Posted on 01/17/2007 11:21:09 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Bush won't reauthorize eavesdropping program Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:10 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has decided not to reauthorize the controversial domestic warrantless surveillance program for terrorism suspects and to put it under the authority of a secret special court, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Wednesday.
"The president has determined not to reauthorize the Terrorist Surveillance Program
(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.com ...
he has ceded his executive authority to the FISA court. How does this keep "whatever he does" secret? It doesn't stop hearings from reviewing the use of the program since 9-11, the Dems can still have hearings on that all day.
Is that what you think of as a good idea?
......We are underground and treading water.....
I'm not nearly so pessamistic. While it is true we are presently down, having been repulsed by a strong counter attack, we have a strong position.
The offensive action will be resumed.
We have the presidency and we have a majority of the Supreme court. These assure that the enemies, and they are for sure enemies, will make no real gains.
We may not control all elements of the MSM but we have made extreme gains in our ability to counter their efforts. In 2000 I worked here on Free Republic to see what could be done to counter the left. The results were beyond my expectations. We hace put them in a severe bind and have drawn blood, that is real life giving blood, several times.
It was Clinton that put the fear of God into conservatives and forced them from complacency to action. Free Republic was established from nothing because of those fears. I would look for a resumption of strong activism like the old days when the fear really sinks in, to the bone.
The days of lazy handwringing and blowing smoke are over and conservatives will rally to real get off your ass action again. The DC chapter will not be alone in the streets.
why would Spector and Leahy be satisifed - you never "satisfy" these kind of people by giving into them. You give in, they come back for more. This issue isn't closed now, like most of the posters here think it will be. The president's political enemies have just been emboldened by this. and why wouldn't they be - by agreeing to dump this program, he has basically just said to them "you know what, you were right after all".
yes, that's exactly how the system is supposed to work. one branch takes a position, the other branches have the ability to check and balance it. somebody wins, somebody loses.
Translation:
He's tired of the aspects of trying to protect us.
I know we here aren't required to fairly represent the articles we excerpt, but we ought to do it anyway.
[snip}
"Other officials," the paper said, complained that the FISA Court's actions against Resnick "prompted Bureau officials to adopt a play-it-safe approach that meant submitting fewer applications and declining to submit any that could be questioned."
Sen. Charles Grassley is among those who think that the FBI might have been able to stop the 9/11 attacks if the FISA Court hadn't discouraged the Bureau from aggressively pursuing a warrant in the Moussaoui case.
In a January 2002 letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller, Grassley noted that had a search been permitted, "Agents would have found information in Moussaouis belongings that linked him both to a major financier of the [9/11] hijacking plot working out of Germany, and to a Malaysian Al Qaeda boss who had met with at least two other [9/11] hijackers while under surveillance by intelligence officials."
Entire article FISA Court Discouraged Moussaoui Warrant
I heard something on talk radio about this. Speculation was that Bush negotiated a compromise because he feared Congress would shut down the program.
Well please excuse me I wasn't aware that he could walk on water.
BTW: Is something wrong with your 'caps lock'? You appear to have more respect for Mark Levin than you do for President Reagan.
that's just the window dressing on this, nothing more. what are they going to say, "we gave this program back to FISA, and by the way we think FISA stinks.".
I have arthritis in my pinkies, hard to hit the shift key.
By invite only, I guess. And a password.
a I said upthread, mark levin has been saying for years (from first hand knowledge) - that the FISA court provides a high legal hurdle to meet, and as such it supresses the vigor with which the warrants are pursued. and when that happens, leads and tips are just left on the vine - not pursued - as you have noted.
Yeppers..exactly...smoke and mirrors...
Well..can't be a super secret court if we all know about it..eh?..:)
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