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The Fine Print On Wiretapping Review

notarus writes "Congress' new bill to 'force' the wiretapping program to be reviewed by FISA has some very doublespeak provisions. One nice line: 'Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the constitutional authority of the President to collect intelligence with respect to foreign powers and agents of foreign powers.'"

151 comments

  1. So let me get this straight... by Umuri · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So, if i'm to understand that correctly, if you use the grey area rule a bit, that can be construed as to allow anyone exemption if they were considered an agent of a foreign power... And terrorists are certainly a foreign power.. so if they wanted to say i'm a suspected terrorrist, then i'm obviously connected to a foreign terrorist cell, and i'm free game for no legal protection? Or am i just missing something....

    --
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    1. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't think you're missing anything. The question is, what can we do to stop these maniacs?

      Seriously, is there any way to stop them before they've entirely subjugated any tiny bit of control we still have over the behemoth that governs us?

      They don't even flinch when they're accused of torture; instead, they argue they have the "right" to torture suspects. They don't even blink when they're caught spying on the communications of millions of innocent Americans; instead, they say they're doing it to protect us, and they blame the whistleblowers for undermining them.

      What can you do to stop a criminal who accuses his victims? It's like a murderer who, when his crimes are exposed, calls for the exposers to be jailed for bringing grief to the families of the dead. This government has no remorse, and doesn't seem to even understand what it's doing -- unless it's all intentional, which is that much worse.

      Is there any way to end the rampage before we're all locked up to protect us from "terrorists"?

    2. Re:So let me get this straight... by iced_773 · · Score: 1


      But American citizens couldn't possibly be agents of a foreign power - if they were it would be treason, and there are laws in place for that already.

      Doesn't protect the random Middle-Eastern citizen from being swept off the street while vacationing in Europe, though.

    3. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's so annoying when people ignore the facts when they form opinions. Just because the media convinces you something is true does not mean it is. Blind ignorance is killing more Americans than our government is.

    4. Re:So let me get this straight... by himurabattousai · · Score: 1
      It is possible to be a terrorist without being a traitor, as in the case of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh (sp?).

      It is possible to be a traitor without being a terrorist. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, so if someone could provide one, I'd appreciate it.

      This bill has nothing to do with someone of Russian, Arabic, Chinese or anyother descent calling some relatives in a hostile country with schematics of a fighter jet. It's all about the government changing the rules so that, while still wrong, its spying would be legal.

      If this passes (and I hope it doesn't), some downright frightening links could be made. Given that the accepted definition of terrorism refers to acts of violence committed against civilians with the purpose of spreading fear if XYZ doesn't happen, it's not a short jump to spreading what can fall under that umbrella. Hell, even routine traffic violations could be considered terrorist acts. Seeing someone run a red light six inches from your bumper has its way of making the heart race, and if the government can't be bothered to mind big details such as constitutionally guaranteed civil rights, why should it be concerned with the intent of an action? I know this reeks of tin-foil-hat-ism, but it's not inconceivable, at least to me.

      --
      "osake no hou ga, biiru yori ii" to omotteiru.
    5. Re:So let me get this straight... by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 2, Informative

      It is possible to be a traitor without being a terrorist. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, so if someone could provide one, I'd appreciate it.

      Benedict Arnold.
      The Rosenbergs.

      --
      Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
    6. Re:So let me get this straight... by Ethan+Allison · · Score: 1

      Think about it this way. Terrorists could easily and covertly (almost to the point of undetectability) kill millions of citizens without losing any lives on their own part. They're just too stupid to figure out how. As long as they're dumbasses, we're pretty much safe.

    7. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Just because the media convinces you something is true does not mean it is."

      And unfortunately, the media have been hyping the "War on Terror" because it's sensational; they get more viewers and more ad revenue by playing into the hands of the power-hungry. Only very recently have the big media even slightly questioned what's going on -- and that's only because it's gone too far even for their taste. It's no longer in their financial interest to incite terror when the terror brings about laws that limit their business, but they'll happily promote government and corporate propaganda as long as it gives them a net profit.

    8. Re:So let me get this straight... by Mattintosh · · Score: 1

      "Terrorists" aren't a power, nor are they foreign. They're just a classification of people that cause terror. This is done by causing relatively minor but very visible destruction or harm, then relying on the panicky nature of "sheeple" to take over and spread general fear that "maybe it'll happen to me too". A "power" is a country that has a standing military. "Foreign" is any country that isn't yours. So in the context of this decision the USC has made, the president (and therefore the rest of the executive branch) has the authority to carry out an unimpeded investigation into anyone who is:
      1) Not a US citizen, or
      2) A US citizen working in concert with any other country's government.

      US citizens who aren't into the "spy scene" are in no danger from this particular law. And it's a good thing, too. We have plenty of other symptoms of a retarded government to deal with.

    9. Re:So let me get this straight... by grcumb · · Score: 1
      "And terrorists are certainly a foreign power.. "

      Nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of terrorist attacks are perpetrated by citizens of the nation where the attack occurs.

      --
      Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
    10. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      We are talking about communications. If you are communicating with an agent of a foriegn power then you have no fourth amendment protection.

      If you are unjustly accused of being an agent of a foriegn power, or communicating with one, and the government has not issued a wiretap warrant signed by a judge, then guess what? The case against you is tossed out.

      People have this idea that the Constitution protects them from search or siezure by police. It does not. It protects you from having those items siezed used against you in court, and allows you to get them back - after the fact, after you have seen a judge.

      Obviously, a DA or detective is not in the business of pissing off judges so they do try to adhere to your rights, but the ultimate expression of those rights are not with the DA or the detective - they are with a judge in a court of law.

    11. Re:So let me get this straight... by dnoyeb · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They are rich people. They are incapable of understanding what they are doing because they do not live with the consequences. Unfortunately, we seem to like to elect people that are nothing like us.

      The beatings will continue.

    12. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Terrorists could easily and covertly (almost to the point of undetectability) kill millions of citizens without losing any lives on their own part. They're just too stupid to figure out how.

      No, you're just too stupid to figure out that nobody actually wants to do that.

    13. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      It is possible to be a terrorist without being a traitor, as in the case of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh
      I disagree. The definition of treason is:
      Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.
      McVeigh was obviously levying war against the US. A better example might be the KKK or the Black Panthers. They are obviously terrorists but they aren't levying war against the US (which has a very strict interpretation by the Supreme Court) nor assisting our enemies.
    14. Re:So let me get this straight... by Chowderbags · · Score: 1

      "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

      If they don't have a warrant and they monitor your calls, they are in violation of the law and should be tried. Period. I'm a little antsy about retroactive warrants, but I at least see that they can be monitored for abuse.


      And DAs, detectives, and even the average cop will do whatever they can to get you to give up your rights. They're looking for convictions, not for you to be educated about what you don't have to do (which can easily make or break a case). For the most part, judges aren't very forgiving (they're not willing to overturn status quo, not that I can blame them).

    15. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      "US citizens who aren't into the "spy scene" are in no danger from this particular law."

      I think the point that the OP was making is that if someone's being investigated, they're not necessarily guilty of the crime. They might turn out to be entirely innocent; the investigation is based on some suspicion of guilt, and its purpose is to ascertain guilt or innocence.

      Now, if you are being investigated as a "terrorist" under these rules, you instantly lose your legal rights. It doesn't matter if you've never harmed a fly in your entire life. It doesn't matter if you've never set foot nor made a phone call outside the US. It doesn't matter whether you're guilty or innocent. Simply by being accused of "working in concert with any other country's government" you suddenly lose your rights; you are, in the eyes of the government, already guilty, but they don't even have to prove it in a court. Where is the justice in this? There is none.
    16. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "If you are unjustly accused of being an agent of a foriegn power, or communicating with one, and the government has not issued a wiretap warrant signed by a judge, then guess what? The case against you is tossed out."

      Actually, the case isn't tossed out. That's the whole problem here. Once you're accused of "terrorism" you lose a lot of rights, regardless of whether you're actually guilty. Do you honestly not see the problem with that method of operation?

      Let me put it in plainer words:

      If you're so sure someone is a criminal, why are you so afraid to give him a trial like every other criminal? Why do you insist on holding him incommunicado, preventing him from seeing his lawyer or family, and judging him in a military kangaroo court? If you won't give him a real trial, and you still insist on holding him in jail, you are the actual criminal.

      "People have this idea that the Constitution protects them from search or siezure by police. It does not. It protects you from having those items siezed used against you in court"

      You apparently haven't read the Constitution. It says: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

      Therefore, yes, the Constitution does protect them from unreasonable search and seizure. The use of such items in court is outlawed as a result of that -- but the act of unreasonable seizure itself is a violation of the Constitution.

    17. Re:So let me get this straight... by ChronosWS · · Score: 1

      The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. -- Thomas Jefferson Yes, there is something we will do when we decide we have had enough. We will exercise our 2nd Amendment rights in the manner in which they were originally envisioned.

    18. Re:So let me get this straight... by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 1

      "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. "

      In other words: The people do have a constitutional right preventing unreasonable searches and seizures. No warrant to perform a search may be issued without probable cause. A warrant to perform a search must describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

      For one thing, even if police have a warrant, there may be things that they still may not be allowed to seize if they are not in a place included in the warrant. If they have a warrant to search your house specifically, they may not be allowed to search your cabin in the woods even if it's on the same property.

      The reason evidence gets thrown out over a warrantless search in court is because the search or the specific seizure of an item was ILLEGAL from the start and should never have happened. Just because someone doesn't go to jail at the end of the day for it, that doesn't mean they had the right to perform that action.

