Pitt almost stumbles into some truth

The man you are looking at is William Rivers Pitt, the erstwhile Wunderkind of DUmmieland, "Pied Piper Pitt," now a 41-year-old has-been/never-was journopundactivist and self-important muckety-muck for an obscure prog blog called "truthout." Ever since Journalist Pitt swore to the high heavens that an indictment of Karl Rove was a done deal, sealed, and would be revealed within 24 business hours, Mr. Pitt has been the laughingstock of the internets.

OK, you can stop looking at the picture now and go fetch some eyebleach. BTW, that's a screenshot of the Pittster youtubing for dollars for his little truthout site.  In the VIDEO, Wee Willie says, "As you can see, I've got a perfect face for radio. I'm not very good at these video things." No argument, Will! Oh, and my favorite comment posted under the video? This one: "I'm donating a million bucks...expect it in 24 business hours." Hee! Hee!

But we digress. Today we witness William almost stumble into some truth, here in this THREAD, "You Are, In Fact, Being Watched." What truth does he almost stumble into? (Usually when we see Pitt stumble, he's staggering out of Bukowski's.) It's this business about surveillance and spying. He's worried about it. He doesn't like it. But lest you think Pitt is about to throw Obama under the bus--no, Will the Shill is ever the loyal party hack--his problem with it is if someday some EEE-vil Rethuglican should happen to get back into the White House and use this surveilling power for eee-vil. But Team Obama-Holder? Naah, they're only a force for good, so their spying on Americans is A-OK.

Pitt has snipped off the first part of his truthout screed for posting in DUmmieland, but we'll include a little of that here, too. So let us now take a peek in on Pitt and the progs poutraged about pervasive, invasive snooper-vision, in Bolshevik Red, while the commentary of your humble guest correspondent, Charles Henrickson, who looks younger at 60 than Pitt does at 41, is in the [brackets]:

You Are, In Fact, Being Watched

At a bit past 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday evening, the top stories on CNN.com. . . .

[CNN, in fact, is NOT being watched. But please continue, Pitt . . .]

. . . happened to include the following:

A-Rod Suspended, Can Keep Playing During Appeal
Sources: Al Qaeda Attack Plan Nearly Set
11 Jailbreaks Linked to Al Qaeda Plot?
50 Cent Enters Not Guilty Plea
Johnny Football's Offseason Craziness
Beauty Queen Arrested in Bomb Case
Spelling Error Costs Boy on "Jeopardy"
Neil Patrick Harris: "I Was Goosed"
You Should Swim With Sharks Here

[OK, so who goosed Neil Patrick Harris? C'mon, fess up. . . . Benburch, I'm looking at you!]

CNN, always calm and even-handed in matters of national security and terrorism, was kind enough to pad their reports of imminent national annihilation between enough syrupy goo to send the Fluffernutter people running for their therapists...but there it is all the same: The End Of The World, Again.

[Reminds me of someone who once predicted some little rally in Washington would be "The Day When Everything Finally Changed." Oh, wait, that was YOU, wasn't it, Pitt?]

ZOMG SKY FALLING TAKE APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS NO FURTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE ZOMG.

[PITT TAKES TO EXAGGERATING. AGAIN.]

So we're back to this crap again. Forgive my crashing cynicism, but I still have a huge hangover from the days when Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney or even George Dubya himself would sling impending-doom terror alerts whenever a friend of the administration got indicted. . . .

[Like when Karl Rove got indicted?]

to make everyone look away...and here we are, right in the middle of a national conversation about whether we're all comfortable about the degree to which the government can track us like tagged whales.

[But, Will, if the OBAMA admin is tracking us like tagged whales, then what could be wrong? It's only if Rummy, Cheney, or Dubya were tracking us like tagged whales that there'd be a problem.]

getting the "mainstream" news media all geeked up over a terror alert is a dead-bang guaranteed way to make sure almost nobody hears about the Reuters report that also broke on Monday. To wit:

A secretive U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit is funneling information from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a massive database of telephone records to authorities across the nation to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans.

