The Security State
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May 1st, 2011

The Security State

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Discussion (11)¬

  1. Mike says:

    Red is right! Are you proud of yourself for trashing our security services the very day we got Osama Bin Laden?

    • Darrin Bell says:

      I don't care WHAT day a comic strip runs, if it's true, it's true.

      …And the domestic surveillance programs had nothing to do with the capture of Bin Laden.

    • ChayaFradle says:

      Mike, as far as I am aware, cartoonists write a number of strips and send them in to be published WEEKS before they show up. I may be wrong, but I don't think a cartoonist can say to his or her syndicate, "Oh, be sure and publish this next week when we find and kill Bin Ladin". I can see how you'd think that, however, since it was a coincidence that the two things happened the same day. The "Red is right!" commentary, however, is or could be considered libelous or slanderous. At least, it would have been during the cold war.

  2. CerferPerry says:

    Ditto. Great to see more truth & political commentary in toons.

  3. Darrin Bell says:

    That's quite a compliment. Thanks, and thank you for reading.

  4. Kudos on a fantastic and timely cartoon! If these issues of executive secrecy and dragnet surveillance concern you, there are lots of ways to get involved at http://bordc.org/action/.

    Also, @ChayaFradle: Having "top secret" clearance doesn't mean you get to see everything; even people with clearance levels that high have access only to information within their "lane," which is to say very few people can see everything — and those who can don't have the time to leverage their access. Explore the Priest & Arkin "Top Secret America" series in the Washington Post — it seems to be the basis for much of the cartoon and does a good job of laying this out.

    • ChayaFradle says:

      I would reply to this info, but my response is on a "need to know" basis. Hahaha. (smile) 🙂

  5. ChayaFradle says:

    Explain what I don't seem to get. I think I do get it. Once millions of people have TOP SECRET, what's the secret? It's out.

    • Mellaril says:

      Think of it as another government jobs program. Somebody has to design the forms, create and maintain the database, actually interview the candidate and references, adjudicate the information and actually approve granting the clearance.

      For non-government persons getting a clearance, the cost is paid by the individual/company. The current cost for a TS clearance runs over $5,000. Want to know why some government contracts seem to cost an obscene amount of money? If the contract's classified, the cost of getting clearances gets rolled into the bid.

  6. ChayaFradle says:

    Giving people top secret clearance isn't any hidden secret; it gives people jobs. It ups the economy. I wonder what job I could get as a secret spy operative. The GRAMMY CAMMY, hahaha.