If you want to laugh yourself silly and get so depressed you wish you were laughing, pretty much at the same time, check out America Blog's piece on the former National Security Administration Director's explanation of why they didn't bother to get after-the-fact FISA approval for the secret wiretaps.
A little piece:
"The whole key here is agility," [Gen. Michael Hayden] said at a White House briefing before Bush's news conference. According to Hayden, most warrantless surveillance conducted under Bush's authorization lasts just days or weeks, and requires only the approval of a shift supervisor. Hayden said getting retroactive court approval is inefficient because it "involves marshaling arguments" and "looping paperwork around."
The president has consistently portrayed the very fact that the Iraqi elections were held as a form of victory for our policies. The American media have, by and large, been willing to go along with the portrayal, at least during this interim period as we wait for the final vote counts.
Some foreign and independent sources, however, have already analyzed the partial returns and concluded that it's not looking good, if your definition of "good" is a functioning democracy in Iraq which is inclusive, secular, and, most of all, friendly to the US.
That's not too surprising given that we boxed ourselves into that very corner by creating a strong anti-American public sentiment which pretty much guaranteed votes to candidates who bashed us, while denying votes to any candidates we are known to favor.
Check these views out.
I don't believe the AP actually publishes stuff this insane!!!!!!!!
Just a quick reminder: Due to the changes here at WTW, I am now the custodian of the WTW mailbox!
Since posting the piece about Bush's specious justifications for his warrantless wiretap program I've been wondering what the wingers were going to pull to make Bush's warrantless wiretap program sound more palatable to their faithful. Here's a shock--first indications are their going to try to pull the old "Carter & Clinton did it too" trick which...also won't fly.
For example, check out the piece on Free Republic which reproduces Jimmy Carter's Executive Order No. 12139, in full and accurately, then summarizes it inaccurately as saying "[T]he Attorney General is authorized to approve electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information without a court order, but only if the Attorney General makes the certifications required by that Section."
On the surface it sure seems to make the fuss over Bush seem silly. But, as you probably guessed by now, Carter's Order is much more limited and very different from Bush's program.
Another sign that America is getting sick & tired of business at the White House being conducted like it was a private business?? The Washington Post Link: reports that one member of the panel of judges that sit on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has resigned in response to the revelations about the president's warrantless wiretap program.
According to two associates of the Judge, James Robertson, he was concerned that the President's program "may have tainted the FISA court's work."
Remember the late Harry Chapin?
"Dance band on the Titanic.."
I can't help it, I keep seeing parallels between the rise of Fascism in Germany in the 1930s and what we're experiencing in America today. That's "parallels," not "an exact replica," but the parallels are strong enough to bother me.
This is all triggered by a 12-18-05 NY Times Book Review piece by Brian Ladd, reviewing the book "The Third Reich in Power," by Richard J. Evans.
Remember the solemn assurances from the military brass and their Pentagon bosses that the pro-American stories planted in the Iraqi press by the Lincoln Group were just a misunderstanding? That, in fact, maybe Lincoln had breached their contract with the military, maybe they would be sued or something?
Don't hold your breath waiting for the military to sue Lincoln, if there's any truth to an LA Times story this past Sunday.
Oh, God, this is so good! Raw Story has a killer piece...
