Folks, I'm with the stampede to stop Disney from airing its propaganda about 9/11. But, something even more dangerous is brewing in Congress right now. While we are all focused on 9/11, Bush is attempting to ram through a bill in Congress that will tear holes in the Bill of Rights.
Very soon, a new bill written by Dick Cheney and Arlen Specter, the "National Security Surveillance Act of 2006" (S. 2453) will come before our Congress for a vote. If this bill is passed, it will give Bush and Cheney the unfettered legal right to spy on any e-mail message involving any American for any reason - and without a individual court order - provided that Bush and Cheney can say that they do not know for sure where the person is located that is writing the e-mail message.
Bush has violated his oath to uphold the constitution of the United States. Now, Bush expects this Congress to go ahead and make a new law that will "legalize" his illegal snooping. He thinks this makes him tough on the war on terror? No, it just makes him destructive.
Our senators and congressmen are also supposed to uphold the constitution. As such, they should be holding Bush accountable for his violations, rather than looking for ways to allow his transgressions. Has the Republican controlled Congress done this? No. With this Congress, there exists no separation of powers.
President Bush has willfully and unrepentantly violated our constitutional rights to privacy and due process by collecting all telephone records on all American citizens, without approval or warrants from any courts.
Bush has further violated the rights of Americans by looking at bank records, copying and storing all e-mail records, gaining unfettered access to records of citizens' web page visits, and wiretapping telephone calls without court orders.
Bush and Cheney will be able to sweep the communications of many people for any reason without presenting any cause to any court. They will be able to collect and store all of these American e-mails, even when there is no warrant for the individuals, no proof of wrongdoing, no probable cause, or question of any wrongdoing by the individuals.
This bill will also allow warrantless searches of Americans' businesses and homes, as well as their private telephone call data, without court supervision. It also allows Bush and Cheney to keep secret all of the names of those they are spying without even having to divulge these to Congress or the courts.
Through this bill, the courts will not longer be required to know the names of the citizens that Bush is spying on or whether these citizens are even suspected of wrongdoing. Congress will be unable to conduct any accountability or review of the process to see if its getting out of hand - because Bush will be able to keep the specifics secret from Congress.
This bill is worse than the Patriot Act. It gives Bush vast new powers, including a blank check to spy on Americans utilizing the military and Defense Department's resources, like the military controlled NSA.
In essence, this bill makes legal what Bush has already been doing - illegally sweeping, collecting, storing, and listening to the conversations and communications of countless innocent Americans who have done nothing wrong.
All of the Republican legislators in Washington are very likely to try to rubberstamp this new law for Bush - just like they have rubberstamped most all of Bush's other laws and requests.
If we really want to get this country back on the right track, as citizens, we need to hold both Bush and Congress accountable. We need to stop allowing our Congress to give Bush all the unreasonable new powers he asks for.
If you live in Kansas, like I do, please call, write, and e-mail Pat Roberts, Jerry Moran and Sam Brownback and tell them to stop rubberstamping all of Bush's dangerous ideas. Insist that they vote against the National Security Surveillance Act of 2006.
If you live anywhere else and have a Republican senator or congressman in your district (and it's very likely that you do) - make sure they know that you insist that they stop rubberstamping all of Bush's dangerous ideas. Insist that they vote against the National Security Surveillance Act of 2006.
Explain to them, in no uncertain terms, that you are not willing to tolerate any more destruction of our constitutional rights as citizens.