Congress yields to pass Bush spying bill | Politics | Reuters

Congress yields to pass Bush spying bill | Politics | Reuters: "Civil liberties groups charged the measure would create a broad net that would sweep up law-abiding U.S. citizens. But the House of Representatives gave its concurrence to the bill, 227-183, a day after it won Senate approval, 60-28."

There it is... Vacation is obviously more important than the civil liberties of our citizens. Bush's illegal warrant-less wiretapping is now perfectly legal, and when the legislation expires in 6 months, I am sure that it will be renewed. Perhaps we will have another "terrorist" attack in the meantime to ensure that it is renewed, or even modified so that it allows even more lawlessness.

Here comes the new 9/11...

April 15, 2007, Dick Cheney: "The greatest threat now is 'a 9/11' occurring ... with a nuclear weapon in the middle of one of our own cities."

June 3, 2007, Dennis Milligan, Chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party: “I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001]."

July 1, 2007, ABC News: “A secret U.S. law enforcement report, prepared for the Department of Homeland Security, warns that al Qaeda is planning a terror "spectacular" this summer."

July 11, 2007, Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security chief: "I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk."

July 20, 2007, Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury: "Whether authentic or orchestrated, an attack will activate Bush's new executive orders [NSPD-51], which create a dictatorial police state in event of national emergency."

July 24, 2007, Peter DeFazio, House Homeland Security Committee member: “I just can't believe they're going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack … Maybe the people who think there's a conspiracy out there are right.”

From A Dawning Dictatorship?, by Captain Eric H. May. [Thanks Melinda...]

The Raw Story | White House responds to request for info on Gonzales testimony

The Raw Story | White House responds to request for info on Gonzales testimony: "CNN Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux said the administration's letter declared that NSA programs other than the wiretapping program acknowledged by Bush are classified and cannot be discussed.

'So what they’re saying is everything else is secret but what he was talking about specifically was the Terrorist Surveillance Program,' she said Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee chairman who also is expected to receive the administration's response, told RAW STORY early Tuesday afternoon that he had not seen the letter."

What other programs are they running behind our backs? I cannot even imagine with the technology that is available to the NSA. Spy satellites, house bugs, electronic records...

Think Progress » Conservatives Refuse To Appear On Fox News To Publicly Defend Gonzales

Think Progress » Conservatives Refuse To Appear On Fox News To Publicly Defend Gonzales: "'By the way, we invited White House officials and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to defend Attorney General Gonzales,' said Wallace. 'We had no takers.'"

For some odd reason, I was flipping through the channels and jsut happened to stop on Fox News for a while. I was laughing when I saw this...

They also had a Democratic member of congress on, did no catch who it was. The democrat was explaining how Bush's plan to revise the FISA system would give him more power to spy on U.S. citizens, which is exactly what it will do. Wallace, obviously just another puppet of the administration, kept saying that it would allow Bush to monitor calls from one foreign country to another. The democrat retorted by saying that if that was the fact, and that was all it did, that he would pass Bush's changes tomorrow. After arguing back and forth for a minute, the entire conversation essentially was repeated again. I guess that is quite typical of Fox, repeat the propaganda again and again...

Think Progress » Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs

Think Progress » Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs: "Today, Gonzales said Comey was referring to “other intelligence activities,” appearing to confirm that the Bush administration is operating more than one warrantless domestic spying program."

The administration might be lying to us about the scope of its surveillance activities on U.S. citizens? That never happened before...

Oh, yeah, this was said while the secret, warrantless wiretap program was running:

"'Any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order,' he [BUSH] said on April 20, 2004 in Buffalo, New York."

More secrets, more lies, and more lies to cover up those secrets and lies. This is what the United States' presidential office has fallen to...

Court nixes suit against spying program - Yahoo! News

Court nixes suit against spying program - Yahoo! News: "CINCINNATI - A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic spying program, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue.

The 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel was not on the legality of the surveillance program. But it vacated an order by a lower court in Detroit last Augist that the post-911 warrantless surveillance aimed at uncovering terrorist activity was unconstitutional, violating rights to privacy and free speech and the separation of powers."

Typical.

BBC NEWS | Business | Blackberry ban for French elite

BBC NEWS | Business | Blackberry ban for French elite: "Workers in the French president's and prime minister's office have been told their e-mails risk falling into foreign hands, Le Monde newspaper reports.

France's SGDN security service is worried because Blackberries use US- and UK-based servers, the paper says."

Well, I don't think any country should trust that the United States would not spy on their citizens right now. After all, America is spying on its own citizens...

The Raw Story | Government watchdog says Bush ignored law after 30% of signing statements

The Raw Story | Government watchdog says Bush ignored law after 30% of signing statements: "The Government Accountability Office issued a report showing that US government agencies ignored Congressional legislation on 30% of the occasions when President George W. Bush issued a 'presidential signing statement' after signing bills into law."

This is called "How to become a secret Dictator: 101." Bush has issued more "singing statements" than all of the other presidents combined, and, unlike most previous statements, they are worded such that he can ignore the law he just signed.

Official: Cheney Urged Wiretaps - washingtonpost.com

Official: Cheney Urged Wiretaps - washingtonpost.com: "Comey said that Cheney's office later blocked the promotion of a senior Justice Department lawyer, Patrick Philbin, because of his role in raising concerns about the surveillance."

I am surprised that Cheney did not ship him off to Gitmo, or at least make him resign. He should consider himself lucky.

Bush: Russians have derailed reforms - Yahoo! News

Bush: Russians have derailed reforms - Yahoo! News: "'In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development,' Bush said, speaking at a conference of current and former dissidents."

Ok, Mr Bush, how arrogant of you to say this, when you are doing the same for your own country. Examples: warrantless wiretapping, limiting free speech (free speech zones, journalist arrests, surveillance of peaceful activists), virtual elimination of habeas corpus, revision of "enemy combatants" to possibly include Americans, elimination of the Posse Commitus act, warrantless searches, torture of "enemy combatants," dictator-like powers in the case of a national emergency, and the list goes on.

Bush derails attempts to end illegal wiretapping | Press Esc

Bush derails attempts to end illegal wiretapping | Press Esc: "President Bush derailed a bill by the US Congress aimed at ending the Administration's illegal wiretapping by not providing documents related to the President’s warrantless wiretapping program to the Senate Intelligence Committee that is currently reviewing the proposed legislation"

Why should King George have to account to anyone anyway? This is not a democracy, but his "democracy," and his alone.