Determined to adhere to his policy of disappointing the American people, Obama announces that he intends to barely, basically not, reform the NSA’s police surveillance state against our emails,, phone calls, text messages, etc.
I Like Your Privacy So Much I’m Keeping It
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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Phillip J. Fry:
“I am shocked! Shocked! Well, not that shocked.”
As retirees living in Mexico, my wife & I make frequent telephone calls to the U.S. Yesterday, the strangest thing happened. My wife was talking to our daughter in Wisconsin when all of a sudden the phone went dead. She dialed the number again and got an intercept operator (recording) that advised the number (completely different from our daughter’s) was not a working number. When I checked by means of the computer, the number given by the recording was a Wisconsin number, but it was in a different area code! This happened THREE times in succession, although my wife was dialing our daughter’s number! I guess the NSA or CIA needs to hire more electronics-qualified people so that crap like this doesn’t happen anymore! 🙁
Meanwhile hundreds of thousands (millions?) of US citizens routinely commute to their very well compensated jobs in the frankengov surveillance industry. Whether they be federal employees or contracted corporate flunkies, they make up a sizable community of infowhores, incessantly vacuuming up whatever they can get. It seems increasingly obvious that remedies against this entrenched anti-democratic force must come from outside “the system.” Radical activists knew, even as early as the 60s, that the surveillance operations of the state were widespread and intense – we should have fought the bastards then, and ignored the critics who called us paranoid.
With the Oscars coming up, the Super Bowl approaching, and Bieber and Kanye running amok through the news, we have lots to “occupy us” and distract us from the collapse of the US Constitution that is occurring with a former constitutional law expert presiding,
Well, you know –
“Duck Dynasty” is much more important.
I love the debut image of Bob in Panel 3.
I wonder when and how the secret information will first be used to quell dissent actively (rather than by intimidation). Of course, we probably won’t ever find out, will we?
The only people who Obama has disappointment are the ones whose expectations of him were never close to realistic in the first place; which is frankly, their own damn fault.
On this one point, whimsical, we agree. Obama has been around long enough that we all know what he is: a right wing conservative. A man far to the right of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. So liberals and Democrats and progressives who think otherwise are definitely deluding themselves.
“On this one point, whimsical, we agree. Obama has been around long enough that we all know what he is: the most liberal person that could’ve been elected after 40+ years of liberals shitty attitude and failed elections strategy relentlessnessly pushing the Democratic party right. So anyone who thinks that anyone more liberal could’ve got in or accomplished much more is definitely deluding themselves.”
Fixed that for ya, Ted.
Oh, whimsical, it must be interesting to live in your parallel universe. Is it weird that Spock wears a beard?
According to our friend Whimsical, not only have «liberals» «pushed the [US] Democratic party [to the] right», but they have done so «relentlessly». No doubt to the clamorous protests of the conservative, war-mongering wing of that party, who, alas, found themselves unable to push back against the «liberal» onslaught. Political analysis at its very best !…
Henri
Ted-
You’re getting mixed up again- it’s in your make believe world that Spock wears a beard and liberals actually care about and achieved anything other than shoving the Democratic party hard right. Out here in the real world, Spock is beardless and liberals would rather be able to brag about their purity than get things accomplished, which is the main reason the Democratic party has gone as right as it has.
mhenri-
You confuse intent with result (I suspect intentionally, to avoid having to look at the real world consequences of liberals shitty attitudes). No, liberals did not intend to shove the party right, but by being willfully blind to the results of their shitty attitudes and then caring more about heir purity (as indicated by their doubling down on their attitude problem) then getting results, that’s EXACTLY what they did.
That Bob guy is mean, Ted – just the sort of chap we want to protect those Constitutional rights ! Enough with that «shitty attitude» ; give Obama a chance !… 😉
Henri