While The Public is Lulled to Sleep D.C's. Circus Maximus "expedites"

Besides distracting the public with one dire threat after another (e.g. the fiscal cliff), our Circus Maximus in Washington, D.C. (the U.S. Congress) accomplishes what it actually wants to do without drawing very much attention.  Be your own judge:

December 31st, 2012 by Steven Aftergood - Senate Passes Intelligence Bill Without Anti-Leak Measures

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the bill was revised in order to expedite its passage.

“Since the bill was reported out,” she said, “the Committee has received thoughtful comments from our colleagues, media organizations, and from organizations that advocate for greater governmental transparency. As a result of these comments, and technical suggestions received from the Executive Branch, we have decided to remove ten of the twelve sections in the title of the original bill that addressed unauthorized disclosures of classified information so that we might ensure enactment this year of the important other provisions of the bill.”

Before the anti-leak measures had been removed "in order to expedite passage", the Washington Post had complained that "A bill to stop security leaks puts a plug on democracy".

Given that lawyers are, besides a majority of U.S. Senators, the usual leakers of classified intelligence information, perhaps it is time for the public to get concerned.

 "Almost all leakers are lawyers. That's the bottom line." - Howell Hiram Raines, former executive editor of the New York Times, to audience at the Aspen Institute,  July 21, 2006


Submarines are always silent and strange.