The bigoted offensive "offensive" after the Coretta Scott King funeral by Hannity, The Oxycontin Kid, and others-- "shocked" that African Americans would discuss things like wire tapping, anti-war positions, poverty, and the loss of civil liberties during a discourse on Mrs. King's life-- didn't get much traction beyond the usual WingNuts. So, we're back to good old fashioned fear mongering. "Bush details foiled Al Qaeda Plot"
LA Times
So, how well is the Bush Misadministration doing at capturing terra'rists? "Details" below the fold.
Take a deep breath: "In a speech in October, Bush said the U.S. and its allies had disrupted at least 10 Al Qaeda plots against the West, including three planned attacks on American soil, and stopped at least five additional attempts to scout out targets in this country.
The White House then issued a list of such foiled plots, citing potential 9/11-style airliner attacks, a plan to blow up an apartment building, and surveillance of gas stations, bridges and tourist sites nationwide. Some law enforcement officials questioned whether some of those incidents constituted a true, imminent threat. Others said the plot against the Library Tower, which was renamed the US Bank Tower in 2003, never progressed beyond the planning stages." LA Times
Note: We're just "foiling them." I'm all for foiling these folks. But as the old commercial used to say "Where's the Beef?" So, who have we caught with the Bush administration's domestic spying, warrantless wiretaps, and data mining? A list below:
The nuns of the Holy Name Monastery say their bank account was frozen without explanation in November, and weren't made aware of the freeze until their checks started bouncing. The trouble started because one 80 year old nun who is a signatory to the account didn't have her Social Security number and photo ID on file, thus triggering a provision of the Patriot Act that is supposed to help track money launders and potential terrorists. The freeze was cleared up only after the nuns had incurred nearly $400.00 in fees which were later reimbursed by a chagrined local bank. Tampa Tribune
The Peanut Butter Protest: Protestors opposing the Iraq War handed out free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to Halliburton employees at the Houston TX headquarters. U.S.Army analysts at CIFA regarded this as a "potential threat to national security." January 30, 2006 Newsweek
The Quaker Meeting House of Fort Worth, Florida was monitored and listed as a "threat" by Pentagon officials, as a "suspicious domestic group." MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
The Great Honeybaked Ham Conspiracy: two vegans were arrested after writing down the make and license number of a car that was following them after a protest outside a Georgia store. It was an unmarked vehicle driven by Homeland Security Detective D.A. Gorman. rawstory
Sami Kahil and family were detained in Mexico and Mr. Kahil was placed in a Mexican jail because his name showed up on the No Fly List. January 7, 2006. It was a case of mistaken identity. Toronto Globe & Mail 1/07/06
Four year old Edward Allen of Houston TX name popped up on the No Fly List, and his parents were asked to provide three forms of identification for him. Most four year olds don't have three forms of ID. ABC13 Houston
On Thursday August 19, 2004 U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy was stopped and questioned at airports on the east coast five times because his name appeared on the No Fly List. Washington Post
A Longmont Middle School teen's name caused airport officials to stop the Mitchell family at the Denver airport when son Stephen's name came on the No Fly List. Washington cleared him, but didn't forward the information so the boy was prevented from boarding on the return flight. The Denver Channel 7
There were problems in 2003 with the No Fly List at the San Francisco Airport "The American Civil Liberties Union has documented at least 339 passengers stopped and questioned after being flagged by the software at San Francisco International Airport since the 2001 hijackings. But they all appear to be "false positives," and no one has been arrested." sfgate
Sister Virgine Lawinger - The No Flying Nun--Sister Virgine, 74, is part of a Wisconsin group called Peace Action. Last April, she was among a group of 20 activists who were barred from boarding a domestic flight and detained for questioning. The group was going to Washington to demonstrate against the School of the Americas and to learn how to lobby. To this day, no official involved has told them why there were detained and barred from flying. We are helping Sister Virgine file a FOIA request to determine the basis for these unreasonable actions. 10/16/2002 ACLU
Does the Bush Administration really expect we'll be happy we've caught all those tourists, small children, some nuns, people handing out peanut butter sandwiches, a U.S. Senator, a few Quakers, and a couple of vegans? Mercy, we just feel safer already!