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Domestic Spying Records Ordered Released
CokoBWare wrote to mention an eWeek report on the NSA's domestic spying program. A federal judge has ordered the Department of Justice to release records from the program by March 8th. From the article: "In ordering the Justice Department to expedite the FOIA request processing, Judge Henry Kennedy Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said that the department's opinion that it could determine how much time is needed was 'easily rejected ... Under DOJ's view of the expedited processing provisions of FOIA, the government would have carte blanche to determine the time line for processing expedited requests,'"
So, you have one branch saying, "Let's see what really happened" and the other two saying, "Nothing to see here; move along, move along".
The Gonzales will just give him the same tripe they've been spouting on TV. Constitution, use of force authorization, blah, blah, blah. The Bush administration isn't going to let some piddly little district court judge push them around. Especially when they've managed to load the Supreme Kangaroo Court with their cronnies.
They'll claim it's necessary for "security" and there will be a 5 to 4 vote overturning the order and they'll go right back to doing whatever the hell they feel like. This will only further demonstrate how little the current administration values the rule of law. And if you haven't figured that out by now, you're never going to. For rest of us it will simply be one more razor slash on the Constitution.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
The amusing outcome of this is that Bush and Cheney will say they can't release the documents because they're classified... then go read the story released today where Cheney says he has the authority do declassify information... which is his (newest) excuse for the Plame case.
Information about domestic spying must be kept confidential... Oh, but here's the name of an active CIA operative.
Some of us don't want to live in a pickle jar, and we need to start taking action. The executive branch is running an unprecedented power grab. Congress has no balls, so some judicial oversight is needed to ensure new measures improve security without sacrificing civil liberties or violating the constitution.
I am convinced this is the WORST administration in our country's history. Over the last few years, I've seen the administration leak the name of a CIA operative whose spouse disagreed with them. I've seen the United States use torcher on a grand scale and then criticize the newspapers that print the photos as inflammatory and inappropriate. I've seen a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy say the following about accountability (regarding Abu Ghraib):
"I don't think you can hold anybody accountable for a situation that maybe if you had done something different, maybe something would have occurred differently,"
I was an officer in the Navy. Actually, technically I'm still an officer in the Navy, and this quote from a high ranking officer makes me ill.
I've heard reports of secret prisons, secret courts, warrantless wiretaps... I sometimes wonder if the Neo-Con artists are taking bets on how many actions that prompted our secession from the British Empire they can get away with. "Okay you won on the secret courts, but double or nothing we can't get away with impressing British sailors." More importantly, it makes me wonder what atrocities we are not hearing about, and how these are being kept secret.
The real terrorists, the ones doing the most damage to this country are those currently in power. They criticize anyone who takes their illegal acts to press as unpatriotic and then continue to do whatever the hell they want. Can anyone think of some other world governments in the last 73 years or so that used censorship and propaganda like this? Once we lose the rule of law we will be no better than our perceived enemies. It is a slippery slope, and we are already a good ways down with high velocity.
We are completely mollified by the conveniences we have become dependent on. Since few understand the principles the country was founded on, we vote for whoever meets our immediate needs (in some cases, after they've convinced us what these needs are). As a result, we've lost all the statemen.
Where are the congressmen with the huevos to say "This is more power than a good man should want or a bad man should have." as did Sen A. Vandenburg regarding FDR's bill to allow additional presidential appointments to the Supreme Court? This is not a partisan issue, and this administration is not made up of Republicans. They are fascists and need to go quickly. The only good news is they are incompetent (see Katrina). Imagine the damage they could do if they knew their ass from a hole in the ground.
It torques my ass that we elected a frigging puppet in the first place. The fact that there are so many who cannot cognize or refuse to cognize what's going on and think Bush is their friend or a 'Patriot' is just icing on the cake.