    19. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Single, one-off murders are almost never solved, unless the victim and killer are known to each other.

      So, jut gun down from a distance a senator. Never attack one again.

      Some othercitizen, tired of being raped, does the same.

      This continues until the powers of the state and federation are reduced.

    20. Re:So let me get this straight... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Great, when do you start?

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    21. Re:So let me get this straight... by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      And terrorists are certainly a foreign power.

      Come again?

      They were looking for arabs before he got caught for a traffic violation, you know...

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    22. Re:So let me get this straight... by mliikset · · Score: 1

      This act doesn't modify any existing restrictions, but I think that you are right in that they will claim it exempts on a default basis. Every frickin' one of them is a weasel, otherwise they wouldn't keep skulking around the henhouse.

    23. Re:So let me get this straight... by azhrei_fje · · Score: 1

      The proposal as quoted wouldn't apply to AMERICAN CITIZENS who decide to commit a terrorist act, would it? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

    24. Re:So let me get this straight... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are missing the other, more insidious part of the warrantless search, and having it excluded from a criminal trial. This was pointed out on a Law Blog (I missed the point myself) . If they never accuse you of a crime, and take you to trial, they can monitor you, trace you, your relatives, & your contacts from now to forever, and you can't do a thing to stop them, because you haven't been accused of a crime (they are just following "suspicions"). Or to state it another way, evidence exclusion provides an unlimited "right-of-survailence", as long as you don't go to trial. Under this approach, the 4th amendment is turned on its head, because they will exclude the unwarranted evidence if it goes to trial, they just insure it never goes to trial, and the fishing net trawls wider and wider.

    25. Re:So let me get this straight... by slowdive1979 · · Score: 1

      if you would like to send a quick message to senator specter's office, go to http://specter.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Con tactInfo.Home/. he is the one of the ringleaders (from TFA) that put this ridiculous bill to congress. if you are from pennsylvania (one of his constituents), then all the better.

    26. Re:So let me get this straight... by Apoklypse · · Score: 1

      To arms ... to arms, my friends ... there is your only remedy to retrieve your rights and eliminate the fascists currently controlling the White House ...

    27. Re:So let me get this straight... by ejasons · · Score: 1
      People have this idea that the Constitution protects them from search or siezure by police. It does not. It protects you from having those items siezed used against you in court, and allows you to get them back - after the fact, after you have seen a judge.
      The fourth amendment states:

      The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

      Hmm, doesn't seem to fit what you said...

      What you stated is what the current interpretation is. And, that's what this story is about... The current interpretation of what is reasonable snooping on communications is changing -- and, within a few years, people will think that their current sad state of civil rights will have always been the case, just like you seem to think that the ability of the police to illegally seize your property would have been allowed by the courts in the past...

    28. Re:So let me get this straight... by std.human · · Score: 1

      The media's hyping the "War on Terror" has glorified it quite a bit, to the point that most people are now blind to what it really is: A scheme by greedy, power hungry people so that they can make money, and gain power. The whole war on terror thing is meerly a cloak, which seems to be valid, but is infact not. The media makes the government seem far better than it already is, but consider this: If you spoke with a man who had been living in a hut in the woods for the past 20 years, what do you think that he would think about the politics in this Country?

  2. Bend over by rts008 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hoefully this won't pass, but I would almost bet it will.
    We can safely bet it will not be vetoed by POTUS!

    --
    Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
    1. Re:Bend over by 9x320 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Hm... how can Congress say that the president may have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans when the Supreme Court already disagreed in East District of Michigan v. Nixon? That ruling was before FISA even came into existance, but considering this is about "inherent constitutional authority," FISA's existance can be disregarded in that consideration.

    2. Re:Bend over by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      East District of Michigan v. Nixon

      Don't you understand? It's a different world! 9/11 changed everything! The US has never ever ever faced an enemy as dangerous to its very existence as AlQaedaSaddamHusseinHezbollahSomeGuyDownTheStreetW hoSaidBushSucks! 9/11! The Nixon administration? 9/11! That's a different world you're talking about! 9/11!

      Oh, and in case you forgot, 9/11! 9/11! MP3 pirates! 9/11! Child porn! 9/11! 9/11!

      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
    3. Re:Bend over by philipgar · · Score: 1
      how can Congress say that the president may have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans when the Supreme Court already disagreed in East District of Michigan v. Nixon?
      What part of "foreign powers and agents of foreign powers" wasn't clear? This whole article, and the fact that it's on slashdot is stupid. Of course such a line would be inserted into any bill. Congress CAN NOT ever pass a law that limits the powers of the president if those powers are allowed by the constitution (including powers the courts have ruled the constitution has granted him). If the law stated that the president had extra powers or something, maybe that would be newsworthy. Although I guess considering how rarely congress follows the constitution, maybe a law where they state they don't violate it is a good start.

      Phil
    4. Re:Bend over by NaruVonWilkins · · Score: 2

      7/4 changed everything.

    5. Re:Bend over by coffinsurfer · · Score: 1

      Im sorry for laughing, but poeple who conctantly toss out names of court cases with no links to back them up are usually the ones that are making stuff up to help prove their points. If you would have done a nexus search, you would have found this little tidbit from a 1972 9-0 decision by none other then the US Supreme Court that not only said the president does have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans working for or foreign agents or Americans in contact with foreign powers that we are in conflict with, but that the President would be derelict in his powers of office and Constitutional authority and requirement to keep this country safe, if he did NOT do so. The US Supreme Court in the "Instant" decision in 1972, clearly gave the President the authority for the wiretaps! I quote "The Instant case requires no judgement on the scope of the Presidents surveillance power with respect to the activities of foreign agent(s) or foreign power(s) that are operating within or without of this country." U.S. Supreme Court UNITED STATES v. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, 407 U.S. 297 (1972) 407 U.S. 297 UNITED STATES v. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN ET AL. (PLAMONDON ET AL., REAL PARTIES IN INTEREST) CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT No. 70-153. Argued February 24, 1972 Decided June 19, 1972 You can locate the decision here http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?c ourt=US&vol=407&invol=297 thus SCOTUS gave a finding that the domestic spying against an agent or foreign powers or someone speaking to same while operating in the US while in a time of national Emergency or war was INDEED CONSTITUTIONAL. As it stands, You would have to get over 2/3rds of the full US Congress to overturn this decision, and that you are not going to get. So for you or anyone else to say that this is illegal and Unconstitutional is irrational and not based on anything valid or the letter of the law. Now since I found this with a simple nexus search, care to explain why this constantly slips the notice of people complaining about this when they can find this fact in less time then they took to write their complaint letters or post here??

  3. Wouldn't matter anyway... by gowen · · Score: 0, Troll

    Nothing in any act (short of a constitutional amendment) can undermine anyone's constitutional authority to do anything. That's what constitutional authority is. Furthermore, Presidential acts tend to get fast-tracked to the Supreme Court, and there's no way in hell that august body is gonna rule against Prez. That's tantamount to treason these days. Nice solid 5-4 with some half-assed whiny dissent paying lip service to Civil Liberties.

    --
    Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
    1. Re:Wouldn't matter anyway... by ortcutt · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure what your point is but I would start by asking "What constitutional authority?" The only people who think that Article II authorizes the President to do whatever he wants regardless of statutes are (1) Bush Administration lawyers, (2) John Woo, (3) some fourth-tier law school professors. The Supreme Court and the vast majority of constitutional scholars believe otherwise. The FISA set limits and the Bush administration ignored those limits. Now, Senator Specter wants to weaken FISA so that FISA Court review is optional. That's absurd. That's like dealing with a state's murder problem by making murder legal and declaring the problem solved.

    2. Re:Wouldn't matter anyway... by kfg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      . . .there's no way in hell that august body is gonna rule against Prez.

      Not really true, at the moment, as the recent ruling on the tribunals shows; however. . .

      To show close you are to the truth compare and contrast C. Thomas' minority opinion in the imminent domain case, where he was both legally sound and right, with his minority opinion in the tribunal case, where he completely ignores his own legal philosophy in order to favor absolute powers for the president.

      The cognitive disonance is scarey, as is the fact that these fundamental issues of American legal philosophy are coming down to single vote majorities.

      KFG

    3. Re:Wouldn't matter anyway... by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's a bait and switch:

      President: "Under my constitutional authority ..."

      Supreme Court, playing along: "You don't have that constitutional authority."

      Rubber-stamp Congress: "Under the President's constitutional authority ..."

      Supreme Court: "The law clarifies the President's constitutional authority ..."

      Bang! You and I and everyone else who gives a damn about freedom can howl all we want, but all it takes is one Supreme Court decision to enshrine this previously-nonexistent authority as precedent.

      I feel like a conspiracy-theorist nutcase even making this post, but you know, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
    4. Re:Wouldn't matter anyway... by ortcutt · · Score: 1

      But the Supreme Court didn't enshrine any such authority and seem unlikely to given the Hamdan decision. So, I'm still confused about your point.

    5. Re:Wouldn't matter anyway... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Do whatever he wants"

      Nice strawman you have slain. Did it drop the gloves of +1 lawyering?

      Seriously, heres what FISA says about FORIEGN intelligence gathering:

      The Truong court, as did all the other courts to have decided the issue, held that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information. It was incumbent upon the court, therefore, to determine the boundaries of that constitutional authority in the case before it. We take for granted that the President does have that authority and, assuming that is so, FISA could not encroach on the President's constitutional power. The question before us is the reverse, does FISA amplify the President's power by providing a mechanism that at least approaches a classic warrant and which therefore supports the government's contention that FISA searches are constitutionally reasonable.

