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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
I remember reading a few years ago that Inouye had enough damning information and evidence during Iran Contra, that congress could have easily impeached Reagan.
Why didn't they? Inouye didn't think that America "could handle another impeachment". So under the rug it was swept. Treasonous behavior was ignored, the crooks got away with it, thousands died in Central America and no one was the wiser. Even the fall guy got a radio talk show out of the deal.
Inouye and others exactly like him (Nancy Pelosi- I'm looking at YOU) have to remember that the checks and balances of our system are meant to keep our system functioning. If that means you investigate every administration that blatantly steps out of line- you do it.
Inouye's inaction during the Reagan administration gave rise to the mentality of the Bush administration, and the freewheeling thuggery of people like Dick Cheney.
If we fail to bring justice to this administration - considering how blatantly they've broken the law- I shudder to think what could happen in the future. If there is no justice now for these criminals, we're sending the message that breaking the law will go unpunished.
The general tenor of these letters include:
1. You're jerks if you didn't realize this already;
2. Both parties are complicit and you're fooling yourselves if you didn't already know this;
3. Justice will not be served by this Congress or the next president;
4. You're already being monitored and there's nothing to be done about it;
5. Don't delude yourself--your not important enough to be monitored;
Etc.
One thing is certain: Whatever is actually happening will continue and most likely grow in scope and offense if the citizenry refuses to engage in what we commonly call "the process." It is unreasonable, surely, to work for comprehensive change and expect overnight results. But we can work, at the local and federal Congressional levels, to bring forward progressive candidates who actually value human decency, fairness and equity, whether it's wage equity, environmental issues (inclusive of alternative fuel sources, to name one example) or, simply, responsive government that doesn't view its citizens as the enemy. We currently lack this because for far too long most Americans have delegated, by lack of interest and by inaction, their governance to non-responsive, self-interested people. How could we expect anything less? We've been granted what our slothfulness seemingly desired and now we see the fruit.
This doesn't have to be the end, nor is it a matter of throwing one's hands up and shrugging complacently in the face of seeming defeat. Really, it only takes a modicum of interest and involvement. I think many of us would be surprised at the outcome.
that the Bush administration has grossly abused their powers, mostly to launch political attacks via Rovian tactics, I feel this article comes up short when it comes to revealing any new information. Unless I'm missing something, there seemed to be a lot of rehashing of what we already knew and not much else. Rehashing is fine to keep us aware of the abuses that have taken place, but don't package it as breaking news.
I agree their should be an investigation and hopefully it will find nothing and we will all sleep a little easier. Innocent people should not fear to be investigated. In fact, they should welcome it as a way to clear their name.
I was surveilled for almost two years--I could detect the characteristic noises on my cell phone during most calls, interestingly, and was also on a TSA list for a few months.
I will agree with those that say that the article is weak. However, what can we expect? A second Daniel Ellsberg? Ellsberg was pilloried, threatened with jail, and his psychiatrist's office burglarized for insider info on him. What would happen to him today, post-9/11? Do you think government officials don't get that? No, they (especially the military) leaked like a sive to try and keep Bush under control. Didn't work. And those men and women have since either retired or been hussled off to billets from which they can do the powerful no harm.
We do know this: Bush admitted on national television that he broke the law. Even Elephantman can't dispute that. He said that he deliberately did not go to the FISA court to obtain warrants, in clear violation of the law. He could have, as the law stipulates, started wiretaps on people and sought approval ex post facto--he did not, becasue he wanted to establish that he was ABOVE THE LAW. He has employed the CIA and NSA to spy on American citizens in the United States, also in clear violation of the law (we pay billions for an FBI that is supposed to perform those functions in a legal manner). These are established facts.
What people seem to be looking for is the equivalent of the signed statement by Hitler authorizing the holocaust. We will never see this. Yet the perponderance of evidence indicating that our Constitution and laws have been violated is overwhelming. You can either say, "who cares?" like Elephantman et al., in which case you have abidcated your freedoms, forever, or you can look it squarely in the jaw. In which case, you are forced to consider three options: work within the system to try and change things, take up arms against the system if you feel it has gone too far and no redress is possible, or leave the country. I'm still going with the first choice, but am afraid that my own government will force me to say goodbye to the nation of my birth and object of my loyal affection.
If I'm not in the Main Core database -- if it exists -- clearly I haven't been meaningfully fulfilling my civic duty.
Anyone who thinks of themselves as a political activist should be embarrassed if they're not in Main Core or otherwise listed somewhere.
As for the fact someone pointed out that Main Line would be (gosh!) 30 years old ... so? Microsoft Windows is 25 years old. Unix is nearly 40 years old. You think folks at the NSA or wherever wouldn't have made improvements and added capabilities? (And surely you're not suggesting that they haven't continuously updated the data itself?)
Hell, firearms are hundreds of years old. Obviously, anyone worried about confronting a mugger with a nine is overreacting. "That sort of weapon is ancient! Just laugh and walk away!"
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Salon headlines in your mailbox
