Why did Republicans block this Right to Privacy watchdog group so hard? (Congress, lawyers)

[70Ford]

Weird that our spying government chose to fund a privacy group through a shutdown bill . I wonder who stuck that in there?
There's a little pork in that bill: 5 most surprising provisions - CNN.com

A watchdog group meant to guard Americans' right to privacy against overreach by government cyberintelligence will get $3.1 million, which they could use considering the year they've had dealing with revelations about the super-secret National Security Agency's programs.

Time for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to Get Cracking | Richard Ben-Veniste

Never heard of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board? You should.

It's hilarious when you read the part about Congress not approving the Obama chairman appointee for a year +. Because, who needs oversight and stuff. AmIrightoramIright?

Then Obama’s nominee for chairman, David Medine, was held up by Republicans in the Senate for over a year. Among other things, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) faulted Medine for refusing to say whether or not the country is engaged in a “war on terrorism.”
Without a chairman, the board couldn’t hire staff and had no full-time members.
Senator Chuck Grassley Blocks Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight « Irregular Times

......the Senate confirmed David Medine, the president’s choice to lead the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The time between his nomination and confirmation was 510 days. Every Republican voted no.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/us...sion.html?_r=0

Well, at least they got some money now.

If you wanna see for yourself the "pork", the full text of the bill is here.:
Full text of bill to end shutdown

[Clark Park]

Good thread, and a lot of interesting source material you cite.

Unfortunately, I think it is above the comprehension of most folks who post here on C-D.

[70Ford]

Yeah, I thought it would get more responses, too.

Weird. If you post a thread about gay people, you get 100 responses. If you post about how Congress blocked an anti spy group, no one cares much.

[rbohm]

so wait, you are going to tell me that YOU trust a so called "private" watchdog group that is funded by the federal government? are you serious? something smells here, and very badly.

[pnwmdk]

Originally Posted by 70Ford

A watchdog group meant to guard Americans' right to privacy against overreach by government cyberintelligence will get $3.1 million, which they could use considering the year they've had dealing with revelations about the super-secret National Security Agency's programs.

Time for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to Get Cracking | Richard Ben-Veniste

Never heard of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board? You should.

A government watchdog watching government...

The fox guarding the henhouse...

I'm not mourning. If the media would just do its job, and the government weren't violating the Constitution, none of this would be relevant.

[surfman]

Originally Posted by rbohm

so wait, you are going to tell me that YOU trust a so called "private" watchdog group that is funded by the federal government? are you serious? something smells here, and very badly.

Exactly!!!

Holder is in charge of investigating himself, and so far he can't find anything.

[Dockside]

Originally Posted by rbohm

so wait, you are going to tell me that YOU trust a so called "private" watchdog group that is funded by the federal government? are you serious? something smells here, and very badly.

That is odd. A Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board with government funding and the chairman appointed by the president.

And why are the libs throwing shoes at the GOP for holding up a nominee when the Democrats did the exact same thing to Bush?

This whole thing seems pointless.

[Glitch]

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) is an independent agency within the executive branch established by Congress in 2004 to advise the President of the United States and other senior executive branch officials to ensure that concerns with respect to privacy and civil liberties are appropriately considered in the development and implementation of all laws, regulations, and executive branch policies related to terrorism.

Source: Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Medine's nomination was delayed because he refused to answer questions asked by the Judiciary Committee. Medine, a former associate director of the Federal Trade Commission, has no experience with the law. Which is why all the other Obama PCLOB appointees (who were all either judges or lawyers, except Medine) were approved by the Senate before Medine, and why every Republican voted against him.