Posted on 12/28/2005 5:12:01 AM PST by Aussie Dasher
Congress can't usurp the president's power to spy on America's enemies.
In the continuing saga of the surveillance "scandal," with some congressional Democrats denouncing President Bush as a lawbreaker and even suggesting that impeachment hearings may be in order, it is important to step back and put things in historical context. First of all, the Founding Fathers knew from experience that Congress could not keep secrets. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin and his four colleagues on the Committee of Secret Correspondence unanimously concluded that they could not tell the Continental Congress about covert assistance being provided by France to the American Revolution, because "we find by fatal experience that Congress consists of too many members to keep secrets."
When the Constitution was being ratified, John Jay--America's most experienced diplomat and George Washington's first choice to be secretary of state--wrote in Federalist No. 64 that there would be cases in which "the most useful intelligence" may be obtained if foreign sources could be "relieved from apprehensions of discovery," and noted there were many "who would rely on the secrecy of the president, but who would not confide in that of the Senate." He then praised the new Constitution for so distributing foreign-affairs powers that the president would be able "to manage the business of intelligence in such manner as prudence may suggest."
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
The Founding Fathers certainly had foresight!
Under the toon, we could not even trust the president.
There, fixed it.
I do believe we're about to see a ZOT!
This is an interesting paragraph. What makes a "declaration of war" formal? And that being asked, what is meant by a state initiating an "aggessive war"? Those who fight a passive war, usually lose.
For that? Give me a break nanny. The Patriot Act should not be excepted by conservatives.
There, fixed it. Now be more specific about what it is in the Patriot Act that you would change or eliminate.
Now, Prove it.
I'm sure those good souls who perished on 9/11 would be very supportive of he Patriot Act.
The list is long but I will take the time to list them later. In a nutshell, no warrant searches, holding persons indefinitely without council or a judge, bank privacy, no accountability for the president or CIA. There is more I will list in my summary.
I could care less if Bush spies on us as long as there is accountability. The Patriot Act should be dismantled and other laws that not only protect us from attacks but also protect our rights should be put in place.
The sad thing is that the ACLU has picked this fight up and if they are for it I, and many others, are usually against it. This is a conservative fight against bigger government with powers that are unaccountable and possibly illegal.
Many more have perished to protect our rights as Free Americans. On 911 we knew the terrorists wanted more than anything to shake our resolve and scare us into giving up our free way of living. Now they seem to be winning with laws like we have in the PA.
Perhaps this link will help you be more specific
http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html
Too many whine about the Patriot Act and then cite generalities. As for the ACLU, I watched all those Pro-Kerry ads during the election that spoke about "fixing the Patriot Act" but never specified what it was they wanted to fix.
You want accountablity for the president or the CIA, how about judges? Do they also not have to be "accountable" in your world? They are not even elected - as are presidents.
The bottom line that people must ask is "are we at war" or are we not?
Oh don't worry, they won't. But not until a Dem sits in the White House.
Care to address the issues raised in post 11?
Ah Wolfie, ever the cynic. :-)
It's how we live which makes us who we are.
I for one would not want to live in so much fear of an imminent attack that I would give up me privacy and freedoms to The president. Especially if that president were Hillary Clinton, John Kerry Or Howard Dean.
Spying on foreign enemies and their contacts seems appropriate to me.
When can we claim victory for this war to be over so we can regain our freedoms again?
Very appropriate, We've been doing it for decades.
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