      Case No. 02-001

    6. Re:Wouldn't matter anyway... by ortcutt · · Score: 1

      http://cdt.org/security/20060109legalexpertsanalys is.pdf See Section II of this for the response. It has to do with the difference between inherent and exclusive authority.

  4. Doublespeak? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Right. God forbid a congressional bill uphold the constitution.

    1. Re:Doublespeak? by ChronosWS · · Score: 1

      I think people are often confused about what Constitutional authority the President actually has, perhaps in part because they have not read the Constitution. Or maybe they have read it but not understood it. The Constitution is written in fairly plain language however, and can be taken at face value. From Article II (which defines the Executive and its powers): "The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment." This says that he is the leader of the armed forces, as well as the militia of the States when called into service. It also says he can require reports of other executive offices and grant reprieves and pardons. Nothing in here says that the president may declare the combatant status of anyone, conduct wiretapping at his pleasure, etc. "He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments." So he can make treaties with consent of the Senate, nominate and appoint diplomats and judges, again with consent of the Senate, and do the same for any other officers with certain exceptions made by Congress. Nothing about wiretaps, enemy combatant status or anything here... "The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session." Again, nothing here. Some people may be confused by the Oath of Office the President is administered as required by the Constitution. It reads: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." One could interpret this to mean that the President has the power to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution'. This would be incorrect, for two reasons. One, the Constitution very specifically uses the word 'power' to denote when the People have granted power to some portion of the government - such is not the case here. Secondly, an oath is not customarily used to bestow power upon someone, rather it is a guide to how power bestowed through another means (in this case by the Constitution) should be used. Unfortunately, the situation with Congress' authority is less clear simply because of the number of powers granted and their varying scope. Article I Section 8, which defines the powers of the Congress to legislate, contains some rather ambiguous phrasing (deliberate or not) which can and is misused often (regulating interstate commerce comes to mind.) Even so, I find it hard to understand where Congress or the Executive gets the authority to wiretap or otherwise eavesdrop on communications of any form. No such power is provided by the Constitution (powers not explicitly provided for by the Constitution are explicitly denied to the Government and reserved for the States and the People by the 10th Amendment) and therefore Congress cannot legislate regulation of it, nor can the President exercise any power to do it.

    2. Re:Doublespeak? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But, Herr Comrade Stalin^h^h^h^h^h^hBush needs secret police and torture and secret laws and the power to be above all law and morality to protect us from EVIL PornChildAbusersDruggiesPinkoCommiesJewsBrownPeopl e.

      Herr Comrade Stalin^h^h^h^h^h^hBush is our father and we must trust him, he will only torture and kill us for our own good, and he only bombs and kills news reporters which might favor pinkocommiejewish people.

  5. Read the whole article, it's important by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The devil is in the details, and he's plotting busily away.

    For one thing the bill allows FISC to issue, not individual warrants, but permission for exactly the kind of driftnet fishing expedition that's never been legal against US citizens.

    Then comes the real land mine. If someone does challenge a domestic spying program, this bill says FISC can "dismiss a challenge to the legality of an electronic surveillance program for any reason". Think about that: "any reason". Not "any legal reason", not "any rational reason", not "any reason related to national security". This simply means the court can throw out any complaint without a hearing just because it wants to.

    "...foreign powers and agents of foreign powers" makes this sound much better than it really is. Just remember that if spying on "agents" doesn't allow enough abuse to satisfy the people behind this, they'll interpret it as "suspected agents". After that, it will somehow expand to "alleged agents" and then to "possible agents", meaning everybody. Then they'll be able to bug the Democratic Party as before, only this time it will be legal.

    1. Re:Read the whole article, it's important by kesuki · · Score: 1

      One senator saying he's backing this does not a law make :)

      the bill still has to go before the congress, and then the senate then to committee then to the president's desk :)

      maybe zonk was sleeping on the job because the submitters commentary, the parent comments, etc had nothing to do with the content of any article about this news i could find :)

    2. Re:Read the whole article, it's important by bblboy54 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Read the whole article, it's important....
      br> You must be new here.

    3. Re:Read the whole article, it's important by avtchillsboro · · Score: 1

      "Read the whole article" indeed. It's an EDITORIAL

      Then comes the real land mine. If someone does challenge a domestic spying program, this bill says FISC can "dismiss a challenge to the legality of an electronic surveillance program for any reason". Think about that: "any reason". Not "any legal reason", not "any rational reason", not "any reason related to national security". This simply means the court can throw out any complaint without a hearing just because it wants to.

      ...please.

    4. Re:Read the whole article, it's important by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What constitutional authority does the President have anyway? He is the commander-in-chief, but he can only do what congress grants him the authority to do. And congress can only grant authority that the constitution allows. Where does Bush get off claiming the constitution gives him the authority to spy on US citizens? I have heard many claims to that effect but never heard a quote from the constitution to back it up.

    5. Re:Read the whole article, it's important by gettingbraver · · Score: 4, Interesting

      This administration does not want another Daniel Ellsberg leaking today's equivilant of the Pentagon Papers. Especially after reading this.

    6. Re:Read the whole article, it's important by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea, that is a bit sticky. Its deference to the judiciary, which by my account is the most rational of the three branches. They are not in the business of trampling the Constitution (or else they get smacked hard by a court of appeal or the Supreme Court) and they do not suffer foolish prosecutors gladly.

      Even SCOTUS, while now a conservative body, has no problem slamming the President, as they recently did re: Gitmo. Frankly, if I had my choice between trusting the Judiciary, the Congress, or the Executive, it would be a no-brainer.

    7. Re:Read the whole article, it's important by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Heh, time to send some of these out to your Congresscritters.

      We the [Redacted]

    8. Re:Read the whole article, it's important by interiot · · Score: 1

      To be fair, a number of centrist journalists think that mass-internet-filtering for data is likely to be legal in the future. Clearly, it's a useful tool in tracking criminals. Clearly, it's easy to abuse as well, but it may be possible to have enough oversight to ensure that it's used only for just purposes, and that abuse can rarely occur (eg. just scanning the "outside of the envelope", for instance).

  6. Usual Suspects by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1, Insightful
    The NY Times coverage of SPECTRE's latest BushCo ex post facto whitewash says

    the deal would put the court, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, in the unusual position of deciding whether the wiretapping program is a legitimate use of the president's power to fight terrorism.


    Lichtblau says the FISA Court's position would be "unusual". The FISA Court is the ONLY venue that is ALWAYS in the position of deciding whether US persons are legitimate wiretap subjects. It's position is not just not "unusual", it is absolutely required every time.

    Anyone who isn't complicit in creating a "unitary executive" from Bush's imperial presidency can tell that SPECTRE is just papering the discarding of Congress as the lawmaking body in the USA.
    --

    --
    make install -not war

    1. Re:Usual Suspects by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1

      Moderation -1
          100% Troll

      TrollMods actually want Bush to spy on them like a tyrant.

      --

      --
      make install -not war

  7. Re:FIRST POST by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

    To quote Gollum: "What did he say?"

    --
    The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  8. Courts by 9x320 · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Hm... how can Congress say that the president may have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans when the Supreme Court already disagreed in East District of Michigan v. Nixon? That ruling was before FISA even came into existance, but considering this is about "inherent constitutional authority," FISA's existance can be disregarded in that consideration.

    1. Re:Courts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nixon case was superseded by US V Truong.

      Read current case law nitwit, not just something that reinforces your political prejudices. On top of that try reading the powers of the Presidency as they are written into the articles at the beginning - and the most recent enabling act that delegates the war owers to the PResident for the current conflict. You might become educated as to the president's constitutional powers to wage war, including spying as part of thatm which also include swarantlesses wiretaps and searches, going back to WW2, etc.

  9. In the words of... by Marko+DeBeeste · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...the great sage (and government employee) Gomer Pyle: "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise."

    --
    Faith: n. -- That human impulse that drives them to steal appliances when the power goes out
  10. Nice Troll, Supreme Court Has Overrulled Bush by MyNameIsFred · · Score: 3, Informative
    ...there's no way in hell that august body is gonna rule against Prez...
    I realize you're probably trolling, but we can't ignore the facts. See, for example, the Supreme Court rebuking Bush on Gitmo or Supreme Court limits Bush's power.
    1. Re:Nice Troll, Supreme Court Has Overrulled Bush by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and how about the surpreme court ruling the state can steal your house and sell it to corporations if the price is right, or ruling that ended the recount in florida even though gore won by all accounts (despite misleading headlines)?

      its no troll, the supreme court supports all but the most blatant of bush's agendas.

      So long as they can help him without the public marching on their courthouse they will.

  11. In defence of freedom?! by headkase · · Score: 4, Funny

    Searching for "Laws fall silent in times of war" led to this page. Putting it in context, barring further violence US politics hopefully will begin to lose some hysteria and in another 5 years and we can get back to more pressing issues such as whether or not such and such president got or did not get a bj and whether we ought to impeach the bastard. And he didn't inhale.

