Letters to the Editor
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That dog don't hunt.
If Carney is rural PA (viz-a-v Appalachia, same thing Glenn), you should go with that Blue-Tick Hound(Carney) Don't Hunt as the Ad header. When in Rome ... and all that.
In fact, as far as I'm concerned during the recent FISA (cough) debates Carney might as well have jumped a coyote (they are thick now) way out bushy-fork and, unable to resist the scent, followed his nose right off a cliff as far the Facts go (to his tragic demise). Many a fine blue-tick hunting dog has followed his nose off a cliff chasing the wily coyote, in case you didn't know Glenn.
I would add that leader Hoyer thinks, at least during the FISA debates, and probably still does, he is slick-as-snot. Yes, I would add that.
bah.
ot~ che pasa ... I saw your post addressed to me in prior thread. ty and yes, ain't that the truth (about the low-down media.). However, the comedy channel I was referring to was MSNBC, of course. :
ob~ Here, in ky., I think there is *also* a real chance at defeating Sen. Mitch *$ is free speech* McConnell. Now, that would be a real coo. coo.
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re: FISA works just fine
Did anyone see the recent AP story on the FISA court? In 2007, the FISA court approved 2370 wiretap warrants and rejected 3. That was a 6% increase in wiretap approvals from 2006. They rejected 1/10th of 1% of warrant applications. To say that the FISA court is a rubber stamp, would be an understatement. -- Conservativeslayer
In some cases ignorance is bliss. Perhaps you should consider that the process is so rigorous that by the time an application gets to the FISA court it is polished to near perfection. Here is a shorthand version of the process and the people and agencies that massage each and every application. It's from 1997 but essentially the same as now.
When the FBI is the lead agency for a counterintelligence activity, an application under the FISA has a different route for approval.
(1) The counterintelligence section of the FBI field office develops the facts of the case.
(2) An FBI counterintelligence supervisory agent, located at the headquarters level, is responsible for developing the facts to support the FISA application.
(3) The FBI General Counsel’s Office will then review the application and
(4) obtain the approval and certification of the Director of the FBI.
(5) Afterwards, the OIPR will prepare the final electronic surveillance application to ensure that it meets all statutory requirements.
(6) The Attorney General is the final review and approval authority before presentation to a FISC judge. This process can be very speedy if the installation works with the FBI to ensure that the application contains the most accurate and statutorily required information. http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fisa/sojudge.pdfAny disapproval from any of the 5 supervisory reviews is enough to change the application or kill it all together. That's what happened to the flying lesson information and the inability to look at Moussaoui's laptop around 9/11. Suffice it to say it's not like TV where warrants are obtainable within the minutes ads run.
Welcome to the real world.
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A fun test for Karrsic...
...and anyone else who'd like to take the challenge.
See if you can you tell the difference between Bush and McCain (first round) or between McCain and a carrot (second round)!
See if you can do any better than I did.
http://Bush-McCainChallenge.com/?rc=tafcarrot
[Please send this link to all those you know who think McCain might be a reasonable alternative.]
Sorry, Karrsic, no bread & butter!
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p.s.
I found that Bush/McCain/Carrot test at Digby's!
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-- shooter242
"Suffice it to say it's not like TV where warrants are obtainable within the minutes ads run.
Welcome to the real world."
Bless your heart, Shooter. It's not like TV. On TV, they never seem to refer to a 72-hr. grace period before they need ANY warrant at all which is something FISA allows.
Welcome, indeed.
Your village misses you.
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@ Paul Daniel Ash
Why only two? You may be right, but you didn't make your case - just saying "there are only two" is not especially persuasive. What does "impetus brought to bear" mean? Can you bring "impetus" to bear? Do you mean "pressure?" Why are you assuming that Hoyer and Carney are being "pressured" rather than the alternative possibility Glenn raises and has raised - that they actually support telecom immunity?
Actually that possibilty is covered in (1) impetus can be any force welcome or not. What that force is, remains a mystery.
To continue: what does HBIC mean? Why must we assume the second most powerful member in the United States House of Representatives has to ask for permission from the Speaker before he does anything? Why does it make sense to target someone other than the person actually taking the action you are protesting?
Come now. This isn't some obscure issue. This is a very big deal for the left. HBIC is an honorific for a lady who keeps tight control on the workings of her organization, one who isn't about to be blindsided by her #2.
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@anonymust
Looks like I'm a carrot-supporter, though I'm none too happy about it. A "slightly moldy root vegetable" sounds an awful lot like what we got now.
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Not to worry, Karrsic
I actually thought you were neutral on carrots.
In the meantime, my eyes are peeled for a bread & butter quiz.
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Shooter
Why don't you go to the golf course , spread your fertilizer there and work on your putz?
FBI agents in Minneapolis had questioned Moussaoui on Aug. 15 and asked to read files on his laptop computer. He refused to let them.
The agents needed probable cause to persuade a judge to issue a search warrant to seize the laptop. They contacted Ghimenti in Paris, asking him to find out what the French intelligence service might have on Moussaoui.
From the French, Ghimenti obtained a substantial dossier: The French had been tracking Moussaoui since 1995. He had links to al-Qaida. He had journeyed to Afghanistan several times and had trained at a terrorism camp.
Ghimenti passed the information along to Coleen Rowley, chief division counsel in the Minneapolis FBI office, and it went to the counterterrorism section at headquarters.
Rowley and other Minneapolis agents were convinced Moussaoui was a terrorist threat. So was the veteran Ghimenti. But for reasons still unclear, the counterterrorism section in Washington would not seek the warrant.
Moussaoui could be a common last name in France, the Minneapolis agents were told. How can we be certain it's the same man?
Ghimenti's FBI office in Paris checked the phone book. There was only one Zacarias Moussaoui. Still, no warrant.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/nation-world/terroristwithin/chapter17.html
Read Coleen Rowley's memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller about the handling of the Moussaoui case at this link.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,249997,00.html
On August 16, 2001, Moussaoui was arrested by Harry Samit of the FBI and INS agents in Minnesota and charged with an immigration violation[14]. Materials itemized when he was arrested included a laptop computer, two knives, 747 flight manuals, a flight simulator computer program, fighting gloves and shin guards, and a computer disk with information about crop dusting.[14]
Some agents worried that his flight training had violent intentions, so the Minnesota bureau tried to get permission (sending over 70 emails in a week) to search his laptop, but they were turned down.[15] FBI agent Coleen Rowley made an explicit request for permission to search Moussaoui's personal rooms. This request was first denied by her superior, Deputy General Counsel Marion "Spike" Bowman, and later rejected based upon FISA regulations (amended after 9/11 by the USA Patriot Act). Several further search attempts similarly failed.
FBI watchdog Sen. Chuck Grassley, Republican-Iowa, later wrote to FBI Director Robert Mueller:
If the application for the FISA warrant had gone forward, agents would have found information in Moussaoui's belongings that linked him both to a major financier of the hijacking plot working out of Germany, and to a Malaysian al-Qaida boss who had met with at least two other hijackers while under surveillance by intelligence officials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacarias_Moussaoui