Mr. Roberts is trying to stop an investigation into Mr. Bush's decision to allow the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without getting the warrants required by a 27-year-old federal law enacted to stop that sort of abuse.
Mr. Roberts had promised to hold a committee vote yesterday on whether to investigate. But he canceled the vote, and then made two astonishing announcements. He said he was working with the White House on amending the 1978 law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to permit warrantless spying. And then he suggested that such a change would eliminate the need for an inquiry.
Stifling his own committee without even bothering to get the facts is outrageous. As the vice chairman of the panel, Senator John Rockefeller IV, pointed out, supervising intelligence gathering is in fact the purpose of the intelligence committee.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Out Loud?
"The U.S. and Israel are discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government to produce a Hamas failure and new elections." topic of a NY Times article today.
Apparently, my country only supports Democracy if it happens to support us.
Happy Valentine's day. We love you. If you do everything our way.
Apparently, my country only supports Democracy if it happens to support us.
Happy Valentine's day. We love you. If you do everything our way.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
State of Dis Union
From an article in (on?) BBC on line, asking various Americans (North) what they thought of the SOTU speech. I have snipped this a bit, for space. Original available.
(Right after I figure out how to insert a link. snerk. I am the most likely to post ad nauseum late after work (that'd be early morning in the real world), when I'm brain dead as far as following instructions is concerned.)
"Name: Shankar Iyer
Age: 55
Lives: Fairfax, Virginia
Last year, the president viewed his re-election as giving him political capital and confidently boasted about using it to fix established social programmes such as social security and Medicare.
He also vowed to continue with his policies favouring the well-heeled and to establish democracy in Iraq.
A year later, with the blood of thousands of dead US troops and Iraqi citizens staining his presidency, along with corruption and scandal in his administration and legislature and the revelations of extra-constitutional civilian and military activities in fighting terrorism, the president began in a more conciliatory tone.
The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts.
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL -THE REST ARE MINE this is a smoothly inserted knife blade. Bravo!
He lumped the elected government of Iran in with the dictatorships of Burma, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe, while assuming the mantle to "deliver the oppressed and move the world toward peace".
** "The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
In the president's view, the ever-so-modest loosening of the dictatorial reins in Egypt and Saudi Arabia called for celebration.
**"The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
The electoral victory of Hamas in Palestine did not. Iran became a country "held hostage by a small clerical elite".
**"The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
He continued with his push to reform social security and to make his tax cuts for the well-to-do permanent.
**"The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
His reference to Hurricane Katrina offered a more positive picture of ongoing relief efforts than have been reported.
AND AGAIN
**"The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
( In sum, the president's State of the Union continued "the world according to me" view held by this administration, where rhetoric replaces realities and terror is used to justify compromises of core democratic values."
One of my mother's rules of life: A true lady or gentleman never insults anyone, *UNintentionally.* I think she may have cadged it from Winston Churchill
next day -still seething at the temerity of "them" in DC- from the NY Times , today:
"Mr. Bush threw out a dizzying array of misleading analogies, propaganda slogans and false choices: Congress authorized the president to spy on Americans and knew all about it ... 9/11 could have been prevented by warrantless spying ... you can't fight terrorism and also obey the law ... and Democrats are not just soft on national defense, they actually don't want to beat Al Qaeda."
(Right after I figure out how to insert a link. snerk. I am the most likely to post ad nauseum late after work (that'd be early morning in the real world), when I'm brain dead as far as following instructions is concerned.)
"Name: Shankar Iyer
Age: 55
Lives: Fairfax, Virginia
Last year, the president viewed his re-election as giving him political capital and confidently boasted about using it to fix established social programmes such as social security and Medicare.
He also vowed to continue with his policies favouring the well-heeled and to establish democracy in Iraq.
A year later, with the blood of thousands of dead US troops and Iraqi citizens staining his presidency, along with corruption and scandal in his administration and legislature and the revelations of extra-constitutional civilian and military activities in fighting terrorism, the president began in a more conciliatory tone.
The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts.
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL -THE REST ARE MINE this is a smoothly inserted knife blade. Bravo!
He lumped the elected government of Iran in with the dictatorships of Burma, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe, while assuming the mantle to "deliver the oppressed and move the world toward peace".
** "The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
In the president's view, the ever-so-modest loosening of the dictatorial reins in Egypt and Saudi Arabia called for celebration.
**"The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
The electoral victory of Hamas in Palestine did not. Iran became a country "held hostage by a small clerical elite".
**"The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
He continued with his push to reform social security and to make his tax cuts for the well-to-do permanent.
**"The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
His reference to Hurricane Katrina offered a more positive picture of ongoing relief efforts than have been reported.
AND AGAIN
**"The president seemed comfortable, as always, shaping and distorting the facts."
( In sum, the president's State of the Union continued "the world according to me" view held by this administration, where rhetoric replaces realities and terror is used to justify compromises of core democratic values."
One of my mother's rules of life: A true lady or gentleman never insults anyone, *UNintentionally.* I think she may have cadged it from Winston Churchill
next day -still seething at the temerity of "them" in DC- from the NY Times , today:
"Mr. Bush threw out a dizzying array of misleading analogies, propaganda slogans and false choices: Congress authorized the president to spy on Americans and knew all about it ... 9/11 could have been prevented by warrantless spying ... you can't fight terrorism and also obey the law ... and Democrats are not just soft on national defense, they actually don't want to beat Al Qaeda."
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