NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden on Thursday praised Sen. Rand Paul’s ten-and-a-half hour takeover of the Senate floor on Wednesday in protest of the Patriot Act.
Snowden, whose revelations about mass surveillance two years ago may finally result in reform legislation this week, said in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” discussion that Paul’s action “represents a sea change from a few years ago, when intrusive new surveillance laws were passed without any kind of meaningful opposition or debate.”
Paul, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, spent much of his time on the floor criticizing the massive surveillance regime that Snowden exposed by leaking top-secret documents to journalists.
It was all for show — Paul’s self proclaimed “filibuster” (minibuster? fauxbuster?) had no practical effect on upcoming Senate votes, although it did give his presidential campaign a boost. The Senate is due to vote in the next several days on the USA Freedom Act, which passed the House overwhelmingly last week, and which would eliminate one — but only one — of the programs Snowden disclosed: the bulk collection of domestic phone records.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he would prefer to simply renew the three Patriot Act provisions that expire on June 1, including the one that officials say justifies the bulk collection, but he is in a small minority, and his proposal may not even come to a vote.
Snowden wrote:
Whatever you think about Rand Paul or his politics, it’s important to remember that when he took the floor to say “No” to any length of reauthorization of the Patriot Act, he was speaking for the majority of Americans — more than 60% of whom want to see this kind of mass surveillance reformed or ended.
He was joined by several other senators who disagree with the Senate Majority leader’s efforts to sneak through a reauthorization of what courts just weeks ago declared was a comprehensively unlawful program, and if you notice that yours did not take to the floor with him, you should call them right now (1-920-END-4-215) and ask them to vote against any extension of the Patriot Act, because the final vote is being forced during the dark of a holiday weekend to shield them from criticism.
Snowden, who appeared on Reddit from Moscow, shared the online discussion with ACLU Deputy Director Jameel Jaffer.
In response to one commenter who noted that Paul was his senator, Snowden wrote:
If Paul is your Senator, then Mitch McConnell is also from your state. He’s the one spearheading the effort to reauthorize the same program the Second Circuit just ruled is unlawful.
Don’t send an email, make his phone ring. (ACLU tells me you can get your senator from any phone via 1-920-END-4-215)
Snowden urged readers “to correct misinformation whenever you see this topic being debated.” He even supplied his own bullet points:
- Supporters of mass surveillance say it keeps us safe. The problem is that that’s an allegation, not a fact, and there’s no evidence at all to support the claim. In fact, a White House review with unrestricted access to classified information found that not only is mass surveillance illegal, it has never made a concrete difference in even one terrorism investigation.
- Some claim the Senate should keep Section 215 of the Patriot Act (which will be voted on in two days) because we need “more time for debate,” but even in the US, the public has already decided: 60% oppose reauthorization. This unconstitutional mass surveillance program was revealed in June 2013 and has been struck down by courts twice since then. If two years and two courts aren’t enough to satisfy them, what is?
- A few try to say that Section 215 is legal. It’s not. Help them understand.
- The bottom line is we need people everywhere — in the US, outside the US, and especially within their own communities — to push back and challenge anybody defending these programs. More than anything, we need to ordinary people to make it clear that a vote in favor of the extension or reauthorization of mass surveillance authorities is a vote in favor of a program that is illegal, ineffective, and illiberal.
Asked if he thought the government might continue with the collection of bulk phone records despite losing what it says is its legal authority for doing so, Snowden replied:
There are always reasons to be concerned that regardless of the laws passed, some agencies in government (FBI, NSA, CIA, and DEA, for example, have flouted laws in the past) will miscontrue the intent of Congress in passing limiting laws — or simply disregard them totally. For example, the DOJ’s internal watchdog, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report claiming, among other abuses, that it could simply refuse to tell government oversight bodies what exactly it was doing, so the legality or illegality of their operations simply couldn’t be questioned at all.
However, that’s no excuse for the public or Congress to turn a blind eye to unlawful or immoral operations — and the kind of mass surveillance happening under Section 215 of the Patriot Act right now is very much unlawful: the Courts ruled just two weeks ago that not only are these activities illegal, but they have been since the day the programs began.
And asked if, during his now-famous interview with John Oliver, Oliver had really handed him a “picture of his junk” (you simply must watch the segment, if you haven’t already), Snowden replied with a unicode emoticon known as a “Lenny Face“:
Photo: Imgur
(This post is from our blog: Unofficial Sources.)
I love Edward Snowden and all his words. He is wise and very articulate. Everything he says is true!!!!!!
