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When FISA Court Rejects a Surveillance Request, the FBI Issues a NSL Instead
An anonymous reader writes We've talked quite a bit about National Security Letters (NSLs) and how the FBI/DOJ regularly abused them to get just about any information the government wanted with no oversight. As a form of an administrative subpoena -- with a built in gag-order -- NSLs are a great tool for the government to abuse the 4th Amendment. Recipients can't talk about them, and no court has to review/approve them. Yet they certainly look scary to most recipients who don't dare fight an NSL. That's part of the reason why at least one court found them unconstitutional. At the same time, we've also been talking plenty about Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, which allows the DOJ/FBI (often working for the NSA) to go to the FISA Court and get rubberstamped court orders demanding certain 'business records.' As Ed Snowden revealed, these records requests can be as broad as basically 'all details on all calls.' But, since the FISA Court reviewed it, people insist it's legal. And, of course, the FISA Court has the reputation as a rubberstamp for a reason — it almost never turns down a request. However, in the rare instances where it does, apparently, the DOJ doesn't really care, knowing that it can just issue an NSL instead and get the same information. At least that appears to be what the DOJ quietly admitted to doing in a now declassified Inspector General's report from 2008."
>. What went wrong
When the judicial branch ruled it unconstitutional, the executive branch ignored the Constitution and do it anyway.
When the Congress choose not to change the law and make illegal immigrants legal, the executive branch chose to ignore the Constitution and write their own law.
The head of the executive, President Obama, has clearly announced that he considers "the failure of Congress" to do exactly what he wants somehow authorizes him to override Congress. In other words, according to his announcement, he actually believes the only legitimate role of Congress is to rubber-stamp whatever the executive wants - choosing not to implement his policy is a "failure" of Congress , and as such is illegitimate and requires him to override their decision. Never mind his oath to "faithfully execute the law".
[...] before being shuffled off to prison?
This part sounds strange. Can it happen without trial and sentence? If not, how is the proceeding for that?
Apparently you missed Obama signing the NDAA a few years ago, quietly, on New Years Eve as a matter of fact.
They can take you off to 'prison' without charge or trial, without access to a lawyer, and hold you 'indefinitely'.
The 'proceeding' for that is simply an 'executive decision'.
Two wrongs don't make a right. The goal is not to argue that Democrat is worse than Republican (or vise versa). If you're still arguing who is the lesser of two evils you have fallen for the ruse. Be smarter than that. Both parties are bad, neither party will help / improve things / save us. The only options are 3rd party or, more likely over time, some flavor of revolution. Citizens United all but guaranteed that simple voting won't be the answer.
I wish you would all crawl back into your bunker full of hot-pockets and stop poluting the air with your rancid breath
Well, see here, that's not how democracy works. You don't get to suppress someone else's view simply because it is not in accord with your own.
So go fuck yourself
You seriously think fascist cares about democracy?
To the fascists 'democracy' is, borrowing a term coined by a very well known fascist from Turkey, a 'bus'
According to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, democracy works like a 'bus'. He hops on that bus, use the bus to get him to his destination, and then, he gets off
Fascists are all alike, no matter if they are Islamists from Turkey or Obama-cronies from the United States of America. To them, democracy is but a tool for them to attain what they want, and once they got what they want, democracy can go to hell
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !