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FBI ISP Letters May Have Violated Free Speech
Anti-Globalism sends in a Reuters account of an appeals court hearing in which an unnamed ISP is challenging the Patriot Act "National Security Letter" provision that allows the FBI to issue secret letters to ISPs and telecoms, demanding customer records. "A panel of federal appeals court judges pushed a US government lawyer on Wednesday to answer why FBI letters sent out to Internet service providers seeking information should remain secret. ... Between 2003 and 2006 nearly 200,000 national security letters were sent out. Of those about 97 percent received gag orders."
I don't think you have done the wiretaps subject much justice with that post. The SCOTUS has affirmed the (Article II) right of the Executive branch to conduct warrant-less wiretaps on foreign targets, but it has stated that warrants are still required for domestic wiretaps. If you have evidence that Congress overrode the Court, I'd like to see it because such action by Congress would be unconstitutional. As for judicial oversight of NSLs, take a look at Wikipedia's coverage.
Part of the hardcore faithful who believed in Apple long before it was cool again to do so
The US is in Iraq because George Bush, his advisors, and many corporations want the US to be in Iraq.
You might be able to convince some folks that we were in Iraq for the first 60 days because of whatever theory you care to advance. But, if you take a look at the War Powers Resolution you may notice that in order to remain there required the approval of Congress. I submit to you, we're still there because Congress voted to approve the war against Iraq.
The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money
There are not 200,000 sheep out there. There are only a few (at most a few hundred) ISPs which acted like sheep, 200,000 times!
There is a difference. These NSLs were not to individuals, they went to ISPs.