…Yeah. I’ve decided I’m rather angry about this continued violation of privacy and am writing a song about the NSA’s abuse of the constitution and continued refusal to comply with the wishes of the rest of the government or the general populace. However, I know just about fuck-all in terms of specifics about the issue. Can someone give me the cliffs notes version? Or at least enough to make some catchy jargonisms? 
Well, the Cliff’s Notes version is that the NSA hasn’t abused the Constitution, your privacy hasn’t been violated, the NSA has acted in full accordance with the rest of the government, and “the general populace” does not set the agenda of the national security apparatus.
But since I imagine that won’t sell with your target crowd, may I offer that “Snowden” rhymes with “Odin”, “Rode in”, “shogun”, “Hulk Hogan”, and “Minnesotan”.
…Yeah, no offense, I’m gonna find a second opinion. You’re not exactly the most unbiased source on the matter of tradeoffs between national security and basic human rights.
I will suggest that humorous song, one that pokes fun at the issue and is somewhat lighthearted, may find good reception. Alternatively, a serious one, full of righteous indignation and self-assured rectitude, is virtually guaranteed to be a clunker and is likely to appeal to no one but you.
Do you often get angry and write about things about which you “know just about fuck-all”? Maybe you should try to curb your emotions while ignorant, and write about something you know.
No seriously. The NSAs’ spying has been deemed barely constitutional but a review panel has recommended more transparency
Lots more here.
I’ll second GaryTs’ suggestion. A lgihthearted poking fun of the NSA would be better than a song like, “God Damn that god damned program and those god damned god damners.”
I recommend listening to the Ballad of a Spycatcher, albeit about a previous spy scandal.
Everything in that post is wrong. How the hell do you pronounce “Shogun”?
If you don’t know anything about it, how do you know to be enraged about it? Usually reasonable people form opinions based on the facts they gather, not decide on a response and then ask people to provide them with the info to support that response.
Regards,
Sho[del]gun[/del]dan?
Is this what qualifies as research these days - Post a question on a forum and wait for others to telly you the answer?
I know the basics - the NSA is using various programs and backdoors to gather data from major internet applications and service providers; that this is a very serious violation of privacy; that they’re doing it in Germany as well as within the US (and that has a lot of people here quite mad), and that the guy who blew the whistle has sort of dominated the discourse for no good reason. I also heard things like the NSA claiming that it was “too complex” to comply with the law, which under further investigation turned out to be an almost Fox-News-esque oversimplification of the issue. I came here to see if anyone could help me understand it further. You know, maybe pass a primer my way. And, bob++, this is GQ, you know. I come here because generally I find the people on this forum insightful and knowledgeable. If you think this is lazy on my part… Well, maybe it is, but I don’t know who to trust on this, and I don’t think I know enough about it to vet my sources decently (well, I know enough about Smapti’s opinion on privacy and government overreach to get a second opinion, but that’s a different story). But what I do know has me kinda angry, and thinking “hang on, this isn’t quite right”.
Thanks for the link, Drunky. That gives me some info on the constitutionality. And Gary, that’s not a bad idea. I think it’d be pretty easy to transform the concept I’m working with into tongue-in-cheek humor. Gives me something to work on that isn’t the mess of endterm exams coming my way. :v
It’s an incredibly complex topic that boils down to overbroad surveillance laws and practices that are insufficiently protective of privacy while skirting the line between legality and illegality.
But the truth is there isn’t one “NSA scandal.” There are really three or four. They include:
[ul]
[li]Discriminatory targeting (i.e., monitoring Muslims for behavior that would not get surveillance if you were a Christian)[/li]
[li]Antics of a kangaroo Court (problems with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, including the lack of opposition to government arguments and the secrecy of their basic legal framework)[/li]
[li]Abuse of metadata (problems with the government’s view that certain content in emails and other communications does not require a warrant because it is analogous to 1970s-era cases involving figuring out the phone number someone dialed)[/li]
[li]Violating the spirit of the law (problems with NSA targeting a foreigner’s communications to avoid the warrant requirement, but choosing that foreigner because he is likely to have communications with the real target who is a US citizen–and other loopholes in the law)[/li][/ul]
That’s just the very briefest of overviews. The PCLOB report is a good place to start.
You’re getting some responses here about the basics of the NSA problem (which seems to be what you asked for), and also some stylistic suggestions about how to make an effective artistic presentation – in particular, GaryT’s suggestion to use humor rather than Recreational Outrage.
To give you some examples of how this might work, I’d suggest you take a look at the animated political cartoons of Mark Fiore, who promotes liberal/progressive/lefty causes, while harpooning right-wing/conservative/nutcase causes, using humor, parody, and sarcasm – and some of which are set to music! In a recent example, he has Cliven Bundy singing a parody of Home On The Range. If you poke through his archives, there are many more.
I don’t know of a specific cartoon he’s done about the NSA, but there certainly must be a few, and you can probably find them there.
Well, I’m all for artistic expression so maybe this will help you get started:
“This Eric Snowden, he got him a clue
That he then shared with me and you.
However, ‘cause he did way more than this
He decided to go take a piss
(How long a piss? A really long piss).
Now, since he’s tramplin’ on a Beatles tune (Back in the USSR)
He wants to know if anyone has a plan for the moon.
(Only place safe. And there’s lots of room on the moon)”
Or did I misread your OP in one or more ways?
Reading the OP made me think of Can Somebody Tell Me What Monsanto Is So I Can Hate It?.
Just trust us on that.
I’m picturing this being sung to the tune of Don McLean’s “American Pie”, similarly to Weird Al’s parody about Anakin Skywalker.
My, my, this here Anakin guy
May be Vader some day later
But for now he’s small fry.
Left his home on Tatooine, kissed his Mommy good-bye,
Saying “Soon I’m going to be a Jedi,
Soon I’m going to be a Jedi”