Just what is the definition of treason?

I started thinking about that when I learned that not only has the other shoe dropped, an entire closet full of shoes may be cascading onto the floor in the VA data scandal.

You see, it turns out that the information given out by the VA

Secretary during Congressional hearings may just possibly been “slightly”

misleading; at least it seems to have left out something of importance.

In addition to all the veterans’ personal data on that

stolen computer, he forgot to mention that there were also details about MOST

active duty personnel also!

Yep, National Guard, active duty

military, reserves, in fact,  personal information about NEARLY EVERYONE in the military in the past 20+ years was on that stolen computer.

Of course all of this is just coming out in drips and drabs,

a kind of inside the beltway Chinese water torture for anyone who ever set foot

in the Pentagon or even had a relative take the oath.

At first is was only (ONLY!) veterans, then, last week someone

“discovered” that there may have been records of 50,000 active-duty personnel

on that computer.

Now, Veterans Affairs is admitting that perhaps

as many 1.1 million active duty, 430,000 National Guard, and 645,000 members of

the Reserves may have had their personal data stolen in the same theft.

The theft took place on May 3 but it took

more than a month for us to learn that active duty personnel records were

probably also on that computer.

There is a lot of talk, but is anyone in Washington really taking this seriously? What will it take? Will heads finally roll if it is discovered that the home address and phone number of all Supreme Court Judges and staff, all White House staff, and perhaps VA Secretary Nicholson were also on that computer? Is that the sort of thing it will take?

Has anyone bothered to check to see how many copies of this data are sitting in other VA employee’s homes?

I seem to recall that POTUS has declared war on terrorism. Now, if

exposing millions of reserve and active duty personnel and their families to potential

terrorist retaliation isn’t giving Aid and Comfort to the enemy, I don’t know

what is.

No wonder the VA database clerk is reportedly in hiding.

For those who, like many in Washington these days, seem to have been on spring break during the part of their poly sci course which dealt with The Constitution of the United States (you know, the one they all swore to protect or support and defend), see U.S.Constitution, Article III, Section 3.

“Treason

against the United States ,

shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their

Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless

on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in

open Court.” 

Or, am I just a nut?