[Ah, the truth comes out! Pitt wants to smoke his pot in peace! That's why he's worried.]

The cat has fled the bag, folks.

[The pot is in the bag, folks. But Pitt doesn't want you to see it.]

The American government is spying on you comprehensively, is using the information they gather on you to jail you if they choose to, and is doing so by laundering secretly-gathered information from one alphabet-soup agency through another and another. . . .

[Pitt's only worried about a pot bust. And if there is a misuse of power, it would be by one of those alphabet-soup agencies, and you certainly can't hold the President responsible for them! And, God knows, the Obama inner circle would never misuse power, would they?]

Sure, yeah, terrorists suck and drug dealers suck, and I'm sure this massive thing that has been unleashed upon the American system of law, and the American people, is totally benign and awesome and only doing good things and stuff. Let's pretend for a second that we even believe that. What about tomorrow? And next year? And four years from now?

[Then we might be talking about a RETHUGLICAN President, and that would be awful!!!]

The poet Yeats told us that the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.

[While the pundit Pitt is full of permanent prolixity.]

sure as sunrise, another Dick Cheney will someday hold a seat of power that allows him to direct the incredible weapon of our massive national surveillance state. . . .

[No! No! Not THAT! Not another Dick Cheney!!! Please say it won't happen, Will! Please reassure us!]

Who knows what "crime" will come to mean in the world our American Taliban Christians would like to create?

[It's those Christians again! Gaia save us from them! We have nothing to fear but American Taliban Christians! They'll probably make us all eat that nasty jello salad they serve at potlucks.]

[So Pitt ALMOST stumbles into some truth, but pulls away before saying anything bad about Obama and the Democrats. Will the Shill, I knew I could count on you. . . . Now let's hear from some other DUmmies . . .]

Excellent article. Good enough to elevate you to traitor journalist status among Third Way shills.

[What are you talking about? William never betrayed Obama and the Democrats in this article! His License to Shill is still valid.]

Obama To Leno: 'There Is No Spying On Americans'. . . . "We don't have a domestic spying program," Obama said on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. "What we do have is some mechanisms that can track a phone number or an email address that is connected to a terrorist attack. ... That information is useful."

["Especially if we can keep track of American Taliban Christians like they were tagged whales."]

I understand that some have held back...not wanting to get scammed...or be considered a "CT, Teabagger, Paultard, Cato Libertarian, Scumbag Beck/Jones Advocate, denier of Terra Threats that are Real, Promoter of Torture for all (including Americans) who need to be "Taken Out" because American Security Pre-Empts All, EMO PROG, PACIFIST SCUM, SOCIALIST, COMMUNIST....Anti-American, RACIST/Obama Hater...ANTI GLBT..F***ING PACIFIST.....and the SHOUTING GET's LOUDER as the EPITHETS GROW!

[Huh?]

Thank you Mr Pitt. Sadly, teh tools that really should listen to this, won't. They are completely and utterly vested into their It's Good If Team Blue Does It and Bad If Team Red Does It partisan crapola to know sh*t when their guy does it.

[But you are misreading Mr. Pitt. Didn't you see where he said he's only worried about surveillance if some alphabet-soup agency does it or if a Dick Cheney does it? If Team Obama does it--hey, no problem!]

WRP . . . You have championed our Democrats' cause since 2003, that I personally know of. You were spot on when you warned us about "W"'s agenda, and advised us all to be careful of what we say in meetings, on line, etc. I have read your excellent books. . . .

[So YOU'RE the one!]

Thank you, William Pitt.

Thank you, Mr. Pitt.

[Yes, yes, we ALL thank you, Mr. Pitt. Blah, blah, blah. That's what it always comes down to with Pitt posts, doesn't it?]

This is a really paranoid post with a deep cynicism. . . .

[It's by William Rivers Pitt. Say no more.]