A Progressive Reporter on NSA Spying

For John, BLUF:  I CAN handle the truth.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

Back when I lived in the Greater DC area and read The Washington Post faithfully, Mr Eugene Robinson was part of what I took to be the Modern Liberal Establishment in DC.  A long and respected columnist for the Wash Post, he provided a sense of what was going on.  On the 4th of July this year he wrote a column titled "We can handle the truth on NSA spying".  Here is the heart of his story:

I accept that the administration officials, Justice Department lawyers, federal judges, FBI agents and NSA analysts involved in the phone surveillance and other programs are acting in good faith.  The same is true of members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, who are supposed to be providing oversight.  But honorable intentions are not enough — especially when we know that much of what these honorable officials have told us is false.

The biggest lie of all? That the American people don’t even deserve to be told what their laws mean, much less how those laws are being used.

I see myself as being a patriot, but part of being a patriot is knowing when to say to my Government that it is wrong.  As that great American, Carl Schurz said:

My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.

Thank you, Mr Robinson, for a great Independence Day Opinion Piece.

Regards  —  Cliff