Letters to the Editor
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@karrsic
I like it! I'll add what I can to the site:
http://fisa.wikispot.org/Telecom_Immunity_Arguments.
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walter_map
I think Chris Floyd has a road map Atlas to help lead to the Hague courtrooms.
There is a Fondue Park there. It is a lovely place to sit on benches and eat brie cheese, bread, and gulp root beer. (hint)
Have the fake neocon journalist attend them all to Amsterdam? Damn-crews are complicit in war crimes, oil theft etc., and they need a good scrub-bath. The Bush supporters are soaked in
human blood and crude-oil.
They spew and drip bloody lies.
Look at the red lips and teeth.
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Just when I thought all hope was lost. . .
Thanks, Glenn, for the words of inspiration. Watching the machinations of the administration and their Senate Democratic enablers this week, gloating (prematurely, I hope!) about their upcoming slam-dunk telecom immunity bill, I had, for the first time in my life, a feeling of utter hopelessness. The right-wing/corporate cabal that has been running this country for the last few years was about to get unbelievable powers to intrude on our daily lives and manipulate the system to their advantage (and don't think for a minute that they they wouldn't do it, either!). With this much power in their grasp, there is no way that they are going to let a Democrat win the presidency. It suddenly seemed so obvious to me that, more than likely, Romney, a telegenic, amiable, easily molded empty suit (sound familiar?), would be the next president of the United States, leading the country further down the path of ruin. For the first time in my 48 year life, I felt like some crank conspiracy theorist, and I didn't enjoy it. Your pep talk came at just the right time. Thank you. I will support whoever is fighting this. I hope we can knock the smug looks off the faces of those fat-ass bastards, and put some fear in their hearts.
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Why the Dems Capitulated!
On another web site a believable reason was posted. The explanation went like this, the spying controversy is all about domestic lawbreaking by the administration. Domestic spying on all, including opposition members in government. Covert spying, the gathering of intelligence, is used in covert ways to push a lawless agenda. If the spying on congressional members produced information damaging to the persons character that person can be manipulated to support the administration.
How else to understand this constant capitulation by the dems?
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Eliminate FISA courts & restrict foreign intercepts
Glenn Greenwald performs a great service in exposing FISA abuses and lobbyists abuse of the political system. But Glenn makes two assumptions with which I disagree. The first assumption is that we shouldn’t strenuously object to the existence of a secret court in the bowels of the Justice Department, whose proceedings are not only closed to the public but are completely ex parte (only the government’s side is heard). The last time I looked, the Sixth Amendment guaranteed a public trial for all, and the Supreme Court has interpreted it to include pretrial proceedings in criminal cases. It is abhorrent to a free society to permit courts to act in secret and never be held accountable to the public or to the parties whose rights are being violated. The second assumption Glenn makes is that we shouldn’t object to the United States intercepting communications of non-citizens outside the United States. Whether or not it is legal to do so in our country, there is no question that we are violating the laws of any country in which those conversations are being intercepted. Foreign intercepts should be limited to areas of clear national security- like an impending Al Qaida attack.
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A letter fron Reid
I received a hard copy response yesterday from Reid, dated Jan 10, 2008, to my question about Reid's position on telecom amnesty, asked in mid December. (emphasis added)
He starts off by saying,
I believe the Bush Administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program circumvented the law and was an abuse of executive power. For years, the Administration has evaded proper congressional and judicial oversight, only submitting to that oversight after the majority party took control of Congress earlier this year. We forced the Bush Administration to design a better, stronger program, and we have also made certain that no one in the Bush Administration who broke the law will be let off the hook for anything illegal they may have done.
With regards to telecommunication companies, I oppose sweeping retroactive immunity for the roles these corporations may have played.
So no one will be "let off the hook" and there will be no "sweeping" retroactive immunity.
Thanks Harry. I'll be making another call to ask the following;
Will there be any prosecution of those administration officials who have broken the law?
Will there be any form of retroactive immunity for the telecoms?
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We donated to Dodd
Thank you to the person above for the reminder about the "debt retirement" and for leaving Dodd's web address. It is difficult to find any money, and retirement looms, with absolutely nothing put away. Still, this is too important not to make our support clear.
It is heartening to hear, Glenn, that he credits an informed constituency for reinvigorating his own passion for democracy.
If only we could "retire" Reid and have Dodd for Senate Majority Leader. But do we common folks have ANY influence over these decisions?
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racom40
If the spying on congressional members produced information damaging to the persons character that person can be manipulated to support the administration.
It's well-known that Harry Reid, D-Nevada, is up to his eyeballs in a number of criminal enterprises. He gets to avoid prosecution so long as he plays ball with the Bushites.
Until the Bushites are gone. Then he goes to prison anyway. He is, after all, a criminal.
None of this is a secret, except perhaps to voters in Nevada.
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Re: Why the dems capitulated
Wow, that's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. Like, you have a guy blackmailing you by spying on you from across the street. But, it turns out there is a restraining order against him being there. The person who has the restraining order calls the cops. The blackmailer calls you up and says, "Help me fight this restraining order or I'll release the info I've got on you." How messed up.