Dan basically says that Rand filibustered as a stunt because I’m the end the patriot act will stay intact. Paul is just trying to get exposure. Yes, Rand will get more exposure, but his filibuster isn’t useless. Did snowden’s revalations by themselves change anything? No. How many stunts did William wilberforce pull? Wilberforce had a few colleagues on his side and he exposed the horribleness of slavery to the public. And it was successful, without a war. Exposing unlawfulness to as many people as possible is the best possible way to change public opinion which will change what politicians do. Give credit where credit is due. Don’t whine about progress.
With all the phone record controversy going on something equally as intrusive is getting swept under the rug. The fact that Police Agencies are using automatic license plate readers to keep records of citizen’s movements. Think the NSA is not also taking advantage of this? Research it, this need more attention than its getting. Luckily there are effective countermeasures http://www.sunflexzone.com
This is a joke, right? Remember, “Stand With Rand”? Didn’t that come out of when he promised the nations largest civil suit against the NSA, right before election? LOL he got millions I read somewhere, free press and his fans bounced up and down. A while later no law suit he has made limited effort to discuss the NSA or issues related. Remember he also did the same thing with UAS, he gave a hot air speech. Rand knew this speech would be meaningless and petty. I mean it might be activism to a degree. But, after the UAS speech didnt he think droning US citizens might be ok? In the end he supports the wars that continue the spying and promotes the Islamaphobia which is an absolute keystone to endless war – Which is the primary justification for spying. I am Libertarian 70% of the time and progressive socially. Rand though he is neither. His pro Israel stance was so hawkish it was denounced by Israel. Rand is anti-nsa when it is politically beneficial.
Now, if Intercept is promoting this as an intentional method to get liberals to see the other side can do some good, I think I can support such “deception” (Inform & Influence). In my mind though I know both are just as evil. So, I am very confused to what the point would be of TI to pimp our Rand Paul when they know other media will follow.
I loved how John Oliver closed that interview – where Ed said this:
“Well, if you weren’t on the list before – you are now.”
and
“No, it’s a real thing, you’re associated now…”
Being on any list associated with incredible courage to do the right thing (for no other reason than posterity) in the face of impossible odds, instead of just ignoring a Big Brother that ONLY protects an empire of the world’s greediest, is a label all should wear with pride.
Odd Froomkin starts by saying Paul’s filibuster was all show and mocks it as a “minibuster” and “fauxbuster” with no impact. Then he writes an article generated by the filibuster in which Snowden himself commends Paul and advises the public how to further oppose illegal seizure and surveliellece by the Gov’t. Partisan to a fault, Friomkin is also wrong that the filibuster has no impact on votes. In fact, the filibuster may well have prevented a vote to re-authorize the Patriot Act before it expires.
Yes, very true. I was distressed to see that jab at Paul as well.
A rather extraordinary essay by Hodding Carter III:
http://www.salon.com/2015/05/23/glenn_greenwald_im_sorry_why_i_changed_my_mind_on_edward_snowden/
I hope that the admins will permit this post, even though it “only” covers the very basic subject of the American’s liberty.(@admin: you may remove this line if you feel that it’s unsuitable).
For a while after 9/11 have I defended the US government’s words and actions about honor, justice and fairness. Because I believed a lot of it and my own thorough research on the internet could not yet discover what we’ve seen after 2013. However, what became very clear to me over the years was how much the government fooled the American citizens and how much uncontrolled power they granted themselves.
My note to the American people is: wake your folks up! Share reasonable concerns.
Counter terrorism is extremely important but it should happen with boundaries and not suspecting every cititzen of your nation.
Ask yourself “Who is the government of the United States?”
It’s not robots, not some kind of artificial intelligence. It’s people, human beings, elected by you. Therefore remember the very first words of The Constitution of The United States: “WE THE PEOPLE”.
Just as basic and simple as it sounds – it’s the truth.
YOU the people, ARE who can change the government and it’s activities if you disagree.
YOU do have the power.
YOU are America.
Stand up if you have to and bring back the strong, enduring spirit with which the United States were once established.
Because it’s you who is affected and it is you who has to protect your beloved country and “YOU THE PEOPLE” itself.
I wish you the best and the endurance for that “fight” and the support of politicians who will truly step in for your opinions and convictions.
Since I am not a US citizen (I’m Swedish) please correct me if I am wrong in the following.
The United States was established on a system of balancing of powers, the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
It is quite clear that the executive and legislative branches have been enacting laws and orders that are directly in conflict with the Bill of Rights (10 first constitutional amendments).
So that begs the question – What is the Supreme Court doing sitting idly by watching this dismantling of the Constitution?
