Posted on 12/20/2005 3:56:47 AM PST by unionblue83
Below is the Washington Times' editorial on the issue of spying on terrorists. Our only quibble: The National Security Agency's Echelon project spied on "trillions" of American citizens' conversations during the Clinton administration. Otherwise, the editorial is spot-on. -- The Editors.
Should the National Security Agency secretly eavesdrop on the telephone conversations of suspicious persons in the United States calling al-Qaeda operatives overseas? We might be more shocked if the Bush administration hadn't authorized such surveillance, provided it was done within the law. NSA's substantial resources, like those of the CIA and the military, should be properly and legally harnessed to fight the al-Qaeda threat wherever it appears.
Questions have been raised whether President Bush can do this without violating the law. He thinks he can: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows it, with congressional oversight and checks on executive authority, as well as presidential war powers. The guardians of civil liberties who object may be mistaking precedent -- that the NSA didn't engage in domestic spying activities until late 2001 or early 2002 -- for a nonexistent law saying that it can't.
(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
I can't remember the name of the show, but it was a miniseries in the early 70's, when the Russkies burst into the Capitol Dome and machine gunned Congress?
Anybody remember?
Red Dawn?
Be sure to read the thread, not just the initial post.
Well, I'm not a lawyer. I confess I did miss the omission of 1801(a)(4). You guys may be right about this, in which case the statute may not be applicable, or is at least questionable.
I remember Red Dawn, don't remember the scene.
It may have been a scene from a Chuck Norris movie, Invasion USA?
Yes, and its simply wrong. The minute you create an exception, you provide the way to circumvent inspections. If I know they won't searcgh granny from wisconsin, I can 1) assume grannys id, 2) place something in granny's bags, 3) hold granny's kids hostage.
And you obviously think that a life being supervised, guided, instructed, inspected, babied and mothered is better than growing up and being an adult and facing situations.
You are totally free to go to the day care center every day.
I chose not to.
Sounds a lot like the Leftists' "Big Brother" argument. This is a war and during war it is expected that the general populace make sacrifices. Whether it be in the form of "wire-tapping", rationing of food and oil products, submitting to more screening procedures, suspended Habeus corpus, or whatever, these are the necessities placed upon any free society during WAR. Originally the government was accused of not doing enough and now you're accusing them of doing too much. Pick a side and stick with it.
I think you just changed the subject which means you realize that if wew have inspections, all should be subject to them. Thanks for admiting your error.
I responded to wrong thread. Please disregard.
"In the year of our Lord, 1314,
Patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered,
charged the fields at Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets. They fought like Scotsmen.
And won their freedom"
Whether it is Arabs, or mothers-in-law, or our government,
if we forget it or put it aside we are defeated.
I will take a wild guess here -- Maybe because they might be terrorist talking to home base.
Hey amigo, all democracies have a tug of war between security and personal liberty. But if you're dead, then you won't have a chance to worry about your rights. If keeping me and the rest of American safe means wiretapping on suspected terrorists and/or their collaborators (whether American citizens or not), then I say go ahead and wiretap.
What this has to do with the topic of this thread is sketchy at best. Yes, we've all seen Braveheart. We are talking about here and now and the protection of our country from an Islamofacist movement seeking our destruction at any costs. If you're not calling anyone with terror-related ties, then you have nothing to worry about. We should use every means at our disposal to root out the traitors in our midst.
CIA directed in 1995 to seek Video Pirates
http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a3ba75bb5147c.htm
Abraham Lincoln was the president that holds the record for most freedoms removed by a president during war time.
During the Civil war Lincoln had Citizens arrested and held for the duration of the war with out notifying anyone and with out charging them with any crime. He refused to even say if the people incarcerated were being held. Writs of Habeas Corpus were just ignored. Lincoln refused to abide by both British and American common law won in the Magna Carta. Now that is removing freedom! If the government just thought someone was a Southern spy, that person was incarcerated and held incommunicado until the end of the war. There were no charges brought, no lawyer allowed, no judge or court involved. The federal government would not even admit they were holding the person or allow the person held to talk to anyone. People just disappeared for years.
During World War II all war correspondents were drafted into the military. They were given the rank equal to a 2nd Lieutenant but had no command authority. They could belong to officer's clubs but were forbidden to give orders to anyone. All WWII reports had to be approved by Military Censors. Airing or printing a story on the war that had not been approved by a military censor was punishable by a Military Courts Marshall. Reporters were all drafted into the military in order to circumvent their being subject to civilian law. Failing to get the Military Censors approval before printing or airing a report was punishable by death by firing squad.
Andy Rooney was a reporter assigned to Patton's third Army. He would have liked to have trashed Patton and his Third Army commanders but dared not. Patton and Ike would have had Rooney put to death before a firing squad had he done so.
Americans have always given up lots of freedoms in time of war. We get them back when the war is over.
The only freedom needed is the right to elect leaders. When the war is over we we just elect people who give them back.
Any proof at all for any link between illegals and Al Qeda? Nope. NONE. HOwever, there IS link between the American Citizens "spied on" and the terrorist group Al Qeda that murdered 3000 Americans. I know this surprises the Scared of their Shadow Cacus but YOU people do NOT get it. We have the right to Self Defense.
Nailed it. dfj is so appallingly ignorant of history it is scary. Seems all dfj can do is spew nonsensical slogans with NO sense of either fact nor context
I was just thinking how lucky these clowns are that Lincoln isn't in office right now. Otherwise they might be getting what they so richly deserve.
Oh, yeah? Well, when are we going to let all of the Japanese people out of the internment camps, then? For that matter, when will we free the slaves? When will women get the right to vote?
Face it. Once a personal liberty is infringed upon in this country, we NEVER EVER get it back.
The Adults are busy today Junor. We have neither the time nor the patient to deal with children who are more worried about extending Citizens rights to Terrorist's then they are om saving American lives. Go to your room and play with the Xbox. The Adults have no time to deal with your teenage angst and hysteria today.
"many folks can now seem to have that they cannot protect themselves."
well let me think here a moment. yeah a 6'5" thug with a butcher knive i may stave off with speed and cunning,
a 747 ladden with fuel excellerating into the floor of a building i am in i'm thinkin i wish the government could have helped me here.
and i know i am still a relative "newbie" here but reading the threads lately and checking out the posters sign on dates did something happen too the older posters that they are all adamently against this tempest in a tea pot?
my rights have not been crushed by anything that we are doing. i fear the eminant domain laws more than some spy guy listening in on my golf scores on the phone.
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