Peter King Says Calling NSA Surveillance "Spying" or "Snooping" is Slander
They're all patriots
National security state enthusiast Peter King was very disappointed in Barack Obama last week for even countenancing concerns about the NSA's massive Internet data collection programs, and he doesn't like it when we call the NSA's activities spying or snooping, because those people at the NSA are patriots. His comments on CBS' Face the Nation, via Mediaite:
"These people in the NSA are patriots," King said. "Probably what's annoyed me the most over the last several months is people casually using words like 'spying,' 'snooping,' 'what is the NSA up to now?' Does anybody think General Alexander wants to snoop on America? I think that demeans the whole political dialogue, and that's why I wish the president would be more outgoing and defend the NSA lot more than he did."
"This has really been a slander on the thousand of good men and women who every day dedicate their lives to our country, and particularly General Alexander, who is as patriotic as anyone I have ever met in government or anywhere," King said. "There is too much loose talk here. Every time I hear 'snooping' and 'spying', it just drives me crazy. We know what these men and women are doing, and they're absolutely dedicated patriots."
"We know" what they're doing thanks to disclosures from Edward Snowden, for which King and President Obama say Snowden is totally not a patriot. Instead he's facing charges for espionage, or "spying."
If I were to call Peter King a terrorist-supporting shit-bag that wants to destroy America, would he consider that slander? I wouldn't.
h/t Jeff Patterson