If I had any possibility of dunking Representative Rogers' toothbrush into the toilet, it would be, legally, fair game.

Colbert said the same thing as Deranged Goblin (see http://imgur.com/gallery/eydH6). Which is it, you guys?

1. DG is a copy cat.
2. Someone at Colbert lurks here.

Someone better fess up.

Or

3. Plenty of folks have made similar jokes since Rogers' statement made news because it isn't a stretch for more than one person to come up with the same joke about the same thing.

Jokes can't be copyrighted you fascist. Besides copyright can't be violated if the holder of the copyright doesn't know it's being violated. Or something.

This is one of the few cases where I think it doesn't really matter who's in the ring. All the cries of terror from all the world leaders, all the ruffled feathers from Google and Apple, the indignation from various congressional leaders on both sides of the fence, it is all bullshit.

Ultimately people cooperate with the NSA because they feel it is in their best interest to. They serve a purpose that is extremely difficult to take on in any serious way: How to fight terrorism in a age of global digital saturation. I find the suggestion that there be appointed oversight committees to be a joke. Even if you were to sit 12 private civs in a room and show them the kinds of terrifying shit, from child sex and slavery rings to plans to blow up embassies, and you say it was gleaned through mass spying algorithms, they'll have a hard time shooting it down.

As European citizens cry about the terror of American imperialism and our spy programs, their leaders respond with envy and moderation, because, after all, they're people are doing the same thing, and because the NSA provides their own intelligence apparatus with national security data that helps keep them in office.

I'm not saying I feel good or safe with the NSA doing their thing, I just think people will forget about it and that changing course will be almost impossible.

And I think people will care less about the NSA in 2 years, just as they're tossing Snowden out of their thoughts. Congrats on his new job at www.letsarrestsomegays.ru, I wish him well.

Spies are spies, yo. This is why Edward Snowden's job title is "spy", not "Hero Of Libertopia". Spies are the scum of humanity and always have been, always will be, but pretending as if they'll be legislated away is absurd. Spies are like fungus and will just pop up somewhere else.

A better thing to do, just to keep sanity, is remember that privacy is an 18th century fad which was never more than a gentlemen's agreement anyway.

Well, you have to admit the Church committee had some impact in its time, so intelligence oversight can have an impact for better or worse, and very likely both.

I second that!

Bingo.

and even if you get caught, if you did it "for america" its no big deal.

Inverse magical thinking? It isn't real if you don't know to believe in it?

If you can't see the fecal matter collecting in my already bloated colon, then I'm not really full of shit!

So if someone slips a loved one of his some roofies, then has sex with her, but she doesn't remember it, then it's not really a rape, intercourse, or anything? Wow, I sure hope he gives speeches to teens about relationships.

SPK, are you suggesting that, in your scenario, it *is* rape, regardless of whether she remembers or not?

Wow, that is a new, interesting standard in the law. We'll have to discuss it... over wine.



Wine with roofies.

Make it wine coolers. They cover up the aftertaste more thoroughly.




...or so I'm told.

...wine COOLERS?

You disgust me, sir.