BREAKING: Maryland Legislators Move To Kill NSA Headquarters

ANNAPOLIS, Md., February 10, 2014– It’s lights out for the National Security Agency (NSA). State lawmakers in Maryland have filed emergency status legislation that seeks to cut the NSA’s Ft. Meade headquarters off from all material support stemming from the state.
“Maryland has almost become a political subdivision of the NSA,” Tenth Amendment Center Executive Director Michael Boldin said in a statement. “The agency relies heavily on state and local help. This bill bans all of it.”
House Bill 1074 (HB1074) would ban the NSA facility from all public state utilities, ban the use of NSA collected evidence in court, ban universities from partnering with the NSA and ban all political subdivisions from assisting the NSA from within the state.
Any state entity, employee or contractor refusing to comply with the law would be immediately fired and banned from all future contracts within the state.
The bill has eight Republican sponsors and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
Multiple states join Maryland in their attempt to enforce anti-commandeering legislative measures against the NSA. Tennessee, Arizona, California and Washington have all filed legislation. Utah is expected to file legislation within the next week.

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This seems pretty crazy. I mean this subject has picked up so much steam lately. When the first cries against the NSA were started I thought... Futile.

Now it seems that reps might be listening to their constituents.

This cannot end well. How many billions have went I to the NSA infrastructure in last two decades?

Will they really give that up?

My tin foil hat tells me no.

AAC

Part of me wonders if their eyes opened and they're doing the right thing. The other part wonders who did what that they don't want the NSA to know to use as blackmail fodder.

While we are at it, get rid of the other two entities in which kennedy was talking about, as they are not apart of the government apparatus, and not legit through our congress or senate!! Great day for the monopoly in which we call our U.S. of A

AnAbsoluteCreation
This cannot end well. How many billions have went I to the NSA infrastructure in last two decades?

Will they really give that up?

My tin foil hat tells me no.

AAC

Well the bigger question is how will the private interest that is behind the corruption now call NSA will be willing to give up, remember that the NSA once it went privatized with government contracts is not really run solely by the US government, that is why it has gone out of control.

I imagine that the fat wallets feeding the fat pockets in congress will start working on legislation on how to penalize any state that goes against the corporate power running the government and the NSA.

But it seems that states are starting to see how angry the public is about how corrupted the NSA has become and asking for something to be done.

reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation


I hate to say it but they can pass anything they'd like. Obama doesn't have to pass anything. He just has to write one page of text and sign it declaring the NSA facility to be a strategic national asset required for security, and those executive orders date back a long long time before Obama or the couple before him.

Wrabbit2000
reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation

 

I hate to say it but they can pass anything they'd like. Obama doesn't have to pass anything. He just has to write one page of text and sign it declaring the NSA facility to be a strategic national asset required for security, and those executive orders date back a long long time before Obama or the couple before him.

Perhaps. But who will feed them water and electricity?

The National Security Agency’s headquarters in Ft. Meade, Md., will go dark if a cohort of Maryland lawmakers has its way.

Eight Republicans in the 141-member Maryland House of Delegates introduced legislation Thursday that would deny the electronic spy agency “material support, participation or assistance in any form” from the state, its political subdivisions or companies with state contracts.

The bill would deprive NSA facilities water and electricity carried over public utilities, ban the use of NSA-derived evidence in state courts and prevent state universities from partnering with the NSA on research.

Assuming it is the reps constituents pushing for this, I doubt that they would let Obama sign an order disregarding the peoples desires. But I could be wrong...

To me, I think that this is a great step for the American people, in terms of "not taking it lying down."

Who knows where this will lead? But I believe this is the second state threatening to cut state ties with NSA.

AAC

reply to post by marg6043

But it seems that states are starting to see how angry the public is about how corrupted the NSA has become and asking for something to be done.

i personally doubt that. I think its more a case of "what has the NSA been collecting on me and will leak to my constituents"?
But I am glad that states are starting to stand up to the NSA and cut them off like I was saying they should do in another post.Whatever it takes to slay the beast. Though I doubt the NSA will just fade away totally. It will probably become a part of the "black box" projects instead.

These people have just begun to pay.

