Newsweek Comments on State of the Union Address
“A Sorry State” is the Newsweek magazine headline in a story that shows the Big Brother-In-Chief in a state of freefall that indicates a new lowest approval rating of 30 percent. 58 percent of the country (Republicans and Democrats) “…say they wish the Bush presidency were simply over…” If that weren’t enough, the man is viewed as “ineffectual” by 71 percent of all Americans, a majority seeing him as a “below-average” president. You can see all of Newsweek’s findings on the link above. There is no doubt in my mind that one of the leading reasons for this loss of confidence is how this arrogant autocrat has completely absconded with the individual’s right to privacy.
Duh…Guess We Don’t Own the NSA
For over a year now the Bushies have been telling us the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court (FISA) is not flexible enough, and then he abruptly decides to give in. Newsweek magazine discloses from a Capitol Hill source that the Democrats want to know why his imperial majesty couldn’t have realized this earlier. Congressional committees will question the domestic snooping and try to learn just who they are looking for. Senator Jay Rockefeller, a Dem, will use his Senate Intelligence Committee to find out.
But Really Halting Warrantless NSA Spying? Don’t Believe It.
Yes, the Bush administration publicly decided to halt the warrantless NSA spying, but if you believe that, you’ll believe Cheney that there are still WMD’s in Iraq. The Village Voice reports that it is unclear whether the new FISA Court warrants will be individual or a “blanket dragnet,” attached to no one in particular for Bush to use indiscriminately. It’s all academic because the New York Times legal analyst Adam Liptak says the Bush/Cheney gang still thinks they can “operate without court approval.” Another snub of the Fourth Amendment by this band of despotic bullies. The top investigative reporter for ABC-TV, Brian Ross, had his phone records taken without a judge’s ruling. Hopefully, Ross won’t take this lying down.
ACLU Rechallenges Bush Administration on Domestic Surveillance
In the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the ACLU moved to keep active its challenge to NSA’s stakeouts of innocent American citizens. In an Associated Press article, they quoted the same position used by Liptak, above, in the NYT. The White House wants the case dismissed since it has “agreed” to the monitoring. Beginning to sound like a decision of convenience? AG Gonzales says we can trust them now, but the ACLU doesn’t think so. Anybody who does would buy the Golden Gate Bridge on E-Bay.
Get ‘em While They’re Down
Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St.Clair had a great idea in their political newsletter, CounterPunch. Now that the totalitarian cretin has feigned weakness by giving in to warrants for his spying fantasies, “Don’t let him off the hook.” Congress should rush right in and take advantage of a situation that at least made someone in this administration think for a change. We probably won’t get another chance because once Bush recognizes the cerebral mistake, things will no doubt return to normal, whatever that is. It just seems pathetic that we vacillate all around the issue of individual rights but no one in the White House seems to get it.
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