minor "concession" which many had expected -- having a third party at the FISA Court who could fight for civil liberties -- is watered down. Rather than an actual adversarial setup, with this person representing civil liberties, it's set up as an appointed "amicus cureia" or "friend of the court," where they basically just advise the court on the issue.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131031/12394625090/feinstein-releases-fake-nsa-reform-bill-actually-tries-to-legalize-illegal-nsa-bulk-data-collection.shtml

[winter is coming]

1. Bwah! I wondered if that was her game. n/t

[Cleita]

2. I always have to do a hold my nose vote for her.

I wish someone that is really progressive and who has a strong following would primary her, maybe Gavin Newsom.

[Shemp Howard]

29. The lesser of two evils is still evil.

To each his/her own, but I will not hold my nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. I'll find a third-party candidate I like, or I will write in someone.

But as you said, the key here is the primary election.

[DirkGently]

3. All the expansions & shortcuts under the Patriot Act & FISA

must go, period. This stuff has been accreting steadily since 9/11 (and likely before). We need to strip it all away immediately.

[Puzzledtraveller]

4. So who is she trying to appease?

Or fool?

[SomethingFishy]

6. I would bet money there is a government contract for her husband

in there somewhere. These people are unashamed war profiteers. She has a history of voting for something and then her husband magically gets a contract involving whatever she voted on..

[truedelphi]

8. In a local newspaper of Northern California Sonoma County, there

was a huge expose on Di Fi, ("The Bohemian" was the newspaper.)

And the expose revealed how she uses her positions of power as a conduit for inside information she passes along to her husband/contractor Richard Blum.

So it is not just that she votes for a project and then her husband does his research and goes out and gets contracts. She basically sees to it that the contracts are secured for him by her position on Defense Committees and Surveillance/Intel committees etc.

She saw to it that the entire senate Ethics Code was re-written so that as long as there is any another reason other than personal gain for voting on an issue, then she can vote the issue in. That way, insider deals are exempt, conflict of interest concerns are non-existent, as the whole "ethics" code no longer lets such petty concerns as insider trading or conflict of interest exist!

However, every so often there is enough outrage over her abuse of power that she is forced out.

In 2007, Feinstein was forced to resign from the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee. As previously and extensively reviewed in the Sonoma County monthly newspaper, The Bohemian, Feinstein was chairperson and ranking member of MILCON for six years, during which time she had a conflict of interest due to her husband Richard C. Blum's ownership of two major defense contractors who were awarded billions of dollars for military construction projects approved by Feinstein.

As MILCON leader, Feinstein relished the details of military construction. She then undertook micromanaging one project at the level of its sewer design. She regularly took junkets to military bases around the world to inspect construction projects. Is it any surprise that many of the projects ended up as contracts awarded to her husband's companies, Perini Corp. and URS Corp?

Perhaps she resigned from MILCON because she could not take the heat generated by the Bohemian's expose of her ethics (which was partially funded by the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute). Or was her work on the subcommittee finished because Blum divested ownership of his military construction and advanced weapons manufacturing firms in late 2005?

The MILCON subcommittee is not only in charge of supervising military construction; it also oversees "quality of life" issues for veterans, which includes building housing for military families and operating hospitals and clinics for wounded soldiers. Perhaps Feinstein is trying to disassociate herself from MILCON's incredible failure to provide decent medical care for wounded soldiers.

Two years ago, before the Washington Post became belatedly involved, the online magazine Salon.com exposed the horrors of deficient medical care for Iraq War veterans. While leading MILCON, Feinstein had ample warning of the medical-care meltdown. But she was not proactive on veteran's affairs.

[leftstreet]

12. She and her husband sound like hoarders

[FiveGoodMen]

23. 1) Corporations

2) Us

[AZ Mike]

5. DiFi is the US's Mother....

[img][/img]

....we are her children.

[hootinholler]

7. Fuck me harder DiFi!

I thought this would be the case.

[Demo_Chris]

9. kick

[D23MIURG23]

10. She's fucking incorrigible.

I never trusted her outrage, because no one in the caucus has a bigger hard-on for the surveillance state and torture "enhanced interrogation" than her. Someone get this woman a primary challenger. There is no reason we should have to put up with a fake democrat from a state like California.

[bobduca]

46. she's the gatekeeper for state party politics

[rhett o rick]

11. Can we spell DIFI DINO? nm

[KoKo]

43. I know it's not appropriate here..but...

I'd love a Clever photo shop of DINO /dinosaur with something obscene posted to blend in on it's tail.

DON'T DO IT! I don't want a DU ALERT ON ME!

[QuestForSense]

13. D-i-r-t-y.

[FiveGoodMen]

14. Seriously folks, don't keep voting for her

Write in someone good...

Let the puke win...

Then, when DiFi's no longer the incumbent, run someone worthwhile.

