Fired Up! America - Bush's Domestic Spying Scandal

Bush signing may mean government can read your mail

Thu, 4 Jan 2007 22:00:18 -0600

A signing statement attached to postal legislation by President Bush last month may have opened the way for the government to open mail without a warrant.

The White House denies any change in policy.

The law requires government agents to get warrants to open first-class letters.

But when he signed the postal reform act, Bush added a statement saying that his administration would construe that provision "in a manner consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances. ..."

"The signing statement raises serious questions whether he is authorizing opening of mail contrary to the Constitution and to laws enacted by Congress," said Ann Beeson, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Faces Of Surveillance

Tue, 4 Apr 2006 21:34:26 -0500

Domestic spying is happening. Surveillance, spying and wiretaps could be useful tools in the hands of fascist-type political leaders that are currently "crossing the Ts " on the Patriot Act that most of our congress voted for not long ago. I wanted to show some of the faces of domestic surveillence. http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/24287res20060227.html

Can the authorities illegally detain and hospitalize a U.S. citizen?

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 01:17:41 -0600

I've posted several diaries sharing my own experience of illegal detention and hospitalization, and received mixed responses. Some believe my ordeal, others don't. Many people, I'm certain, don't want to believe that this could happen here.

I'm asking you to consider the ordeal of others who have had a similar experience.

Consider the case of Darlene Early, a paralegal in Albany, NY. She publicly displayed a cardboard protest sign on a vehicle that was legally parked in space she had leased. As a result of her action, Ms. Early was arrested, forcibly hospitalized and forcibly sedated. What I find most disturbing about her account is the journalists comments at the end of the article:

Simon Says: 2006 Likely To Be A Very Bad Year For The GOP

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 14:34:25 -0600

In this piece, NDN Chair Simon Rosenberg lays out how he sees 2006 shaping up.

Here's his bottom line:

I've been skeptical about the fall elections becoming a 1994-like "change election." But given that in Mid-February the President has dropped below 40 percent, their weak agenda has nowhere to go, foreign policy and security issues are as likely to be as damaging to them as helpful, and the criminal cases against their leadership will spread and deepen, I think even the skeptics have to now acknowledge that 2006 is likely to become an historically bad year for the governing party.

WaPo Has Major News On Bush's Domestic Spying Program

Thu, 9 Feb 2006 05:57:44 -0600

Interesting strategy the Bush administration has. First you wiretap people, and if you get anything incriminating, then you use that info to obtain a warrant. Just what the founding fathers had in mind, I'm sure.

WaPo has more.

Senator Hagel Thinks Bush Broke The Law And Should Stop Playing Politics With National Security

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 11:41:22 -0600

Think Progress has some great coverage of Senator Hagel expressing his view that Bush ignored the law in his domestic spying program. Hagel says Bush can't unilaterally decide to violate the law.

As Think Progress points out:

Hagel joins other prominent conservatives — including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) — who have questioned the legal basis of Bush’s warrantless domestic surveillance program.

Bush Has Always Known His Domestic Spying Program Was Outside The Law

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 11:13:55 -0600

There's one thing this story from Newsweek makes clear, the Bush administration has always known that their domestic spying program was outside the law.

The entire system of American Democracy is premised on checks and balances in the system. It is clear from this story that the Bush team wants to remove ALL check on their power.

They were loyal conservatives, and Bush appointees. They fought a quiet battle to rein in the president's power in the war on terror. And they paid a price for it. A NEWSWEEK investigation.

Keep in mind, this story is about very conservative political appointees who were questioning the Bush administration's actions.

Jack Carter Is A Man To Watch And To Listen To

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 13:48:47 -0600

Jack Carter, who is running for the United States Senate against John Ensign in Nevada, is a man worth keeping an eye on. Thus far the pundits aren't paying much attention, but I have a sneaking suspicion that as 2006 wears on, that is going to change.

Here's an op-ed Carter wrote recently that appeared in the Las Vegas Gleaner. (Be sure to scroll down past the polling data to read the full text)

Here's a snip:

There is no doubt that torturing people is un-American. There is no doubt that unfettered eavesdropping on Americans by the executive branch is un-American. There is no doubt that holding prisoners without due process is un-American.

You Approve of Spying? Then Start with Skull & Bones!

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 14:22:37 -0600

A TvNewsLIES Proposal - Jan, 2006

Let’s get it straight, you actually believe that the government has the right to spy at will. You really think there’s nothing wrong with listening in on domestic phone conversations or intercepting personal e-mail or cell calls. You really have no qualms about bypassing the courts and warrants to spy on Americans who might have expressed opposition to the invasion of a militarily castrated nation? You bought into the idea that secret government spying will keep Americans safe. And you have no problem with spying on grass roots peace organizations whose members walk around with signs demanding a safer and friendlier world?

Bush Not Truthful About Legal Basis For Domestic Spying

Sat, 7 Jan 2006 07:51:15 -0600

Both the Washington Post and the New York Times carry stories today regarding the Congressional Research Service report that concludes that the Bush administration's legal arguments are unsound.

A report by Congress's research arm concluded yesterday that the administration's justification for the warrantless eavesdropping authorized by President Bush conflicts with existing law and hinges on weak legal arguments.

Newsweek's Pathetic Coverage Of Bush's Domestic Spying Scandal

Sun, 1 Jan 2006 13:13:26 -0600

The first news piece of 2006 that qualifies for the Judith Miller Award for Bringing Shame on the Profession of Journalism is from Newsweek.

What can possibly be the explanation for Newsweek's story which makes excuse after excuse for Bush's lawbreaking in the domestic spying matter?

Here's an example:

The message to White House lawyers from their commander in chief, recalls one who was deeply involved at the time, was clear enough: find a way to exercise the full panoply of powers granted the president by Congress and the Constitution. If that meant pushing the boundaries of the law, so be it. The Bush administration did not throw away the Bill of Rights in the months and years that followed; indeed, NEWSWEEK has learned, ferocious behind-the-scenes infighting stalled for a time the administration's ambitious program of electronic spying on U.S. citizens at home and abroad.

Even John Ashcroft May Have Had Concerns About Domestic Spying

Sun, 1 Jan 2006 09:26:10 -0600

Today's NY Times reports that even John Ashcroft may have had concerns about Bush's domestic spying plans.

Just how bad does something have to be before John Ashcroft would object? In my experience, pretty bad.

As long as he is the one wielding the power, he thing it's a pretty wonderful thing. So this operation had to be pretty flagrantly extra-legal for him to raise a concern.

The Only Thing We Have To Fear

Thu, 29 Dec 2005 09:28:44 -0600

The Miami Herald carries this thought provoking piece from Robert Steinback:

Bush would have us excuse his administration's excesses in deference to the ''war on terror'' -- a war, it should be pointed out, that can never end. Terrorism is a tactic, an eventuality, not an opposition army or rogue nation. If we caught every person guilty of a terrorist act, we still wouldn't know where tomorrow's first-time terrorist will strike. Fighting terrorism is a bit like fighting infection -- even when it's beaten, you must continue the fight or it will strike again.

Debunking The Right Wing Myths About Bush's Domestic Spying Scandal

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 07:10:20 -0600

The right wing is in full propaganda mode to try to muddle the fact on Bush's domestic spying scandal.

Think Progress has some important info to help debunk the latest right wing lies.

The Drudge Lies
The Jamie Gorelick Myth
The Echelon Myth