When the president says he is staying the course it reminds me of the man who has just jumped from the Empire State Building. Half-way down he says, I am still on course. Well, I would not want to be on course with a man who will lie splattered in the street.

Bush’s open defense of illegality and assertion of quasi-dictatorial powers bring the political crisis in the US to the boiling point. His defiance of Congress, the law and the Constitution are the culmination of a record of criminality. But the Bush administration has concluded, with good reason, that it will face no serious opposition from any section of the political establishment. Every official US institution is implicated in the conspiracy against the democratic rights of the American people. The mass media has systematically functioned to propagate the administration’s lies and cover up for its crimes. The New York Times, in its article revealing the secret NSA spying operation, admitted that it had withheld its report for a full year, after meeting with White House officials who demanded that it suppress the information. The Democratic Party, from its refusal to expose the conspiracy behind the Clinton impeachment, to its acceptance of a stolen election in 2000, to its collusion in covering up the facts surrounding 9/11, to its collaboration in the “war on terror� and the invasion and occupation of Iraq has demonstrated conclusively its indifference to democratic rights. Whatever its tactical differences with the Bush administration, the Democratic Party fundamentally defends the drive of US imperialism for global domination, with all of its brutal implications for the American people and the entire world.

I've heard/read no resonable arguments against these taps

A question asked of the President that he did not answer was: Why did he not get warrants retroactive to these "emergencies" as I understand is allowed ... by FISA.

Suppose I could monitor a million phone conversations at once and screen them

It's important to note here that people in this country have been subjected to the warrantless surveillance, not just foreign nationals.

(i) “United States person� means a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section 1101 (a)(20) of title 8), an unincorporated association a substantial number of members of which are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or a corporation which is incorporated in the United States, but does not include a corporation or an association which is a foreign power, as defined in subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.

(1) Notwithstanding any other law, the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this subchapter to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year if the Attorney General certifies in writing under oath that—

(A) the electronic surveillance is solely directed at— (i) the acquisition of the contents of communications transmitted by means of communications used exclusively between or among foreign powers, as defined in section 1801 (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this title; or (ii) the acquisition of technical intelligence, other than the spoken communications of individuals, from property or premises under the open and exclusive control of a foreign power, as defined in section 1801 (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this title; (B) there is no substantial likelihood that the surveillance will acquire the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party; and (C) the proposed minimization procedures with respect to such surveillance meet the definition of minimization procedures under section 1801 (h) of this title; and if the Attorney General reports such minimization procedures and any changes thereto to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at least thirty days prior to their effective date, unless the Attorney General determines immediate action is required and notifies the committees immediately of such minimization procedures and the reason for their becoming effective immediately

They can also spy on an agent of a foreign government. Which is defined to be: (2) any person who? (A) knowingly engages in clandestine intelligence gathering activities for or on behalf of a foreign power, which activities involve or may involve a violation of the criminal statutes of the United States; (B) pursuant to the direction of an intelligence service or network of a foreign power, knowingly engages in any other clandestine intelligence activities for or on behalf of such foreign power, which activities involve or are about to involve a violation of the criminal statutes of the United States; (C) knowingly engages in sabotage or international terrorism, or activities that are in preparation therefor, for or on behalf of a foreign power; (D) knowingly enters the United States under a false or fraudulent identity for or on behalf of a foreign power or, while in the United States, knowingly assumes a false or fraudulent identity for or on behalf of a foreign power; or (E) knowingly aids or abets any person in the conduct of activities described in subparagraph (A), (B),

Coercive interrogations. A gulag of secret prisons. And now warrantless surveillance. "I believe that there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." --James Madison Some will say that we need to make trade-offs between liberty and security. But liberty has a price and taking risks is the price we all have to pay if liberty is to be preserved. Of the Founders who pledged "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor" as signers to the Declaration of Independence, five were captured as traitors and tortured before they died; twelve had their homes ransacked and burned; two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War; another had two sons captured; and nine died from wounds or the hardship of the war. But too many want to trade their sacrifices away for a mess of security pottage.

I want all the Dems to be on record as opposing use of the technology that is capable of protecting the USA.

Suppose I could monitor a million phone conversations at once and screen them for the phrase, "kill all the jews." Not listen mind you, but when the phrase pops up, I could go back, see who the conversants were, where they lived, and what they might be up to. ... I'm pretty sure that the scenario I sketched out is what is going on. Do you really think some NSA employee is setting around with a pair of headphones listening to a tape?

Jimbo, it sounds to me like you're proposing that the govt. listen to *everything*, but that for their convenience, they would use various filters to sift out "conversations of interest."

Every federal official – including the President – who takes an oath of office swears to “uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States." “I don’t give a goddamn,� Bush retorted. “I’m the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way.� “Mr. President,� one aide in the meeting said. “There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution.� “Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,� Bush screamed back. “It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!�

While many details about the program remain secret, officials familiar with it say the N.S.A. eavesdrops without warrants on up to 500 people in the United States at any given time. The list changes as some names are added and others dropped, so the number monitored in this country may have reached into the thousands since the program began, several officials said.

And whom have they been surveiling? Filmaker Michael Moore? Actor Tim Robbins. Howard Dean?

PPJ your are indeed scum for continuing to ignore the part I posted.

They can also spy on an agent of a foreign government. Which is defined to be: (2) any person who? (A) knowingly engages in clandestine intelligence gathering activities for or on behalf of a foreign power,

BTW – Anyone heard anything from Senator Rockefeller??

The article talks about a list of names -- specific individuals with suspected links to terrorist oorganizations. That doesn't square at all with the pluck-the-words-out-of-a-million-calls scenario you described. If they can put the names on a list, they can get a warrant.

B) there is no substantial likelihood that the surveillance will acquire the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party;

Given your “genie out of the bottle� statement, why would you want to impeach Bush, outside of pure hatred? I mean the scars created in the political and cultural fabric would last years. I think the statement: “Cut off your nose to spite your face,� applies. (I felt the same way about Clinton.) Plus, if you lost, which is very likely, the country would shift further to the Right. Just not worth it. Bush will be mostly gone in two years. Hey, win some elections and let's get busy on national health care, gay rights, etc.

And the third point is the Bush administration decided then, you know, in late January, to do two things. One, vigorously pursue the existing policy, including all of the lethal covert action findings, which we've now made public to some extent. And the point is, while this big review was going on, there were still in effect, the lethal findings were still in effect. The second thing the administration decided to do is to initiate a process to look at those issues which had been on the table for a couple of years and get them decided...... So, point five, that process which was initiated in the first week in February, uh, decided in principle, uh in the spring to add to the existing Clinton strategy and to increase CIA resources, for example, for covert action, five-fold, to go after Al Qaeda.

"Watergate and a lot of things around Watergate and Vietnam, both during the '70s served, I think, to erode the authority ... the president needs to be effective, especially in the national security area," Cheney told reporters aboard the Air Force Two aircraft after a visit to Pakistan.

But the vice-president said he thought the Bush administration has been able to restore some of "the legitimate authority of the presidency." He also said he believes that the U.S. War Powers Act, which gives the U.S. Congress the power to be fully engaged in a president's decision to go to war is unconstitutional.

"I am one of those who believe that was an infringement on the authority of the president," he said.

Section 8 - Powers of Congress To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;