Via Julian Sanchez a nice rundown of the origins of FISA. It's particularly crazy that we're going down this path because the surveillance restriction were so specifically written in response to a long and well-documented chain of abuses of power. It's not like anyone's going to be able to plead ignorance when it turns out that President Someone Or Other is using these powers to spy on political opponents.
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Speaking of Surveillance
18 Dec 2007 08:49 am
Comments (9)
Bet on this: Every member of Congress, every lobbyist, every member of the judiciary, the Cabinet, the U.S. Attornys Office, basically everyone and anyone that Bush thinks spying on could be beneficial in some way is monitored. Their mail, their e-mails, their cell phones and land lines, their computers, each and every way they communicate with others is tracked, recorded and analyzed. And the watchers are watched and know they're watched. They dare not speak up (see Sibel Edmonds) and besides that the process is broken up in little pieces to the point they may not even know what they're doing (or why). What little of the whole process is exposed is quickly contained, labeled classified and walled off. You're a traitor for insisting on or facilitating transparency. It's ludicrous to even speculate whether there's an enemies list, whether a domestic spying program for purely political purposes exists. It does. Would you bet your life otherwise?
Also, Bushco is far, far more worried about domestic threats to their political power than external threats from terrorists. Given the choice between emphasizing a spy program targeting opponents to his agenda or efforts at locating a few nutjob Muslims Bush will tap Reid and Pelosi first. Of course he doesn't have to make that choice, he can do both.
Pretty nuch agree with Steve Duncan. I'd be shocked if President Bush isn't already using these powers to spy on his political opponents.
I don't know, if the administration were using this program simply to spy on Reid and Co., then the Democrats as a whole might be opposing the expansion of FISA powers and telecom immunity, not actively supporting this legislation.
At some point this will surely be used to target individual political threats, but the danger that the surveillance program presents in its current form is to the citizenry. I trust Reid, Rockefeller, and Feinstein no more than I trust Bush on this issue.
But if telecom immunity is granted, we may never know what they've been up to in the name of our "security."
All Hail The Dodd!!!
Nonsense, we have an entire system built on the principle that someone can always claim ignorance.
Dodd's stock just went way up in my book.
And Sanchez always writes a great analysis of this issue.
If Jonah Goldberg actually studied what the Nazi fascists did, it was surveillance stuff like this.
I don't think Bush or the Democrats are abusing this, they are worried they will be blamed after another 9/11 attack.
Senator Dodd (creature of the insurance and financial industries, who would have thunk?) understands the long term threat this poses.
Say there's a massive downturn in the global economy. A future president would be tempted to abuse these powers.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said something like Civil Liberties: We Weren't Using Them Anyway.
Bet on this: Every member of Congress, every lobbyist, every member of the judiciary, the Cabinet, the U.S. Attornys Office, basically everyone and anyone that Bush thinks spying on could be beneficial in some way is monitored. Their mail, their e-mails, their cell phones and land lines, their computers, each and every way they communicate with others is tracked, recorded and analyzed. And the watchers are watched and know they're watched. They dare not speak up (see Sibel Edmonds) and besides that the process is broken up in little pieces to the point they may not even know what they're doing (or why). What little of the whole process is exposed is quickly contained, labeled classified and walled off. You're a traitor for insisting on or facilitating transparency. It's ludicrous to even speculate whether there's an enemies list, whether a domestic spying program for purely political purposes exists. It does. Would you bet your life otherwise?
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Ah yes, "A conspiracy SO vast..." They obviously used all this information to great advantage in continuing their control of both houses of Congress in the 2006 election. Oh, wait...
While I don't believe the surveillance program is being used for the most sinister motives, I do believe the motives are sinister. I don't believe for example, that the government is cataloging phone calls made to Latin America for any legitimate purpose. Likewise, i'm sure they're up to much worse. I just don't think they've targeted individual congressman at this point, hence the support by 79 senators.
Comments closed January 01, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
It's not like anyone's going to be able to plead ignorance when it turns out that President Someone Or Other is using these powers to spy on political opponents.
well, nobody except the 50% of Americans who don't know that the word "civics" describes something other than those cute little Hondas.
Posted by cleek | December 18, 2007 9:04 AM