Posted on 02/16/2008 7:49:09 AM PST by no nau
Presidential hopeful Ron Paul opposes the extension of the Protect America Act of 2007 as the legislation violates the US Constitution.
"The misnamed Protect America Act allows the US government to monitor telephone calls and other electronic communications of American citizens without a warrant, which violates the Fourth Amendment," Paul said.
Speaking before the US House of Representatives on Wednesday, he said the Protect America Act sidelines the FISA Court system and places authority over foreign surveillance in the director of national intelligence and the attorney general with little if any oversight.
The 10-term congressman added that it does not provide for the Fourth Amendment protection of American citizens if they happen to be on the other end of an electronic communication where the subject of surveillance is a non-citizen overseas.
"We must remember that the original Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was passed in 1978 as a result of the US Senate investigations into the federal government's illegal spying on American citizens," said Paul.
The libertarian-leaning Texan noted that the only legitimate 'upgrade' to the original FISA legislation would be to allow surveillance of conversations that begin and end outside the United States between non-US citizens where the telephone call is routed through the United States.
"Congress should not use this opportunity to chip away at even more of our constitutional protections and civil liberties. I urge my colleagues to oppose this and any legislation that violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution," Paul concluded.
Constitutionalist Ron Paul is an outspoken critic of current US fiscal and monetary policies. He advocates a full troop withdrawal from Iraq and the abolishment of income taxes.
Isn't there some kind of loony bin that Paul and his 911 twoofer supporters can be shipped off to?
UHHH....KUMBAYA RONNIE...WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE
BUB BY YAAAA
PART.....good god....
FISA is an unconsitutional restriction of the enmurated powers of the executive.
It’s a 70’s liberal construct.
What a clueless clown Ron Paul is on this issue.
Source:
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/12/fbi-recorded-27.html
At the end of 2006, the FBI's Telecommunications Intercept and Collection Technology Unit compiled an end-of-the-year report touting its accomplishments to management, a report that was recently unearthed via an open government request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Strikingly, the report said that the FBI's software for recording telephone surveillance of suspected spies and terrorists intercepted 27,728,675 sessions. Twenty-seven million is a staggering number given that the FBI only got 2,176 FISA court orders in 2006 from a secret spy court using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Source:
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/10/10/Worldandnation/Memo_details_string_o.shtml
FBI agents illegally videotaped suspects, intercepted e-mails without court permission and recorded the wrong phone conversations during sensitive terrorism and espionage investigations, according to an internal memorandum detailing serious lapses inside the FBI more than a year before the Sept. 11 attacks.
wake up.
Source:
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/12/fbi-recorded-27.html
At the end of 2006, the FBI's Telecommunications Intercept and Collection Technology Unit compiled an end-of-the-year report touting its accomplishments to management, a report that was recently unearthed via an open government request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Strikingly, the report said that the FBI's software for recording telephone surveillance of suspected spies and terrorists intercepted 27,728,675 sessions. Twenty-seven million is a staggering number given that the FBI only got 2,176 FISA court orders in 2006 from a secret spy court using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Source:
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/10/10/Worldandnation/Memo_details_string_o.shtml
FBI agents illegally videotaped suspects, intercepted e-mails without court permission and recorded the wrong phone conversations during sensitive terrorism and espionage investigations, according to an internal memorandum detailing serious lapses inside the FBI more than a year before the Sept. 11 attacks.
wake up.
Between the snake oil salesman, the loony tune Congressman and Old Mr.McSleazy, America really is in trouble!
What is truly scary are the number of people in this country that think as Ron Paul does.
What, worried about invasion of privacy? Strange our founders were the same way. What’s scary are the number of people in this country who think it’s ok. Sure, even if Bush is doing good with this, what’s to stop a Hillary or Obama administration from using this for other purposes? Do you all ever think of unintended consequences?
Oh, don’t worry, Ron Paul was never much of a threat to the continued trampling of the Constitution. I’m glad he is still around to raise the issue.
Just wait until these so-called “tools” are used against conservative “terrorists” who want to threaten the unity and hope and big plans of a future Democratic administration. Then FR will be up in arms about these oppressive laws, if FR isn’t shut down, that is.
>>Do you all ever think of unintended consequences?
Apparently many conservatives do not nowadays. It seems that ignoring unintended consequences, one of the many diseases of the left, has even become common among conservatives.
LOL! Hysterical BS.
Of note is that the software at issue, the DCS-5000 gets information from carriers after they turn on surveillance on their switches once they get a court order (CALEA mandates the switches be wiretap-compliant). That means this number ostensibly has nothing to do with the government's secret warrantless wiretapping program, or the government's data-mining of billions of call records.
Your other link was about mistakes made in 2000, before current practices, before 911, and before the current Administration was even in power.
Really?
Perhaps you should revisit the IRS audits of Clinton Administration enemies, the Elian Gonzalez case, or the granddaddy of them all, Waco. Perhaps you should learn about COINTELPRO. The FBI/CIA infiltrated conservative as well as left-wing organizations.
The Republicans will be more than happy to call on the Constitution if the Democrats are elected and opt to send their private all volunteer army [it will be their army then] to fight in Africa, Russia, China, South America or wherever without declaring war.
Blind ignorance surrounds us.
This man is speaking out for us just like Ron Paul:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpVdtwDSg9c
How dare they call this kook a Constitutionalist. He’s not.
Mr. Lincoln’s Secretary of War Mr. Stanton was correct when he observed that “..the Constitution of the United States is not nor shall it be a suicide pact.”
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