We Live in a Novel

Why? Because Jay Carney, the master of the three ring circus which is the media covering an administration that's been hacking their computers, seizing phone records, and treating them like enemies of the state, is denouncing Snowden, the spy who came in from the cold, who now finds himself trapped in a Catch-22.

Speaking of media phone records...  Excerpts:

...At one point, when asked about whether the Department of Justice might have seized records of other news organizations, Carney told the reporter posing the question that he’d have to ask someone at the DoJ.

NPR did just that with Attorney General Eric Holder, the top man at Justice. And Holder says he can’t quite recall how many times he’s seized reporter phone records...

And then there's this.  Excerpts:

...Hastings’ final story, “Why Democrats Love to Spy on Americans,” was a searing take on the NSA snooping scandal, which Hastings described as “North Korea-esque.” Hastings pulled no punches as he linked the NSA scandal to the Department of Justice’s spying on reporters and the IRS abuse scandal. Hastings built a case that the same Democrats who turned Bush-era anti-terrorism techniques into wedge issues that helped them capture Congress and the White House in 2006 and 2008 were now defending much worse and more widespread spying on American citizens by the Obama administration....

At the end of the story, Hastings mentions by name several Americans who have come under questionable government scrutiny in the Obama years. Several are household names, but some are not.

Hastings died in a fatal single-car crash at 4:25 on Tuesday morning. A witness said his car “suddenly jackknifed” before crossing the median and hitting a tree, causing a ferocious explosion that reportedly threw the engine block of the brand new Mercedes Hastings was driving 30 or 40 yards from the car. Mercedes engine blocks typically weigh between 290 and 540 pounds. It would take tremendous speed or force to throw one nearly half the length of a football field.

“It sounded like a bomb went off in the middle of the night,” another witness told the TV station. “The house shook, my windows were rattling.”

Hastings’ body was burned “beyond recognition,” according to reports." Message to the media: "Be ve-e-ery careful what you write about us. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, now would we?"...

Insinuation only, as of right now.  So far as I've heard, nothing has been proved.  But then, as Jon Stewart pointed out, the burden of proof has been shifted to the government when it comes to such things.  As has been pointed out, the US now has all the infrastructure a tyrant would need.  The left and the right are coming together in places to speak out about the recent revelations.  The Anchoress on the media response:

...According to Howard Kurtz: Glenn Greenwald says surveillance source came to him because of “supine, subservient behavior” by American media “when it comes to the govt”

Duh. And, yeah. Our “watchdog**” media surrendered its teeth to this administration in 2007 and has been rolled over waiting for belly rubs ever since. They gave up all of their credibility to be able to ask Obama how he got so great, and what “enchants” him. They couldn’t even sustain their outrage about the DOJ spying on the AP, or calling James Rosen a criminal for doing his job...

This in a nation where the IRS inquires about the prayers of pro-life groups, or requires them to guarantee they won't stand vigil outside abortion clinics.

Too many scandals to keep track of--which may be the point (heh).  The President taking the "didn't know" route.  A roundup of scandal news.  The Anchoress explaining the roots of the media's shock at the current round of scandals.  The IRS apparently targeting HIPAA-protected records without appropriate warrants--millions of them

In other words--heck, it's like living in a novel...