There is more medical stuff on the horizon this morning, the two-week check from the vascular surgeon that has proved a distraction lately. Things appear to be going well and the staff is generally upbeat. The usual coverage of the remarkable events of this Spring continue to spew across the Big River here and make coherent reporting a challenge.
We had anticipated a discussion of Section 702, a bit of legislation so important that Congress decided to exempt themselves from liability to it. What is it? Another curious feature of the Tech Age. It is about renewing provisions of the FISA- the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
FISA was formulated to address abuses in warrantless communications intercepts in the Nixon Administration. It was initially limited to the government’s use of electronic and other surveillance techniques against American citizens with a possible connection to international malefactors. Like technology, it has changed over the years and requires periodic reauthorization for powers that neatly sidestep the Bill of Rights provisions requiring a court-ordered “just cause” warrant to monitor citizens.
It is hung up at the moment. The House version of the Act exempted Congress from the provisions of Section 702, which is normally an indication of potential issues. But it is hung up at the moment. With Congress back in town, there will be more to come on the matter. But that is not all that is going on. We could drone on about 702 issues, or any of the bullets in the slide above. But there is something that just popped up, and we at lest need to touch on it as a matter of potential interest to all of us who live- and swim- here in the Swamp.
The news we wanted to get out popped up suddenly, since it has been kept fairly low key. We were startled when we read it in the context of the multitude of other issues in progress here and overseas.
Here is what we read, and it caused Happy Hour to commence shortly before lunch. “The 75th Anniversary NATO Summit is scheduled for 9-11 July in Washington, DC.” The impact of the headline was clear. The meeting will obviously be a potential target for terror of some kind, be it Russia, Iran, Hamas or any of the other upset people, foreign and domestic.
We looked for locational information to help us avoid any Summit-related activity.
The venue, lodging and logistics information is sequestered to hamper anyone planning on disrupting the meetings. We welcome safety and security for all participants, of course. But that means unexpected delays could pop up for all of us not in the know. Splash had mentioned being tempted to attend the demonstration across the River on a January 6 day a few years ago, and was pleased he decided to sit at home instead rather than the DC Jail.
The NATO thing? We will avoid but it is something to keep in mind, a little more than two months from the “now,” and three months “before” whatever is supposed to happen on 05 November. We will not broadcast any information about the Summit, since Section 702 may be renewed by then and we have been warned by the Legal Section here at Socotra House to be on our best behavior.
We will endeavor to do so, since there could be paycheck implications for all Socotra employees and the company has a foreign sounding name, you know? But in this year, just when we thought things couldn’t get much stranger, we find more odd stuff piling up out on the Patio. Right here.
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