Letters to the Editor
OligarchyNot
Published Letters: 25
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No Retroactive Immunity -- Not now, not ever, NEVER
[Read the article: AT&T, other telecoms, buy victory in lawsuits]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The transcripts of the trial of the CEO of Qwest (one of the few Telcos that refused to cooperate with Bush regarding monitoring its customers communications without a warrant) brought to light the fact that the Bush administration began meeting with the various Telcos immediately after Bush took office in February of 2001 regarding their cooperation with the Bush administration’s desire to monitor the communications of U.S. citizens!!! This means that Bush’s justification for monitoring the communications of U.S. citizens – to protect them from the threat of terrorism – is totally moot. This was 8 months before the events of September 11th. One of the truly shocking things brought to light about this timing is that the White House was in collusion with the Telcos in initiating the surveillance program, but left Congress totally in the dark about what they were doing. That they initiated the surveillance before 9/11 means their current excuse (and free ticket) for doing so is just a convenient lie. It’s amazing how empowering the events of September 11th have been for the Bushites. They couldn’t have asked for a more timely event to justify their intentions unless they planned it themselves. The fact that the Telcos were in on this and that Congress was left in the dark is highly suspicious. Any member of Congress who is willing to grant blanket immunity from prosecution to either the Telcos or the Bush administration after learning that the program was initiated 8 months before 9/11 is suspect themselves. It’s amazing how many republicans in particular (but some democrats too) are willing to grant immunity for actions they’ve been kept in the dark about. For all they know, they could be granting immunity to those who were using surveillance for the purpose of getting them kicked out of office by involving them in a public scandal.
Once you grant the power of surveillance to any entity or person, it is next to impossible to take it away. You’ve given them the power (a) to know ahead of time when any person questions their authority through surveillance and (b) to whisk away to permanent detention in an undisclosed location anyone who may be a threat to the executive branch maintaining such power. Yet, this is exactly what some of our “representatives” in Congress want to do so they can “protect us.” I say, the only thing Americans need protection from is the unbridled power of self-serving greed mongers. The damage done to our system of government and to the protections afforded individuals by the Constitution now outweighs the damage done by the terrorists on 9/11 because many more people will be affected by this damage for many years to come.
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Oh, now I get it...............
[Read the article: Why Democrats are afraid to raise taxes on the rich]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The way the democrats in Congress have recently been totally dropping the ball and voting right along with republicans on some of the most important issues has been perplexing to me. Then I read last week that big business has switched from giving the majority of its campaign contributions to republicans and now gives more to democrats than republicans. It all became crystal clear what's happening after I read that. The minute the democrats get big business in their pocket is the minute they quit following the will of The People. Our system of government has been totally compromised and corrupted by the influence of big business. When you think about it, in almost every issue that comes before Congress where the outcome will be to the benefit of big business, but to the detriment of The People, big business always wins. I can't think of one thing that has been done while Bush has been in office that is to the benefit of The People. To the contrary, The People have to constantly scramble to make sure Congress is upholding the Constitution and protecting individual rights. Congress isn’t worried about The People being spied upon by our government in collusion with the Telcos without probable cause, they’re worried about how AT&T will be able to handle the financial strain of all the lawsuits they might have to litigate!!! PLEASE..........................