    --
    Shh.
    1. Re:In defence of freedom?! by kesuki · · Score: 1

      You mean if a former president can be the first lady ;)

      Nope, not an 'offical' endorsment. afterall, she wouldn't want my 'official' endorsment anyways. depending on how the next few weeks pan out, we might be a little closer to knowing if hillary actually stands a shot at a presidential bid or not though.

      anyways, keeping annoying criminals locked up is important :)

      rehabilitating criminals is important too :) if we just throw them in there and make them work, or let them teach each other how to do more crimes then there is little real benefit to society, as they leave bitter, and angry, or having been well educated in evil.

      considering who i am, and what i've done, there is little doubt in my mind that this long war is about to come to a screeching halt. not a cold war, not a hot war, more like, a period of peace and prosperity that will allow people to have a lot more fun. yeah, i was loosing my touch definitely, i know people were trying to warn me, etc. but hey :) it has definetly got mr. toads wild ride beat :)

  12. legal analysis by herbiesdad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    i knew the law degree would come in handy some time. ok, sorry, but you guys have it wrong. the quoted language is to clarify that congress is making no attempt to divest the president of the rights he has in that office pursuant to article ii of the constitution. any efforts by the congress to limit the executive powers expressly granted to the president in article ii are illegal because they implicate a breach of separation of powers. along the same lines, the president could not pass a resolution or treaty that would take away legislative powers from the congress. i take no position on the proposed legislation.

    1. Re:legal analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are full of shit. People with law degrees use capitalization.

    2. Re:legal analysis by alphaFlight · · Score: 2, Insightful

      exactly! laws that violate express grants of power in the constitution are some of the easiest for the supreme court to strike down as unconstitutional.
      it was refreshing to find your post.

      --
      -= alphaFlight =-
    3. Re:legal analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is correct on one level but incorrect on another. The president has more power (in Justice Jackson's famous framework) when he or she is acting with the consent of Congress. One could construe the clause as a constitutional savings clause, viewing it as an attempt to make sure the law does nothing unconstitutional -- i.e., divest the executive of his or her article II authority. The more likely intent however, and the clear outcome in any case (as the previous poster seems to recognize), is that this is a clear punt to the courts. Nothing has been decided, but arguably, Congress has aquiesced. Imagine that, lawyers disagree.

  13. FUD by Evets · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I see all the political propoganda going around these days as nothing more than FUD. The text of the bill isn't even in TFA, so without doing some legwork (which I'm sure someone here will do), you really have no idea what is in the bill.

    It's certainly within the power of congress to present a bill that would reduce the effectiveness of a previously passed bill.

    My take on this is that anything going through congress should be thought through with the mindset that terrorism is not a factor. Terrorism today is like the war on drugs or the war on communism. It never ends and it's a tool used by the powers that be to do things to the citizenry that would under normal circumstances be impossible. If you strip away the fundamental principals of society to deal with a problem, then the solution is worse than the problem.

    We are dealing with three things here - 1) we live an an information age society that is fundamentally different than the one's which gave birth to the majority of our laws and 2) we have a general populous that is ignorant of that which makes our society great. The third thing is that political maneuvering is based on a polling structure that encourages answering without any pontification or even any background information. Sure, we would all like to live in a well thought out society, but we can't even force the issue of working in a well thought out environment. We can blame our congressman for making bad decisions, but a better solution would be to become involved to the point where we were helping governmental decision making in general better.

    I certainly see that government will always push the limits of it's own power and understand that laws which grant power to the government should be written with a conservative (conservative, not right-wing) mindset. But I also can see that lawmakers have a different perspective than the general populous. They sometimes have a better historical perspective. They sometimes have access to information that the general public does not which factors into their decision making, and they sometimes have motivations completely unrelated to a particular bill that push them to vote one way or another. In the end, they have to live with their decisions just as much as we do. If their track record is so bad, then why is the re-election rate upwards of 90%? Surely it couldn't be pure apathy on the part of their detractors.

    1. Re:FUD by kfg · · Score: 1

      2) we have a general populous that is ignorant of that which makes our society great.

      Girls Gone Wild?

      KFG

    2. Re:FUD by WerewolfOfVulcan · · Score: 3, Informative

      original bill

      changes as of 6.14

      The bill is S. 2453. Working title is National Security Surveillance Act of 2006.

      There are a couple of other bills worth noting. One is S. 2455 (Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006), sponsored by Senators DeWine and Graham. The other is S . 3001 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Improvement and Enhancement Act of 2006) sponsored by Senators Specter and Feinstein.

      I've been following these bills since their introduction. I knew that one or more of them would make it to the table before November. If any of them pass, Bush will have gotten away with wiping his ass with the Constitution yet again

    3. Re:FUD by ortcutt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What about the track record of the Republican-led Congress or Bush administration gives you any indication that they are concerned about civil liberties or even with the most effective means of combatting terrorism? Everything tells me that they'd rather just let the President off the hook and authorize whatever he wants to do. It is also short-sighted to see this as FUD. There are reports about what the bill will contain and many people are rightly concerned that the safeguards put in place by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act aren't eroded. This is not premature. If we wait until the t's are crossed and the i's dotted on Specter's FISA-Gutting-Act, it's going to be too late to respond to this travesty.

    4. Re:FUD by ChronosWS · · Score: 1

      "I certainly see that government will always push the limits of it's own power and understand that laws which grant power to the government should be written with a conservative (conservative, not right-wing) mindset. But I also can see that lawmakers have a different perspective than the general populous. They sometimes have a better historical perspective. They sometimes have access to information that the general public does not which factors into their decision making, and they sometimes have motivations completely unrelated to a particular bill that push them to vote one way or another. In the end, they have to live with their decisions just as much as we do. If their track record is so bad, then why is the re-election rate upwards of 90%? Surely it couldn't be pure apathy on the part of their detractors." Power corrupts. As soon as I give someone power (for instance by electing them) I am duty bound to be skeptical of their motives and distrust virtually everything they say (because they have become corrupt by the power I just gave them,) and it probably behooves me to remove them as soon as I possibly can, before they gain even more power. The reason people keep getting re-elected is that politicians desperately avoid talking about power. They tell you what great things will happen when they are re-elected, but never say what it will cost, and we usually don't care to ask. But the answer to the unasked question is always the same.

    5. Re:FUD by TheNetAvenger · · Score: 1

      There is a difference between a conservative mindset and what the current 'so-called' conservative leaders are doing. This stretches beyond an ignorant assertion of the classic 'more informed public servant' knowing the needs of the people better than the people.

      This spans a repeated disregard for any legality or responsibility that doesn't fit their ideals or agenda. This is not about having representatives and an administration that 'knows' better than the people this is about authoritarian worship, along the lines of the Nixon apologists to the Stalin and Hitler justifiers.

      If you want to follow a conservative mindset, I suggest picking up a book by John Dean or other 'real' conservatives that are open for honest conservative debate, and don't fall in line to worship the idiot in chief.

      You are bastardizing the conservative ideals yourself by associating them with what the current republican leadership is doing to dismantle basic principles this country was 'once' respected for and found by.

      Shame on you...

  14. Timothy McVeigh by Xtifr · · Score: 1

    > And terrorists are certainly a foreign power

    So what foreign power was Timothy McVeigh?

    1. Re:Timothy McVeigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wasn't he from the south?

      Some of them are still waving the Confederate flag over there, so they belong to a foreign -- although non-existent -- power.

    2. Re:Timothy McVeigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      > So what foreign power was Timothy McVeigh?

      He was Iraqi. Just like the 9-11 hijackers, duh!

      I bet you feel stupid now!

  15. Re:That quote from TFS reminds me of... by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 1

    A Congress with guts would interpret signing statements as declaration of intent to break the law, and therefore strong evidence for impeachment the instant the law goes into effect and is presumably broken. "You signed this bill, therefore it is law. Nothing you say about it has any legal force; only the bill itself, and your signature, represent the law. We're watching you, buddy."

    Oh, I just re-read the first four words of my post. Never mind.

    --
    The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
  16. Wake-up call for techies! by CurtMonash · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Let's be real. Government WILL wind up with huge amounts of information about us, and the technological means to filter it. Financial transactions, electronic communications, travel -- all of those are trackable in theory, and anything trackable can be stored and mined. Over the next couple of decades, that theory will increasingly become fact.

    We need laws that protect us DESPITE this inevitable progression. I.e., since freedom will lose on the battlefield of what information government has access to, we need to find ANOTHER battlefield where freedom can win. And the only viable candidate I see is to greatly strengthen laws controlling what government can DO with data, even if it possesses same.

    This winds up being a system design issue, as tough as the flip-side problem of "How will government integrate all that information to get at it anyway." So we need to start solving it right away, just like the integration problem is already being worked on, then get that solution out into the public consciousness.

    I think I've made a good start at http://www.monashreport.com/2006/06/06/freedom-eve n-without-data-privacy/, but it's just a start. A lot more is needed.

    --
    To err is human. To forgive is good system design.
    1. Re:Wake-up call for techies! by sgt_doom · · Score: 1
      Government WILL wind up with huge amounts of information about us, and the technological means to filter it. ...Over the next couple of decades, that theory will increasingly become fact.

      No offense, guy, but you're kind of behind the times here.

      Ever heard of NSA, NGA, ChoicePoint???? Acxiom??? TransCore??? Applied Data Solutions (and their guys with phony doctorates)???? Carlyle Group and it's parent organization, the Blackstone Group???? RFIDs...and the companies which manufacture them???? Know who owns Trenstar (they would be the RFID guys having to do with container shipping)????? Ever heard of the US-Oman Free Trade Agreement, which the House will soon vote on (and I'm quite sure, pass) which will make it legal for foreign governments and foreign corporations to own America's most senstive infrastructure; shipping ports and utilities??? The time for any political action was long ago.

    2. Re:Wake-up call for techies! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The irony of all these lefttard people bitching about foreign governments owning ports... ...the only company left in the US capable of running a port is Halliburton.

