A little more in regard to my last post.

     Last post I talked about the deliberate betrayal of our nation's security and those that defend it.   I would like to put exactly what those that defend our nation are sworn to do.  This is the oath that all active duty and reserve U. S. military personnel willingly swear in order to serve and defend our nation:

     I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

     Anyone reading this blog should know that once you make this vow, you are never released from it.  Please think about that a bit.  (The vow differs slightly for military officers and the National Guard--if you are interested, the specifics are here.)  Once a citizen has served in the military, they can never be a civilian again; they are forever after a veteran, and, as such, still obligated to keep the vow they made.

     In the interests of fairness and pointing out stupidity everywhere I can find it, I would like to show another betrayal.  This editorial in the Washington Times does it quite succinctly.  I recommend everyone read it to see exactly what the White House did to Seal Team 6 by making the covert action team that took down Osama bin Laden international celebrities (and thus easily acquirable targets).  It doesn't matter if it was done with good intentions, some kind of overabundance of enthusiasm, stupidity, or malice aforethought.  Just like Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning, the current administration has betrayed We, The People (and royally screwed Team 6--I feel for those guys and their families, bigtime). 

     I personally think that their intrusions into my privacy by recording all of my (and everyone else's on the planet) communications, whether they be by phone/email/text/instant message/whatever, to be a little overkill, but if it catches terrorists or prevents even one more attack on our soil, I guess some good will have come of it.  I can see that it will remain a permanent part of our intelligence gathering assets, whether We, The People, like it or not--it is too cool in that "new toy" way that guarantees it will never be discarded.  And, because it is managed by mere mortals, it will be abused.  Your privacy shrinks day by day.  Everywhere you go you end up in front of some kind of camera.  This often helps solve crimes, which is good, but wouldn't you all rather live in a society that didn't need all this self-surveillance in the first place?  You would think it would be enough to make even the most avid voyeur lose their taste for it.  They (and by this I mean our and every other government on this planet) never will, though.   We spy on everyone else while every other nation does the same.  Why this ridiculous 'round robin' game is necessary is obvious--once the players get in the game they are all afraid to quit.

     And yes, I will state the obvious.  Just like you, I can't help but wonder: where will it escalate to from here?