Via reader EJ, I learned of this congressional testimony by the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and head of the NSA Keith Alexander that the government shut down is hurting their intelligence gathering programs. Since many of their people are not being paid and may thus be hurting financially, Clapper says that they will become easy targets for subversion.

Of course since Clapper and Alexander have shown themselves to be completely untrustworthy, it is not clear why any one should take them at their word. But as is almost always the case, lying in the service of the national security state is always given a pass.

But I would not shed tears for the NSA’s hardship at its data collection though I do feel sorry for the employees who work there and are not getting paid because of the current craziness. What should worry them more is the popular opposition to its actions like this movement in California that passed by an overwhelming majorities a state law that requires the state to “refuse to provide material support for or to participate in any way with the implementation within this state of any federal law that purports to authorize indefinite detention of a person within California”. Allowing for indefinite detention was part of the federal National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The coalition that passed this included a wide spectrum of ideological beliefs including the Japanese American League, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, Stop LAPD Spying, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Tenth Amendment Center, Republican Liberty Caucus of Los Angeles County, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and Oath Keepers.