      Most US companies will not do it. It's not worth it.

  17. the 9-11 changed everything rationale by SethJohnson · · Score: 4, Insightful



    Like you, I'm getting pretty fed up with this excuse for trampling on the constitution and human faces in secret prisons scattered worldwide. While 9/11 was certainly a horrific tragedy, it certainly doesn't represent a threat of such proportions that we need to sidestep the trivialities of the constitution to preserve the continued existence of America.

    While it's a completely different conflict, consider the threat that the Civil War posed to the country. 9-11 was baby crap compared to how close America came to disolving during the Civil War.

    So, yeah, America has been guided through some spectacularly difficult times by that Constitution. And these neocons who are second guessing the original authors of the document, well, I wouldn't exactly put them on the same shelf of great thinkers occupied by the likes of Ben Franklin.

    Seth

    1. Re:the 9-11 changed everything rationale by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      > 9-11 was baby crap compared to how close America came to disolving during the Civil War.

      Well duh, it was a civil war.

      But Lincoln restored Habeas Corpus when the civil war ended. When is the war on terra going to end?

    2. Re:the 9-11 changed everything rationale by 9x320 · · Score: 1

      Technically, under the conditions of Congress's 2001 authorization, it goes on for as long as any single member of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have not perished, surrendered, or been captured. I'd say that'd be at least sixty years.

      Even then, they could extend it even more, I suppose. It says 'authorization to use military force against the people, organizations, governments, or parties that caused the September 11, 2001 attacks and the people, organizations, governments, or parties that help or protect them. Rumor has it Osama has training camps for al-Quaeda over in Somalia, taking advantage of the anarchy caused by the fighting of rival warlords.

      The radical Islamic Courts Union, the judicial branch of an old government, turned into a dictatorship led by the former Chief Justice and used its military to attack Somalia towns. They recently gained a major victory by capturing the capital of Somalia, and then the base where rival factions had fleed to after the takeover. There are rumors that they have links with al-Qaeda, and in light of afforementioned news reports, wouldn't it be something special if they were true? Under Congress's distasterously wide authorization, Bush could deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to Somalia and he wouldn't so much as have to utter a breath before Congress again to do it!

      I guess when you consider either the qualifiers of "when every single al-Qaeda, Taliban, or Islamic Courts Union member is dead" or "a non-war supporting president is elected," it makes Rumsfeld's recent PR term "the long war" literally "the long war." Odd that the Somalia dictatorship came from the judicial branch. Usually it's been depicted as coming from the executive branch, or in the case of Palpatine, the legislative.

    3. Re:the 9-11 changed everything rationale by murderlegendre · · Score: 1

      So, yeah, America has been guided through some spectacularly difficult times by that Constitution.

      If you're actually referring to the US Civil war, the US Constitution wasn't so much of a guiding hand in that conflict, but a major point of contention. Ask a northerner why they fought the Civil War, and they'll tell you "slavery". Ask a southerner, and they'll tell you "states rights".

      Truth be told, they are both correct, but in the analysys, the southern states had the stronger constitutional position. In fact, it were the waging and outcome(s) of the Civil War which led to the vast expansion of powers by the federal government, and therein we have the linkage to the discussion at hand - the broadening of undelegated federal powers.

      Unfortunately, the "rights" asserted by these several southern states included the right to (continue to) break the back of the black man for their own enrichment. And it's not as if there weren't enough poor southerners to work the fields, but from the viewpoint of the slaveowners, that would mean paying someone... not that slaves were cheap, but they could be worked, bred and sold much more profitably than simply employing poor whites.

      The assholes.

      --
      There's a Starman, waiting in the sky / He'd like to come and meet us, but he hasn't got the time.
    4. Re:the 9-11 changed everything rationale by mikelieman · · Score: 1

      America DID dissolve. When Congress adjourned in Spring of 1861, the Federal Republic under the Constitution of The United States was put to bed.

      When Lincoln appointed FakeCongress on 4-July-1861, he put a pretty face on what has been a military dictatorship.

      Show me when FakeCongress was replaced with a real congress, and the wartime emergency government actually replaced. I can't find the paperwork.

      --
      Technology -- No Place For Wimps! Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Chatroom -- http://www.wemissjerry.org
    5. Re:the 9-11 changed everything rationale by thecampbeln · · Score: 1

      <DevilsAdvocate>
      Why in the hell can't we use 9/11 as any excuse what so ever to trample on the rights of terrorists who are out to destroy *us* and *our* way of life!
      </DevilsAdvocate>

      The true irony here is that we destroy our way of life in the reckless pursuit of these Emmanuel Goldsteins; Warrantless spying on Americans by an agency barred in its charter from having any domestic operations, America joining the ranks of countries who disregard the Geneva frickin' Conventions, Citizens - foreign and domestic - held (up to) indefinitely and without charge, etc, etc.

      Mission Accomplished, indeed.

      I can see parallels between this 9/11 bullshit that the current admin is doing and what Israel has been doing for decades... using a true tragedy against its people (9/11 and the holocaust respectively) as an excuse to visit like tragedies (or worse) on their enemies. And once again, the true irony here is that as recipients of said tragedies... we should know better. Having experienced these atrocities ourselves first hand we should be the last peoples of the world to visit like tragedies on others. And yet... it seems like we both use these events as a sort of carte blanch to do what we will.

      Pathetic.

      --
      "1984" was ment to be a warning, not a guidebook. You hear that Kim Jong-il!? BushCo?!
    6. Re:the 9-11 changed everything rationale by Mister+Whirly · · Score: 1

      "Ask a northerner why they fought the Civil War, and they'll tell you "slavery". Ask a southerner, and they'll tell you "states rights"."

      Actually I think if you asked a southerner, they would tell you "states rights to have slavery"

      --
      "But this one goes to 11!"
  18. Nothing in any Act can limit the president thusly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The quote is just boilerplate, designed to save everyone the expense of a court case.

    The fact is, nothing in any Act can constrain the executives authority to conduct foriegn intelligence data gathering. That is a prerogative of the Executive, as enumerated in the Constitution, as interpreted (repeatedly) by the Supreme Court. An amendment to the Constitution is required. First, we establish that foreign intel gathering is seperate from domestic gathering for purpose of applying 4th amendment:

    Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347
    Whether safeguards other than prior authorization by a magistrate would satisfy the Fourth Amendment in a situation involving the national security is a question not presented by this case.

    United States v. United States District Court, 407 U.S. 297 (1972)
    "[T]he instant case requires no judgment on the scope of the President's surveillance power with respect to the activities of foreign powers, within or without this country."

    Let us not forget that the 4th covers people. Surely if seizing foriegners is an Exuctive prerogative to making war, then siezing thier communications is also:
    Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 (2004)
    "The Government maintains that no explicit congressional authorization is required, because the Executive possesses plenary authority to detain pursuant to Article II of the Constitution. We do not reach the question whether Article II provides such authority, however, because we agree with the Government's alternative position, that Congress has in fact authorized Hamdi's detention through the AUMF [the post-September 11 Authorization for the Use of Military Force]. We conclude that detention of individuals falling into the limited category we are considering, for the duration of the particular conflict in which they were captured, is so fundamental and accepted an incident to war as to be an exercise of the "necessary and appropriate force" Congress has authorized the President to use."

    Now establish Constitutional authority for Executive to conduct foreign surviellance:
    United States v. [Cassius] Clay, 430 F.2d 165 (5th Cir. 1970)
    "We...discern no constitutional prohibition against the fifth wiretap. Section 605 of Title 47, U.S.C., is a general prohibition against publication or use of communications obtained by wiretapping, but we do not read the section as forbidding the President, or his representative, from ordering wiretap surveillance to obtain foreign intelligence in the national interest."

    United States v. Butenko, 494 F.2d 593 (3rd Cir. 1974)
    "In sum, we hold that, in the circumstances of this case, prior judicial authorization was not required since the district court found that the surveillances of Ivanov were "conducted and maintained solely for the purpose of gathering foreign intelligence information.""

    In 1980, the Fourth Circuit decided United States v. Truong
    "For several reasons, the needs of the executive are so compelling in the area of foreign intelligence, unlike the area of domestic security, that a uniform warrant requirement would, following [United States v. United States District Court, 407 U.S. 297 (1972)], "unduly frustrate" the President in carrying out his foreign affairs responsibilities. First of all, attempts to counter foreign threats to the national security require the utmost stealth, speed and secrecy. A warrant requirement would add a procedural hurdle that would reduce the flexibility of executive foreign intelligence activities, in some cases delay executive response to foreign intelligence threats, and increase the chance of leaks regarding sensitive executive operations."

    Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review Sealed Case No. 02-001
    "The Truong court, as did all the other courts to have decided the issue, held that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information. It was incumbent upon the court, therefore, to determine the boundaries of that constitutional authority

  19. Your Rights Online ?!?!!?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For god's sake, this one should've clearly been filed under Politics.

    I've seen too many YRO recently, which clearly didn't have much to do with it.

    What's next? Any further developments on Dell's Exploding Battery Syndrome will be YRO because if the laptop explodes then you can't get online?

    Sheeesh.....

  20. FISA != SCOTUS by jlowery · · Score: 3, Interesting

    IANAL, but surely FISA has no business determining if something is constitutional. Specter has come up with a poorly negotiated compromise that weakens two branches of government to the point of being hobbled. I really, really hope that consequences are fully thought out by our congress and senate before they agree to this power-grab. I'm hopeful, not expectant.

