Congressional Research Arm Rebuts Bush on Spying

Congressional Research Arm Rebuts Bush on Spying

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Tempest in a Teapot? Bunch of Nonsense? No way. As I said, it’s illegal surveillance. Illegal. Illegal. Illegal. (stamp, stamp, and…wait for it…. … … … Stamp!) The research arm of Congress (The Congressional Research Service) has issued a report concluding that that the administration’s justification for the warrantless eavesdropping authorized by President Bush conflicts with existing law and hinges on weak legal arguments. This from the Washington Post The Congressional Research Service’s report rebuts the central assertions made recently…

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Blockhead Theory

Blockhead Theory

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One of those moments of synchronicity happened today. I was looking at some of the former JW sites, and found a great page on JW psychological issues at Beyond Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the back of my mind, I was thinking of JollyRoger‘s comments on Bush followers as worshippers and comparing it to my experiences with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Everyone has blind spots, but Bush seems to have tapped into something that allows him to pre-empt the critical thinking abilities of…

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Right-wing Christmas

Right-wing Christmas

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The “peace on earth” message sure did take a back seat this season. Lotsa God and Jesus cards from relatives, but nobody had the “Peace on Earth” message this year. It wasn’t on any of the cards I got. Is it possible that this very idea is now considered too edgy, even Coulterishly “treasonous”? I had actually been pondering this as I started taking down the Christmas cards. Turns out I’m not the only one to have noticed the lack….

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Illegal – I’ll say it again – Illegal Surveillance

Illegal – I’ll say it again – Illegal Surveillance

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United States Code Title 50, Chapter 36, Subchapter 1 Section 1809. Criminal sanctions (a) Prohibited activities A person is guilty of an offense if he intentionally- (1) engages in electronic surveillance under color of law except as authorized by statute NSA Watch lays it all out very clearly. FISA contains explicit language describing the president’s powers “during time of war” and provides that “the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this title…

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Sin Against Free Government

Sin Against Free Government

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“No penance would ever expiate the sin against free government of holding that a President can escape control of executive powers by law through assuming his military role [of Commander-in-Chief].” — Justice Robert Jackson (during the Korean War when President Truman tried to seize the steel companies in the name of national security). (Quote of the Week at Crisis Papers) They also have an excellent roundup of some of the best blog posts on the domestic spying scandal, among which…

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