It’s amazing how many people will accept almost any intrusion to obtain the semblance of safety. I’m glad there are still some judges out there that actually understand the Constitution.
U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency’s program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.
“Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution,” Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program, which involves wiretapping conversations between people in the U.S. and people in other countries.
The problem is that there is already an appeal in the works from those that would create a new federal Stasi. At which point do we lose so much freedom that we are no longer truly Americans? I wish more in our administration understood and respected the Constitution.
“Those who give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Ben Franklin
Interesting sidenote — if wikipedia is to be believed, then Ben Franklin never actually said that (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Those_who_would_give_up_Essential_Liberty).
It seems to me the purpose of a search warrent is to gather evidence of guilt for use in a trial. There are plenty of examples where evidence has been thrown out of court for being obtained without a valid warrent. However, has there ever been a case where anyone connected with the illegal search was found guilty of commiting a crime? I have never heard of such a case, but then I don’t study criminal law.
As a practical matter, if the NSA isn’t concerned with using the wiretaps as evidence, does it matter if they are illegal or not?
Yes.
More proof that Jimmy Carter is our worst president.
>And if time is an issue, they can proceed WITHOUT a warrant, and justify >it after the fact.
No they can’t. They can only do this after first proving to the Attorney General that they will be able to meet FISA’s requirements. Reading the opinion, it’s clear it won;t hold up. This was just a judge that wanted to express her personal opposition to the program, and wasn’t going to let the facts get in the way.
>>They can only do this after first proving to the Attorney General that
>>they will be able to meet FISA’s requirements
You mean Attorney General “Torture ’em Until They Talk” Alberto Gonzalez? Hehehehehe!
Assuming that this is a actually a requirement (and I’m not aware that it is) “convincing” the AG of anything is no more difficult than one of Junior’s puppetmasters picking up the phone.
Face it, this is nothing more than a power grab on the part of Dumbya in his continuing effort to implement a unitarian goverment. And if he has to use the Consittution as toilet paper in the process, so be it.
>Any one who thinks monitoring phone calls without a warrant is fine >must also think house searches without warrants are fine too.
You’re roght. I have no problem with forming a separate agency to conduct searches of suspected terrorists’ houses. In fact, I would be upset that George Bush hasn’t secretly formed such an agency.
It’s the ACLU that is sacrificing liberty for temporary security, allowing the terrorists free rein and hoping they’ll hurt America last. America will be safe in the short run if it withdraws from the world, but this is not some small radical group of terrorists, but part of a larger continuum that would grow stronger. In the long run, more liberties would be restricted. Just look at Europe and Canada’s struggles with Islam. Muslims demand and sometimes receive sanction for sharia law enforcement.
Hey for all the rightwing sycophants out there. If it was the 2 nd amendment being violated how would you feel? What if you found out that ‘W’ was tracking all gun owners or limiting gun ownership to only ‘Patriotic Americans?’ How would you feel about his “War on Terror” then? Better yet would all this be OK if Clinton that was doing it?
>>You’re roght. I have no problem with forming a separate agency to
>>conduct searches of suspected terrorists’ houses. In fact, I would
>>be upset that George Bush hasn’t secretly formed such an agency.
Without a fucking warrant? Even one that could be gotten after the fact? Wow. Fascism lives on, in the form of AB CD.
And yeah, since terrorists often use guns, I wonder how the neocon right wing nut jobs would feel if Dumbya (or the next left-wing commie pinko fag president) decided to start confiscating guns from those against whom the evidence was so flimsy that they couldn’t “even bother” to get a warrant, before or after the fact.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
My life has been destroyed for 6 years since this has happened .
i am a black male had a very succesfull busines have not committed any crime and try to conduct my business to the highest integrity yet any new town i go to the havethe sheriffs watching me neighbors spying on me sabotaging of my bisunesses and trapping my associates phone calls . so any Idiot ethat believes they are just tapping terrorist is nieve and stupid . there are innocent people being hurt because of this program and the have not touched on Black op programs and special access programs that russell Tice talked about
I m talking from life experience . If you want security go get locked up in Jail!
>.My life has been destroyed for 6 years
Well, according to AB CD and the neocons, you must have been doing SOMETHING wrong. Otherwise, you’d have had nothing to worry about.
http://vforvendetta.warnerbros.com/
My life has been destroyed for 6 years since this has happened .
Maybe it’s lack of Engrish skillz dat has destroyed your life?
39. “Muslims demand and sometimes receive sanction for sharia law enforcement.”
Fortunately, due to the vigilance of the ACLU and other civil-liberties whackos in preserving the seperation of church and state, this cannot happen in the US of A.
I suspect that the dragnet wire-tap approach, like so many other things “necessary” for the GWOT will suddenly be found to be not so necessary. Remember how it was “necessary” to hold Jose Padilla as an enemy combatant? Suddenly, it became much less necessary and now he is being tried like a regular old criminal.
“War is not the ugliest of things; the degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing is worth a war, is far worse.”
– John Stuart Mill
To mr mustard and response to woktiny since you are watching to post number 1 i have not committed a crime i since 1990 if that justify
destroying a mans life that has 6 kids you are twisted and second it does not matter what my english skills are when ive made in excess of $40,000 a month can you say that ? Matter of fact i didnt Graduate from High School. Id rather have mixed up english with fat pockets than perfect english Broke ! and by the way that was done Legaly through one of my Businesses. that does not justify prying in to a persons life 24/7 if he or she has not committed a crime !
Now respond since you are watching to counter it !
Bobby Bennett
I could claim that alien technologies have sucked away my bank accounts. My claims do not make it fact. Quite frankly, I can’t make heads nor tails of your posts other than a rant.
Now, calm down and actually tell us how the government has ruined your life. You claim you are under surveilance 24/7. Are you talking to people in Saudi for your business? If they are listening and not doing anything….how is it affecting your businesses?
As far as your claim: it does not matter what my english skills are when ive made in excess of $40,000 a month … It matters strongly if you plan on making a point with the written word. If people can’t understand you, no one will listen to you. Remember, money != intelligence.
Yes, aren’t we so very glad to have this judge. Alas her ruling is total crap and will be over turned as totally stupid, but we are all much better for it.
A Carter appointee … Will we never out live the misery index?
Hmm, you guys complain that George Bush is giving himself extra powers not int he Constitution, but no complaints when this judge decides to ignore the Consitution and give herself powers to decide how to fight a war.
As for the 2nd Amendment, I find it strange that the people here don’t consider that to be a right worth protecting, attributing it only to the right-wing. If Bush were to become the dictator you fear, don’t you think colelctive gun ownership matter? I wouldn’t have a problem with 2nd amendment ‘violations’ either as part of the President’s war powers.