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Prof. Chris Pyle on NSA Spying on Elected Officials, Past & Present; Novelist Ray Bourhis on “the Secession of Mill Valley”

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Prof. Chris Pyle was pivotal in exposing and ending Army Intelligence spying on and infiltration of anti-Vietnam protesters.  He offers strong comments on the return of illegal government surveillance.  Ray Bourhis is a California lawyer whose new novel explores current sentiments to secede from the United States.Click here for GoDaddy deal that benefits the PBC Podcast!

 

Christopher H. Pyle is Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College, and served in Army Intelligence during the Vietnam war.  Outraged by the illegal actions against First Amendment activists, he led the charge to expose the wrongdoing and put the intelligence arm “out of business”.  He later served as a consultant to Sen. Sam Ervin, who chaired the Watergate hearings.

Pyle talks about his whistleblowing efforts, and the recent disclosure from NSA Archives that NSA wiretapped international calls of key elected officials like Sen. Frank Church and Sen. Howard Baker, along with about 1,650 Americans, including some journalists during the Johnson administration.

We listen to an excerpt from our interview with NSA whistleblower Russ Tice, who revealed that top elected officials were wiretapped by the NSA in 2004-05, notably Senate Intelligence chair Dianne Fenstein.

Pyle dismisses the claims from Obama and others that the domestic surveillance is legal and approved by all 3 branches of government, and calls for “more leakers” to bring the needed disclosures.

About 40 minutes in, Ray Bourhis joins us.  He’s a veteran consumer attorney who has won big victories over insurance companies.  His new book is Revolt: The Secession of Mill Valley.  It’s a good read that threads the current discontent from many political factions, and includes a former spook and dirty deeds by the FBI and others.  With secession advocates active in Texas, California, Oregon and elsewhere, it’s a timely look at our detriorating political system.  Find out more here.