Bush today said he isn't bothered by Congressional hearings into his domestic spying program. "That's good for democracy," he said, so long as the hearings don't "tell the enemy what we're doing."
I have the feeling Bush's biggest enemy at this point are the American people themselves.
I have the feeling Bush's biggest enemy at this point are the American people themselves.
posted by the Brykmans at 10:10 PM
7 Comments:
I think your feeling is very comical especially after I read about the 'Opinion Dynamics Poll' released on 01/12/06 asking if the President has the power to authorize the NSA to monitor electronic communications?
SHOULD = 58%
SHOULD NOT = 36%
NOT SURE = 6%
I just love your neurotic humor!
A. That was a Fox News Poll.
B. If the majority of Americans want to live in an America that resembles the ol' U.S.S.R., than so be it. But, frankly, I'm flabbergasted. How else do you think totalitarian dictatorships get their start? Through a complacent public convinced that compromised civil liberties are the only possible option in order to maintain the protection of the people!
In any case, let's look at the question in question:
Do you think the president should or should not have the power to authorize the National Security Agency to monitor electronic communications of suspected terrorists without getting warrants, even if one end of the communication is in the United States?
Should - 58%
Should Not - 36
Not Sure - 6
The problem with the question is the phrase "suspected terrorists." Of course we want communications of suspected terrorist examined! Who wouldn't? But what we don't know is how the government determines who it's going to suspect.
You've heard, I'm sure, about these community peace groups who were placed on 'suspected terrorist' lists (after which, the gov't had the right to monitor their communications). Or maybe you haven't. I don't think Fox was exactly featuring the story.
How long before all of us are 'suspected terrorists'? That's all I'm saying.
I would understand your position if you had the word 'paranoid' in your blog title.
Have you forgotten what happened under McCarthy? Are you sure it couldn't happen again?
McCarthy has nothing to do with homicidal terrorists wanting to kill all of us and destroy our way of life today! Have you forgotten 9/11? The Twin Towers, the pentagon and the 4th plane heading for the White House or the Capital Building. Our country suffered an unprovoked and egregious attack and if electronic eavesdropping thwarts one attack it's worth every bit of this benign wartime defense technique. "They" can eavesdropp on me anytime, I have nothing to hide!
But the FBI just reported that ALL the NSA's internal snooping did was lead to dead ends and produce an "avalance of data" that kept them from doing actual productive anti-terror work!
So what's it all about?? I'm asking you, what's it all about...really?
Why did Bush call the eavesdropping program a "vital tool" against terrorism, and why did Cheney say it has saved "thousands of lives" when we're getting this from the press:
----
WASHINGTON, 01/18 - The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) began sending large volume of data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in search of terrorists, but virtually all of them led to dead ends or innocent Americans, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The spy agency was collecting much of the data, such as phone numbers, e-mail addresses and names, by eavesdropping on some Americans` international communications and conducting computer searches of phone and Internet traffic, and FBI officials repeatedly complained to the spy agency that the unfiltered information was swamping investigators, the report said.
President George W. Bush has characterized the eavesdropping program after the Sept. 11 attacks as a "vital tool" against terrorism, and Vice President Dick Cheney has said it has saved " thousands of lives."
But the results of the program looked very different to some officials charged with tracking terrorism in the United States. More than a dozen current and former law enforcement and counterterrorism officials said the torrent of tips led them to few potential terrorists inside the country they did not know of from other sources and diverted agents from counterterrorism work they viewed as more productive, according to the report.
The comments on the NSA program from the law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, many of them high level, were the first indication that the program was viewed with skepticism by key figures at the FBI, the agency responsible for disrupting plots and investigating terrorism on American soil, the report said.
It boils down to who you believe! You believe CNN, I believe FOX! Bush will be criticized for anything he says or does and government missmanagement and incompetence is always present.
Go to
http://patriotfiles.org/america.htm
and see why we need to do what ever it takes!
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