King George Revisited (A Reply to Resistance Patriots)

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Monday September 14, 2009 · 8:04 PM PDT

2009/09/14 · 20:04

I watched CSPAN's coverage of the Resistance Patriot's/Freedom Works rally in Washington, D.C. this weekend and was flabbergasted by the mass miss-appropriation of the vocabulary and imagery of the American revolutionary war.

In an atmosphere akin to a Promise Keepers rally, or fundamentalist tent revivals common in the South, the speakers and the crowd bemoaned the Federal government's wasteful spending, violations of the constitution, and the 'Threats Against Freedom!'

I asked myself, where were the Resistance Patriots and Freedom Workers for the last eight years?

It's time for a quick refresher course for our fellow Americans, who, as Gore Vidal so aptly called it, live in the "United States of Amnesia." (Refresher on the flip).

Neoprag

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Sunday November 02, 2008 · 9:33 AM PST

2008/11/02 · 09:33

Admitting openly that you are an atheist in either the public or private sphere of one's life is a dangerous proposition in most places, and socially damaging in all. As constitutional scholar Marci A. Hamilton recently observed at a debate on religion hosted by the Federalist Society:

"...the very last permissible group to discriminate against in the United States, of course, is the atheist. They are single most hated minority group at this point, but they are still part of the culture..." (quote begins @ 38:04)

That's an understatement as any atheist worth her salt will tell you. Most atheists I know do not broadcast this fact about their life, while the overwhelming majority of her fellow citizens wear their religion on their sleaves.

Enter the latest atheist/godless/anti-christian attacks by Senator Elizabeth Dole. More on the flip...

Neoprag

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Thursday June 26, 2008 · 9:03 PM PDT

2008/06/26 · 21:03

With the FISA capitulation and after watching John Yoo and David Addington make a mockery of testifying to Congress, I really wonder if the Democratic Party will take on the hard issues of law that face our country.

However, I know that Senator Russ Feingold will take on the hard issues of law that face our country and that is why he needs to be our next Attorney General.

Neoprag

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Tuesday December 25, 2007 · 7:00 PM PST

2007/12/25 · 19:00

"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. But it is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.." - Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason (December 1793)

Thomas Paine's words are as heretical today as they were more than two hundred years ago. Americans have forgotten that the colonists and founders fled to the new world to escape established religion. (more on the flip)

Neoprag

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Sunday December 16, 2007 · 2:30 PM PST

2007/12/16 · 14:30

On August 27, 1908, the American Bar Association adopted its first Canons of Professional Ethics. Next year will mark its 100th anniversary. The Cannons are very instructiuve and should be read by every attorney licensed to practice. More importantly, The Cannons should be read by those who think they want to go to law school and become a lawyer.

It is no surprise that all of these recently graduated 20-somethings who think they want to become lawyers and do, but have no idea what will really be required of them, go on to commit blatant acts of malpractice and display the worst of the profession.

Due to the fact that an individuals LSAT score, the most important factor in getting admitted to law school and thus entry in the profession, is not an indication of true qualifications to practice law according to the Canons, the profession is overrun with individuals who have no business practicing law.

So, if you think you want to be a lawyer, read the Canons and honestly ask yourself if you have it within you to embody them.

Do Republicans really care for the troops?

Neoprag

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Wednesday January 31, 2007 · 4:23 PM PST

2007/01/31 · 16:23

The Inspector General for the Defense Dept. stated that the U.S. military has failed to adequately equip soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially for nontraditional duties such as training Iraqi security forces and handling detainees, according to a summary of a new audit obtained by BusinessWeek.

The audit states:

Neoprag

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Monday January 30, 2006 · 4:17 AM PST

2006/01/30 · 04:17

On April 12, 2000, Gen. Hayden, then Director of the NSA, gave testimony to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. In his statement, Gen. Hayden laid out the context in which NSA electronic surveillance may be legally carried out. In his introduction, Gen. Hayden stated:

Gen. Hayden on Domestic Surveillance - Then and Now

Neoprag

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Friday January 27, 2006 · 11:40 PM PST

2006/01/27 · 23:40

The Wiretap Act & FISA vs. Pres. Bush

Neoprag

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Wednesday January 25, 2006 · 11:11 PM PST

2006/01/25 · 23:11

The claim that Title III of the Wiretap Act and FISA are the exclusive means by which anyone acting under color of law may conduct domestic electronic surveillance is not a legal fiction. The statute in question-(18 U.S.C. §2511(2)(f))-states the following:

(f) Nothing contained in this chapter or chapter 121 or 206 of this title, or section 705 of the Communications Act of 1934, shall be deemed to affect the acquisition by the United States Government of foreign intelligence information from international or foreign communications, or foreign intelligence activities conducted in accordance with otherwise applicable Federal law involving a foreign electronic communications system, utilizing a means other than electronic surveillance as defined in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and procedures in this chapter or chapter 121 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, shall be the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance, as defined in section 101 of such Act, and the interception of domestic wire, oral, and electronic communications may be conducted.

Neoprag

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Monday January 02, 2006 · 8:01 PM PST

2006/01/02 · 20:01

On July 16, 2001, the GAO sent Senator Fred Thompson a report he had requested as the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. The report [pdf], FBI Intelligence Investigations: Coordination Within Justice on Counterintelligence Criminal Matters is Limited (July 2001) (GAO-01-780), observed the following regarding the enactment of the Foreign Information Surveillance Act:

FISA was designed to strike a balance between the government's need for intelligence information to protect the national security and the protection of individual privacy rights...The Senate committee report provided that the basis for this legislation was the understanding that even if the President had an "inherent" constitutional power to authorize warrantless surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes, the Congress had the power to regulate the exercise of this authority by legislating a reasonable warrant procedure governing foreign intelligence surveillance. pg 6.

Thanks for requesting the report Fred.

Meet John Yoo (A Short List of Sources)

Neoprag

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Sunday December 18, 2005 · 10:47 AM PST

2005/12/18 · 10:47

Prof. John Yoo, the legal theorist behind the President's claim of sweeping executive war powers, stated on June 15, 2004, the following in an article he wrote for the UC Berkley news letter:

It is only appropriate that we have a public debate about the rules to confront terrorism, even if spurred by the leaking of classified information. But we should also realize that claims of violations of human-rights law or the Constitution must be evaluated in the context of the realities created by Sept. 11. (Emphasis mine)

As you can see, Prof. Yoo believes a public debate spurred by the leaking classified information is appropriate.

In an effort to help my fellow kossacks locate accurate sources on Prof. Yoo's opinions and legal philosophy, I have put together a list of sources that can be used as a jumping off point for further research. More on the flip. Read More

Libby's Obligation

Neoprag

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Saturday October 29, 2005 · 6:39 PM PDT

2005/10/29 · 18:39

The nine-page press release issued by Fitzgerald's office is a must read. The press release, as well as the indictment, explicitly details the various legal obligations Libby was under when he leaked Plame's identity. Here are several choice quotes from the press release that none of the talking heads have noticed or discussed: Read More

RSS

King George Revisited (A Reply to Resistance Patriots)

Playing the Atheist/GODLESS Card (or I taught Sunday School)

Russ Feingold For Attorney General of the United States

Remembering Thomas Paine This Christmas Season

So You Want To Be A Lawyer

Do Republicans really care for the troops?

Domestic Surveillance Requires Congressional and Judicial Oversight

Gen. Hayden on Domestic Surveillance - Then and Now

The Wiretap Act & FISA vs. Pres. Bush

Ask Fred Thompson about FISA

Meet John Yoo (A Short List of Sources)

Libby's Obligation