I thought this was their primary function – safeguard the nation from setting up oppressive government and eroding liberties from within.
Please correct me if I am wrong but this SCOTUS issue has been bugging me (pun intended) a long time.
Honesty is the best policy.
“It was all for show…”
Except for the demonstration of committed opposition by a national politician to the NSA’s bulk collection of data, and his attempt at meaningful debate. I hate politicians as much as the next person, but they do actually do good things once in a while. Just because what Paul’s doing happens to also benefit his presidential aspirations doesn’t detract from the fact that he’s doing a good thing. Perhaps the fact that he’s doing something that the majority of Americans agree with is the reason it’s being viewed as a “good thing” AND bolstering his campaign. Imagine that! A politician doing what voters actually wants them to do!
Every one of these senators knows that the NSA is capable of watching their every move so how can there be an honest vote on these issues? According to William Binney, Eliot Spitzer was deliberately targeted once he decided to go after criminals on Wall St. Who in government today is going to openly oppose them?
Schneier On Security
ACLU’s Chris Soghoian explains “Why the Current Section 215 Reform Debate Doesn’t Matter Much”
“There were 180 orders authorized last year by the FISA Court under Section 215 — 180 orders issued by this court. Only five of those orders relate to the telephony metadata program. There are 175 orders about completely separate things. In six weeks, Congress will either reauthorize this statute or let it expire, and we’re having a debate — to the extent we’re even having a debate — but the debate that’s taking place is focused on five of the 180, and there’s no debate at all about the other 175 orders.”
….HE’s running for president . . . . HE is a republican. . . G R E A T – S H O W – but only a show… There was never a serous discussion of ending it…
PLAY ACTING – Ronald Reagan – – George W. Bush ( playing landing on an aircraft carrier ( flight suit and all – Never Qualified for carrier landings))
WHAT do they call it? Playing to the cameras/press??….. The GOVERNMENT is tied up with inaction – blocking meaningful legislation – and we get this so they can go home and have another vacation………passing the T.P.P. against the people/without full debate about fast-track – – REAL (floats in cesspools)/(heroes)….
REPEAL THE PATRIOT ACT. Undo all corporatist *worldwide* spying for corporate gain (which is useful only, and irresponsibly, to the transnational corporations, banking complexes and the privately-owned Federal Reserve, and of course the military-industrial complex and the Zionist reprobates who largely finance it). Undo all attempts to codify or justify this crap under some other term, and oh yeah, FUCK THE ESTABLISHMENT. Free your mind – no, your body won’t follow unless you mean it!
That is all.
Check me out at my new blog: *Young and Longwinded – The Cindy Report*
In 08 grass-roots Obama repealed the laws of gravity… I’ve been floating away to the etheral regions ever since.
I would prefer the Patriot Act just fade away (like old soldiers) into the sunset … but, alas, the legislature has repealed sunshine.
>” * A few try to say that Section 215 is legal. It’s not. Help them understand.” *cuz
Afaict, neither the authors of the PA, nor the 2nd circuit, said the sec. 215 authorized NSA bulk/warrantless surveillance. So, I fail to see the need for a Freedom Act… as it should be clear by now the decision-makers @ the Most Transparent Administration Ever could fuck-up a wet dream.
*I would suggest some Accountability, loo … but I think they’ve repealed that too.
Yo, tiny Dancer..
Search was to no avail.
In loo of further delving, is a link avail?
http://blog.monsterfactory.net/fans-2/the-cindy-report/
I was just being silly.
Bummer..
Rand Paul is a corrupt corporatist/militarist establishmentarian, like *all* presidential candidates. Fuck him.
That was a wee-might succinct for the Young and Longwinded Cindy Report. Must be a preview.
I like it! So much more ‘accessible’ as editors like to say.
Great points Vivek.
I’m getting very tired of the appeals from the lemmings to “Stand with (inset politicians name here)” and want it to end. Let the politicians stand with US for a change. But they won’t. The tragedy is that because the lemming Dems fear the Right Wing so much, that they will elect another right winger in Hillary Clinton, rather than bravely looking for an alternative. But Dems have no principles. I voted for Obama once thinking that having a mixed race president would be good for the country, a sign of progress, despite the fact that I wasn’t very enthusiastic about him at all.
After watching him let the war criminals, torturers and financial criminals walk away scot free, I was totally done with him, and by extension, the Democratic Party–forever. I voted for Liz Warren, and Bernie Sanders in many elections when I lived in Vermont, but both have disappointed me with their stands on Gaza and defense of the indefensible by the Israelis.
