The Constitution is just a piece of paper
More fun and surveilance from Our Fearless Leader:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 - President Bush acknowledged on Saturday that he had ordered the National Security Agency to conduct an electronic eavesdropping program in the United States without first obtaining warrants, and said he would continue the highly classified program because it was "a vital tool in our war against the terrorists."
Of course, you know, it's all well and good, because we shouldn't throw the Constitution in his face.
More from the NYT article:
He also lashed out at senators, both Democrats and Republicans, who voted on Friday to block the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, which expanded the president's power to conduct surveillance, with warrants, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The revelation that Mr. Bush had secretly instructed the security agency to intercept the communications of Americans and terrorist suspects inside the United States, without first obtaining warrants from a secret court that oversees intelligence matters, was cited by several senators as a reason for their vote.
"In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment," Mr. Bush said forcefully from behind a lectern in the Roosevelt Room, next to the Oval Office. The White House invited cameras in, guaranteeing television coverage.
He said the Senate's action "endangers the lives of our citizens," and added that "the terrorist threat to our country will not expire in two weeks," a reference to the approaching deadline of Dec. 31, when critical provisions of the current law will end.
If you want to add a little Stalin to spice things up a little, just change the word "terrorist" (or variations thereof) to "counter-revolutionary" in the sentences above.
Additionally, girls and boys, the only reason this got out is because of a leak. What else have the Bushites authorized the Puzzle Palace to do that we do not know anything about? Keep in mind that something as simple as an interlibrary loan can get you a visit from DHS agents.
If this domestic spying, and proposed limits on freedoms were made permanent or enacted in other nations that we had problems with, we'd call them out on it. Hell, we've bombed countries for less than this. Worrying about a knock on the door from government agents is the classic hallmark of the old Soviet system, not the Unted States of America, damn it!
I wonder why the die-hards haven't turned on the Thugs In The White House yet.
I also wonder if people will be content to be monitored and watched for the rest of their lives.
I think of the warning signs I see and wonder when I'll have to post things like this from somewhere not my home, using massive encryption I hope can't be cracked, or just stay silent as to not become a target. Someone has yet to give me a convincing argument that we won't get to that point, that we'll stop the decline.
I hope someone can give me one that I can believe in before we can't talk about it anymore.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 - President Bush acknowledged on Saturday that he had ordered the National Security Agency to conduct an electronic eavesdropping program in the United States without first obtaining warrants, and said he would continue the highly classified program because it was "a vital tool in our war against the terrorists."
Of course, you know, it's all well and good, because we shouldn't throw the Constitution in his face.
More from the NYT article:
He also lashed out at senators, both Democrats and Republicans, who voted on Friday to block the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, which expanded the president's power to conduct surveillance, with warrants, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The revelation that Mr. Bush had secretly instructed the security agency to intercept the communications of Americans and terrorist suspects inside the United States, without first obtaining warrants from a secret court that oversees intelligence matters, was cited by several senators as a reason for their vote.
"In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment," Mr. Bush said forcefully from behind a lectern in the Roosevelt Room, next to the Oval Office. The White House invited cameras in, guaranteeing television coverage.
He said the Senate's action "endangers the lives of our citizens," and added that "the terrorist threat to our country will not expire in two weeks," a reference to the approaching deadline of Dec. 31, when critical provisions of the current law will end.
If you want to add a little Stalin to spice things up a little, just change the word "terrorist" (or variations thereof) to "counter-revolutionary" in the sentences above.
Additionally, girls and boys, the only reason this got out is because of a leak. What else have the Bushites authorized the Puzzle Palace to do that we do not know anything about? Keep in mind that something as simple as an interlibrary loan can get you a visit from DHS agents.
If this domestic spying, and proposed limits on freedoms were made permanent or enacted in other nations that we had problems with, we'd call them out on it. Hell, we've bombed countries for less than this. Worrying about a knock on the door from government agents is the classic hallmark of the old Soviet system, not the Unted States of America, damn it!
I wonder why the die-hards haven't turned on the Thugs In The White House yet.
I also wonder if people will be content to be monitored and watched for the rest of their lives.
I think of the warning signs I see and wonder when I'll have to post things like this from somewhere not my home, using massive encryption I hope can't be cracked, or just stay silent as to not become a target. Someone has yet to give me a convincing argument that we won't get to that point, that we'll stop the decline.
I hope someone can give me one that I can believe in before we can't talk about it anymore.