Stoopid Stuff

I guess it's pretty much what I was expecting

So I got fairly spun up this weekend over the lies and misrepresentations towards Iran and the broad acceptance among the population. One of the things that deeply outraged me is that Barack Obama, who without a doubt knows much better, has adopted this same dishonest line out of fear of being labeled a man of peace or something equally awful.

Now I know that the Obama campaign gets an awful lot of correspondence, and certainly they would not have, nor should they be willing to support, the resources to read and respond to them all. Certainly it only makes sense that they would use some digital solution to parse the emails they receive, and based on keywords found in the text send them an appropriate response from the campaign, or forward them to the FBI as necessary. I understand that. But I was frustrated and angry. So I sent this email to the Obama for President website:

Senator Obama, I have so much respect for your willingness to speak honestly with your constituency. Why have you chosen to pander so venally on Iran?

You KNOW Iran is not a threat to America, nor is she a threat to Israel. You KNOW that all the evidence is Iran is not developing nuclear weapons. You must know that under the NPT, which unlike Israel and India, Iran is a signatory, Iran is perfectly entitled to develop the nuclear fuel cycle, enrich uranium and research and use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. In fact, under the NPT, the IAEA and other nuclear nations are actually obligated to ASSIST Iran in the research and development of peaceful nuclear power. If anyone is in breach of the NPT, it is the US, Russia, England and France for not living up to their obligations under the treaty to reduce nuclear stockpiles.

Indeed, a man of your knowledge and grasp of the issues must understand that to demand a negotiating partner essentially "lose" the negotiation merely to be allowed to participate in a negotiation is unfair and frankly, ridiculous. It is a negotiating position calculated to lead to confrontation, a position I'd expect from Dick Cheney, but one I am deeply disappointed to see from you.

I'd really like to know why you feel you cannot be honest with the American people in matters of Iran's nuclear development program. Do you really think that the Americans that advocate killing Muslims for no other reason than they ARE Muslims are ever going to vote for you?

I was disgusted by your pandering capitulation on FISA, and your dishonesty around Iran is not helping. It is time you went back to being the candidate who could clearly be seen as the one providing a path back to sustainable democracy. Whoever is advising you is failing you badly. You can do better. We can do better.

Yes we can...

mikey

Honestly, I had very little expectation of any response whatsoever. I'm certain that the campaign has already reached the conclusion that most Americans have already become convinced that the Iranians are a very deadly, implacable foe of the US and in some way absolutely must be "dealt with".

So I was a little surprised when I saw an email from the campaign in my inbox this afternoon. My surprise quickly turned to head-shaking bemusement as I read their response:

Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the American people. There is also little doubt that the Bush Administration, with the cooperation of major telecommunications companies, has abused that authority and undermined the Constitution by intercepting the communications of innocent Americans without their knowledge or the required court orders.

That is why last year I opposed the so-called Protect America Act, which expanded the surveillance powers of the government without sufficient independent oversight to protect the privacy and civil liberties of innocent Americans. I have also opposed the granting of retroactive immunity to those who were allegedly complicit in acts of illegal spying in the past.

After months of negotiation, the House passed a compromise that, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over last year's Protect America Act. Under this compromise legislation, an important tool in the fight against terrorism will continue, but the President's illegal program of warrantless surveillance will be over. It restores FISA and existing criminal wiretap statutes as the exclusive means to conduct surveillance – making it clear that the President cannot circumvent the law and disregard the civil liberties of the American people. It also firmly re-establishes basic judicial oversight over all domestic surveillance in the future.

It does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I voted in the Senate three times to remove this provision so that we could seek full accountability for past offenses. Unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful. But this compromise guarantees a thorough review by the Inspectors General of our national security agencies to determine what took place in the past, and ensures that there will be accountability going forward. By demanding oversight and accountability, a grassroots movement of Americans has helped yield a bill that is far better than the Protect America Act.

It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives – and the liberty – of the American people.

See? It's simple enough. My email mentioned their capitulation on FISA. And their software saw it and figured I was another one of those hippies complaining about their capitulation on FISA. So it sent me their canned response. On FISA. And they will continue to rattle their saber at Iran, because it shows they are serious about defending America from all these gathering threats.

And 99 Red Balloons Go By...

posted by mikey @ 4:19 PM