George Carlin had it right. The owners of the country have elections to give the sheeple false hope, that they actually have a democracy. I’ll only vote third party or write in Snowden-Manning from now on. I want nothing more than to bail out of this sad, sick country.
Here’s a better link to the Snowden / Oliver interview (cuts out a lot of the filler):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJLk7O-xu4g
A couple of things worth pointing out here:
1) The “60% of Americans want reform” claim refers to an ACLU poll of 1001 individuals (yes, that’s a somewhat small % of the US population), the terms of which are incredibly hard to find. What questions were asked, exactly? So much for transparency, ACLU. Could you publish the questions on your website?
2) The link to a “White House review” that found “mass surveillance never made a concrete difference in even one terrorist investigation” refers to a PCLOB (not White House) review of the 215 program, not to bulk collection or (if you must) ‘mass surveillance’ writ large.
So whether you agree with Snowden or not, he’s not doing his cause much good by deliberately blurring the lines between one specific program, and the overall utility of what NSA does. And it makes accusations by The Intercept of government dishonesty and propagandizing look pretty hollow.
This took less than 15 seconds to find: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/privacy_poll_results.pdf
Thanks that’s actually really helpful! Now compare the detail of the poll with the claim that “60% of the poll oppose reauthorization.”
Also worth noting from the description of the poll:
“Voters were screened based on their propensity to vote, and only likely voters continued the interviews. 29% of respondents were affiliated with the Republican Party, 34% Democratic Party, and 37% were independent.”
How much are web paying you Mr. Ball to promote the police state?
Perhaps, but the fact that a politician with presidential aspirations was making a show of respect for civil liberties, is concerning. People may see through the act – Paul’s father was similarly delusional, always babbling about freedom and the Constitution. But other politicians seem to be clambering on board as well. It is an unwelcome shift of the terms of reference for the debate.
Fortunately, I don’t think this is a permanent setback. A paradigm shift – something to refocus people’s attention on security may be required. I’m sure the CIA has experience in this area and can formulate and implement an appropriate plan.
By the way, in the Reddit thread, Snowden made an excellent argument against privacy. He stated that people who claim they don’t need Fourth Amendment rights because they have nothing to hide, are like people who maintain they don’t need First Amendment rights because they have nothing to say. This is an excellent point. Rights are of value only to a small minority, which then clamors to have them made universal. This imposition of their personal preferences on everyone else is the very antithesis of democracy.
Its pretty ballsy for Froomkin to dismiss Paul’s efforts, which delayed a vote by 24 hours and allowed more time to build opposition. Its more than any other senator has done to fight the garbled Freedom Act v2 as currently amended. But what is all that compared to partisanship, right? Lets just hurry up and get a real leader in the White House, like Hillary. That should fix everything.
“Rights are of value only to a small minority, which then clamors to have them made universal. This imposition of their personal preferences on everyone else is the very antithesis of democracy.” — Benito
I beg to differ. Rights, such as freedom of speech, of the press, to privacy, and many more are by nature universal. For instance enacting legislation to guarantee freedom of the press benefits everyone, not merely reporters. In that respect we cannot speak of personal preferences but rather acting for the common good and, when the goal is to benefit society at large, not by restricting but indeed expanding rights, democracy shouldn’t be a consideration.
One cannot accept the idea that a majority of manipulated sheeple (since political campaigns are by definition an act of convincing, hence manipulation) imposes its dictate on the whole, particularly if one possible outcome is to limit essential rights which makes the democratic process possible in the first place. The very infrastructure of democracy, which includes such essential rights as the ability to express oneself freely, must be imposed in a somewhat dictatorial fashion for everyone’s benefit. Then and only then may democracy flourish. Such imposition is not antithetical to democracy, it actually makes it possible.
I dearly value your opinions, particularly when you play devil’s advocate, as I consider them an opportunity to stage debates. A thesis is just that, neither right nor wrong, but rather a stepping stone for the further advancement of ideas. You’ve voiced your views, I’ve voiced mine. May some valuable discussion grow from these seeds for the ultimate benefit of all interested readers.
On second thought, the ground rules of democracy should be imposed in autocratic fashion, rather than dictatorial. Must’ve been a Freudian slip caused by your pseudo… :)
What I mean is that no democratic nation can set its foundations via a democratic process. Most people are unable to think beyond personal interests, it’s a matter of fact, which would imply that a nation needs fathers to give it birth. Such key individuals should represent the aspirations of the population at large and be elected for their altruistic abilities. Indeed I’m talking about elitism but neither for personal gain nor to stay. Their role should be strictly limited to establishing a legislative framework which in turn would enable democratic development of society, by the people and for the people.
