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“From this room to that room” is about the kindest thing that can be said about Obama’s proposed spying safeguards. The “Department of Public Trust” was a nice touch by Ted Rall.
Lots of excellent articles around the Internet debunking Obama’s Friday speech on NSA reform – almost too many to count, actually.
I look forward to the dropping of the next “Snowden Shoe.”
This is one of Ted Rall’s best cartoons ever. Even more amusing is the thought that somewhere in America there is a progressive that thinks this cartoon is some sort of ironic humor that is actually supportive of Obama’s NSA reform speech.
Marcy Wheeler has a pretty good article that debunks the entire Obama speech, line by line:
http://www.emptywheel.net/2014/01/17/obamas-speech-annotated-version/
I think there are more than a few “public servants” that are not looking forward to the next
Snowden Shoe. Suddenly, there seems to some sort of secret circumstantial evidence that
cannot be revealed indicating that Snowden is a Russian spy and always has been. This means
that any information contained in the stolen top secret NSA documents can be discounted as
just conspiracy theories – at least I believe that’s what these “public servants” are hoping.
Thanks for posting the link to the excellent Marcy Wheeler analysis. I was watching & taking notes during the speech but pretty much threw up my hands at trying to count & retort each lie. She does a superb job.
As for the progressives understanding Ted Rall – maybe they don’t trust him because his caricatures don’t make Obama look like a lofty leader who should be trusted….. Or maybe that was not the exact complaint one of the popular left-leaning websites had about the Ted Rall Obama…
By the way, the name “Bob” is an interesting choice of a name for this cartoon character.
I am reminded of the scary character “Bob” from Twin Peaks fame, and then there is old
J. R. “Bob” Dobbs, slacker prophet of the Church of the SubGenius who is often known
just as “Bob’ by members of that religion.
Is there some kind of subliminal message Rall is trying to put out here, or is it just my
medication reacting with an overdose of Meet The Press?
Hadn’t thought about “Bob.” If Rall had really wanted to screw with readers, he might have named the character “Assad.”
As far as overdosing on Meet the Press – I would fear that watching a few episodes might be a gateway drug that leads one to start watching nonstop cable news. But thanks for the heads-up on MTP blowing the whistle on the latest Russian agent.
I wonder if the Obama administration will launch a series of leaks that somehow tie Snowden to the anti-gay prejudice at the Winter Olympics.
Here’s the poop on Snowden:
http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/18/22352480-house-intelligence-chairman-hints-at-russian-help-in-snowden-leaks
If you google BOB TWIN PEAKS you can see “Bob” and see the wiki blurb:
“He is a demonic entity who feeds on fear and pleasure.”
That pretty much describes every hack in DC. So, maybe Rall was going for the Twin Peaks
subliminal message.
Dang, I knew I shoulda watched Twin Peaks in the old days. Now I’ll never understand contemporary humor.
I never watched Twin Peaks when it was on TV because I don’t do regularly scheduled events very well, but as a fan of David Lynch’s bizarro comedy vignettes I always regretted not watching the series. Then one day a few months ago, I found the whole thing on Hulu – free!
http://www.hulu.com/twin-peaks
A new series, “True Detective”, just started on HBO. It is 8 episodes of Twin Peaks-style weirdness starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The 2nd episode aired tonight, and I’m hooked. McConaughey has done some great work in the last couple of years, including the FDA-bashing “Dallas Buyers Club” recently.
I appreciate the recommendation. I’ll keep my eyes open for those shows.
Knowledgeable people can discount any claims made by Mike “Buck” Rogers. What an ass. Unfortunately, we seem to be few and far between. This guy is so stupid and ignorant that he still believes the guys fighting Assad are good guys.
There is a certain question I would like to know the answer to. How did this moron get to be the head of the intelligence committee? Never mind, I just answered my own question…
Ryan, if you look at the names of the previous heads of the House & Senate Intelligence Committees – these dudes were obviously not chosen for either their brains or their integrity.