We can't afford to wait for her to die.

[NorthCarolina]

24. ^^^THIS^^^

"We can't afford to wait for her to die"

I agree, her health insurance is likely TOO good for that.

[KoKo]

44. AND...she might be Blessed with GOOD GENES.....

So...there's that... Not wishing an untimely death...but, at some point "some folks" sort of need to think about "retirement."

It can't come TOO SOON for SOME!

[Jack Rabbit]

37. She's not up for re-election until 2018

She'll be 85 and hopefully will call it quits.

[KoKo]

45. That's a looooooong time to Do Mischief, though. And, that's the Problem...

that she's "Locked In." And, there was nothing voters for her could do about it because there wasn't a good challenger to her..because we don't have a Dem "Back Bench." And mostly, though, about Supreme Courts Decision on Citizens United...which we Dems couldn't do much about given the Court's composition.

So...It's NOT OUR FAULT...but, the fault of this CORPORATE SYSTEM. That's the EVIL under all this. IMHO.

[Sirveri]

42. I tried to toss her in the primary and the GOP refused to finance her opponents campaign.

So she won the vote with something like a 40 point margin.

Why the hell isn't the establishment taking her out for a talk behind the woodshed. I guess they don't care so long as she plays ball the way they want her to play ball. Either that or she is the establishment.

[woo me with science]

15. We knew they would do this. They are liars and corporate fascists.

They are not interested in following the Constitution.

And they have no interest in responding to the public, only "managing" us.

[bemildred]

16. SOP. Lie like mad, then try to sneak something through before anybody notices.

It's downright Republican.

I imagine Senator Feinstein considers the NSA bulk-collection progarm her to be "legacy".

[ancianita]

17. FakefakeFeinstein wants to be an insider more than to be a champ of citizens' rights and privacy.

She's the kind of bullshitter that pisses me off about the Democrats. She and soft-sell Dick Durbin.

[QuestForSense]

34. You are so right.

They are a couple of the biggest of dicks in Washington. Don't ever turn your back on Rahm Emanuel either.

[ancianita]

36. Right on. I campaigned for Emanuel's opponent, Del Valle, but Chicago bought the hype...

[QuestForSense]

40. You were right about Del Valle, too.

Rahm road in on Obama's coat-tails. Today, most would like to see him ridden out on a rail.

[JDPriestly]

18. Guess who said the following?

". . . the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

Google it if you want to find out.

Is this the philosophy of our intelligence agencies right now?

[zeemike]

19. I know, but I won't spoil it for you.

People could benefit from the Google if they don't know.
And that principle has been worked on us for decades now.

[JDPriestly]

20. Yes. But if we mention the name out loud, people will be incensed. True as it is, nobody

dares to admit it. We have gone down the slippery slope and are already on our bellies in the mud. We just haven't realized that the stuff we are lying in is not just mud but something much more disgusting.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. And in breaking news, water is truly wet

[AtheistCrusader]

22. Not unexpected.

She's been defending the surveillance for some time now.

[madrchsod]

25. she owns the largest home in the city of san francisco.

takes a lot of money for upkeep and taxes.

[Coyotl]

35. I call TOTAL Bullshit.

http://www.zillow.com/san-francisco-ca/expensive-homes/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/25/san-franciscos-most-expensive-homes_n_1453722.html

http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2012/02/28/billionaires_row_features_san_franciscos_most_expensive_home_currently_for_sale.php

[Uncle Joe]

26. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, KoKo.

[adirondacker]

27. WTF Einstein strikes again! Booo! nt

[CountAllVotes]

28. Now I know why ...

I cannot force my hand to mark the D box on the ballot next to her name.

She is what she is ... another greedy liar it seems eh?

[HooptieWagon]

30. I get that a primary challenge is impossible.

So it looks like the best course of action is for good progressive Dems to hold their noses and vote R to try and get her out. Then in 6 years find a solid progressive candidate to elect to that Senate seat. By hook or by crook, DiFi has got to go.

[CountAllVotes]

31. I've been saying that since 1978!

When she took over as mayor of San Francisco after the Moscone/Milk murders and boy she stepped right up to the plate and TOOK that job over and from there ... off she went with her political career!

Never have never will vote for "Dear Dianne"!

[Politicub]

32. The NSA spies on them, too

I imagine they have something about everyone holding public office and can use it to get whatever they want congress to do. The NSA's reach is scary indeed.

[NYC_SKP]

33. Conservatives are well represented with Senator Diane Feinstein.

People say that we have two Democratic Senators in California.

And they are wrong.

K/R

[Wilms]

38. ^

[silvershadow]

39. Nor is she a Democrat. nt

[Hutzpa]

41. This might be a little late

but she is the democratic Halloween mascot for this year.

She continues to hamper progress in the Senate, just wished Harry can replace
her as Committee Chairwoman.