So the Coward-who-would-be-King has decided that absent the objection of any member of congress with a fucking spine, he can (or his lawyers) can just abrogate the Constitution at will?
Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.
...
The Bush administration views the operation as necessary so that the agency can move quickly to monitor communications that may disclose threats to this country, the officials said. Defenders of the program say it has been a critical tool in helping disrupt terrorist plots and prevent attacks inside the United States.
Administration officials are confident that existing safeguards are sufficient to protect the privacy and civil liberties of Americans, the officials say. ...
...
The White House asked The New York Times not to publish this article, arguing that it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that they might be under scrutiny. After meeting with senior administration officials to hear their concerns, the newspaper delayed publication for a year to conduct additional reporting. Some information that administration officials argued could be useful to terrorists has been omitted.
Yeah, this coming from a source of information that was so absolutely sure that the 1600 Crew would NEVER lie to sweet Judy Miller about WMDs.
Mr. Bush's executive order allowing some warrantless eavesdropping on those inside the United States  including American citizens, permanent legal residents, tourists and other foreigners  is based on classified legal opinions that assert that the president has broad powers to order such searches, derived in part from the September 2001 Congressional resolution authorizing him to wage war on Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, according to the officials familiar with the N.S.A. operation.
If these arguments are so righteous, then why do they have to be kept classified? Hint: there's more than a whiff of bullshit in those manila briefing folders that would probably get the "legal reasoning" laughed out of court.
It is not clear how much the members of Congress were told about the presidential order and the eavesdropping program. Some of them declined to comment about the matter, while others did not return phone calls.
The Spineless Fucks have probably known about it all along. Oh, and how genuinely good-hearted was all this extra-Constitutional Freedom Fucking?
Before the 2004 election, the official said, some N.S.A. personnel worried that the program might come under scrutiny by Congressional or criminal investigators if Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, was elected president.
Just like in the 70s when the last totally corrupt batch of republicans was in the White House, the NSA was afraid of getting their collective genitalia stuck in a vice if they were caught with it waving in the breeze and rightly so, apparently.
This corruption, bastardization, and evil is gonna come crashing down on these fuckers one day. I wonder on the day after that happens, how many folks will be willing to admit they were once "republican supporters of Preznit Scrambled Brains", or will they be like the post-surrender Germans..."Ve vas not Nazi's"...
posted by Jo Fish on 12.15.05 at 08:58 PM
Comments:
Dollars to donuts the admin. will claim the AUMF authorized them to do it.
Hot Dam, Lt. Welcome back to the land of the livin'... Thought ya might have gotten shot down somewhere over Kansas and was about to send out a SAR....
If I remember correctly way back just after the election the scum sucking son of a bitch masquerading as POTUS declared that he had been given Carte Blanche by winning (?) the election. Something about accountability, I can't remember where I read it or heard it, but it has stuck in my craw ever since.. It is now time to hold this ZERO accountable along with the asswipes who told this awol, stupid piece of dog crap that he could be an empire of one...
I am not suggesting a lynching or anything but I do happen to have an old manure coated line in the barn that we could use for "rope a dope"
Welcome back, and dammit, don't stay away so long, I miss all the great posts!
I'm just wondering what it's gunna take to get the rest of these broke dick, wanna be citizens pissed off enough to take this fucking country back from these cocksuckers .
You'd think something like this would be the straw that broke the camel's back. Naw, this is like a slight overcharge at JC Penney's or some stupid shit.
Pathetic, worthless bunch of fuckers we served for, isn't it fella's (and ladies)?? Sometimes I wonder if it was even worth it...
Semper Fidelis
posted by: Barndog on 12.17.05 at 05:59 AM [permalink]
congress needs to impeach this liar NOW...if clinton can be impeached for a blow job from an intern, then the "hick from dick lick" can be impeached for a_ss f_cking this country's civil liberties and entire system of judicial oversight..these neocon idiots won't rest until absolute power rests in their hands...not necessarily the hands of the presidency, but in the hands of the ultra conservatives...despite their thinking, we are not living in a tom clancy novel, and dubya is NOT jack ryan!
posted by: Scott Hall, Navy Vet on 12.17.05 at 10:57 AM [permalink]
but... but... fearless leader is fightin' hard, protectin' amerkins from sumpin 'r' other; he didn't swear to defend the US Constitution or some "g*****ed piece of paper", uhm, right? Not!
posted by: Nina on 12.17.05 at 11:27 AM [permalink]
I’m of the opinion that no one is above the law, wartime or not, President or not.
I agree with the theory that the real reason (#1) they did all this without warrants was to avoid leaving a trail, or revealing who was being spied on.
They can do all the surveillance they need for 72 hours, THEN get a warrant, already. So why not do it legally?
Real reason #2: because they could; because absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This was not done in the name of security, but in order to keep the names of the spied-upon secret: you know, all those potential terra-ists like AL FRANKEN, ATRIOS, JO FISH, ERIC ALTERMAN, MICHAEL MOORE, JOHN KERRY, HILLARY CLINTON, et al...the REAL enemies of AMURKA!!
posted by: OTB on 12.19.05 at 07:05 PM [permalink]
Where are you, how are you? Can we help? We got yr back!
posted by: Nina on 12.20.05 at 08:26 PM [permalink]
No wonder the Bushies rolled out the Swift Boat Liars.
They were so desperate to keep John Kerry out of the White House, to cover-up the illegal actions of Bush, that they were willing to get some wing-nut ex-soldiers to trash the credibility of their own military medals to go after the credibility of John Kerry's Vietnam-earned medals.
(And that's exactly what I told the Swift Boat Liars last year before the election. That in attacking the validity of John Kerry's medals they were calling into question the medals won by every soldier who has every fought in any U.S. war. In other words, if Kerry's medals were suspect, then their's were, too. As every U.S. soldier's medals were.)
So now we know that the Swift Boat Liars, in violation of their oath to uphold and defend our Constitution from foreign and domestic threats, helped aid and abet the continuing criminal activities of our Rogue Elephant President, George W. Bush.
I hope they are all proud of their acts of treason.
posted by: The Oracle on 12.21.05 at 01:03 AM [permalink]
