I don't think I'd want to bet anything important--like, the price of a cup of coffee--on getting the answer to that question right. Not after reading this:
US Postal Service Running 'Covert Operations Program' To Spy On Americans' Social Media Posts, Share With Agencies
Here's what caught someone's attention:
Among other things the USPS--and their cadre of those omnipresent 'analysts'--wants to know is, are you planning to protest Covid lockdowns? How many 'analysts' do you think the government has by now?
Even liberals found it all a trifle bizarre:
"It's a mystery" said University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone - who was appointed by President Obama to review the National Security Agency's bulk data collection program revealed by Edward Snowden. "I don’t understand why the government would go to the Postal Service for examining the internet for security issues."
"There are so many other federal agencies that could do this, I don’t understand why the post office would be doing it. There is no need for the post office to do it — you’ve got FBI, Homeland Security and so on, so I don’t know why the post office is doing this," he added.
They wanted a bit of the domestic spying action? Extra funding maybe? Everyone else is doing it--all the cool three letter agencies--so why not us? I'm guessing.
“This seems a little bizarre,” agreed Rachel Levinson-Waldman, deputy director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s liberty and national security program. “Based on the very minimal information that’s available online, it appears that [iCOP] is meant to root out misuse of the postal system by online actors, which doesn’t seem to encompass what’s going on here. It’s not at all clear why their mandate would include monitoring of social media that’s unrelated to use of the postal system.” -Yahoo News
"If the individuals they’re monitoring are carrying out or planning criminal activity, that should be the purview of the FBI," said Levinson-Waldman. "If they’re simply engaging in lawfully protected speech, even if it’s odious or objectionable, then monitoring them on that basis raises serious constitutional concerns."
What interests me in all this is--When did it all start? I find it hard to believe that the Postal Service waited until January 20, 2021, before they got this program up and running. I'd be willing to bet that cup of coffee--or the price thereof--that this was going on under Trump. And that just goes to show how little control even a president has over the government. Especially when that president has been rejected by the Establishment--speaking of which, you won't be surprised to learn that the targets of the Postal Service are very much "right wingers".
Are you getting the impression that our rulers--yes, including such an unlikely outfit as the Postal Service--are totally unaccountable? The scary part is that, if you think that, you're actually most likely wrong. Being unaccountable to the voting public is not the same as being unaccountable to the Deep State.
USPS had always been a go-to for hosting federal agencies "at play" practices. Their domain and associated IP(s) have been caught dozens of times over the last decade and a half being used for/by the Government's dirty tricksters in sham domestic intel ops against US citizens.
ReplyDeleteHasn't it... Mr Rosenstein!?!🤨
These guys if nothing else are sadly predictable.
I would also suggest that USPS was at the center of massive voter and elections fraud.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a trend awhile back when the ammunition budgets of Federal agencies were being disclosed and examined. All sorts of agencies that you would never associate firearms or law enforcement with had millions of rounds of ammo in their budgets.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was illegal for government law enforcement entities to collect info about US citizens without a legitimate legal predication. Since when is planning a "protest" evidence of illegal activity?
ReplyDeleteMSM's response seems to be a collective shrug.
I seem to recall State Department people in Ukraine (the ambassador specifically) got in hot water for asking Foggy Bottom employees to "monitor" social media posts by various journos and conservative pundits (Hannity, John Solomon, among many others,) until somebody in the State Department noticed, and told the ambassador "we can't do that."
Where's Congressional oversight of the USPS?
They are too busy inciting riots to notice.
DeleteRob S
Where are the demands by GOP members of Congress for a Special Counsel to investigate the USPS violation of rights of US citizens?
ReplyDeleteI think I read somewhere that this could be added to Durham's investigation. :-)
Delete@Mark
ReplyDeleteI think I read somewhere that this could be added to Durham's investigation. :-)
Durham?!?. You just love crushing hopes and dreams!!! LOL