I could hardly imagine that such a dramatic confrontation at the hospital had occurred merely over which excuse should be used to justify warrentless wiretapping.

If you go back to your first point (this program had been authorized every 45 days since October 2001 before the DOJ switched gears) something should jump out here; 2004 was an election year. Dick Cheney had more to worry about in this election year than Dick Nixon ever had to worry about in 1972.

Here was an administration with the power to listen to anyone's conversations without anyone else finding out. Would they have taken advantage of this power to listen in on political enemies? Hmmm.... recently the Administration was given the power to replace any USA for any reason and without any oversight or need for approval. Would they exploit this power to install appointees to pursue political aims? Why yes! Yes they would!

Thanks to modern surveillence technology, Bush and Co didn't have to worry about some modern day bumbling "plumbers" getting caught tapping the phones of the DNC. They could do that with supercomputers installed at AT&T, or satellites.

Someone somewhere down the line involved in the spying must have gotten troubled by certain information requests from the WhiteHouse. He or she says something to their boss at DOJ and Comey, Ashcroft and other top lawyers have a sit down. They, as you speculate, must have worried that the program had creeped outside its intended purpose and was now threatening to create a political scandal.

My guess is the DOJ's refusal to recertify came at a critical point in whatever spying was going on. Yet, as Comey acknowledges, his and Ashcrofts concern over the program was SO GREAT THAT EVEN THE MADRID BOMBINGS DID NOT INFLUENCE THEIR DECISION. When that is the case they must have worried about something other than spying on terrorists.

There needs to be a special prosecutor to answer these questions, as this is beginning to look a lot like Watergate, but without the hotel.

"God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve” Jerry Falwell

Yes, your lord and worship, Jerry Falwell; king of the blame America first crowd.

Did you not even read the original article? Type in Google or Wikipedia. I'm sure you will find more of this vile cretin's evil spew.

Shame on you! Shame on all of you!! Reedtoon's post is nothing less than the worst of revisionist history. I dare you. I dare any of you to find so much as a single written or oral statement by this evil fat man that demonstrated any sincerity or conviction of any belief in a compassionate God, let alone the teachings Jesus.

Make no mistake, Jerry Fallwell was a snake oil salesman who made his wealth ripping of the poor and ignorant of their meager savings while doing his best to obstruct any opportunity or effort to help his "flock." He worked for the wealthy by keeping the poor working class shmoes down and weak. He did so by keeping them distracted through the worst of ploys: racism, homophobia, anti-communism and whatever scapegoat he could identify to keep the people from realizing the real cause of their misery.

This so called "Man of God" made his living off being a scumsucking money begging leech of a man of hypocrisy, immoralism and ugly unvarnished hate. He was the man Martin Luther King, the man Falwell derided often, described as one of those Southerners with their lips "dripping with the hate of segregationism."

You want to reward some spineless coward who has the ultimate gall to say "Oh I disagreed with him at times, but you can't deny he was a man of his convictions."

Go eff yourself!! Adolph Hitler was a man I to disagreed with. And like Falwell, he was definitely a man of his convictions. Like Falwell, he also believed all Jews were sinners condemned to Hell. You want to write a glowing obit on Falwell and how he was such an effing man of his convictions? Fine, but add another one for your other favorite hatemonger; Adolph.

After I'm done dancing on his grave I intend to piss on it. And I plan on getting real pissed before pissing on it so I have a lot to piss upon.

He may be made in the US evil bastard, but he was and always will, be an evil bastard. Salon, show some effing spine and stand up for what you believe in. Nothing good ever came from this horrible son of a bitch and you are even now writing of the damage done by the progeny of his horribly misnamed and other equally misfounded universities.

Die in Hell Falwell.

When the no longer upright Reverand Falwell meets his lesbian liberal Maker boy is his face going to be red.