The US and its constitution were originally kick-started by such exceptional people and were not referred to as founding fathers for nothing. They foresaw future abuse and tried to minimize its impact. Unfortunately their good intentions were eventually defeated by the blunders and weaknesses of later leaders but they had it right. What we witness today is a misuse of democratic principles employed to erode the foundations of democracy itself. Good for those who benefit from such destruction, they played their cards rights, and a lesson for the 99% who gradually lost interest in altruistic politics by focusing on personal gains. That’s assuming the sheeple are capable of understanding what’s happened to them, which is probably far-fetched.
Regardless of how the system is set up, the end result is similar. You can start by declaring that people have inalienable rights (US). Or you can start by declaring that government has absolute power (UK). But in either case, the system converges towards an equilibrium state, based on the power dynamic between government and citizens.
Things which increase the power of government: internal and external threats, surveillance, social rigidity, general poverty and ignorance.
Things which increase the power of the citizens: peace, privacy, social mobility, general wealth, education and access to information.
It’s just a matter of finding the right balance.
Whether we like it or not, the ruling class is intrusively imposing Election 2016 on us. The con men and con women who are auditioning for the role of administrator of the capitalist-imperialist system and guardian of the ruling class have to rehearse their fake-populist lines and talking points. The Owning Class pre-selects and vets the candidates; the ordinary people who participate in the primaries and caucuses in Iowa or New Hampshire only pick from among the choices allowed by the 1%. It’s an indication of how poorly informed the voters from these states are that we don’t hear about massive popular revolts and citizens’ rejection of the whole charade. Whoever is the eventual nominee for each of the right wing parties will carry out the US capitalist class’ illegal invasion, destabilization, colonization and plundering of Africa; the fracturing of the Greater Middle East and the infliction of violence-on-an-unfathomable-scale against our Sisters and Brothers; aggression toward China and Russia; subversion of democracies and governments in the Western Hemisphere; the assault on democratic, environmental, and economic rights of Americans here in the US.
All of which is to say that civilians in America in 2015 must realize now that the election campaigns being thrust in our faces and hijacking our conversations are part of the problem, and that we must not give one minute, one vote, one dollar, or one prayer to these public-marginalizing, social-movement-disrupting-and-co-opting spectacles. Let’s talk about the issues that matter to us and be on our guard to not let the Serious Experts tell us what our concerns or options are or what is possible.
Excerpt from Howard Zinn:
This quotation reads very much like Marcuse’s “One Dimensional Man”, I bet Zinn was inspired by this. So if you haven’t read it already, I very much recommend!
A well thought out comment Vivek Jain. I also agree with what you said below about click-bait headlines. We get enough of that from, well, everywhere and everyone. I’m a registered Republican, before you start hurling insults, let me explain how that came to be. After turning 18, 44 years ago, I was already disillusioned with the choices presented to us on which to vote, so I registered as an Independent. At that time I lived in a county in florida(Sarasota) which was dominated by the Republican party so many(nearly all) elections were decided in the primary because there was no candidate from an opposing party, and only registered Republicans could vote on Republican ballots in the primary at that time. It only took a couple of elections to realize I had been shut out of the process, so I changed my party affiliation and just haven’t bothered to change it in over 40 years. After going through that situation, it has made me very cognizant of the machinations of the two party duopoly which very few are willing to challenge. What I’ve learned over the decades is it doesn’t matter to which party you belong, because unless you’re a big mucky muck in one of the parties, you’re still shut out of the process. We’re just going through the motions of Democracy with no choice other than taking to the street. I still make phone calls and write letters because I believe in using all the tools at my disposal, but I think it will require a popular uprising to have any hope of change.
Hey Dan,
You don’t need the clickbaity, inaccurate title. Whether the title was your choosing, or that of your editor(s), I don’t care. Just change it. Patriots don’t “cheer on” opportunistic charlatans. It would be enough to say that Snowden recognizes the valid criticisms of the USA PATRIOT Act [sic] and urges Americans to 1) learn about the extremist totalitarian legal regime that has been constructed (at best, without our consent or knowledge, and at worst, by fearmongering and despite public disapproval), 2) to support efforts (not politicians) to undo the fascist, unlawful legislation that has been illegally created through a bipartisan pro-authoritarian consensus, and, 3) to apprehend, prosecute, and hang the real traitors.
Democratic party loyalists will only see “Rand Paul” and “Edward Snowden”, and having been conditioned by repeated and heavy vilification of Snowden by the Obama administration and the pro-establishment media, will automatically spit “libertarian!” and other names (“traitor!”), ignoring the substance of Snowden’s legitimate criticisms.