Sorry, George - I'm not buying it
Robert Rouse
January 28, 2006
The Bush team is pushing their agenda and Kenneth Bass III, one of the men who put together the law that resulted in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, is talking about the answers (or lack of) President Bush and the guys have been giving about the illegal wiretaps. He said, "I just do not understand what they're saying, unless it's Orwellian doublespeak."
An example would be this statement from Bush this past Thursday: "It's a different world, I said, 'Look, is it possible to conduct this program under the old law?' And people said, 'It doesn't work in order to be able to do the job we expect us to do'." Bush was talking about the FISA law being twenty-eight years old.
Isn't that a little like saying if the law doesn't fit into your agenda you should ignore it? I can't drive from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis in two hours at the current speed limit, so from now on I'll drive 85mph because it fits my needs. John Doe can't smoke marijuana because it is illegal, but since it provides almost instant relief after chemotherapy he'll buy an ounce of pot from a man in a seedy section of town. The law says you need a warrant before you can eavesdrop on private conversations, but since it is such a hassle to go through the process of getting a warrant, the NSA will just wiretap without one. Huh?
That was one of the reasons Alberto Gonzales used this week as part of Bush's "Choir for the Wire" stump team. Gonzales pointed out that even though the FISA court does not use a lower evidence standard, that the paperwork and analysis were a problem. He said it would, "introduce a significant factor of delay'" in getting the wiretaps going under the program, which is designed as "an early warning system" to prevent a terrorist attack. The problem with this argument is the simple fact that the NSA can go ahead and start the wiretaps without a warrant so long as they get a warrant within 72 hours after the taps begin. I believe the big problem, and that isn't being discussed by this propaganda blitzkrieg, is that the NSA believes in most cases that they really don't have enough for the courts to grant the warrants.
Another member of Bush's full court press of propaganda is Karl Rove, who is still trying to paint anyone who opposes the administration as unpatriotic. He said, "President Bush believes if Al Qaeda is calling somebody in America, it is in our national security interest to know who they're calling and why. Some important Democrats clearly disagree." And while no Democrat has ever said anything remotely like that, I have to bring up that this so-called "data mining" can make mistakes. What if you're taking an overseas call from Blood, Sweat and Tears keyboardist, Al Kooper, and the system mistakes the name for Al Qaeda? Do you really want to go on a terrorist watch list for discussing "Spinning Wheel"?
Another excuse used by Bush is the old "he did it too" argument. He brings up FDR and the interment of Japanese Americans or Lincoln and the suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War (oddly enough, he never mentions Tricky Dick Nixon and domestic surveillance). But this holds as much water as the argument about the FISA law not fitting in today's world. If my neighbor is pinching cable TV, I can still be arrested if I do it too.
Another "Tricky Dick" - Cheney - is advocating the surveillance because we're in a war. Well no kidding, Dick. But a real war, like a good book, has a beginning, a middle and an end. This so-called "Global War on Terror" will never conclude with a surrender ceremony at Appomattox or on the USS Missouri. Much like the "War on Drugs", there are no front lines, no hills to take, and no flags to plant. Terrorism has been used for centuries and the struggle against terrorists will always be with us. Of course, Cheney is well aware of this and is as giddy as a hog in slop because of it. In Cheney's eyes, the POTUS should be have more power than any other person on Earth. The man simply doesn't believe in checks and balances. He wants the courts stacked and the legislative branch to follow the mandates of the president.
The recent public relations push by the White House has been more about Bush's old statement of "catapulting the propaganda", believing if they keep pushing their version of things that it will soon become a fact. Even though most legal experts are saying the wiretaps are illegal and in spite of the fact that the majority of Americans believe it is wrong, the PR blitz continues under the assumption that no one actually knows they're breaking the law. As the White House sock puppet, Scott McClellan said, "The president has the authority and responsibility to do what he's doing to prevent attacks from happening."
Yeah, and I have the authority and responsibility to speed down to Indianapolis and buy some Mary Jane for my sick friend - NOT!
An example would be this statement from Bush this past Thursday: "It's a different world, I said, 'Look, is it possible to conduct this program under the old law?' And people said, 'It doesn't work in order to be able to do the job we expect us to do'." Bush was talking about the FISA law being twenty-eight years old.
Isn't that a little like saying if the law doesn't fit into your agenda you should ignore it? I can't drive from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis in two hours at the current speed limit, so from now on I'll drive 85mph because it fits my needs. John Doe can't smoke marijuana because it is illegal, but since it provides almost instant relief after chemotherapy he'll buy an ounce of pot from a man in a seedy section of town. The law says you need a warrant before you can eavesdrop on private conversations, but since it is such a hassle to go through the process of getting a warrant, the NSA will just wiretap without one. Huh?
That was one of the reasons Alberto Gonzales used this week as part of Bush's "Choir for the Wire" stump team. Gonzales pointed out that even though the FISA court does not use a lower evidence standard, that the paperwork and analysis were a problem. He said it would, "introduce a significant factor of delay'" in getting the wiretaps going under the program, which is designed as "an early warning system" to prevent a terrorist attack. The problem with this argument is the simple fact that the NSA can go ahead and start the wiretaps without a warrant so long as they get a warrant within 72 hours after the taps begin. I believe the big problem, and that isn't being discussed by this propaganda blitzkrieg, is that the NSA believes in most cases that they really don't have enough for the courts to grant the warrants.
Another member of Bush's full court press of propaganda is Karl Rove, who is still trying to paint anyone who opposes the administration as unpatriotic. He said, "President Bush believes if Al Qaeda is calling somebody in America, it is in our national security interest to know who they're calling and why. Some important Democrats clearly disagree." And while no Democrat has ever said anything remotely like that, I have to bring up that this so-called "data mining" can make mistakes. What if you're taking an overseas call from Blood, Sweat and Tears keyboardist, Al Kooper, and the system mistakes the name for Al Qaeda? Do you really want to go on a terrorist watch list for discussing "Spinning Wheel"?
Another excuse used by Bush is the old "he did it too" argument. He brings up FDR and the interment of Japanese Americans or Lincoln and the suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War (oddly enough, he never mentions Tricky Dick Nixon and domestic surveillance). But this holds as much water as the argument about the FISA law not fitting in today's world. If my neighbor is pinching cable TV, I can still be arrested if I do it too.
Another "Tricky Dick" - Cheney - is advocating the surveillance because we're in a war. Well no kidding, Dick. But a real war, like a good book, has a beginning, a middle and an end. This so-called "Global War on Terror" will never conclude with a surrender ceremony at Appomattox or on the USS Missouri. Much like the "War on Drugs", there are no front lines, no hills to take, and no flags to plant. Terrorism has been used for centuries and the struggle against terrorists will always be with us. Of course, Cheney is well aware of this and is as giddy as a hog in slop because of it. In Cheney's eyes, the POTUS should be have more power than any other person on Earth. The man simply doesn't believe in checks and balances. He wants the courts stacked and the legislative branch to follow the mandates of the president.
The recent public relations push by the White House has been more about Bush's old statement of "catapulting the propaganda", believing if they keep pushing their version of things that it will soon become a fact. Even though most legal experts are saying the wiretaps are illegal and in spite of the fact that the majority of Americans believe it is wrong, the PR blitz continues under the assumption that no one actually knows they're breaking the law. As the White House sock puppet, Scott McClellan said, "The president has the authority and responsibility to do what he's doing to prevent attacks from happening."
Yeah, and I have the authority and responsibility to speed down to Indianapolis and buy some Mary Jane for my sick friend - NOT!
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