Posted on 11/17/2005 10:04:35 PM PST by neverdem
What, that Spectre is a stopped clock?
So, who is worse? Spector or the dimwits that still expect him to show some semblance of honor and loyalty?
I do not support giving the government the powers sought in this legislation unless or until it can demonstrate that it is making good use of the tools it already has. Based on the government's failure to even try to guard the border, I would say that the government has failed such demonstration.
Spectre may be acting for all the wrong reasons here, but blocking the so-called Patriot act is a good thing.
You make a good point. Especially as regards the border.
I still can't stomach Spector.
The plans and identities behind the USS Cole bombing and the 9-11 attacks were uncovered before the events.
Until Able Danger is investigated and government employees pay for their failures to act, we will not be 100% safe. You can make the same claim about the borders.
Some actions HAVE been thwarted already.
Not every government worker stands opposed to the policies of the nation or current administration.
We DO need to clean house and demand accountablity. We also need to prevent further attacks. Should no work be done on the levees in Louisiana until the governor, mayor, and contractors are investigated and punished for their actions that contributed to the failure of the levee walls and flooding of NOLA?
Sometimes you have to act and move forward while attempting to address other problems evident in the system.
Note that Able Danger's data collection occurred BEFORE there was a Patriot Act (although perhaps it made use of provisions enacted after the OKC bombing).
I think one could make a very sound argument for that. Floodwalls and levees need good foundations to prevent failure. Anything that is done to improve the levees before a sound foundation can be put in place will have to be undone and redone later. While this would not completely preclude the possibility that temporary repairs might be useful (e.g. with a planned sequence of temporarily repairing a canal wall, then building a floodgate between the canal and the lake, and then performing a more permanent fix on the wall) any repairs that are not part of a larger plan are just a waste of money.
Also, if an employee spends all his time downloading Internet porn, would giving him a faster net connection increase the amount of useful work he gets done?
There is a consistent pattern of government agencies failing to use their powers for their intended purpose, and then using such failire as a basis for demanding more powers. I see no reason to feed that cycle.
Address the problem or prosecute the guilty? A two front war but I say BOTH.
This nation IS NOT vigilant.
Communists who seek an objective counter to this nation's constitution remain in appointed office and institutions.
Were all of Clinton's appointees commies? No. But some of them certainly use their positions to wage dispute against the current administration policy when that ability DOES NOT come with the title of their office.
I've seen "empire building" happen within corporations. Nothing "political" but it is about power and longevity. It was counter to the interests of shareholders AND employees. I charge that Democrats put party before country, quite often.
Time for the nuclear option.
And you want to give more power to any evil bureaucrats who are still in the system?
I believe that 'enemies foreign' may pose a more immediate threat, but 'enemies domestic' pose a more dangerous one. I see no need to give domestic enemies of the Constitution of the United States any more power than they already have.
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