Suuuure, We Can Trust the NSA to Police Itself-- When Bison Can Dance the Ballet

If you've been paying attention to this story, you'll know that Emperor Alexander has been proclaiming all along that the NSA scrupulously follows the rules and the we can trust them, there's nothing to see and you can go back to watching Duluth Gots Talent.

Well, surprise, surprise, seems that the NSA doesn't follow the rules because it's too hard to obey the law. The NSA broke the law thousands of times a year, and that's just at their HQ alone. When they take the effort to report their violations of the law, they clean up the reports-- sort of like reducing a murder beef to disorderly conduct.

Meanwhile, the FISA Court has admitted that they are toothless. They depend on the intelligence agencies to self-report to the court when the agencies break the law. Riight, sort of like shutting off the alarm systems and requiring that bank robbers call the cops whenever they pull a job.

When is the pro-police state caucus in Congress going to get a clue and realize that they have to start doing their fucking jobs as an independent branch of government? Oh, they have no trouble engaging in symbolic vote after vote to repeal Obamacare, but when it comes to doing some heavy lifting and exercising oversight of the spooks-- not so much. The Chief Spooks lie to Congress without any consequences, but you try that and see what happens.

UPDATE: What he said:

[H]ere's what now should be taken as an operating procedure in any discussion of the NSA and/or the surveillance state. First, everything they say is a lie, or, at best, a quarter-truth. Second, any argument based on the fundamental premise of "Trust us," should cause the person making the argument to be laughed out of government service forever. Third, any defense based on the alleged safeguards of either the FISA Court, or the responsible committees of the Congress is prima facie worthless, whether it comes from your favorite pundit, your favorite congresscritter, or, especially, your favorite President of the United States. Fourth, Edward Snowden, International Man Of Luggage and flawed human being, has blown himself a helluva whistle here. (Emphasis mine)

UDPATE II: DiFi (D-NSA) has the NSA's back on this, which is about as surprising as it will be when the Sun sets this evening.

UPDATE III: I gather that NC State is going to change the name of its sports teams to "The Fighting Spooks." After all, the NSA goes together with academic freedom kind of like flourine and everything else.