    --
    If you post it, they will read.
    1. Re:FISA != SCOTUS by gilroy · · Score: 1

      Well, other courts besides SCOTUS can rule on constitutionality. Any court lower than SCOTUS can be appealed, of course, but the way that the Supremes make constituionality decisions is often by affirming (or quashing) the decision of a lower court.

      No, there's a more troubling thing here than an attempt to dilute the reach of SCOTUS: In the US, in general, courts don't do prior review. They rule only on "actual cases and controversies" -- meaning they don't green-light legislation ahead of time. Partly this is to check the judiciary and partly it's to avoid clogging the court system with hypothetical.

      Putting this before FISC without allowing an actual suit is certainly unusual and possibly a tad worrying.

    2. Re:FISA != SCOTUS by Darby · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I really, really hope that consequences are fully thought out by our congress and senate before they agree to this power-grab.

      Oh good god, the naivety of people is really driving me fucking nuts these days.

      Of course they thought it through. That's *why* they're fucking doing it, you simpleton.

      Grow up, pull off the rose colored glasses and deal with the reality you're in, not the delusional fantasy world you wish you were in.

      Are you that out of touch with reality that you actually believe they'll fuck it up by accident?!?

      The consequences you are worried about *are* their fucking goal.

      For ample proof of what I'm saying, just look at the whole entirety of human history.

  21. Constitutional authority by mybecq · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the constitutional authority of the President

    The Legislative body doesn't have that power anyway.
    1. Re:Constitutional authority by DarkProphet · · Score: 1

      Right. Its implicit based off the existing organization of our government as prescribed by the Constitution. The fact that the author felt it necessary to illustrate the point in writing leads me to believe that something is amiss...

      --
      What could possibly hurt the security of the American people more than giving our own government the ability to hide its
  22. Bad example line by wwahammy · · Score: 1

    While I think this bill is a horrible infringement of the rights of citizens, I think the example line used in the summary is a poor choice. All that line seems to do is explicitly say that Congress isn't trying to intrude on the President's inherent constituional powers and authority. That line doesn't really say what powers they believe the President has but in the end, even that doesn't matter because its up to the courts to figure all that out. My guess is that someone put that line in for two reasons (no idea if these reasons are legitimate/legally valid... your mileage may vary). First it shows the American people and the President that this isn't intend to hurt the power of th President to fight terrorism. Second it basically says to the court "ya we actually considered the issue of Presidential power and we don't feel we're limiting it". It sorta makes the executive branch challenge it with more than "Its about eavesdropping and they didn't even consider us so they must be taking away our power". I don't know if I'm describing this correctly or even if this is at all legally relavent but that's my thinking.

  23. [blank]-American by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    If the person is an American, they could be quite justifiably be executed for treason.


    Errr.... North American, South American, or Central American?

    1. Re:[blank]-American by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmmm.. Interesting, but I would label people who do not know how to locate where their country is on the map (or the fact that there other American continents) as socially inept.

      The fact that one would refer to himself as an American, but denies that same term to others who are also "Americans", only shows the ineptness in regards to the rest of the world.

  24. The Fine Print On Wiretapping Review by White_Knight_32_KS · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I'd rather have the Nazgûl, of EFF attourneys, represent us, than Senator Spectre, who gives me flashbacks of James Bond's S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Nazgûl Trivia (attourneys): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazg%C3%BBl#Trivia S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Trivia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.P.E.C.T.R.E. With any good fortune, EFF's attourneys will be equally tenacious, as IBM's! White Knight

  25. What about signing statements? by QCompson · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Can't our esteemed beloved leader Mr. Bush just sign this bill from Congress into law with a signing statement saying that he doesn't necessarily have to follow it?

    That's really how things work, right? Check and balances are a throwback to pre-21st century America: they're quaint and cute, but they don't actually apply.

  26. What can we do by conlaw · · Score: 0
    You CAN do something. There are representatives to be elected in every state next year, along with 1/3 of the Senators. You san start now to find out who's likely to be running for those offices in the primaries and support the nomination of those willing to "end the rampage." Then support those people to be ellected. It will take a year and a half for it all to take effect, but at least you can let the incumbents know how you feel by using the power of the ballot.

    Please don't think that I'm pointing at any particular party or individual. IMHO, they've all been lying down on the job and not supporting us. We have the right and the obligation to choose leaders who will follow our wishes.

    Here endeth the rant for the day.

    1. Re:What can we do by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 1

      That wasn't much of a rant... I really wish you would do better next time. ;-)

      I've recently moved to the US (under a special rule, I am getting a Social Security number next week to allow me to look for work (I didn't talk to INS, and I don't have a green card). It concerns me that I live in such a country, but I am interested in making this place a little more palatable. Basically, I am interested in knowing exactly what you need to vote in this country, and where I can go to get information on who to vote for. I don't watch much TV, and I don't own a radio. I would like somewhere to look online.

    2. Re:What can we do by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Oh that's easy, get an executive position within Diebold.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    3. Re:What can we do by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1
      Basically, I am interested in knowing exactly what you need to vote in this country, and where I can go to get information on who to vote for. I don't watch much TV, and I don't own a radio.

      Basically, it doesn't matter. The first requirement to vote is that you be a citizen of the USA. Which you may be in seven years, but you aren't now, from the sound of your post.

      Once you get over that particulr hurdle, you can worry about who to vote for/against.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  27. How dare you by SnowZero · · Score: 1

    How dare you bring such a "legal analysis". It has no place here, this is Slashdot; a utopian non-RTFM collective.

  28. Re:How dare you? Here's how. by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    Let me amend, in case your law degree also precludes your ability to discern sarcasm: I do mean disrespect.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  29. All you 'wire tap' people are idiots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It ain't wiretapping - that is, listening in to conversations. It's data mining looking at patterns of calls to and from known terrorist support groups outside of the US with numbers inside the US. There are millions of hours of phone conversations daily here in the US. Who the hell do you think is going to review all of them? And what agency has the manpower to screen every 'Hi Mom/Hi Sweetie/Hello Boss/is the coast clear' call made just to get the one 'the bomb's in the mail' call?
    This is supposed to be a news site for IT workers. People who do analysis. People who think logically. Try it folks. If it hurts too much you can go back to being stupid and letting some news outlet selling advertising do your thinking for you.
    Just remember if you let someone else dump their agenda into your head, you wind up with shit for brains.

    1. Re:All you 'wire tap' people are idiots by KwKSilver · · Score: 1
      Who the hell do you think is going to review all of them?
      The Homeland Secret Police? or as our German friends would say, Geheime Staatspolizei.
      --
      If you want your life to be different, live it differently.
    2. Re:All you 'wire tap' people are idiots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      And just how many thousands of people would the agency need? How many to cover the millions of hours of calls each and every day? Where are these people? Even if you recorded and played every call 50% faster, how much of the spew would a single person be able to sift through in an eight hour shift? My family of four makes about that many hours of phone calls a day, personal and business. You'd need one listener for a couple of hours a day to listen in on us even using high speed play back on a wiretap. Or a voice recognition circuit at what ever efficiency it can run a human voice through at.

      Multiple us by the millions making and receiving phone calls every day. Even trying to monitor it all using voice recognition software would be such a massive undertaking requiring a massive staff not to mention the facility to house it all.

      Having worked for a phone company, I can say their switches only record the connecting numbers and the times of calls. Ditto for cell phone. All the equipment to record and or forward conversations would have to be retrofitted into hundreds of thousands of telephone swtiches.

      It just ain't so folks. As much as the conservative/Bush haters like to have something to rant about this is just a tin foil hat issue to get non-thinkers stoked up to vote Democrat. If you are going to argue that this administration, using the database system started during the Clinton administration, has altered that system to eaves drop on citizens, you're going to have to furnish proof of the existance of the ability to do it and to provide proof of the legions of people and hardware to accomplish this exists. Make these news agencies and politicians that claim this is being done show just how and where it is being done. Don't just accept what they say at face value. Make them prove it. Think about it.

  30. Re:How dare you? Here's how. by blank+axolotl · · Score: 2, Insightful
    You lost me when you said "I take no position on the proposed legislation".

    How fortunate.. you lost him right when he finished!

    Also, withholding an opinion (until sufficient analysis is done) is better than jumping to conclusions without careful thought, as you seem apt to do. In fact, the OP's point was that many people posting here hadn't analyzed the story correctly and had the completely wrong idea (and yet are still ranting on)

  31. What about Constitutional Responosibilities? by GISGEOLOGYGEEK · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The President has no constitutional authority to allow the wiretapping program, the doublespeak in the article means nothing. ... Of course since no american judge has the balls to knock down the constitution breaking laws Bush has passed such as the patriot act, Bush is effectively above the constitution. He needs no further authority since you dumbasses won't hold him accountable.

    So the arguement is moot.

