Thursday, June 08, 2006

Update on the NSA Domestic Spying Scandal

Arlen Specter, the quisling Pennsylvania Republican, has done it again. Again.

Specter was "Snarlin'Arlen" last month when he said he would demand that the CEOs of Verizon, AT&T and BellSouth appear before his Judiciary Committee. This was prompted by the giant telecoms climbing into bed with the National Security Agency and agreeing to share dope on their customers for its domestic spying program. For money.

But as has too often been the case, Specter is "Wafflin' Arlen" this month.

First he cut a deal with committee conservatives that would defang its investigation into the legality of the NSA program. Now he is deferring on whether the telecom execs should be required to testify.

The reason, according to those ubiquitous informed sources, is that the telecoms have been told by somebody – the White House, the NSA, who knows? – that they would not be allowed to provide any info about the spying program.

Specter, of course, has not gone public with any of this, prompting committee member Richard Durban, the Illinois Democrat, to speculate that Arlen had succumbed to a "June swoon."

I would invoke a term that describes being on the receiving end of a lewd sex act, but I'll spare you because Kiko's House is a family blog.

BEER MONEY
I don't know whether to be flattered or dismayed over being part of two major lawsuits, but I guess that's what happens when you're a U.S. military veteran who uses Verizon for his phone service.

The first lawsuit was filed against the telecom giant Verizon for cooperating with the NSA . (See my May 12 post on Amerika: Big Brother Is Listening for the gory details.)

The second lawsuit was filed this week by a coalition of veterans groups who charge that my privacy was violated when thieves stole a laptop computer from the Maryland home of a Department of Veterans Affairs data analyst. The computer had personal info on 26.5 million vets on its media drive, including the Social Security numbers and other dope on about 80 percent of active-duty troops. The VA sat on the theft for three weeks before word of it leaked out.

It's unclear how much I'll get from Verizon, but the vets' groups are asking for the VA to give me 1,000 bucks. The checks are not yet in the mail, of course, and may never be. Besides which, the lawyers will get their cut, so I don't expect to end up with much more than beer money.

No comments: