Letters to the Editor
Jim White
Published Letters: 1316 Editor's Choice: 15
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Uhm, that talking point about "terrorists' rights"?
[Read the article: Joe Klein: Both factually false and stuck in the 1980s]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It doesn't originate with Rush, although he undoubtedly will run with it.
Joke Line:
Unfortunately, Speaker Nancy Pelosi quashed the House Intelligence Committee's bipartisan effort and supported a Democratic bill that — Limbaugh is salivating — would require the surveillance of every foreign-terrorist target's calls to be approved by the FISA court, an institution founded to protect the rights of U.S. citizens only. In the lethal shorthand of political advertising, it would give terrorists the same legal protections as Americans. That is well beyond stupid.
That talking point actually comes straight from the Republicans. Mitch McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor in October:
The bill that’s being taken up in the House has two major weaknesses. First, it requires intelligence officials to obtain a warrant before listening in on foreign terror suspects abroad. In other words, if we want to listen in on a terrorist in Tehran who may be talking about blowing up Los Angeles, we’d have to stop and get a court approval first. I guarantee you there isn’t a single person in this country outside this building who thinks that makes any sense.
/snip/
The Bill of Rights doesn’t extend to terrorists overseas who want to hurt us here at home. Our laws have always reflected that. In a post 9/11 world we are being asked to affirm it. We didn’t hesitate in August. We shouldn’t hesitate now.
Link:http://tinyurl.com/2cnvan
"Liberal" "democrat" Joe Klein is simply repeating the lies originating from Cheney and Addington and presenting them, just as McConnell does, as the sane musings of each "person in this country outside this building". Although Klein is clearly lying here, the lie is not his. Since it belongs to those powerful, admirable Republicans, it's okay to repeat such "political shorthand".
I couldn't find links to them now, but I also remember Kyl making many comments along the same lines during a FISA hearing.
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Holiday Musings
[Read the article: Joe Klein: Both factually false and stuck in the 1980s]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The daily feast here at the Unclaimed Territory nourishes what is great about our country. We share our frustrations about the abject failures of our government and its leaders, yet things have not yet degenerated to the point where we cannot have these discussions about what has gone wrong and what we are to do to restore the principles to our governance. For that, thanks is truly due.
True to form, Festus trots by on his mule to let loose a fart while trying to tell us we aren't doing what RMP and a host of others had already started. Thanks, Festus, you really are a help here to keep us mindful of how reality-challenged the opposition is. Please take some time to enjoy your family before you return to gobbling up talking points to regurgitate to us.
We have new friends to be thankful for as well. Stuart, your comments have been most welcome. As for your question, I would repeat the point made earlier in the thread that Joe's paycheck is funded in part by AOL, so he and his bosses have a dog in this hunt, and their financial well-being depends on the general public agreeing with what Joe sees as "fair".
be-bop-o, your daily ability to see beyond the surface brings new appreciation for beauty and joy. Thanks for your insight as well as your teasing. Enjoy your feast today, I'm sure the fruits of your family's labor on the farm will be magnificent today.
I'd love to list and thank everyone here, but I'm sure I'd leave someone out and that would be tragic. Glenn's writing unites us here, and many of us have healthy disagreements, but I think that a truly uniting belief here is highlighted in ondelette's comment just upthread, where he rails against humans as pawns. That reminded me of the discussion several months ago, where we discussed the value of a single human life. That is why I am here. I believe that each human life is important and valuable. I also believe that our government was founded with that belief as one of its principles, but the current leadership has lost sight that concept. It has devalued millions of lives here and abroad.
Let us pray that it is not too late to reverse this damage. For all those who struggle for the value of a single human life, I give thanks.