Interesting discussion on the NSA intelligence gathering operations, great to see Rep. Bobby Scott on Meet the Press. Rep. Scott made several good points, including the concern that “once you get the data,” what you can do with it is “not limited to terrorism.” In fact, Rep. Scott points out, “there’s a lot of stuff that would be interesting to know about somebody,” and the question is “what can they use it for?” and “who can look at it?” As for Edward Snowden, Rep. Scott said the thinks the Justice Department “ought to be be able” to prove that “Snowden’s release caused some harm,” thus “it’s illegal.”
Finally, Rep. Scott commented on his father, given that today is Father’s Day:
My father served on the Newport News school board. He was the only African American on the school board, and he was in office when Brown v. Board of Education came down. And being the only African American, most of the votes were 4-1. He points out that they had a subcommittee of the five-member board. Four members went to Richmond and discussed the segregation and integration with the governor. You can imagine which one was left out. But being able to maintain decorum and keep fighting, whether you’re on the losing edge or not is something I learned.
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