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George W Bush Made Retroactive NSA 'Fix' After Hospital Room Showdown

circletimessquare writes: New details have emerged about the 2004 conflict between George W. Bush and his Attorney General, John Ashcroft, who was hospitalized when he forcefully disagreed with the president's authorization of the NSA's sweeping new collection powers after 9/11. The New York Times has discovered that the conflict was about a retroactive alteration of the President's wording on the legal theory by which the NSA is allowed to siphon up metadata on all Americans, not just certain targets or classes of targets, such as suspected terrorists. 'Mr. Bush, for the first time, explicitly said that his authorizations were "displacing" specific federal statutes, including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and criminal wiretapping laws... the president had "made an interpretation of law concerning his authorities" and that the Justice Department could not act in contradiction of Mr. Bush's determinations.' The president faced a severe backlash from the Justice Department, including a threat of mass resignation.

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  1. More Proof by LVSlushdat · · Score: 1, Troll

    So...More proof that Bush was just as slimy as Obama.. I used to be an (R) but once I learned that both parties are spawn of the devil, I changed my party affiliation... I'M A FUCKIN' AMERICAN......

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    THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
  2. Re:A discussion of constitutional limits of power? by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 0, Troll

    It is about SCOTUS Legislating from the Bench
    It is about Executive Branch Overreach and Lack of upholding the laws on the books.
    It is about Legislative kicking cans down the street (not doing their job)

    It is about dysfunctional and illegal Federal Government, starting with using the "commerce clause" to overrule the 10th Amendment.

    It is about the powerlessness of the American people in the face of a growing tyrannical power run by the (D) and (R) parties for the (D) and (R) parties, of the (D) and (R) parties.

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    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  3. Re:A discussion of constitutional limits of power? by s.petry · · Score: 1, Troll

    I personally kind of like the idea that law would be uniform from state to state. In 1791 travel was difficult and it was very unlikely that people would move around so much as they do today or that they could literally spend a few days half a nation away.

    I personally like the idea of rainbows and fairy farts myself, but mine is as fantastical as yours.

    Study Plato, Study the French Revolution and really study the US revolution and all of the writings from the founders from that time. The reason for the separation was not because it took a day to travel from here to there. It is really sad that so many people fail to study any history, yet claim to know what a group of some of the brightest minds in history were "really" thinking. Either that, or you did study history and either want to dupe people into believing a fabricated versionof history which benefits an agenda.

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    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

  4. Re:Hypocrisy by quantaman · · Score: 1, Troll

    The wording in Obamacare was deliberate. Parts were necessary to get it passed; it would not have passed without those "bugs" in place. Other parts were there to punish uncooperative states; that backfired on Obama.

    You mean the thing that just went to the supreme court? Everyone understood the subsidies went to all the states right up until Republicans started arguing differently. The only evidence offered to the contrary is a single individual, making a single argument, several years later.

    For all we know he forgot about that section entirely, saw it during the talk, then made up a justification on the fly.

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    I stole this Sig