    --
    George Bush + Linux = "I will not let information get in the way of the fight against Windows"
    1. Re:What about Constitutional Responosibilities? by coffinsurfer · · Score: 1

      Then you are foolish as well as ignorant Im sorry for laughing, but poeple who conctantly toss out names of court cases with no links to back them up are usually the ones that are making stuff up to help prove their points. If you would have done a nexus search, you would have found this little tidbit from a 1972 9-0 decision by none other then the US Supreme Court that not only said the president does have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans working for or foreign agents or Americans in contact with foreign powers that we are in conflict with, but that the President would be derelict in his powers of office and Constitutional authority and requirement to keep this country safe, if he did NOT do so. The US Supreme Court in the "Instant" decision in 1972, clearly gave the President the authority for the wiretaps! I quote "The Instant case requires no judgement on the scope of the Presidents surveillance power with respect to the activities of foreign agent(s) or foreign power(s) that are operating within or without of this country." U.S. Supreme Court UNITED STATES v. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, 407 U.S. 297 (1972) 407 U.S. 297 UNITED STATES v. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN ET AL. (PLAMONDON ET AL., REAL PARTIES IN INTEREST) CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT No. 70-153. Argued February 24, 1972 Decided June 19, 1972 You can locate the decision here http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?c ourt=US&vol=407&invol=297 thus SCOTUS gave a finding that the domestic spying against an agent or foreign powers or someone speaking to same while operating in the US while in a time of national Emergency or war was INDEED CONSTITUTIONAL. As it stands, You would have to get over 2/3rds of the full US Congress to overturn this decision, and that you are not going to get. So for you or anyone else to say that this is illegal and Unconstitutional is irrational and not based on anything valid or the letter of the law. Now since I found this with a simple nexus search, care to explain why this constantly slips the notice of people complaining about this when they can find this fact in less time then they took to write their complaint letters or post here??

  32. Re:Ummmm doublespeak? by Darby · · Score: 1

    Why? Because if done right,

    There is the deepseated fundamental flaw in your entire "point".

    As soon as you have to throw in, "and the magic faeries came and make everything wonderful" which is exactly equivalent to your statement, your entire argument becomes completely worthless.

    Think it *all* the way through next time.

  33. Hey, Mods... by KwKSilver · · Score: 1

    Wake up, mods, the parent is mot a troll.

    --
    If you want your life to be different, live it differently.
    1. Re:Hey, Mods... by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1

      These anonymous fascists aren't "asleep". There's no one left with the excuse that they don't notice Bush's tyranny. They're in on it, even though they're probably just getting screwed like the rest of us. They're part of the big chunk of Americans who call themselves "Conservatives" but are really just sicko authoritarians. Like the TrollMods who mod me down when I discuss Bush's torture and murder in our Terror War gulags. They hate America, they hate me, they hate themselves. It's a nightmare, but no one's sleeping.

      --

      --
      make install -not war

  34. What's the point again? by lionchild · · Score: 3, Insightful

    One nice line: 'Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the constitutional authority of the President to collect intelligence with respect to foreign powers and agents of foreign powers.'

    So, um...what's the whole point of this act, if the President can simply decide that this doesn't apply to what he's doing? Are we just paying our Congressmen to generate laws and paperwork that have no meaning or way for enforcement?

    Whatever happened to a system of checks and balances? Geez.

    --
    Awk! Pieces of eight. Pieces of eight. Pieces of seven... ERROR: General Protection Fault. [Paroty Error.]
  35. Do something about it by arrrrg · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm surpised nobody has posted an EFF link yet. Here's the summary & link from BoingBoing:

    Cindy Cohn, EFF's stellar Legal Director, sez, "Senator Specter and the Bush Administration today announced that they have reached a deal to send all of the cases concerning the illegal NSA wiretapping (including EFF's) to the secret FISA court. This is being spun in the press as a big concession by the Administration but in truth it's an abomination -- the FISA court acts in secret and doesn't even hear argument from both sides. This bill will likely move fast, so we only have a limited window to try to stop it. Here's s direct link to EFF's action center to let you write to the relevant Congressional committees."

    It takes less than 30 seconds to send an e-mail to your congresscritter, and it's really the least you can do if you really care about this issue.

  36. eff.org senate.gov by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The parent deserves some positive moderation for the eff.org links.
     
      The bill is S. 2453.
     
    I find it hilarious (dare I say ironic) that I spent a ton of time trying to conclusively ID the bill based on TFA and had no luck. (Spectre sponsored another bill, too, neither of which seemed to have the executive power exclusion thingy.) But then again, I used senate.gov instead of eff.org...

  37. Re:Ummmm doublespeak? by HotBlackDessiato · · Score: 1

    First time I've read a sig line which automatically qualifies a person for a lifetime's reserved bed in Gitmo.

    (Not saying I dissagree with it, you know, the internet an all...hi NSA slashdot political views supervsor!)

    --
    "If you don't have eyes you shouldn't have wings" -- Carl Pilkington
  38. Don't get your panties in a bunch by TheConfusedOne · · Score: 2

    The system of checks and balances remains firmly in place. Congress cannot unilaterally override the Constitution. The language is actually probably boiler-plate to help avoid a Constitutional challenge of the new law.

    As for the President we've already seen that the courts can and will override the Executive branch when they claim Constitutional privledges (Hamdan v Rumsfeld). In that case they said "go back to the Legislative branch to get clarifying law, until then we say this is beyond your Constitutional scope of power".

    --
    --- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
    1. Re:Don't get your panties in a bunch by funwithBSD · · Score: 1

      Yeah. If it did not have that it would be a dead duck in any Supreme court, not just this one. Might as well write a law that lets congress pick judges or declare war.

      Besides, quite a few of the sentors who went and got the breifing did not come back with "they are doing domestic wiretapping" they just wanted it under this law. Which, because it was international calls it is OK not to have a warrent.

      --
      Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
    2. Re:Don't get your panties in a bunch by lionchild · · Score: 1

      This would seem, to the layman like me, that the Executive branch has gone back to the Legislative branch, who in turn said, "Here's an Act with no teeth, you do what you want in the name of anti-terrorism, because this Act can't be construed to limit your powers in that reguard."

      If this language is boiler-plate, we need new boilers.

      --
      Awk! Pieces of eight. Pieces of eight. Pieces of seven... ERROR: General Protection Fault. [Paroty Error.]
  39. Re:Ummmm doublespeak? by Darby · · Score: 1

    First time I've read a sig line which automatically qualifies a person for a lifetime's reserved bed in Gitmo.

    I'm not sure if your music's too loud, or if the whole being dead for tax reasons thing is screwing up the communication, but I don't know if you're approving, disapproving, or just commenting ;-)

  40. Simple Math..... by crhylove · · Score: 2, Funny

    A. They don't count our votes.
    B. They don't work for us.
    C. They ignore the constitution.
    D. They probably killed Kennedy and faked 9/11.
    E. How is any of this a surprise?
    F. Halliburton
    G. Profit!

    Are these the droids you were looking for?

    --
    I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
  41. Re:Constitutional, yeah! They love that stuff! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the constitutional authority of the President

    I bet the first draft didn't have the word "constitutional" in it.

  42. Re:Ummmm doublespeak? by HotBlackDessiato · · Score: 1
    ...the whole being dead for tax reasons thing
    Well if we're comparing offenses against the federal gov, I like yours' better;) That was a wink btw
    Loud? Is that what I still do for a living? I can't hear anymore.
    --
    "If you don't have eyes you shouldn't have wings" -- Carl Pilkington
  43. A bit of Devil's advocate here by penix1 · · Score: 1

    Ok professor, I'm going to play a little devil's advocate here...

    "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

    Define "unreasonable" and no, a dictionary answer won't do. You see, that is the problem with the Constitution. It is purposefully vague. What may be unreasonable today may not be tomorrow. There are loads of wiggle room in the Constitution that can allow things like this. And while we are on the subject of the Constitution, what about article IV section 4 that says:

    "Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence."

    The Patriot Act is IMO in part the enforcement of this article. Congress abdicated its authority to the Executive Branch a long time ago.

    B.

    --
    This is a sig. This is only a sig. Had this been an actual sig you would have been informed where to tune for more sigs.
  44. What about Foreign Travel Agents? by woolio · · Score: 2, Funny

    So, if i'm to understand that correctly, if you use the grey area rule a bit, that can be construed as to allow anyone exemption if they were considered an agent of a foreign power... And terrorists are certainly a foreign power.. so if they wanted to say i'm a suspected terrorrist, then i'm obviously connected to a foreign terrorist cell, and i'm free game for no legal protection? Or am i just missing something....

    Even worse....

    What if you are a Travel Agent working in the US (w/o US citizenship). Or an exchange student whose home country uses 220/240V electricity instead of our 110/120V.

    I think that makes you an Agent of a Foreign Power.

  45. Welcome! by Sheetrock · · Score: 4, Informative

    Project Vote Smart may be a good place to start (the website interface is a little confusing; if you pick the wrong state you can change it on the left-hand side of the page). Voting requirements are quite different depending on the state you're in. While the information on this website gives you a pretty good idea of what you need to do, you should look up your state's elections website (the link to which should be available on Project Vote Smart) to make sure you've got the most up-to-date information, and feel free to call your local election office with any questions (they can be found on Project Vote Smart if you know what county of your state you're in). The following points are, in my opinion, the most important to look for:

    • Some states permit registration at the polling place on the day of the election, others require it before. But you will need to register before you can vote for the first time.
    • There will likely be a requirement that you live in the state a period of time (such as 30 days) before voting.
    • Depending on your state you may be challenged for proof-of-identity at the polling place every time you vote -- the easiest form for you to carry would be either a driver's license if you opt to get one or a state-issued photo ID if you don't (both are typically issued at your local Department of Motor Vehicles for a nominal fee; call them first and ask what identification you need to bring before they can issue you a card. Probably something as simple as your passport and Social Security card). In 2004 a number of such challenges were performed in Ohio and it's possible similar tricks could be played in other states, so I suggest bringing valid ID if you have it even if you don't think they'll require it.
    • If you want to vote in primary elections, which are used by political parties to choose the candidate they're going to run in the general elections, your state may have the requirement that you register with that party. If that's the case it's likely to be on the same form you use to register to vote.
    • Make sure you know where your polling place is before you vote (sometimes they get changed or your address gets moved to a different voting district).
    • If you know in advance you won't be able to get to your polling place to cast your vote on the day of the election you can request an absentee ballot, which lets you mail in your vote. If you plan on voting absentee, request the ballot as soon as you can (to avoid any deadline on mailing them out) and mail it as soon as you can (to avoid the deadline on processing it; they will likely require receipt by Election Day.) Check with your local election office for more information.
    • Plan on a significant delay when you go to vote. In 2004 there were waits of more than an hour in some polling places and a number were closing with lines of people yet to vote -- nothing has really been fixed since then and this election should draw almost as many people. If you think this will be a problem, get to your polling place as early in the day as you can or vote absentee.
    • Subscribe to your local newspaper, or buy/read a copy for a few days leading up to the election. At least where I'm at, they print a copy of the ballot in there so you can see what you'll be voting on. Voting for candidates is fairly straightforward, but when you're asked to vote on an issue sometimes the wording will be convoluted to confuse voters into voting differently than they intended -- so it helps to look at it ahead of time, and warn family and friends if necessary.
    • You should be able to leave a ballot item blank if you don't want to vote on it (ask an election official to be sure).

    As far as deciding who to vote for, the least-biased sources take the most work to examine. Our next election in November will affect Congress (every member of the House of Representatives and a number of members of the Senate) -- when t

    --

    Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
    -- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.




    1. Re:Welcome! by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 1

      Thanks a lot for your assistance. I will be sure to check out all that stuff when I have some time. =) That was a very well thought out and informative post.

  46. Re:How dare you? Here's how. by mikelieman · · Score: 1

    You're enabling and supporting an administration that ties people to chairs and beats them?

    Once you fall for the Fear Card being played, and toss away Due Process, you are EXACTLY as Evil as any Nazi was, the only differences being the methods and bodycount.

    --
    Technology -- No Place For Wimps! Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Chatroom -- http://www.wemissjerry.org
  47. Re:Ummmm doublespeak? by yndrd1984 · · Score: 1
    It's not a stretch to argue that the President has a legal obligation under Article IV, Section 4 to prevent intelligence gathering.
    You missed the "when the Legislature cannot be convened" part. As long as the legislature can do its job, the president doesn't get to take over. Also, the domestic part only take effect when a State asks the Legislature for help, not just whenever the Legislature sees fit - that's what the "on Application of the Legislature" part is talking about.

    Most terrorists are in fact agents of foreign governments.
    No. Most terrorist organizations are not supported by any governmental organization.

    For the President to treat such people as not mere criminals, but rather as combatants is good for us.
    The problem is that allowing the government to invent new classifications lets it avoid all of the devices we've put in place to keep it from abusing its power. Alleged criminals have a set of legal protections under the Constitution, POWs have rights under the Geneva Convention and other treaties, but alleged "enemy combatants" (in the current administration's view) have no rights at all. You might as well say that freedom of religion doesn't apply to Islam because Islam is now considered an "enemy belief system", or that the right to a fair trial doesn't apply to gang members because they're defined as "enemies of society".

    Because if done right, ...
    If we could trust the government to do the right thing, we wouldn't need the Constitution - heck, we wouldn't have needed the Revolutionary War to start with.

    The very fact that we give foreign agents trials at all is a testament to our civility.
    No, that just means you have very low standards for what constitutes a good judicial system.

    Liberals are, like conservatives, the consummate hypocrites.
    Yep.

    The CIA's efforts against terrorists aren't what should scare anyone. What should scare everyone is the fact that there are no checks and enforcements against presidents who are out of control and that the people simply don't care.
    Because we aren't allowed to have any real oversight of the CIA, for all we know they're even more out of control than the President.
  48. Re:How dare you? Here's how. by MoneyT · · Score: 1

    So in short, you're exactly like the Nazi's except for all the things that made them Nazi's?

    --
    T Money
    World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
  49. 9/11 vs mccarthyism by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 3, Insightful

    its just that simple. in the 50's there was the mccarthy 'commie hunts'. fix that and the world will be safe again.

    60's had vietnam. fix that and the world will be safe again.

    70's had watergate. fix that...

    80's and 90's had war on drugs. if we can fix that, all our problems will be solved.

    skip to the '00 century and we now have 'war on terror.

    and guess what, it won't be won, it won't fix ANY of our problems and next decade (god willing) we'll have forgotton all about this silly gov power-play and we'll have a BRAND NEW chicken-little thing to run around saying 'the sky is falling', etc.

    people - there IS no reason to keep giving gov more and more power. give it more power and we seem to get no new returns on our investment. soon, the gov has its fun and then goes off to choose another plaything.

    this is just how the world works. and no, nothing got any better for winning or attempting to win any of these 'battles'. because they are not winnable and if it takes 10 or 30 years, we WILL finally realize that.

    not everything in life is a 'war on ...'.

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  50. 2010's... war on Linux? by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1

    If MS continues the way they are, by then they will be the government.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  51. Pinhead, FISA only concerned with domestic spying by holon67 · · Score: 1

    Duh, read a book. Write a new law if you want the gov't to be unable to monitor you and your friends abroad.

  52. Re:Ummmm doublespeak? by beakburke · · Score: 1
    "The problem is that allowing the government to invent new classifications lets it avoid all of the devices we've put in place to keep it from abusing its power. Alleged criminals have a set of legal protections under the Constitution, POWs have rights under the Geneva Convention and other treaties, but alleged "enemy combatants" (in the current administration's view) have no rights at all."


    Actually thats not right either. The Geneva conventions do apply certain protections to all people, but those are far less generous than the specific protections afforded to civilians and POWS. It basically splits enemies into three groups, civilains, uniformed enemy solders, and nonuniformed combatants. Civilians are provided the most protection for obvious reasons. Uniformed solders, as combatants, don't have the same rights as civilians but are still given certain addition protections for following the rules of war. This is done to encourage nations to follow those rules. This doesn't mean that "enemy combatants" have not rights at all, but they certainly DON'T have the rights that POWs have.


    The whole purpose of the convention is to create civilize rules for war that encourage warring nations to follow the proscribed conventions or risk losing the protections that their civilians and solders enjoy. Thats the carrot and stick of the treaty. Those following the rules get better treatment than those who do not.

    --
    ----- Question authority, but not ours. Hate the man, but we're not him.
  53. I'm currently reading a book ... by Apoklypse · · Score: 1

    I found at http://www.readprint.com/ ... it's pretty interesting, it's by a chap name of George Orwell ... titled 2006 or some such ...

  54. Never fear... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We need to find the perfect balance between civil liberties and national security. To that end, I propose we let the WoW staff deal with things. NSA too intrusive? No problem. In the next patch, we'll give everyone a thirty seconds surveilance blackout effect on a twenty-four hour cooldown.

  55. Re:Nothing in any Act can limit the president thus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    A few more details from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review Sealed Case No. 02-001:
    • the Executive Branch should be excused from securing a warrant only when "the object of the search or the surveillance is a foreign power, its agents or collaborators," and "the surveillance is conducted 'primarily' for foreign intelligence reasons.
    • Targets must "receive the protection of the warrant requirement if the government is primarily attempting to put together a criminal prosecution."
    • Although the Truong court acknowledged that "almost all foreign intelligence investigations are in part criminal" ones, it rejected the government's assertion that "if surveillance is to any degree directed at gathering foreign intelligence, the executive may ignore the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment."
  56. But Bush will LOVE this law (lots of details) by ukemike · · Score: 1

    The ACLU has taken the Specter bill and has modified the FISA act (using "track changes") to show how the law would be changed by this bill. It is available here:


    http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/FISA.redline.doc


    This is not a compromise and it has no additional restriction on the power of the executive. Every change this bill would make gives more power to the executive. This is potentially more far reaching the PATRIOT act.

    It redefines electronic surveillance to exclude routing, addressing, dialing, or signaling which would take the kind of eavesdropping they've admitted to with the phone companies out of the jurisdiction of FISA or any other law. So the gov't would legally and without a warrant be able to constantly track who is talking to whom.

    It redefines "Attorney General" to include anyone authorized by the A.G. This is important because it also allows the A.G. to authorized a wide variety of surveillance and allows the A.G. to order electronic communications companies, landlords, and other private parties to aid in the gathering of intel and that private party will have no recourse or right to disclose that the surveillance is taking place. In other words this takes the controversial power that the PATRIOT act authorized to get library records and then gag order the librarians and extends it to your ISP, phone company, and landlord! This power would be held by anyone that the A.G. designates! So it would allow the A.G. to designate Special-Agents-In-Charge in each FBI office to issue their own warrants for domestic surveillance without ever even mentioning it to the FISA court.

    It would allow the A.G. to move all lawsuits challenging the legality of surveillance to the FISA court and would allow the feds to introduce secret evidence to prove that the cases should be dropped. The FISA court would be allowed to dismiss such cases "for any reason."

    It would give the administration the OPTION (not requirement) to submit entire programs past and present to the FISA court for approval. Note that since it is optional it could potentially give the administration an out for creating domestic spying programs and submit them to no court for approval.

    It removes the prohibition against surveilling communications that might include US citizens.

    It removes the 15 day limit for unlimited domestic surveillance and physical searches during time of war.

    It removes the requirement that the administration tell the FISA court what they are looking for when requesting a warrant, so now they just have to say who, when, and where. Not why or what. How could a judge make a competent decision in a case like this?

    It changes the 72 hour emergency grace period to 7 days.

    --
    -- QED