It's time to get rid of any Agency purposely violating the Constitution.

reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation


Thats what I mean. Those orders first came under Eisenhower, I believe, and have been updated and renewed since. Utilities can be federalized in whole or in part (I'll bet clever lawyers could define part as a few customer accounts, in fact) in support of essential national security. If push comes to shove, the methods of shoving were allowed to go into place long ago, thinking it would be a time of war thing.

reply to post by Dimithae


I can not disagree with that either, that is why I said that the NSA has gotten so corrupted and secretive that no longer the government can control it, I imagine that the spying going around will make the CIA look like kittens.

The NSA has become as it stands today an agency with the sole purpose of data mining of every American in the nation for profits and to keep the politicians and the courts far and away from their agendas using blackmail.

Dimithae
reply to post by marg6043

 

But it seems that states are starting to see how angry the public is about how corrupted the NSA has become and asking for something to be done.

i personally doubt that. I think its more a case of "what has the NSA been collecting on me and will leak to my constituents"?

Really? I don't think that at all. The end of NSA will not affect dirt on politicians. I doubt politicians believe that insight will die with the NSA.

NSA is a wide scale operation seemingly too big to fail. I am extremely interested to see how this pans out.

AAC

Wrabbit2000
reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation

 

Thats what I mean. Those orders first came under Eisenhower, I believe, and have been updated and renewed since. Utilities can be federalized in whole or in part (I'll bet clever lawyers could define part as a few customer accounts, in fact) in support of essential national security. If push comes to shove, the methods of shoving were allowed to go into place long ago, thinking it would be a time of war thing.

I see what you're saying. But don't you think that kind of overstepping will do more damage in public opinion?

AAC

marg6043
reply to post by Dimithae

 

The NSA has become as it stands today an agency with the sole purpose of data mining of every American in the nation for profits and to keep the politicians and the courts far and away from their agendas using blackmail.

Bingo.

Blackmail by the very thing being scrutinized against to keep said "thing" in existence from byproduct of said thing.

AAC

reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation


Too many eyes on a organization that supposed to be seen only from behind the curtains. This might just be a reboot into something new, but we probably won't see what the next one will be.

Any state entity, employee or contractor refusing to comply with the law would be immediately fired and banned from all future contracts within the state.

The bill might run into a bit of a problem constitutionally with this bit. I'm not sure the state can mix up who they hire with who those entities also work for. "If you work for them, you can't work for us."

Of course, turnabout might be fair play. Feds to Maryland: "Ok. See ya!" Bye bye all federal...everything.

reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation


Well, that may be the positive thing to come from it. That wouldn't happen quietly. The State guys would definitely yell about having their efforts stepped on, if it gets that far. I don't think there's been an outright federal override of local authority anywhere yet. This would definitely be one thing the Feds wouldn't let go, that's for sure. May as well try turning off the Pentagon, and actually, Obama might let it go easier. lol..

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I also liked what another poster implied.... NSA is meant for obscurity. They have lost that. Perhaps now this is a restart that none of us will be notified about the new alphabet identity that reemerges.

AAC.

Here is the bill for you to read through. Very interesting and for the sole purpose of not being spied on illegally.

AAC.

AnAbsoluteCreationPerhaps. But who will feed them water and electricity?

Once they have that designation anyone the Federal Government wants will be forced to feed them.

Wrabbit2000
reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation

 

I hate to say it but they can pass anything they'd like. Obama doesn't have to pass anything. He just has to write one page of text and sign it declaring the NSA facility to be a strategic national asset required for security, and those executive orders date back a long long time before Obama or the couple before him.

We also have a new supreme court.

The fact that many states are going down this road, in addition to states passing legislation that would criminalize enforcement of federal laws that curtail the 2nd amendment, speaks volumes.

When was the last time we had states outright refusing to comply with Federal law / US Supreme Court Rulings? Correct me if I am wrong but we would need to go back to the beginning of the civil rights movement.

I think it could be along the lines of the tax revolt that occurred in California back in the day. Its possible to charge some of those citizens, but when its the bulk, prosecution no longer becomes an option. Capitulation to the citizens wins out.

As for Obama and shielding information. For it to work the reasons given would have to meet one of the criteria established as an exemption to a FOIA request. If its not on the up and up it could still go to court.

Either way I am glad to see state governments are actually starting to represent the citizens for a change.