I continued to be baffled with what it is these people are doing and think they can get away with. Saying that they are nuts is an understatement. Some of these people are mentally ill and anyone supporting these people and their agenda needs to re-examine their life. Something is really wrong with your thought process if you think this stuff is okay. For
instance:
The military's domestic surveillance was disclosed this week in a report on NBC Nightly News, which obtained a 400-page Department of Defense document outlining the surveillance of peace groups. Acting on a complaint from the Truth Project, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson posted a letter Wednesday to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, demanding an accounting.
"I am very concerned that the military's apparent expansion of domestic intelligence gathering could lead to unprecedented invasions of privacy of lawful citizens simply for exercising their right of free speech," the Democratic senator wrote, citing the NBC report as well as "other major media services" as the source for his concern.
Good to see Bill Nelson doing his job, but anyone who thinks peace groups are a threat to the U.S. is a fucking moron. And when we've got terrorists out there who want to kill us and destroy our country, wasting resources investigating peace groups is not only criminal, it is not only treasonous, it is just plain un-American. So is buying off reporters:
A senior fellow at the Cato Institute resigned from the libertarian think tank on Dec. 15 after admitting that he had accepted payments from indicted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff for writing op-ed articles favorable to the positions of some of Abramoff's clients. Doug Bandow, who writes a syndicated column for Copley News Service, told BusinessWeek Online that he had accepted money from Abramoff for writing between 12 and 24 articles over a period of years, beginning in the mid '90s.
Okay, maybe buying off reporters (even think tank hacks) might not be un-American, but certainly, lying about the evidence for starting a war is:
President Bush says Congress saw the same intelligence he did in the lead-up to the war in Iraq. So Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asked the non-partisan Congressional Research Service to look into the matter and report back whether or not what the president said is true.
They reported back today. The verdict: not true.
Not only did they lie about going to war, now they are lying about the process of lying about going to war. Worst of all, Bush apparently personally approved of illegal spying on American citizens:
President Bush has personally authorized a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States more than three dozen times since October 2001, a senior intelligence official said Friday night.
And lest you suggest that the criticism is simply from the left, you'd be wrong:
"There is no doubt that this is inappropriate," declared Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He promised hearings early next year.
And make no mistake, this is absolutely illegal and unconstitutional:
...the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Its Section 1809a makes it a criminal offense to "engage in electronic surveillance under color of law except as authorized by statute."
FISA does authorize surveillance without a warrant, but not on US citizens (with the possible exception of citizens speaking from property openly owned by a foreign power; e.g., an embassy.)
FISA also says that the Attorney General can authorize emergency surveillance without a warrant when there is no time to obtain one. But it requires that the Attorney General notify the judge of that authorization immediately, and that he (and yes, the law does say 'he') apply for a warrant "as soon as practicable, but not more than 72 hours after the Attorney General authorizes such surveillance."
It also says this:
"In the absence of a judicial order approving such electronic surveillance, the surveillance shall terminate when the information sought is obtained, when the application for the order is denied, or after the expiration of 72 hours from the time of authorization by the Attorney General, whichever is earliest. In the event that such application for approval is denied, or in any other case where the electronic surveillance is terminated and no order is issued approving the surveillance, no information obtained or evidence derived from such surveillance shall be received in evidence or otherwise disclosed in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding in or before any court, grand jury, department, office, agency, regulatory body, legislative committee, or other authority of the United States, a State, or political subdivision thereof".
Nothing in the New York Times report suggests that the wiretaps Bush authorized extended only for 72 hours, or that normal warrants were sought in each case within 72 hours after the wiretap began. On the contrary, no one would have needed a special program or presidential order if they had.
According to the Times, "the Bush administration views the operation as necessary so that the agency can move quickly to monitor communications that may disclose threats to the United States." But this is just wrong. As I noted above, the law specifically allows for warrantless surveillance in emergencies, when the government needs to start surveillance before it can get a warrant. It explains exactly what the government needs to do under those circumstances. It therefore provides the flexibility the administration claims it needed.
If Clinton can be impeached for a blowjob... If Nixon can be forced to resign over illegal wiretaps... oh. Speaking of impeachment, this woman should be removed from office:
Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia submitted the following:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the importance of the symbols and traditions of Christmas;
(2) strongly disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas; and
(3) expresses support for the use of these symbols and traditions.
There is absolutely no way that this is the most pressing issue facing Virginia voters or even amongst the top 100. This woman is wasting taxpayer funds and is failing to live up to her duties as an elected official. She should be recalled or impeached or fired in some way or another. Repeat after me: "There is no war on Christmas. There never was. There never will be."
But with McGarry out of the race, it looks like the Republicans have a clear path to the White House.